Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Sports Books

I changed from this week's topic - to sports books, because it's perfect for the Summer Reading Program theme. I really enjoy sports books and here are some of my favorites:

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish 

Tween:

Teen:

Nonfiction: 

Tween Tuesday Review: End of the Earth

* Book 3 in the SPIES trilogy *

The School for SPIES is in serious trouble after their last failed mission and betrayal. The students are scattered, the school is burned down, and Max is in serious trouble. He's turned to the dark side, on orders from Hantai Annie.

Now Mrs. Frost wants to legally adopt him and keep him at LOTUS. Max just needs to find evidence against her and then he can plot his escape. But the fortress might be more security than he can handle.

Can Max uncover the whereabouts of his friends and bring down his enemies before LOTUS wins - forever?

My Thoughts: The ending of this trilogy was action packed with lots of danger, action, and plot twists. I liked learning more about LOTUS - their players and their headquarters. I liked the shift in perspectives. I loved how everything came together. I really enjoyed this trilogy.

Cover Thoughts: Cool
Source: my Library

Final Thoughts: Perfect trilogy for tween readers who love action books, thrillers, and spy stories. Plus there's a side of friendship, finally belonging, family drama, and a dash of romance.

Upcoming Review: The New Guy

Jules wants it all. She wants to be editor in chief of the school newspaper and she wants early admission to an Ivy league college (Brown). She doesn't care if she misses a little fun if she can lock up her future.

Nothing ends up the way she planned it.

And then Alex enters the picture.

Now her world's been turned upside down. One minute Jules had all the answers and the next minute she's left wondering what the heck happened. Alex betrays her and she vows to get revenge. 

My Thoughts: I really liked Jules - even though she wanted to be perfect. I liked her attention to detail. I liked how she volunteered walking dogs. I liked how she learned from her mistakes and came out the other side with more balance in her life. 

I liked her interactions with Alex - their banter and truth telling. I liked how Alex used to be a member of a huge boy band and how that changes his perspective of life.

I loved her two moms - they were funny, intelligent, and sweet. 
I enjoyed her relationship with her teacher - and how he lived next door and socialized with her moms. 
I liked the rivalry with the newspaper vs TALON
Donuts.

Cover Thoughts: I like this one much better
Source: ARC from Librarian Preview
Release Date: April 5th

Final Thoughts: Add this book to your TBR pile, you won't want to miss it!

Summer Reading Program Ideas

I'm getting excited about this year's theme. Part of it has to do with life size games that I want to attempt as programs. I hosted a live action angry bird game a few years back at the library, and it went over Really well. So, here's hoping for a great summer.  - as usual, these ideas came from Pinterest.

 Sorry

Rubix Cube

Tetris 

Jenga

Pac Man

Connect Four

Mini Golf

BookBub and Julia Quinn

My first post at the BookBub Blog is up and I'm talking about what to read while you're waiting for the new Julia Quinn. The list of thirteen books includes some of my favorite historical romances.

Check it out!

Adult Review: NYPD Red 4

* Book 4 in the NYPD Red series *

A movie premiere in New York City goes south when the star actress becomes the murdered victim in a jewelry robbery. The diamond and emerald necklace created by the Bassett brothers from one of the world's top jewelry houses.

A series of robberies creates drama for hospitals as they can't trace the missing expensive equipment. They can't share the knowledge that the equipment is missing for fear of a distrust of hospitals, but neither can they afford the millions of dollars now gone.

Between the two cases, there's the personal drama. Kylie's husband has relapsed in his addictions. He's crating havoc of their personal life and his professional life. Meanwhile Zach's relationship with Cheryl is on the rocks because of the time spent helping Kylie find her husband and solving her problems.

With so many pieces in need of care, will the NYPD Red team ever catch a break?

My Thoughts: This book is back on top with the series and once again I'm a happy reader. Lots of action and plot twists move the book forward. Great banter adds a little humor to the book, breaking things up. It's hard not to read this one in just one sitting. 

As for the characters, I clearly enjoy the secondary characters much more. I loved the older con woman and her son. They were intriguing and entertaining. I love the waitress at the diner who always needs to talk some sense into Zach. I like Zach, expect when he makes terrible choices (all too often) about his personal relationships. I go back and forth on Kylie. I like that she's tough and feisty, but I hate how she treats her friends.

About Me: Hiking

One of my resolutions this year (and to be honest almost every year) is to talk more about myself on the blog. Me in a nutshell: I'm a Librarian. I'm a blogger. I'm a reader. Here's a little bit about me outside the bookish world.

I've always liked taking long walks, but recently some travel plans have included hiking as a key factor. And it's been great. We've seen things I've never imagined and climbed places I never thought I could go. Some of it has been scary. I have on occasion felt stuck and unable to go further, but for the most part, it's been really fun and a great sense of accomplishment at the end.

So much so that we've decided to attempt hiking in the Grand Canyon. I've never been there, but I've always wanted to go. So, we're gearing up for that trip next year. I have some work to do before then.

Here are some photos from recent hikes:

This was the start of a rugged trail that kicked my butt

I wasn't sure we were going to make it up here - and back before dark. 

Here's a mountain climb - this is on the way up when I didn't realize how strenuous the hike would be

The view from the top was amazing

Do you know of any great hikes in New England? I'd be happy to know about them!

Series Love: Baby-Sitter Club

My library has these graphic novel adaptations of the Baby-Sitter's Club and I LOVE them! I remember the plots, the moments, and some of the lines from the original books. I devoured the books when I was in 4th and 5th grade, but didn't end up reading them all. And now I want to go back and find out what happened. 

Does anyone know why the graphic novel series skips some of the books?

The graphics novels are perfect. The story lines are the same and the art leaps off the page. As usual the drama and the friendship move the story along. I really hope there are more books in the series in the works!

Mini Review: Midnight Bites

Short Stories from the Morganville Vampire World.

The Good:
I loved going back to this world. This is one of my favorite vampire series.
I loved seeing favorite characters.
I loved the extra information from favorite and some not so favorite characters.
New stories
The relationships, the drama, and the horror of the town

The Bad:
I've never been a short story fan because I always want the stories to be longer. While this is nearly 500 pages, I still wanted more.

Final Thoughts: Perfect for fans of Morganville - get your hands on this one pronto!

Top Ten Tuesday: If you're in the mood for Paranormal Reads

This week's topic is books to read if you're in the mood for paranormal reads. At the moment, I'm reading Midnight Bites and it's got me thinking about all the great reads from a few years back.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Vampires:

Werewolf:

Other:

What are some of your favorite paranormal reads?

Tween Tuesday Review: Eden's Wish

 * First in a series * 

Eden's desperately unhappy in her life as a genie. She's not thrilled about granting wishes. Each time she travels to life outside the bottle, she wishes to remain. Humans fascinate her. She longs for freedom, so when the opportunity presents itself, she escapes the lamp.

Life outside the lamp is different and she's making mistakes left and right. But she meets a brother and sister (Tyler and Sasha) who help her along the way.

Eden's quickly caught in the middle of a turf war over the lamp the future of the genies. While she's not interested in staying a genie, neither is she willing to let go of the lamp. Can she save her friends and her future?

My Thoughts: Fantastic tween book. I can't wait to read more. I loved Eden. I felt bad for her, how she longed for freedom and a little bit of adventure. I really liked Tyler and Sasha and how they helped Eden.

I liked watching Eden struggle with her choices. I liked how she held onto her own choices and how she didn't let anyone bully her. She's smart, quick witted, and always getting into trouble. 

Cover Thoughts: Love it!
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: Grab this one for the fish out of water story, friendships, and the battle between good and evil!