A mystery involving a 16-year-old girl, her recently-deceased father's past and his shipping business, an asian triad, a handsome young photographer who isn't great with money, a really nasty old woman, a ruby, and a fair amount of opium. Not a bad read; the story was enjoyable enough, but I wasn't engaged to the extent that I feel I need to read the rest of the series.

A main character who is white but lives among the Indians & so embodies the best of both worlds, natives who are inherently lesser, but with 2 'noble' exceptions, white soldiers who are brave but dumb & weak compared to that amazing main guy, & 2 ladies in constant need of rescuing - blech. I will say that the ending was unexpectedly un-pat, which was a bit of a nice surprise, but not enough to save this one.

An old hobo begrudgingly befriends a homeless family under a bridge in Paris.
A sweet story, I suppose, but not earth-shattering in any way.

From the author who broke my heart with The Bridge to Terabithia, I should have known that I'd love this one, even though I started the thing really not liking Gilly at all. That's as Paterson wants it, of course, and then she makes you fall in love with the girl and her story. Very well done.

Rincewind being Rincewind, Luggage being Luggage, the other wizards being unlikable as usual, with a couple of new characters thrown in for good measure. And the Discworld series plods along.
*shrug*
Death does make a quick appearance, and I do like him, and the Librarian gets more page time, and he's fairly adorable. So there's that. I still don't get the maniacal fandom for this series yet, though.

Think Diary of Anne Frank, but written after the fact, when the Annie of this story was an adult. For this reason, I think, the writing isn't as compelling (and, of course, her story isn't as tragic), although the story is still so important, and this one may be more readable for young kids.

Fantasy/alternate history, in which Shakespeare's plays really happened, plus parallel universes and, randomly (sort of), trains.
Sounds, sadly, way more amazing that it actually is. The idea is very cool, but the execution is poor enough that the story barely holds together and is mostly just confusing. Shame, really.

Twin brothers and their twin servants get separated at birth, and then are mistaken for one another repeatedly on a day when one of them comes to the others' town. Hilarity does its ensuing.
Based on Plautus and his Greek predecessors, this one must be pretty entertaining when performed. I love Shakespeare, but this isn't my favorite of his - I love Plautus and his version more.

The story of the author's mother as a young girl and her journey through Turkey as an Armenian refugee, and finally to America.
The pacing is a bit uneven, but the story is an important one, I think, and so worth the read.

Ooof. So. Good. Love the characters, the magic, and the story and the twisty plot. I love it when a book makes you literally (LITERALLY) stand up and say, "WHA?! YES! ... I NEED THE NEXT BOOK, STAT!!"

Reading this awesome book from a room in the Hilton in downtown Columbus (!!). I know, right?! How more apt can you get?!

I lovelovelove this one, and it was so much fun to re-read it with Charlie, who is, I'm gleeful to say, now a Gaiman fan, too! Woot!

A sweet little story about a young man who helps build Ferris' big wheel for the Chicago World's Fair.
The details of the wheel's logistics were neat, and the parallel story of the young man immigrating to the U.S. was a nice complement.

A friend of Miss Marple witnesses a murder on a train next to hers. The intrigue, red herrings and sleuthing swiftly follow.
Another good romp from Dame Agatha.

Another solid entry in the series. There's nothing riveting or too exciting about these stories, but they're so definitely relaxing and enjoyable.

A group of adorably quirky girls discover that their summer camp isn't terribly normal. They, however, seem very much up to the challenge.
I loved it. The banter among the campers is fast and funny and it's easy to fall in love with all the characters immediately.

17-year-old Vassa and her tiny wooden (but also alive) doll find themselves working for a witchy and not-very-nice chain convenience store owner, whose shop dances on chicken legs and who exacts a very strict punishment for shoplifting.
Oh gosh, this is So Good. Gaiman meets Miyazaki's Spirited Away with a nice dash of sass thrown in. I'll most definitely be reading more of Porter's stuff.

A small group tries to rebuild their lives in 1977-post-nuclear-apocalyptic France.
This one surprised me with how good it is. Engaging and suspenseful in all the right ways and with fantastic characters.

A very cool steampunky take on the Cinderella story. And that's saying something, as I'm generally not over-fond of steampunk things.

A 13-year-old boy keeps a diary for 15 months.
Yoicks. I didn't care for this one at all. Not a likeable character in the entire thing, and two dogs get nonchalantly mistreated, to boot. Nopenopenope.

A Christie mystery with a bit of a (different kind of) twist - the murder doesn't happen until towards the end. And I still couldn't figure out the culprit. In other words, another excellent entry in the Christie bibliography.

Ida B lives a comfortable, home-schooled life on a farm with lots of land, until her mother starts a battle with cancer.
A sweet little story that does a nice job describing childhood anxieties and coping reactions when a loved one gets sick and life changes.

A thief taken out of prison, a magus, a couple of apprentices, a soldier, a king and two queens, and a journey to steal something precious.
A book in which the story is just a fabulously clever and wonderful as the eponymous character, and which is even better the second time round. Gosh, but I love this series.

Gaiman retelling stories from Norse Mythology. Amazing, excellent, gloriously good.

Young Emil is off to visit his grandmother and aunt in Berlin, but has his money stolen from him on the train. He spends the rest of the book tracking down the thief, with the help of some kids he meets on the streets of Berlin.
This one is a complete hoot. Clever and witty and adorable.

A sort of self-help book for introverted kids.
Meh. I read this one thinking I might get some insight on how to help my son feel more at ease in loud and crowded settings, but there was nothing earth-shattering here. In fact, there was pretty much nothing that I wouldn't put in the Common Sense category. *shrug*

"And he no longer listened when people told him that in the old days the air was cleaner or that cows had bigger heads. Because it usually wasn't true. Those people simply wanted to be dissatisfied, because otherwise they would have to be satisfied. "

Rudi, whose father died trying to climb a mountain, is obsessed with accomplishing what his dad could not, despite his mother's and his uncle's forbidding it.
This one was good, but would have been better with a bit less description of the actual climbing.

As much as I like Cleary's stuff, this one is a bit dated and made me a little uncomfortable reading it. Henry really wants a bike but can't afford a new one, so he buys one at an auction with the help of Beezus, who accidentally bids on a girl's bike for him. Then follows much lamenting of the fact that he has a girl's bike and such. Plus, he complains a lot about having to hang out with girls and what a nuisance they can be.

The characters from all the old fairy tales live together in a small town on the east coast of the U.S., guarded by the descendants of the Grimm brothers. The current guards (a granny & 2 girls) start down the path to discovering what happened to the girls' parents, who disappeared over a year ago.
Meh. It's okay. Sort of fun, even. But not fabulous. Charlie loved it, though, and wants to read more of the series.

An 11-year-old boy must hide in an abandoned building in the Jewish Ghetto after being separated from his father, and stays there for several months waiting for his father to return.
Alternately heartbreaking and hopeful. A good and important read.

Another Christie novel, another murder I couldn't solve. I love Christie's stuff to bits.

I loved this retelling of Danish saga. Heroes and gods (Beowulf and Odin even make appearances), monsters and witches, and all very well told.

Again, I chuckled in the right places and acknowledge Pratchett's cleverness, but I'm still waiting for these Discworld books to wow me as they seem to wow so many others. I do like Death, and Mort's pretty okay, but the ending to this one irritated me for reasons. *shrug*

Another entirely enjoyable entry in the Poirot series. So many red herrings, as always, and an unguessable mystery, again as usual.

Written by a 9-year-old in 1890, and that's pretty much all you need to know.

I enjoyed the book for lots of reasons. The poems themselves, of course. Many were old friends; some were new to me & didn‘t much affect me, but other new ones did bring me to tears. So the poetry alone is worth the read, & I‘ve added several poets to my list of ones to look up & read more. But in addition to the poetry, many of the introductions were lovely too, & have led to another list, of women I want to know more about and read more of.

An account of the Buddha's life and teachings.
Gently and lovingly told - a very peaceful read.

Dicey, her brothers & sister are abandoned by their mother in a car in a mall parking lot. They were on their way to an aunt's house, so they decide to keep going on their own, hoping that this unknown relative will take them in & help them find their mother. Dicey leads them on a long journey through towns, state parks, & rivers, sleeping off the road & out of sight.
An excellent yarn; I was rooting for Dicey and her little family from Page One.

Thirteen-year-old Sophie dreads spending the summer of 1960 with her grandmother and aunt on an old plantation outside of New Orleans, but when she meets a strange creature in the family maze, she's transported back 100 years, mistook for a slave and learns all sorts of life lessons.
This one was slow to get started but once it did, it was very good. I'd say an excellent introduction to life on a plantation for middle grade readers.

Charlie and I just love reading these out loud and trying to figure out the solution to each case. Such a neat series.

A young boy who had been ill for a long time is promised a rabbit by his grandfather. The story follows his agony in waiting an entire week for the eponymous rabbit to arrive, and then through the first few weeks of learning to care for it.
A saccharine-like story; just way too cutesy for me.

Esk and Granny Weatherwax take on The Establishment.
The Staff is my favorite in this one, although Esk is okay, too.

Meggy is a young orphan living with her aunt, uncle and cousin in Edinburgh, feeling unwanted, lonely and restless, until a random opportunity to jump a ship to North Carolina gives her the chance at a new life, even if it is amidst colonies on the brink of war with England.
A nice little read, with a strong female lead who had me rooting for her from the start.

In some sort of dystopian future, Nailer, works on a Light Crew, scavenging beached oil tankers in the Gulf Coast region. Life is hard & day-to-day, between the dangerous work & his abusive father at home. All that starts to change when he and his friend stumble onto a wrecked clipper and the chance for the greatest scavenge he'll likely ever have.
I liked this one just fine, but probably not enough for me to seek out the next book in the series.

A fun, inventive story with an excellent beginning and an excellent ending, but which does get to be a bit much in the middle - too many silly creatures and crazy adventures, really, which all seem added on in a hodgepodge fashion.

I was in love with Sherlock within the first 10 pages, and 1000+ later I'm so sad that there isn't any more. Holmes is charmingly insulting, Watson is adorably devoted, the mysteries are fabulously crafted. This isn't just plain wonderful, folks; it's wonderful with raisins.

Charlie's first introduction to Cleary and he loved it! He's requested another one for our next read.

A guy claiming to be a reporter follows a group of urban explorers into an old, abandoned hotel one night, and they all get way more than that for which they had bargained.

Not my cuppa, really.

A re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses story, and a thumpin' good one. Set in the Carpathian Mountains, it has dancing young ladies, fairy folk, Night People, good guys in disguise, bad guys who think they're the good guys, suspense, a healthy dose of romance (of course), and a helpful and adorable sidekick frog. It felt a bit slow to get going, but once it did, I loved it.