Ruby's Slippers

Title: Ruby's Slippers

Author: Tricia Rayburn

Genre: Realistic Fiction

# of Pages: 340

Books Read: 10/50

Time for my latest "book at the beach." This is another one read mostly while on break from working as a lifeguard at the beach. It's a great beach read, too. A middle-school age girl learns a lesson about friendship and self-confidence through dealing with a bully, family drama, and being the new girl.

Ruby and her mother move from rural Kansas to suburban Florida. At her new school, every student has a cell phone, and all the girls wear sundresses and perfect accessories. Ruby, on the other hand, wears dirty converse sneakers, carries an ABBA lunchbox, and doesn't know how to use email, much less a cell phone! I love the quirky characters, and the book has a great message. Very fun!

House of the Scorpion

Title: House of the Scorpion

Author: Nancy Farmer

Genre: Science Fiction

# of Pages: 380

Books Read: 9/50

House of the Scorpion is a delightfully dreadful book. Set in a future where drug cartels have won, where science has succeeded, and where love is still the best thing possible, this book is an opportunity to consider a plethora of moral questions.

Matt, the main character, is a clone. In his world, the country of Opium, located geographically between the United States and Mexico, clones are legally considered animals, and something to be feared and loathed. Yet Matt doesn't act or feel like an animal. He loves, fears, and wishes just as any other little boy would. 

The book is full of vivid pictures of both the cruelty and wonders that take place over the course of the story. I imagine the characters lounging around the immense mansion, chattering away in animated Spanish, the aura of luxury and power around them. Then there are the scenes I would NOT want to see in a movie. Like when Matt is taken away from Celia, the woman who has raised him, and the servant now in charge of him, Rosa, takes away his furniture and instead lays down animal bedding and sawdust. 

A great way to wake up my brain and enjoy a rainy day at home. In other news, I finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and went and saw the movie (Part 2) last night. I thought about making a blog post about the book, but decided since I've read it a bunch of times before, it can't really count towards my 50 goal. 

Stargirl

Title: Stargirl

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Genre: Realistic Fiction

# of Pages: 186

Books Read: 8/50

I've always assumed this book was about a girl. And it is, but the main character is actually a boy named Leo. Leo tells Stargirl's story, beginning with the start of the school year, when she is the odd new girl, to a few months later when she is the most popular girl in school, to later when everyone hates her. When I first read the summary on the back, which summarizes the book as a love story, I was just a couple chapters in. I found myself thinking, "Love story? How could Leo and Stargirl ever end up together?" They do seem like an unlikely couple, yet by the middle/end of the book, I feel as glowy as I do watching a cute romantic movie.

I feel like this book would be great for a book club of mature middle schoolers. There's so much potential to discuss the lessons this book teaches! Themes of individualism, empathy, loyalty, friendship, and courage all lead up to a view into a typical high school through a very atypical lens.