In My Mailbox #15

I've been pretty slow with blogging this week. I apologize about that. Things at work pick up in the spring. I just collected about 80 research papers; so needless to say, I have been busy with that.  However, this week was the Scholastic Book Fair at work!  Check out some of the books I'm going to preview for my classroom.   This meme is hosted by The Story Siren.


Spells by Aprilynne Pike

We all know I've been waiting on this one! I pre-ordered it awhile back.
Goodreads says, "Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.  When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?"




The next books are from the Scholastic Book Fair at my school.  The cool thing about this fair is for every dollar my literacy students spend, my school matches it with money towards books for my classroom library.  I got a ton of books (I was beside myself!), but I will only showcase a few here.  I picked out ones that I am going to read first before I recommend them or put them in my classroom library.  They are mostly "girly" books that I have never read.  Most of the other ones that I'm not sharing with you, I don't need to read beforehand, because I know they are awesome.  They are all the books that I know my male students love such as Percy Jackson series, Anthony Horowitz's series, Hunger Games series, Maze Runner, etc. I'm trying to get more female students to read those series, but that's a discussion for another post.  So, here are a few I'm going to read:

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
I'm obsessed with coffee, so the cover immediately caught my attention.
Goodreads says, "From the author of Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down.  Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . ."


The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly B. Bradley

A lot of my female students picked this one up at the book fair.
Goodreads says, "ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD ISABELLE IS A LACEMAKER IN THE TOWN OF VERSAILLES.

One day as she delivers lace to the palace, she is almost trampled by a crowd of courtiers -- only to be rescued by Marie Antoinette. Before Isabelle can believe it, she has a new job -- companion to the queen's daughter. Isabelle is given a fashionable name, fashionable dresses -- a new identity. At home she plies her needle under her grandmother's disapproving eye. At the palace she is playmate to a princess. Thrown into a world of luxury, Isabelle is living a fairy-tale life. But thisfacade begins to crumble when rumors of starvation in the countryside lead to whispers of revolution. How can Isabelle reconcile the ugly things she hears in the town with the kind family she knows in the palace? And which side is she truly on? Inspired by an actual friendship between the French princess and a commoner who became her companion, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley offers a vivid portrait of life inside the palace of Versailles -- and a touching tale of two friends divided by class and the hunger for equality and freedom that fueled the French Revolution."

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne

I've heard a lot of buzz about this book a few months ago, so I definitely want to check this one out.

Goodreads says, "To die or not to die of utter mortification . . .  Hamlet Kennedy just wants to be your average, happy, vanilla eighth grader. But with Shakespearean scholar parents who dress in Elizabethan regalia and generally go about in public as if it were the sixteenth century, that’s not terribly easy. It gets worse when they decide that Hamlet’s genius seven year-old sister will attend middle school with her— and even worse when the Shakespeare project is announced and her sister is named the new math tutor. By the time an in-class recitation reveals that our heroine is an extraordinary Shakespearean actress, Hamlet can no longer hide from the fact that she—like her family—is anything but average.  In a novel every bit as funny as her debut, Erin Dionne has created another eighth grader whose situation is utterly unique—but whose foibles and farces will resound with every girl currently sufferin through middle school."

My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald

I saw a lot of my female students picking up this one as well.

Goodreads says, "Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem solver. After the local homecoming queen shows up at her family’s struggling drugstore with a beauty disaster that Lucy helps to fix, Lucy has a long line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the pharmacy. If only she could find a way to make the pharmacy the center of town again—a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader? This book is a funny and sweet debut featuring an unforgettable narrator who knows what she wants, whether it’s great makeup, a killer business plan, or a better world."

Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris

I love a good ghost story!

Goodreads says, " Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There's just one catch: Lisette is a ghost.  A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.  As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend -- and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey -- she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?"

Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic by Suzanne Weyn

The ominous cover attracted me to this book; plus, a lot of my female students were buying this one!
Goodreads says, "Science, spiritualism, history, and romance intertwine in Suzanne Weyn's newest novel. Four sisters and their mother make their way from a spiritualist town in New York to London, becoming acquainted with journalist W. T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor. When they all find themselves on the Titanic, one of Tesla's inventions dooms them...and one could save them."




The Season by Sarah MacLean
I noticed this book takes place in Regency London. Well, right there, I knew I had to read it!

Goodreads says, "Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued -- in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.  When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance abounds as this year's season begins!"




What did you guys get in your mailbox?  Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you think.  I look forward to checking out everyone else's mailboxes. Have a great day!