Knights of the Hill Country by Tim Tharp

Just finished the book last night and I'd have to say it wasn't what I had expected. I thought it would be more of a Friday Night Lights, but it ending up being an endearing book written from a linebacker's point of view. He's not the typical confident outgoing football sterotype. You find out he really has a sensitive side (even if it isn't always articulated well by him) that really doesn't think that the world revolves around him and his team. He truly enjoys the game.
I would give it 3 and a half stars out of 5.

Celebrate PI Day!! March 14, 2009

We're celebrating PI day with a T-shirt contest! The picture shows the top 6 designs either original or found on the Internet, students and faculty/staff will vote this week and when a winner is determined, we'll have t-shirts printed for sale.
Have a piece of pie and celebrate PI day!! 3.14

Go Red for Women!! February 6, 2009

The staff and faculty at Northern Bedford County School District participated in the American Heart Association's "Go Red" day for Women's Heart Disease Awareness.
Heart Disease is a major concern for women everywhere - Check it out with your doctor!!

Libba Bray's Trilogy

I read all of them over Christmas break. They were not my typical genre of reading. I was anticipating a romance type series, however, I stumbled upon a world of magic and fantasy worlds unlike anything I've read before. I would recommend it to certain people who generally enjoy that type of thing. Most people I've talked to about the books either loved them or couldn't "get into them." They were well written, the author seems like someone I would enjoy as a person, I would like to read something else from her.
Great and Terrible Beauty: Rebel Angels:
The Sweet Far Thing:
I would give them collectively a 3 and one half stars out of 5.

Alice, I Think by Susan Juby

Weird book. I'm not sure where to even begin. The girl in the book, Alice MacLeod, is a home schooled daughter of new age parents. She then decides she should go back to school when she is 15 years old. Between her therapist and her family (her brother is the only "normal" family member) she is about as eccentric as one can get. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, let alone purchase the other two in the series. But I could see how some people would think this book was interesting. 1 out of 5 stars.

Friends that Read!!

Yes, we are wearing sunglasses while promoting books! We're a bit crazy.

Another Kind of Monday by William Coles, Jr.

After a discussion with someone about fiction set in Pittsburgh, PA, I was reminded of this book. It was a very interesting book where two teenage kids stumble upon a "scavenger hunt" type quest throughout Pittsburgh. This inspired me for my daughters birthday which I set up as a quest with various clues. There wasn't much action but the descriptions of Pittsburgh places were very interesting and kept me into the story.3 and a half stars out fo 5.

True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Interesting book about a young girl in the inner city trying to stay out of the pitfalls that can occur in her environment. It's written in her language with an unusual style. 3 out of 5 stars.

Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser

Disturbing!! The book had good intentions but the author's use of the book as his personal soap box for gun control definitely irritated me! I feel like emailing the author to remind him that guns don't kill - people kill. He wrote it in a interview type style from the witnesses to a school shooting/hostage situation, which what the witnesses had to say was very poignant, but the author's little comments on each page about guns is unnecessary and distracting. If he hadn't done that I would have recommended the book but now I can't/won't. The topic of bullying and what people should do to prevent kids from feeling like there is no way out other than violence should have been addressed more than the whole gun issue. 0 out of 5 stars.

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

A student just recently signed this one out and it made me think to "blog" it. I loved this book. It brought to my attentnion the need to think and discuss how you and your love one need to determine what should happen if you're ever put on life support. I don't know if I could make some of the decisions the characters made in this book. 4 and one half stars out of 5.