Planet Tad - Tim Carvell

Tad has five new years resolutions: 1. start a blog, 2. finish seventh grade, 3. figure out how to do a kick flip on his skateboard, 4. get girls to notice him, and 5. finally start shaving.  He has got one resolution done by starting his blog.  Whether is listening to his younger sister practice for her oboe recital, being partnered with the co-captain of the field hockey team to take care of an egg for health class, helping his sister rehearse the part of Gretel for her play, playing the part of Hansel in the play because the kid who was going to play Hansel got sick, asking a girl to the Valentine's day dance, starting to grow a mustache and then using styling foam to shave, or making a volcano for the science fair (along with twelve other students).  Tad is just a regular kid trying to navigate his way through seventh grade and then eighth grade next year, and trying not to embarrass himself in the process.  In some instances embarrassment does get him noticed, but not in the way he wanted to be.  Does Tad make all five of his resolutions?  You will have to read his blog to find out.

I was laughing from page one of this book, and continued laughing throughout.  This has got to be the funniest book I have read.  It even has the mood Tad is in at the top of each blog entry, which makes you want to read the entry to see why he is embarrassed, confused, Jedi-ish, amused, or monkeyish among many other moods he is from day to day.  It was a nice departure from the vampire, dystopian, and zombie books I was reading before this one.  Any book that takes a dig at Twilight, references Harry Potter, talks about Battlestar Galactica (the newer series), and references Star Trek The Next Generation gets a thumbs up from me.

T.B.
5/25/12

You Killed Wesley Payne - Sean Beaudoin

Seventeen year old Dalton Rev may look like your typical teenager, but he really is a Private Investigator. He has transferred to Salt River High to solve the murder of Wesley Payne. Wesley was a smart kid who apparently, according to the principal, committed suicide. On his first day he starts questioning people about the murder. He gets a crash course in the clique system of this high school. You've got the Balls, the Foxxes, the Pinker Casket, the Yearbook Committee, the Euclidans, the Populahs, and lastly the Fack Cult T. As Dalton digs deeper into the murder he uncovers a plan which would have the Euclidans and the Populahs being the top dogs at the school. Wesley Payne seemed to be at the forefront of this uprising, which would be a likely motive to kill him. Dalton thinks that is part of it, but there has got to be more. In a place where no one is who they seem, and teachers are paid to look the other way, Dalton is determined to figure out who killed Wesley Payne. Who knows the killer might just be right under his nose.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. After finishing a Stephen King novel, this was a nice change of pace. This is a guy book, so the girls may or may not like it. There were a few of the plot elements were kind of out there, and I wouldn't see them happening at a real high school. They did add the what if factor to a very funny and enjoyable novel, where no one is who they seem.

T.B. 2/15/11

Hex Hall by Hawkins

This is a fun, sometimes creepy supernatural mystery. It takes place in Hecate Hall which is a boarding/reform school for kids over aged 12 with extraordinary powers. Here there are fairies, shapeshifters, dark and white witches, vampires and the like. All have used their powers with spectacular results in front of folks without special powers. These displays draw hunters of supernatural beings out and cause slaughters. So the kids are taken to this school and kept safe by various magics until they are adults. Sophie didn't know she had such powers. She didn't know her father was a powerful member of the school's board. Then she tries a disastrous love spell on her friend which gets her sent away, fast. A murder has just taken place at the school. A vampire is blamed though she is innocent. Sophie becomes involved in a round about way. The ghost of her grandmother appears to her and begins to teach her magic saying Sophie's powers are extremely great, greater than any of those of the other witches in the school. Sophie has detention with a hunk of a young man after an altercation in front of a teacher. He eventually turns out not to be who people think him to be. There are two more attempted murders and another successful one until Sophie figures out who the bad guy is and why. She also finds out what her true powers are and those of the father she has never met. I think Ally Carter's fans would like this one. I enjoyed the humor in it and in Carter's books. jdw 8/3/10