Books and holidays go hand in hand

Well, this weekend we went to Clarkco State Park, one of our favorite places to go, even though the fishing isn't good there. I did not book the reservations until May, so the cabin that we usually get was booked. I had to go to a slightly higher one that slept 6 people, but it was more secluded than the other one and bigger, so we did like it. We did have some rain, a bad thunderstorm for about 2 hours on Sat. morning and another slow, steady rain for a long time Sunday morning and into the afternoon. We did some napping and a lot of reading. We always read when we travel; we just read even more this time because of the rain. We grilled out, and I tried two new dishes, grilled vegetables with olive oil that the kids brought from France, and something called a Big Smoky burger. It was seasoned with onion, garlic, grill seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Both were excellent, and we will try them again! Below is a brief summary of what I read.

Prep--It was a little racy in some parts for my library, but a really good study of one mid western teenager's four years in an elite boarding school. Lee does not fit in at her boarding school in Massachusetts, Ault. While not poor, she is not wealthy and has never been around the type of wealth she sees at Ault, a place where she (and others like her) are too ashamed to admit that they are scholarship students. She makes friends in sort of an afterthought fashion, and admires a boy up until her senior year, when he finally begins to pay attention to her. Although Lee grows and progresses during her four years, she also never really leaves the character of someone on the outside looking in. I read somewhere that the movie rights have been purchased of this book; I will certainly see it if it comes out.

How to Build a House--This is another one that I read about in School Librarian Workshop as a highly recommended book for young adults. Harper, trying to get over the breakup of her parents' marriage, spends a summer in TN with a volunteer group that is helping out a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado. In the process of her physical labor, Harper comes to a new understanding of herself and her father. This was a good book, although a little deep for some of my readers.

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys--When Megan's career army parents get transferred to South Korea right before her junior year, she does not want to go. Her parents allow her to stay with their old friends the McGowans, parents of seven boys. Megan learns to deal with a new school, new home, new "brothers," and new friends while desperately trying to be her own person and make a place for herself. She closes each chapter with a desperate text message to her best friend back in Texas, which calls her guide to the McGowan Boys. Although a very funny book, there is a lot of very serious stuff going on, and Megan grows up a lot by the end of the book. I highly recommend to my high school readers.

Bloomberg Place series--I finished the third one of these this weekend, and they are all great. Readers of my blog know how much I love Melody Carlson. She takes flawed, imperfect characters and makes them "real" to the reader and shows how everyone is forgiven. Lelani is dealing with her parents who have taken custody of her illegitimate baby Emma and preparing for a court battle that she does not want, and Kendall is coming to grips with her poor financial management and the impending birth of her baby, a product of a one-night stand. Anna and Megan provide moral support for both women, and at least one of the four friends gets a marriage proposal. A great series showing how God takes bad situations and uses them to make people better than they were before.

As you can see, I had a great time reading this weekend and really enjoyed myself!