| 1) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn By. Betty Smith Great, great book. It's about Francie, a girl with big dreams growing up in Brooklyn with a very poor family around 1900. But even though they're so poor, Francie and her brother Neely manage to have fun. And her mother, Katie, manages to help to succeed, and get through life, because she loves them. 2) My Sergei By. Ekaterina Gordeeva <sob> Saddest book ever! It's an autobiography by the Russian pairs skater Ekaterina Gordeeva and her life with Sergei Grinkov- how they started skating together at the age of 10/14, how they won their first world championship at age 14/18, and how they feel in love, and got married, and about their Olympic wins, and their daugher, Daria. It goes from the begining of the pair's lives to the end of his, when he died to a heart attack at age 28 while training for the 1994 Olympics. And Katia talks about how she recovered. Very, very moving book. 3) A Time for Dancing By. Davida Wills Hurwin <sob> Second sadest book ever. I finished it in Algebra, and was SOBBING! It's about Samantha and Juliana, two 17-year-old ballerinas. They have been best friends for . . practically forever. Then Julie is diagnosed with Histiocytic lymphoma. She has cancer. She and Sam start to drift apart. They switch off each chapter, as they learn about life, love, and each other. Great, great book. It makes you really appreciate every little thing. 4) "The GlassWright Saga" By. Mindy L. Klasky Great books! It's under Adult Sci Fi, but no one I know who has read the books have the least idea why. They're about Rani Trader, a merchent/glasswright's apprentice/ adivser to the king. She lives in a country where everyone is judged by they're parents' statis, aka, their caste. The lowest is the touched, then merchents, craftsmen, soldiers, and noblemen. She and the fellowship are out to break that pattern They're really really really good! My favorite series after Philip Pullman's. There are three books out right now, The Glasswrights' Apprentice, The Glasswright's Progress, and The Glasswright's Journeymen. 5) A Little Princess By. Frances Hodgson Burnett I already plan to read this book to my kids when they get sick. It's a true classic. What I really love about Frances Hodgson Burnett's writing is that it doesn't feel old. The words she uses and they ways she uses them feels very modern, making the books come across as historical ficiton rather than classics. Sara Crewe grew up in India loving her father more than anyone or anything in the world. Now, he's sending her to a girl's school in London. She's crushed, though she knows it's best. Over time, she gains the friendship of most of the girls, raising the hatred Miss Minchin. Everything is perfect. Then her father loses his money. And dies. 6) The Fifth of March By. Ann Rinaldi This was the first "big kid" book I read, and I was very proud of myself. It's about an indentured servent to the Adams, Rachel, while the British occupy Boston. Rachel ends up falling in love with one of the sentries outside the house. Then the skrimish happens, and who is supposed to represent the soldiers in court? None other than John Adams (as in the guy Rachel works for). In the end, Rachel has to find her place in a world that's changing by the second, but goes off into the sunset happy. 7) The Secret Garden By. Frances Hodgson Burnett 8) Christy By. Catherine Marshall 9) Thanks to my Mother By. Schoschana Rabinovici 10) Summer of my German Soldier By. Bette Greene |
| My Top Ten Book |
| Well, here it is. I finally got myself organized and made a list of my top-ten favorite books I would recommend. I tried hard to make most of these books for most ages (well, most ages that would some way or another find this site) but a few of them aren't. For the first several, I'm giving a little write-up about them. I just want to add a small note: NOTHING on this list is by Philip Pullman BECAUSE it would be unfair to rate other books against his, and I could never rate his books against each other. But they are all my favorite books. He is the best author ever. I have a list of some of his books at the end of the page. |
| Philip Pullman He's the best author EVER! He's written the two best trilogies of all times! Sally Lockhart Trilogy- about a young woman, Sally Lockhart, in Victorian London, who first solves the mystery behind her father's death, then starts a business on her own, and then tracks down the man who falsely claims to be the father of her daughter when no one will believe her. The Ruby in the Smoke The Shadow in the North The Tiger in the Well * The Tin Princess Dark Materials Series- about Lyra and Will, two kids from two different "worlds," bound together to save the whole universe from the distruction of "God." (can't say anythign else without given somethin' away). This trilogy got him an article in the Washington Post :-p. The Golden Compass The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass |
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