Mundie Moms

Friday, February 12, 2010

Don't Forget....

Don't forget to enter our GONE give away, sponsored by Simon & Schuster. 2 lucky posters on the blog will each receive a copy of GONE. The contest ends TONIGHT at midnight CST! Winners will randomly be chosen and their names posted on the blog tomorrow.

Please go here to enter and for the details:

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Published by Scholastic
Released: Dec. 2009
Rating:PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket
Synopsis: Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It's a personal choice. . .and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways . . . which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like. . . .

Great debut from Elizabeth Eulberg, this was a fantastic story. This is such a lollipop cute, funny, easy going read. I didn't plan on reading this book so soon, but I needed a teaser the other day and didn't want to use the ARC I was currently reading just yet. So I grabbed LHC and read a few pages, and found one, except I had one small problem - I could not stop reading the book, I finished it in one sitting. I can’t wait until I can find this on audio for my daughter; this is definitely a book I want her to read.

When Penny has her heart broken by her "dream" guy- she decided she is through with boys. During some Beatles therapy she decides to start The Lonely Hearts Club. This basically means she won’t date while in High School.

Once the girls around school started hearing about the club, members start piling up and soon she barley has room in her basement to hold the meetings. Not everyone is happy about their little club- the boys at school definitely don't like it and the principal agrees with the boys and causes problems for the girls.

Eventually, the girls realize they can’t swear off boys and the rules of the club change. It goes from a no dating, to a girl power, friendship first club. This was my favorite part, because the girls stop trying to please others, and start doing stuff for themselves with the support of their girlfriends. And maybe, that dream guy that Penny was looking for was right under her nose.

You can also read this same review on my blog at www.pageturnersblog.com

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson


Wintergirls
by Laurie Halse Anderson
published March 9th 2010 by Speak (first published March 19th 2009)
details Paperback, 288 pages
3.5 stars

literary awards An ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2010), Cybils Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2009), An ALA Best Book for Young Adults (2010)

isbn 014241557X

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.

“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.

I am that girl.

I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.

I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

I read Wintergirls a couple of weeks ago and it took me a while to process. Laurie Halse Anderson does a wonderful job of taking her readers into the mind of an anorexic. Counting calories with each meal, feeling guilt and anger eat her from the inside out. Lia is born to a perfectionist physician mother who is cold and measures worth by her accomplishments. Her father isn't quite sure how to handle the situation and step-mother is stuck in the role of weigh-in nurse. Lia's thoughts become more and more erratic and disorganized as she spirals further into the pit of self-destruction, telling herself over and over again "must not eat."

This is not a fun read by any means, nor a feel good fuzzy book. It has graphic descriptions of cutting, suicidal thought and anger. However, it is one that brings up important questions and talks about the hope for recovery. It is a good vehicle to get teens and parents talking about a problem that permeates our society. Wintergirls is a piece of reality encompassed in fiction.

Some really good quotes from the book
"I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles. "

"Do I want to die from the inside out or the outside in?"

"I am angry that I starved my brain and that I sat shivering in my bed at night instead of dancing or reading poetry or eating ice cream or kissing a boy..."

"I don't just use yarn from a store. I buy old sweaters from consignment shops. The older the better, and unravel them. There are countries of women in this scarf/shawl/blanket. Soon it will be big enough to keep me warm. "
"I'm learning how to taste everything. "
"There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh, a mirror that doesn't matter anymore.

I am thawing. "
— Laurie Halse Anderson (Wintergirls)

Visit Laurie Halse Anderson's website at http://www.wintergirls.net/ for a view inside the book, resources for teacher and other products
In this video Laurie talks about what inspired her to write Wintergirls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH7rLFsQhtw

Chasing Brooklyn Winner!




Thank you to everyone who joined our chat with Lisa Schroeder last night!! Thank you Lisa for joining us!
We have randomly chosen our winner for a copy of Chasing Brooklyn, and that winner is Lacey (ljboldyrev)! Congratulations! Please leave me a comment with you email address so that I can contact you. :)

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