Julie Murphy for the win!

I have loved Julie Murphy ever since I learned her first book was written during National Novel Writing Month. Amazing. This is about her latest story, If the Shoe Fits. 

I loved this story that is half Cinderella and half a season of the Bachelor. So our main character is named Cindy of course. She has just graduated from fashion school, where her specialty was shoes. She’s moved back home to California, with her stepmom, 2 stepsisters, and triplet toddlers who she’s agreed to nanny for over the summer while she figures out her next steps. Her stepmom-who’s not evil, by the way- is the producer behind the hit reality TV show Before Midnight. She’s mid-crisis when Cindy arrives because two contestants have just bailed days before they are set to begin filming. Cindy’s older stepsisters get recruited at the last minute to fill in. Then somehow Cindy also gets caught up in the action. Now, our heroine is not your typical TV show bachelorette. She’s a plus-size girl, and you know social media is not kind to anyone on those shows. But the chance to parade her shoes on national TV is too good to pass up for a girl with no job prospects. And word is the bachelor comes from a fashion mogul family. So the three girls embark on the journey with promises to keep their family connection to the show on the DL. Fast forward to meeting the bachelor. It’s none other than Cindy’s very own Prince Charming from the plane ride to California from New York. But how often do fairy tale endings happen in real life? Especially for overweight girls? What if one- or both- of her sisters fall in love with him too? And who will be the contestant that everyone loves to hate? This book is impossible to put down once you pick it up!

A Ballad Worth Singing

     It's been a while since I blogged about a book. It's been a while since we've heard from Suzanne Collins. It was worth the wait. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, she goes back to the very early days of the Hunger Games- the tenth to be exact- during a time of postwar reconstruction for the Capitol. The protagonist is none other than Coriolanus Snow, who is now a student on the verge of graduating and attending university. He hopes he will receive a scholarship for his excellent grades and reputation. The family's status since the outbreak of the war has been tenuous. Losing his parents and their income had left Snow and his cousin Tigris penniless, with only the opulent penthouse left to disguise the losses. Living with their grandmother whose grasp on reality is faltering, all hopes have been pinned on Snow's future to save the family name. That's where the Games come in. The Capitol believes they will not last much longer if they cannot figure out a way to make them more interesting and less dreary. The students have been brought in to mentor the tributes, and Snow believes that winning is his chance to secure the scholarship he needs. Unfortunately, he is assigned a tribute from district 12, the girl no less, whose only talent seems to be singing. But his relationship with Lucy Gray will forever change the course of his life. Obviously, I don't want to spoil anything for HG fans, so I will just leave it there. 

    What makes this novel a standout is twofold: the complicated nature of Snow as a protagonist and the deeply philosophical analysis of war that he and the gamemakers continue throughout the story. It's rooted in the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau and reminded me of another classic science fiction story, Ender's Game. Don't pass this up as an attempt to make a little more money off of the trilogy- it's bound to bring in new fans and will give old ones a new look a the controversial issues the novel was criticized for. It's a daring and well done addition to the series. 

A couple of new booktalks!

Are you bored? I made a video of a couple of new booktalks for reading suggestions! The Cousins by Karen McManus and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Check them out here: Mrs. Rockett's booktalks

Summer recommendation

New booktalk

I hope absence has made the heart grow fonder- I’ve been gone a ridiculously long time! Sorry! My new job as librarian at both Bell and Trinity HS occupies a lot of brainspace, and, as we know, my brain was already too full. 😆😆 Well, it’s already Spring Break, but I’m finally starting to catch my breath. I’ve been able to share a lot of booktalks with my new high school students, but it’s hard to reach over 5000 with only one of me. So, I will try and share a few here with my remaining time this year in hopes that it will inspire readers!
Everland by Wendy Spinale
A Peter Pan retelling
The Darling children, Gwen, Joana, and Mikey live in a London destroyed by bombs and full of peop,e dying of the Horologia virus. It appears most of the survivors are children, and male ones at that! During the day, the 3 orphans must be careful to avoid the marauding German army led by Captain HOOK. He plunders the city looking for the legendary girl who is immune and would be the key to a cure. One day, he finds Joana and kidnaps her. Gwen and Mikey must use their wits and whatever resources they can muster toget her back. Enter Pete, his gang of Lost Boys, and his stepsister Bella. They have managed to evade HOOK thus far by living underground. Against the advice of some, Pete commits himself and his friends to aiding the Darlings in getting back Joana and hopefully bringing down HOOK in the process. This steampunk dystopian novel is full of adventure, inventions, a little romance, and alternates between Gwen’s and HOOK’s side of the story to give you a great story.
Sequel- Umberland