Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Trapped by Michael Northrop

First sentence: We were the last seven kids waiting around to get picked up from Tattawa Regional High School.

Initial thoughts: Oh, goodness. I’ve read the first chapter, and now I’m anxious to read the rest. This book sounds like it’s right up my alley, indeed. Seven kids trapped in a school while the snow outside has consumed everything. That means there’s no help coming. It almost seems like it could be one of those "what would you do?" types of stories–you know, the kind where they end up eating each other when all the food runs out–but who knows. The description hints at something more sinister, though. It isn’t due out until February 2011, but I’ve bumped it up on my TBR list.

Book description:

Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn’t seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision….

Book Details: 240 pages pages; Scholastic Press; Pub. February 2011

Happy Tuesday! It’s time again for another edition of Teaser Tuesdays…

Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• You also need to share the title of the book where you get your teaser from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given
• Please avoid spoilers

This week’s teaser:

“And now that this threat had returned, I sure wasn’t going to make the same mistake. Sitting in that Adirondack chair, keeping one eye out for the Scarecrow with a bat across my lap, I imagined next Sunday and that special prayer service Volpe had arranged.” pg. 81 The Miracle Stealer by Neil Connelly

I’m a bit shy of the halfway point and this book has me intrigued. It’s not what I expected. To be truthful, I’m not sure what I expected from it. And when I first started reading, I thought maybe it would have a supernatural element, but now I’m not so sure. So far, it’s clear that there are some insanely religious characters, a boy who’s possibly been blessed with miraculously healing hands, and a sister who wants to protect him. At first, I thought it might be Christian fiction, but the more I read, the more I question. Frankly I have no idea what to expect from this book and so far, that’s a good thing.

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

I’m waiting, rather impatiently, on a book called The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff.

While browsing Amazon, I saw the cover and stopped in my tracks. I mean, look at it. It’s the right amount of creepy, whimsy, and cute.

But since I rarely buy a book (or covet it) based on cover alone, I read the description and knew immediately that I had to have this book the moment it comes out.

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Tell me you’re not hooked now, too. It’s due out September 21, 2010 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Title: Stolen
Author: Lucy Christopher
ISBN: 978-0-5451-7093-2
Story Length: 304 pages
Genre: Young Adult Drama

Three Quick Points About Stolen

• Point 1: Slow. No, that’s not right. In fact, a new word needs to be coined because “slow” (and all its various synonyms) is inadequate.
• Point 2: The camel won. It was the only character that felt genuine. Ty came close, but meh. Let’s not start on Gemma.
• Point 3: A twisted love story. Still, it was an interesting take on the evolution of Stockholm syndrome. Continue reading »

Remember how I was saying it’s nearly impossible to leave the house and not come home with a bunch of books? Well, it seems that I don’t even need to leave anymore. The books, they will find me. And I think I kind of like it this way.

Two books came in for review on Monday. First up courtesy of Simon & Schuster is a middle grade fantasy adventure titled Jack Blank and The Imagine Nation by Matt Myklusch. Second is Passing Strange by Daniel Waters (that cover is the UK version, btw), third book in the Generation Dead saga, courtesy of Price Minister.

The next two just arrived two, courtesy of the UPS lady. I ordered them from Amazon after they sat in my “to be ordered later” shopping cart for a few months. Both are a set of short stories for children. First is The Devil’s Storybook by Natalie Babbitt and the second is Half-Human compiled and edited by Bruce Coville.

That, combined with the other books on my shelf waiting to be read should keep me busy for a little while.