LOL

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford.

Freshman year as told through the eyes of a fourteen year old boy with ADD and a best friend with ADHD. Trying to navigate the pitfalls of being a freshman, the football team, friendship and the all important goal of dating a girl without losing focus.

I chose this book because it made me laugh out loud and went a long way toward helping me to understand the difficulties of being ADD as well as the glorious and gross parts of being fourteen and male.


Carter's Big Break by Brent Crawford.

A sequel to Carter Finally Gets It, this story picks up exactly where the last one left off, on the last day of school freshman year. Carter's newfound love of acting gets a slightly implausible boost when a major movie shoots at his school over the summer.

While not quite as good as the first, this book still had me laughing out loud. The daily life of an average fourteen year old boy faced with the lifestyle of Hollywood provides plenty of fodder.



The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.

This is the first in (yet another) brand new series by the author of the Lightning Thief. Featuring some characters from the first series, it begins the story of those demigods sired by the gods when in roman rather than greek form.

Although more adventure than comedy, this book contains plenty of laughs. The observations of young, newly minted demigods as they react to their unusual circumstances and perils are accompanied by the same frank, earnest humor contained in his first series.



The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood.

A young governess newly graduated from the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females travels to her first assignment at a grand estate. Upon arrival she discovers that her charges have been kept in a barn since their discovery on the estate grounds where they were presumably raised by wolves. Making them presentable for the lord and lady of the manor is a herculean task which she takes on with Mary Poppins like grace.

This book has the look and feel of a book for younger children and yet the vocabulary and literary references assume a more sophisticated reader. The humor is dry and not overdone but plentiful.

And, in the category of "not new":



Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.

A new gospel, as told by Biff, resurrected from the dead to enlighten people as to where Christ was between the wedding at Cana and his famous ministry. A rollicking and bawdy tale that endeavors to explain why Christ's teachings have much in common with eastern religion's wisdom.

This book is not for the devout or thin skinned, but for those who know about different religions and have a good sense of humor about religion in general, and their own in particular (whatever it may be). This book provides the full realm of humor, from intellectual to downright crude.

And, in the realm of "hey, I wanted to read that! why is it missing from my library?!":



Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

A twelve year old boy who looks twenty five because of his size and early facial hair suffers the usual problems with adults who think that someone who looks older should act older. When an opportunity for a group of kids and one parent to pilot a rocket into space comes along, he knows he's not bright enough to qualify as one of the kids but manages to hoodwink those in charge into sending him as the parent. Of course, being an adult is not necessarily all that great.

I've been dying to read this book. It looks light and funny, but also promises to address the situation of many of my students whose bodies have grown faster than the rest of them.