Edna’s Comments (group member since Jan 10, 2015)

Edna’s comments from the Puzzles Presents: Ultimate Reading Challenge 2015 group.

Can of Worms by Kathryn Mackel

I reread this for a book club. I'm not a big fan of sci fi so this was a fun option. It's about a boy who tells stories about being an alien. After a disastrous school dance he sends a call out to the universe and all sorts of aliens show up to rescue him. I consider it a quick, light read and at first worried that we wouldn't find much to discuss but once I asked if the main character was an alien or not we were all set. The kids all had strong opinions and we also spent a lot of time discussing his parents. One boy used two words to describe it, "weird" and "awesome". Definitely the first and while it might not reach the level of awesome for the average adult, it's great to recommend to reluctant readers.

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

a collection of holiday stories (Christmas, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah) from some of today's best known authors for young adults. I enjoyed this overall, some stories more than others, but it took me a long time to read it. In many cases, I felt that the story was plot driven with little character development and just as I read enough to care about the characters, the story ended. That was frustrating so I repeatedly put it down in favor of some other book. Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White was one of the stronger entries. Overall, this was good but not great.

Caddy's World by Hilary McKay. It's the sixth and final book in the Casson Family series. We read all six for a Mother-Daughter Book Club. This is about the friendship between the oldest daughter, Caddy, and her three best friends at a point when they're growing apart. Caddy's sister Rose has been born prematurely and they're not sure if she'll survive. It's a prequel but there's not a lot of plot so I'd definitely read the other books first. By the time I read this, I really cared about the characters and recognized some foreshadowing of things that happen in the (chronologically) later books. Hilary McKay makes me laugh, makes me cry and completely pulls me into her characters' world.