Reading Titles Nominated for Teen's Top Ten

 

I hope that I am not going to give myself an impossible goal, but I would like to blog every day about one of the books nominated for YALSA's Teen's Top Ten (TTT). I have read many of the titles but not all. I figure that I can find something interesting to say about all of them because I know that for every title I can find at least one student who has read it. 

I am going to start with Hourglass by Myra McEntire. I started this book the other day, but I haven't finished it yet. Though I got a good chunk of it read this afternoon as I waited in the room for the doctor to arrive. 

Anyway, Myra McEntire is going to be our first author visit of the year. She will visit PFTSTA on September 17th. Over the last three years we have had many author visits both face to face and virtually on Skype. Almost every visit has been a big hit--though I will never schedule a visit on the last day of school again. I did that twice, and I think that I have finally learned my lesson. I am expecting McEntire's presentation to be equally as good. I believe it is important to read the work of all the authors who visit, and I try to get as many students as possible to also read the author's work. Sometimes I have more success with this than other times. I love the fact that McEntire's visit coincides with her book's nomination for Teen's Top Ten. This should help sell the book.

By the way, I realize that you might want to know something about what happens in Hourglass. Emerson is about to start her last year of high school. She dreads going back because she has had some problems. Emerson sees things; she actually sees people from the past or you might call them ghosts. This has made her extremely shy because she has been caught several times talking to air. Well, she is talking to a ghost, but the other people in the room can't see it. There is a romance with Michael from Hourglass who is hired by Emerson's brother to help her get over these visions. That brings me to the middle of the book. I am not usually a big fan of the paranormal, but I like Emerson and her friend Lily. I don't trust Michael. Emerson's brother and sister in law are bit too nice which makes them unrealistic to me, but on the other hand everyone needs stability in their lives. They provide that for Emerson. If you are a fan of the paranormal and like some romance mixed in, then you will probably enjoy this book. Yes, I might call it chick-lit because  I really can't see many of the boys picking this one up. Maybe that will change after they meet the author in a few weeks. 

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