Books Read in 2008

10 Lucky Things That Have Happened to Me Since I Nearly Got Hit by Lightning by Mary Hershey.

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith.

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. Semicolon review here.

Abbeville by Jack Fuller. Semicolon review here.

Abigail Iris: The One and Only by Lisa Glatt and Suzanne Greenberg. Semicolon review here.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. Fantastically disturbing (in a good way) YA fiction. Read it if you like to think about the implications of technology and futuristic scenarios. Semicolon review here.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.

Alice’s Birthday Pig by Tim Kennemore. Semicolon review here.

Alicia Afterimage by Lulu Delacre.

Alvin Ho by Lenore Look. Semicolon review here.

America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It by Mark Steyn.

The American Patriot’s Almanac by WIlliam Bennett and John Cribb.

Angel by Cliff McNish.

AngelMonster by Veronica Bennett. Recommended at Becky’s Book Reviews.

Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink by MAC.

Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb.

A Bell for Adano by John Hersey. Semicolon thoughts on establishing democracy here.

Bertie Wooster Sees It Through by P.G. Wodehouse. This one cheered me up during the Hurricane Blues.

Best old Movies For Families—Burr Recommended by Mental Multivitamin.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.

The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo.

Billy by William Paul McKay and Ken Abraham.

Blood Brothers by S.A. Harazin.

Blue Like Friday by Siobhan Parkinson. Semicolon review here.

The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale.

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad. Semicolon review here. Recommended at Bookfest.

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald.

Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney.

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

Breathing Soccer by Debbie Spring.

Bringing the Boy Home by N.A. Nelson. Semicolon review here.

Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. Recommended by Carrie at Mommy Brain and by Literary Feline.

Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.

The Buddha’s Diamonds by Carolyn Marsden.

Burning Up by Caroline B. Cooney.

By A Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman. Not bad, but I’ve already forgotten the details.

The Calder Game by Blue Balliet.

Carlos Is Gonna Get It by Kevin Emerson. Semicolon review here.

The Case Against Adolescence by Robert Epstein. Quite thought-provoking. Recommended by MatthewLee Anderson at Mere-O.

The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer.

Chancey of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau.

Chasing Normal by Lisa Papademetriou. Semicolon review here.

Children of Jihad by Jared Cohen.

The Christie Caper by Carolyn G. Hart.

Cicada Summer by Andrea Beaty.

The Secrets of the Cirque Medrano by Elaine Scott.

A Clearing in the Wild by Jane Kirkpatrick Recommended by Sarah at Reading the Past.

Clementine’s Letter by Sara Pennypacker

The Crazy School by Cornelia Read.

The Curse of Addy McMahon by Katie Davis.

Dark North by Gillian Bradshaw.

The Declaration by Gemma Malley. Semicolon review here. Great dystopian fiction with a Little Orphan Annie sort of atmosphere.

The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding. Semicolon review here.

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Brown Bear Daughter and I read this book out loud together to get a head start on her literature class for next year.

Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee.

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris.

Don’t Talk To Me About the War by David A. Adler.

Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix. YA problem fiction about a girl with a secret. It reminded me of this book, but I liked A Door Near Here better.

A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer.

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. Recommended by Elliot at Claw of the Conciliator

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff.

Everlost by Neal Shusterman.

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney.

Fatality by Caroline B. Cooney. Rose has a four year old secret recorded in her diary that could tear her family apart. When the police try to take the diary, Rose knows that she must not only destroy it, but also remain silent about its contents for the rest of her life, no matter what the cost. Like The Face on the Milk Carton series, this stand alone thriller is about family secrets, crime, and the way both can fester and infect an entire community.

First Daughter: White House Rules by Mitali Perkins.

First Light by Rebecca Stead. I thought this fantasy/science fiction/Arctic adventure was odd, to say the least. Absorbing, but strange.

The Floating Circus by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

For All Time by Caroline B. Cooney.

Forever Rose by Hilary McKay. Semicolon review here.

Fouling Out by Gregory Walters. Semicolon review here.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Semicolon review here.

From Alice to Zen and Everyone in Between by Elizabeth Atkinson. Semicolon review here.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry.

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forrester.

The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney.

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman. Semicolon review here.

Gracefully Insane: The Rise and Fall of America’s Premier Mental Institution by Alex Beam.

Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O’Connor.

Grow by Juanita Havill.

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. I didn’t review this one, but it was just as good as Jayber Crow, if not better.

Here, There Be Dragons by James Owen. Semicolon review here.

Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America’s Ideals by Michael J. Gerson. Good ideas. A little dated, and I hate to say it, but I felt like a cynic in comparison to this White House speechwriter. If you want to know what “compassionate conservatism” is really about from one its proponents, read this book.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. (re-read)

Hit the Road by Caroline B. Cooney.

Home by Witold Rybczinski. Recommended by Carol at Magistramater.

The Hope Chest by Karen Schwabach. Semicolon review here.

How Right You Are Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. Semicolon review here.

How To Read Slowly by James Sire.

The Innocent Man by John Grisham. The sad, but true, story of a man with problems who was wrongfully convicted of murder. Grisham was trying to convince me that the death penalty is wrong, but he only convinced me that Oklahoma has some major judicial and law enforcement issues.

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst.

Ironman by Chris Crutcher.

The Island of Mad Scientists by Howard Whitehouse. Semicolon review here.

Itch by Michele Kwasney.

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. Semicolon review here.

Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delightsby David Elliott.

Jessie’s Mountain by Kerry Madden. Semicolon review here.

Jimmy’s Stars by Mary Ann Rodman. Semicolon review here.

Julia GIllian and the Art of Knowing by Allison McGhee. Semicolon review here.

The Jumping-Off Place by Marian Hurd McNeeley. Semicolon review here.

Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean. Recommended at Chasing Ray.

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park.

The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower by Lisa Graff. Semicolon review here.

Lizard Love by Wendy Townsend

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. Semicolon review here.

Longhorns and Outlaws by Linda Aksomitis.

Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.

Looking for Alaska by John Green. This book, too, has been reviewed and discussed by everyone and his dog. It left me feeling ambivalent.

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton. Semicolon review here.

Masterpiece by Elise Broach.

Meeting Miss 405 by Lois Peterson.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I didn’t get around to reviewing this book although I did enjoy it. Never fear. It’s been reviewed by everyone else before I even got to it:
3M’s review.
Bonnie’s review.
Deb D.’s review.
Jane’s review at Much Ado About Books.

Messenger by Lois Lowry.

The Missing: Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Semicolon review here.

Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson.

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Semicolon review here.

Moxy Maxwell Does NOT Love Writing Thank-You Notes by Peggy GIfford. Semicolon review here.

My Dad’s a Birdman by David Almond.

My Enemy’s Cradle by Sara Young. Semicolon review here.

My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath. Semicolon review here.

My So-Called Family by Courtney Schienmel.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Stewart.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.

Niner by Theresa Martin Golding. I think I picked this one up at the library because the main character, a girl, had nine fingers, one thumb missing, and one of my urchins was born with twelve toes. There’s a connection there somehow. It’s sort of sad YA fiction, where mom’s a runaway, dad’s wonderful and nurturing, the girl’s adopted, and the kids get into trouble while keeping secrets from the adults in their lives.

No Cream Puffs by Karen Day.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Old School by Tobias Wolff.

The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty.

Out of Time by Caroline B. Cooney.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall.

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkele.

Piper Reed: The Great Gypsy by Kimberley Willis Holt.

The Postcard by Tony Abbott. Noir for kids with a Florida setting.

Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis. (family read aloud)

The Private Patient by P.D. James.

Prisoner of Time by Caroline B. Cooney.

The Queen’s Man: A Medieval Mystery by Sharon Kay Penman. Semicolon review here. I had to go back to the middle ages, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I, and Prince John, to get some relief from all the modern violence and angst. Still violent, but very little angst, and the violence was logical violence, if you know what I mean, not irrational.

Radiant Girl by Andrea White.

Random Harvest by James Hilton. Good story. Semicolon review here.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings by Stella Tillyard.

Sarah Simpson’s Rules for Living by Rebecca Rupp.

Savvy by Ingrid Law.

Scarlett by Stephen Lawhead. I want to write about this sequel to Lawhead’s Hood, which I never got around to reviewing either. Maybe I’ll write about both books soon. Suffice it to say for now that if you’re interested in medieval historical fiction or in the Robin Hood legend, Lawhead’s take on the story is well worth reading. There’s supposed to be a third book in the King Raven series, to be released in January, 2009.

The Secret of the Rose by Sarah L. Thomson.

The Search for the Red Dragon by James O. Owen. I didn’t manage to review this sequel to Here, There Be Dragons (Semicolon review here), and I liked it very much. Enough that I’ll be looking for the next book in the series, The Indigo King, which is supposed to be published soon.

Secret Believers by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury. A road trip turns into a mystery turns into a coming of age story about two buddies who choose different roads to adulthood.

Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell.

Sisters of the Sword by Maya Snow.

Six Innings by James Preller.

Song for a Dark Queen by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi. Semicolon review here.

Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers. Semicolon thoughts on Americans in war here.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley. Another YA vampire romance. Disturbingly violent.

The Tallest Tree by Sandra Belton. Semicolon review here.

Tamar by Mal Peet.

Tennyson by Lesley M.M. Blume. Semicolon review here.

Thank You Lucky Stars by Beverley Donofrio.

them by Joyce Carol Oates. Semicolon review here.

A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Semicolon review here.

The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish by Claudia Mills. A divorce book. I got mad at the parents, felt sorry for Amanda, and wanted the author to tell her characters, especially the dad, to grow up and take responsibility.

The Trouble with Rules by Leslie Bulion.

The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer Recommended by Whimsy Books.

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Semicolon review here. Brown Bear Daughter read this one, too, and liked it so much that she went looking at the library for more books by Shusterman.

Up and Down the Scratchy Mountain by Laurel Snyder.

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Semicolon review here. Recommended at The Reading Zone.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell.

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth

The Voice on the Radio by Caroline B. Cooney.

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor.

Walking From East to West by Ravi Zacharias.

The Walls of Cartagena by Julia Durango.

Wanted! by Caroline B. Cooney.

War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk.

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements. Semicolon review (sort of) here.

What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George. I read this one while on vacation, and it was fascinating. If you don’t want to read about the grit and violence and degradation of the city streets, be warned and don’t read it. But it is a compelling picture of how children slip through the social services net and become criminals.

Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney.

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman.

What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. Semicolon review here.

When Men Become Gods: Mormon Polygamist Warren Jeffs, His Cult of Fear, and The Women Who Fought Back by Stephen Singular. Semicolon review here.

Where the Steps Were by Andrea Cheng.

The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. Semicolon review here.

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. Semicolon review here.

Window Boy by Andrea White.

Winter Haven by Athol Dickson.

Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom. Semicolon review here.

Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis.

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan.

The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin. Semicolon review here.

You Know Where To Find Me by Rachel Cohn. Semicolon review here.

The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail by Michael P. Spradlin. Semicolon review here.

The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman.

TOTAL: 202

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