Team Unicorn

Zombies vs. Unicorns
Short Story Collection edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
Published September 21st 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry
432 pages
An anthology of short stories edited by amazing young adult authors and written by amazing young adult authors....Libby Bray, Carrie Ryan, Garth Nix,Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, Meg Cabot.....about Zombies and Unicorns.
"half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil of the unicorns, and half show the good (and very very bad-ass) side of zombies".-from goodreads.
I'm generally not a big fan of short stories. I usually find that there isn't enough character development to hold my interest but I was pleasantly suprised with this one. It totally rocked. I don't know if it was the list of amazing authors, the humour or the subject matter but I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I loved Maureen Johnson's "Children of the Revolution" & "Princess Prettypants" by Meg Cabot.
As much as I enjoyed the zombie stories-I just have to go for team unicorn. The stories were great and I have loved Unicorns since I was little....plus zombies turn my stomach....alot.

Hopping Friday

It's Friday! Which means it's time to visit and discover new blogs and their bloggers. Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy For Books.

This weeks question: "When you read a book that you just can't get into, do you stick it out and keep reading or do you move onto the next title?"

There was a great post about this very topic over at Greenbeanteenqueen. I try and stick with reading it I usually give it at least 100 pages-sometimes more. I feel guilty when I put a book down, but sometimes it's just not right for me.

Parajunkee's View hosts The Friday Follow. The question this week is "What is your reading suggestion this week?"

This is a tough one, I'm way behind in reading my to-read-pile, just steadily watching it grow. Here's a picture book that I discovered this week. I love the twist in the story and the illustrations are lovely. I believe that you're never too old to enjoy a picture book and I can't wait to use this one at Story time.

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown.

Wednesday's Worthwhile Reads

Wednesdays Worthwhile reads is a new feature that will showcase some of our past favourites.

Once a week I'll post one of my older favourites. To participate you can link below.

Rules for posting: Must be a book that was published before 2009

Please include cover image, summary and your thoughts on the book. (doesn't need to be a full review)

This weeks selection:

What World is Left by Monique Polak
Published by Orca Book Publishers 2008 208 pages

Summary from Good Reads

A pampered child used to having her own way, Anneke Van Raalte lives outside Amsterdam, where her father is a cartoonist for the Amsterdam newspaper. Anneke's life changes in 1942 when the Nazi's invade Holland ans she and her family are deported to a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Not only are the conditions appalling, but the camp is the site of an elaborate hoax: the Nazis are determined to convince the world that this camp is idyllic place. Because he is an artist, Anneke's father is compelled to help in the propaganda campaign, and Anneke finds herself torn between her loyalty to her family and her sense of what is right.

I was really fortunate to meet Monique Polak at a signing for this book. It was incredible to hear her speak about it, as it was inspired by her mother's experiences while imprisoned at the concentration camp during World War 2. She mentioned that the first time her mother shared her experiences with her was during the writing of this novel. Very moving.
The novel is beautifully written. The language is rich and the author does an amazing job of creating the haunting atmosphere of a Nazi concentration camp. The relationship between Anneke and her father is not an easy one, as Anneke is appalled at the appearance of her fathers cooperation with the Nazi's...little does she know what he was actually doing for her.
Definitely worth reading.

For some reason my Mr.Linky Link thing isn't working.....if you'd like to participate please link through the comments.
:)

Special thanks goes to the fabulous Danielle at Every Last Page for creating the meme button for me.

Top Ten Tuesday

1. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
   
   

This weeks list:

10 Books I'll Never Read

Anything written by Nicholas Sparks

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- I tried. I only got 100 pages in and just couldn't go any further. I know lots of people have loved it-just not for me.

Anything by Danielle Steele or published by Harlequin-I'm not a fan of the romance genre in general.

Most books recommended by Oprah. I've read a couple on Oprah's list and they seemed to be all about the same thing.-

Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella. again-I know she's a favourite of many -it's just not my type of read.

Anything by Stephen King-I read one once and had nightmares-never again

Anything by Dean Kootz-see above