Top Ten Tuesday - Book Jerks

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we list our "Top Ten" on a variety of book related topics. This week's list is the Top Ten Jerks in Books or the ones we thought were jerks who ended up not being so bad after all.

My List:

1. Stephen Clayworth from Clarity by Kim Harrington. He starts off as a jerk and then there are a few moments where you think he might redeem himself. Maybe he's just misunderstood?.... nope.....total jerk. 
2.  Wesley from The Duff by Jody Keplinger. He's a womanizer- thinks he's God's gift to women (I hate guys like that) He's the reason I stopped reading the book, though I'm told I should give it another try. Does he redeem himself?
3. Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. We loved to hate him, though I think deep down underneath there was a good guy just waiting to come out.
4. Linay from Plain Kate by Erin Bow. He appears when Kate has lost almost everything only to convince the village she's a witch. I spent most of the book furious with him, but in the end we see his motives were tainted by terrible grief.....maybe I can forgive him. (but not yet)
5. President Snow from The Hunger Games Trilogy. Nothing redeeming here.
6. Kyle Kingsbury from Beastly by Alex Flinn. This guy is so jerky, he needs to be turned into something hideous to be taught a lesson.
7. Will from Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. He charming, then he isn't. Maybe he likes you, then he doesn't. These types of guys are the worst. They play on your emotions-drive you crazy- but we just can't help liking them anyways.

 Only 7 off the top of my head. . .who did I miss? 

A Few Fractured Fairytale Favourites

I have always loved fairytales. They are layered with meaning and often history. The language is rich and they fulfill a part of the reading experience that no other type of book can even touch.


I also love having the opportunity to share them with the children and families that attend my programs at the library and I’m always surprised at how many are not familiar with these stories. I think it’s important that we continue to share them and their various versions so that they do not become forgotten.

I really enjoy sharing “fractured” fairytales in my Reading Buddies program. Reading Buddies is a program we offer for children in grades 1-4 who are reluctant or struggling readers. We offer them time to practice, and learn some new reading skills but my main goal is to show them that books and reading can be fun.

A few of my favourites to share:

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

            In this story we find out the “real” story. The wolf has been framed and is really not the bad guy.

Little Red-A Fizzingly Good Yarn by Lynn Roberts

“Little Red is happily taking a basket of ginger ale to his grandmother when he stops to gather apples in the woods. Who should grab his red cape, but none other than the wily wolf, who runs immediately to the grandmother's house to devour her and wait for Little Red to be next! With a new, happily-ever-after spin on the story, the boy tricks the wolf into gulping down the entire ginger ale at once, which triggers the wolf to hiccup his grandmother out of his belly” –good reads

I've read this story a few times to different groups and it always gets huge laughs from the kids and volunteers.

Once Upon a time, the End. (Asleep in 60 seconds)

By Geoffrey Kloske

Once upon a time, there was a grown-up looking for a book with very short bedtime stories for a kid who wouldn't go to sleep. So the grown-up picked up this book and read this flap and took the book home and read it out loud and they both laughed and fell fast asleep fast. Just like you. The end.
-goodreads

I LOVE this one it's great to share with the school-age crowd, they enjoy picking out all the parts the dad has cut out of the various fairytales.

Do you have a favourite fairytale that has worked for you in programs, story times or maybe just one that you have loved to read?

IMM Vlog Epic Part 2

In My Mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, where we highlight the books received in the week. Below is Part 2 of my VLOG and I'm happy to say that it only took me an hour this week to do it instead of six (like last week) (yay me) & thank goodness for my 10 year old whose willing to film it for me:)



Books mentioned:

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn't have) by Sarah Mylnowski

Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

Magnificent 12- The Trap by Michael Grant

Department 19 by Will Hill

Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Blogs mentioned

The Makeshift Bookmark

What was in your mailbox?

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Published by Atheneum (Simon & Schuster)May 2001

228 pages

Reviewed from ARC provided by the publisher.

Summary from Goodreads

Just when seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter thinks he understands everything about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town, it all disappears. . . .

In the summer before Cullen's senior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct since the 1940s in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker sparks a flurry of press and woodpecker-mania. Soon all the kids are getting woodpecker haircuts and everyone's eating "Lazarus burgers." But as absurd as the town's carnival atmosphere has become, nothing is more startling than the realization that Cullen’s sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother Gabriel has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.
While Cullen navigates his way through a summer of finding and losing love, holding his fragile family together, and muddling his way into adulthood, a young missionary in Africa, who has lost his faith, is searching for any semblance of meaning wherever he can find it. As distant as the two stories seem at the start, they are thoughtfully woven ever closer together and through masterful plotting, brought face to face in a surprising and harrowing climax.
Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It's about a lot more than what Cullen calls, “that damn bird.” It’s about the dream of second chances.

    It took me a while to get through this one. It's not a plot driven book like many YA are, though I have to say the last few chapters had me holding my breath. This story is more about the characters and I find I read books like this much more slowly.
   Cullen is a genuine and likable character, his journal of Book Titles was hilarious. I adored his best friend Lucas and admired his loyalty to Cullen. The story seemed real. Like I was there beside him watching him go through the motions of daily life after his brothers disappearance. His guilt, his fear, his pain- all of it.
  But it's not just Cullen's story. There's another story weaving in and out and you are given just subtle glimpses of the how stories intertwine as you read along. The author does an absolutely fantastic job of the connecting the lives of all the characters in the book and that had me thinking about the impact (or lack of impact) I might make in the lives of people I have known, or are yet to know. Where Things Come Back is a powerful read. One that will leave you appreciating what you have and thinking about what you can do for others. Highly recommended.