Recent Reads

Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock I started reading this young adult novel in Barnes and Nobles last weekend. I took Ms. Crazy Preschooler to the bathroom, and there it was on a shelf on the way to the entrance of the restroom. It looked interesting, so I started to read it while Ms. CP was playing with the train, and It was good enough that I decided to see if the library had a copy. They did. And when I started reading the library copy I got hooked. Getting hooked on this book surprised me because it was largely about a girl who decided to play football on a boys’ team. I hate football. And the explanations of running a dairy farm at the beginning of the book drove me nuts, so I really didn’t expect to end up relating so well to the protagonist. She turned out to be a gem! I was still mulling this book over days later, and have decided that this girl is one of the more realistic characters in any book I’ve read for quite some time. I recommend title.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler This was another young adult novel that I just read yesterday, in fact. I really enjoyed the humor in this book, and actually found myself laughing out loud in some places. The characters were not as rich as I would have liked them to be, and the unrealistic circumstances and romantic expectations of the book were a bit distracting to me. For example, it seems unrealistic to me that two fiftenn year olds that have only known each other for three or four weeks really actually believe that their love is substantial enough to warrant getting married in a few years, although I realize that a fifteen year old reader might actually buy into that idea. It was a fun read, but not one of the very best.

O. Henry Prize Short Stories 2001 I love a good short story, and in these days of chaos in my house, it makes sense to start a SHORT story rather than a novel because I can’t put anything down until I’m finished with it. Short stories alleviate starving, sibling-mangled children. I loved these short stories: they were humorous, serious, and extremely well crafted. It was a joy to come across this collection in the library and I’ve chosen the 2006 prize stories for my book club pick for December.