>:-(

The 39 Clues: The Sword Thief, by Peter Lerangis. The action writing remained the same, and once again, kids won't notice the differences, mostly in the characters' thoughts and communication styles. These are still good, but I have other commitments, so I don't think I'll finish this series. You should, though. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler. I'm glad I didn't post about this yesterday, when I'd read only half the book. The first part of the book was amazing-- Virginia feels the same things I felt; I felt like we were the same person. If I could have had this book in high school, it might have changed things for me a bit. Unfortunately, the end of the book, really about the last third, seemed totally unrealistic to me. As a high schooler, of course I wanted to have the courage to do the things Virginia does, to make the changes she is able to start making, but I hate how easy the book made it seem. Like all she has to do is just really commit to it, and her family will respect (or at least deal) with it and people at school will be able to see her, will notice her in a positive way. If someone had handed me the first part of this book when I was 16, it would have helped me realize that there actually may have been other people with the same types of problems and concerns as me. If I had read the whole book, I would have been more depressed than ever, because apparently people like us can actually change how the world sees them if they only try hard enough. I certainly tried, but that change didn't happen until college. The premise is great, but be really careful when giving out this book-- certainly for many girls it can be a positive experience, but not exclusively. The weight message was a little heavy-handed, but the character is able to realize towards the end some of what is involved in her relationship with food, which seems like a much healthier way of dealing with the problem.