Too Cruel for School

It will only take one page of this book before readers are transported back to high school. Frank Portman remembers very well what it was like to be King Dork of the student body.
Tom and his best friend, Sam, are low on the social totem pole at their high school. Beaten up by jocks, ridiculed by teachers and assistant principals, they find solace in the off-beat and witty names they give their non-existent rock band. Tom writes scathing personal lyrics that reflect his life's anxieties and disappointments. He lives with his depressed and neurotic widowed mother, her gentle and clueless hippie husband, and his younger tween sister. When he's not going to his daily survival training AKA high school, Tom is reading his dead father's collection of novels from high school and discovering the kind of kid his Dad was and looking for clues to his father's death. Was it murder, an accident or suicide? Tom is also looking for the elusive Fake Fiona who made out with him at a party and is now nowhere to be found. Lots of snarky references to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and an index of songs, albums and band names will have readers snickering from the back of study hall. The similarities to the '60s classic are uncanny. For another dose of high school hi-jinks, try Larry Doyle's I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Blood is thicker than Gemstones

Any reader who has taken a brief moment to wonder whatever happend to those great old movie serials will find the answer in Charles Benoit's debut novel, Relative Danger.

With all the ricochet pacing and heart-stopping action of the best outlandish adventure shorts, Relative Danger delivers ordinary heroes, quip-filled dialogue and an absorbing mystery.

Doug Pearce has always been fascinated by tales of the family black sheep, Uncle Russ, who died under mysterious circumstances in a Singapore hotel right after World War II. An old friend of Uncle Russ's contacts Doug and charges him with discovering exactly how Russ died and what happened to a priceless diamond Russ had stolen and smuggled out of Egypt. Suddenly, Doug's humdrum life and bleak future have spices as exotic as the foreign lands he's almost getting killed in. Doug zips around the Middle East and the Orient, jumping rooftops in Cairo, dodging thugs in Singapore and making friends in an Egyptian prison. He's not sure he'll get out of this mission alive, but at least he knows what living feels like.

Appealing and likeable characters populate this compelling comic adventure. Fans of Carl Hiaasen's quirky Florida capers or Clive Cussler's daring operations will enjoy this breezy escapade.
This book was discussed on The Walt Bodine Show 's Book Doctors program March 12, 2007. KCUR 89.3

Many Brides for Many Brothers

In 1875 one thousand women made the perilous trek across the American prairie to become the wives of Cheyenne Indians in exchange for horses. May Dodd keeps a detailed journal of the One Thousand White Women and their adventures, friendships and histories on their mission to "civilize the natives." Many of the women are former convicts or sanitarium patients. One is homely, one is a destitute Southern belle and one a zealot. If the women stay married two years and produce children, they may have the option of leaving the tribe. For services rendered each woman will receive a parcel of land. This is a compelling historical novel with many colorful characters and tense situations.
Readers will immediately be drawn to the characters of inquisitive May, proud Euphemia, the rambunctious Kelly twins, and cultured Daisy as May carefully describes the assimilation of the women into Cheyenne daily living, learning the Cheyenee language and the selection of the brides and braves. Author Jim Fergus employs a moderate pace to ensure readers do not miss the intriguing details of the Cheyene culture. The tone is a combination of May's brisk no-nonsense attitude and innocent marveling at the unspoiled countryside and her new husband's family. Look also for the beautiful bird paintings adorning each entry and after the last page is turned, carefully view the book's cover art.

Books and the Blogs

Another work related project is this blog, or as I like to refer to it, "My electronic notebook of annotations." It's not nearly as comprehensive as the notebook of handwritten annotations with appeal factors, readlikes and quickie speaking appeals (thank you, Neal!). But when the editor of School Library Journal tells you, "It's a waste to keep all that precious information in a notebook. Throw it up on a blog!", you listen.

So, just in case you don't have enough to read, and I know you already do, but we're all biblio-masochists here, it's cool, you're among friends, welcome to Kaite's Book Shelf

Please let me know if you like it or not.