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Let's Get Cooking

11/21/2014

It's the time of year when I start to think about cooking and eating, both healthy and a lot of not so healthy. So, I thought it was appropriate to highlight some of our books about food.

First, if you're interested in reading about people who have made cooking their life's work, we have a couple of biographies that might interest you. There are short biographies about Bobby Flay and Paula Deen, and we have a longer biography called Yes, Chef about Marcus Samuelsson. His story is very interesting as he grew up in Sweden, having been adopted from Ethiopia. It's an inspiring story to see what a young person can do when they develop a talent and pursue a dream.

We also have books about lifestyle eating. Two books that offer different perspectives are The Smart Girl's Guide to Going Vegetarian by Rachel Meltzer Warren and Paleo Girl by Leslie Klenke. Both offer advice for the young person who wants to make informed choices about eating. While many people are familiar with vegetarian diets, The Smart Girl's Guide offers advise for maintaining proper nutrition, shopping, eating out, and recipes to get you started. Paleo Girl is about more than just the food. It is a lifestyle based on natural, unprocessed foods. This style tends to go the opposite way of vegetarianism and encourages meats and whole grains. Again, there are recipes included to get you started.

If you are interested in world cuisine, you might enjoy What the World Eats by Faith D'Aluisio. This book travels the world and offers a visual story of what families buy as a weeks worth of groceries. It is very interesting to compare what a typical family in an African village might eat with an average American family in Texas. It's also very interesting to see the different products that are considered staples in different parts of the world.

So, those are some thoughts on food. I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate some good food during Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season.

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Fairy Tales Retold

11/14/2014

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There seems to be a trend to take an old story and turn it into something new. We see this not just in books, but in television and movies. We have seen the Grimm characters massed together in television's "Once Upon a Time." We have seen recreations of the stories of "Red Riding Hood" and "Hansel and Gretel" for the big screen. Well, literature is no different as well loved stories are retold in new and creative ways.

One of my favorite retellings is the series by Marissa Meyer that starts with Cinder. It's easy to know that the story is Cinderella, but Cinderella has been given new excitement in a future world where humans and cyborgs coexist. What makes this series even more fun, is that each new book brings a new fairy tale character to life. Book two is Scarlet. Of course this is Little Red Riding Hood. Book three is Cress. Cress has been locked up on a satellite for most of her life. Sounds a bit like Rapunzel. The fourth book will be on the shelves soon and is called Fairest. That sounds like we might get a closer look at the Lunar Queen. I am anxiously awaiting the release.

Another author that has rewritten several fairy tales is Jessica Day George. Her books start with the story of the twelve dancing princesses with Princess of the Midnight Ball. Here we read the story of twelve sisters who have been condemned to dance their nights away in an underground palace. As in the original fairy tale, the King wants answers. George's books are interesting as they are interconnected by the twelve sisters. Each one of the books tells the story of one of the sisters. Some of the other titles include; Princess of Glass, and Princess of the Silver Woods.

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn is another favorite for me. This is a really fun story as sleeping beauty is brought into the present through the kiss of her true love. This time, her true love is not a prince, but just an ordinary boy that wants nothing to do with the idea that he is the princess's "true love." Alex Flinn has also written Beastly and Towering.

A couple of other authors that have written a series of fairy tale retellings include; Jim C. Hines and Frank Beddor. So, if you like a good fairy tale with a twist, you might look into these authors.

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Series

11/7/2014

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Like many YA readers, I really like series. I enjoy a book that gets me so into the story that I can't hardly wait to see what will happen next. So, this week I am going to talk about just a few of the many series that I have enjoyed, and inevitably, I will come back to this subject sometime in the future.

A light-hearted series that might appeal to a younger reader is The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. The first book in the series is "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You." This is a story about the The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. It is an exclusive finishing school for young women, but there is a twist because these young women are being trained to be spies. Lots of fun and excitement as the girls get into their share of trouble as they solve mysteries.

Another favorite of not only myself, but lots of YA readers is The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. This series is an I-can't-put-it-down type of read. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to be sent into the hunger games in place of her sister. The hunger games is a game where twenty-four go in but only one comes out. This series has the third book, Mockingjay, coming out in theaters this November.

Another Dystopian series is Matched by Ally Condie. This is a story where your perfect match is decided for you. So, what happens when the matching process gets manipulated and the one chosen for you is not the perfect one. This is a story about choice and love.

With the reports of human trafficking in the news, this series will make you think. Wither is written by Lauren Destefano. Science, while searching for perfection, has created a world where young people only live to their early twenty's. This makes the need to reproduce vital to the existence of humanity. A very interesting series as the reader wonders where love and choice fit into the story.

I'll finish back on a lighter note with How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles. This is a series about a teenage girl who is learning about herself and her heritage and getting stronger because of it. She's not excited when her father decides it's time for her to spend a summer with her grandmother in Israel. It has ruined all of her summer plans, but it opens up the world for her. This was a very fun book.

So that is just a tip-of-the-iceberg of YA series. I hope you have found some favorites that have you anxiously awaiting the next one in the series.

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