Books, movies, video games . . .
What were some of your favorite books, movies, or video games from 2008? Is there an older book or a movie that you found this year that you just love? Share your thoughts with us!
There were a lot of books, both new and old that I enjoyed this year but here are some of the ones I liked best in 2008:
New Books published in 2008
Peeled, by Joan Bauer.
Strange stories have been circulating about the old Ludlow house in the small farming community of Banesville, NY. People say the ghost of the last owner, mean-spirited in life and even more so in death, is haunting the place, causing harm and even death to people who dare to visit the house. It doesn’t help matters any that the local newspaper, the Bee, is helping to spread the rumors. Hildy Biddle, top reporter for the high school newspaper, the Core, and daughter of a journalist, is skeptical of the stories about the “haunted” house. Together with the staff of the Core, she determines to get to the bottom of the stories and find the truth.
What were some of your favorite books, movies, or video games from 2008? Is there an older book or a movie that you found this year that you just love? Share your thoughts with us!
There were a lot of books, both new and old that I enjoyed this year but here are some of the ones I liked best in 2008:
New Books published in 2008
Peeled, by Joan Bauer.Strange stories have been circulating about the old Ludlow house in the small farming community of Banesville, NY. People say the ghost of the last owner, mean-spirited in life and even more so in death, is haunting the place, causing harm and even death to people who dare to visit the house. It doesn’t help matters any that the local newspaper, the Bee, is helping to spread the rumors. Hildy Biddle, top reporter for the high school newspaper, the Core, and daughter of a journalist, is skeptical of the stories about the “haunted” house. Together with the staff of the Core, she determines to get to the bottom of the stories and find the truth.
Beanball, by Gene Fehler.
Luke “The Wizard” Wallace plays centerfield for the Oak Grove High School baseball team and is one of the stars of the team. He loves baseball and thinks he may one day play professional ball. Luke’s future changes, however, as does that of opposing pitcher Kyle Dawkins, on the day that Kyle throws a fast ball that hits Luke in the face, leaving him critically injured.
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
Benevolence (Ben), daughter of a prince, is herself second in the line of succession to the throne of the small fictional country of Montagne, her uncle the king having no children. Ben, however, is not your typical princess. She has been raised away from the glamour and elegance of the castle, dresses plainly, and freely socializes with the common people, having often accompanied her mother, a healer, on her visits to the sick. When her parents and uncle fail to return from a day’s outing and are later found dead, Ben, not yet old enough to ascend to the throne in her own right, finds herself being “tutored” by her aunt, Sophia, the Queen Regent who rules in her stead until Ben comes of age. Ben, having never before considered that she would one day rule Montagne, balks at her aunt’s demands that she begin conducting herself more in the manner befitting a princess. Eventually, Ben’s unruly behavior leads to her being banished to a small tower room except for the hours of her schooling. In the tower Ben discovers a hidden and magical passageway leading to the invisible “Wizard Tower” where she finds a spell book and other magical instruments that she uses to secretly teach herself rudimentary magic skills. Through use of her magical abilities, Ben discovers a network of hidden passages throughout the castle and uses these to learn of the queen’s plans for Montagne to secure an alliance with another country by arranging a marriage between Ben and a suitable prince, a plan that does not meet with Ben’s approval, particularly if that marriage is to Prince Florian of Drachensbett, Montagne’s sworn enemy and the most likely suspect in the deaths of her parents and the king.
Sunrise over Fallujah, by Walter Dean Myers.
Robin Perry, raised in Harlem and deeply affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, goes against his father’s wishes and enlists in the Army after high school instead of going to college. In March 2003, his platoon, part of a Civil Affairs unit, enters Iraq as part of the first wave advancing toward Baghdad in the U.S. mission to depose Saddam Hussein. The work of Civil Affairs is to clean up after the infantry, make friends with the Iraqi people by doing whatever is necessary – providing medical treatment, locating missing loved ones, etc. But still, the work is dangerous. Robin, called Birdy by his fellow squad members, witnesses much carnage and violence and comes away from his experience a different person.
Older Books, published in 2007 that I didn't read until this year
Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate.
Kek, a young refugee from Sudan, travels to Minnesota to stay with his aunt and cousin, the only family members the resettlement workers have been able to locate. Minnesota is a foreign land to him in many ways. Arriving in the winter, Kek has his first experience with cold and snow and cannot believe that there is anything in this strange landscape that will live again, asking his aid worker who has killed all the trees. School, new friendships, a job, and other new experiences bring more cultural differences to which Kek must adjust.
Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale.
In this retelling of the fairy tale “Maid Maleen" set on the Asian steppes, Dashti, a young Mucker girl finds work as a lady's maid to the Lady Saren, daughter of the Lord of Titor's Garden. No sooner does Dashti complete her training and begin her service, however, than she learns the result of her taking an oath of loyalty to Saren is that she will be locked in a tower with the Lady Saren for seven years, Saren having been giving this sentence by her father for her refusal to marry the Lord Khaser, cruel overlord of a neighboring kingdom. Dashti is determined to survive the ordeal in the tower and keeps a journal in which she records their experience. The tower is visited by Khan Tegis, Lord of Song of Evela, to whom Saren had been betrothed, unbeknownst to her father. Saren refuses to speak to him herself and implores Dashti to speak for her and pretend to be her. When Tegis does not return to rescue them as promised and then their guards disappear along with all signs of life from the outside, Dashti and Saren can only surmise that Tegis is dead and that Khaser, who also visited the tower, has laid waste to Titor's Garden, leaving the two girls alone to die in the tower.
Oldies but Goodies: Here are a couple of old favorites I revisited this year by listening to the audio book.
Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes, read by Grace Conlin
After burning his hand in a tragic accident, young Johnny Tremain, apprenticed to a Boston silversmith, must give up his beloved trade and find another. Eventually he finds work delivering newspapers for the Boston Observer. Although not a trade he can rely on for the future, his work for the paper, a Whig publication firmly in favor of independence from England, brings him in contact with many of the great and influential men of Boston, including a doctor who says he may be able to repair his injured hand. Through his work for the paper, Johnny becomes involved with the movement for independence, serving as a spy gathering information on the British soldiers. His activities and acquaintances also lead him into discovering his true family history, of which the orphaned Johnny was unaware. Johnny Tremain, published in 1943, was awared the Newbery Medal in 1944.
Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith, read by Tom Stechschulte
In 1861, Jeff Bussey is a Kansas farm boy upset by the marauders who come over the border from Missouri to raid the farms of those Kansans who support the Union. Following the most recent raid on his family’s farm, Jeff decides to enlist in the Union army along with a couple of his neighbors. The three boys make their way to Fort Leavenworth where, lacking their own horses, they are assigned to the infantry. Over the next four years, Jeff trains for the army, takes part in battle, and is assigned to be a scout traveling behind the Confederate lines to gather information. Rifles for Watie, a book about the Civil War, was published in 1957 and was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1958.
Luke “The Wizard” Wallace plays centerfield for the Oak Grove High School baseball team and is one of the stars of the team. He loves baseball and thinks he may one day play professional ball. Luke’s future changes, however, as does that of opposing pitcher Kyle Dawkins, on the day that Kyle throws a fast ball that hits Luke in the face, leaving him critically injured.
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.Benevolence (Ben), daughter of a prince, is herself second in the line of succession to the throne of the small fictional country of Montagne, her uncle the king having no children. Ben, however, is not your typical princess. She has been raised away from the glamour and elegance of the castle, dresses plainly, and freely socializes with the common people, having often accompanied her mother, a healer, on her visits to the sick. When her parents and uncle fail to return from a day’s outing and are later found dead, Ben, not yet old enough to ascend to the throne in her own right, finds herself being “tutored” by her aunt, Sophia, the Queen Regent who rules in her stead until Ben comes of age. Ben, having never before considered that she would one day rule Montagne, balks at her aunt’s demands that she begin conducting herself more in the manner befitting a princess. Eventually, Ben’s unruly behavior leads to her being banished to a small tower room except for the hours of her schooling. In the tower Ben discovers a hidden and magical passageway leading to the invisible “Wizard Tower” where she finds a spell book and other magical instruments that she uses to secretly teach herself rudimentary magic skills. Through use of her magical abilities, Ben discovers a network of hidden passages throughout the castle and uses these to learn of the queen’s plans for Montagne to secure an alliance with another country by arranging a marriage between Ben and a suitable prince, a plan that does not meet with Ben’s approval, particularly if that marriage is to Prince Florian of Drachensbett, Montagne’s sworn enemy and the most likely suspect in the deaths of her parents and the king.
Sunrise over Fallujah, by Walter Dean Myers.Robin Perry, raised in Harlem and deeply affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, goes against his father’s wishes and enlists in the Army after high school instead of going to college. In March 2003, his platoon, part of a Civil Affairs unit, enters Iraq as part of the first wave advancing toward Baghdad in the U.S. mission to depose Saddam Hussein. The work of Civil Affairs is to clean up after the infantry, make friends with the Iraqi people by doing whatever is necessary – providing medical treatment, locating missing loved ones, etc. But still, the work is dangerous. Robin, called Birdy by his fellow squad members, witnesses much carnage and violence and comes away from his experience a different person.
Older Books, published in 2007 that I didn't read until this year
Home of the Brave, by Katherine Applegate.Kek, a young refugee from Sudan, travels to Minnesota to stay with his aunt and cousin, the only family members the resettlement workers have been able to locate. Minnesota is a foreign land to him in many ways. Arriving in the winter, Kek has his first experience with cold and snow and cannot believe that there is anything in this strange landscape that will live again, asking his aid worker who has killed all the trees. School, new friendships, a job, and other new experiences bring more cultural differences to which Kek must adjust.
Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale.In this retelling of the fairy tale “Maid Maleen" set on the Asian steppes, Dashti, a young Mucker girl finds work as a lady's maid to the Lady Saren, daughter of the Lord of Titor's Garden. No sooner does Dashti complete her training and begin her service, however, than she learns the result of her taking an oath of loyalty to Saren is that she will be locked in a tower with the Lady Saren for seven years, Saren having been giving this sentence by her father for her refusal to marry the Lord Khaser, cruel overlord of a neighboring kingdom. Dashti is determined to survive the ordeal in the tower and keeps a journal in which she records their experience. The tower is visited by Khan Tegis, Lord of Song of Evela, to whom Saren had been betrothed, unbeknownst to her father. Saren refuses to speak to him herself and implores Dashti to speak for her and pretend to be her. When Tegis does not return to rescue them as promised and then their guards disappear along with all signs of life from the outside, Dashti and Saren can only surmise that Tegis is dead and that Khaser, who also visited the tower, has laid waste to Titor's Garden, leaving the two girls alone to die in the tower.
Oldies but Goodies: Here are a couple of old favorites I revisited this year by listening to the audio book.
Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes, read by Grace ConlinAfter burning his hand in a tragic accident, young Johnny Tremain, apprenticed to a Boston silversmith, must give up his beloved trade and find another. Eventually he finds work delivering newspapers for the Boston Observer. Although not a trade he can rely on for the future, his work for the paper, a Whig publication firmly in favor of independence from England, brings him in contact with many of the great and influential men of Boston, including a doctor who says he may be able to repair his injured hand. Through his work for the paper, Johnny becomes involved with the movement for independence, serving as a spy gathering information on the British soldiers. His activities and acquaintances also lead him into discovering his true family history, of which the orphaned Johnny was unaware. Johnny Tremain, published in 1943, was awared the Newbery Medal in 1944.
Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith, read by Tom StechschulteIn 1861, Jeff Bussey is a Kansas farm boy upset by the marauders who come over the border from Missouri to raid the farms of those Kansans who support the Union. Following the most recent raid on his family’s farm, Jeff decides to enlist in the Union army along with a couple of his neighbors. The three boys make their way to Fort Leavenworth where, lacking their own horses, they are assigned to the infantry. Over the next four years, Jeff trains for the army, takes part in battle, and is assigned to be a scout traveling behind the Confederate lines to gather information. Rifles for Watie, a book about the Civil War, was published in 1957 and was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1958.
