Tiger's Voyage by College Houck

In the third installment of the Tiger series, Kelsey Hayes pushes through the pain of lost love and strengthens her friendship with Kishan. Despite his strong feelings for her, Kishan has agreed to be her ally in helping her reunite with the man she still loves. Together, they seek to help Ren regain his memory and begin the search for the third magical gift—an object of power that will help break the curse that causes them to live part of their lives as tigers. 

They board a luxury yacht and seek Durga's aid once again, who supplies them with her golden weapons. With Nilima, Mr. Kadam, Ren, and Kishan at her side, she soon learns that the task ahead will be even more difficult than the others. Confronting a dark magician, multiple dragons, and terrifying denizens of the deep seems easy when compared to facing the daunting task of stitching up her heart. Just when she thinks she's ready to set her feet on a new path, she is yanked back with a jolt to the one she's determined to leave behind. 

The jarring tug-of-war that ensues for Kelsey's heart leaves her anxious and confused. Combined with the stress of almost being killed every other day, it would appear that saving the tigers is almost more than she can handle. Still, she presses on, knowing that a choice is looming on the horizon. One she cannot put off making for long. 





No one paintball my house. I didn't love this one the way I loved the first two. I mean, I loved it. I did, but I wasn't as captivated. Mind you I have a bunch of stuff on the ol' brain, plus I am super freaking annoyed with Ren. I know. You are all probably sitting there going, Michelle, you are all about Team Ren. And I am, was. I dunno! I am really irritated with him in this book. He makes Kelsy's heart a swinging door and does some really romantic things followed up by some real d@ck moves. Was anyone else super annoyed with him?

Diana told me she was leaning toward Team Kishan and, I think I am jumpin' the fence and joining that team too. I am really angry at Kelsey and Ren for how they are so focused on "their" love that they don't see how much Kishan has changed and how stable he is for Kelsey.  And deep down, I know Kishan knows Kelsey is going to pick Ren in the end, but he still tries anyway. I totally think one of the brothers is going to die in the final installment.

On to the dragons. Houck does such a great job at coming up with new problems and Indian lore for our three main characters. The dragons were all so different in personality. I hated some. I really liked some other ones. It was good. I can't tell you much more because I won't spoil it.

The ending. Houck does try to murder me at the end of each of her books. Like the first two I had heart attacks because of her cliff hangers. This time I may have hyperventilated. (I'm beginning to think I liked this book more than I thought I did as I type this).

Loekshi - I hate you.

Thought I would re-post this since it is getting down farther on my list.

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Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

The undead can really screw up your senior year ... 

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

I read this book like two years ago, but since the sequel is finally coming out, I needed to brush up on what the book was about.  I am not one to re-read unless I am completely infatuated. I REALLY enjoyed the book the first one and still enjoyed the book the second time.

One thing I really like about this book this time around is that the vampires are not cuddly. Lucius (AKA stud) is very charming but there is something very dangerous about him and very lethal. He's not a tortured soul, loving a human. (mind you there was a time when I loved this scenario) Lucius is in PA to let Jessica know that she is actually a vampire princess. While her parents (adoptive) were very much aware of this and the fact one day Lucius would come, Jessica doesn't believe in vampires. Lucius stays and starts to charm the socks off of her.

He's honor-bound to fulfill a pact that was sign by both of their parents before they brutally hunted down. This marriage will join families and prevent war. Noble cause right. Who doesn't want to stop a war. Um, how about the senior mathlete who cannot wrap her head around the fact that vampires exist.

Jessica doesn't immediately fall for Lucius. She holds on to her crush at school. He's nice to her. He's nice to look at. But eventually Jessica just doesn't want nice. She wants the vamp. It's a progression and I like how she doesn't up and believe in vampires right away. She's also pretty gutsy at the end of the novel.

I have a question for everyone: If you were faced with the paranormal creatures (vampires, werewolves, trolls, or anything of the like) how would you react?

Reading slump - seeking suggestions

Hey everyone. *waves*

So since my life has drastically slowed down from all kinds of Student Council, Battle of the Classes, and the New York State Reading Association Conference fun, I have been cleaning, grading, and getting back on top of my game and still manage to get 7 hours of sleep. I forgot what sleep was. It's so nice. *sighs* Sleep.

OK.

I'm in a bit of a reading slump. I haven't read anything that I am like "OMG I LOVE IT!" since Tiger's Quest. Silence didn't really rock my world. I know, blasphemy. Don't worry - I am still very much Team Patch. I think I have just been super tired and haven't been able to fully commit to my closet love of books.

Anyway - any bombshell suggestions for me?

Maybe I am tired of paranormal. *ponders a second* Nahhhh. Never.

Also, I am looking to borrow two books. I have the sequels to these books. I need to review them for The Charlotte Award. I am not a big fan of reading a sequel without the first one. But I have had heard good things about both of the series.

Lisa Desrochers - Personal Demons
and
Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edhill's Legacies: A Shadow Grail Novel

If anyone has the e-book that would be great, or a pdf, or the actual book and want to send it my way, that would be great. Thanks!

I need your vote!!!

I signed my school up for a chance to win 25,000 dollars for our tech department. I made it to the voting part, except there is like 150 other people going for this. YIKES! Good note, we have to be in the top 15 of voting. I am at 119. Yeah, so I need some help! Your help. Please go to this website and vote. You can text, sign into facebook, or create a Pepsi account. Your vote will help us out.
Also you can vote daily!!!

Please go and vote and help out my students!!!! They will get their own netbooks!!! Come on vote!!! Yep, click that button!!!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom RIggs

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography,Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows

At the NYSRA conference I was at, I said that I wanted more YA with pictures. I am not saying every page has to have a graphic, but a like twenty for a book of 200 pages. My friend Karen, who is on the Charlotte Award Council, got this book. I began reading it and you know what? It has pictures! Talk about getting what you wished for.

The pictures in the book, make the book. Creepy. Some people say real, some say not so much, I say - gave me better visuals in my head... some of them are downright creepy.

The word creepy leads me to my next paragraph. I really thought I had a Stephen King - make you freak out - book on my hands. The first five chapters are really creepy, there is a murder, and the details of the murder for Jacob are scary. Then no one believes him. They think he is crazy, poor kid.

This island has a lot of secrets and the story is well-developed, but once Jacob gets to meet the peculiar children, take away the peculiar aspect and it become a regular story. A good regular story, but the element of me being afraid at night when I put it down, was lost. I think I am looking for a really good scary book. Maybe my dream walker book will turn into one.

Where I'm From

George Ella Lyon wrote an awesome poem:

Where I'm From

I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.

I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
          from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
          and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
          with a cottonball lamb
          and ten verses I can say myself.

I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
          to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.

Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.

At NYSRA I sat in on a memoir writing workshop. The presenter presented this poem, presented the one she had wrote in her format, and then asked us to do the same. This is my first draft.

Where I'm From,

I'm from cow poop smells and sounds of a prison, 

I'm from a forest of tress, a rickety, old cabin built in the 40's 

with a fresh water spring 

from a mountain side.

I'm from homes with swings, kickball games, tree forts

and ghost in the grass

I'm from a neighborhood of all boys who rebuilt engines, snowmobiled, and hunted, 

played hard; embraced me and beat up anyone who came to near. 

I'm from a father who still call me princess, 

a mother who I resemble more and more, 

and a brother who still tells me to look both ways when I cross the road. 

I'm from a place where I sprained ankles, pirouetted, leaped, spent my Saturday mornings

and preformed for faced blacked out by stage lights.

I'm from a place so far away it only exists in pages

and in the minds of Clare, Miller, Houck, and Lindsay. 

I'm from a past with a mistake, 

who was a liar, 

and broke my heart but taught me I deserve better. 

I'm from a man who wasn't my childhood prince,

but turned out to be a white Knight 

with a sense of humor, a kind heart, and desire to see the world. 

I'm from a long list of four-legged friends who greeted me every day.

I'm from clothes spilling out from closets and drawers on to the floor,

where papers are shuffled and piled one upon the other, 

where house can wait , because I have better things to do. 

I'm from two o'clock dance parties, Sunday Fundays, policies of friendships, and inside jokes. 

I'm from a dream of opening a Bead and Breakfast, 

being a published author, 

of being a mother, 

of being fulfilled.

It's a great writing activity.  If you write one, I would love the link or an email of it! You find out so much about a character (person) this way.