New Goodies

**+5 if comment**

Well, it sucks not having a laptop. Now I depend on my mother's laptop... which is not good. Not the laptop, the laptop is fine. But the dependance... not so much.

Ladies, Gents, take care of your laptops, love them, because you so need them. "You never know what you have till it's gone." Couldn't agree more with that.

I got some stuff, but, they are scattered aroung the house.... I will put here what I can see from where I am.

(Art Not Final)

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: May 4, 2010

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) is the author of the beloved Little Women, which was based on her own experiences growing up in New England with her parents and three sisters. More than a century after her death, Louisa May Alcott's stories continue to delight readers of all ages.

•-♥-•

Reading Level: Adult
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperback
Publish Date (Reprint Edition): January 5, 2010

Meet the Roncalli and Angelini families, a vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio, from magical Manhattan to the picturesque hills of bella Italia. Very Valentine is the first novel in a trilogy and is sure to be the new favorite of Trigiani's millions of fans around the world.

In this luscious, contemporary family saga, the Angelini Shoe Company, makers of exquisite wedding shoes since 1903, is one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village. The company is on the verge of financial collapse. It falls to thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli, the talented and determined apprentice to her grandmother, the master artisan Teodora Angelini, to bring the family's old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century and save the company from ruin.

While juggling a budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother to learn new techniques and seek one-of-a-kind materials for building a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. There, in Tuscany, Naples, and on the Isle of Capri, a family secret is revealed as Valentine discovers her artistic voice and much more, turning her life and the family business upside down in ways she never expected. Very Valentine is a sumptuous treat, a journey of dreams fulfilled, a celebration of love and loss filled with Trigiani's trademark heart and humor.

•-♥-•

Reading Level: Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: February 9, 2010

**SPOILERS**

Valentine Roncalli, shoe designer for the family-owned, New York-based Angelini Shoe Company, is entering a rough patch. Her grandmother has found true love, uprooted herself, and moved to Italy, leaving the specialty shoe business to Valentine and her contentious financial whiz of a brother, Alfred. Along with the care and handling of their large, loud Italian family. When a business venture brings Valentine to Buenos Aires to meet a distant cousin who also owns a shoe factory, she’s in for a surprise: her cousin is black. Valentine’s great-grandfather had split with his brother, and nobody knew why until now. The discovery of this long-buried secret stuns the entire family, who must now try to heal the breach. Family is family, after all. Trigiani’s exciting sequel to Very Valentine (2009), and the second book in a trilogy about Valentine and her family, is a vibrant, warm story about family ties, duty, and love.

•-♥-•

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: December 29, 2009

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all at Paradise—the resort in the Caribbean, that is—for different reasons, but in Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Over the course of four months, through four voices and four stories, what happened in Paradise will change them all.

In this extraordinary novel, the Printz Honor–winning author brings us her most accomplished work yet. Tangled is a story of the secrets we keep, the risks we take, and the things we do for love.

•-♥-•

Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 535 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Chicken House
1st Us Edition edition (2003)

Meggie's father Mo has an interesting talent: when he reads aloud, things, and sometimes people, come out of their stories and into the real world! But now the evil Capricorn wants to use Mo's talents to bring himself great wealth and power. Then Meggie discovers that maybe Mo isn't the only one who can read things to life. This is an enchanting story full of adventure, suspense, and magic. The characters are vivid and delightful. Unlike many books for younger readers there is a distinct emphasis on the importance of family as seen in the close relationship between Meggie and her father. Unfortunately the author does include several instances of mild profanity which seems totally unnecessary in a children's book and is perhaps the biggest detractor from the story. Lightly magical, humorous, and fun, Inkheart will appeal to those who like adventure and fantasy, and to anyone who ever wished a story could come to life.

•-♥-•

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Publish Date: April 13, 2010

Grade 6–9—It may be a universal constant that siblings find ways to torment one another, and Wilson offers techniques for honing the rivalry to an art. From traditional moves such as "two for flinching" noogies, and pinching or tripping to more sophisticated techniques, like making "chocolate milk" from dog poo and inflicting other gross-outs on unsuspecting sibs, Wilson has all the moves covered. Unfortunately, while his humor is usually in the right place, many of his techniques could be truly dangerous: the "seat belt sling" advises swinging the buckle like a mace, and while a caution is offered ("Don't sling the belt unless you are ready to chip your brother's tooth and go live with Grandma for a few weeks"), readers may not take it seriously. Other techniques involve sitting on younger or smaller siblings to subdue them, or causing humiliation in front of their friends, which could lead to actual physical or psychological harm in the long run. Overall, the hurtful spirit of much of the book and the real potential for damage in some "techniques" make it hard to find an audience that is both young enough to appreciate the humor but old enough to know where to draw the line. School libraries in particular will want to stick with Wilson's How to Survive a Robot Uprising (2005).

So yeah, pretty good batch this week if I may say. I love the cover of Tangled, and I can't wait to read the Valentine books. I started Inkheart a long time ago but stopped because I just couldn't get into the story. But then again, it was a long time ago, and I was not as good a reader as I am now...

Hope you guys get a review this week, and just so you know next week is spring break so Ill have a LOT of time for the blog!

See ya,