http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org Books, Internet and other windows to the world! Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:49:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's the first day of her senior year in high school and Jessica's world changes with the appearance of Lucius Vladescu, an exchange student from Romania.  She quickly finds out that she had been promised in a marriage pact to Lucius, son of one of the rival vampire families, by ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/11/15/jessicas-guide-to-dating-on-the-dark-side-by-beth-fantaskey/ This third book is the conclusion to the Sharon Draper trilogy beginning with The Battle of Jericho and November Blues.  While I didn't read the first two books, I still liked this story about a group of students who have survived a lot together and now just need to get ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/11/15/just-another-hero-by-sharon-m-draper/ [caption id="attachment_577" align="alignleft" width="123" caption="Fire from the Rock"][/caption] (Originally posted by Ms. Moeller) Fire from the Rock is a historical fiction novel that weaves a fantastic story and supplies information about the fight to desegregate American schools. This is the story of the Little Rock Nine. The main character, Sylvia ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/10/12/fire-from-the-rock-by-sharon-draper/ [caption id="attachment_437" align="alignright" width="104" caption="Life As We Knew It"][/caption] Students often come in asking for "scary books."  Deciding what is "scary" varies from person to person, but this story is very scary to me. A large meteor is on track to collide with the moon.  Shouldn't be a huge deal since it's ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/10/12/life-as-we-knew-it-by-susan-beth-pfeffer/ Written in poetry form using few words, Kek tells a compelling story about escaping from Sudan in Africa after his father and brother were killed, leaving his mother behind, and coming to live in Minneapolis.  He comes to live with his aunt and cousin, arriving in winter to experience cold ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/10/12/home-of-the-brave-by-katherine-applegate/ First Crossings: Stories about Teen Immigrants edited by Donal R. Gallo Short story books are wonderful because one can read the stories they choose. First Crossings has a wonderful introduction which explains the collection. Each story is unique in its perspective. One story is about getting ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/08/17/first-crossings-stories-about-teen-immigrants/ Don't Read This! And Other Tales of the Unnatural by various authors Don't Read This is a collections of short stories. Three stories stand out as particularly entertaining although they all are tales to be read. In one story a boy kills his grandmother in order to inherit her ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/08/14/dont-read-this/ The Underneath by Kathi Appelt This is two stories which seem to alternate, but come together magically at the end. A calico cat meets a hound dog and an unusual friendship begins. When Sabine and Puck are born to the calico cat, the four become an odd family. ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/08/10/the-underneath-by-kathi-appelt/ Suck It Up by Brian Meehl There are two types of Vampires, Loners and Leaguers. Morning McCobb is a leaguer which means he doesn't need to subsist on human blood. He is graduating from the IVLeague which is the International Vampire League. Since he is a vampire, he ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/08/09/suck-it-up/ The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman Honor doesn't fit in with the other 'H' kids in her class. Part of the reason is because her name doesn't start with the 'H' sound. This is not the only reason she doesn't fit in. Her parents have ... http://vvmsmedia.edublogs.org/2009/08/08/the-other-side-of-the-island-by-allegra-goodman/