Review: Hunger Games Trailer

Hi Readers!
If anyone remembers - our Library Club read the hunger games series last year. We are so excited that the movie is coming out soon and I watched the trailer for the first time a month ago. It seems as though they may have gotten the casting right afterall! At the beginning I wanted to switch Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson so their hair color matched with  my image of Peeta and Gale...but after they dyed their hair in the trailer i knew they were perfect for the parts! Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) still seems to be a little too old and intimidating, but Lawrence does a good job of playing her. Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket is absolutely perfect! so are the two girls that play Rue and Prim. Overall, I think the casting was done really well and so was the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S9a5V9ODuY&noredirect=1
what do you think?
- Sara C.

Review: The Odyssey

Hey Readers!

I haven't had much time to read lately, so I'm taking a queue from Sara and reviewing a book I read in school. In english class, we just finished reading "The Odyssey," by Homer, the Greek epic story. I was really looking forward to reading it, because it's such a big challenge, and it looks interesting. It was a little slow at first, and some parts were hard to understand, but overall it was a great book. You'd think it would be boring, but it reminds me of a literary soap opera. Tell me what you think if you read it! I recommend it, but I wouldn't read it unless you really want to give yourself a challenge or if it's for school. I also have a favor to ask you guys: My school is having a read-a-thon, and we get to vote for what book we want! The only requirement is it has to be a classic book (Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc.). Any suggestions? Whichever one wins at our school I'll be reviewing on this blog. Also, as an insight to what might be coming, I'm in the middle of reading "Matched," and "Looking for Alaska," and they're both amazing. So far I really recommend both of them. I miss you, other bloggers!
-Alice

Review: A Tale of Two Cities

Hi Everyone!
Well I guess we've all been a little to busy in high school to focus much on the blog, but we still have time to post! In english we've been reading A Tale of Two Citites by Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities is a marvelous book focusing on London and Paris during the french revolution. It follows the story of Doctor Manette, his daughter Lucie and her husband Charles. Manette had been a prisoner of the Bastille in france for 18 years and did not know of the existence of his daughter until she was fully grown. Lucie, his daughter, is married to Charles who, in turn, has had his fair share of imprisonment. The family struggles to kep an upbeat outlook during the revolution while they navigate the bloody streets of Paris. No one is quite sure who is innocent and no one can comprehend the terrible threat of a mob of confused badly treated people. I had to read this book for english, and we were told to read one or two chapters a night. I ended up not being able to put it down it was so good! Highly reccomend it! and my fellow bloggers out there - miss you guys!

- Sara C.

Review: Boy's Life

Hey Everyone!!
I am SOOOOOOO sorry that I haven't posted in so long!!!
I feel so terrible about it!!!!
But school has started, and that's why I haven't had any time... 
Anyway, I have been able to read a bit, though the book that I am going to talk about now is one that we are reading for school. The book is called "Boy's Life," and it is by Robert McCammon.
It is a good book about a boy who is growing up in a small town in Alabama in 1964. The boy's life becomes harder when he and his father witness a car plunge into a lake, and his father goes to save then man, but finds him brutally beaten and chained to the wheel. As the father slowly becomes wrapped up in his terrible thoughts of the murder, the boy, named Cory, struggles through all of the events that are happening as he grows up, such as his friendships, school, summer, fairs, his incredible ability to write, and also the superstitions that surround his hometown. 


It is a great book for anyone who really likes superstitious things, but also is interested for mystery stories and a bit of adventure and stories where the main character is growing up throughout the book. 

Look into it!! 


See you all later!!


And this time, I promise not to stay away for so long.... :D


~Anne Shirley

We're on Facebook!

Sorry for advertising, i know it's not fun, but I know that i'm at least about to finish some books, so expect some reviews soon! If you like us on facebook, you'll get told whenever a new review comes out, along with information you might only find there! (gasp). So if you want to, like our page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Behind-the-Spine-Blog/177070542369034

Thanks for reading! And again, sorry for the advertising, but expect more reviews soon!

Review of The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Hey, Readers!

As you probably know, a movie version of The Help (by Kathryn Stockett) came out in August. I found out about this book last year when my mom read it, and at first, I thought it was a book meant for adult readers. I changed my mind about two months ago, when my sister said that she had read it at camp. The Help is a really touching story of the relationships between white women and their black maids in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter Phelan, a 24-year-old white woman who wants to be a writer, has a big idea that could either put these black women in serious danger, or spark a big change in their racist society. Skeeter wants to interview black maids in Jackson and publish a book about their experiences working for white women. Aibileen and Minny, who are both maids, become involved in Skeeter's idea, and are very prominent characters in the story. For each chapter (or few chapters) in The Help, one of those three characters (Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny) is the narrator, and it switches back and forth as the story goes on. The reason I liked this book so much is probably these three female protagonists. They seem so much like real people, and as the reader, I felt connected to each of them. Though they are very different from one another, their friendship and support of one another allows each of them to have a voice.

Sorry that was kind of long!  All in all, even if you have already seen the movie, this is definitely a book worth reading.                                   

                                                          --Dorothy :)

Review: In the Time of the Butterflies

Right now Wendy and I are sitting on My (Mary's) bed. We were talking last night and really want to visit our school again!!! So, we are going to do it around Thanksgiving time. If you would like to join us, you may. We would love the company...

What I really came here to talk about is the book i am reading, In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. It is a pretty good book, but is pretty slow in the beginning. Even though it is not my favorite book, you should read it because it is a very educational read. It is about the dictator Trujillo and 4 sisters. A few of them are part of a group of leading opponents of Trujillo's dictatorship. They are known as Las Mariposas, which means butterfly in spanish. It is a very fascinating book and I recommend it! Well I have to go finish reading it, but i just wanted to say that i am very excited to go to my high school in a couple of days!!!! Wish me luck and good luck to all of the others who blog here as well!!!! <3

Mary L.

New School Year...New Schools...

Hey Everyone!
Today being the last day of August marks the last day of summer for a lot of us. All seven of us have graduated from our previous school in June and we are all heading separate ways this fall. I'm pretty sure that Anne is already at school and Jo might be too... and Alice and Dorothy are at orientation today! Wendy doesn't start until later, and Mary and I start later this  month as well. So I guess I just wanted to let our readers know that we are going to try and keep up the blog! It's a fun way for us to keep in touch.
Keep Reading!
~ Sara C.

Review: Pride and Prejudice

Hi Readers!!
Alice and I were (fairly) recently at camp and I sat down to try and read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. They are INSANELY classic books - very traditional. Usually it doesn't take me that long to read books...but boy, Pride and Prejudice took very long. Occasionally I was bored and wanted to skip parts of the book...(don't worry, i didn't) but then towards the end it got really fascinating. Pride and Prejudice, for those of you who haven't seen the movie, focuses on Elizabeth Bennett, the second oldest sister.  She watches her older sister and younger sister move out and get married...while she watches and waits. No man, in her opinion is good enough for her. It is very amusing to watch Elizabeth deal with the troubles of family, social life, romance etc...I definitely reccomend it...but if you are thinking of reading it - make sure to not get discouraged by the first few chapters - it is worth it!

- Sara C.

Review: Across the Universe

Hey Everyone!

I haven't been here for a while! After 3 weeks at camp with no computer, i've had a lot of time to read! I read a ton of books, but I think I'll review one i read called "Across the Universe." It doesn't have anything to do with the Beatles musical or anything, don't worry/get excited. But it's an amazing book! If you remember, we all got books from Candlewick press to read before they came out, and one of them was "A Long Long Sleep" (which should have just come out, so now you can read it!). This is a lot like that book. It's basically a girl who gets frozen alive and loaded onto a spaceship with her family so they can wake up 300 years later, when they get to an earth-like planet, and live there. But she gets woken up early, and the civilization formed by the people on the ship is filled with lies and secrets. It's very good, but it's for slightly older people (teens, not preteens) because of certain things in the plot, and the beginning is a little slow. All i have to say is keep reading, because it gets so much better AND it grabs you and pulls you in after a while. Happy Reading!
-Alice

"The Secret Life of Bees" Picture

Sorry everyone!
I forgot to put a picture of "The Secret Life of Bees" in my post...
So, here it is!

There is also a movie based on the book "The Secret Life of Bees." To the right is the movie poster!

~Anne S.

Review: The Secret Life of Bees

Hey everyone!!
Sorry I haven't posted in such a long time... I have been very busy over this summer! I hope that you all are enjoying the heat... I know I am!!

Anyway, I recently read "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd and I loved it!!
It is a book about a girl, Lily, whose mother ran away when she was a baby and later died and whose father abused her. She leads a very hard life in South Carolina during the time of the Civil Rights Act, until her housekeeper, an outspoken African American named Rosaleen, insults three white racists in town. Before Rosaleen can be killed, Lily runs away with her to the only town she thinks of as refuge- Tiburon, South Carolina. This was the location on a picture that was her mother's, and Lily and Rosaleen are soon taken on a journey together in which they learn of the Black Madonna and find refuge in the home of three African American beekeeping sisters.

"The Secret Life of Bees" is a story of love, friendship, race, religion, adventure, etc. It is a fantastic book that leaves you feeling so happy in the end that you want to read it over and over. Although it is hard at times because the main character's life is so hard, it gets much better as the story progresses and important lessons come from the hardships.

I would highly recommend it!
Thanks for reading!!

~Anne S. 

Review: The Mother-Daughter Book Club

 Hey Everyone!

       So for a while, I've been reading this series called the mother-daughter book club. I LOVE it. It's the kind of book that's really light and fun reading, not anything too intense. It reminds me of books by Lauren Myracle, in that it's about teen girls, and super relatable! The main characters: Jess (on the pink cover), a smart, fun girl who lives on a farm, is a great singer, and an amazing math-person; Cassidy (on the blue cover), who is super tough, loves hockey, but is just as caring as all the others; Megan (on the purple cover), who loves fashion and is very social, but knows the right thing to do all the time; and Emma (on the coral cover), who loves to read and write. All of them are really relatable in different ways, and the chapters switch off between each point of view and pull you through a story about normal things that could easily happen to you. Sure, it might be a little simple for our age, but it's always nice to have something light and relatable amidst all the intense books we can read now :) It's a great summer read!

-Alice

P.S. Sara and I are about to go to sleep-away camp, where there will be no computer access whatsoever (how will we survive?) ! So, for about the whole month of July, you won't see us on here :( unless, of course, we hand-write reviews in letter form to our friends on the blog :D

Review: City of Ashes

Hey Everyone!

As Alice said, sorry about the absence! I recently finished the sequel to City of Bones: City of Ashes, both by Cassandra Clare. The City of Ashes turned out to be much better then I expected. In some series, like Twilight, the reader is let down by the sequel...but this was not the case for City of Ashes. Also, in some threequels the reader gets the sense that the other two books were published for money reasons...however, in the Mortal Instruments Threequel it was clear that the sequel was necessary for the plot to continue. Anyways, about the book. Like City of Bones, City of Ashes follows the journey of a girl named Clary. Clary is a shadowhunter, one of a group of beings who act as a police force against demons. In this book, Valentine (the evil guy), is back and growing stronger. What makes him such a villian is not the bad things that he does, but the fact that he truly believes the things that he is doing are for the greater good. He believes that he is doing a great service by rallying the demons. Meanwhile, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Alec and the rest of the shadowhunters must do what they can to keep Valentine at bay...and they are not always successful. City of Ashes is a thrilling story that is impossible to put down. (I finished it in a day). The tales of war, loyalties, teenage dramas and romances, and struggles are captivating. I highly recommend this book!
On a side note, this book is for 13ish year olds.
Thanks!
- Sara Crewe

Summer Reading

Hey Guys!
      Sorry we haven't been active on the blog for a while! it was the end of the school year (our last year all together at school :( sadness), and the beginning of an awesome summer! Hopefully this can keep going like a sisterhood of the traveling pants thing, so we can stay connected.
     We need to post more, and what better way than for summer reading!! All of our schools have required reading, and who knows, they might all be pretty awesome. Look forward to a great summer! Mary, Sara and I are away for all of July, so hopefully the rest of us can read enough for all of us! And we'll come back with a lot of books read.

     Anyway, i'm just letting any readers know that we're still here and we're still reading. I've got a list of some books i'd like to read this summer, as well as some i've got to read for school in the fall. You can check out my shelfari here:

http://www.shelfari.com/o1515066187/shelf

it's a great website, and it's so much fun to use! here you can see the books i'm reading/am planning on reading. I'm not completely done setting it up, but i'm almost done listing them all. So, i guess it's a sneak peek at what you might see on the blog.

-Alice

P.S. Email us recommendations for this summer at behindthespine@gmail.com

Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

Hey Everyone!
So we just finished reading TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD in school and i just had to write about it!
I found it to be the most amazing book i've ever read. How much thought Harper Lee must have put into all of those characters....how much time must have been spent deliberating about plot twists and themes... To Kill a Mockingbird was simply a work of art....it was impossible to get bored! If you haven't read it, it is a story about two children, Scout and Jem Finch and it follows their childhood and their adventures. What is so amazing about this story is that all the sub plot lines come together at the end. When you turn the last page and read the last sentence you are left wondering how on earth Harper Lee was able to do that!
it was so good.
and i very much recommend it.
-Sara C.

yay

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! to our 1,000th viewer!  Yay everyone <3

~wendy

Review: The Abundance of Katherines

Hey Readers!

So Bookfair was this week at our school and both Alice and I bought "The Abundance of Katherines" by John Green. At first I was a little creeped out by the cover..but I liked the author and so I gave it a try! It ended up being REALLY good! It's much more of a realistic story then I usually read - I tend to be into historical fiction/fantasy...This story is fiction and kind of reminded me of Carl Hiaasan's books. Anyways - so it's about a boy named Colin who has been dumped by 19 girls. and ALL of them were named Katherine...Not Catherine...or Kathryn...or Katie..or Cate....it was K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E. and Every single one of those girls with the same nine letter name had dumped him. The book kinda follows his life as he tries to get over Katherine the 19th and he explores other names along the way. Colin also happens to be a genius...and throughout the book is working on an equation for the theory of relationships (time, dumpee v. dumper, attractiveness, etc). Anyways, the book is very entertaining...a little peculiar at times...but overall it was very good and i would definitely recomend it :)

Thanks!
- Sara

Review: The Grimm Legacy

Hey!

So last week our school had a book-related fundraising event. Polly Shulman, along with other authors, were there to sign books. I bought her book, the Grimm Legacy, and I was lucky enough to get it signed. It is a really good book and I highly recommend it. It is sort of like a fantasy version of the Mysterious Benedict Society. The cover shows it as very fantasy, but it can really be enjoyed by lovers of any reading style. The book is about a girl who's teacher recommends her for a job at a respiratory, which is just like a library only it lends out items, especially old ones. She has to undergo certain tests to unlock privleges to certain rooms or take out certain items, and there is a secret room called the Grimm Collection, with items from the real Grimm fairy tales- that really  work. There's some solid romantic plotlines as well as a really imaginative story. I highly recommend this book. If you enjoy this book, try the Sisters Grimm series and the Mysterious Benedict Society (or if you like those, try reading this).

-Alice

Declamation!

Hey Everyone!
So we have this thing called declamation at our school where everyone has to memorize a poem and perform it... it's a competition. There are three rounds: classroom, semifinals, and finals...The finals round is in front of the entire school and it is quite a big event. Two of our library club members: Dorothy Gale and Anne Shirley were in the finals! I thought  you might like to see their poems, which are both fascinating..and they were performed amazingly!

Dorothy's Poem: Yellow Glove by Naomi Shihab Nye
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178322

Anne's Poem: Inspiration by James Tate
http://www.aprweb.org/poem/inspiration

Thanks!
- Sara Crewe

The Deathly Hallows Part 2

More countdowns at Widgia.com

Awesome job so far guys!!! :)

Hey Guys!! Wow!!! We should really be proud of ourselves!!! 623 viewers in less than 2 months!!! I think that this is a real achievement, and we should be really proud!!!!!!!!! Keep it up guys!!!

p.s. this is not really a review....but I really thought that this was an accomplishment so I just wanted to point it out.

-Mary!!!

Review: The Amaranth Enchantment

Hey Guys!
So I just finished reading The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry...and i've got to say - it was very good! This isn't a book we're reading in library club, were half way through City of Bones. It is a book I picked up in the paper store this weekend because it looked interesting :) So I won't give away any spoilers (don't worry wendy!) but I will give you a sense of what it's about...So it starts with a girl about our age who lives with her wicked step aunt and her uncle who has no power when the aunt is around...but Lucinda (the main character) hasn't always lived with them. She remembers watching her mother get ready for a ball more than ten years ago..She remembers her father and mother stepping into a carriage...and not coming back...After that all she remembers is living with her uncle and aunt at their jewelery shop and playing "cinderella." UNTIL one day...odd sorts of people start appearing at the shop..princes....beggar boys.....and Amaranth, a mystifying women who is rumored to be a witch. Amaranth will ask Lucinda to complete a quest that has you glued to the pages. I won't say anything more, but if you all have time between homework and everything else going on - be sure to pick up this book :)
Thanks!
- Sara Crewe

After William...Check out our Friend's Work!

Hey!
This is just a quick- but important! -post about our friend (Jo - who never got a chance to post). She submitted her story "After William" to Teen Ink, a web site that lets teens submit their writing to get it published online, and if it gets enough votes, it'll be printed in their magazine! Our friend got hers published, but it's not in the magazine yet! So if she gets enough votes, It'll be read more (which is what we really want for her!) The story is really well-written, and takes place during Shakespere's era. We would love you to check it out here: http://www.teenink.com/novels/historical_fiction/book/59869/After-William/
Read and rate it! It would mean a lot to us :) Thanks!
-Alice

May the Odds be Ever in your Favor

Hey Readers!

          So, as you know, we all read/are reading the Hunger Games. I just thought I'd give kind of a wrap-up post about it, since I kind of left you hanging after my almost-done-with-mockingjay post :). I'll try not to give away any spoilers, because Mary hasn't finished Mockinjay yet, and I know she'll love it! All in all, I think i'm going to stick to my opinion that the Hunger Games should have been one book on it's own, and left us wanting more. It feels almost like if a character was referenced a lot on a TV show but you never saw them, and finally you meet them, but they don't live up to the standards they were held to in your imagination. I feel like people could still be arguing about what will happen, and this would be a more powerful book all in all if it was without Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I really enjoy those two books and I love the subplots and the new characters introduced, but again, they didn't quite live up to the standards of the original Hunger Games. I have another strong opinion, but it sort of gives away the ending, so all i'm going to say is that the ending is too weak, and it seems that the author took the easy way out. There were ways to make the ending much more powerful. I'm sort of contradicting myself, because i LOVE this book, but this is also a point i feel strong about. Keep on reading!
-Alice :)
P.S. New bestseller list is up :) the usual suspects, again.
P.P.S. Gale, Peeta, and Katniss were casted in the Hunger Games movie, out 2012! Check them out here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/ (look forward to a post about my opinions on THAT looming in the near future!)

New book and New Club

Hi guys!!!!! I am Mary Lennox, and we just started a new term of library club!!!! So far it is really fun and we have a very good group of people! Jo sadly is not joining us for this term because she wanted to experiment with another club, but Dorothy, who is taking Jo's place, is now with us! Sorry, that is very confusing!!  But that is ok that Jo is gone because she is still a part of the library club to us in many ways! She will hopefully come during recesses to help us sort the books and check in and out different books.  Any way, Sara has suggested a book that looks very interesting called, The City of Bones. It looks very interesting and I am excited to start reading it!! I still have to finish Mockingjay (I know, I am a VERY slow reader.) Here is a picture of the cover of The City of Bones:

I think we should really read it! That dream has come true!!!!! We just received the books at 1:06 pm on Thursday April 14, 2011. Well I better go now!! See yah later people of the world!!!! :P

            -Mary Lennox (obviously because I just said that earlier in the post. J hehe.)

            

A Message to Our Dear Readers

We now have over 400 views on our blog (YAY!!) (even though most of the views come from us :).  Anyways, posting on the blog is really fun!  But you know what could make it just a little bit funner (even though “funner” isn’t a word :) )?

            PLEASE COMMENT ON OUR POSTS!  I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but It would fill each of us with the following emotions. It would make us feel:

            -happy

            -excited

            -giddy

            -talkative

            -excited

            -cheerful

            -joyful

            -lighthearted

            -anxious

            -thrilled

            -much, much, more…

So please.. COMMENT!!!
~Wendy

The Great Gatsby

Hi, Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted!

About a month ago, I spent a gift card at the book store on some classic novels, including The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was worried that it would be hard to follow, but really, it was not a huge undertaking. It was less than 200 pages, and for the most part, was written in a way that was very clear and understandable; it was full of complex imagery and symbolism as well. The straightforward plot was balanced by incredible detail in both setting and characterization. The story is set on Long Island in the 1920's, and Nick Carraway, the narrator, is a new neighbor of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, an incredibly wealthy man who throws giant parties in his mansion, is the main focus of the story because his character is so mysterious. No one, including the reader, really knows why he is so important, or whether he is good or bad. I believe that this is the kind of book that does not have one meaning to convey or one message to send. It is up to you, the reader, to interpret every detail.

   I think that reading this book will probably be a school assignment for me at some point because it is so well-known. But it is definitely worth reading again!         ~ Dorothy :)

Nancy Drew

Hey Everyone!!
So...
I have recently been reading the "Nancy Drew" series.
They are really good and exciting books- a quick read that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through!!
Nancy Drew, an 18 year old detective, finds herself wrapped up in mystery after mystery- going on dangerous missions and always solving the case in the end. Some of these stories include "The Secret of the Old Clock" and "Mystery at Lilac Inn," etc.
You can always find an AWESOME book that is easy to read! It doesn't always have to be 500 pages!! :) ~ Anne Shirley

The Agency

Hey Everyone!
So, sorry I haven't posted in so long...
I've been VERY busy!! 

Anyway, I finished the first two books of "The Agency" series, by Y.S. Lee. They are called "A Spy in the House" and "The Body at the Tower." These books are SOOOOO good!!! They are mystery novels about a girl named Mary Quinn, who escaped from being hanged and was brought to a girls boarding school. Though she had had a very hard childhood in the streets of London, she soon becomes a part of the Agency, a detective agency made up of all women who solve cases based solely on the stereotypes of women. Mary goes on an assignment for both books, the first posing as a governess in a merchant's home and then as a boy in a construction site in London. Both stories are SO GOOD, and they also have a theme of romance as well, for through her travels Mary keeps bumping into the tall and handsome James Easton. 
The third book, "The Traitor in the Tunnel," is supposed to come out in Spring 2012 from Candlewick Press.
I would HIGHLY recommend this series!!
It's the type of book you can never put down...

~Anne Shirley 

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

this is a cool image i found when searching "April"

:)

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to give say "happy april!" Its exciting to have completed our first month as a blog . Keep your finger's crossed for more posts and warm weather in april

....and of course, keep reading!

-Sara C.

Read!

Hey everyone! I can’t believe I’ve posted barely ANYTHING on Behind the Spine.  It is so awesome and I really want to post on it… but then I realized that the reason I haven’t posted anything is because I don’t read often enough.  I love reading and love getting sucked into books (when I do, I can’t put them down!).  So I am making a proposal to read more as of right now J.  Because I have more time because homework levels have died down (and hopefully will stay that way grrrrrrrrrrrrJ), I will read more at night.  There. You have my proposal. 

My message to the world:  read more!!!  I know I’m kind of a hypocrite, but not for long!!!

~Wendy

ps.  this picture will be me soon... :)

Swan Kingdom: Cover-to-Cover

 Hey Readers!
         Sorry for the strange positions of the pictures, I spent quite a while trying to get them all on the top row, but alas, it didn't work. Anyway, I thought it would be cool to start a segment called "Cover-To-Cover." It's kind of inspired by a picture we took at Candlewick of all of us holding different cover options of Angel Burn (which was reviewed by Sara below, so check it out!). These are all pictures of the cover of the exact same book, word for word. We received the top right one from Candlewick, and it didn't seem like the book i'd want to read. After visiting candlewick, where they showed us the bottom right cover, I was strongly considering reading it. And just now, after googling it and finding the top left one, I am now deciding to read it. So, my question for those who have read it is, which one reflects the story better? And for those who haven't, which one makes you want to read it? Have an awesome day,
-Alice

P.S. We're on a break from school, so we've been traveling and stuff! Sorry for the un-plethora of posting!
P.P.S. I will still not do any sunday stuff, because i don't want to be the only nerd posting. So post! Even if you haven't read anything! (like what i just did here). But I DID post the best-seller list, If you're interested.

Review: Angel Burn

Hey Guys! So I just finished Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly, the last of the books given to us by Candlewick Press. Angel Burn is due to be released in May 2011. Anyways! When I first dived into Angel Burn I thought it was a little too dark for me... and a little confusing. Every other chapter was narrated by either the Alex, a boy to old for his age whose occupation is killing angels, or Willow, a psychic teenage girl who has no idea of the extent of her powers and her heritage. Although I found it a little mystifying, I kept reading and was immediately hooked. I couldn't put the book down. I won't give anything away...but I loved watching Alex and Willows relationship transform as evil was confronted. This book is extremely action packed with a bit of romance. VERY GOOD. HIGHLY RECCOMEND IT =D
- Sara

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Happy 200th Blog View!!!

Back to Reviews: Bluefish

Haha thanks Alice for that insight! I too am outraged that harry did not appear on this weeks list! :) So this weekend, when I was supposed to be writing a history paper, I started (and finished) Bluefish. Bluefish is by Pat Schmatz and is due to be published sometime in fall 2011. It was actually surprisingly good. I am normally the fantasy- fiction-happily ever after- type of reader but i found myself enjoying the more realistic book. It reminded me a lot of Carl Hiaasan's (spelling?) books....you know....Hoot, Scat...Flush etc.....The ones where the character change of the slightly troubled teens is just as interesting as the stellar plot. Bluefish is the story of two remarkably different characters who were both trying to hide there pasts and are trying to overcome problems of their own....i really hope there is a sequel!
I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IT!!! SOOOO GOOD!
Thanks!
- Sara

Hunger Games (once again) and other amazing books

Hey guys!!! So I know I have ALREADY talked about the Hunger Games, but I can't get enough of it! I am just blogging to tell you that I am about to go read it right now because I actually finished my homework early for once in my life!!!!!! See I would rather read than go watch TV when I have free time, so that shows how good the book actually is!!!! I am also very excited to go read other books from Candlewick Press after I read Hunger Games!!! The ones that really caught my eye were The Agency, and A Long Long Sleep. Most of you people out there probably have no idea what A Long Long Sleep is (or may if you read Alice's post), but it is and ADVANCED READING COPY, which means it is not yet for sale!!! How cool is that?!

Hello everybody!

My name is Wendy Darling.  You probably have heard of me from the book/play/movie "Peter Pan."  I am really excited for our new blog!  It will be SO AWESOME!  I can't wait for it to really get kicking!!!!  so enjoy our reviews and hopefully we will persuade you to read, too!  Just remember... if you read, you will fly, too!

~ (: Wendy :)

Completely Agree...

So, I completely agree with Mary!! The Hunger Games was a very intense, action packed book- I would totally recommend it to anyone who loves the whole distopia and intense book themes. It was so cool! The main character is Katniss Everdeen- a 16 year old girl living in a distopia in future North America. Every year, the government hosts the annual Hunger Games, which is a fight to the death in an arena. One girl and one boy are picked from each district outside the government, and of course Katniss finds herself wrapped up in it all...
It is REALLY cool! Totally recommend it. Catching Fire was just as good- as is Mockinjay at the moment!
-Anne Shirley

Review: The Hunger Games :)

Hey guys!!!! So I am Mary and (I am a little behind with these posts) YA know....:) I am a slow reader and am only on the Hunger Games. But, lemme tell you...It is SUCH A GOOD BOOK. I would HIGHLY recommend this to any of you readers out there. Katniss (if spelled correctly) is a very interesting character full of new surprises in every chapter. There is also Peeta who is a character that is very hard to read. What I mean by this is you can't tell what his next move is going to be because the narrator, Katniss, always changes her opinion about him. For example, at first she does not trust him and thinks that he is just trying to make her fall into a trap, but then she decides to trust him...It is very confusing, but that is why you have to read this book!!! To find out more about these amazing characters.... And many of you probably know that there is a movie called the Hunger Games coming out some time soon (I really don't know when,) but do not rely on the movie!!! Read the book first!!!!!!!!!! If you don't, you will be missing out on a wonderful book that is not only AMAZING, but very fast moving!!! READ THE BOOK!!!!! You will regret it if you do not, trust me I would have...

-Mary Lennox

Review: A Take on "A Long Long Sleep"

Many of us will read/have read this book, but i would really like the chance to review it. The copy I read is an Advanced Reading Copy ("ARC"), so it hasn't been published yet, and won't be until August this year. But I highly recommend reading it once it becomes available to the public :)
A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

    At first, when I saw the cover, it seemed like it would be like "Once Upon a Marigold," or something fantasy to that extent. The cover contains a title with roses wrapping around it. Once I began, I couldn't stop. I definitely recommend it for YA readers, especially those into the new trend that clusters around distopias, aliens, and futuristic time periods. It's one of those books that presents the reader with a confusing situation, and it slowly unrolls right before your eyes as you continue to get deeper and deeper into the story. The basic plot is a sci-fi sleeping beauty, or that's at least what can be deduced from the back. It's about a girl about 50 years from now (I think), who gets "stassed" (I can't tell you what that is, because it gives away some of the plot). But, it basically preserved her life for 50 years and she stayed 18 the whole time. When she wakes up, she has to learn to adjust to the new world where everyone she knew has long since died. Now, I know this might not seem that interesting, but there's also a little romance thrown in there, quite a lot of mystery, action, and uncovered plots. One of the best parts is that it is sort of realistic. They have technology that could easily be invented, or you could see modern America proposing. And the closer to home the story is, the more it touches you. That's what I like about this fantasy, it seems very realistic for something like this to happen in the future, and that really effects my feelings when I read this book.

Happy Reading!
-Alice

Hey, everyone!

Hey!

So we created this new blog, and in it we are going to share all new info about cool books we have recently read! As Sara said, we just went to Candlewick Press- so awesome, we highly recommend it. We all love to read, so when we finish a book, we will tell you about it! 

Right now, I am currently reading Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins. It is SO GOOD so far!! I'll let everyone know when I'm finished!!!

Anne Shirley

Fieldtrip

Hi! So, like Alice said, welcome to our blog! We are a group of six enthusiastic readers and can't wait to share our thoughts with you. I'm just going to give a little it of background to our blog. Today, we were lucky enough to visit CANDLEWICK PRESS, the publishing company. While we were there, we were given a tour of the building, including an AMAZING library, we learnt about the publishing process, and were even given some books to take home with us. After visiting the Company, we went out to lunch (along with the 10 free books each!) and the idea of a blog came up! Eventually Behind the Spine was decided and our pen names were chosen!
- Sara Crewe

Alice's Wonderland

Hello!
So, this blog is basically a place for us to all review books, and share great reads with each other. We all have different tastes, so there's something for everyone! Whenever we have time, we'll tell you about a great (or not-so-great) book we just read (even some pre-published!), and we hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading,
-Alice Liddell