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The Alpha Box
by Annie Dalton. Lonely teenager Asha finds a magic box, and is coached by the Goddesses contained within it to defeat the evil power of the nihilistic rock band, the Four Hoarsemen, who are turning teenagers into depressed zombie groupies (unsurprisingly, few people notice) as the first step in their plan to turn the world over to a flying saucer full of unseen aliens at a huge outdoor concert.
The realistic emotions and character interactions make this less ridiculous and more touching than it sounds.
Dustbin Baby
by Jacqueline Wilson. A children’s book by a popular British writer. It’s been fourteen years since the newborn April was found in a dustbin, but she hasn’t remotely come to terms with her ignominious beginning. After a fight with her adopted mother, she sets off to try to connect with her past.
A sweet, poignant problem novel with at least one good surprise and a satisfying conclusion. The flashbacks to April’s childhood are darker than I’d expected, but since we know that things turned out all right for her, it’s probably not too disturbing for younger kids.
Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs
. An anthology of true stories of culinary disasters and panic in the kitchen, written by famous (and semi-famous) chefs. Like any theme anthology, some stories are better than others and many are similar to each other, but if the subject matter sounds amusing I can guarantee that it lives up to its theme. I often laughed aloud as I read.
In these stories, chefs are terrorized by rampaging meringues, make 400 French soldiers spit out their coffee, flood a car with gallons of Hollandaise sauce, accidentally contribute to the working of a medical miracle, discover new taste sensations when they drop the foie gras in the chocolate sauce, and (this happens several times) must come up with ingeniously hilarious methods of saving face when they drop or otherwise destroy a wedding cake. Remarkably, there is only one story about a food fight.
Some stories are gross and “This Whole Place is Slithering” is gruesome. Caveat emptor.
by Annie Dalton. Lonely teenager Asha finds a magic box, and is coached by the Goddesses contained within it to defeat the evil power of the nihilistic rock band, the Four Hoarsemen, who are turning teenagers into depressed zombie groupies (unsurprisingly, few people notice) as the first step in their plan to turn the world over to a flying saucer full of unseen aliens at a huge outdoor concert.The realistic emotions and character interactions make this less ridiculous and more touching than it sounds.
Dustbin Baby
by Jacqueline Wilson. A children’s book by a popular British writer. It’s been fourteen years since the newborn April was found in a dustbin, but she hasn’t remotely come to terms with her ignominious beginning. After a fight with her adopted mother, she sets off to try to connect with her past. A sweet, poignant problem novel with at least one good surprise and a satisfying conclusion. The flashbacks to April’s childhood are darker than I’d expected, but since we know that things turned out all right for her, it’s probably not too disturbing for younger kids.
Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs
. An anthology of true stories of culinary disasters and panic in the kitchen, written by famous (and semi-famous) chefs. Like any theme anthology, some stories are better than others and many are similar to each other, but if the subject matter sounds amusing I can guarantee that it lives up to its theme. I often laughed aloud as I read.In these stories, chefs are terrorized by rampaging meringues, make 400 French soldiers spit out their coffee, flood a car with gallons of Hollandaise sauce, accidentally contribute to the working of a medical miracle, discover new taste sensations when they drop the foie gras in the chocolate sauce, and (this happens several times) must come up with ingeniously hilarious methods of saving face when they drop or otherwise destroy a wedding cake. Remarkably, there is only one story about a food fight.
Some stories are gross and “This Whole Place is Slithering” is gruesome. Caveat emptor.
