I just got back from a camping trip, in which I read most of this:
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie.
My kids and I haven't read a book together in a couple of months--we just haven't been in the mood. So, we picked something on the short side for the car ride to the campground, and at first we were dubious but we've ended up all four of us laughing out loud at Nathan's mishaps with the zombie-inducing chemistry experiment gone wrong.
Our initial dubiousness stemmed from two things: (a) I don't like zombies, and (b) my kids don't buy into the whole school-cliques/bullies set-up. Maybe kids who go to school relate to it? But to my homeschooled kids it's a total cliche, mostly found in cartoons, and they're sick of it. Once we got to the action, though, they got really hooked in and my 13-year-old kept picking up the book to read ahead every time I set it down. This did not add to the brotherly love, but I think it says a lot for a book aimed at 9-12 year olds.
Here's what I didn't read on the camping trip:
I'm in the middle of Monica Roe's Thaw, the fictional account of a teen boy recovering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes temporary paralysis. The thing about Dane is, he's a real jerk. Pretty sure there's a transformation happening, but in the meantime, he's just not that much fun to hang out with. So, I brought him along camping, but I made him sit in my backpack the whole time. Now that I'm home, I'm looking forward to picking it up again, in hopes that Dane will redeem himself.
My daughter recently bought My Rotten Life but I don't think she's started it yet. She's really into those kinds of books right now. Glad to hear there's some action and that your kids found it interesting.
ReplyDelete--Anna
the cover of Thaw is interesting and I am interested in the subject of Guillain-Barre Syndrome..a friend of mine almost died from it a few years ago and it has been a terrible battle back....but the whole jerk thing is an issue for me as a reader.
ReplyDeleteI like the premise of Thaw - too bad the protagonist isn't much fun to spend time with. I hope it gets better!
ReplyDeleteSo, no hotdogs and s'mores for Dane?
ReplyDeleteAnna, I hope your daughter will enjoy it as much as my sons did.
ReplyDeleteCaite and Nymeth--that's exactly how I felt--loved the premise, not so sure about the character. You know it's bad when you're glad the MC is paralyzed. I'm really rooting for him to see the errors of his ways and redeem himself, though, so that's saying something.
Jill, You're spot on. He missed out on not only s'mores & dogs, but also going out for pizza. Because, when it comes to wilderness adventure, we know where to draw the line.
My Rotten Life looks adorable!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Goops Soup which I believe is book three in the Accidental Zombie series. It's pretty cute. I don't feel lost reading ahead in the series but I may pick up the first book and see how it compares. If your kids like it though I bet it's good. I hope you had fun camping!
ReplyDeleteI like the premise of Thaw - too bad the protagonist isn't much fun to spend time with. I hope it gets better!
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