In My Mailbox

It's been a difficult week. We lost someone very young in our family. He was 34. Blogging is a welcome distraction. I thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and understanding. While we mourn, life keeps on. So regarding the bright things that happened, I want to send a special thank you to Steph at Steph Su Reads. She sent a very cool goodie box. I brought home a few books from our library to read and I'm sharing a few of what we got in the mail. To see what others received, check in with Kristi at The Story Siren and Marcia at The Printed Page.

In The Mail:
Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
Synopsis
Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US to find work. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village — they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men — her own Siete Magnificos — to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over.

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye
from Booklist: The following poems draw from Nye's observations about nature, home, school, and neighborhood to make connections to a girl's inner world. The meaning in a few selections is oblique, particularly in spare lines that read like a zen koan. Most poems, though, speak with a powerful immediacy.

Lush by Natasha Friend
Synopsis
Thirteen-year-old Samantha must contend with the effects of her fathers alcoholism on every aspect of her life, in this realistic family drama told with humor, honesty, and hope.



The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
Synopsis
Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex, especially when she compares herself to her slim, brilliant, picture-perfect family. But that's before a shocking phone call — and a horrifying allegation — about her rugby-star brother changes everything. With irreverent humor and surprising gravity, Carolyn Mackler creates an endearingly blunt heroine who speaks to every teen who struggles with family expectations, and proves that the most impressive achievement is to be true to yourself.