Hey everyone! Welcome back!

My school quarter has FINALLY ENDED! So, hopefully, that means that we can go back to doing this every week. I have some books that I need to read, but I don’t know which one I should start out with. Soooo, you guys get to choose! Take a look at the choices below!

Hi Everyone! Welcome back!

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done one of these. My school schedule is super busy this quarter, and I haven’t had much time to read. Hopefully this will go back to being a regular thing. I received some awesome middle grade books from Penguin this week. I’m so excited to read each and every one of them,  but you’re going to choose which one I read next.

Let me know (or link me to your website) in the comments section what books you’ve received this week or what you’re planning on reading next!

Take a look at this weeks choices!

The Life of Ty by Lauren Myracle

Winnie Perry’s sweet baby brother, Ty, is the quintessential dreamer, full of big ideas and wacky plans that only a seven-year-old boy could hatch. Whether it’s battling the family cat with a Dustbuster or smuggling a baby penguin out of the aquarium, Ty is always in the middle of a well-intended, big-hearted scheme.

In the spirit of the Judy Moody spinoff Stink series, Ty will work his way into the hearts and funny bones of a whole new generation of Myracle fans.

After Iris by Natasha Farrant

An unforgettable middle-grade debut that will steal your heart Blue Gadsby’s twin sister, Iris, died three years ago and her family has never been the same. Her histrionic older sister, Flora, changes her hair color daily; her younger siblings, Jasmine and Twig, are completely obsessed with their pet rats; and both of her parents spend weeks away from home–and each other. Enter Zoran the Bosnian male au pair and Joss the troublemaking boy next door, and life for the Gadsby family takes a turn for the even more chaotic. Blue poignantly captures her family’s trials and tribulations from fragmented to fully dysfunctional to ultimately reunited, in a sequence of film transcripts and diary entries that will make you cry, laugh, and give thanks for the gift of families.

With the charm of The Penderwicks and the poignancy of When You Reach Me, Natasha Farrant’s After Iris is a story that will stay with readers long after the last page.

The Creature from the Seventh Grade by Bob Balaban

There’s a thief in town, and all signs point to twelve-year-old Charlie Drinkwater. Once you spontaneously morph into a giant mutant dinosaur in the middle of the school day, people will suspect you of just about anything. Charlie’s teachers decide that all he needs is a little discipline, so they make him join the swim team. The only problem is, Charlie is terrified of the water. (He’s terrified of a lot of things.) Charlie and his friends vow to apprehend the real criminal and clear Charlie’s name. But when they discover who the actual thief is, Charlie’s problems get a whole lot bigger . . . not to mention slimier, scalier, and smellier!

Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko

Alcatraz Island in the 1930s isn’t the most normal place to grow up, but it’s home for Moose Flanagan, his autistic sister, Natalie, and all the families of the guards. When Moose’s dad gets promoted to Associate Warden, despite being an unlikely candidate, it’s a big deal. But the cons have a point system for targeting prison employees, and his dad is now in serious danger. After a fire starts in the Flanagan’s apartment, Natalie is blamed, and Moose bands with the other kids to track down the possible arsonist. Then Moose gets a cryptic note from the notorious Al Capone himself. Is Capone trying to protect Moose’s dad too? If Moose can’t figure out what Capone’s note means, it may be too late.

The last heart-pounding installment in the New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winning Alcatraz trilogy is not to be missed!

“Superlative historical fiction.” – School Library Journal (starred review for Al Capone Shines My Shoes)

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck

Newbery Award-winning author Richard Peck is at his very best in this fast-paced mystery adventure. Fans of The Tale of Desperaux, A Little Princess, and Stuart Little will all be captivated by this memorable story of a lovable orphan mouse on an amazing quest.

The smallest mouse in London’s Royal Mews is such a little mystery that he hasn’t even a name. And who were his parents? His Aunt Marigold, Head Needlemouse, sews him a uniform and sends him off to be educated at the Royal Mews Mouse Academy. There he’s called “Mouse Minor” (though it’s not quite a name), and he doesn’t make a success of school. Soon he’s running for his life, looking high and low through the grand precincts of Buckingham Palace to find out who he is and who he might become.

Queen Victoria ought to be able to help him, if she can communicate with mice. She is all-seeing, after all, and her powers are unexplainable. But from her, Mouse Minor learns only that you do not get all your answers from the first asking. And so his voyage of self-discovery takes him onward, to strange and wonderful places.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne

For fans of The Westing Game and From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler comes a clever, treasure-hunt mystery based on a real-life art heist.

Moxie Fleece knows the rules and follows them–that is, until the day she opens her front door to a mysterious stranger. Suddenly Moxie is involved in Boston’s biggest unsolved mystery: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist. Moxie has two weeks to find the art, otherwise she and the people she loves will be in big-time danger.

Her tools? Her best friend, Ollie, a geocaching addict who loves to find stuff; her Alzheimer’s suffering grandfather, Grumps, who knows lots more than he lets on; and a geometry proof that she sets up to sort out the clues.

It’s a race against the clock through downtown Boston as Moxie and Ollie break every rule she’s ever lived by to find the art and save her family.

Hey everyone!

So, I have no idea what is going on with wordpress. I had this scheduled for May 1st, and it told me it published, but it never appeared on the site. It’s all sorts of weird. SO…Here it is…a few days late:

About the Author

Kaylie Austen was born in India, and raised in Austin, Texas where she attended the University of Texas. Her multi-cultural upbringing fueled her desire for languages, cultures, and travel. Kaylie is perhaps best known for her sudden and infectious laugh. She enjoys anything science fiction and fantasy related, and writes in both genres for adults and young adults.

Kaylie began writing at the tender age of ten, and completed her first novel at the age of sixteen. Throughout her school years, her writing earned trophies, awards, publication in scholastic magazines, and scholarships. Kaylie currently lives in beautiful Washington State with an amazing husband. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to contact her.

website: www.kaylieausten.com blog: www.kaylieausten.blogspot.com twitter: www.twitter.com/kaylieausten FB: www.facebook.com/kaylieausten