Across the Library

American Mcgee's Alice was a beautiful game that captured the minds of many gamers.  As this book shows, the second game will be equally as beautiful, perhaps even more so.  It was great to get an inside look at the creation of the creatures and locations of the game, and of course of Alice herself.  I particularly enjoyed seeing the process of ccreating Alice's look and her various dress styles.  This book captures the beauty of what is sure to be a fascinating game.

I'm still really backed up on my reading - I'm trying to catch up on the books I need to read that were selected for my LTRC 2010 list, while also reading books for the 2011 list and other books that just catch my eye.  Well this book was one of those books!  I try not to take home any new books until I finish the ones I have at home, but I couldn't help but sneak this one into my pile, and I'm glad I did! I enjoyed this one from the start, though I was initially put off by its first person narrative and the lack of chapter numbers.  It didn't take long for me to get wrapped up in the story and forget my minor annoyances with those matters.  The first part of the book rotates between chapters of the present day, where Louisa Cosgrove has been locked up in Wildthorn, an asylum for the insane, and chapters of the past, in which Louisa remembers things about her childhood and recent months.  Louisa is fooled into believing that she is going to s...

I've always been fascinated by the history of the Salem Witch Trials, so when I was checking this book in, I immediately nabbed it for myself!  It wasn't until later that I realized that the book is written in verse.  I've only read a few other books in verse, but I do like the style, so I was looking forward to a quick read about a topic that I enjoy. At first I had a little trouble getting into the old style of language, which isn't always a problem for me, but I think it had something to do with with the flow of the language in verse.  It wasn't long before I was wrapped up in the book though. The story is a fictional account of the witch trials told from the perspective of three of the actual girls who made the accusations during the trials, Ann Putnam, Jr., age 12, Mercy Lewis, age 17, and Margaret Stewart, age 17.   While Hemphill has created an interesting tale of what might have been the girl's motivations for accusing so many people of being witche...

I'm way behind here.  Hope to post reviews for the following soon:  Wicked Girls , Curse of the Wendigo , Behemoth . I'm almost finished reading Wicked Girls now.  It's a book about the Salem Witch trials, from the perspective of three of the young girls that accused the women and men of being witches.  It's written in verse so it's a quick read. I'm also about to start reading Hetalia: Axis Powers, which is a manga that my library teens are currently obsessing over.  At first I was surprised because it seems like a strange topic for them to be so excited over but after reading just the first part and the first few character introductions, I can see the cuteness in it. Going to a summer reading program workshop in February.  If I get any super cool ideas for craft projects, I'll try to post them here!