Book 10, Flush

I just finished my second book by Carl Hiassen. I enjoyed it just as much as Scat. There are many similarities between the two books. They both take place in Florida and deal with mysteries in the environment. The book starts with a boy vistiting his dad in jail. His dad was arrested for sinking a casino boat. He sunk the ship because he thought it was dumping human waste directly into the ocean. Noah and his sister set out to get proof and deal with some very interesting characters along the way. The characters have very interesting personalities that bring in subplots to the story. It is a funny mystery. The author has written many books for adults and three for kids. He writes a column for the Miami Herald. I enjoy his writing style but wish he would keep his kids' books a little cleaner in the language.

Completed June 28, 2010

Pages: 263

Benton Lindaman | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs

Benton Lindaman Des Moines Register Staff Blogs
I included this as something I read because this article talks about an all around great young man, Ben Lindaman. I have watched Ben grow up as an athlete and a young man of character. He went through orientation at UNI last week. My daughter works on orientation staff, she said, "I love Ben. He has his head on straight." The article asks where Ben practices the javelin. We know the answer. Ben has participated in West Side Track Club since he was first eligible as a seven year-old. I have seen with a turbo javelin. I hope I don't offend the Lindamans, but I think it was made by Nerf. As a young boy, Ben threw that thing well and that has moved into a young man, throwing the real thing well. I include this, because of all the things that I read on my RSS, this was the most interesting to me. Ben is the kind of role-model young people should look to. He is an example of hard work paying off. He is not only a great track athlete, he is also a great swimmer, singer, dancer and person. Ben is one to watch at UNI next fall.

Book 9, Scat

I have read a lot of books this summer, and I think this is my favorite so far. The book was called Scat. Scat might be what you say if you want a cat or something else to go away, scat is also animal poop. The word is used both ways in this book. Carl Hiaasen is the author. He created a funny, but serious mystery that takes place in Black Vine Swamp in Florida. A number of crimes take place that are all related. Arson, missing person, illegal oil drilling, breaking and entering, and evading arrest. The first sentence hooks the reader with the biology teacher going missing. The book is absolutely filled with interesting characters, both animal and human. It has a classic good verses evil plot that is set in modern times. I would recommend this book and author to others. It is a very satisfying read.
Completed: June 24, 2010
Pages: 371

Iowa Children's Choice, Book 5, Lost and Found

Lost and Found, by Andrew Clements

Completed: June 21, 2010

genre: realistic fiction

Pages: 161

Book 8, Lost and Found

This is a funny, realistic fiction story about twins, Ray and Jay. They move to a new school and on the first day one of the boys is sick, so the other goes to school alone and realizes it is kind of nice to be seen as an individual instead of always a twin. The boys devise a plan to take turns going to school and hiding out at home. Of course this is unknown to the school staff, the boys' parents and the whole student body, until Ray tells a girl to keep it a secret and a boy notices that a skinned knee heals incredibly fast. The secret plan comes undone in a humorous way. It is a fun, light-hearted read by Andrew Clements. He has written other realistic fiction books that take place at school for kids. For this one he drew on experiences of being a father of twins. He also has written science-fiction. My favorite would be, Things not Seen.
completed June 21, 2010
pages: 161

Adults as likely to text while driving as teens, study says - CNN.com

Adults as likely to text while driving as teens, study says - CNN.com

The texting/talking cell phone usage issue is an interesting one. The article said that 6000 people died last year from accidents caused by distracted drivers. I question what other distractions might be. I know that I am far more distracted by the whole text message thing than I am talking on the cell phone. Out on the open roads I admit to texting. When my daughter was sixteen I made her read, highlight and write a report about using the cell phone and driving. When I think of 6,000 people dying though, I think that this is preventable. I think that teenagers are less experienced at driving and more experienced at texting and adults are more experienced at driving than teenagers. That balances out, so I guess none of us should be using a cell phone and driving. We need to remember that we are controlling a multi-ton object at very high speeds and we need to do everything that we can to keep it, others, and ourselves safe. We can take a step towards that by not texting or talking on cell phones and involving ourselves in other distracting behaviors as we drive.

Book 7, Dovey Coe

Dovey Coe is an amazingly strong, confident girl growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, created by author, Frances O'Roark Dowell. I chose this because it won an Edgar Allan Poe award so I thought it would be a great mystery. I think that it is a good book to show the way of life of people growing up in the mountains of the South. It uses Dovey's voice throughout which is her southern accent infused with grammatical errors to craft the main character. The mystery of the book is who killed the antagonist, Parnell. The majority of the book is developing the characters and conflict. The mystery does not come until very late in the book and is quickly wrapped up in three chapters. It is an excellent example of how a family pulls together in adverse circumstances. It is a great story, but not really that great of a mystery. I need to keep looking for my mystery.
completed June 20, 2010
pages 181