Zen and the art of faking it

Jordan Sonnenblick has done it once again. He has written another awesome book. In Zen and the art of faking it we meet San Lee, a boy of Chinese ancesty who has been adopted by Anglo parents. San and his mom have moved to, as San calls it, "Nowheresville" Pennsylvania from Houston. He is not happy about the move and is avoiding talking to his dad on the phone. San thinks that this new school is the perfect place to re-invent himself. His school is studying Zen and San decides to fake being a

Zen master. It doesn't hurt that the girl he has a crush on is impressed by his new Zen persona. As you would expect, San ends up in trouble by not being honest, but the journey is fun. Full of humor, a little romance, and even some sports, this is a great read.

Trouble don't last by Shelley Pearsall

Trouble don't last by Shelley Pearsall is the book I'm reading now. It is an interesting follow-up to North because Samuel, the main character in this book, is going north as well. Samuel, however, is not running away from an over-protective mother. He is running away from the tyranny of slavery. I have only read about 50 pages and am enjoying the story so far.

North by Donna Jo Napoli

Alvin is a twelve year old African-American who lives in Washington, D.C. with his mother and great grandmother. His mother is over-protective and won’t let him do things the other kids his age get to do. He has never even been allowed to spend the night with a friend.

Alvin really wants a mountain bike to go on a trip with his Uncle Pete. He hopes to get one for Christmas, but doesn’t. He wants to use money he has earned to buy the bike, but his mother refuses to let him.

Alvin starts to work on a social studies project about his hero, Matthew Henson, who helped discover the North Pole. As he reads more about Henson, he thinks that he should do what Henson did, and go north. He thinks that if he does that, his mother will see that he is not as immature as she thinks he is.

Follow Alvin as he goes north. Read about the people he meets, the places he sees and the adventures he experiences.

Mrs. Sellin says:
I found myself very engaged in this book. Alvin is a very likeable character and you find yourself hoping that he will be successful. I learned a good bit about the Matthew Henson and his explorations and the ways of the people of the north.