Books I read in June

Here's the list of books I read in June, not counting picture books, re-reads, or the books read in that happy 48 hour period earlier this month when I took part in Mother Reader's challenge (my list for that is here and here). Or, of course, the books I can't remember...

Magic Lessons, and How to Ditch Your Fairy, by Justine Larbalestier. My review of the later is here.

The Gates of Bannerdale, by Geoffrey Trease. The last in the very engaging Bannerdale series (published 1949-1956), about four children growing up in the Lake District, takes Bill and Penny to Oxford University. This series was recently reprinted by Girls Gone By Publishers.

Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, by Kary Mullis. He won the Nobel Prize for chemistry. I would have liked more chemistry in this book and less about Kary Mullis, with whom I seem to have little in common (for instance, I believe in the deleterious effect of human behaviour on the earth's climate, and have no desire to go to strip clubs).

Sally by Louise Dickinson Rich (1970). Rich is best known for her autobiography We Took to the Woods, but after leaving the woods, she wrote several children's books, this being one of them. It is a rather unconvincing portrayal of a seemingly autistic boy being miraculously rehabilitated by life on an island off the coast of Maine, partly due to the efforts of Sally, the orphaned foster daughter of the boy's grandparents.

Tennyson by Lesley M.M. Blume, and
Frannie in Pieces by Delia Ephron, both of which I hope to review in the near future, as in, perhaps, tomorrow, since they are both timeslipish, and tomorrow is Tuesday, which is when I write about such books.

Angel's Gate, by Gary Crew (1995). Mainly about the capture and rehabilitation of the two wild children of a murdered prospector in Australia, told from the point of view of the young boy whose family takes them in.

House of Many Ways, Diana Wynne Jones. More on this later, d.v.

The Seeing Summer, by Jeannette Eyerly (1981). This starts out pretty well, with one girl overcoming her reluctance to make friends with another girl who is blind, but when the blind girl got kidnapped, I lost interest.






And finally, Lock and Key, by Sarah Dessen, a ya book which was a great pleasure to read.




I also raised another $1,300 for my library with a used book sale this month, and am busily preparing a list of books I'd like to buy to offer our children's librarian for her consideration....