The New Books I Read in May

I find it hard to believe that I am still keeping track of new books I've read this year--I never made it past January before. So here's the list of all the books I read in May that I had never read before:

Magic or Madness and Magic Lessons, by Justine Larbalestier. How nice it is to start a series after it's been around for a while, and the author has had a chance to write a few more books. I'm saving the third book, Magic's Child, for Mother Reader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge (which I am not going to loose sleep over because I will not have much time to read, what with house guests and an archaeological excavation at a the site of Roger William's trading post that I foolishly said I would be happy to do in my copious free time).

The Dead and Gone, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This of course is the sequel to Life as We Knew It. Reading LAWKI, I kept wanting to make survival suggestions to the characters; perhaps because the Dead and Gone takes place in NY city, or perhaps because Pfeffer's world building was more successful (her world destroying was very good indeed in both books), I had an easier time suspending my disbelief.

What the Moon Saw, by Laura Resau and Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. I read these two back to back, which made for an interesting combination. Both books required me to accompany their teenage narrators on journeys toward belief in things I don't believe in--in the first, Mayan spiritual beliefs, in the second, the tenants of Catholicism. But both writers were able to convince me that it was possible for the characters themselves to believe, which made for good reading.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't do it for me...I sometimes have a hard time reding books where too much goes wrong (on a daily basis, as opposed to catastrophes).

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls. I read this one on Mother's Day, which maybe made things worse. I knew it would make me cry, but I'd heard it was a great book...It's a great book, and it made me cry. 11 year old boy with leukemia; right from the get go, we know that the doctors have given up and sent him home to die. Whah. But it's a great, loving, funny book, if you can see the words through your tears...

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti. In my opinion, this suspense/fantasy is an excellent airplane book--keeps your attention the whole trip, but if it gets left in the seat pocket, you won't be crushed.

Other:
Carver by Ruth Yaffe Radin
Return to Harken House by Joan Aiken
Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness by Robert Specht and Anne Prudy