Jekyl Loves Hyde **

Jekyl Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
This is the second published book by a journalist turned writer. Her first book, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side was a fresh, fun, high school vampire novel. Jekly Loves Hyde is based loosely on The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. This is not the fresh, witty romance that her first novel is. There are parts of this book that are too dark.

Amazon.com Review

Product Description
Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents' rules--especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything--even Tristen's love--just for the thrill of being...bad.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—This melodramatic romance updates Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story. At the funeral for her murdered father, obedient, studious Jill Jekel is shocked to find herself comforted by a kiss from bad-boy Tristen Hyde. Then, at the encouragement of Jill's chemistry teacher, the two team up to work together on a project that could win Jill a hearty scholarship. Tristen, sure that he is descended from the original Mr. Hyde—a real person on whom Stevenson apparently based his classic novel—is desperate to cure the evil he feels growing inside himself. Believing that Jill's father had been investigating the original Jekel's sinister formula, Tristen manipulates Jill into breaking into her father's study and helping him create a new formula to fight his violent urges. Chapters from both teens' perspectives are narrated in moody, overwrought prose, perhaps as a nod to the gothic novel. Though the author satisfyingly builds and resolves the story's romantic tension, readers are left with key questions unanswered. Why is Jill tempted to drink a formula she knows will unleash evil? Why does the same formula that makes Tristen murderous merely make Jill sexually forward? And is finding love with the boy who drugged Jill's mother and repeatedly controls Jill's actions really a happy ending? Teens who enjoy brooding love stories will not be disappointed; those looking for an independent heroine will need to search elsewhere.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reading level: Young Adult

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (May 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152063900
• ISBN-13: 978-0152063900

Our Artist

Mom

Jonathan

Baby Eva

Arwen

Rebekah recieved some paper for her birthday and brought these up to me. Hannah did her hair this morning and she added the headbands around the ponytails--perhaps she is gearing up for training her own dragon. I think she looks Scandinavian.

The Dragonfly Pool

The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5–8—Tally, 11, attends Delderton, a progressive boarding school in the Devon countryside, and though she doesn't want to leave her loving father, London in 1939 is not very safe. As it turns out, she thrives there, good-naturedly setting herself to solving the problems of students and staff alike. When Bergania, whose king has refused to let Hitler's armies march through his (fictional) country, announces an international children's folk-dancing festival, Tally convinces her school to attend. During their visit, the king is assassinated, and she and the Delderton troupe rescue 12-year-old Prince Karil and smuggle him to England. Kept virtually imprisoned by his snooty wellborn relatives, Karil longs for a normal life, and eventually finds a way to escape his royal obligations, attend the school, and be reunited with his friends. Tally has a bit of Sara Crewe about her; she is singularly compassionate and generous, beloved by almost all who meet her. Her worries and imperfections make her wisdom lovely rather than irritating. Prince Karil and several adults receive meticulous and fascinating character development, but many others remain one-dimensional, known mainly by their eccentric traits. The unsympathetic characters are easy to dislike, so unremittingly negative is their depiction. Although the battle between good and evil is painted with a broad brush, Ibbotson treats most issues with a wise, subtle, and humorous touch; her writing is sublime. The satisfying epilogue, set six years later, will have readers giggling through their tears.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (October 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142414867
• ISBN-13: 978-0142414866

A Season of Gifts (Audio)

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (Audio Format)
Grandma Dowdell is back! If you enjoyed A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way From Chicago (Newberry Award and Honor books) you will enjoy the country comedic style of yet another book told from the minister's son about his experiences moving to this hick town.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5–8—It's been a long while since readers last enjoyed a season with Grandma Dowdel, and what a startling, hilarious, and touching season it is. It is now 1958, a time when Elvis is king and the glow of television sets has replaced sitting on the porch for an evening. Yet as much as things have changed, Mrs. Dowdel has remained pretty much the same, living alone in the last house in town, pushing 90 and still toting her rifle, cooking up a storm and taking down the neighborhood hoodlums. What's new are the PKs (preacher's kids) who've moved in next door, including the 12-year-old narrator, Bob Barnhardt, an unassertive boy who has the misfortune of being welcomed to town in a most unneighborly fashion. Mrs. Dowdel intervenes and helps out the Barnhardts in her own inimitable way, proving herself as clever, capable, and downright amazing as ever and allowing Bob and his family to see just what a gift of a neighbor she is. With a storyteller's sure tone, Peck has once again created a whole world in one small Illinois town, a place where the folksy wisdom and generosity of one gruff old woman can change lives.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library END --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (October 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142417297
• ISBN-13: 978-0142417294