Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Have I mentioned my impulsive (and relatively recent) purchase of 50 or so books at the library sale? They were 10 for a dollar, and given my current PTA status, I figured I’d donate most of them to the school for literacy night and keep what I wanted to keep. The catch, of course, is that I wanted to read them first…

Yeah, I have problems. On the other hand, I did finish Shine! the other day, and once I review it I can pass it on to my 13-year-old before donating it for next month’s school event. (It was good enough to be no hardship to keep, but I’m trying to be sensible!) If you’re not familiar, Shine! is the first book Chris Grabenstein and his wife, J.J., have co-authored, and it follows Piper Milly as she moves from a regular school to an expensive private one when her father gets a job there. She’s sure she’s going to be miserable in what she expects to be a sea of snobs, but to her surprise, there are plenty of nice kids to offset the mean ones. Piper is torn, however, between her preference to be inconspicuous and the reality of her mother’s legacy with the school. Can she find the right place for herself while still becoming the person she wants to be?

The Grabensteins’ collaboration has likable characters, a fantastic message, and a female main character passionate about science; it’s also a thoroughly entertaining story. (Honestly, if I weren’t on the PTA board, I’d probably end up keeping it.) Don’t miss this one!