Not exactly a great picture, but it does show the snow in our backyard. No going out to read a book on the canopied swing today! A dark, cold day. Yahoo weather says it is 11 degrees, but with the windchill factor, -4. It feels like it too! My car is parked right in front of my office window and it is covered with a fine dusting of snow and the windshield is a frozen over. Glad Steve is coming home to get me for my second set of cervical facet injections this afternoon. Just the thought of getting out there and scraping the windshield of my car makes me shutter. I love winter, but only for a few minutes and from the inside, looking out!
Hard to believe the Holidays are over and 2008 is upon us. Off to ALA Midwinter on Friday, next week. It will be chilly in Philly. I am very excited to be on the committee that will choose the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards award winning YA author. We will be doing our final deliberations at Midwinter and make the final decision, which will be announced Monday morning, 1/14/08, with all of the other youth literature awards. Being in the room when the announcements are made is the best part of Midwinter. The gasps, the shouts of happiness, the sighs fill the room, with publishers rushing out to spread the news when one of their titles is announced.
My New Year's reading was Shana Norris's Something to BLOG About. This is her debut novel with Abrams and it is a delightful read. One of those books that just makes you feel good as the geeky girl gets the guy. But, not before Libby is humiliated beyond belief when her password protected blog is shared with the entire school by her arch enemy Angel Rivera. Not only is Angel the most gorgeous girl in the 10th grade, she is also interested in Seth, the guy Libby has drooled over since they did an 8th grade English project together. To make matters worse, Angel may well become "family" as their parents are dating. This multicultural cast of female characters, including Keisha, Libby's best friend who threatens to kick every one's butt, but never has, have the readers laughing and cringing at the same time as they bicker, fight, and make up. Libby's blog entries alternate with first person narrative chapters that result in a fast and fun read. Give this one to the girls who love Meg Cabot and Lauren Myracle. A gotta have for 7-9 grade libraries.
