Family Friday

FAMILY FRIDAY is a weekly update showcasing the wide variety of books our family is reading.   Due to our different ages and reading preferences, I hope blog readers will find something that interests them.  Enjoy a dip into the Millis home of books!

My daughter...the Eleven year old Realistic Fiction Fanatic

Sharon Creech, have you heard of her?  She is Rae's "absolute favorite author of all time"...that's her quote.  She has written more than a dozen books for middle grade to high school children.  Her latest book, The Great Unexpected, is a sequel to Walk Two Moons and was a hit for my husband and daughter.  They are reading them backwards due to them starting with the most recent book.   I suggested Absolutely Normal Chaos for Rae's solo reading time and she is loving every minute of it.  If you are a fan of Sharon Creech and want to be part of her daily life, check out her blog, Sharon Creech blog



Goodreads Summary:

"How about a story? Spin us a yarn."
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold — the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.



Goodreads Summary:

Mary Lou Finney is less than excited about her assignment to keep a journal over the summer. Boring! Then cousin Carl Ray comes to stay with her family, and what starts out as the dull dog days of summer quickly turns into the wildest roller coaster ride of all time. A wonderful story of contemporary teen life.



This is Rae and my read of the moment and we are enjoying the life of Teddy who lives at a zoo.  It is a bit mystery, a tad adventure and throw in the animal story bit and you have a fun read.

Goodreads Summary:

12 year old Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Fitzroy has got a murder on his hands and trouble on his tail. Henry, the hippopatamus at the brand-new nationally known FunJungle, has gone belly up. Even though it's claimed he died of natural causes, Teddy smells something fishy and it sure ain't the polar bear's lunch. Dealing with the zoo's top brass proves to be nothing but a waste of time. They want to see any trace of Henry's death disappear like yesterday's paper. So Teddy sets out to find the truth. With the help of Summer McCraken, a fiesty girl with secrets of her own, the two narrow down their prime suspects. Is it Martin Del Gato, FunJungle's head of operations who dislikes kids and hates animals even more? Or J.J McCraken, the owner of FunJungle and Summer's father, who has more concern for the dough he's raking in than the animals in the zoo? As their investigation goes on, Teddy gets squeezed on all sides to quit asking questions-- or Henry won't be the only one to turn up dead. The deeper Teddy and Summer get, the more the danger mounts -- because when it comes to hippo homicide, the truth can't be kept in a cage!

My son, the 13-year-old Fantasy "Freak" whose parents are trying to expand his horizons


In case I haven't mentioned, Reid is a 7th grader reading at a college level, so I am challenged at finding high level books with appropriate content.



His current read, the classic, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a suggestion from a few of his other high flyer friends.  He is struggling to "get into it."  We'll see if he can push through...

Goodreads Summary:

Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.



My husband and Reid are enjoying a book that ties into our family's history.  My husband and I are both from the South and have connections to this favorite classic.  As books often do, nightly reading is leading to some interesting questions and discussions.

Goodreads Summary:

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it. To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story, by a young Alabama woman, claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.



All I can say is WOW!!  This is one of my top ten favorite books of 2012.   THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL!!  Adults will find it valuable as well.In my opinion, the messages of acceptance of others and the courage to withstand challenges were ones that every child should read.   There are schools throughout the world who are teaching the message of "Choose Kind!"

Goodreads Summary:

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

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My husband, the memoir/nonfiction/adventure reader...

My usual non-reading husband is now reading due to us finding a book award for outdoor adventure books.  The awards which can be found here, Outdoor Adventure and Nature Book Awards are for travel writing, guide books, children books, and some other outdoor-related books.  I've printed out the list of past award winners and are requesting them through our public library.  Have I told you how much I love the book reserve program?!?



This is the first award winner that Ed has read.  Every night he goes to sleep dreaming of waking up on a tropical beach for a day of surfing perfect waves.

Goodreads Summary:

Author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Dog Stars, my next read


With grit, poetry, and humor, Peter Heller, acclaimed author of The Whale Warriors recounts his remarkable journey of discovery—of surfing, an entirely new challenge; of the ocean’s beauty and power; of the strange surf subculture; of love; and, most of all, of how to seek adventure while crafting a meaningful life.

Having resolved to master a big-hollow wave— that is, to go from kook (surfese for beginner) to shredder—in a single year, Heller travels from Southern California down the coast of Mexico in the company of his girlfriend and the eccentric surfers they meet. Exuberant and fearless, Heller explores the technique and science of surfing the secrets of its culture, and the environmental ravages to the stunning coastline he visits.

As Heller plumbs the working of his own heart and finds joy in both love and surfing, he affords readers vivid insight into this fascinating world, with all of its perils and pleasures, its absurdity and wonder. Exhilarating, entertaining, and moving, Kook is a love story between a man and his surfboard, a man and his girlfriend, a not-so-old man and the se

Me, the anything between two covers, paper or hardback...



When I started this book, I didn't realize it was about a son and mother book club during the final months of her life.  This memoir is teaching me so much...about how to not only die, but live life, how to be present and treasure each moment, how to preserve those memories in written word and how to use books to open up difficult conversations.  My hat is off to Will Schwalbe for his courage in sharing this meaningful story.

Goodreads Summary:

That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world. Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying.

Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other—and rediscover their lives—through their favorite books. When they read, they aren’t a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will’s love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.



May you find your own reading treasure.  I'll be back on Tuesday to share some Techie Tips.