Readalike Wednesday-All things John Green

"Do you have Paper Towns by John Green?"

So...one of my most commonly asked questions is, "Do you have anything by John Green?"  Sadly, my answer in the past has been no, although now we have a copy of Let It Snow which includes a story by John Green!  In order to give you some middle school-approved John Green readalikes, this Readalike Wednesday is devoted to all things John Green!

Books Like 

Let's Get Lost

By Adi Alsaid

A love-seeking mechanic, a dramatic petty thief, a disappointed planner, and a broken-hearted teen all find their lives transformed as each shares whirlwind adventures with a girl in an insanely red car.

Find it @ F ALS

The Beginning of Everything

By Robyn Schneider

Star athelete and prom king Ezra Faulkner's life is irreparably transformed by a tragic accident and the arrival of eccentric new girl Cassidy Thorpe.

Find it @ F SCH

Books Like

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

By Jesse Andrews

Seventeen-year-old Greg has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother forces him to befriend Rachel, a girl he once knew in Hebrew school who has leukemia.

Find it @ F AND

After Ever After

By Jordan Sonnenblick

Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome after effects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.

Find it @ F SON

Books Like

Thirteen Reasons Why

By Jay Asher

When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death.

Find it @ F ASH

Conversion

By Katherine Howe

When girls start experiencing strange tics and other mysterious symptoms at Colleen's high school, her small town of Danvers, Massachusetts, falls victim to rumors that lead to full-blown panic, and only Colleen connects their fate to the ill-fated SalemVillage, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago.

Find it @ F HOW

Gator Reads (Book Review)

Sweet
By Emmy Laybourne

“The luxurious celebrity cruise launching the trendy new diet sweetener Solu should be the vacation of a lifetime. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv’s invitation. She’s already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host Tom Forelli-the hottest guy ever!-and she’s too sick to even try the sweetener. And that’s before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange.

Tom knows that he should be grateful for this job and the chance to shed his former-child-star image. His publicists have even set up a ‘romance’ with a reality star. But as things on the ship start to get wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when the hosting gig turns into an expose on the shocking side effects of Solu, it’s Laurel that he’s determined to save.

Emmy Laybourne, author of the Monument 14 trilogy, takes readers on a dream vacation in Sweet that goes first comically, then tragically, then horrifyingly, wrong! ” ~from the publisher

What I thought:  This book is not for the faint of heart!  It gave me nightmares y'all!! It starts out as this normal book where our heroine goes on a "too good to be cruise"  and then takes a turn to the dark side.  I really don't want to say too much about this book for fear I might give something away.  All I can say is it feels a bit too much like it can happen and it's a very scary book.  I would recommend this to all my Monument 14 readers who are sad I can't have Monument 14 in the library because it reviews for 9 and up.  Happy Reading!

LibraryLef (aka Mrs. Leffel)

P.S.  I tweeted the author #itgavemenightmares. She tweeted back #sorrybutnotreallysorry.

Readalike Wednesday-Diary of Wimpy Kid

Have you read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books?  Are you waiting for the next one to come out?

Here are some readalikes you might want to try:

The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda
By Tom Angleberger

Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future. Includes instructions for making Origami Yoda.

Find me @ F ANG

Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure
By Doreen Cronin

When the squirrel Tail comes barreling into the chicken coop ranting about a round, shiny, green, big, scary thing in the yard, Dirt, Sweetie, Poppy, and Sugar investigate this strange object.

Find me @ F CRO

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading
By Tom Greenwald

Middle schooler Charlie Joe is proud of his success at avoiding reading, but eventually his schemes go too far.

Find me @ F GRE

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
By Stephan Pastis

Resolving to earn so much money that his mother will no longer stress out over the bills, eleven-year-old Timmy Failure launches a detective business with a lazy polar bear partner named Total but finds their enterprise "Total Failure, Inc." challenged by a college-bound spy and a four-foot-tall girl whom Timmy refuses to acknowledge. ~from Novelist

Find me @ F PAS

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
By James Patterson

When Rafe Kane enters middle school, he teams up with his best friend, "Leo the Silent," to create a game to make school more fun by trying to break every rule in the school's code of conduct.

Find me @ F PAT

Big Nate
By Lincoln Peirce

Supremely confident middle-school student Nate Wright manages to make getting detention from every one of his teachers in the same day seem like an achievement. ~from Novelist

Find me @ F PEI

Dork Diaries
By Rachel Renee Russell

Fourteen-year-old Nikki Maxwell writes in her diary of her struggle to be popular at her exclusive new private school, then of finding her place after she gives up on being part of the elite group. ~from Novelist

Find me @ F RUS

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School comes out November 3rd!!

Gator Reads (Book Review)

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
By Becky Albertalli

“Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.” ~From the publisher

What I thought: I believe it's important that libraries have books that all different types of people can relate to.  I especially love coming-of-age stories where the character works on being comfortable with him or herself.  This is a really great read!  It received starred reviews in Publishers' Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews.  That is no small feat!  Simon is such a likeable character!  I enjoyed seeing how Simon handled everything that happens to him.  His friends are pretty great too!  This book reviews for 8th grade and up so decide to read accordingly! Happy reading!

Reviewed by LibraryLef (aka Mrs. Leffel)

Share Your #Shelfie

What are you reading?

In honor of Throwback Thursday, here's a shelfie (a picture of books that I was currently reading) I took in January.

My favorite book of that shelfie was The Swap by Megan Shull.  It was a Freaky Friday-esque story with, I kid you not, one of the best ending I've read in awhile.  I loved how everything came together in a perfect resolution...but, I'm getting off topic!  Shelfies!  I would love for you to share what you're reading! Who knows, you may inspire someone to try something new!  If you have Twitter or Instagram, use #shelfie and of course, #gatorreads! You can also bring in a photo and I'll hang it on our shelfie board.  Happy Reading!

#readitloveshareit
#seriouslytryit
#Iknowthesehashtagsdontwork
#justforfun
#stopreadingthisandshareyourshelfie

#Mrs.Leffel :o)

P.S. If you're interested in the books in my shelfie, they are:

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle ~ Find it@ F PAI
The Swap by Megan Shull ~ Find it @ F SHU
Alienated by Melissa Landers ~ Find it@ F LAN

Social Media Mayhem

Howdy folks!  Mrs. Leffel here to let you know about some exciting new social media developments!  In addition to be on Twitter, we are now on Instagram too!!  If you would like to see what is being posted, use #gatorreads.  I am using the same hashtag on both Instagram and Twitter.  Not on Twitter or Instagram? No problem!  I also have widgets (those are the little buttons and news feeds on the side of the screen) on the Gatorsread website for each where you can see what is being posted.

To recap:

Twitter: #gatorreads
Instagram: #gatorreads
Website: gatorsread.blogspot.com

Happy reading!

Mrs. Leffel