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JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure | Video on TED.com

JK Rowling: The fringe benefits of failure | Video on TED.com

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

Addie is waiting for normal. But Addie's mom has an all-or-nothing approach to life:

I'd Tell You I Love You but then I'd Have to Kill You

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class.  The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies.     Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl.  Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?  Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, has learned a spell to unleash a 5,000 year old djinni, Bartimaeus. Nathaniel wants Bartimaeus to steal The Amulet of Smarkand from a very powerful magician, Simon Lovelace. Nathaniel is angry at Simon and wants to get even with him. Bartimaeus does indeed steal the Amulet and when Simon finds out where it is, he kills Nathaniel's master, Mr. Underwood. Nathaniel again decides to get even and get the amulet back. When he attempts to trap Simon and retrieve the necklace, he unleashes an evil power that all of the magicians in London cannot stop.

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. The boy who dared. Scholastic, 2008
[[978-0-439-68013-4 // 0-439-68013-1]
This is the fictionalized story of a seventeen-year-old young man who
was executed in Germany in October 1942 for writing and distributing
leaflets against the Nazi Government. The story in the 202 page book
is told from his cell while he is waiting for his execution and is an
interesting read. helmuth was a young man who was coming to age in
Hitler's Germany, was a Hitler Youth and had a brother who had a
brother who went off to war in the German army. Bertoletti, who wrote
the award winning Hitler Youth book thoroughly researched this story.
There are wonderful historical notes at the end of the book.
Review by Fredrick Muller from LM Net

Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy

Sammy is doing community service at St. Mary's church when Father Mayhew's Papal cross is stolen. Sammy is accused, but knows she didn't do it. The Sisters of Mercy, a singing group, show up at the church to provide a money raising show. In the mean time, Sammy finds a homeless girl her own age, Holly Janquell and decides to help her. She asks Vera and Meg, a mother and daughter, who run the local grooming service, Pup Parlor, to take her in. Sammy's softball mitt, the only thing she has that belonged to her father, is stolen by one of the other ball players. Sammy understands how Father Mayhew feels. While tracking down clues, Sammy discovers that the Sisters of Mercy are not really who they claim to be.