bj neary's Page

Wow! Once again, Paul Volponi has written a stunningly awesome book and the horror of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina is all too crushingly real from Miles' point of view. He has only been living with his jazz playing dad for a short time when he, his uncle and his dad take their possessions in a hefty bag and head for the Super Dome. I was afraid of the gangs preying upon the families, so sad for the meaningless deaths of so many and the squalor, and oppressive heat that they had to endure. O… Continue

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, wow, wow! My friends Mary Alice and Doris highly recommended this book (thank you!)and I must confess it took me toooo long to get to finally read it---along the way---I lent it to a mom and she lent it to her daughter and they CRIED but oh did they love it AND SO DID I!!!! I just love the way Jordan Sonneblick gets it- the right on 13 year old musings of Steven, his fear and anger and his constantly annoying little brother. I couldn't put this book down, polished i… Continue

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Deanna Lambert was thirteen when her life changed from good to bad. In a car with her brother's best friend, her dad discovers his little girl is no more. Deanna has a hell of a life since her dad doesn't speak to her anymore- now she is a junior, her brother got a girl pregnant and they live in the family basement with adorable, April and dead end jobs. Deanna has a horrible reputation she has never been able to escape---so what did I learn- Deanna takes a life of lemon… Continue

This book is over 400 pages and I couldn't stop reading it- what a super read- very unsettling and compelling. Josh Mendel was 12 when his middle school teacher molested him. I learned that individuals can't always TRULY confront what happens to them even with psychological help....it takes Josh over 5 years to finally come to terms with what happened to him...how he has pushed everyone away and really can't deal with many issues due to the trauma of not understanding sex, love and many other li… Continue

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle ZevinPosted by BJ Neary on June 30, 2008 at 8:52am This is a Reading Olympic book I read (give it 5 stars out of 5!) and now I have to make up 5 questions and the answers with pg # and chapters... I really liked the main character, Naomi,a teen of 16 years who falls while returning to school to get the yearbook camera. Zevin nailed the protagonist's angst, humor, anger and introspective thoughts. You could really feel Naomi's amnesia---loved Will, he… Continue