Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Bethany Cole is an only child. As she approaches her 13th birthday, her mother becomes more and more distraught, and Bethany is left with an aunt she never knew she had while her father "gets help" for her mother. At least that's what Bethany is told. But people is Aunt Myrlie's town have shocking reactions to Bethany's appearance, and Bethany begins to question her parents' past as well as her own. Double Identity is a fast-paced YA thriller, which brings up some sticky ethical questions. Great read!

On with the reading

Having finished May Bird, what am I reading now in the realms of children's literature? Currently, I'm working on Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix, which is on the Texas Bluebonnet List this year, which I'm really enjoying. It's a real page turner. We also started reading Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean last night for bedtime. Perfect for getting near to Halloween!

May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson

This book could have been so good. And the story itself was really good. But Anderson should have stayed away from trying to describe the "location" of the Ever After and just left it to the readers' imaginations. As it was, it was hard to get past the utter implausibility of it. (Having a husband with a physics degree pointing out all the things wrong with it didn't help!)

That said, May Bird is one of the more endearing characters I've encountered recently. A friendless, skinny 10-year-old, May suddenly finds herself seeing ghosts. She ends up in an alternate reality on a quest of some type after finding a letter from the past that is inexplicably addressed to her. She is joined along the way by some interesting companions: Pumpkin the house ghost (a very lovable character), Julian, Bea, and Fabbio (specters), and, best of all, Somber Kitty.

I think I would have liked this book better had it not been read over the course of a month or so as our "bedtime" book. I also was very frustrated with the ending. While I realize that this is the first book in a series, the ending was completely unsatisfying. Unlike many series books I read, there was no real resolution at the end of the book. It couldn't stand alone at all. Which leaves me in a dilemma; do I care enough to read more in the series to find out what happens to May? I just don't know...