Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion

Hi Laura, I finished another task that wasn't in your last update, it's message 155:

Just finished task 5-4, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart. 229 pages


totals:
60 points 956 pages

30.2 Anne of Green Gables, 320 pages
10.2 Wicked Lovely, 352 pages
30.3 The Goose Girl, 400 pages

Total points: 70
Total pages: 1072

Shouldn't Jennifer be at the top of the leader board? Or is there something I'm not understanding?

LOL Luann, that's that "New Math". ;)

She is, Luara just probably missed switching their positions on the list.

Alexis wrote: "Amanda, how was Mira, Mirror? I've had it on my shelf for years. I got it free and was going to give it to my friend named Mira but that never happened, and I feel I should read it."

I loved it. I thought it was a solid four star book. To me, the plot and character concepts were flat, but the author's writing more than made up for that. I hope you enjoy it.

Amanda R. in Louisville

25.3 The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, 348 pages (Set in Venice, Italy)

Total: 100 points, 1652 pages

Holy Cow! I've had a hard time getting on the board!
25 Points
3. Read a book that takes place in a different country or culture than your own. Neverwhere takes place in England. 370 pages is showing on GR, I listened to the CD's.

NEW:
20.4 Read Then Again, Maybe I Won't, 164 pages.

MY CURRENT POINTS: 105 (85+20)
MY CURRENT PAGE TOTAL: 1508 (1344+164)

Amanda R. in Louisville

25-2, 'Does Exercise Count as Snogging?' 256 pages and 'The Fat Girl' by Marilyn Sachs, 216 pages.

Totals: 85 points and 1428 pages

I forgot to note that Helen Salter is the author of 'Does Exercise Count as Snogging?'

LOL I think that's "Does Snogging Count as Exercise?"... ;D

oops, it certainly is! It's a funny book, I enjoyed reading it.

20.3 Stone Cold, Robert Swindells pgs 132

Total points 40

For some reason I don't feature on the leader board at all :(

Oh no! Sorry guys! :(

I'm working on it guys, sorry!

Thanks to Becky for bringing this to my attention. It's been crazy on the homefront here lately....

:)

New leader board coming soon!

Katrina wrote: "20.3 Stone Cold, Robert Swindells pgs 132

Total points 40

For some reason I don't feature on the leader board at all :( "

Hi Katrina - Each time you post your completed tasks, please include your Totals for both Pages & Points, and I will include it. I left a prior message for you way back at message #42 in reference to this too. Thanks!

LEADER BOARD:

Jennifer: 170 pts., 3252 pages.
Beth: 135 pts., 1964 pages.
Alexis: 130 pts., 2282 pages.
Misty: 105 pts., 1694 pages.
Leora: 105 pts., 1658 pages.
Amanda: 105 pts., 1508 pages.
C: 100 pts., 2847 pages.
Bird: 100 pts., 1652 pages.
Jamie: 95 pts., 1911 pages.
Alisha: 90 pts., 2587 pages.
Kristen: 90 pts., 2538 pages.
Jennifer W: 90 pts., 1451 pages.
Luann: 80 pts., 1792 pages.
Heather: 80 pts., 984 pages.
Natalee: 70 pts., 1072 pages.
Becky: 55 pts., 1417 pages.
Allison: 55 pts., 965 pages.
Jen B: 50 pts., 1411 pages.
Kandice: 45 pts., 480 pages.
Michelle: 40 pts., 785 pages.
Josie: 40 pts., 600 pages.
Camerandi: 30 pts., 320 pages.
Lisa Julianna: 30 pts., 312 pages.
Fiona (Titch): 30 pts., 272 pages.
Kathy: 25 pts., 682 pages.
Lynlee4: 25 pts., 370 pages.
Stephanie: 25 pts., 352 pages.
Nirmala: 20 pts., 399 pages.
Liz: 20 pts., 192 pages.
Fiona/Tweety: 15 pts., 794 pages.
Adam: 10 pts., 432 pages.

Fiona / Tweety: Please see Luann's message #151 and post your new cumulative totals when you get a chance so I can update the Leader Board. Thanks.

I also wanted to note that at the end of the challenge when prizes are awarded, everyone's page totals, etc. will be checked to make sure that they conform to the first GoodReads listing of that title. I don't have the time to do that as we go, but rest assured, all tasks, pages and points will be confirmed at the end.

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the Challenge.

If I make an error while I'm updating the Leader Board, and it affects you, please send me a private message so that we can address that ASAP. Thank you!

Thanks for updating Laura, it must be quite a job. This is a great challenge and I appreciate all of the time you are putting into it!

Thanks, Leora! I'm glad you're having fun with it.

I understand, Fiona, but in order to keep it uniform, that's what we decided to do.

Thanks, it's current now.

Just finished 20-2, The Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 230 pages.

Totals:

105 points and 1658 pages

Task 25.1
Historical: The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose by Mary Hooper (336pg)
Contemporary: The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Bary Lyga (320pg)
Fantasy: Lost Magic by Berthe Amoss (184pg)

and
Task 20.1
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Although this was one of the closest movie adaptations I've seen, I still liked the book better since it didn't have the cheesy songs.

Totals: 100pts/2,034pgs

Fiona wrote: "Yes but mine was shorter and it feels wrong to claim to have read more pages then I have. But if you wanna update it then it is...."

Yes, but that's how we decided to do it. AND I had just finished Sabriel and posted in the message right before yours - and I felt like people might think I was padding my page totals since I was claiming so many more pages than you were. I listened to that one on audio, so I can't even check to make sure that the GR page totals on that first book are accurate.

Fiona wrote: "I also wanted to note that at the end of the challenge when prizes are awarded, everyone's page totals, etc. will be checked to make sure that they conform to the first GoodReads listing of that title."

Although we all need to be aware that information on GR is somewhat fluid as librarians make changes/corrections. So even when someone legitimately claimed a certain number of pages, a GR librarian may have changed that information later. And we wouldn't necessarily have known it wasn't accurate if we didn't have the first copy listed on GR to check against - as in the case above where I only have the audio copy and Fiona read a different version than the first one listed on GR. So I'm not saying the information shouldn't be checked - just that it doesn't mean someone was trying to cheat if the page numbers don't all match up.

Ah, I didn't see that.

Total points 40
total pages 340

Laura, you still have me at 90 points and 2,587 pages, but I should be at 110 points and 2,987 pages since I updated my totals in message 131. Anyway, it'll change again since I just finished another task.

I read Abarat, Book 1 Abarat and Abarat Days of Magic, Nights of War for task 25.4 (1088 pages all together). So that puts me at 135 points.

Total Points: 135
Number of Pages Read So Far: 4,075

NEW:

For task 20.3 I read Gabriel's Horses by Alison Hart, a book set in Kentucky, which is where I live. The page count was 161.

UPDATE:

I wanted to add to my last post that Then Again, Maybe I Won't was published in 1982, which is when I was born. I'm not sure if it's necessary to let you all know I followed the guidelines, but I figured it wouldn't hurt!

MY CURRENT POINTS: 125 (105+20)
MY CURRENT PAGE TOTAL: 1669 (1508+161)

5.2 The Marvellous Land of Oz (published in 1904) 192 pages
10.1 Emperors of the Ice A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-13 240 pages

Total points 105. Total pages 1883.

Updated points:
Just finished A Northern Light to add to Looking for Alaska for task 30.1. Both are award winners (Printz-US and Carnegie-UK). Both were great and I think both deserve their respective awards. Looking For Alaska had great character development and A Northern Light was beautifully written. It's easily moved into my favorites! I'm on a roll with reading great books!

Total points: 100
Total pages: 1736

Just finished 25-3, A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson, 400 pages

totals:

130 points 2058 pages

20.1 Where the Red Fern Grows (book and movie). I much prefered the book, see my comments on the discussion page. 272 pages.

Total points 125. Total pages 2155.

30.3 Beastly by Alex Flinn (320pg)

20.3 Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi (144pg). This book was set in New Orleans where I live.

Totals: 150pts/2498pgs

How'd you like Beastly Allison? When I read it a few years ago, I absolutely loved it.

NEW:

For 20.5 I read Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst. The children's librarian was looking over my list (she's rooting me on for the challenge) and saw this task. I had planned on reading The Wild Orchid A Retelling of "The Ballad of Mulan" by Cameron Dokey, but she urged me to read Into the Wild. I'm so glad I did! Page count for the book was 272.

MY CURRENT POINTS: 145 (125+20)
MY CURRENT PAGE COUNT: 1941 (1669+272)

Amanda R. in Louisville

NEW:

For 10.4 I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I'd tried to read this as a child and didn't enjoy it. I enjoyed it this time around, but I can't say it was my favorite book ever. Did it deserve the Newbery? I think so. It was certainly a challenging book as far as the concepts within the book. I can see it stretching so many imaginations. It just didn't click with me; I can still see why it's considered classic now. The page total from GR is 211.

MY CURRENT POINTS: 155 (145+10)
MY CURRENT PAGE TOTAL: 2152 (1941+211)

Amanda R. in Louisville

Update:

20 POINT TASKS:
3. Read a book that is set in your geographical area, or in a geographical area that you would like to or have lived in and/or visited. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, 224 pages. I was raised in New England.
My Whopping Total: 45 points/594 pages

Amanda, there is a sequel to Into the Wild as well - I believe it is called Out of the Wild.

Just completed task 5-1, 'What My Mother Doesn't Know' By Sonya Sones, 272 pages.

Totals:

135 points 2330 pages

Completed:
30.2- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 320 pgs

Current totals:
85 Pts / 1737 pgs

I finally finished one of the 30 point tasks! Briar Rose actually fulfills both options for 30.3. It is a retold fairy tale while also based on an actual event (the Holocaust).

30.3 Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (Fairy tale, 239 p.)
25.3 Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis (Setting: Afghanistan, 199 p.)
20.1 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (Book & film, 336 p.)
20.4 The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Pub: 1967, 192 p.)
5.1 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Top YA Novel, 485 p.)
5.2 Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (Classic Juv. book, 304 p.)
5.3 Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (Reread, 276 p.)
5.4 Sabriel by Garth Nix (Father/child relationship, 496 p.)

Total Points: 115
Total Pages: 2527

I have read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman for a 30 point task and contributed to the conversation.

312 pages/ 30 pts

Total so far: 994 pages, 55 pts

25 Point Tasks
1a. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer (Category: Romance) (GR Page count: 563 pages)

20 Point Tasks
2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling (GR page count: 109 pages)
4. The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen (GR page count: 400 pages)
5. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things - Carolyn Mackler (GR page count: 256 pages)

10 Point Tasks
3. The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin (GR page count: 192 pages)

Point Total: 70/350
Page Total: 1520

I finished Tales of Beedle the Bard yesterday for another 20 points. Surprisingly, I absolutely think it's a book I'd want my son to read (though he's not quite old enough to read it yet). I've always loved how fairy tales offer morals/lessons in a format that's entertaining and easy to remember. And they're so universal - most people know at least basic summaries of most fairy tales. So I liked these for the same reasons -- they're interesting, clever, and entertaining, and they actually offer some pretty valuable lessons about perseverence, believing in yourself, teamwork, and kindness to others. Those are lessons I think everyone (children or not) would do well to remember sometimes. My personal favorite of this bunch was "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," which, in addition to being a great story, portrays the three female witches as strong characters rather than damsels in distress. No helpless princesses in these stories!

10.3 Sabriel by Garth Nix

Total points 50
total pages 836

20.5 Up From Jericho Tel 192 pages. Interesting, not my usual type of read, but fast paced.

Total: 145 points 2347 pages

30.2: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, 320 pages.

Total: 160 points, 2602 pages

For task 20.1 I read and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (870 pages). (I'll be comparing them in the tasks and discussion section).
Total: 60 points 1470 pages.

NEW:

Finished 5.1 a few days ago, but forgot to add. Read the first Cirque du Freak, A Living Nightmare, by Darren Shan. It was #28 on Top YA Novels thread.

MY CURRENT POINTS: 160 (155+5)
MY CURRENT PAGE TOTAL: 2424 (2152+272)

30.3 Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (Fairy tale, 239 p.)
25.2 Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt/Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen (Random YA, 368 p., 240 p.)
25.3 Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis (Setting: Afghanistan, 199 p.)
20.1 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (Book & film, 336 p.)
20.4 The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Pub: 1967, 192 p.)
5.1 City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Top YA Novel, 485 p.)
5.2 Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (Classic Juv. book, 304 p.)
5.3 Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (Reread, 276 p.)
5.4 Sabriel by Garth Nix (Father/child relationship, 496 p.)

Total Points: 140
Total Pages: 3135

NEW:

I picked up Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery yesterday (for task 30.2), and could barely put it down! I just finished it. I feel like my eyes are still seeing print, but a walk down to the farmer's market will help with that.

My discussion is up on the thread.

MY CURRENT POINTS: 190 (160+30)
MY CURRENT PAGE TOTAL: 2744 (2424+320)

Amanda R. in Louisville