Brava! Brava!

Just one week left for the tea contest, so I am hard at work on reading Brava, Valentine. While I was initially worried I wouldn't be able to finish the book and review it in time, I'm finding Brava, Valentine to be a much more enjoyable read. Like the first book, it opens with a marriage; this time, Val's grandmother Teodora in Italy. Teodora throws Val a curve ball by giving her the family shoemaking business... but making her villainous brother Alfred the Chief Financial Officer of the company. The book continues many of the plot threads from the first book. While it's referential, you can probably enjoy the sequel without having to read the original. I think it's a true strength of the story. I'm off to Staten Island again tomorrow, so hopefully I'll finish the book and review this week. Be sure to follow my progress (and become my friend) on Goodreads.

I've been donating some of my graphic novels to the library, mainly to shorten my collection. It was getting kind of out of control. I might be doing a few retro-graphic novel reviews. The one I'm most excited about is re-reading Chuck Dixon's Robin Year One and telling you guys how awesome it is. If this would be helpful or something you'd like to read about, be sure to comment or send me an e-mail. School Library Journal has been sending me many graphic novels to review, so I'm sort of getting a feel for reviewing both the story and art within the texts. I mean, I always kind of did it in my head. So now it's nice to have a professional excuse.

With the Summer Reading season gearing up (and Book Expo America just around the corner! You KNOW I'm going!), I've been thinking about what I'd like to tackle for reading-wise. I'm probably most excited to read a book titled Countdown by Deborah Wiles. Scholastic provided me with an ARC. Other than that, I'm kind of open to reading the possibilities. Titles can be adult or young adult... heck, I'll even take children's literature suggestions. I haven't been keeping up with the publication news like I should be. A fellow librarian gave me Split by Swati Avasthi, so that may also be a contender after "Brava." What are y'all reading?