Torn (The Missing Book 4) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

This is the 4th book in The Missing series.  It follows 13 year old Jonah and his sister Katherine as they travel back in time to 1611 to repair problems there due to Second, a rogue time traveler.
They land on Henry Hudson's ship looking for the northwest passage, and since John Hudson is missing, Jonah fills in for him, complete with a handy Elucidator provided disguise.  Despite the sabotage, mutiny, and murder on the high seas, Jonah and Katherine manage once again to save the day - and all of time, from Second's nefarious plans. 
The accuracy of the historical research helps to lend a realistic twist to this time traveling adventure. 
I enjoyed it and highly recommend it

fathermothergod: My Journey Out of Christian Science by Lucia Greenhouse

This is such a sad story!  Lucia tells of her childhood and how her parents raised her and her brother and sister in the Christian Science religion.  Her father was a Christian Science "Practitioner" and the family moved to London for a few years where the children went to Christian Science boarding schools.  Most of the book, however, deals with Lucia's mother's illness - which according to Christian Science, does not exist, and the way her family dealt with her illness and death. 
I do not understand why anyone would forgo medical care when they are dying just for the sake of a religious belief.  It just goes to show that there is a very fine line between religious belief and stupidity - a thought that came to me today when I read about the Tibetan monks who self-immolated as a form of protest.
My favorite quote from the book is from a Presbyterian minister who Lucia spoke to about her mother's illness and Christian Science beliefs and her refusal of medical treatment.   He told her "When someone is drowning, he - or she - will grab on to the closest thing in reach. And they will hold on for dear life..., even if that thing doesn't float." 
This book is wonderfully written and very touching.

Alcatraz Versus The Scrivener's Bones by Brandon Sanderson

This is book two about Alcatraz, a 13 year old oculator and a Smedry with the dread talent of breaking things.  Once again, he battles the Evil Librarians in a humerous and breath-taking adventure.  Accompanied by Bastille and her mother, his midget uncle Kaz and his cousin Australia, whose talent is to wake up ugly, they battle through the dread library of Alexandria and so on. 
Great book.  :)

The Great Mystery by Travis Slone

I received this book as a goodreads firstreads to review.
It is the author's first book and is written as an allegorical tale.
In this story Eva and Amir travel through the world and time in search of the Great Mystery that will unite the world. In the end, they find the answer that they were seeking. It was not what they were expecting.

The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School by Alexandra Robbins

This book is like a reality show about high school. 
It follows real high school students who are in various social groups - a loner, a popular bitch, a nerd, a new girl, a gamer, a wierd girl and a band geek - all from different schools and cities - through a school year and looks at their social interactions and those of the other groups in their schools. 
I am a teacher and a mother and I have seen much of the social activity that the author discusses and I think this book does a great job of showing and addressing the issues.
I found it fascinating and I think it should be required reading for all educators. 
Her research about social groups and how our brains are wired for conformity is fascinating and her challenges to the students and one teacher who are the characters that she followed in this book helped them to change their social statuses and their outlooks on life and relationships. 
I highly recommend this book and I enjoyed it very much.

Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

This is such an interesting book! 
Joshua Foer is a science reporter who went to the 2005 US Memory Championship in order to write about it.  He met several memory champs who assured him that anyone could do what they do and he set off to train to compete in the memory championship himself.  This book tells about his year of memory training and the interesting people who he met as part of his research including the man who inspired the movie "Rainman" and a man who could not remember anything for longer than a minute or two.  Joshua presents his research in an easy to read and interesting way.  I learned a lot from this book. I had never before heard of chicken sexing and would not have imagined that it had any connection with being a chess master, but now I know these things. You can too if you read this book.
I was also fascinated with the way that writing and reading has evolved over the years. Joshua shares some memorization techniques that he used and that can be helpful to students who need to memorize material for school.  Unfortunately, these techniques won't help us to remember daily things like where we left the car keys or why we opened the refrigerator. 
I have to return this book to the library, but I am so impressed with it that I may buy myself a copy of it to re-read and refer to and I plan to read more about memory and how it works.

The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund

I really enjoyed this historical romance set in 17th century England. Elizabeth choses to care for the children of a widower and through the story we learn about how life was during that time as well as the political and religious tension between the Puritans and the Anglicans. Elizabeth finds herself falling in love with the preacher whose children she cares for, but can the man, who is grieving for his wife who died in childbirth ever love again?  This book is fraught with peril, heartache, and a passion for serving the Lord.