Jinx by Meg Cabot

Hello August readers,
I hope you had an enjoyable summer thus far. As it nears the end, my brain is already traveling into early fall so that I can begin thinking about Halloween and sweater weather. With that said, I have just finished a great audio book by Meg Cabot titled Jinx. Back in the days, when I was once a middle school librarian this was a book that circulated many, many times in my library.
Jinx, is a young teen who has left her small town in New York to live with her cousin Tori and her family. Tori, is not too happy about her cousin reappearing in her life, and has a few secrets up her sleeve. She is well aware that Jinx has been granted special powers from their family heritage of witchcraft that skips generations. While Jinx tries her very best to fit in, she soon discovers that the magical powers within her is causing animosity between her and her cousin. As the situation deepens, Jinx soon finds herself in danger and must embrace her magic powers to overcome her cousin's wish to do her harm.
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did. Readers of fantasy fiction may enjoy it, especially since the general theme is very interesting. As a avid teen reader, I felt it was a little slow to start however the ending made up for it just the same. Hope you like it!

Ocean Art Activities

This month I geared up with about 50 guests to create fun ocean themed art activities. Here are the instructions for the crab.
You will need:
1. Orange or Red pool noodles
2. Scissors
3. Googly eyes
4. Red or Orange pipe cleaners
5. Print out of crab claws ( from Word)
6. White school glue

Instructions:
Cut your pool noodle into nice "cheerio" shapes. Bend your pipecleaners for the eyes and crab legs.
Glue on the googly eyes, and attach the claws by poking through the end of the pipecleaners. I found the claw images by simply "googling," cartoon crab claws. Enjoy!

What am I reading in August?

August heat and L.A traffic has me reading indoors in the evenings and listening to audio books on my way home from work. This month, I picked up two very different reads one is teen and one is adult fiction. "The Paris Wife," by McClain is a fictional story based on the true events of Hadley and Ernest Hemmingway's marriage. If you know Hem, he was not the easiest man to get along with. The second book, which I am listening to on audio, is a fun magical teen read based in Georgia titled, " The Magnolia League."
Before you ask, no I have not finished the entire book ( either one). However, I am hopeful that I will make it to the last page (of both) before Labor Day.
Perhaps you can catch up with me and we can discuss the endings? Hmmmm??!
Please note: I am talking up " The Paris Wife," on my teen/tween blog as many high school students are required to read The Great Gatsby and they may enjoy McClain's book as well since it reflects upon the same era. Happy reading!