Have been reading finishing or half finishing several…

Have been reading, finishing, or half-finishing several books since the last blog update. The best of them, for me as a reader, is book 104, which, for a little while, I thought it perhaps too “sophisticated” in its tone and style to be appreciated by most children so I put it aside to sample others. But it kept staring at me from my desk in that enticing way: the great title, the beautiful book design, and the intriguing premises and characters I already encountered from reading just the first few chapters. I went back to the book and was rewarded with one of the best reading experiences this year: the tension of the main “mystery thread” kept me interested throughout, the just right amount of details in the setting kept me immersed in this world, and the effective presentation with both dialogs and events of a theme that is relevant to every young person growing up regardless of time or place definitely delighted me. Toward the last few chapters, I kept quietly “begging” the author, “C’mon, make sure you don’t mess up the ending. Make sure it is hopeful, satisfying, and not cloying or unbelievable.” It did not fail my plea! Now, I have to think hard again about the few plot points that perhaps push the book toward the 14-as-youngest-reader direction…