Top Ten Tuesday: My First 10 Book Reviews

I became a high school librarian in the fall of 2009 and began this book blog in the November. I hoped that students would flock to my blog, eager to see what I was reading and recommending. Did any of them actually read my blog? I have no idea, but here I am, 10 years later, no longer a librarian, and still reviewing.

My first ten reviews were all in one post as I summarized what I had been reading recently. So, they weren't really reviews, but an accounting of what I had read and how I ranked them.

It was fun to do this and look back at how it all started. These books bring back (mostly) happy reading memories.

• Loving Frank by Nancy Horan--Adult fiction about Frank Lloyd and his long time affair. 4.5 out of 5
• Chinese Cinderella by Adleine Yen Mah--Adult nonfiction about an unwanted daughter in China. 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Ana's Story by Jenna Bush--YA nonfiction about a young woman living with HIV and raising her daughter. 4 out of 5 stars.

  

• Ice Bound by Jerri Nielsen--Adult nonfiction about a doctor stationed at the South Pole, who discovers she has breast cancer and has to treat herself. 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. YA fiction based on the author's life. Very good and funny! A guy who grows up on the Indian Reservation, but enrolls in an all-white high school to get a better education. 5 out of 5 stars
• Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper. YA fiction based on Romeo and Juliet, but modern day and inter-racial. Pretty good. 4 out of 5 stars
• Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon--YA fiction in which a teenager's dad announces he is gay and that they are moving to Montana. Really good book. 4.5 out of 5 stars

• Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley--YA fiction about a snowboarding rich girl dealing with absent parents, friend issues, and guys. This was one of my favorites. 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston--Adult nonfiction, the author tells of when he went hiking in Utah and his had got stuck between 2 boulders. He was stuck for six days before he cuts off his own hand. 3.5 out of 5 stars
• Crazy for the Storm Norman Ollestad--Adult nonfiction that describes the author's experience as the only survivor of a plane crash when he was a child. 3.5 out of 5.