The copy I own is signed by the author Jodi Picoult! I saw Jodi speak on March 23, 2005. I enjoyed hearing her speak. It was so refreshing and interesting to hear her thoughts on how her books turned out and what prompted her to write what she did.Vanishing Acts is good, but it definately isn't my favorite of her novels. I can't imagine finding out that the only parent you know actually kidnapped you when you were 3 or 4 years-old. Picoult again used the method of telling the stories from different perspectives. Each chapter was told from 1 of 4 perspectives--Delia, the girl who was kidnapped and now 30-something with her own daughter; Eric, her alcoholic fiancee and the father of her daughter; Fitz, the friend of both Eric and Delia Fitz has been in love with Delia for always; and Andrew, Delia's father who took her away from her mother.You can tell the research Picoult does for her novels. Everything seems so real and realistic.

This was a fun read, but the quality wasn't there. I think it would be a good book to discuss. The idea Westerfeld brings to YA literature is interesting--if everyone were beautiful and happy would the world be a better place? Hmmm....Questions (potential spoilers)1. Which character could you relate to more, Shay or Tally? Why?2. What do you think of the idea of becoming pretty at the age of sixteen? Do you think this would really make life better? Explain.3. At the end of the story would you have done the same thing Tally did? If not what would you have done? Explain.4. What are your predictions for the next book Pretties?

I liked this. I can't say that it was my favorite, but I would recommend others to read it and I hope that HHS buys it because I have a couple of students in mind that might like it: Bruce, Thomas, Megan, Sara Johnson, Jordan Manley and Dani Hartung.I listened to it, so I don't have very many comments. The one thing that I did notice is the setting in time and location. I loved that it was set in Venice. There were times I could visualize the alleys and streets as if I was there. I think that was in part because Funke describes the streets so well and the fact that I had been there. The setting in time was a little confusing to me. It seemed to me that it was set back in time, however, there were current technologies mentioned, ie. cell phones. I also like the little of hint of fantasy, sometimes fantasy stories become overpowering and this one just had a little to wet the appetite. I look forward to reading others by Funke.

This was recommended to me by students and I have been meaning to read it for a while, but just got to it. I thought it was ok. I think it was interesting topic...how parents relationships can affect how their children function in relationships, however, I did think it was little slow. The same student that recommended this novel to me also thought it would make a good discussion book which I think might be the case. There are a lot of topics that could be discussed--maybe next year.