October 23: Amanda Project: invisible i

Sunrise at 7:40, sunset at 6:06, not that we can tell. Even with the curtains open, I had to turn the lights on in the dining room so I could read while I had breakfast (at 8:30! I love weekends).

The tree across the street that I can see from the dining room window is filled with birds. I think they may be starlings; I got to the binoculars too late to focus and then they were gone, flying away from here. The birds in the neighborhood usually gather in that tree and then fly into the maple in our yard. Oh, they're back! Crows, not starlings.

I took my stack of books up steps last night and started The Amanda Project: invisible i, by Stella Lennon. I couldn't stop reading once I got started. I was only going to read for a bit but it was too hard to stop.

It's an interesting book: Amanda, the new girl, chose Callie to be her guide at the school and town. However, their friendship was hidden from the greater community, no one knew that Callie and Amanda were friends.

Amanda disappears; this isn't too weird, she was often away from school for days, but this time the vice principal calls Callie in to find out what she knows about it. When Callie comes into the office, two other classmates, Nia and Hal, are also there, being interrogated as to the disappearance. None of the three of them knew that the others also knew Amanda.

It comes out that Amanda chose each of them to be her personal guide, changing her personality and the facts of her life in Orion to suit them.

As the three of them begin to compare notes about what they knew about Amanda, they begin to realize everything they know is false.

This is a kind of a cool book, too, because you can go to www.theamandaproject.com and write stories, post art, leave notes, and there is a possibility that what gets posted is integrated into future Amanda Project books.

That's as far as I have gotten and I have to stop now so I can get ready to talk to my librarian friends at the Ravenna store! The children's book buyer and staff at the Ravenna Third Place store and I are book talking our favorite new YA books today and, because I read so much so far away from actual publication dates, I must spend some time today reviewing the ones I'm going to discuss. Exciting!

The Amanda Project: invisible i, by Stella Lennon, is published by HarperCollins. Hardcover, $16.99. Available now. Ages 12 and up.