Historical fiction used to be my favorite genre, but I think that science fiction has taken the lead!  There are so many good science fiction books right now.  I just finished Article 5 by Kristen Simmons this week.  Mrs. Matzke recommended this book before Spring Break.  She hadn't read the book, but thought that the book sounded interested.  On the back, it lists the 5 moral statutes of the United States of America for a futuristic country.  The statutes are very conservative and rigid. 
                                                                 
                                                                    ARTICLE 5
Children are considered valid citizens only when conceived by a married man and wife. 

This sounded like a book that I might be interested in, so I ordered it for Spring Break reading.  Unfortunately, it didn't arrive until after I left on Spring Break.  I had another unfortunate problem though on the way home from Spring Break.  I had finished all of the books that I had brought and we still had 5+ hours to drive.  Lucky for me, there was a bookstore in the town that we stopped for breakfast.  I placed my bagel order at Panera, took one kid with me, and walked to the bookstore.  (In case you're wondering, I did splurge on calories and order a cinnamon crunch bagel with hazelnut cream cheese.  There are just some things in life that you have to say yes to.)  At the bookstore, I picked up Article 5 to get me through the rest of the trip.

Immediately in chapter 1, Ember and her mother are viciously removed from her house by the Moral Militia because her mother violated Article 5.  The book slowly moves along while Ember is taken to a reformatory school, escapes, and tries to find her mother.  Halfway through the book, I felt like this was going to be another book that I just finished because I should, not because I wanted to.  I was wrong.  I finished the book because I wanted to have certain questions answered.  The book became exciting and I began to relate more to the characters. 

While I stress to kids not to finish a book that they aren't interested in, I usually don't follow my advice.  I usually finish what I started.  In this case, I was glad that I did.  How about you?  What do you do when you are reading a book that you are just not connecting with?