February 13th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

I'm breaking a bit with tradition for this week's Book Beginnings and Friday 56.  Normally, I use whatever book I am reading.  And I'm reading a book I'm really enjoying.  However, I just have to go with Story Thieves by James Riley, a book I finished on Tuesday, for the memes this week.

This is a middle grade fantasy novel about a girl, Bethany, who can jump into books, and the trouble she gets into when a boy, Owen, learns her secret.  It's perfect for book lovers because, while most of the book revolves around a made up series of novels, there are so many references to books I've read and loved I couldn't help but smile.

But that's actually not why I couldn't resist using this book this week.  You see, the quotes I'm going to pull as just so great I couldn't resist.

For example, here's how the book begins:

Owen wanted to scream at the horror before him.  But the sound wouldn't come and the nightmare only continued, forcing Owen to ask himself, deep down, one question:
"Can anyone tell me what three-fourths times two-thirds is?"
Mr. Barberry stood at the board at the front of Owen's classroom, his arms folded, waiting for a hand to raise.
No, not that question.  The real question was this: Was there anything in the world that could possibly be more boring than fractions?

Yep,  I was grinning when I read that, and I thought about sharing it on Friday.  But the deal clincher was when I ran across this gem from page 56:

"Hello?" Dr. Verity shouted, glowing with the light of his force fields and from the large green ray gun in his hand.  "Sebastian?  I rang the bell upstairs, but you must not have heard me, so I destroyed most of your tower instead."

Want to know more?  Pick up the book or come back on Sunday for my full review.