When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Genre: middle grade, fiction, fantasy Summary: Just as Miranda's bestfriend Sal stops being friends with her, she is set on a journey by a mysterious note she finds in a library book. This is the story of Miranda's attempts to make new friends, navigate her life at home with her mother and her mother's boyfriend, and figure out where the mysterious notes are coming from, using A Wrinkle in Time as a guidepost. Sensitivities: This novel does briefly touch on mental illness, and racism, and the main character gets kissed by a boy. None of these are handled in a way that would be an issue for students. Classroom Library: Yes, although I don't know that students will gravitate toward it. It may be a book that you have to recommend. Enjoyability: 4 of 5 stars My favorite thing about this book is watching Miranda's interactions with the world around her change as she realizes the importance of thinking about those around her and what they might be thinking and feeling. She starts the novel with a very narrow view of the people in her life, but as she works to solve the mystery of the notes that keep appearing addressed to her, she begins to better understand the actions of other people and becomes a kinder person because of it. At one point in the novel, she says, "Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you would have normally done, are like these ghosts that everyone can see but pretends not to." Miranda makes the choice in that moment to become a different person. The mystery of the notes also keeps the novel interesting, with constant connections and references to A Wrinkle in Time, as Miranda attempts to figure out who is writing to her and how they know so much information about her. This book was a quick read for me, and the pay off of the solution to the mystery at the end was great enough that I originally rated this novel 5 stars, but the more distance I have from it, the more I am left not feeling much of anything. This book has strong merits and I completely understand why it received the honors that it did, but I can't see myself returning to it any time soon. Teachability: I would love to use this book to practice citing evidence, since its a mystery and students could easily come up with their own theories of what was happening and then practice using evidence from the text to support their thinking. I could also see using this book in a unit focused on topics related to empathy, or in reading groups, paired up with A Wrinkle in Time. One thing to keep in mind when putting this book in the hands of students is that the timeline can be a bit confusing to follow because of the way the story intersects. Students may need to create a physical timeline or be provided with a physical timeline before reading. View all my reviews
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The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Genre: Young Adult, Romance Summary: Andie had her whole summer figured out, she has a perfect internships away from home and can't be more excited. Then, a political scandal unfolds that not only makes her father a permanent fixture in their home again, but sends all of Andie's plans out the window. She faces the challenge head on and the places her summer takes her help her find a better version of herself. Most Appropriate For: Middle school and up. Sensitivities: Brief mentions of sex and teenage girls navigating their sexuality, but nothing to be concerned about. I am completely comfortable giving this book to my 6th graders, knowing they are wondering about these things anyway and this book deals with them in a healthy and honest way. Classroom Library:Yes Enjoyability: 4 of 5 stars I received an ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. I only have one complaint about this book and it isn't directly Matson's fault, so I'm going to start with that and get it out of the way: In high school, I became obsessed with Sarah Dessen to the point that I have read every book that she has ever published. Once her trifecta was published (in my opinion, This Lullaby, The Truth About Forever, Just Listen) she fell into a pattern of using the same plot line for every single book. Girl falls for boy despite some sort of personal issue, girl sabotages the relationship in some way, girl wins boy back and they end up together happily. This book follows that plot line and my over-familiarity with it made it difficult for anything to be all that surprising for me. But the thing is, it makes sense for Andie and Clark. So my having a problem with this plot line wasn't anything to do with Matson and was very much a demise of my own making. And that aside, I loved this book for so many reasons. 1. Dogs. There are dogs. I know that I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with dogs, but the constant presence of Birdie was an added bonus for me. 2. Clark won't put up with Andie's crap. There are a lot of ways that someone can be different enough to make us want to take a risk on them, but I really enjoy that the way he ended up breaking through her barriers was by not letting her get away with her normal half-assed way of dating. 3. THE FRIENDSHIPS. As much as this book is about Andie's relationship wth Clark, it is also about her learning what it truly means to be a good friend and realizing that some hurts can't be fixed with an apology and forgetting like it never happened. This especially struck home for me as I considered my group of friends from high school and some of the terrible things that we did to each other, and I can't help but wonder if some of that determined whether or not the friendships stuck past the convenience of them. 4. Andie's father. The trouble he runs into with his jobs allows them to confront the issues they've been dealing with since her mother's death and begin to rekindle their relationship. This was one of highest points of the story. Although their relationship didn't start out being a strong one, the work they put in helped get it there and I found the strong parent relationship refreshing as it isn't something I see a lot in YA. 5. And the icing on the cake is the storyline with the writer and how that plays in to the development of relationships and friendships as the story grows. Overall, this is one of the best contemporaries I've read in a long time and is one my students are going to love too. I can't wait to get this into their hands and to get a finished copy for myself. Teachability: This is not really the type of book that you would overtly teach with, but it is the kind of book that I would offer to students as an option of Independent Reading workshop or small "book clubs" in the room that would allow students to discuss and would open avenues for discussions about healthy relationships, both in the realm of dating and of friendships. View all my reviews
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars I received this ARC from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review. I want to say up front that I hated Speak when I read it. Maybe because high school was too soon for me to encounter it, but I remember feeling disgusted by Melinda and not understanding why it was a book that won so many awards. It was about an important topic, yes. But I detested it. This book is not like that one in all of the right ways. Smith jerks you right into the reality of the story, the morning after Eden has been raped, and breaks your heart in a million pieces as Eden flounders in her pain, but that is not to say that Eden is likable throughout the entire story. Eden makes a host of poor decisions and treats people badly in her attempt to cope with and understand her feelings. Her journey is not one that shows her being Strong and making All The Right Decisions but is instead one filled with self-loathing and hate and destruction, but one that eventually leads her to a place of finding her "maybe"s again. The way Smith crafted her story, taking you through each year of Eden's high school experience and therefore through Eden's healing process, allows you to see how she progresses through the grief of what she's lost. At the beginning of the story, I was incredibly frustrated with Eden and the terrible things she was doing to herself because I couldn't figure out how she thought it was helping, but by the end of the story Smith's artistry shines through as Eden begins to understand herself and her decisions more. The reader only knows what Eden knows and there is a power in the narrative being written that way that helps the reader understand her experiences and thoughts and feelings. Although this story is one about rape and dealing with the terrible, ugly, unfathomable thing that it is, it's also the story of a person working through something terrible that happened to her in the only way that she knows how. I didn't always like Eden, but I always loved her. View all my reviews
This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
My rating: 5 of 5 stars At the very end of the acknowledgements for this book, Estelle Laure says: "Like you and Cormac McCarthy said, beauty and loss are one. But beauty trumps." And that to me really feels like the best way to sum up this novel. Laure perfectly captures the kind of friendship that completely weaves two people together, the way a high school romance, a first love, is too much of everything to process, and a sister bond that is both endearing and essential to survival. This is not to say that the main character, Lucille, is perfect. She is not. She makes bad choices, and says mean things, but she perseveres and she learns from her mistakes. She is, to be cliche, a raging light. These are characters that I want to spend an eternity hanging out with. I want this story to be like a modern day Anne of Green Gable saga, and I truly believe I will continue to love Laure's writing enough to read all of them if the world were a wish granting factory. My favorite thing about Laure's writing is the way she seamlessly integrates her reader into the world of her characters. I never once felt like I was having information dumped on me, or that I was being given backstory to catch me up. This book is beautiful and I loved every second. View all my reviews Genre: Children’s/Middle Grade fiction Summary: Matilda is born into a family that entirely different from her and often leave her to her own devices. She uses this freedom to grow her mind in incredible ways. Most appropriate for: just about anyone. Sensitivities: none. Classroom library? yes. Enjoyability: ★★★★★ (5/5) I don’t know how I have gone 26 years without reading Matilda but now I’ve finally read it and I’m so glad. As a teacher, the beginning few pages include some teacher humor I especially enjoyed. The writing was charming and the plot kept me wanting to read more. However, as someone who has seen the movie multiple times, I was surprised by how exact the movie was to the book. This is both a blessing and a curse. Fantastic and charming read. Teachability: ★★★ (3/5) While being a fantastic story, I don’t know that it’s one that I would invest time in for educational purposes - outside of giving it to students to help them cultivate a love for reading. I definitely think I’ll be obtaining another copy to put in my classroom for my lower readers. Another way I think this book might be useful is to help ELL/ESL students read in English. Because the movie so closely follows the book, I could definitely see having students watch clips from the movie and then read from the book. Or vice versa. My school also has thematic units and one of our units is “Self-Advocacy”. I could definitely see this movie being used as an example of that, as Matilda learns very early on that the best person to help you get what you want is yourself. She is constantly working to achieve her goals and figuring out what she needs to do to find her own success.
The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars From the very first page of this book, you can feel the artistry, how carefully choreographed every moment is. Steven's worries, the baby, the wasps. Steven's desire for everything to be okay and safe and normal, and his efforts to grapple with the idea that imperfect things can also be cherished and loved was something everyone can relate to, while Steven's journey with the wasps leaves you questioning every page. Oppel has beautifully crafted a fantasy that is leaving trails of wonderings in my head that I'll be wrestling with for days. View all my reviews Genre: Children’s/Middle Grade fiction Summary: Matilda is born into a family that entirely different from her and often leave her to her own devices. She uses this freedom to grow her mind in incredible ways. Most appropriate for: just about anyone. Sensitivities: none. Classroom library? yes. Enjoyability: ★★★★★ (5/5) I don’t know how I have gone 26 years without reading Matilda but now I’ve finally read it and I’m so glad. As a teacher, the beginning few pages include some teacher humor I especially enjoyed. The writing was charming and the plot kept me wanting to read more. However, as someone who has seen the movie multiple times, I was surprised by how exact the movie was to the book. This is both a blessing and a curse. Fantastic and charming read. Teachability: ★★★ (3/5) While being a fantastic story, I don’t know that it’s one that I would invest time in for educational purposes - outside of giving it to students to help them cultivate a love for reading. I definitely think I’ll be obtaining another copy to put in my classroom for my lower readers. Another way I think this book might be useful is to help ELL/ESL students read in English. Because the movie so closely follows the book, I could definitely see having students watch clips from the movie and then read from the book. Or vice versa. My school also has thematic units and one of our units is “Self-Advocacy”. I could definitely see this movie being used as an example of that, as Matilda learns very early on that the best person to help you get what you want is yourself. She is constantly working to achieve her goals and figuring out what she needs to do to find her own success. Genre: YA/Middle Grade/ Historical Fiction Summary: Matilda Cook lives in Philadelphia in 1793 as the Yellow Fever outbreak is decimating the world around her. Most appropriate for: 4th grade and up. Sensitivities: none. Classroom library? yes. Enjoyability: ★★★★★ (5/5) I adore this book. This year, I’ve read it essentially 4 times in total and I enjoyed it every time. The plot keeps you guessing and keeps you on your toes. The main character is truly enjoyable and relatable, despite the time era differences, and the Yellow Fever epidemic is truly fascinating to study and read about. Also Nathaniel Benson. The more Nathaniel Benson, the happier everyone is. Teachability: ★★★★★ (5/5) This book provides SO MUCH opportunity for teaching. From the extension activities you can do with Yellow Fever, to the opportunities for reading response, to the phenomenal vocabulary and figurative language - it’s the kind of book that causes you to choose what your focus is going to be because if you tried to teach everything you’d be reading forever. I could not more highly recommend any book for curriculum use, and what’s even better is that students, for the most part, truly enjoyed it. They were always wanting to know what happened next, and gave favorable reviews at the end. Plus, any time someone’s puking up black stuff, Middle Schoolers are on board. |
AuthorIn the quest to turn my students into lifelong readers, the best way that I can prepare is to be a reader myself. Archives
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