Summer Reading 2019 Book 7 is a sweet YA read

I picked this book up at NOVA Teen Fest back in March, and finally read it.  It is a sweet, funny look at friendship, relationships, loss, forgiveness, and growing up.  The two main characters, Josie and Delia alternate chapters/narratives. The voice was honestly similar in both, but their concerns are different enough that it was easy to keep track of who was who. I loved the references to horror movies, and hosts of goofy horror shows, which the girls share as they are hosting a similar show on their local cable channel.  While it is a YA title, I think HS school students will appreciate it more than MS students. Some of the situations are a bit more mature, and the issues are more relatable to kids about to leave HS.

Summer reading 2019 Book 6

I adored this novel.  An English teacher is murdered, and one of the three narrators is her colleague, another English teacher.  Many references to Wilkie Collins, particularly his novel, The Woman in White.  I read that years ago, and loved it. The style is quite reminiscent of it.

I enjoyed each character's narration, Clare, the English teacher, her daughter Georgie, and the detective Harbrinder.  It had me guessing throughout, and well, it was just wonderfully written.

It isn't a quick read; I had to stop at times to simply absorb what I had read, and to take a break from the Gothic setting so to speak. I might need to start Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series, but currently have too many other titles on my to be read list.

Summer books 4 and 5

Books 4 and 5 Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi was a very interesting read. It takes you up through the closing of Shaw Bijou, and ends prior to Kith and Kin. His life is very interesting, and the book was well written. The other book, Honey Trap by JJ Marsh is book 8 in a mystery/detective series I fell in love with. Beatrice Stubbs, the detective, is older/middle-aged. Her strengths and weaknesses are believable, all supporting characters are great; relationships are realistically detailed, and the mysteries of each book are engaging. All are set in Europe, with this one set in Naples. The first book is Behind Closed Doors.

Summer books 2 and 3

Summer reading: books 2 and 3. The Last Time I Lied by Rlley Sager alternates between present day and 15 years ago in a compelling mystery. It honestly dragged a bit for me in the middle, which is when I started Bottle of Lies (great/nonfiction). When I restarted it though, I enjoyed it and the ending was good. Focused by Alyson Gerber deals with a 7th grade girl discovering she has ADHD. Realistic fiction at its best. Students who have this, people who know people with it, and of course teachers, will find the scenes well done, and the issues of ADHD compellingly told.

Summer Reading 2019

First book of the summer isn't a typical summer read, but it is a must read. Seriously, if you or anyone you know takes medicine daily, for chronic conditions, read this. Really, all are in this boat at some point, so read it.
Very well written. Engaging and informative.

Wonderful!

Scythe by Neal Shusterman is simply an incredible book.  Set in the future, where poverty, diseases, and war no longer exist sounds like a utopia to beat no other.  However, immortality also exists, and to deal with population control, society has Scythes.

Scythes "glean" people (i.e. kill) in this world, and we meet two young people who become apprentice scythes in this first of what might be a trilogy. The book is told in alternating chapters from these two protagonists, as well as via reading journal entries from various scythes; each with their own viewpoint on their role in society, as well as showing how they determine who to glean.

This book in many ways could be a stand alone novel, but I am looking forward to future installments because the world building, character building, plot and current resolution are so wonderfully handled.

I truly loved this book; I can't rave enough about it.  Compelling, engaging, thrilling, beautiful, thought provoking and timely are all thoughts I had at various points.

I book talked the book, and read the first few pages; I have never had students literally run out of my room to see if our school library had copies, with any other book talk.  I have a long wait list for my copy, and many students I am sure ordered a copy of their own.

Suspenseful

I recently read Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky and liked it.  It deals with a young boy discovering, and addressing with family and others that in reality he is she.  It is well done, and can compare fairly well to George.  
I read Polonsky's other book Threads after Gracefully Grayson, and thoroughly loved it.  A young girl, Clara discovers a note in a purse written by a young girl in China, who has been kidnapped and forced to work in a factory.  The chapters alternate between both girls' stories.  Clara is also dealing with the death of her sister, which adds some depth to her story.

The reader anxiously awaits to hear if and how Yuming, the young girl in China, and Clara might meet up and/or how Yuming might be rescued.

The build up and suspense are handled well; I was truly anxious throughout much of the book.  YA readers interested in child labor issues, factory issues, work being done overseas to benefit Americans and other Westerners, will find this an intelligent, engaging read that explores these issues.

I felt the ending was realistic in many ways, and hopeful.  It might in reality be too hopeful, but I believe it is an excellent first read for those just encountering the serious issues raised. (22)

The Reader by Traci Chee is an engaging, mystical, intriguing and somewhat frustrating book.  I loved the story's premise, that reading itself is outlawed, or rather not many have the ability to read.

Those that can read also have magical powers, and some can "read" others or read/see the future, including our main protagonist, Sefia.

She is joined by a wonderful cast of characters including Archer and Captain Reed.  Archer and Sefia are mostly on the run in this novel; being chased and chasing others is huge part of the plot.

The nature of stories themselves is a theme, and there is fun scene in a bar where people pretend to be other people telling stories about those people as if they had lived them.  Captain Reed insight-fully states only he can tell his story, but what is the nature of stories and reading then, this reader asked herself.

There is quite a bit of violence and death in the story, and the desire to make one's mark is part of this.  Is it our nature to make our mark violently? To be a hero/heroine?

Essentially, Sefia has a book that has been hidden, and in the beginning she isn't even aware it is a book or what a book is.  As she discovers its powers, and learns to read, she sets out to find out who killed her parents, kidnapped her aunt, harmed Archer, and ultimately who is good, or evil.

This is the first of I believe a trilogy.  I will look for the second, to hopefully clear up some frustrating and perhaps conflicting story-lines. (21)

2017: A New School = A 40 Book Challenge

It has been quite some time since I posted anything here.  All of 2016 pretty much!

My new school has put up a 40 book challenge, asking all students and staff to attempt to read 40 books, or challenge themselves in some fashion i.e. trying a new genre, or Reading Without Walls

I have read many professional books since I started school, and will list a few of those:

1) Book Love
2) Falling in Love with Close Reading
3) Book Banning in 21st- Century America
4) Learning Personalized: The Evolution of the Contemporary Classroom

I have also read some YA titles that were wonderful including:

5) Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2 The Hammer of Thor (first book in series was excellent as well).
6) Pax
7) 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East
8) Stars Above
9) Heartless (Stars Above is a short story collection dealing with the Lunar Chronicles, and Heartless is a stand alone at this point by Marissa Meyer: I blogged about Cinder and the Lunar Chronicles earlier)
10) I am Princess X
11) Shadow Magic
12) The Thing about Jelly Fish
13) Ambassador by William Alexander
14) Ghost by Jason Reynolds
15) Tiger Rising

And I read a few random adult books, including these:

16) Razor Girl
17) Pensionless: The 10-Step Solution for a Stress -Free Retirement
18) The Trespasser by Tana Frency
19) The Bookshop on the Corner
20) The Daily Show an Oral History

I am not going back and writing reviews of these first 20 (however they are mentioned because I thought they were good), and I am not including book titles that aren't coming to mind, or are coming to mind but not worthy of mention (in my opinion).   The final 20 (or more) books that I read this school year, I will write up a review and post it here.

The first is appropriately titled, The Reader by Traci Chee
The review should appear in a few hours.

Theme = Imagination

I am once again blown away by Selznick whose latest novel is The Marvels. I loved both Wonderstruck and of course Hugo, so eagerly looked forward to reading this one as well. The artwork is spot on again; riveting, beautiful and tells an engaging story. The narrative adds to it nicely, and while many write that it was chunky or not as well written as the previous two, I was still drawn in. I thought the mystery was handled well, and I loved the ending.

Some are stipulating that the "theme" of the book is homosexuality, and that makes me laugh out loud. That isn't the theme at all. The theme in this excellent novel, is imagination. How imagination, story telling, and fantasy can assist us all in troubling times. How imagination can bond people together, whether in a romantic love, or a familial one, or when alone and troubled.

Even the scenes of Frankie chasing the dog, and trying to come up with the perfect name, adds to that theme, the theme of imagination.

While some teachers are expressing the view that they can't have this on their classroom shelves, I fully disagree. Much of the supposed troubling aspects are subtle, and there is so much more in the novel that the children will hone in on. The teacher can guide the student in how the novel is structured, point out that the theme is imagination (if they don't pick up on that), or not. In addition books on classroom library shelves aren't similar to books being read as class novels, so the fear that parents will be upset is pretty much a moot point. Yes, HIV is mentioned, yes romance and love between men is subtly addressed but gosh, if you can't realize that the points being made deal with imagination, accepting and helping others (as Albert does with the young man who was destined for possible prison, until he saw Marcus' strengths), and discovering yourself as an individual within and separate from your family, then I just don't know what to say.

Further, kids are certainly hearing about homosexuality since many states have finally made the decision to allow marriages to take place; I am simply blown away by folks who are "shocked" that love is part of a children's book.  
In addition, I am betting there is at least one child in those classrooms with similar family structures, that would really enjoy this book. This book is wonderful, and I highly recommend it. I too am a teacher and will include it in my classroom library.

Undertow: Draws you in, and won't let go.

I absolutely can't wait for the second in this series! Undertow by Michael Buckley was wonderful. Great character development, interesting plot, great themes, just truly a wonderful, wonderful read.   I highly recommend this novel..  Teens and adults alike will get so much out of this novel, as they ponder similarities with issues in our world.

A new species, Alpha, emerge from the water and attempts are made to integrate with humans.  Lyric discovers she is half-Alpha, and keeps this secret as long as she can.  She is forced to befriend the prince of the Alpha, and naturally romantic feelings start, which complicates her life even further.

Issues of loyalty, empathy, cultural differences, family love, war and peace, all lead up to an exciting conclusion in book one.

This book will be available on May 5th, and I for one and am already counting the days until the second one comes out.

Finished the series

I finished Cuba Straits over spring break.  I enjoyed it, primarily because I am interested in Cuba and hope to visit one day.  I enjoyed the fact that Tomlinson played a large role, and I found the plot quite interesting..especially how various characters were all tied into it.

I prefer Ford's first person narratives to the 3rd person (which was used in the first couple of books in the series), but I quickly got over that. 

In this and in one other book, characters state Fidel is dead, and as far as I know he isn't...but I am sure  RWW knows more than his readers do :-). 

I have read this entire series, starting in December, 2014 when I had the pleasure of visiting Sanibel.  I enjoyed all of the books, some quite intensely due to the character development, historical information, life on the islands, Ford's home and lab.  A couple I didn't care for as much, as stated in an earlier post, but I am addicted to those characters. So much so that I am finally going to start reading other works, until Doc Ford's 23rd story line is written by the wonderful Randy Wayne White.

Didn't win

I entered a contest to win a visit to Sanibel to have dinner with Randy Wayne White..it was a long shot, and I didn't win..but I entered because this series is so compelling

I am now on book 20, Night Moves There are only two books so far I didn't care for much. One was Hunter's Moon, because there wasn't enough of Tomlinson in it. The other is Chasing Midnight; while it had a bit more of Tomlinson in it, it wasn't a Tomlinson I recognized much.

In those two books I missed the fishing guides, and other characters in the most recent books, as well as the historical references, and marine life information.  In addition Doc Ford was a little more in touch with his clandestine side to the detriment of his more introspective side, but gosh...I remain a fan and am hooked by the plots, Doc Ford and Tomlinson.  Night Vision was a bit weak in some respects as well, but I was engaged by the main character's view point in that one, and the information regarding immigrants, migrant workers, and Mayan descendents.  2-3 books not hitting a home run with me, out of 22, isn't bad at all.  I mean truly, the others' home runs were totally out of the ball park. The majority of his narratives are just wonderfully written.


His latest book arrives today, and I have to finish Night Moves and, Bone Deep prior to starting Cuba Straits.

I still can't believe I became so hooked on this series, that I have ignored other authors I love....but what can I say, they are compelling.