Where She Went

First, let me say that I love that cover. I seriously can't stop staring at it; so beautiful. Second, I also really love this book. Picking up three years after If I Stay ends, part two of Mia and Adam's story is told through Adam's perspective instead. I really don't want to give much away in terms of this plot or the way that If I Stay ends, so I'll just say that I wrestled quite a bit with frustration with characters as well as the paths I saw Forman taking the plot. I knew how I wanted it to go and I started to hyperventilate slightly every time I thought it wouldn't go that way. If that makes me seem like a shallow, too-girly reader...then I'd have to admit that that's probably true. I will say, though, that all of the twists and turns and emotional baggage that is explored and dissected throughout this book - all of which caused me to worry about the ending - I thoroughly loved every moment of this sequel. I think what I loved and appreciated the most is that Forman manages to write two different books about two very different plots that are told from the perspective of two incredibly different characters, but the two books still somehow feel as if they're woven together seamlessly. If I Stay is one hundred percent Mia and Where She Went is one hundred percent Adam, but I can hardly tell where one ends and the other begins. I felt comfortable inside the head of Mia in the first book, and I loved being inside the head of Adam during the sequel. The perfect blend of humor and heartache are continued throughout this plot just as they were in the first, and no matter how hard I tried not to I did end up crying during some unnamed scene towards the end. Just like the first book, I wouldn't want to include this one on my 7th grade classroom bookshelf, but it's perfect for mine. Loved, loved it.

Speak

There are some books that speak (no pun intended) to you so profoundly that you keep thinking about them long after you finish the last page. This is one of those books, as is the other Laurie Halse Anderson book that I've just finished and will be reviewed in the next post. Anderson's unique style of writing gives you a front-and-center vantage point to all the pain and inner thoughts of Speak's main character, Melinda, who is dealing with the aftershock of being raped as well as outcasted by her entire group of friends due to a misunderstanding. Anderson's choice of writing style, which feels like a stream of consciousness more so than a diary or a typical first-person narrative, allows the reader to see not only Melinda's actions but also her thoughts and motives behind those actions. Sarcastic wit and humor are sprinkled throughout the story to keep you laughing occasionally despite the majority of the plot's upsetting details. Melinda's coping mechanism of choice is to stop speaking almost entirely with the hope that she would just disappear. Shockingly, she almost succeeds. You get to witness her parents' indifference, her teachers' ignorance, and her friends hatred all from Melinda's honest perspective; this front row seat will break your heart.

Aside from the beautiful writing and heartwrenching plot, I love this book because Anderson manages to handle extremely difficult and graphic material in a completely appropriate way. With very little bad language and almost no sexual content (the description of Melinda's rape is handled with extreme grace), I would happily share this book with students. I will say, though, that I will be sharing it only with discernment and careful selection. This book probably won't be on my classroom bookshelf open to just anyone, only because I want the students who read this plot to be able to handle it maturely. Rape is an extremely sensitive issue, and I think students who open themselves up to this book should be sensitive enough to handle it. I'll get into that more with the review of Anderson's other book, Wintergirls, next.

The Last Song

I need to be clear: for most of my life now, I've been a Nicholas Sparks snob. I love the movie The Notebook, but I have quietly made fun of the other movies, seeing them as cheesy and predictable. I loved the book A Walk to Remember when I read it in high school, but I told no one and never mentioned it again. I can't really say where this snobbery came from, but it's been there and I need to confess it. When I dropped a copy of The Last Song into my shopping cart after it first appeared, I was confused by my own actions. Aside from this being a Nicholas Sparks book, it's also starring Miley Cyrus: the book was written FOR the movie and therefore the protagonist's role was written FOR Miley. As much as I haven't been a Sparks fan, I'm much less of a Miley fan. So I still really don't understand how I own it. Even though I bought it, I didn't read it for...what? A year? A year and a half? I started it once and couldn't get past the annoying Miley voice in my head so I put it down. But for whatever reason, I picked it up a couple days ago, and....I loved it. And I have some apologizing to do.

To be fair to myself, I need to comment on the fact that Sparks reuses themes and plot devices quite often, and that some of his dialogue is cheesy and weak, and that the Epilogue was a little bit too Band-Aidey. But with those criticisms said, I really did enjoy this book a lot. I got hooked almost immediately this second time around, and I only got more hooked the more I read. The romance was sweet and snagged me instantly (if you've read any of my other posts you know that I'm such an easy sell for an attractive male character, despite my best efforts), and I appreciated the lack of sexual content SO much. There were two almost-scenes that didn't amount to anything, which was refreshing. Foul language was also basically nonexistent. (If I sound a little bit like a prude, it's just because I don't ever want to be accused of supporting/recommending/promoting books that a parent would be offended by for their middle school student, and any book that I can peacefully choose to leave on my classroom shelf rather than take off of it is a book I appreciate.) The story of Ronnie's (aka Miley's) relationship with her estranged father and annoying little brother is wonderful, full of heartwarming and heartbreaking goodness. Contrary to what I expected, I also found lots of surprising plot twists scattered throughout that kept me guessing and wondering how it would all play out. The fact that chapters rotate narrator also provides a great opportunity to discuss voice and perspective between characters.

So...I'm sorry. I'm sorry Nicholas Sparks, and I'm sorry unnamed friend of mine whose favorite author is Nicholas Sparks. I never should have laughed/scoffed/turned up my prideful nose at either of you. Or the rest of the Sparks-loving world. I was wrong.

If I Stay

Before I get into my review/thoughts about this book, let me say this: I will not be putting it on my classroom shelf. With an - only slightly - graphic pre-sex scene and a healthy dose of f-words scattered throughout, I can't in good conscious put it on my classroom shelf. I would be happy to see my students reading it and will probably recommend it to specific students who I know don't have a problem with language or whose parents are okay with it, but I can't put it on my shelf and effectively endorse it for every student. I understand the reality of the language middle schoolers use and read and hear, but I've chosen to keep my classroom library as clean as possible for my own protection as much as for the protection of my students. That being said...

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. It's been on my list for years and so when I found a partially spent gift card in my purse I snatched the opportunity to get it. I wasn't disappointed (except for the f-words that will keep it off my classroom shelf...). Seventeen-year-old Mia has a semi-perfect life. She's an incredibly talented cellist who loves classical music despite her former rocker parents. She's dating a rockstar whose band is rising in popularity, has a great little brother, and she is relatively happy. When her family gets into a tragic snow day accident, however, and she is the only one who survives but is trapped in a coma, Mia has some choices to make. Will she stay and live her new life that barely resembles the one she loved, or leave to escape the pain of having lost everything?

This story was heartbreaking but sweet, emotional but joyful. I cried throughout the book, but not for the reasons I expected. The character development was phenomenal, the storytelling was fluid and endearing, and the twists and turns were so refreshing. I couldn't put it down, and I immediately passed it on to my sister who ate it up as well. We can't wait to get our hands on the sequel; the first chapter of Where She Went was in the back of my copy of If I Stay, and I have to say that I am already freaking out about the plot twists and unexpected direction that Gayle Forman is taking Mia's plot. Basically, read this book immediately (but maybe not if you're in middle school...unless your parent says it's okay or you're not bothered by repeated use of the f-word).

The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero

Anyone who has read this blog in the last nine months or so knows that I am in love with Percy Jackson. I'm a huge, huge fan. So when I heard that Rick Riordan had started a new series featuring new demigods I got excited; when dear friends gave me the first book of that series to me as a graduation present I got really excited. I believe it goes without saying that I was not disappointed. I loved this book, and zoomed through the 557 pages in a couple of days.

The Heroes of Olympus series surrounds three new characters: Jason, Piper, and Leo. Jason wakes up on the first page of the book with complete amnesia of his entire life, and yet he seems to have an incredible knowledge of all things Roman (the Latin language, the Roman names of the gods, an "SPQR" tattoo on his forearm, etc.). Piper's father is a famous movie star who doesn't always have time for her, to which she responds with an impressive rap sheet and an uncanny ability to convince anyone to give her whatever she wants. Leo, highly ADHD, is a bit of a screw up who has many secrets surrounding the death of his mother and a certain terrifying babysitter who tried to kill him several times in his childhood. All three of these teenagers, as you might guess, are the children of gods and end up at Camp Half-Blood under the guidance of our favorite centaur, Chiron. An epic quest follows with enough monsters, angry gods and goddesses, and flying spirits to keep any struggling reader interested. Add a plethora of explosions, destructive storms, and an all-gold, fire breathing dragon and pretty much any reader will be interested. I miss Percy - minor spoiler alert: this series starts out with Percy mysteriously missing - but many of my old faves make appearances throughout the book which I always appreciate. The new characters are immediately endearing, which I also appreciate. Bottom line: I loved it and am anxiously awaiting the second book this Fall.

Special note as far as teaching purposes go: the chapters rotate perspective between the three main characters, providing a great example for a study on voice and perspective.

Tears of a Tiger

I'm back! It's been a while, but grad school's got to get finished somehow and jobs don't get applied to for you. Graduation is tonight and the interviews are finally starting, though, so I'm back to casually reading on occasion. And the first one I picked up was Tears of a Tiger, written by Sharon Draper. I'd heard about this series for the first time during student teaching in the fall; the English department had been given sets of the trilogy and my Cooperating Teacher used the second book in the series as a Read-Aloud. I only got to hear some of the second book during my time in her classroom, but I was hooked and knew that I would want to read all three books at some point. So...here we go:

Andy and his good friends - including his best friend Robbie - are out celebrating that night's basketball victory over a rival school. They're riding around in Andy's car - after many drinks each - when the car crashes and Robbie is killed almost immediately. The other three boys, including Andy, manage to escape much physical damage but the emotional damage is endless. This becomes especially true for Andy, who was driving the car the led to his best friend's untimely death. Although many characters remain focal points throughout the story, the bulk of the plot surrounds Andy and the rest of his school year.

I think what I really appreciated about Tears of a Tiger is that even though Draper deals with realistic and heartwrenchingly mature themes, she does so in a really classy and appropriate way. I've read "Young Adult" books that focus on the same issues and same subgroup of adolescents and they were virtually unreadable because of the profanity and sexual content. Even if those elements are realistic of true life, we don't always need that level of reality in our faces when we're reading books aimed at young audiences. It really bothers me and has completely eliminated books from my teaching arsenal because I can't support or recommend them. This one, though, deals with traumatic storylines such as underage drinking, accidental death, teenage relationships, abusive parents, and suicide but manages to remain profanity and sex-free. Sometimes the effect is a little similar to watching the movie Remember the Titans: you know that these boys yelling at each other would be cussing each other out like crazy, and the lack of cussing seems a little corny but you appreciate the fact that you're not having to hear it. I truly do appreciate that. Beyond that, though, the plot is also really interesting and engaging. The end is fairly traumatic - even more so than the beginning - and I will say that it wouldn't be a light and fun Read-Aloud, but it would definitely provide good conversations about deeper subject matter than most books. The fact that it's written in a unique prose-ish format makes it easy to zip through as well (I read it in one day. I know I'm not a middle school student, but still). I highly recommend this one, and I'm excited to see what happens next in Forged by Fire!

The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

How could you possibly go wrong with a Pigeon book? You can't.

We've already seen Pigeon declare his love for public transportation in Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, but in this one he's moved on to puppies. Just as persuasive as you would expect, Pigeon tries his best to convince you that he will be a responsible ("I'll water it every day!") and loving ("I'm a puppy-lovin' pigeon!") parent. When logical reasons such as those don't seem to work, he resorts to a sudden and hilarious rant ("I WANT A PUPPY!"). He really pulls out all the stops on this one, showing the full range of persuasive techniques. His arguments have improved slightly but he still hasn't learned much in the ways of successful persuasive angles and effective techniques. He doesn't get a puppy just like he doesn't get to drive the bus, but you might be surprised with why he doesn't get the puppy. This one's just as hilarious/entertaining/voice-filled/persuasion-filled as any of his others. The Pigeon doesn't disappoint. How could he?

New Socks

Honestly, the "Voice" tagging for this one is kind of a stretch. You could easily use this book as an example of voice, but the theme of this book is humor. Absolutely hilarious, just-for-fun, humor. What I'm about to say is truly big: New Socks is as funny as a Pigeon book. Blows your mind a little bit, doesn't it? I know.

There's not a lot of plot; the little guy's got some new socks. That's pretty much it. Oh, and he really loves those socks. He talks about the socks for page after page, sharing his love for his snazzy new accessory as if he's describing a million bucks. All I can say is that if you're in need of a good laugh, find this book. I hate spoilers so I'll share what the back of the book says instead of anything inside it:

"Imagine the best book ever. This is better. It's about me and my New Socks, and it's about me. Read it. You'll like it."

Pretty much sums it up.

Love That Dog

This is one of those books that I've seen around and heard mentioned a couple of times, but didn't really know much about it [as it turns out, this happens to me much more than you might think]. But I read it yesterday and I am now in love with it. Written entirely in poetry, Love That Dog takes you through Jack's entire school year via his poetry journal he keeps in his English class. Although he starts his school year writing poetry that grumbles about writing poetry, and even at times writes poetry that mocks writing poetry, Jack slowly begins to embrace this method of communication and outlet as the year progresses. The reader - and Jack's teacher - immediately see that this young boy has a definite talent for composing poetry; his teacher requests to use his words as an example for the class on several occasions. This book is encouraging for an English teacher hopeful like myself: this boy didn't even know how talented he was and was writing brilliant poetry while trying to make fun of it. It's also encouraging because I too am a bit intimidated by poetry at times, but the fictional teacher in this story makes it come alive for the students; Jack is able to form opinions about poems, connect with poems, and be inspired by poems. I also see this book as a handbook for how to encourage students to feel safe and able to share insights into their personal lives so that you can form a connection with them and know them better. Any opportunity for a window into the mind of a student is worthwhile and exciting. I would use this book as a hook for a poetry unit - or the beginning of the year, if you plan to incorporate poetry throughout all units - and/or as a conversation piece for forming classroom community. It would also be a valuable tool for showing students that composing poetry doesn't have to be scary or rigid, but that it's a free expression of you, the poet...Jack's poetry illustrates this point brilliantly. As a teacher who will share poetry with students but who has also been intimidated by poetry in the past, this is especially encouraging to me as well.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies

This book is completely adorable and completely hilarious. As you could imagine by the title and the image on the cover, it's a short picture book about four dust bunnies who like to speak in rhymes...except Bob, the difficult one. As the other three dust bunnies - Ed, Ned, and Ted - speak in perfect rhymes to get their points across, Bob continues to be a problem by speaking out of rhyme. Exasperated, Ed, Ned, and Ted correct him each time...until Bob turns out to be relaying a very important message.

Honestly, this book takes about three minutes to read out loud, start to finish. But the possible intents and messages to relay to kids or students seem endless. Bob is an outcast and nonconformist who is the only one willing to speak out of turn in order to accomplish something. Because of this, Bob goes unheard and mildly shunned by his peers. They roll their eyes and correct him and think that's he's maybe not all-together with it. But Bob, in the end, is the only one who's got it right. I know this may seem like a lot to extrapolate from a picture book that I've already confessed takes a brief three minutes to read, but seriously: it's a good one. So funny and so entertaining while also containing incredible potential for a conversation starter in a class of students. [Plus, isn't Bob one of the best names in the whole world? Don't agree? You clearly need to see this movie.]

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

My English methods professor read this book aloud to us last year, and we all instantly fell in love with the pigeon. She also read us Don't Give the Pigeon a Puppy, but I didn't get that one for Christmas. I DID, however, get this one for Christmas, and I love it. I literally paused Christmas so I could read it aloud to my family, and then they all fell in love with the pigeon too. Aside from being absoltuely adorable, this particular pigeon book could be used in a classroom in order to teach persuasion (the pigeon is quite persuasive, what with his big eye and his clever reasoning strategies), character, mood, or voice. There's plenty of all of those in this tiny little picture book. Kids of all ages would love it - I personally can't get enough of it - and I think that any lack of interest in a picture book would quickly disintegrate at the first glimpse of what the pigeon has to offer. Seriously, I know that this review sounds ridiculous...but you should go find a pigeon book, any of them, and read it. They are so great.