Which To Read First?

These two novels couldn't be more different and yet each of them is pullling me in!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie comes highly recommended by Mr. Shaw and 8th grader Michael Burke (two sources that I take very seriously). From my reading of the first few chapters the story centers on Flavia de Luce, an eleven year old girl, who discovers a dying man, and a mystery to unravel.

So far I can tell you I am interested by her story, but even more so by the voice of this lovably strange character. She is equally charming and terrible! The opening scene has her breaking free from being bound and gagged by her sisters to calmly eating dinner with her somewhat clueless father. I am sort of afraid to keep reading, but even more so to put it down.

I think we will plan a book club lunch on this one- lots to talk about.

Let's shoot for mid- to end of April!

Maze Runner by James Dashner is the only reason that I have not completely immersed myself into the life of Flavia de Luce (Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie). Maze Runner came highly recommended to me by Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller is a also a fan of a classic favorite of mine Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (I dare you to check that one out. It's an actual romance without vampires or werewolves). In this book, the main character Thomas is thrown into a dystopia (look up that word) and finds that his sole responsibility in the Glade is to survive and try to find a way out of the labyrinth. This new world is made up of thirty boys who have been trying to find the way out and the way back to a world and a life they don't even remember. Things start to change when the first ever girl arrives in the Glade with some answers that may or may not help them get out.

Two totally different books, totally different styles of writing and I am hooked on both! Get reading and join me. I'll see if I can find some extra copies of these books or try your local library. Post a comment, if you have read either of these titles.

A Mango Shaped Space- Book Club Lunch - March 16th

Book Club Lunch: Come eat lunch with me and Mr. Shaw and discuss A Mango Shaped Space.

In A Mango Shaped Space, Mia has a condition called synesthesia, which means she associates sounds, letters, and numbers with particular colors. This creates unusual problems and blessings in Mia's life.

Personally, I found this to be a slightly young read for us, but I was so enthralled with the idea of synesthesia, that it was easy to keep reading. There are some interesting chapters and conversations about other people that Mia meets with synesthesia that I found most entertaining. The character of Mia is not a favorite of mine, but she grew on me after awhile.

I would definitely recommend reading this novel. It is a quick read about a very intriguing true life condition. I think our discussion will center around this condition and how it affects her studies and her life, and our own thoughts and feelings about this condition. Is it a blessing or a curse?

Read and come to lunch in room 105 on Tuesday, March 16th. I have two copies in my room, if you would like to borrow them for the weekend!

My Harry Potter Obsession is Back!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a great vacation. Here is a picture from one of my favorite moments during my vacation. A few members of my family agreed to go along with me to see the Harry Potter exhibit at the Science Museum. My nephew and I are standing in the Science Museum lobby in front of one of my favorite props from Harry Potter- the chess piece Ron fell from when he sacrificed himself for Harry !

If you are a true Harry fan (having read all the books) or if you've seen and loved the movies then you will definitely enjoy this exhibit. It took us about an hour to go through the whole exhibit hall and see everything we could. I don't really want to spoil the fun and tell you all that they have; half the fun was guessing what would be there. But let me give you a few clues about some of our favorite items: screaming plants, horrible choice of clothing for a formal dance, the title of the first book, and rules, rules and more rules.

After spending an hour in Harry's world, I am heading back into his books. So I am taking the challenge of reading the Harry Potter series again before the release of movie #7 in November 2010. Wish me luck or better yet join me in the challenge! If you think it's too wimpy of a challenge (it is almost a year away) then call me out on it- I'll read quicker if you do... Any thoughts?

Literature Circle Assignment: 7th Graders

I am so impressed with everyone's hard work with literature circles! I am extremely proud of how hard all of you have worked to do your readings on time and be prepared for your literature circle roles each class. I hope you enjoyed the experience and liked your book!

Here is one more assignment:

Please post a comment about the book you read for class. Post a minimum of 35 words about what you liked about the book or didn't like. Be specific. Did you like the main character, did you like the conflict he had to deal with, did you like the style of how the book was written? Be sure to explain why. If you didn't like something about the book, please explain that too. Don't give away the entire plot of the story or too many secrets, but tell enough so that it will inspire someone else to pick up this book or not.

8th Graders, If You Liked Lord of the Flies...

"If Stephen King had written Lord of the Flies, it might have looked like this." Voices of Young Adults Book Review

Gone is the story (okay warning a rather long story-over 500 pages) of an average kid on an average day where both turn out to be not so average. The very first page had me hooked. Sam is sitting in another boring class of his freshman year and suddenly the teacher "poofs" actually "poofs" as in disappears. You come to discover that everyone over the age of 14 disappears from their town. Besides adults disappearing, they also lose internet, phones and any connection outside of their town. "Maybe it's only us..." (sound familiar?) A major power struggle ensues between the town kids and the local boarding school prep kids which is extremely simliar to Ralph's and Jack's tribe. Okay, now comes the Stephen King-like portion of the book. Their town is near a nuclear power plant which may or may not have caused the disappearances. To add to the issues, some of the teens develop super-human powers and animals begin mutating- including talking wolves! The final issue of suspense is what happens when one of the teens turns 15? Will they disappear too or is the "poofing" over? I was very hesitant to pick up this book, the cover was a complete turn off for me, but once I started I couldn't stop reading. I love the main character, so much more than I ever liked Ralph from Lord of the Flies.

If you are interested in reading this book, leave a comment here or come and see me. I have four copies and I will lottery them off to see who can borrow them first.

BATTLE IT OUT, BOYS!

Which book was better? Tell the readers why.

The Outsiders

vs.

That was Then, This is Now

BATTLE IT OUT, BOYS!

Which book was better? Tell the readers why.

Hunger Games vs. its sequel Catching Fire?