The Countdown Begins...

I am so excited for this book to come out! Hope you have all read Hunger Games and Catching Fire by the time this countdown runs out, so you can join me in the last days of summer reading Mockingjay.

Loved it this summer and loved it again this winter! I highly recommend The Great Wide Sea

The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong- LOVED IT!

My second choice of the summer was a book I had never heard of and just randomly stumbled upon in tiny Cape Cod bookstore. From page one I was hooked.

The Great Wide Sea:

This is the story of Ben, Dylan, and Gerry. Three brothers who suffer the sudden death of their mother and an emotional freeze out from their father. Almost immediately after their mother's death, the father has sold their house, packed up three duffle bags of their belongings, and has them all headed to Miami where they will board the boat that will be their home for the next year. Ben, the oldest brother, is a wonderful character that you will instantly care about- you want a happy ending for Ben and his brothers (the father- not so sure-debatable), but the happy ending is a hard sought journey. The boys have to deal with their grief, a father who deserts them in more way than one, and a fatal storm that changes everything.

A definite read! If you liked Peak or Hatchet, I think you will like this book even more. It has all the adventure of those stories, but it also tells the story of family and the special bond between brothers.

Excerpt: " Once upon a time there was a family. Then a boat. And then islands. Once upon a time three boys were lost at sea. One almost drowned. One almost went crazy. One fell off a cliff.

Gerry says I am making it up, but I'm not. Everything I tell him is the truth. I just don't tell him everything." (page 7)

Like it...Love it...Hate it...?

Knights of Hill Country: Hated it

My first choice this summer could only be classified as a "boy book" and I chose it because I liked the idea of the theme it was supposed to convey: Sports do not have to be everything in your life and that teams are important, but so is listening to your own voice. The theme was there, but it was too hard to read to find it...

Knights of Hill Country by Tim Tharp was fairly awful and frankly, painful to read! It does express all the themes it said it would and I liked the main character, Hampton, who does find his own voice during the course of the story. He is a great football player (though for the life of me I can't recall what his position was) and many chapters focus on his game plays and could be exciting to read, if you play or like football. My main problem with this book is that the author chose to write it in the voice of a dumb southern jock- literally- and I couldn't stand reading it.

Sample Paragraph: "I had me this math teacher one time back in junior high, Mr. Moon, told me it was too bad they'd passed them child labor laws 'cause I'd do a lot more good hauling coal up out of a mine twelve hours a day than I done wasting desk space in his classroom. Big, redheaded dumb jock, that's all he seen, and he wasn't the only one probably neither. But none of them folks knew what went on in my head. Not one had the least idea who the real me was." (page 4)

SERIOUSLY- UGH! I get what the author was going for and I even liked the main character and the story is okay. Basically, Hampton has to deal with a best friend who is jealous of him, deciding if it's okay to like a sort of "geeky" girl instead of a cheerleader, and a mom who doesn't really pay attention to him. Everyone underestimates this boy and I like that he works to find his way through it all and figure out who he is, even though no one is willing to help him. My only real problem was the horrible grammar - I couldn't get over it. But maybe it's just the teacher in me! You all might like it better. If you like sports stories, this one has some heart, so give it a try, but let me know if the grammar kills you too!

Summer Reading!

Summer means free time to read all the books that I haven't been able to during the school year and also some time to research new books. So far I haven't read much that has excited me, but I am just warming up with my choices. I promise to keep updating the blog and hope you all will reply to my choices or recommend something you are reading this summer.

The next two books on my list to read and review are:

#1. Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt-Henry Smith’s father always told him, “If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.” Sure enough, the Smiths live in a mansion on Boston’s North Shore that has housed the family for 300 years. But when Henry’s older brother and prep-school rugby star, Franklin, is accidentally run down by a Cambodian classmate, Chay Chouan, and lies in a coma,Henry and a pal take a road trip, meet Chay, and must reconcile his image of the perfect older-brother with the abusive, racist jock he might really have been.

#2. One Good Punch by Rich Wallace-

Michael Kerrigan is about to begin his senior season on the track team, and he's never been in better shape. His unwavering dedication to writing and his athleticism keep him out of trouble, until a friend stashes four joints in his locker, which are promptly found during a random drug sweep. Facing expulsion, and hence no track season or college team after that, Michael must decide whether to lie or tell the truth. Is it worth losing your future for a friendship?

I will keep you posted!

What's So Great About The Maze Runner?

I finished The Maze Runner by James Dashner and I wasn't totally impressed. Actually, I was a little bored. I kept putting this book down and then I found myself skimming the page instead of reading each word-not a good sign! I feel like the author never really got me into the story- who is Thomas or Tommy or Tom- seriously everyone calling him something different was really annoying to me. I liked the character of Newt and I really liked Teresa, but felt like each character was so one-dimensional. I never learn anything about them, who they are, what they feel, who they love or need. They were like paper doll characters that this author just moved in place and told what to do. Are you getting that I really didn't like this book?

So I am very curious for your thoughts? Every boy I talk with seems to love this book as much, if not more than Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ( I really don't get that). So please tell me what you love about this book? What made it such a good read? Am I missing something- did you like the characters? Could you relate to them better than I could? What is the deal with this book? Help me understand!

Book Club Lunch Coming in April! Date will follow...

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!