Last fall, there was a lot of buzz about a new book: Hate List by Jennifer Brown. I finally ordered it when it was released in paperback, and I am kicking myself for not following everyone's advice and reading it sooner.
I could tell you that it's a book about a school shooting, but that is really not what the book is about. Oh, there is a horrific school shooting, and it is a big part of the book. But it's really a book about moving on after living through a tragedy. It's about living through bullying, and it's about being a survivor. Most of all, I think, it's a book about forgiveness.
If I could, I would put a copy of this book in the hands of every kid in America. And then I would make them talk to each other about it. Sometimes, I think, it is so much easier to talk about a book than it is to talk about our own lives. Thanks to Jennifer Brown for writing a book that will start the conversation so many kids (and parents, and teachers) need to have.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Captivated by Yet Another Series
This one begins with Need by Carrie Jones, and continues with Captivate, both of which I finished this week. What a great series--unlike so many supernatural romances, this one is smart, and focuses on Norse mythology, which is a welcome twist away from the usual (stereotypical) Celtic Fae.
Oh, it's still a supernatural romance and it's still full of teen angst. But this one, this one I could hand to an adult (a smart, literate adult) and expect that they will enjoy it. Which is a nice change.
And without giving too much away (which I try so hard not to do), I would just like to add how much I appreciate and respect any author who makes it a point to have the main character say something like, "It's not that I can't live without him, it's just that it will really suck." Which might seem small, but really, it's huge, because it suggests to all the teenage girls reading the book that they are absolutely strong and smart enough to live through even the really crappy stuff that life is bound to hand them. (Unlike the female protagonist of another series who shall remain nameless who completely stops functioning if she does not have a boyfriend to help her exist. Ahem.)
Need was so compelling that I finished it in about 18 hours--with a good night's sleep sharing that time. Captivate was less compelling, but still I've finished them both in five days...
Oh, it's still a supernatural romance and it's still full of teen angst. But this one, this one I could hand to an adult (a smart, literate adult) and expect that they will enjoy it. Which is a nice change.
And without giving too much away (which I try so hard not to do), I would just like to add how much I appreciate and respect any author who makes it a point to have the main character say something like, "It's not that I can't live without him, it's just that it will really suck." Which might seem small, but really, it's huge, because it suggests to all the teenage girls reading the book that they are absolutely strong and smart enough to live through even the really crappy stuff that life is bound to hand them. (Unlike the female protagonist of another series who shall remain nameless who completely stops functioning if she does not have a boyfriend to help her exist. Ahem.)
Need was so compelling that I finished it in about 18 hours--with a good night's sleep sharing that time. Captivate was less compelling, but still I've finished them both in five days...
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tormented by Sequels
One of the things I have learned from this blogging experience: it is almost ridiculously difficult to blog about sequels.
The other day, I finished Torment, the sequel to Lauren Kate's Fallen. I am not even sure which characters I should mention, because I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not yet finished (or even started) Fallen! So, a generic reaction: I liked Torment better than Fallen, but it dragged at the end. As with so many YA series, this probably could have been condensed to half the length and still been just as good. I find this very frustrating! But my students' love it, so maybe that's just my life experience coming into play. Who knows?
I'm now reading Need by Carrie Jones. Weird, creepy, and good--so far!
Just for kicks, here are my 2010 reads-to-date:
The other day, I finished Torment, the sequel to Lauren Kate's Fallen. I am not even sure which characters I should mention, because I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not yet finished (or even started) Fallen! So, a generic reaction: I liked Torment better than Fallen, but it dragged at the end. As with so many YA series, this probably could have been condensed to half the length and still been just as good. I find this very frustrating! But my students' love it, so maybe that's just my life experience coming into play. Who knows?
I'm now reading Need by Carrie Jones. Weird, creepy, and good--so far!
Just for kicks, here are my 2010 reads-to-date:
- Notes from the Midnight Driver
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Beautiful Creatures
- Ballad
- Her Fearful Symmetry
- Going Bovine
- The Lightning Theif
- The Girl Who Played with Fire
- Nurtureshock
- The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
- Marcelo in the Real World
- The Lost Symbol
- Murder Takes the Cake
- Cador
- The Hollow
- The Adoration of JEnna Fox
- Whose Body
- The Great Gatsby
- Unwind
- An Expert in Murder
- Wondrous Strange
- Darklight
- The Chosen One
- Food Rules
- Little Brother
- Stopping Time
- The Hole We're In
- Garden Spells
- Henry's Sisters
- Tales from Outer Suburbia
- The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
- Rubber Houses
- Angelology
- If I Stay
- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
- The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
- The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
- Three Witches
- The Solitude of Prime Numbers
- Fallen
- Dead in the Family
- Night
- Tinkers
- The Lace Reader
- Spooky Little Girl
- The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
- What Was Lost
- Little Bee
- Hush, Hush
- Teach Like a Champion
- Heroes
- The Map of True Places
- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
- The Sugar Queen
- Mockingjay
- Holding onto Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones
- Liar
- The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Tenth Grade
- The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eleventh Grade
- Beautiful Lies
- Later, at the Bar...
- Sharp Teeth
- The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade
- The GRITS Guide to Life
- The World's Shortest Stories
- The Haunted
- The Penelopeiad
- Torment
Monday, October 11, 2010
So Many Books (and Blogs), So Little Time
When I posted my book updates on Facebook at the end of September, I realized that I had missed blogging about a book--and one that I enjoyed, to boot! It was The Penelopeiad by Margaret Atwood. Perhaps because it was my duty to teach The Odyssey for so many years, I was delighted to read the story from Penelope's point of view. My goodness, but it made me mad every time I had to tell students that Odysseus has been hailed as a hero for millenia (and pitied because he just had to sleep with all those beautiful goddesses...then had the nerve to test Penelope's faithfulness!!!).
Then I read The Haunted by Jessica Verday, the sequel to The Hollow. And like The Hollow, I felt like this book could have packed all the action into half the text. Still, I enjoyed it. I love how Verday has taken the Sleepy Hollow legend (and locale!) and made it such a part of her "new" story. I do wish the whole story had been told in one volume rather than a(n unnecessary, IMHO) trilogy.
Finally, today I finished Troy High by Shana Norris. What a great re-telling of The Iliad! Very accessible, and very clever. My only real concern--if concern is even the word--is that it would be so much better after reading The Iliad, yet most students who can handle The Iliad are so far beyond this (very) young adult novel. Still, it's a stepping stone--and a well-written stepping stone at that. What would you do if Helen of Troy (a/k/a Elena Argos) went to your high school?! I promised my students I would hurry to finish this so they can begin borrowing it...I can't wait to hear their reviews!
Then I read The Haunted by Jessica Verday, the sequel to The Hollow. And like The Hollow, I felt like this book could have packed all the action into half the text. Still, I enjoyed it. I love how Verday has taken the Sleepy Hollow legend (and locale!) and made it such a part of her "new" story. I do wish the whole story had been told in one volume rather than a(n unnecessary, IMHO) trilogy.
Finally, today I finished Troy High by Shana Norris. What a great re-telling of The Iliad! Very accessible, and very clever. My only real concern--if concern is even the word--is that it would be so much better after reading The Iliad, yet most students who can handle The Iliad are so far beyond this (very) young adult novel. Still, it's a stepping stone--and a well-written stepping stone at that. What would you do if Helen of Troy (a/k/a Elena Argos) went to your high school?! I promised my students I would hurry to finish this so they can begin borrowing it...I can't wait to hear their reviews!
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