My great-grandmother, who was later the original owner of my home, left our small village of Oxford to attend the New York Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in Manhattan. Her great-aunt, Charlotte Lewis Currier, was the wife of Enoch Henry Currier, the school's principal and a "prominent and progressive man" of the late 19th and early 20th century. The Curriers provided my great-grandmother with a sense of stability she did not have at home, and she was the seeing and hearing companion of...well, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Brian Selznick left me Wonderstruck with his latest novel of the same name. Rose (who was a girl in 1927, by which point my great-grandmother had long been a mother raising her children in what is now my home) is a girl who escapes her father's strict rules in Hoboken and finds her way to her brother Walter in New York City. Ben (who is a boy in 1977 and has recently become both deaf and orphaned in unrelated accidents near his home on Gunflint Lake) is a boy who escapes his family and finds his way to--he hopes--his father Daniel in New York City. Both stories come unforgettably together in this beautifully illustrated tale.
Oh, I have so much more to say about this wonderful book. But first I need to begin my cabinet of wonders. I'm starting with the 1964 New York World's Fair Salt and Pepper Set. I found them in the attic not long after I moved into this old home...they're meant to look like buildings...
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A Double Day
Today I did something very unusual: I left school shortly after dismissal (OK, an hour after dismissal) rather than my usual 6:00 departure...so I could hurry home and read. I started Meg Cabot's Abandon, a sort of retelling of the myth of Persephone and Hades (with a sprinkle of The Inferno for luck), last night and couldn't wait to finish it! Which, of course, I did...and was so excited about it that I couldn't possibly go to right to sleep when I was done. (Oh please, Meg Cabot, hurry with the sequel! I can't wait!)
So rather than lie in bed imaging all that will come to pass between Pierce and John Hayden now that she's (sort of) safe from the Furies (which obviously won't last long), I decided to browse NetGalley for a little light reading.
Which was clearly a mistake, because that was three hours ago, and I've just finished Jenny Valentine's brilliant thriller Double. What a book! Imagine a dark and murderous retelling of The Prince and the Pauper. Creepy, frightening, and un-put-down-able. Yikes. A completely satisfying thriller, but I recommend beginning it (a) when you have a few hours to finish it in one go, because you really won't be able to stop, and (b) BEFORE 10:00 on a school night.
I don't suppose I'll be giving anything away if I say that I was surprised not to learn that Mr. Artemis and Mr. Hathaway were the same person. That's not a complaint, really, just an observation. (By the time you know who either of them is, you'll be assuming the same thing, I imagine.)
So two good books in one great evening. Now if only I can make it through tomorrow without falling asleep in class...
So rather than lie in bed imaging all that will come to pass between Pierce and John Hayden now that she's (sort of) safe from the Furies (which obviously won't last long), I decided to browse NetGalley for a little light reading.
Which was clearly a mistake, because that was three hours ago, and I've just finished Jenny Valentine's brilliant thriller Double. What a book! Imagine a dark and murderous retelling of The Prince and the Pauper. Creepy, frightening, and un-put-down-able. Yikes. A completely satisfying thriller, but I recommend beginning it (a) when you have a few hours to finish it in one go, because you really won't be able to stop, and (b) BEFORE 10:00 on a school night.
I don't suppose I'll be giving anything away if I say that I was surprised not to learn that Mr. Artemis and Mr. Hathaway were the same person. That's not a complaint, really, just an observation. (By the time you know who either of them is, you'll be assuming the same thing, I imagine.)
So two good books in one great evening. Now if only I can make it through tomorrow without falling asleep in class...
Sunday, October 2, 2011
This Is a Journey...
Blake Nelson's Recovery Road is nothing if not a journey. Although (theoretically) named for the street on which Spring Meadow, Maddie's rehab, is located, it is surely the story of Maddie's journey through recovery.
The story begins at Spring Meadow, where Maddie has been sent at age 16 to face her drug and alcohol addiction. When her best friend Trish is released, Maddie meets a new friend, Stewart. Then Maddie is released, too, and has to face her past as "Mad Dog Maddie" when she returns to high school.
Oh, this is such a powerful book. I picked it up because there was a lot of buzz that it could win the Printz award this year, and I hope it does. It is such an honest and important story, and one that is all too often true. There are a lot of Maddies in the world, and even more Trishes and Stewarts. They don't need this book--it is their story--but all the rest of us do. Empathy and understanding often begins in the pages of a book. This is a good place to start.
The story begins at Spring Meadow, where Maddie has been sent at age 16 to face her drug and alcohol addiction. When her best friend Trish is released, Maddie meets a new friend, Stewart. Then Maddie is released, too, and has to face her past as "Mad Dog Maddie" when she returns to high school.
Oh, this is such a powerful book. I picked it up because there was a lot of buzz that it could win the Printz award this year, and I hope it does. It is such an honest and important story, and one that is all too often true. There are a lot of Maddies in the world, and even more Trishes and Stewarts. They don't need this book--it is their story--but all the rest of us do. Empathy and understanding often begins in the pages of a book. This is a good place to start.
Don't Interrupt Me, I'm Reading a Good Book!
I have been so busy reading these past few days that I have not wanted to stop--not even to blog. (What a wonderful problem to have, is it not?!) So today, I'm going to catch you up on all these things I've read. (Get it? "all these things I've read" is an allusion to my last blog about Gabrielle Zevin's new book All These Things I've Done. Clever, right?)
I loved loved loved reading Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back. I loved them so much that I have already book talked them at our latest professional development workshop, made a sign to hang over the display at the book fair that says "Ms. Dorsey LOVES Origami Yoda!" and even bought a copy for a lucky 5th grader. These books are about just exactly what you think they are about: Origami Yoda, who dispenses wise advice to students at McQuarrie Middle School. He's the twist: Origami Yoda was made by Dwight, who carries Origami Yoda around on his finger; unlike Origami Yoda, who is clearly a Jedi, Dwight is...um...well...weird. So Tommy sets out to learn whether or not Origami Yoda is real. I need to stop right there, though, because I have a bad habit when I love a book: I want to tell you the whole story. And I don't want you to do that here. I want you to go buy these books right now and get reading! Oh, sure, you could find a copy at your local library. That's fine too. But as Origami Yoda might say, "Read it you must. Sorry you will not be."
Then, since I was on a middle grade reading kick, I also read Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace. And I also liked it a lot, but sadly, it is probably not an 8th grade book. You see, Frankie Pickle appears to have a nasty case of test anxiety; lucky for Frankie, he also has a great teacher who sees this for what it is and tells him on Friday that he can retake his math test the following Monday. Frankie spends the weekend thinking about the math test, but not actually studying for it...or does he? Part traditional narrative, part graphic novel, this is a series that is sure to delight (I'd guess) 8-11 year olds. Once I finished, I immediately had a student deliver my copy to my favorite 6th grade team. I think they'll love it there.
Finally, I was super lucky (again) to read an advance copy of Cynthia Leitich Smith's latest installment in her series that began with (one of my favorites, BTW) Tantalize. Diabolical follows all the characters we have grown to love: Quincie, Kieran, Zachary, and Miranda; it will be released in February 2012. One of things publishers ask us to do when we are lucky enough to read advance copies of a book is to keep it under our hats (metaphorically speaking) until closer to the release date: 30 days before release, to be exact. So I'm not really supposed to tell you that three of the four beloved characters are reunited in one location that is full of danger and adventure, while the fourth can watch but has little power to interfere. And I probably shouldn't tell you that this is the most exciting book in the series to date. So here is what I can tell you: I started reading it at about 3:00 yesterday afternoon and I was done by 10:00 last night. I was upset when our dinner plans interfered with my reading. It was that good. Here is something else I can tell you: I've already pre-ordered multiple copies so that I can get it into students' hands the day it is released, because I know they are going to love it. And here is a third thing I can tell you: if you haven't read the first three books in this series, what are you waiting for?! You're going to want to be ready for this one. It is GREAT.
Whew! Time for me to keep reading. Don't you want to do the same? Or perhaps I should say, "Keep reading I must. Try it you should. Like it you will."
I loved loved loved reading Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Darth Paper Strikes Back. I loved them so much that I have already book talked them at our latest professional development workshop, made a sign to hang over the display at the book fair that says "Ms. Dorsey LOVES Origami Yoda!" and even bought a copy for a lucky 5th grader. These books are about just exactly what you think they are about: Origami Yoda, who dispenses wise advice to students at McQuarrie Middle School. He's the twist: Origami Yoda was made by Dwight, who carries Origami Yoda around on his finger; unlike Origami Yoda, who is clearly a Jedi, Dwight is...um...well...weird. So Tommy sets out to learn whether or not Origami Yoda is real. I need to stop right there, though, because I have a bad habit when I love a book: I want to tell you the whole story. And I don't want you to do that here. I want you to go buy these books right now and get reading! Oh, sure, you could find a copy at your local library. That's fine too. But as Origami Yoda might say, "Read it you must. Sorry you will not be."
Then, since I was on a middle grade reading kick, I also read Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace. And I also liked it a lot, but sadly, it is probably not an 8th grade book. You see, Frankie Pickle appears to have a nasty case of test anxiety; lucky for Frankie, he also has a great teacher who sees this for what it is and tells him on Friday that he can retake his math test the following Monday. Frankie spends the weekend thinking about the math test, but not actually studying for it...or does he? Part traditional narrative, part graphic novel, this is a series that is sure to delight (I'd guess) 8-11 year olds. Once I finished, I immediately had a student deliver my copy to my favorite 6th grade team. I think they'll love it there.
Finally, I was super lucky (again) to read an advance copy of Cynthia Leitich Smith's latest installment in her series that began with (one of my favorites, BTW) Tantalize. Diabolical follows all the characters we have grown to love: Quincie, Kieran, Zachary, and Miranda; it will be released in February 2012. One of things publishers ask us to do when we are lucky enough to read advance copies of a book is to keep it under our hats (metaphorically speaking) until closer to the release date: 30 days before release, to be exact. So I'm not really supposed to tell you that three of the four beloved characters are reunited in one location that is full of danger and adventure, while the fourth can watch but has little power to interfere. And I probably shouldn't tell you that this is the most exciting book in the series to date. So here is what I can tell you: I started reading it at about 3:00 yesterday afternoon and I was done by 10:00 last night. I was upset when our dinner plans interfered with my reading. It was that good. Here is something else I can tell you: I've already pre-ordered multiple copies so that I can get it into students' hands the day it is released, because I know they are going to love it. And here is a third thing I can tell you: if you haven't read the first three books in this series, what are you waiting for?! You're going to want to be ready for this one. It is GREAT.
Whew! Time for me to keep reading. Don't you want to do the same? Or perhaps I should say, "Keep reading I must. Try it you should. Like it you will."
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Somewhere Else Entirely, Someone Has Done All These Things
Everyone has a book (or two) that could be said, in some ways, to define one's life. I have two. The first is Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I keep a copy of the audiobook in my car and listen to it whenever our local NPR station is playing classical music or opera instead of, well, NPR. (Sadly, because I do love NPR, this is a lot.) The other is Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.
I have read Elsewhere aloud to almost every class I have taught since its publication in 2005. I love Elsewhere. Although I have read it somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 times now (about 30 of those times aloud to a total of about 900 students), I am always delighted to revisit Liz and Owen and Betty and Sadie and Lucy and Aldous and Curtis Jest and Thandi and Alvy, and, I suppose it must be said, even Emily. I wanted to name our dogs Lucy and Sadie, but my daughter overruled me and named them Fiona and Hermione. (I secretly named them Fiona Sadie and Hermione Lucinda and sometimes call them by their middle names, but don't tell my daughter that. Luckily she is a teenager and therefore finds me hopelessly boring, so therefore she never reads this.) Former students message me on Facebook to ask the name of "that great book" because they want to reread it. One of my only reviews on RateMyTeacher includes something to the effect of "We all love the voices she uses when she reads aloud!" I know that student is referring to Elsewhere because it is the only book I read with a special voice for each character. (Although Curtis Jest, regrettably, has an Irish accent, because I just can't seem to manage a good British accent no matter how much BBC America I watch.)
What is it about Elsewhere that I love so much? I don't know. I discover something new each time I read it. And I suppose I like the idea that after we die, we get to see the people we love (maybe) and spend more time together and make things right and maybe even fall in love, and then we get a do-over and the whole cycle starts from beginning, like a circle and a line...
But I didn't intend to focus on Elsewhere in this blog...although it's hard for me to stop once I get started. I just love that book. And of course I have read all of Gabrielle Zevin's other books, too, and I have liked them all in their own way. (My second favorite of all is Margarettown, and not just because my real name is Margaret, but I have only read that twice. Or maybe three times. My daughter's favorite book is Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, and I have mostly forgiven her for that. Mostly.) Really, all that introduction was my way of telling you, dear reader, that I've just read Gabrielle Zevin's newest book, All These Things I've Done. (All that talk about one book when really I'm meant to be talking about another is sort of like asking someone to do the dishes, or practice parallel parking, when really you want to go on a date...oh...wait...I'm doing it again.)
All These Things I've Done is most certainly not Elsewhere. Not. At. All.
Anya Balanchine is the orphaned daughter of the head of an organized crime family whose specialty is chocolate, although they dabble in illegal coffee as well. And Win, the new kid, is also the son of the soon-to-be D.A., a man who clearly cannot allow his only son to fall in love with a girl who has so many ties to organized crime. Oh, did I mention that it is 2083, and chocolate and coffee are illegal? And Anya's older brother, Leo, was disabled and their mother was killed in a botched hit on their father when Anya was 6? It was years later when Anya's father was killed in their apartment as Anya and her little sister Natty watched from under his desk...Oh, and Central Park is barren and Little Egypt is a popular night club in a part of Manhattan known as the Museum Mile, though no one really remembers why...
There are no hints of Elsewhere in All These Things I've Done, and I had to wait a little while to write this while I worked on forgiving it for that. Oh sure, I picked it up and finished it in less than 24 hours, and I am still thinking about it even though I've already finished The Strange Case of Origami Yoda since then (which will get its own blog as soon as I'm done with the sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back). And it must be said that I like Anya, who (like me) is a (mostly) good Catholic girl, and I really like Leo, and I mostly like Win, even though he shares one of my weaknesses, which is being delusionally optimistic, and you know they say you can't like characters who showcase your own flaws...but...I did. Oh, I guess I have to admit it now: I really, really liked this book. And I will read it again, especially because it is the first book in a series, and although I wish the second book in the series would be released tomorrow, it won't, and I'll need to be reminded of who everyone is and how I feel about them before I read the next book...which I will read...probably the day it is released. If I can't get my hands on it sooner.
In the meantime, have you seen my copy of Elsewhere?
I have read Elsewhere aloud to almost every class I have taught since its publication in 2005. I love Elsewhere. Although I have read it somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 times now (about 30 of those times aloud to a total of about 900 students), I am always delighted to revisit Liz and Owen and Betty and Sadie and Lucy and Aldous and Curtis Jest and Thandi and Alvy, and, I suppose it must be said, even Emily. I wanted to name our dogs Lucy and Sadie, but my daughter overruled me and named them Fiona and Hermione. (I secretly named them Fiona Sadie and Hermione Lucinda and sometimes call them by their middle names, but don't tell my daughter that. Luckily she is a teenager and therefore finds me hopelessly boring, so therefore she never reads this.) Former students message me on Facebook to ask the name of "that great book" because they want to reread it. One of my only reviews on RateMyTeacher includes something to the effect of "We all love the voices she uses when she reads aloud!" I know that student is referring to Elsewhere because it is the only book I read with a special voice for each character. (Although Curtis Jest, regrettably, has an Irish accent, because I just can't seem to manage a good British accent no matter how much BBC America I watch.)
What is it about Elsewhere that I love so much? I don't know. I discover something new each time I read it. And I suppose I like the idea that after we die, we get to see the people we love (maybe) and spend more time together and make things right and maybe even fall in love, and then we get a do-over and the whole cycle starts from beginning, like a circle and a line...
But I didn't intend to focus on Elsewhere in this blog...although it's hard for me to stop once I get started. I just love that book. And of course I have read all of Gabrielle Zevin's other books, too, and I have liked them all in their own way. (My second favorite of all is Margarettown, and not just because my real name is Margaret, but I have only read that twice. Or maybe three times. My daughter's favorite book is Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, and I have mostly forgiven her for that. Mostly.) Really, all that introduction was my way of telling you, dear reader, that I've just read Gabrielle Zevin's newest book, All These Things I've Done. (All that talk about one book when really I'm meant to be talking about another is sort of like asking someone to do the dishes, or practice parallel parking, when really you want to go on a date...oh...wait...I'm doing it again.)
All These Things I've Done is most certainly not Elsewhere. Not. At. All.
Anya Balanchine is the orphaned daughter of the head of an organized crime family whose specialty is chocolate, although they dabble in illegal coffee as well. And Win, the new kid, is also the son of the soon-to-be D.A., a man who clearly cannot allow his only son to fall in love with a girl who has so many ties to organized crime. Oh, did I mention that it is 2083, and chocolate and coffee are illegal? And Anya's older brother, Leo, was disabled and their mother was killed in a botched hit on their father when Anya was 6? It was years later when Anya's father was killed in their apartment as Anya and her little sister Natty watched from under his desk...Oh, and Central Park is barren and Little Egypt is a popular night club in a part of Manhattan known as the Museum Mile, though no one really remembers why...
There are no hints of Elsewhere in All These Things I've Done, and I had to wait a little while to write this while I worked on forgiving it for that. Oh sure, I picked it up and finished it in less than 24 hours, and I am still thinking about it even though I've already finished The Strange Case of Origami Yoda since then (which will get its own blog as soon as I'm done with the sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back). And it must be said that I like Anya, who (like me) is a (mostly) good Catholic girl, and I really like Leo, and I mostly like Win, even though he shares one of my weaknesses, which is being delusionally optimistic, and you know they say you can't like characters who showcase your own flaws...but...I did. Oh, I guess I have to admit it now: I really, really liked this book. And I will read it again, especially because it is the first book in a series, and although I wish the second book in the series would be released tomorrow, it won't, and I'll need to be reminded of who everyone is and how I feel about them before I read the next book...which I will read...probably the day it is released. If I can't get my hands on it sooner.
In the meantime, have you seen my copy of Elsewhere?
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Blood, Shadow, and Impatience
I was lucky to read a galley of Robin Wasserman's The Book of Blood and Shadow, but I don't think I'm supposed to really say much about it until closer to its publication date (which is January 2012). So here is my very generic review:
If you are intelligent, read this book.
If you enjoy conspiracy theories (which may or may not turn out to be just theories), read this book.
If you enjoy plot twists and suspense, read this book.
If you want to learn from what you read, read this book.
If you are in the mood for a book that keeps you on your toes, read this book.
If you want to be intrigued, read this book.
If you are fascinated by science, read this book.
If you like cracking codes, read this book.
If you loved The DaVinci Code, read this book.
If you liked The DaVinci Code but wished it was just a little...smarter...you should definitely read this book.
If you are looking for another sappy paranormal romance, do not read this book.
If you don't want to think too much about what you're reading, do not read this book.
If you loved the Twilight series, you might not want to read this book.
If you loved the Twilight series but never got into Harry Potter because "it's just too confusing"...you should definitely not read this book.
That about sums it up. 5 of 5 stars, even with the typos that always exist in galleys. ;-)
If you are intelligent, read this book.
If you enjoy conspiracy theories (which may or may not turn out to be just theories), read this book.
If you enjoy plot twists and suspense, read this book.
If you want to learn from what you read, read this book.
If you are in the mood for a book that keeps you on your toes, read this book.
If you want to be intrigued, read this book.
If you are fascinated by science, read this book.
If you like cracking codes, read this book.
If you loved The DaVinci Code, read this book.
If you liked The DaVinci Code but wished it was just a little...smarter...you should definitely read this book.
If you are looking for another sappy paranormal romance, do not read this book.
If you don't want to think too much about what you're reading, do not read this book.
If you loved the Twilight series, you might not want to read this book.
If you loved the Twilight series but never got into Harry Potter because "it's just too confusing"...you should definitely not read this book.
That about sums it up. 5 of 5 stars, even with the typos that always exist in galleys. ;-)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
A Practical Approach to Friendship
Perhaps it is important for everyone reading this to know that my family--spurred by my younger sister, but indeed shared by my whole family-- my family had a strange penchant for the movie Serial Mom. We had it on VHS. We watched it together. More than once. Hey, it was a good movie. And perhaps there was something vaguely familiar about the idea that a mother would kill people who she perceived hurt her children. Not that my mother (who was also our girl scout leader; who was involved in the creation of the Children's Board; who later became the school's Booster club president; who attended every concert, game, and performance faithfully and with a smile on her face)...NOT that my mother would ever kill anyone who hurt her family. But would she consider it, if we were well and truly hurt? Well, suffice it to say that our family loved Serial Mom.
I was reminded of this long-forgotten family favorite as I read Trevor Cole's brilliant Practical Jean. Jean, who may or may not have been practical, has recently been the devoted and full-time caretaker of her dying mother. The novel begins soon after the slow and agonizing death of Jean's mother. And Jean comes to the (practical) realization that a good friend would never allow her dearest friends to live a life that ends in that type of awful suffering. And so she does what any good friend would do. She becomes a serial killer. Hilarity ensues. (For the reader, that is...certainly not for Jean's ill-fated friends.)
While the book is never bogged down by heavy-handed prose or overly serious ruminations on the human condition, it certainly raises some interesting questions. When my 87-year-old grandmother (may she rest in peace) was a month into complications (and suffering) from an ultimately fatal prolapsed intestine, she bemoaned, "They give sodium pentathol to dogs! Why don't I deserve that mercy?" If, in those moments at the end of her life, she had been able to write a book...well, my grandmother didn't have Trevor Cole's cutting humor. But I can't help but imagine she would have appreciated it, as did I.
I was reminded of this long-forgotten family favorite as I read Trevor Cole's brilliant Practical Jean. Jean, who may or may not have been practical, has recently been the devoted and full-time caretaker of her dying mother. The novel begins soon after the slow and agonizing death of Jean's mother. And Jean comes to the (practical) realization that a good friend would never allow her dearest friends to live a life that ends in that type of awful suffering. And so she does what any good friend would do. She becomes a serial killer. Hilarity ensues. (For the reader, that is...certainly not for Jean's ill-fated friends.)
While the book is never bogged down by heavy-handed prose or overly serious ruminations on the human condition, it certainly raises some interesting questions. When my 87-year-old grandmother (may she rest in peace) was a month into complications (and suffering) from an ultimately fatal prolapsed intestine, she bemoaned, "They give sodium pentathol to dogs! Why don't I deserve that mercy?" If, in those moments at the end of her life, she had been able to write a book...well, my grandmother didn't have Trevor Cole's cutting humor. But I can't help but imagine she would have appreciated it, as did I.
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