A Monster Calls

Some books you don’t want to finish because they are so beautifully written that you’ll miss them when you reach the end. When it comes to A Monster Calls, you won’t want to finish because you know you will have to face the truth in the end—and it’s an unbearable truth.

Thirteen-year-old Conor’s life is a nightmare. Literally. His father is away in the States, and his mother has cancer. His life is spinning out of control, and on top of it all, he has nightmares—a huge, horrible monster that comes to call each night. The monster has three stories to tell. Each one seems to carry a message, but Conor cannot figure it out. The fourth must come from Conor, according to the monster, and it must be the truth.

Patrick Ness completed this book, which began as an idea of Siobhan Dowd, after Dowd’s death. It is an agonizingly beautiful and terribly honest parable that will ring true to anyone who has lost someone they love.

Note: A Monster Calls is a Young Adult novel, and the topic of death may be a trigger for some.

Ness, P. (2011). A monster calls: A novel (J. Kay, illustrator). Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Dead End in Norvelt

Sometimes a summer read is the perfect combination of funny, fast-paced fun, a bit of a mystery, and a tender look at a past era. Dead End in Norvelt is just that kind of read!

Twelve year old Jack Gantos (the protagonist of Dead End in Norvelt, not the author of the book...though even the author admits that there is much of himself in his namesake) looks forward to the freedom of the summer of 1962, until he is grounded for life for accidentally shooting his father's war souvenir--a Japanese rifle--towards the drive-in movie theater. Luckily, no one is hurt, but it starts the roller coaster ride of his summer, featuring an elderly coroner/obituary editor who lets people think he is her boyfriend, a spurned admirer, rat poison, and a sudden increase in unexpected deaths in the small town of Norvelt.

Author Jack Gantos, awarded the Newbery and Scott O’Dell Awards for this book, spins the narrative of his childhood with an eye for the unbelievable. You will laugh out-loud at Jack (the character) as he rushes around the town of Norvelt, trying to keep his feuding parents happy.

You won’t want to miss the sequel, From Norvelt to Nowhere!

Gantos, J. (2011). Dead end in Norvelt. New York City, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Wild Dogs: Past and Present

Do you remember when you were in elementary school, and you would grab one of those “little nonfiction books”, and spend hours poring over the pictures, diagrams, and maps? Somewhere along the way, you were nudged away from them because they were so short (aka, “too easy”), and a longer book (without pictures—sad face) was pushed into your hands?

Kelly Milner Halls* is an author who is on the cutting edge of what I consider “New Nonfiction”—her nonfiction books may be shaped like picture books, but they are the grown-up version of a picture book. Yes, you’ll spend hours poring over the pictures, diagrams, and maps (and family trees, photos, and charts), but the reading is rich and detailed, with vocabulary that fits the topic.

Wild Dogs includes everything you ever wanted to know about dogs—and some things you didn’t even know you wanted to know! The author takes you back to the time just after dinosaurs to explore modern dog’s prehistoric roots all the way through geographically-specific breeds.  She engages the reader in a trek borne of her own curiosity. Dog lovers will be fascinated by the graphic elements, sidebars, glossary, and resources—and might end up researching on their own as a result. Glossy full-color illustrations, including maps and photographs, will attract even the most reluctant readers.

Halls, K. M. (2005). Wild dogs: Past and present. Plain City, OH: Darby Creek Pub.

*Disclosure: Kelly is an amazing, award-winning author—but she’s also my friend. How lucky can one reader get?

Laugh With the Moon

Sometimes I pick a book simply because the cover intrigues me. (I know that makes me terribly shallow--but admitting you have a problem is the first step...right?) I figure it's at least a good way to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. In this case, that book was Laugh With the Moon, by Shana Burg. 

Clare Silver knows only one thing--her life is ruined. Not in the typical 13-year-old angst way, though. Her mother is dead, and her father seems to not grieve for her at all. On top of that, he yanks Clare away from of everything and everyone she has ever known and loved, and transports her to the most primitive setting she could imagine--Milawi, Africa--for sixty-four days. Her father finds joy in the natives and doctors them selflessly, while Clare tries to simply survive from one day to the next. Just when she's starting to find her new self, she suffers another unexpected, heartbreaking loss. How can she possibly survive?

Shana Burg's real life experiences as a teacher in Africa gave her a unique perspective, and this tale shares that experience with the reader. She clearly demonstrates that survival doesn't necessarily mean stoicism, even when her new acquaintances seem to shrug off tragedy. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the characters after the conclusion of the book--but isn't that what a good book does?

Burg, S. (2012). Laugh with the moon. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

The Wednesday Wars

I used to say I wasn’t a fan of historical fiction. It’s certainly not the first section I hit when searching for a new read. Luckily for me, I have friends who know better and recommended The Wednesday Wars to me (nod to the fine folks at Blue Willow Bookshop http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/ , especially @Bibliopinions, who first turned me on to Gary D. Schmidt’s writing.)*

The year is 1967, and Holling Hoodhood (yes, really…that’s his name) is destined to hate seventh grade. Every Wednesday afternoon, half his class leaves for Hebrew school, while the other half heads to Catechism—leaving him, the sole Presbyterian, the only obstacle between his teacher and a free afternoon. Certain she despises him, the school year looms large before him. Only Gary D. Schmidt could take such potential for disaster and turn it into an alternatingly light-hearted and tender coming of age story. With the Vietnam War and Summer of Love as a compelling backdrop, Holling learns he is more than just a kid from the suburbs.

When is historical fiction not historical fiction? When the author transports you into the era, leaving modern life behind. This is not your typical coming-of-age story—it is beautifully written literature, exactly what one would expect from Gary D. Schmidt. He weaves in lessons from Shakespeare and theater, space flight, the Olympics, and the fragmented world resulting from an unpopular war.

Schmidt, G. D. (2007). The Wednesday wars. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

* Disclosure: I do not get any financial support from any of the booksellers I mention in my blog, but I think it’s really important to support our local independent booksellers! And as far as @bibliopinions goes—she’s just a fabulous reader and friend to schools (and me!)

           

Chains

True confession time: I am not a huge fan of required summer reading.

Don’t get me wrong—I think reading is like breathing, and as much as I love breathing over the summer (especially salt air…or air-conditioned), I like reading as much! My summer is filled with reading (always has been), and I think we should take advantage of those long, lazy days and read all those books we didn’t have time to read during the school year! My hesitation is when that required summer reading involves a required book.

I am happy to say that this year, we got it right. Incoming 8^th graders who will be in PreAP/GT English have been assigned one of my all-time favorite books—Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson (coincidentally, one of my all-time favorite authors!)

It’s 1776, and thirteen-year-old Isabel has been promised freedom upon the death of their mistress. Instead, a distant nephew arrives to take over the family holdings and denies the existence of the will that Isabel has read, thanks to her mistress’s “odd notion” that all should learn to read. Heartbroken and alone, orphan Isabel and her little sister Ruth are sold at auction and thrust into the middle of the political upheaval in New York—the birth of a new nation. A slave boy, Curzon, convinces Isabel that she can earn her freedom by spying for the Patriots, which leads to danger and intrigue in the gloves-off world of a true revolution.

           

Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction, Chains was an eye-opener for me and for my students who have read it. Most of us were unaware of the extent of slavery during the Revolutionary War. Told from the perspective of a teen, readers experience the world as she does, without polite filters or padding. Anderson turns a history lesson into a fast-moving thriller, with betrayal and heroism from the least likely characters. Have the second book in the series, Forge, handy—you will want to dive right into it.  (The publication of the third and final story, Ashes, keeps getting pushed back by the publisher—but I will point it out when it arrives!) UPDATE BELOW

Lagniappe, with YA Alert*: Check out the author’s website— http://madwomanintheforest.com/

Double Lagniappe: Author's space (where the author writes)

Anderson, L. H. (2008). Chains. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

*YA Alert: May contain content appropriate for Grades 8-12

UPDATE: Looks like Ashes is still in the works. HUZZAH!!! 7/13/2014

The Giver

In my world, the book is always better than the movie, so I was thrilled when 25 of my students chose to read The Giver last spring in advance of the movie release. Not one student abandoned the book--and my classes were on spoiler lockdown!  

In Jonas’s world, everything is…nice. Everyone is polite, everything is predictable, and there are no surprises. His society is engineered to cause little stress upon the people within it. There is no famine or drug abuse, just as there is neither Chopin nor cerulean blue. Upon turning into a Twelve (as all children who were born the same year will, on the same day, no matter their true age), Jonas and his friends will be given their adult assignment. While the others land predictably into vocations that suit them, Jonas is given a role for which no one could have prepared him—the Receiver.

                                                           

Lois Lowry presents a dystopia in which everything is pleasant, but not everything is as it seems. You will have an a-ha moment when you read about Jonas reporting dreams about a girl—“stirrings”—upon which he is given a pill to stifle them. It takes awhile to realize what is missing in Jonas’s world, but the revelations that push him to run are startling, and you will race with him to the somewhat uncertain conclusion.

Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Wonder

I was late to the game, when it came to reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Everyone I know had read it and loved it--but (and I hate to admit this--how embarrassing!) the cover turned me off. Finally, a majority vote in last year's 2nd block convinced me, so I read it.

Oh. My. Wowness. It was worth the wait!

Everyone is unique--but August wears his uniqueness where no one can ignore it. Born with facial deformities so shocking that Halloween and its prerequisite masks are his only chance at anonymity, homeschooling has offered a safe haven where Auggie can live like a regular kid. Now it is the beginning of 5th grade and time for him to leave the nest and head to the academy his older sister attends. The students are predictably cruel, but not everything is as it seems. With an ending guaranteed to touch the hardest heart, Wonder will appeal to adults as well as children.

By switching up narrators from chapter to chapter, Palacio takes what could have been just another disease/disability story and turns it into a contemporary must-read. Themes of family, friendship, loss, and guilt are explored as bullying is visited honestly--without the cartoonish broad strokes one usually finds in children's literature. 

Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Lagniappe (an extra treat, just for you!):  R. J. Palacio turns the book on its ear by publishing a separate chapter (on Kindle and audiobook only) from the perspective of the most controversial character in Wonder--The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story. I haven't read it yet--but will review it, when I do!

The One and Only Ivan

Sometimes books take me by surprise--and The One and Only Ivan by K. A. (Katherine) Applegate is one of them. The illustration on the cover made me think it would be for a much younger audience. I was wrong.

Ivan, a silverback gorilla who lives in a “habitat” at a roadside mall, has no one to talk to. No one, that is, except Stella, an elderly elephant not healthy enough for the circus, and Bob, a homeless-by-choice stray dog. Ivan’s life is a portrait of restraint, as he works to stay in the moment and not remember his previous life. A promise to a dear friend, along with the arrival of a new baby elephant named Ruby, changes everything in this story inspired by a true story. Minimal but haunting illustrations by Patricia Castelao reveal a tender look at Ivan’s world.

Katherine Applegate (who also, with her husband, wrote Animorphs) somehow manages the impossible--to capture the speech patterns and inflection of a silverback gorilla raised in captivity. From the first page, you will recognize Ivan’s quiet strength, long before he recognizes it himself. Inspired by a National Geographic video, “Urban Gorilla,” the author takes a story of perhaps unintended cruelty, and makes the victim the hero. You will laugh and cry, then finally cheer for Ivan, the one and only silverback gorilla.

Check out the book's official website! http://theoneandonlyivan.com/

Applegate, K. (2012). The one and only Ivan (P. Castelao, Illustrator). New York, NY: Harper.

I believe...

Well, I believe in the book, the word, the page, the smell of a new hardback book, the cliffhanger at the end of a chapter, chick lit, intriguing covers, that the novels of Gary D. Schmidt are brilliant, intricate tapestries. I believe Dr. Seuss said it best. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing novelizations of movies and movie guides. I believe in the perfect ending, slowing down to postpone that ending, stocking up on books in case of the zombie attack, and I believe in finishing the last chapters of heartbreaking books in the school parking lot to hide my ugly cry.

 (With a wink and a nod to Kevin Costner)

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