Looks Like We Made It......

I am very happy to announce that I have completed the 100 Book Challenge!!! (with 2 days to spare!!) I promised my students that I’d read 100 books by the end of the school year and on Tuesday night, I finished book #100! It has been a little stressful, but totally worth it. I read some great books this year (and some not-so-great ones) but all-in-all it’s been a great ride!! I thought I'd include a couple of pictures of our book tree in school so you can see just how many books the kids and I have been reading. I can't even reach the top of the tree!

See how far we've come!

Here are the last four reads:

Mercy on These Teenage Chimps by Gary Soto is a nice story about just how bizarre it is to turn 13 and to have your body completely change. One day you’re a regular kid, the next day you wake up only to discover you’ve turned into a chimpanzee – sort of human-like, but totally different. Ronnie and Joey are best friends who are struggling with their chimp-hood, but are getting through it together. When the coach embarrasses Joey in front of the girl he loves, he’s so humiliated he climbs a tree in his yard and refuses to come down. Some helpful battery and solar operated camping equipment make his exile a little more comfortable, but best-friend Ronnie feels like he has to smooth things over so he can actually hang out with his best friend again – on solid ground. I liked this story and its characters, but am wondering about the wisdom of every adult he meets to send Ronnie up on the roof!!

Stop Pretending: What happened when my big sister went crazy by Sonia Sones takes us through the unraveling of a family when one of the sisters has a mental breakdown and has to be hospitalized. When one member of a family goes through any traumatic experience, including mental illness and hospitalization, the rest of the family is traumatized also. This moving story told in verse is based on the author’s own experience when her older sister was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and was hospitalized. This is a very moving story, thoughtfully and honestly told.

Next up: The Amanda Project: Invisible, Book 1 by Melissa Cantor and its accompanying website, follow three very different teens as they discover that they were all (secretly) friends with the strange new girl in school. When Amanda disappears and allegedly vandalizes the Assistant Principal’s car he calls the three students to his office looking for Amanda’s whereabouts and an explanation of the vandalism. The three students, each believing they were the only one who really “knew” Amanda have to learn to trust each other in order to solve the mystery of Amanda’s disappearance. The strange messages they keep getting from Amanda only add to the mystery. On the website, theamandaproject.com, readers can create their own characters to add to the mystique of Amanda. I understand why readers would want to participate this way, but I think it is unnecessary since the books and story are strong enough on their own. I’m looking to reading the next one, The Amanda Project: Revealed.

And last, but certainly not least, Gimme A Call by Sarah Mlynowski. Devi’s boyfriend of four years dumps her days before prom and she’s devastated. She wishes that she’d never gone out with Bryan in the first place. After Devi accidentally drops her cell phone in a fountain at the mall, she discovers her phone is now connected to her freshman self. Trying to save herself from her current heartache, Devi tells the younger Devi not to go out with Bryan at all. Of course, altering the past has various effects on the future and the two Devi’s struggle to find a balance between trying to “fix” some events, while letting other people make their own choices and decisions. In the end, the two decide that more studying is a good thing (she gets into a great school!) but “fixing” the past isn’t always a good idea. “Having loved and lost” isn’t all that bad when trying to figure out who you are and finding your own true self.

At the end of this 100-Book journey, I would have to say that I agree with Devi in that “the point” of things isn’t the destination, but really the trip itself is where all the good stuff happens. I’m glad that I have reached my goal of 100 Books, but the most important part was the great characters I’ve met, creating this blog, reading people’s comments and talking about these wonderful stories with my students. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

"Stay on target" "Almost there..."

I feel like the Red Five fighter and Gold Leader in "Star War"s trying to hit the Death Star’s weak spot. I’ve got my eye on the prize, but I’m exhausted! I’m up to 96 and have just a few to go!!

First up: What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones. The sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know picks up where the first book left off. This novel in verse is told from Robin Murphy’s point-of-view. Former “super-loser” Robin is just positive that his girlfriend (the super-popular Sophie) will dump him on the first day of school. But, to his surprise, she walks right up to him in the cafeteria and takes his hand. Sophie is shut out by her former friends for hanging out with Robin, so Robin and Sophie take on a “us against the world” attitude. Robin, an artist, is invited to audit an art class at Harvard and starts making new friends, potentially pulling him away from Sophie. Going from super-loser to “kind-of-popular-with-new-friends” is quite a ride for Robin and it is a lot of fun to take the trip with him. I really liked Sophie and Robin from the first book, and like them even more now.

Daniel X: Alien Hunter by James Patterson & Leopoldo Gout is next up. This is the graphic novel version of Patterson’s novel Daniel X. This one confused me a bit. The story suffers a bit when it changed formats, from a full-length novel to a graphic novel. I could still follow the story, but could tell there were lots of details that were left out. Daniel X is a shape-shifting alien hunter on Earth whose job it is to kill all the evil aliens on the List of Alien Outlaws he inherited after his parents’ murder. His next target is alien #7 and Daniel realizes he’ll have to get #7’s son to help him. The illustrations are great, but there was something lacking in the narration. I think I’ll try to read the novel to get the “full picture” (but maybe not this week).

Another winner!!! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, this is Alexie’s first book for Young Adults and it’s amazing. This is the story of Junior, who lives on a Spokane Reservation with his family. The family doesn’t have much in terms of money, but they have plenty of despair, depression, and alcoholism. Junior decides he doesn’t want the rest of his life to be this way and decides to go to high school off the reservation. This decision isn’t taken too well by Junior’s friends, in fact, his best friend stops talking to him. Junior feels like he’s being split in two, the “kid from the Res” and “a normal kid with a kind-of girlfriend” in a white town. Junior’s voice is so real, I could feel his pain and his joy and I hope Alexie gives us an update on how Junior is doing. Junior is an artist and the comic-like illustrations are fantastic. This book landed on several “best of” lists last year for good reason.

I'm in the Home Stretch!!!

OK, I’m up to 93 books!! I never thought I’d make it this close to being done. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me this weekend!!

First up: Alchemy and Meggy Swan by Karen Cushman. Poor Meggy Swan, raised in the country outside London, she is disabled and can’t walk without the help of walking sticks. Her father, thinking his child was a boy, sent for her to help him in his alchemy shop. When a disabled Meggy arrives on his doorstep, he barely pays any attention to her. She forges on though and makes a few friends in London. Cushman packs in a lot of interesting history in this one, and it distracts from the characters somewhat. But anyone interested in Elizabethan England will enjoy this book.

Now, here are two books that I wouldn’t normally put together, but the characters go through similar situations: Breaking Up by Aimee Friedman and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney. In both books the main characters have had a falling out with their best friends. Each one suffers through the loneliness of being without a friend. But each character comes a little closer to better knowing themselves and tries to put themselves in others’ shoes. In the end, both Greg Heffley and Chloe come to terms with who they are and are able to “get over themselves” and forgive their friends. Because really, life just isn’t as much fun without your friends!

Once by Morris Gleitzman was captivating. Naïve Felix, a Jewish boy raised in a Catholic orphanage for the past four years, decides to leave the safety of the orphanage to go find his parents. He tells himself stories to help him process the horrors of Nazi Germany that he sees on his travels. At first he believes that the soldiers are good guys, but quickly sees their terrifying behavior and begins to feel protective of another orphan. Felix tries to use his stories to comfort her too, but realizes he has very little control, and cannot understand what is happening around him. Felix’s present tense narration helps make the story move along and adds drama and immediacy to this powerful book.

Best Friends Forever: A WWII Scrapbook by Beverly Patt tells the story of Louise Krueger and her best friend Dottie Matuoka in Washington state in 1942. Dottie and her Japanese-American family are suddenly “relocated” to an internment camp after the U.S. enters the war and Louise keeps a scrapbook of all the things that happen while Dottie is away so they can still share everything when she comes back home. The scrapbook includes letters from Dottie as well as Louise’s thoughts and observations. Louise volunteers to write letters for injured soldiers and becomes very close with one in particular and is scared and upset when her brother enlists. She shares everything with the scrapbook for Dottie including photos, newspaper clippings, telegrams and movie ticket stubs. There are lots of details here about life in the internment camps from Dottie’s letters as well as life on the home front and what citizens did to help the war effort.

Book Number 93: Heaven by Angela Johnson. A companion novel to Johnson’s First Part Last, Heaven focus’ on 14 year-old Marley, an African American living in Heaven, Ohio. Marley is pretty secure in her small town living with her brother and parents. She knows exactly how many steps it is to the local Western Union to send her Uncle Jack money and loves to spend time with her family and babysit for Bobby’s daughter, Feather. When a letter arrives disclosing the truth about Marley’s adoption and her biological parents, she’s devastated to learn that her parents have been “lying” to her her whole life. Everyone is very supportive as Marley learns to deal with this new information and comes to terms with who she is and how lucky she is to have the family she does.

The English countryside, life in Ethiopia, somewhere in fairyland and finding new hope in Mexico.

I've been a world traveler lately, reading 3 books from around the world. First the children’s books :

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan had me cringing at times but I loved the story. Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw lives with her brother, Owen, and great grandmother in their trailer in California. Naomi and her brother haven’t seen their mother since she abandoned them seven years ago. While she is curious about her parents, Naomi is very happy living with Gram who she says is “both parents rolled into one.” But when Terri Lyn, now Skyla, wants to re-gain custody of Naomi and move her to Las Vegas, Naomi’s world is turned upside down. Skyla’s drinking, anger and occasional violence, and unstable history scare Naomi and she doesn’t want to go anywhere with her mother. Nor does she want to leave Owen, whose physical deformities repulse his mother. It’s Skyla’s complete rejection of Owen that had me cringing and made me so angry! Gram decides they need to re-connect with the children’s father and the family travels to Mexico. During this journey Naomi, who always speaks very softly, finds her voice and can finally stand up for herself and her brother.

I had a few Christenings to go to this weekend and bought books for the newest members of my family. I had fun in the board book section of the book store and came away with 2 copies of a book I hadn’t seen before Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg is a great book to share with little ones. Characters from different nursery rhymes travel throughout the book and eventually all get together in the end to have a picnic. Toddlers will have fun trying to spot the 3 Bears and Jack and Jill in the illustrations.

I thought Alexander McCall Smith’s La’s Orchestra Saves the World was going to be similar to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, but that comparison isn’t quite right. World War II has broken out and Lavender Stone, a widow in her 30’s known as La to her friends moves to her in-law’s country house. She forms a local orchestra that includes members of the RAF and other armed forces to keep everyone’s spirits up during the war. La gets to know her neighbors better, including Felix who is a Polish pilot and now a refugee living in England. The war eventually ends and the orchestra breaks up, but La wonders what could or would have been if only she would have or could have told Felix her true feelings. When leaving the theater in London many years later La just may get her chance. I said comparison to Shaffer’s book isn’t quite right because La’s Orchestra moves a little slower. You don’t get a big payoff until the very end of the book and at times it seemed like I was waiting and waiting and the payoff was NEVER going to come! But by the last page, I was a happy reader.

Cutting for Stone is quite a ride. Abraham Verghese’s characters are so memorable and his descriptions are so vivid, I feel like I was in Ethiopia during the revolution and that I worked at this field hospital. Shiva and Marion are conjoined twins whose mother died just after birth. After a risky delivery the twins are separated, but still feel such a connection during their childhood that they feel more like one person, ShivaMarion. After their mother’s death, their father abandons the twins and leaves the country. Shiva and Marion are raised by two doctors at the Missing hospital and are close with all the employees there. Both boys go into the medical field and make names for themselves in unique ways. Marion moves to the United States and finds friends in the Ethiopian-American community and Shiva revolutionizes healthcare for women. This epic novel and all its characters will stay with me for a very long time. It took me a while to get through this 600 page book, but it was worth it.