2013 Book Awards

The 2013 National Book List Awards have been released!  Check them out here if you are looking for a new book!

Blogger of the Week

This week, I want to highlight Cindy from Honors Bell 5 and her amazing blog!  Cindy's posts are both conversational and extremely well-written.  She does a wonderful job talking to her reader, connecting to the texts she is reading, and sharing her thoughts. 

I love her most recent post from September 22, which starts out with these words: "If I asked you who sings the new hit song "Roar", you'd probably respond, "Katy Perry, of course." But if I asked you who founded the most popular search engine that you use everyday, you'd probably have NO idea. Well, at least that was the case for me."

Makes you want to read more, doesn't it?  Go check out her blog and leave a comment!

October Mourning

I left my Kindle at home this morning so I ran down to the media center and picked up October Mourning by Leslea Newman.  It looked interesting and I remember the news story from when I was in high school.  To summarize, Matthew Shepherd was the targeted victim of a hate crime, committed because he was gay while a college student at the University of Wyoming.  The crime was brutal and the poor victim was beaten, tied to a fence, and left in the cold.  He died five days later.

This book is written as a series of poems that tell the story from multiple perspectives.  The pain the tragedy caused his family, friends, and the extended U of W community is endless.  One of the poems really spoke to me.  It was called "How to Have the Worst Day of Your Life."  It was about how the parents could hear the news.  I am a parent to three beautiful, healthy children who I love more than anything in this world.  And the thought of hearing about something bad happening to one of them is enough to make me cry.  This poem reached me on that level and was the strongest connection I made while reading this book.  Here is an excerpt from that poem:

"Fumble for the phone.
Say hello.
Hear an unfamiliar voice say your name like a question.
Say, It is I, or Speaking, or That's me, or Yes?
Hear the unfamiliar voice say there's bad news.
Hear the unfamiliar voice say, 'Are you sitting down?'
Sit up.
Know deep in your gut that after you hear this bad news, your life will never be the same."

Getting bad news about a child has to be the absolute worst thing a parent can imagine.  And I hope it is never me on the receiving end of a conversation like the one above.

All in all, this book was a very quick read (I read the entire book of poems in about thirty minutes).  It was emotional, but quick, raw, and told a story.  If you like poetry, this might be a good read for you.

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, Continued

I am still working my way through A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty.  I am really enjoying the writing style and the author's choice to alternate chapters told from the perspectives of different characters.  I am about a third of the way through right now and the plot has really thickened.  Both Mosey and Big have figured out that it is likely that Mosey was kidnapped and have started searching for children who went missing around the same time Liza disappeared from their town. The author also provides flashbacks into Liza's life from the time she first left.  We learn that her infant did in fact die.  We also learn that she has a problem with stealing children and we are shown several different times where she has been compelled to steal a child (I'm still unclear as to what happened to these other children and/or if one of them is Mosey).

Last time I blogged, I posted a few questions, which I am going to try to provide an update for:

Whose remains are inside the box? I think they belong to Liza's biological daughter, who I believe died of SIDS.

Was Mosey kidnapped? It appears that this is so.

Where did Liza and Mosey do during that time period?  Liza traipsed all across the country, hitching rides from many different people, mostly truckers.

Who is Mosey's father? No idea yet.

In some ways, this book reminds me of "The Face on the Milk Carton," a book written by Caroline B. Cooney that was later turned into a made-for-TV movie starring Kellie Martin.  I loved the book growing up and still remember my excitement when it was made into a movie.  Anyways, below is the first part of the movie and you can watch the other parts of the film on youtube if interested.  There is a really clear connection between the two.

In the movie, Janie ends up finding her real family and they had desperately missed her and wanted her back.  I am really curious (assuming Mosey was kidnapped at a young age) what her biological family is like and how she will fit in with them.

Off to a Good Start!

Earlier this week I started reading A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty.  It was one of my recommended reads on Goodreads, and they pretty much hit the nail on the head.  The plot description sounded interesting and it actually reminds me a lot of Jodi Picoult, one of my favorite authors.  One of the biggest similarities is in the organization of the text.  Picoult often has stories that are told from multiple different first-person perspectives where she changes the speaker each chapter.  A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is organized the same way.

I am 19% into the novel (reading on my Kindle) and here is the gist of the plot thus far.  It follows the tale of three women in the same family.  First is "Big" the grandmother, second is Liza, the mother, and third is Mosey, the daughter.  There are fifteen years between each of them, so both Big and Liza were teen mothers and have this gnawing fear that Mosey will turn out the same way.  But, there is more to the plot than that.  Shortly after Mosey was born, Liza and Mosey disappeared from the town for two years and returned to Big when Mosey was a toddler.  Liza had an accident and had some handicaps the year Mosey turned 14, so Big was essentially raising Mosey as well as providing care to Liza.  Then one day it happened.  Some workers were cutting down a tree in the front yard when they discovered a buried box.  Inside the box were the remains of a baby and an outfit Big remembers buying for Liza when Mosey was born.  The workers call the police and immediately we see the thoughts of both Mosey and Big.  Big immediately jumps to the conclusion that the remains are those of baby Mosey and that Liza had kidnapped another girl when she was missing for that time period.  Mosey thinks maybe her mom has another baby that died before her.  All we know from Liza is that she screamed, "My baby!  My baby!" when the box was found.

I have so many questions:

• Whose remains are inside the box?
• Was Mosey kidnapped?
• Where did Liza and Mosey do during that time period?
• Who is Mosey's father?

Based on the clues in the book, I am going to infer that Mosey was kidnapped.  There was a vivid character description early on in the book where Big is describing Mosey and how she doesn't look anything like her and Liza.  I guess I have to keep reading to find out!

I found this video about the author because this is the first book I've read by her.  I love the way she talks about characters and how they develop in her head.  She actually isn't talking about this novel but does talk about character development and has some tips that would be helpful to any writer.

Featured Blogger of the Week!

This week, I want to highlight Kennedy and her blog.  There are a lot of positives I see in Kennedy's blog and her posts are prime examples of what I want to see.  Some of the things I like about her blog is the casual, realistic tone of a blog.  I also like the frequent connections and links she displays to other articles and videos.  Her posts are on topic, yet they sound natural. 

I especially like the post from Wednesday, September 4 where she introduces her new book and includes the video trailer.  Her post includes a nice summary of the book so far and includes many pertinent details.  This weekend, be sure to check out Kennedy's blog and to post on four other student blogs.  (They don't have to be in our class, but they do need to be MHS freshmen students)!

Sisterhood Everlasting

I bet many of you read one or more of the books from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series by Ann Brasheres.   I used to teach middle school and therefore had read a few of the books in the series and thought they were cute preteen books.  I discovered a 5th book in the series this weekend when I was searching for new books on OverDrive and read the summary.  This fifth installment is actually about the girls as adults.  It is nice to see how each one has changed, yet stayed the same.  The book starts with Tibby inviting the other three to Lena's grandparents' house in Greece.  When the other three arrive, Tibby is nowhere to be found.  After 12 hours of her missing, they file a missing person report with the local authorities.  The police arrive within a day and inform the girls that a young woman's body has washed ashore and they believe she has drowned.  When the girls discover personal letters Tibby has left for each one, they assume she has committed suicide.  As a reader, when I discovered this (very early on in the book - don't worry, not a spoiler) I was mad.  This was supposed to be an uplifting book and instead I was depressed.  As the girl's learn more about Tibby's life, you find out what really happens, while following the multiple plot lines of the other three: Lena is still in love with Kostos, and they reunite after Tibby's death through frequent letter-writing; Bridget (Bee) is still dating Eric and questions what direction her life needs to do; and Carmen is living in NYC as an actress and engaged to a man named Jones.

Through all these plot lines, I think the author was trying to teach the reader that life is short and you shouldn't sit by idly watching life go by.  You need to take action yourself.  I can think of a few examples from the book I can share without spoiling the ending:

• Lena and Kostos love each other, but they haven't seen each other in 10 years.  After Tibby's death, Kostos comes back to Greece to help Lena grieve.  They become friends again.  After Kostos returns to London, they begin a letter-writing correspondence.  Both loves the other, but don't freely admit it for a long time.  They both are waiting around for the other to take the bold first steps and eventually both do at the same time.  But when they finally take action is when both get what they really want.
• Bridget has a similar journey.  She has been with Eric for almost 15 years, but is still not married and officially settled down.  She forces herself to take time apart from him and goes on a journey of her own (both physical and emotional) before she realizes that he is her future and what she wants.

All in all, it was a cute book.  Not necessarily difficult or cutting edge, but a nice final chapter in the lives of the sisterhood.

I Finished my Book! What Should I Do?

I actually took a 1.5 day break from reading.  When I finished Escape I updated my Goodreads account with my next book.  And I have not opened it yet.  Yes, your English teacher is admitting I didn't open an independent reading book for an entire day.  I had narrative revisions to grade (so I did do some reading), took my kids to the park, went on a long walk with them, and whipped up a delicious strawberry mango salsa.  Yum!  Last night as I was trying to fall asleep though, I was a bit distraught.  Reading is my nightly bedtime ritual and I had nothing to read.  I actually left Bossypants by Tina Fey (my next book) at school because I was giving myself a day off.  Fortunately, I had my Kindle.  Unfortunately, all my recent library downloads had disappeared because I left the wireless on, so down to the computer I went.  I spent an hour going back and forth between my Goodreads want-to-read shelf and OverDrive, where I download most of my reading material.   I was pleasantly surprised to be able to immediately download five of the books on my want-to-read list and put holds on about seven more. Yeah for free books!  Anyways, the whole point of this post is to let you know about OverDrive and downloadable books.  You don't have to have a Kindle or Nook.  You can download onto an app on your phone, an iPad, your home computer, etc.  The Mason High School library is hyperlinked, so you always have a book at your fingertips!  (Just follow the link and click on eBooks - I prefer OverDrive, but you can check out Follett's as well).

I also got a few good book ideas from a list put out by USA Today of the 30 hottest books for fall.  Most of these are adult titles, but you may want to check it out and see if there is something that interests you!

USA Today's 30 Hottest Books for Fall

So there you have it!  There is no excuse for not having a book to read!

Stand Up

I'm 288 pages into Escape by Carolyn Jessop and every page has put me into shock.  Here are a few of the more shocking trials Carolyn has had to endure as a member of the FLDS:

• She was forced into marriage at the age of 18 to a 50-year-old.
• She was one of 7 wives of this 50-year-old.
• She was forced to procreate as often as possible and birthed 8 children in a 15 year span, many of these high-risk.

Here is a brief wikipedia explanantion of the FLDS.

Carolyn was basically like a piece of property to her husband Merrill and because of her religion could not stand up for herself.   At first, she didn't want to.  She'd been brainwashed since birth that the world outside of their religion was bad.  That no one was kind or cared about others.  That it was unsafe.  But then one of her children had a tumor on his spinal cord and she spent weeks in the hospital with him and was amazed by the kindness showed to her and Harrison.  That was one of the moments that made her realize the world was not so bad.  Her husband also forced her to work at a motel he owned away from the family for a time where she felt unsafe because there was a man her husband hired who was stalking her.  There was another man, James, who was a caretaker on the property who protected Carolyn and made her feel important. 

The polygamy described in this book seems surreal.  It is hard to imagine there are families living like this in our country today.   It just seems so far removed from the world I know.  Not to judge, but it is a world I would not want to live in.  I'm obviously not finished yet, but I think I can predict the developing theme, "Stand up for your beliefs."  Carolyn has just started to do this.  She wrote a 17-page letter to Warren Jeffs, the current leader.   She summarizes what she wants in the memoir, "I began writing a letter to Jeffs that told my side of the situation.  I wanted to be allowed to live in the community but away from Merril and in a space of my own...It took me several weeks but I finally had a seventeen-page letter that detailed the awful history of abuse that Merril had dealt out to his wives and children" (Jessop 278).  I know she eventually escapes, because the book starts by describing the night she escapes with her children.  I have about 130 pages left and am eager to discover how she builds up the courage to stand up for her beliefs.