20 - lock and key

i have been waiting for sarah dessen's new book forever.  (in case you forgot, she is one of my favorite writers . . . )  it came out on tuesday and it took a lot of self control for me to not go buy it then.  i knew once i did, all i would want to do is sit and read it.  sooooo, i made myself wait until yesterday.  just like all of her other books, this one is now on my list of top whatever.  not only did the story suck me in, but i loved catching all of the references to her other books.  she doesn't really write sequels, but all of her books are set within the same community, so characters and references to characters pop in and out . . . especially in the last couple of books she's published.  (the evil rogerson from dreamland even makes and appearance in this one.  bleh.)

because i've been reading dessen's blog for about the last two years, i had a different perspective while reading this book than i have her others.  for example, one of the characters builds a koi pond in his backyard . . . and i know that dessen and her husband have a koi pond because she has written about it a couple of different times.  so, i like having some of that inside perspective on why things ended up in the book.  if i were still in grad school, i believe there is some interesting research to be done on authors, their blogs, and their readers . . . maybe in a few years . . . 

anyway.  LOVED lock and key.  i tried not to gobble it up yesterday, but it was hard not to.  now i'm sad it's over and i've got quite a few years to wait for another one of her books.

19 - does my head look big in this?

i'm trying to find good excerpts to use for a lesson in class next week, so i've been reading a lot of YA lately. i came across this book at the local library and was intrigued. (today, i was happy to see it on the shelves of our school library.) very simply, amal - the main character - is the only muslim student at her ritzy private school, so she already is pretty conspicuous. but then, she decides that she wants to wear the hijab. i learned a lot about islam while reading this book . . . a very different viewpoint than what we are exposed to in the media; a very intellectual understanding of a religion. amal (i had a student with this name one year and i love it! it's so pretty!) has a very authentic teenage voice, although not very stereotypical aussie, which i found interesting since the book is set in australia. i'm wondering if they changed some language for the american audience? or maybe i just have a weak understanding of how people in australia really talk? that's probably closer to the point.

anyway. it was a very quick read, i learned a bit, and i laughed. all in all, a good way to spend a sunday afternoon.

p.s. the new sarah dessen book, lock and key, comes out tomorrow! woohoo!

18 - how to teach filthy rich girls

chick lit. cute. slightly racy, but overall pretty tame. it was a very quick read, so if you are looking for some entertainment by the pool this summer, this might be a good one. there is a certain expletive used quite a bit, though, so probably not a book everyone would like.

17 - the wednesday wars

i saw this book a few weeks ago at the bookstore, but fought off the urge to buy it. so, i was really glad to come across it at the library the other day. gary schmidt wrote lizzie bright and the buckminster boy, which is one of my favorite juvenile literature books from the last few years. the wednesday wars is set in long island during the school year of 1967-1968. camillo junior high, where it is set, is a school almost 50% jewish and 50% catholic, except for holling - the narrator. holling is the lone presbyterian in his 7th grade english class and so he gets left alone with mrs. baker - the teacher who 'hates his guts' - every wednesday when the jewish kids leave for hebrew school at 1:45 and the catholic kids leave for catechism classes at 1:55. their wednesdays together start out as days filled with extra chores for holling, but eventually become shakespeare class. and of course, mrs. baker never really hates holling . . .

i'm sitting here typing this and really wishing that i taught younger kids - something that rarely happens. i won't bore you with the lesson ideas that are swarming, but trust me, they are there. i love finding juvenile literature books that aren't 'dumbed down' to their audience and both of schmidt's books that i've read avoid that simplicity. now i want to read his other two books - aaron's way and straw into gold.

16 - she's got the beat

after the last book i read, i decided to go back to some serious fluff. and oh boy, was this fluff. there is a whole collection of these incredibly cheesy romances geared toward teenage girls. i read them occasionally because i have actually found a few that are good and have put them on my bookshelf. they tend to be really easy to read and you know what? some of my students need that. i picked this one up because it takes place in austin. and that's about it. i have feeling the author probably googled "cool hangouts in austin" to write this book because there were a few references to waterloo records, sixth street, red river street, and the backyard - but i never really felt like the book was actually in austin . . . oh well.

if you haven't read any current YA lit, don't let this be the one you do read. there's tons more 'stuff' out there that is way less formulaic and incredibly more complex. also, if you haven't been to austin before, um, you totally should.

15 - nineteen minutes

usually when someone gives me a book and tells me how much it impacted them, i can't wait to read it. nineteen minutes was different, though, because it's about a school shooting. a subject i quite honestly don't like to think about. at all.

someone gave me this book last year for my birthday, and i just finally got the courage to open it. i'd never read a jodi picoult book until now. i know so many people who love her books, but i just always seem to have other stuff piled up to read. after reading nineteen minutes i can see why people are fans of hers. there are so many story lines going on in this book and i am amazed at how she managed to keep them all straight, relevant, and intriguing. but, as i said, nineteen minutes is about a topic that, as a teacher, is really hard for me to think about, much less read a book about and find any sort of - and i use this word lightly - 'entertainment.' to be honest, books like this just make me feel helpless as a teacher. so while i found the story thought provoking, i don't really like how unsettled i feel now that i'm done.

do i think that was her point in writing it? yes.