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.)
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!
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.
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.
it took me too long to discover sarah dessen's books. in fact, i purposefully ignored them because i thought they would be too cheesy and girly. where i got this idea, i have no idea. it took my cousin, joy, telling me that i absolutely HAD to read just listen when it first came out. those of you who know joy, know that she is always right. her leading me in SD's direction was just another example of the always being right thing.
so now, i pretty much worship sarah dessen. not in like a creepy way. just in like a i think we would be fast friends if we ever met way. (she spells her name with an 'H' and loves friday night lights and the office and sephora. AND AND AND she LOVES college basketball! um. hello? me too! and noooooo, i don't know these things because of the whole creepy thing. she blogs pretty consistently.)
back to my point. just listen was my first and probably still my favorite of her books. the music discussions all the way through this book make me think of so many moments from my own life. it came out in paperback this last week, so of course i had to get it to read, which pretty much made for a perfect day at the park on saturday afternoon with my pup and 80 degree weather and the start of browner legs and a touch of pink on my cheeks still today. now, i'm really in a dessen mood, so i'll probably end up rereading her other books over the next month. but, that'll have to wait because i put my 'collection' out in my classroom today and all but ONE of the books disappeared for DEAR time and ALL of the girls who picked them up wanted to keep reading them on their own.
just one more reason sarah dessen rocks.
so. meg cabot. i was really really really into her books a few years ago. but my reading lists got overwhelmed with so many other books, i just had to take a break from her. teen idol was the first of her books that i'd read in a while. the pink, purple, and silver cover art probably gives away that it is whole-heartedly a F-U-N book. right now, though, people i'm in the midst of teaching about the Holocaust to one set of students, then i will turn around and teach it to my other set (all in all, probably about 3 months on such a heavy subject). PLUS, the albatross that is the joy of ELA 8th grade teachers in tejas is right around the corner. yup. taks. so seriously, with just those two things combined, i need a little a little fluff - although i really could go on and on about the strong girl characters that cabot ALWAYS creates and the positive messages her books send toward teenage girls, which means her books are never truly and really FLUFF. instead, i'll tell you that if you like to read writers' blogs, you should check hers out.
so, i am an official resident of where i live now . . . i finally got my drivers license, am registered to vote, AND have a library card. it only took 19 months . . .
bloom has the distinction of being the first book i used my card for. exciting. i know. anyway. it was a very fast read and is, of course, a YA book. hey, i spent most of january reading outside of my comfort zone. give a girl a break. i'd never read any of elizabeth scott's books before. she is very much like sarah dessen and deb caletti. i liked bloom. it did kind of drag a little for me, but it was a sweet story. she has a couple of other books out, so i'll be looking into them i am sure. there is no doubt in my mind that mis estudiantes would like bloom, which, you know, is really the most important part of it. i'm starting book talks in march and will make sure to include it.
okay. so. i need some suggestions on books to read. i have garden spells on hold (look at me actually using the library services!) because i've only heard great things about it. any others? i kind of feel like a biography, so if you know of some good and interesting ones, let me know!
have any of you read any of the books written by obama, mccain, h. clinton? worth reading? just curious!
this is the sequel to a YA book that i really like called the gospel according to larry. it was a fast little read and very current because, obviously, it is about an election. not just ANY election, but the first election where an 18-year-old runs for president. ( in the book the states ratified an amendment to change the law from 35 to 18.) to be honest, i didn't anticipate that there would be a sequel to tgatl the first time i read it, so, at times, v4l seemed a little bit too contrived. BUT, it totally brings up some really important issues and statistics that teens need to be aware of and somehow none of that 'stuff' turns boring or preachy.
