December 31, 2013LAST BOOK OF THE YEAR!!!! And these were REALLY fun...1950s suspense, sharp writing, just a ton of fun. If you can, listen to this book -- it's a total romp. *I am Legend* remains my favorite novel from Matheson, but these novellas were a blast!
December 27, 2013
I get why kids like this book. As a matter of fact, I read it because it was recommended to me by a couple students. And, admittedly, it's a fast read (very fast, actually -- I read it in less than an hour on the plane coming home from D.C.) and it's compelling: Logan makes a tragically poor choice and winds up dead only to learn that his sister desperately needs his help. Luckily for Logan, he has a guide in the afterlife who can teach him how to right a few wrongs before moving on. Simple premise, simple writing, linear, non-complicated plot. For teens who claim to HATE reading, or kids who are reading several grade levels below where they should be, this book will be that one they actually enjoy. For me, though, it needed 200 more pages and depth.
And this is why we read: books and voices and stories like Mila's. I'm still processing and thinking and feeling all the layers in this gem. I borrowed this from the library, but I need my own copy so I can experience this again.
Funny. When I saw this in my library, I wanted to read it because it was by Meg Rosoff. It wasn't until I was a couple chapters in that I learned it was a National Book Award finalist, and all the while thinking, 'How hasn't this won something?'
Thank you, Meg Rosoff. Thanks for this book.
December 19, 2013
This was okay, I felt it was about 100 pages longer than it needed to be...Adult authors really need to take some tips from YA writers: longer isn't better.
It was relatively predictable, but this eight year old's point of view living with a mentally ill mom and overly controlling military dad during the post Civil Rights busing era of the mid-70s in D.C. wasn't all bad.
December 13, 2013
My students asked me how many times I'd read this book after hearing my voice shake as we discussed the end. And I thought about it, did some quick math in my head, and came up with probably a dozen times that I've read this book. Still love it. It remains -- to me -- one of the more perfect novels. Each section a gem in and of itself. Tragic and representative of a time that was awful for many segments of the population at that time. Yet it reflects the very human need to retain a glimmer of hope amid so much despair.
But the love. The love is there, and -- where there is love-- there is always hope.
December 12, 2013
If I can read 500 pages of a YA novel in three days while working extra hours, you know it's a quick read. And *Divergent* is just that. Not a literary tome by any stretch of the imagination, but a definite quick pick that will make a helluva movie.My only wish? SLOW down a bit and give us some meat: you folks are creating these really cool dystopian worlds that are addressing some crazy interesting epic themes about society and responsibility and belonging and identity. Let the characters dwell in difficult for a while. You won't lose readers; in fact, you may gain a few more....
December 7, 2013
I rarely finish reading a book I don't like...as in, really don't like. Because, if I'm not digging it, I put it down and get another. But this is David Levithan. It had good reviews. It was a book I ordered for my classroom. It was David Levithan. But, seriously? MESSAGE: Accept all people! Our outside selves don't matter! It's who we are INSIDE!
If you need to blatantly smash me over the head with your agenda and are using the vehicle of a novel which is set in such a way to do only that, then, no thanks.
November 30, 2013
What made this book incredible beyond the story itself -- which, frankly, would be tough to do -- is the voice. This girl is fifteen when she is shot in the head by the Taliban at point blank range. Fifteen. And most of her story takes place in the years prior to, so the VOICE of our narrator, is truly that of an innocent. She asks questions that only children do: 'Why can't everyone get an education?' This essential question is at the heart of this history lesson/memoir/personal narrative and personifies hope and bravery, courage and resilience. This young lady will continue to change the world: you go, girl! November 28, 2013
I have truly become a fan of Allende, though this book is not on my list of Holy-Cow-You-HAVE-to-Read-This! Admittedly, I loved loved LOVED *Island at the Bottom of the Sea* and appreciate Allende's lyric writing about other worlds, times and cultures. So that's probably why this was tough for me because she traveled between this amazing world in the south of Chile to the dirty streets of Vegas. I don't want to read about Vegas, even if it's what brought Maya to that tiny island off the coast of Chile.
But it's a good story, and I grew to love her grandfather deeply while appreciating her grandmother who is hilarious in her own brusque, militaristic nurturing way.
November 26, 2013
Wow, it's been a LOOOONG time since my last entry. Darn teaching gets in the way of my reading life sometimes, which is ironic because -- as a language arts teacher -- I should be reading all the time! Course, I am, just not always what I want to :)
That said, here's a book I just finished (forced myself to, actually) that I feel was wasted time: James Dashner's The Maze Runner. Again: great premise, sucky execution. How is it possible that editors are letting this stuff through? I'm assuming they're riding the "series" wave of dystopian worlds and imagining a future box office movie deal, but -- people -- these are BOOKS. The characters have to have a brain, they have to be consistent, they have to have depth. Like I wrote on Goodreads, reading this feels you're like a man-made stone skipping across a rain puddle in a strip mall parking lot. Too bad.
November 9, 2013
I read this novel many years back, saw the film soon after and decided to listen to it on audio...Gets better each time. Knowing what's going to happen makes this tragedy even more unsettling, horrifying and devastating.Lehane's ear for dialogue and description is masterful. You want to be a better writer? Forget taking a class, just read this....
November 3, 2013
This had so many great elements: multiple points of view, magic realism, PowerPoint style chapters (like I saw in *Goon Squad* a few books ago) and brilliant, sharp writing. Really good stuff!
I liked 'Everybody Sees the Ants' a little better, I think...it was tighter. But this was truly wonderful...
Definitely needed a great read by a gifted writer after the last couple of let downs. Vera was not a character who wavered and King is not a writer who lets it get easy....
October 26, 2013
I already lamented my disappointment of this novel on Goodreads, so it pains me to do it again here...But, man, I really wanted this book to end way cooler than it did. It started SOOOOOOOOO strong and I was completely digging the premise: virus kills young people, they 'reboot' and come back to life stronger, faster, less 'human'...and the government enslaves them to control a society out of control. How awesome is that? But then it got too 'easy' and too 'neat' and too 'happily-ever-ending-ish'...Note to authors: when penning a dark, post-apocalyptic tale about the undead, you can't make it cute and cliche and easy on the last 50 pages. You simply can't.
Now here's a reason to buy that HazMat suit you've always coveted: Geez-Louise, there's some scary stuff happening out there in the land or microbiology!
In a similar vein (pun intended) as Hot Zone, Demon explores Small Pox and Anthrax, specifically, tracing the historical journey these prehistoric life forms have taken. For me, the passages about the intentional infecting of Native Americans and the animal testing done to force the disease beyond humans into monkeys are the hardest chapters to read. The horror of the planned eradication of a race of people is indescribable. And the animal testing scene will make you question everything you may have thought about the practice.
If you like science and history, this is a must-read!
I really wanted to like this book: strong female protagonist, post-apocalyptic world, a looming pandemic...all the elements that make for a fun read. But it wasn't that fun. Once our main character met a boy, she lost her edge. And during climactic scene, I think she lost her mind. Her character was not consistent and her choices didn't make sense. I think the author backed down when she should've ramped it up. Bummer.
October 8, 2013
Loved the structure and just let go, trusting that Egan would connect the dots, leading me 'from A to B', just as she did her characters. I read some reviews and was intrigued to learn they had considered making this an HBO series soon after she won the Pulitzer, but that has since "fizzled"...Too bad, I think this would've been cool to see.
October 6, 2013
Do you ever sometimes want to reach inside a story, grab the characters by the shoulders and shout, "For God's sake, can you STOP making the same mistake? Give yourself a break already!" Yeah, I felt that a lot reading this.
What I love about this novel is how the story is told in so many layers: so many circles within circles of misunderstanding, assumption and simple dumb-luck and bad timing. A lot like life.
Grief and loss are at the heart of this novel, beginning on a warm spring afternoon when a young boy goes missing. The ripples from his loss are felt over a decade, shaping everyone's futures -- some without them even knowing it .
One of those character-centered books I love, this is a really great read.
September 26, 2013
Okay, here's why it wasn't four stars: there was a LOT happening in this novel; a bit too much, I think. The character was a tad unreliable and unsettling at times -- but, admittedly, I liked that: a loose cannon who doesn't see the world the way others do AND has a gun and a murder suicide plan. Makes for intriguing reading. But then lots other stuff happens that seem, I'm not sure, too much? If I were an editor, I'm not certain what my revision suggestion would be other than to reign it in a bit. I don't know, just not a direct hit with me...
September 22, 2013
Really wish there was a 4.5 star rating because this is so close to a 5 for me...I really loved this little book, so maybe that's why it's not a 5: I hated that it ended. I'm a fan of Southern lit and the FX series *Justified*, so the lyricism mixed with raw reality of life in modern-day Ozarks was stunning.
Now I need to see the movie :)
September 20, 2013
It takes some getting used to, this five year old narrator with imprecise grammar and a skewed understanding of reality. But of course, he should sound unique: Jack has only known an 11' x 11' room in which he was born to a mother who was taken captive and locked away at the age of 19. Stick with it, though, and you'll see the world -- and his world -- in an entirely new way. Room is truly powerful and captivatingly painful in its simplistic complexity.
September 15, 2013
An incredible novel: a brutally honest narrator that forces us to face what we'd rather not -- the reality of how cruel people can be to one another -- while, at the same time, allowing us to discover alongside him that we all have the power to escape our prisons: "Never forget...But stop living there. Live here, in the present."
Lucky Linderman and his ants need to be a part of YOUR present. Part magic realism, part tragic reality, part hope and healing....Read this book.
Not nearly as literary, but a "hoot", as usual. Always love how Hiaasen slips in his biology and environmental lessons while making us laugh out loud at the ridiculous characters who populate these pages.
Want a light, fun, fast paced page turner? Chew on this!
September 9, 2013
You need to read books you loved at different points in your life, because YOU are different and those parts you didn't hear the first time around will offer you that second chance. I'm listening.
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| On Writing by Stephen King |
*****
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| The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch |
September 8, 2013
****
I really, really REALLY liked this books and I know my students will, too. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this is not only action packed and a quick read, but it poses Big Questions about the necessity of connection, vulnerability and hope in order to survive.
September 8, 2013
My rating system:
*** = Okay; the writing or story line or intended audience didn’t catch my attention
**** = Really good; I will own this book and pester my students & friends to read it
***** = Fantastic! This effected the way I see the world and myself; it will impact how I write
**** = Really good; I will own this book and pester my students & friends to read it
***** = Fantastic! This effected the way I see the world and myself; it will impact how I write
YA books read since January 2013:
*** Ashes, Ashes Jo Treggiari
**** The Age of Miracles Karen Walker Thompson
**** Before I Fall Lauren Oliver
*** Before We Were Free Julia Alvarez
**** Chomp Carl Haissen
**** Crash & Burn Michael Hiassen
**** Delirium Lauren Oliver
**** Don’t Turn Around Michelle Gagnon
**** Divergent Veronica Roth
**** Divergent Veronica Roth
**** Eleventh Plague Jeff Hirsch
***** Everybody Sees the Ants A.S. King
* Every day David Levithan
** Exit Point Laura Langston
* Every day David Levithan
** Exit Point Laura Langston
*** Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock Matthew Quick
*** Ghost Hand Ripley Patton
*** The Host Stephanie Meyer
**** If I Stay Gayle Forman
** The Maze Runner James Dashner
** The Maze Runner James Dashner
**** Pandemonium (Book 2 Delirium series) Lauren Oliver
***** Picture Me Gone Meg Rosoff
**** Please Ignore Vera Dietz A.S. King
***(*) Reboot Amy Tintera
*** Rootless Chris Howard
**** Split Swati Avasthi
**** Virals Kathy Reichs
***** Where Things Come Back John Corey Whaley
**** Winter's Bone Daniel Woodrell
**** Winter's Bone Daniel Woodrell
Nonfiction/Memoir read since January 2013:
**** The Art of Non-Conformity Chris Guillebeau
***** Autobiography of a Face Lucy Greely***** Deep Survival Laurence Gonzalez
**** Demon in the Freezer Richard Preston
**** Finding Your Element Ken Robinson
***** I Am Malala Malal Yousafzai
***** On Writing Stephen King
***** The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot***** I Am Malala Malal Yousafzai
***** On Writing Stephen King
***** The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid Bill Bryson
*** Stubborn Twig Lauren Kessler
***** The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell ***** Unbroken Lauren Hillenbrand
**** Writing to Change the World Mary Pipher
Adult Fiction read since January 2013:
*** Maya's Notebook Isabel Allende
***** A Visit From the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan
***** The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Diaz
***** Heartwood Nikky Finney
**** The Interestings Meg Wolitzer
**** Is This Tomorrow Caroline Leavitt
***** Mystic River Dennis Lehane
**** Paradise Salvage John Fusco
**** Room Emma Donoghue
***** Things Fall Apart Chinva Achebe
***** Torch Cheryl Strayed
** Up From the Blue Susan Henderson
***** Island Beneath the Sea Isabelle Allende
**** Noir Richard Matheson
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