Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird

Forgot how much I love this book.
I hope my students are semi-enjoying it--though I know I am not doing it the justice it deserves...still makes me cry every time I read it.

Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian

Or, crap with a large, droll, side of useless violence crap.

Ishmael Beah: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Powerful text, written extremely well, very graphic and hard to fathom some of the occurrences he was forced to endure. It ended too abruptly for me, but I am hoping that means a follow-up as to where he is now. The text is not all war though. We get a glimpse into life in Sierra Leon, his childhood, and journey that led him into soldierhood. His "rehabilitation" and subsequent trials following his relocation conclude the text, but as I said, it ended too quickly. It was amazing to read that he was 12 and shooting people, all the while I was finishing off my quaint high school experience--which I just thought was the whole world at the time. This book really put a great deal into perspective for me, including how very lucky I am.

Erik Larson: The Devil in the White City

Ready for the book club!!

Be sure to give it past 55 pages. That is when the story kicks in and you forget for a moment that you are reading a non-fiction text.

Fascinating and enjoyable, interesting and educational. Chicago locale, gruesome psychopathic killer....A time in history (Chicago's World Fair--late 1800s) that I didn't know about. It was a girthy text, but flew by once I got past the initial 55 pages.

Cormac McCarthy: The Road

Luckily the ending leaves the reader with a glimmer of hope.

Mette Harrison: Mira, Mirror

Not a Snow White tale. The magic mirror, who is an imprisoned sister to the witch who wanted to be "most beautiful,"is on a quest to end her imprisonment--no matter who gets in her way. Her journey becomes more complex when she meets two girls who embody an ideal sister relationship, and the strength of unconditional love is revealed to her.

Anthony Bourdain: Kitchen Confidential

The raunchier side of cuisine and the art of a chef. One of the coolest chapters is the "day in the life" in which Bourdain in choppy sentences dictates every detail of a day in the life of a chef. Really a fun read.

Remember--no garlic press, and you ONLY NEED ONE GOOD KNIFE!!

Bill Buford: Heat

A high-class account of Buford who was given the opportunity to work under Mario Batali (http://www.mariobatali.com/)--and learn and earn just a taste of what it takes to be a tremendous chef.

Mariah Fredericks: The True Meaning of Cleavage

Totally not what I was expecting. Interesting and unique protagonist, interesting freshmen dilemmas, very unique story of a friendship's path. Glad I read it.

Stephen Chbosky: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Started this this afternoon, and I just finished it.
So. Good. So. Amazing.

Carolyn Mackler: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!!!!

Finally, a positive and unique teenage feminist!!!

SO GLAD I READ THIS!!!

Gail Carson Levine: Fairest

David Levithan: Boy Meets Boy

Lauren Myracle: Rhymes with Witches

Sharon Hale: The Princess Academy

So much more than what the title says. HOLY COW was this good.

Gennifer Choldenko: Al Capone Does My Shirts

Louis Sachar: Holes

I totally forgot what an amazing story this is! This is the third reading of it, and I bawled at the end. Stanley Yelnats (stanley backwards) has terrible luck, doesn't like himself very much, and is forced to dig 5x5x5 holes in the middle of the desert as punishment ("this isn't a girl scout camp") for a crime he didn't commit.

Sachar weaves a family's history into the tale among the modern Stanley's detailed experience. The end of the story, while tidily wrapped up, is original and masterful in the manner the entire text was written.

Really a unique story, and I am SO glad I haven't (and won't) see the movie...I love the images of Caveman and Zero I have in my head, and have no desire to have anyone else's interpretation. I love my imagination!!

Definitely check this book out!

Jack Gantos: Hole in My Life

Even though the story is far from upbeat, Gantos doesn't tell a "woe as me" story of his incarceration. The events leading up to his arrest are told realistically, and the one theme that is weaved throughout is Gantos' desire to write--in any capacity. While his drug use and drinking were completely out of control, his lifestyle is essential to the story, but never appears preachy to the reader--which is slightly different from most Young Adult texts.

This is more of a story of a writers' journey to where he is today, told in a very matter-of-fact way without preaching or judging. Brutally honest and moving--I am glad Gantos published this text. He also alludes to several (more than 15) important books/authors in his journey, and could be great tool in the classroom. Students who enjoy nonfiction & biographies/memoirs will really enjoy this book. Potential writers would also benefit from reading this text as well. Check it out!

Jack Gantos: Joey Pigza Loses Control

Sharon Creech: Love That Dog

I bought and read this book the year it came out, after I had taken a “teaching writing” course down in Chicago and the instructor mentioned it. I had never encountered a book in verse before, and I instantly fell in love with it, especially since I know Myers’ works, and knew (and was/am familiar with) what an amazing writer he is. I have also been drawn to the format ever since reading this text, and most of my current favorites are books in verse.
The perspective Jack offers also enhances the read. I am not nearly as familiar with texts ideal for young boys/texts written for the young male perspective as I’d like to be, and this book opened up the possibility that I could become more familiar with quality books for boys. I think that Creech’s words contribute to my being able to identify with Jack’s perception and eloquent verbiage, but I have also come to the realization that truly good writers can write outside their gender.

The emotions that this book draws up in me also add to my love for the book. I bawl when I read Jack’s account of losing Sky, and when he is so thrilled that Mr. Walter Dean Myers read his letter and accepted his invitation. I know that thrill of getting what you have wished for, and I know the sorrow of a devastating loss. I can empathize with Jack’s hesitance in accepting poetry, and have experienced the confusion of not-really-getting what an author was getting at, and the frustration in trying to discern why I was being asked to study something that at the moment made little sense to me. I can identify with Jack’s awe of Myers, for if I were to meet my idol—and my idol responded to a request I made—I know I would be just as thrilled and “inspired” by such an event. I was explaining to one of my friends the premise of the book, and how moved Jack becomes by “Mr. Walter Dean Myers,” and I couldn’t help but well up in my description of the book’s events! I absolutely LOVE this book!