Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! (James Patterson)

The more I think about it, the more sense it makes that James Patterson would venture into middle school territory. This is, after all, one of the scariest and more perplexing places on earth. 

In his first book of this series, Rafe Khatchadorian managed so survive his 6th grade year at Hills Village Middle. Barely. My favorite piece was that the skills Rafe uses (humorously...even teasingly) to cope during a hard year are the very traits that are part of who he is meant to be in life. In that way, the Middle School books are perfect for showing just how important these years are. This IS when kids are beginning to discover the things about themselves that they hate, sure, but more importantly, they are beginning to uncover the things about themselves that they like. 

In this second installment, Rafe is in art school and loving it. Finally he is in a place where he feel comfortable just being him! Then, of course, because this is a school and there are other kids involved, the bullying and misunderstanding and rule-breaking begins...and all from quite unexpected sources. 

I was a smidge bored with this one the first half because it seemed to be following the same exact pattern as the first book. Misfit kid makes up game as a coping mechanism, which will obviously land him in trouble with his peers as well as the powers-that-be in his school. Patterson is better than this was my analytical echo throughout every chapter. About two thirds into it, however, things got good quick. My hope for readers is that they'll not be bored by the repetition so long that they lose interest before they hit the hook. Interesting format, though it smells similar to Andrew Clements's typical fiction setup. 

The only thing still driving me nuts about this series is how in the world to pronounce the main character's name. Is it Rahhhf, Raf or Rafey (a as in bat), Raf or Rafey (a as in rake), what? Even the Google doesn't know. 

I have been this confused since reading the first three Harry Potters and pronouncing Hermione as (Hermeeeown). {hanging my head in shame}

Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! (James Patterson)

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (James Patterson)

Rafe Khatchadorian is every 6^th grade boy. He’s nervous about all the new challenges and rules that come with middle school territory. He’s excited about having a little more freedom than elementary structure afforded. Mostly, he feels overwhelmed that there is entirely too much to take in at once, and what to do with it all.

And then, of course, there's Jeanne Galletta. 

The thing about Rafe is that he is also anything but typical. Along with his very, um, special friend Leo, Rafe constructs an elaborate plan to survive his 6^th grade year by defying what is intended to be the safety net of middle school society: the student code of conduct. His adventures might help Rafe make it through the worst year of his life…but they might keep him there as well.

Middle School: TheWorst Years of My Life as a title is a work of genius. Everybody is either headed to middle school or has been through it and very likely remembers 6^th-8^th grades as some of the worst years of their life. I would agree. Largely due to changing bodies and brain chemistry, middle school continues to be a very hard time for teenagers.

For those parents, teachers, and librarians curious about how well this book might meet the needs of their kids, know that it is very nicely done. There are a few twists classic of a James Patterson work, and the addition of humor-laden, skilled illustrations adds a quirky yet highly entertaining layer. The short, brief, action-packed chapters sprinkled with bits of slapstick humor will be appealing for reluctant readers (ahem: BOYS). 

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (James Patterson)

Moon Over Manifest (by Clare Vanderpool)

It is 1936 and Abilene is 12 years old when her daddy sends her to Manifest (supposedly just for a little while, though a little while soon turns into a long while). She has spent her whole life drifting from one town and job to another with Gideon (her father). Abilene knows all about being the new kid. She copes with this by determining that there are "universals" everywhere a person goes. Rich snobs, tricksters, odd balls, etc. are some of the labels she hastily applies to the people of Manifest.

It is only after discovering a box of trinkets and, along with the help of a few friends she quickly learns she has misjudged, Abilene uncovers the pieces to the mystery of Manifest...and her father as well.

*Moon over Manifest is the 2011 Newbery Award winner.

Moon Over Manifest (by Clare Vanderpool)

School of Fear (Gitty Daneshvari)

School of Fear is one of the (many, many, MANY) books I have purchased at my school book fair over recent years. Published in 2009, this story is about 4 students who have terribly ferocious fears of...something. Bugs, dying, tight quarters, and deep water are among the paralyzing fears of these 12 year old kids. In an act of desperation and desire to be free of their children's paranoias, their parents send them away to an exclusive school designed entirely for curing phobic children of their fears.

I liked the vocabulary exposure readers get in this book. I like the adventure, even if it does get a bit wonky at times. I love the sarcasm. I like the characters a lot, and suspect that many children today can identify with this exaggerated form of unique fears. It has favorable reviews from reputable school library book reviewers, but take a look at the cover. What do you notice?

I am concerned about the lack of cultural diversity in the book. Granted, ethnic diversity just for the sake of diversity is just as shallow as no diversity at all...but that is a post for another day.

It's a great piece to be included in a school library, and would be especially satisfying to Lemony Snicket fans.

School of Fear (Gitty Daneshvari)

The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)

This is the second installment in the Percy Jackson series. Percy's friend Groves is in big trouble, and it will take everything he and Annabeth can do to save both their friend and all of Camp Half-blood.

The camp is in utter chaos when one of their long-standing defenses begins to fail. Everyone will be killed unless Percy and Annabeth can retrieve the golden fleece from Polyphemos (a giant Cyclops), which just happens to be in the middle of the Sea of Monsters (commonly known as the Bermuda Triangle). One disaster after another awaits them in this portion of the sea, but it is their friendship that keeps them pressing on. A new characters introduced in this book is Tyson, a young Cyclops. It is difficult to determine whether he is friend or foe, and as Percy figures that out, he reveals some interesting pieces of his character and his relationship with Annabeth.

The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)

The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan) [Percy Jackson Series: #1]

Percy Jackson is just a regular kid. Just a regular, middle school kid. Sure, weird things happen to him. Water does strange things when he feels strong emotions. Or does it? Maybe he imagines it.

Actually, Percy J is sort of a son of Poseidon. It's kind of a long story, but Papa Poseidon and human Mama Jackson go their separate ways and Percy never knows his father. And it's all fun and games until a lightning bolt gets stolen. A rather important lightning bolt. Zeus's lightning bolt, to be exact. Zeus thinks Poseidon took it, Poseidon blames Hades, Hades blames everyone, and the world is going to implode unless that bolt can be recovered.

Percy Jackson and his friends are the kids for the job. They trek all over tarnation trying to locate the bolt and then return it back to Zeus in order to stop World War III, and all along the way it seems that everyone and everything are trying to stop them.

This is the first installment in the Percy Jackson series. The series is wildly popular with kids, and in its movie form as well. I can see why! Incredible suspense, Greek mythology, and classic good vs. evil all make for strong elements in young adult literature. I found it interesting that the author is a middle school English teacher. That explains how he nails middle school humor and logic so well.

The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan) [Percy Jackson Series: #1]

Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid (Lemony Snicket)

Lemony Snicket (which I think is a pseudonym for Daniel Handler, and a writer who I find fabulously entertaining) is best known for his authorship of the Series of Unfortunate Events. I have a few books left to complete the series, but I know enough about them to know that A) Lemony Snicket is hilarious, and B) this series in particular is most delicious when consumed audibly.

Horseradish is a collection of maxims that are categorized by applicable areas of life (as Lemony Snicket sees them), including Home, Family, Literature, A Life of Mystery, the Mystery of Life, and An Overall Feeling of Doom that One Cannot Ever Escape No Matter What One Does, etc. There are some adages that are of a more serious nature, and others which seem serious but end silly. And then there are those that start silly and end serious. Something for everyone, you see.

Just a few of my favorites:

"No matter who you are, no matter where you live, and no matter how many people are chasing you, what you don't read is often as important as what you do read."

"A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late to read them."

"A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded."

"Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby - awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess."

"Just about everything in this world is easier said than done, with the exception of "systematically assisting Sisyphus's stealthy, cyst-susceptible sister," which is easier done than said."

Easily consumed in one sitting, Horseradish is sarcasm at its best.

Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid (Lemony Snicket)

Things Hoped For (Andrew Clements)

In Things Not Seen, the prequel to Things Hoped For, a young adolescent boy (Bobby) suddenly, for no explainable reason, goes invisible. Eventually he returns to his normal self physically, but he is forever changed as a result of his time spent unseen.

Suddenly Bobby is 18 and now prefers being called Robert. His new friend Gwen has run into some massive trouble of her own. Her grandfather has suddenly vanished without a trace, and Gwen struggles with worrying about him and the pressure of her upcoming auditions for college music scholarships. She quickly learns that Robert is the best friend she can have when dealing with things not seen.

Another winner by Clements, but it's a bit more mature (not rated R or anything) than his previous works.

Things Hoped For (Andrew Clements)

Ruby Holler (Sharon Creech)

Dallas and Florida are twins-brother and sister, misunderstood, orphans, and stuck in a terrible foster environment. They have been betrayed by every adult in their life, and have never known the privilege of a safe, stable family. One day they are sent to live with Tiller and Sairy, an older couple who live down in Ruby Holler. There in Ruby Holler, Tiller and Sairy peel back the layers on these twins until they are finally able to see them for who they are. In fact, Dallas and Florida come to help save Tiller and Sairy, even from themselves.

I loved this book, and count is as one of my new favorites! A discussion on each individual character would be very lively, no doubt. Ruby Holler is an easy read and relatively suspenseful. It would make a great read-aloud or book study for a 3rd or 4th grade class.

Ruby Holler (Sharon Creech)

The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Christopher Paul Curtis)

The self-proclaimed “Weird Watsons” are Kenny, Byron, and Joetta, along with their mom and dad. They are all just busy living life in Flint, Michigan in the 1960s. They have school issues, work issues, and behavior issues just like any other family. When Byron, the oldest brother, begins to make some seriously bad choices, their parents decide it is time for him to spend a few months with their grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama. Unfortunately during that time, a church is bombed by racist segregationists, which deeply affects the Watson family and changes their lives and view of the world forever. 

Christopher Paul Curtis takes a very dark and sad time in our nation’s history and presents it on a palatable 5th grade level. He concludes the story with a summary of facts about the civil rights movement and the heroes who gave their lives during this time. Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor Book, it is very easy to see why this book is such an important and effective piece of literature. This tight-knit family experiences small doses of racism in Michigan, and Curtis thoroughly communicates the differences in Northern and Southern culture during this time. 

One of my favorite quotes (by whom, I wish I knew) is that a good writer notices things that other people don’t notice. Curtis brings to light several characteristics of daily life by black Americans during this tumultuous time period. One was that the Watsons had to plan out every single rest and refueling stop for the journey from Michigan to Alabama. They knew they would have to take great care in where they stopped and tried to rent motel rooms or purchase food, because many Southern cities simply refused service to African Americans. We travel a bit, and I can’t imagine setting out for a far away destination without the knowledge that we can stop anywhere we want to for gas or supplies. Another was the way Curtis pointed out that black people and white people could be pretty much just as ignorant about one another during this time, simply because they did not associate with anyone of the opposite race. Byron and Kenny were terrified during one rest stop because they were afraid the rednecks would catch them, hang them, and eat them for dinner. There were some very ugly things that happened in Southern states during the civil rights movement, but it would be unfair to say that all white southerners were hostile.

My only criticism of this work is that it was too brief, too light, with coverage too superficial for such atrocities in American history. I would love for Curtis to have delved more deeply into the issues of this time and how the Watsons were affected by them. But then again, that wouldn’t be a children’s book, now would it?  

The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Christopher Paul Curtis)

The Pinballs (Betsy Byars)

Carlie, Thomas J, and Harvey are in foster care. Carlie likens them to pinballs, bouncing around from one place to another without having any care or control over who or what they slam into. Each of the kids has their own heart-breaking story, and they are as united by their tragedies as they are by the love of their foster parents. When Harvey hits rock bottom, it is up to Carlie and Thomas J to bring him back to the land of the living.

I really loved this story, and the insight into the minds of children who have been damaged. It is good to remember that these kids rarely feel the way that we think they should, or sometimes even the way we want them to. Both the characters in this story, and real life children in foster care must be granted the dignity of maintaining control over their own thoughts and feelings, as well as their story.

The Pinballs (Betsy Byars)

The Big Wave (Pearl S. Buck)

This is a short one, easily swallowed in 1 sitting. It is the story of a Japanese village blended with fishing and farming agriculture. Kino's father is a farmer, and they live high on the mountain near a volcano. Jiya's father is a fisherman, meaning they live on the beach, safe from the volcano but dangerously close to the tsunami-prone sea.

One day, the big wave comes. It decimates the village, and Jiya barely escapes with his life. He becomes part of Kino's family, nurtured back to health by Kino's wise father. It seems that everything the man says is a note-worthy nugget of cultural wisdom. For example:
pg. 12- "Enjoy life and do not fear death-that is the way of a good Japanese."
pg. 24- "for life is always stronger than death."
pg. 26-"Ah, no one knows who makes evil storms. We only know that they come. When they come we must live through them as barely as we can, and after they are gone, we must feel again how wonderful is life."

and on and on

It is easy to infer that Kino's father has had experience with a big wave and losing his family before.

Not my favorite Buck book, but it's good for connecting literature and empathy to science.

The Big Wave (Pearl S. Buck)

The Underneath (Kathi Appelt)

I'm not sure that I have ever read a book whose cover art is more misleading than The Underneath.

 It looks like it might be the sweet little tale of a dog who makes friends with some cats, right?

Actually... 

The Underneath is the story of a little cat who is dropped off in the middle of a Louisiana swamp, punished for the unspeakable crime of becoming "with kitten." This new mother retreats to the first place of safety she can find, which unfortunately is the home of a cruel swamp-dweller (Gar Face) and his abused hound dog, Ranger. Dog meets cat, and they become best friends. They raise the new kittens (Puck and Sabine) together and live in cautious harmony until Gar Face sinks to new levels of cruelty and greed. "The Underneath" is the space underneath the porch, the only space where Ranger and his cats can avoid risk of all the horrible things in life. 

Interspersed throughout the story of Ranger, the mother cat, Puck, and Sabine is another dark, mystic tale involving a magical water moccasin and her own story of anger, loss, and revenge. Grandmother Moccasin and her BFF the Alligator King (who happens to be positively enormous) are on the warpath to make someone pay for all that she has lost...and Ranger and his cats better be sure that they don't cross paths with these ancient, angry, and hungry creatures. 

The Underneath is sad, dark, and full of injustice. It's very suspenseful, and filled with characters you just want to loathe. It's also filled with characters you love and will cheer on throughout their many unfair tribulations. It presents numerous opportunities for deep discussions, and is a great choice for book clubs in older elementary or middle school. The Underneath makes you think about how people's own personal wounds can either lead them to continue wounding others in the same way, or to break the cycle of revenge by forging a new path in life. It makes you appreciate the swampland ecosystem. It forces the reader to examine what, if anything, makes a person truly un-redeemable. 

And it also makes you love your own pets just a little bit more! And at the risk of turning this into a PSA: spay and neuter your pets, people! ;) 

The Underneath (Kathi Appelt)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)

Alabama's Big Read project this year is with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. A fellow librarian and myself collaborated to put together a gigantic adventure journal for our students. The journal includes a word search and word scramble, places for students to sketch a steamboat and draw a Most Wanted Pirate sign, and tons of opportunities for research on everything from southern culture to the typical dress of boys and girls in the 1800's to Robert Fulton (inventor of the steamboat engine). There is something for everyone in this journal, and I have had an absolute blast with my students as we've studied it!

One reason I wanted to create the adventure journal was because Tom Sawyer is written on an 8th grade reading level. Twain's vocabulary is rather extensive, and even 5th graders get tangled up in the "conjectured's" and the "alacrity's" and the "constrained's". So, I re-read the book myself so I could book-talk it for all of my kinds in grades 1-5. What a great book! Not one chapter went by without my thinking the Big Read book pickers are a team of geniuses! This book is really funny, well-woven, and it does a fantastic job of reminding us all how kids act, think, and play.

Tom Sawyer is an orphan living with his brother and sister under the care of their Aunt Polly. Rather predisposed to mischief, Tom tends to either find or make an enormous amount of trouble. From accidentally witnessing a murder to getting stuck 5 miles underground in an enormous cavern, Tom is highly capable of getting himself into trouble. Good thing for Tom, he's rather good at getting himself OUT of trouble, too!

I read this book long ago when I was in elementary school, and likely would never have chosen to read it again if it were not for the Big Read. I'm so glad I did! This book now ranks high among my top favorites! And many of my favorite quotes are from Mark Twain, so it's no surprise that I absolutely loved his style, sarcasm, and wit.

Get full text of Tom Sawyer here: http://www.google.com/books?id=j5UgAAAAMAAJ&dq=the%20adventures%20of%20tom%20sawyer&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false

You can also download the entire thing for FREE on Kindle or Stanza iPhone apps.

Here is my wikispace page I created for The Big Read: http://nheskids.wikispaces.com/The+BIG+READ+Resources

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (Kimberly Willis Holt)

I think as adults we often forget how hard life is for kids. Even on a daily basis, when there are no major crises, kids experience frustrations, glee, and social conflict that are especially hard just because they don't yet know how to deal with them. Middle schoolers have it the worst, because everything (to them) is magnified 1000%.

Toby Wilson is a Texan middle schooler who is having an extremely rough summer, even by normal standards. His mother has left him and his father, his best friend's brother is fighting in Vietnam, and the love of his life (well, the love of his middle school life) is with another guy. And while he's feeling sorry for himself, along comes Zachary Beaver. Zachary is a 15 year old boy who is larger than life...literally. He is a big guy, and his "guardian" is capitalizing on his size by pulling him around from town to town in a trailer and charging admission to see the "Fattest Boy in the World." Zachary turns out to be sort of a jerk, the kind who is the way he is because he has had a hard life, too. When Toby and his best friend Cal get to know Zachary, the find out that he is full of surprises...and they surprise themselves when they go to great lengths to help him.

One of the recurring issues for Zachary is that he wants to be baptized. Because of his enormous size, and his discomfort with the town's minister (probably because even in such a wee little town the dude never even tries to see or help Zachary), he refuses to even attempt to go to church. In one conversation about baptism, Toby finds out that ,"First, he should respond to our altar call. He can wait till the fourth stanza if he wants. He must confess he's a sinner. Then we'll schedule him in our baptistery. He'd be the tenth person to be baptized in our brand-new baptistery." Reverend Newton says that as if Zachary would win a big prize. Kind of like the time IGA grocery store gave Earline a color TV for being the ten-thousandth customer.


It occurred to me that getting baptized doesn't sound all that exciting when you have Reverend Newton breaking it down to schedules and which stanza Zachary could walk down the aisle. He's more excited about the new baptistery than he is about what getting baptized would actually mean for Zachary. Reverend Newton also left out a key requirement in the process. Not only should a person confess that they are a sinner, they should also believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Once that change of heart and soul has been made, the baptism is merely a symbol. A meaningful, important symbol, but just a symbol. Reverend Newton should have explained that more clearly.

I really appreciated that one of the key figures in the story was Miss Myrtie Mae, the town's librarian. Miss Myrtie Mae pays attention, and she makes things happen for Toby, Zachary, and Cal the way only a librarian can. ;)

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (Kimberly Willis Holt)

The Secret World of Hildegard (Jonah Winter)

This is a picture book telling the story of Hildegard von Bingen. Here is some background info about Hildegard von Bingen, who lived in the early 1000's. She is significant in the musical composition world because she was the first writer of music whose biography is known. She was also a scientist who studied animals, plants, and medicine. Her book Causes and Cures still provides the basis for alternative medicine. She is celebrated as a saint in Germany, though she was not ever officially made a saint.

This book is more about her mystical visions than her musical and scientific accomplishments. She always credited her creativity to God, the creator of all things and all people. The story begins with establishing that girls were not allowed to go to school, and were only taught to serve. "They were taught to be quiet and to be very gray." Even from Hildegard's days as a young girl, she had a special world all inside her head, though she did not know what it was or what to do with it. When she was 3, she correctly predicted the color of a calf that had not yet been born (Though, I found myself wondering, is that really such a big deal? You look at the momma cow and the daddy cow and choose one or the other, or a  combo of both!)   

Hildegard continued to have visions, and began to have headaches because she did not know what to do or who to tell about those visions. Because of her headaches, she was sent away to a monastery, in hopes that the nuns could help her with the headaches. At the monastery, the nuns taught Hildegard about the Bible, prayers, music, and how to read. She continued to have visions, and finally began to tell a monk and a nun about them, who wrote them down and compiled them in a book that was presented to the Pope. He approved and her writings were sought by many people.

In the end, her headaches went away, and Hildegard was happy because she was sharing the creativity God had given her.

It's a very different sort of biography. The pictures are pretty, though. I'm just happy to have learned something about a famous woman in world history.

The Secret World of Hildegard (Jonah Winter)

Chains (Laurie Halse Anderson)

I am a huge Laurie Halse Anderson fan. All of her books are piercingly honest, with just the right amount of wit and humor. Her characters and their dialogue are always spot on, and they bring an element of truth that shine the light of awareness on a variety of stories and issues otherwise unknown or ignored.

Laurie Halse Anderson has quite a voice. Not only does she speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves in her book, she also advocates on behalf of librarians dealing with issues of censorship. I had the distinct honor of attending a dinner with Laurie H.A. at the 2009 American Association of School Librarians Conference. Like her characters, she is witty and intelligent, with a heavy dose of honesty. When she speaks, people listen.

The story she tells in Chains is that of a slave girl whose freedom is hanging between two nations at war.

This is not a feel-good, happily-ever-after sort of book. It is raw and ugly and sad. I grew more broken-hearted for Isabel, the main character, with every passing page.
Set in volatile America in the 1770's, this book shows yet another horrific side of the war for independence.

Isabel is a young African American teenager who has had everything taken from her. Born a slave, she has never known freedom. She is an orphan charged with the care of her 5 year old baby sister, who suffers from seizures. Their mistress, who treated them well, taught her to read, and has even left in her will for them to be freed, has passed away. Her nephew, however, did not honor that request and promptly sells them to a cruel couple who are deeply devoted to the Loyalist cause. Isabel learns a great deal about the politics of war in their home. To say that she is treated like garbage would be quite the understatement. I have never despised a villain the way I have Madam Lockton, Isabel's new mistress.

Through it all, Isabel's hope to gain freedom for herself and her sister press her to become involved in the war by serving as a spy. She helps the American side, with their promise that she will be freed. Rather than being freed, however, Isabel is beaten until she can't think, has her teeth broken, is locked in stocks, and then branded on her face with a capital I (for Insolence). The Americans who promised her help turn their back on her. She eventually becomes (unwillingly) involved with the British side of the war, but they too use her and cast her aside.

Everyone seems willing to sacrifice the life, health, and spirit of this poor child. As desperate as the war for independence must have been, it is likely that there were many Isabels who unknowingly (and with great sacrifice) contributed to the success of the Americans. Yet, when our children study the American Revolution, where is the recognition of these individuals? As much as I love my country, I feel shame for the way these people, these Isabels, were treated. I do not know how all those people reconciled their desperate plight for freedom while they bought, sold, abused, and starved other human beings.  I am thankful for the Laurie Halse Andersons in the world who use their voice to speak for victims like Isabel.

*Chains is a National Book Award finalist and 2009 winner of the prestigious Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Visit the author's site for teaching resources and discussion guides: http://www.writerlady.com/chainsh.html.

Chains (Laurie Halse Anderson)

The View from Saturday (E.L. Konigsburg)

Oh, this book. This thing was really something! Lately I've really been making the most of my daily commute by listening to lots of books on CD, and this was one of those audio versions...the only thing about that is, I am so not an auditory learner! This was an okay book and all; I just had to keep skipping back on the CD's to figure out what was going on.

The View from Saturday is about four 6th grade students who are members of the academic quiz team at their school. It alternates viewpoints from each of the 4 kids and their sponsor, Mrs. Olinsky. As each member gets his/her turn to talk, they narrate some important event in their life.

Pros: I liked listening to this one on CD. It had several different actors with different voices who played each of the characters, and I enjoyed hearing all their different accents. That helped me visualize each character a little better. I also liked the structure of the book. As it flips around from person to person, it first seems disjointed. But what is cool is how each story is inextricably connected in the end, and how each student's unique experiences makes them, them...and even helps them answer certain questions in their quiz team "meets."

Cons: There is just not much character development, which is a key element for me when determing my opinion of a book. I like to see characters change over time and think about how events and experiences alter individuals...in this book, however, these people are already who they are. To me that is a little boring. There is also more than a little, well, strangeness to this piece of literature. There are too many oddities about the characters (for example, Julian is a 6th grader who wears knee socks and corduroy shorts to school) that are simply never explained. I like to read books and put together pieces of the puzzle and ponder how they come together. Unless I skipped a disc or something, some things just never came together in this book.

So...

Is this a good book? Kinda sorta

Is this a book I would ever recommend to anyone? Nope.

Am I glad I read it? Sure, why not!

The View from Saturday (E.L. Konigsburg)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)

I listened to this one on CD. When I first picked it out, the cover art and title gave me the impression that this might be some flavor of a Salem witch trial story. In actuality, TWoBP was full of surprises.

Set somewhere in the late 1700's, 16 year old Kit Tyler was raised as royalty by her grandfather on the island of Barbados. After his death, she takes a ship to Connecticut to meet her only living family. Kit is in for quite a shock when she and all 7 of her fru fru-filled trunks get to the rigid Puritan settlement, and quickly realizes that life in Connecticut won't be much like life in Barbados.

Though her independent spirit and outspoken nature are appreciated and loved in Barbados, in Connecticut her "strange" ways quickly land her a witch accusation, and her friendship with a Quaker woman in the town (also an outcast) doesn't help much either.

One of this book's many surprises was that intertwined with the ridiculous witch hunt, Kit's adventurous voyage from Barbados, and a plague of fever that struck the colony, was a triple sided love story involving 3 guys, Kit, and her 2 cousins.

There are too many fun little details that would ruin the book if I were to share them, but overall this is a very interesting and "feel-good" kind of book, as everything turns out A-OK in the end.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)

Harlem (Walter Dean Myers)

This poem, written by Walter Dean Myers, is a collection of thoughts about Harlem. The word phrasing, along with the brilliant illustrations (warranting its Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King medal status) expose readers to the "spirit" of Harlem, including its music, art, and everyday life.

Harlem (Walter Dean Myers)