The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel by Julia Stuart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






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Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship by Gail Caldwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"I know now that we never get over great losses; we absorb them, and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures. Sometimes I think that the pain is what yields the solution. Grief and memory create their own narrative..." (p. 182)



A wonderful story of friendship and love.



I have to admit that I almost abandoned this book. At the beginning it seemed to perfect... her friendship, the connection they had over their alcoholism. The author's friend, Caroline, had written a book about her struggle with alcohol and I felt for the first 100 pages or so... that the author, Gail, was competing with her friend's story. But then, the story took on a "truthfulness" to me. It became authentic when she began to describe her friends illness and death and then the death of her beloved dog.



The truths she writes in the 2nd half of the book were heartfelt and filled with deep meaning.



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Hate List by Jennifer Brown

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Pain and isolation. The character of this novel, Valerie, felt so much of both. She found herself in a situation that left her pained (both mentally and physically) as well as isolated (from family and friends alike). She survived a terrible trauma that few can imagine - the death of friends and enemies at the hand of her boyfriend.

The part of the novel that was so upsetting to me was the portrayal of the father. What got to me was the realism of his reaction to his daughter. So many parents do this daily - think the worst of their children and instead of helping them deal - shut them out.




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Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


With the recent passing of Elizabeth Edwards I decided to read her book RESILIENCE and learn more about how this woman was able to overcome so much - the loss of her 16 year-old son, the disintegration of her marriage, and the battle for her life (twice).

What came across in the book to me is simply a woman's life that was filled with pain. A life that did not turn out the way she had hoped. With each new adversity, she fell, hit bottom and then dug her way back up.

Her grief at the loss of her son was all consuming. All encompassing. As Americans, there are times when we have such romanticized notions of the "rich and famous". She disproves many of those notions.

She states on page 92 "Grief is a long process of untangling ourselves from the physical reality of the person and from our expectations of a future with them." How very true.



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2011 Debut Author Challenge

In 2011 I am taking the Debut Author Challenge to read a minimum of 12 Young Adult books published in 2011... I think I can do it and what a great way to keep current on books to share with my classes.

Here is the link to the website if you are interested in participating...
http://www.thestorysiren.com/2010/11/2011-debut-author-challenge.html

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Finished reading this novel. When I first started to read it, I have to be honest, I wasn't sure I would be able to finish it. I am glad that I did.

The novel deals with a sensitive topic - homosexual relationships between two boys in a school setting. But - the message of the novel is much deeper. To be true to who you are and to be a true friend. This is summed up for me on p. 260 of the novel when Tiny Cooper, one of the main characters says, "But with friendship, there's nothing like that. Being in a relationship, that's something you choose. Being friends, that just something you are."

So many times, teenagers (and many adults for that matter) do not realize the power of friendship and what it means to truly be a friend.




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The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson




Where do I even begin in my response to this novel?! It was one of those books that I could not put down, wanting to make discoveries along with the characters and then sad when it has ended.

To me, this is a novel about coming to terms with our grief. Grief that consumes us. Overpowers us. Makes us forget who we are. Leads us to who we can be. I recently also read John Green's novel LOOKING FOR ALASKA and I have made a connection between these two novels. The characters, both Lennie and Alaska, are fearful of the loss of the memories.

When one dies, we begin to loose our sense of that person. It becomes harder to remember their mannerisms, their scent, their voice. And in that loss, we dread loosing them in our memories. For, without them here on earth, our memories are all we have.

For those of us who have lost someone we loved... this novel reminds us that even in the midst of our loss - we can be whole. We can transcend the pain and live with passion. We can become who were are meant to be and still remain loyal to the memory of the one we loved.

In memory to my father who passed away on May 6, 1982 (when I was 12), my grandmother who passed away in June 1979 (when I was 9) and my mother who passed away in April 2007 (when I was 38)... your memories are with me, your love sustains me...



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A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A thoughtful and provocative read. The human condition and how we are able to learn from others - learning from those whom we did not even know had a lesson to teach us.

It is the story of Grant, whose aunt has asked him to visit his cousin in jail who is waiting for the electric chair. During the court proceedings, her son, Jefferson, was referred to as a "hog" and she wants to ensure that he knows he is a man. To die like a man.

Grant states "I still don't even know if the sheriff will even let me visit him. And suppose he did: what then? What do I say to him? Do I know what a man is? Do I know how a man is supposed to die? I'm still trying to find out how a man should live. Am I supposed to tell someone how to die who has never lived?"

And then..."Suppose I was allowed to visit him, and suppose I reached him and made him realize that he was as much a man as any other many; then what? He's still going to die. The next day, the next week, the next month. So what will I have accomplished? What will I have done? Why not let the hog die without knowing anything?" (p. 31)

Throughout the story, Grant does learn to live and he comes to a deeper appreciation of himself just as Jefferson looses all.

A wonderful novel. Very deep and will require another reading, on another day.



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Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What an amazing story. It is true, that if we can see things from other's perspectives and rid ourselves of our own prejudices and preconceptions that a depth of understanding will be achieved that allows us all to grow as individuals who cannot live individually, but need the help, guidance and assistance of others.

We need to see people for who they ARE not who we want them to BE. (same concept that I just read about the other day in John Green's PAPER TOWNS).



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An Abundance of Katherines

I have been on a John Green roll lately, reading LOOKING FOR ALASKA and then PAPER TOWNS. But this one... I just could not get into it.

Paper Towns by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Whenever, as an adult, I read a YA book and it makes me re-think how I am living my life... that is a powerful book. There were so many fundamental human truths in PAPER TOWNS.

How many times do we not see someone for who they are, but for who we want them to be? hope them to be? need them to be? And... when we finally see the real person that was there along but we did not see through the "mirror" we had created, things change. Our relationship with that person changes - when, if we had been looking at them through a "window" instead, we would not have been disappointed, we would have been amazed.

The inclusion of so much of Walden's work was wonderful. To pull in great literature into a YA book - great concept.

Would love to use this book in my classroom.



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Hero by S.L. Rottman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wonderful read. Look forward to sharing with students next semester.



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