Overall Thoughts on Blogging

I thoroughly enjoyed blogging about books this semester. The only times I've ever blogged was for a class a few semesters ago, but we never kept it up like we did for this class. This is definitely something that I will continue and share with my students in the future. Students will be able to see what I'm reading, what I've read in the past and what I think about the books. I have even shared this blog with my family and friends that want good ideas for books to read or to give to their children. Blogging has been a wonderful experience. I like it much better than writing formal reflections on books because in the blogosphere, thoughts and opinions are welcomed, I didn't feel nervous or scared to hold anything back. Blogging is also very addictive, just the fact that people will be reading this one day made me want to keep blogging about anything and everything that I have read!

Tanya Lee Stone's A Bad Boy Can be Good for a Girl

This book will benefit many young girls from those boys that are only out to get one thing. It is a quick read, but even so, this book makes its point and does so very well. It follows to stories of three very different girls that are all affected by this one boy in the same way, he takes advantage of them. After each girl is affected, they find a sisterly bond through the heartbreak they each felt. Each vignette is written from one of the girl's perspectives. This book would be great in a classroom library, and I would see myself handing it to a student who I knew was getting into trouble with a boy. I could even see myself giving this book to my future daughter one day! I think that any girl can relate to this book, and I like the fact that we never know the name of the boy that breaks all three girl's hearts. This makes it even more relatable, the reader will picture that one person who broke their heart as the boy in this book.

Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why was extremely powerful and depressing for me to read. Clay is a young boy who's life has been forever changed by Hannah Baker's cassette tapes. Hannah committed suicide because of 13 people in her life that somehow affected her. However, Clay's actions were part of the reason she killed herslef, Clay did not do anything as horrible as some of the characters in the novel. There were many times that I wanted to speak to the characters in the book and tell them what they were doing was horrible and wrong! The point of view in this book changes very often, the voice of Hannah appears in italics while Clay's actions are in regular font. At times I would forget who was supposed to be talking and I would be confused. But overall, I don't know how Jay Asher would have done it differently, it was important to hear Clay's reactions to the tapes alongside Hannah's narration. This way of narration would be a great example of a mentor text for the classroom.

John Green's Looking for Alaska

This novel was very powerful. The characters in this story were very developed, and yet we knew very little about Alaska, the Colonel and Pudge. This book came alive and I was unable to put it down. The story has two parts, a before and an after. Each chapter was titled with so many days before this event and then so many days after this event. We don't find out the event until the middle of the book, wherein after the event, everything is different between the characters. The fact that the characters all came from different backgrounds but became such great friends at boarding school reminded me of coming to college. At first you might not know anyone, but by the end of it, you feel as though you've known these people your whole life. Alaska, the Colonel and Pudge all had such a relationship. This book was very relatable and I enjoyed it very much! I've already recommended it to many of my friends! I can see why this novel won the Michael L. Printz award a few years ago. It goes along with the theme of actions have consequences, and in this novel, there are many, unanswerable consequences.

Paul Fleischman's Whirligig

Upon reading this book, I was unaware what a whirligig was. After conduciting a little research, I discovered that a whirligig is many things, but in essence is an object that whirls or spins. This book took me on many adventures in different ways, just like a whirligig spins and points in many different directions. While reading, the beginning of the book confused me, since I was waiting for a journey to occur, as the back description suggests, but then it seemed to totally switch stories. As I kept reading, it made more sense because each story that was different than Brent's somehow involved a whirligig that as the end of the book shows, he created. I enjoyed this book, the adventure Brent went on completely changed his life and his outlook. I wonder if instead of prison sentences, should society today encourage a life journey such as Brent's? Would the world be a better place? Would convicts actually learn something rather than just sitting in an empty cell, forced to think about whatever they're mind takes them? This book is great for teenagers, its not too long, but it is powerful.

Patricia McCormick's Sold

This book was filled with emotions and horrific actions that many in the world are unaware of. I have read a few newspaper articles about human trafficking throughout the world and even the United States, but after reading this book I feel emotionally connected to this subject. Lakshmi went through unspeakable tasks and was mentally and physically abused. I could not even imagine the sorts of things that went down in Happiness House. This book was beautifully written, one of the most poetic novels I have read. There is a lot of reading between the lines, but I feel as though it makes this book more powerful and less graphic. However, we do experience some graphic images, but we can't get around that. Each chapter's vignette was like its own story in Lakshmi's life. This novel will go in my classroom library, and I feel as though I would use selected vignettes in this book for mentor texts. The descriptive writing and poetic nature of this book will serve as great examples for a mentor text.

Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls

After finishing this book, I too felt haunted just like Lia was by Cassie. I had a hard time shaking the thought of what these girls were doing to themselves. There were many times in the book that I had to put the book down and grasp a sense of my own reality. This book was very powerful. It was difficult, disgusting, sad, hopeful, sweet, and terrifying all at the same time. I felt a connection to Lia and many times I wanted to pull the knife from her hand or slap her on the side of her face just to make her stop being so self absorbed and twisted. Anorexia and bulimia are diseases that enter the minds of vulnerable people and twist their sense of reality and what is good for them versus what is not. Lia and Cassie struggled very much so with their body image. They thought of themselves as bloated balloons when they were 5' 5" and 95 pounds! I personally have known someone that struggled with anorexia, and while she was very small to begin with, her disease took her to near death, almost all of her vital organs shut down, she stopped menstruating, and she grew a transparent layer of fur all over her skin in order to keep her body warm. Her body was crying out for help but she was unaware of the help she needed. It was psychological as well as physical. Lia went through the exact same things, as well as the intense guilt for not answering the phone when Cassie called the night she died. I have a feeling this book will haunt me for a bit, but I have hope that this book will spread awareness and hope for those young girls that struggle with their body image and feel as though starving yourself is the solution. This book will definitely go in my classroom library.

Matt De La Pena's Mexican WhiteBoy

This book is by far my favorite book that I have read this summer. I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much was because the main character reminds me of my cousin. He is Hispanic and obsessed with baseball. There really isn't a whole lot else that they share in common, but for some reason I kept relating this book to him. This was a very powerful story, and I felt as though I was living in the same neighborhood as these characters and going to the same parties and baseball games as they were. I really want to recommend this book to my cousin, but I am a little wary because of the strong language used in this book. My cousin is only 11, and I am sure his mother would not approve! But, I am definitely going to keep this book in mind for when he is older, I can definitely see him relating to this book and enjoying it just as much as I did. This book seemed so authentic because of the imagery and the Spanish words mixed in with the text. Even though I didn't know what the words meant, I could use context clues to understand what they were talking about.

Paul Volponi's Black and White

This book raises those issues regarding every one's favorite topic, race. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, and how it demonstrated the fact that two friends can overcome the issues of racial differences and stereotypes and be best friends. "Black and white through thick and thin" (page 125). As the book went on, I became depressed to find out that the thing they "overcame" was the exact thing that tore apart their relationship. This books shows the real life challenges that students of different races go through day to day. Students can identify with the characters and are able to find compassion and also anger at times. I felt betrayed when Marcus was betrayed by Eddie. I felt sad when they both realized their friendship was no longer. I was happy when they got the stolen money for the Senior funds (even though they held people at gunpoint to get it!) This book definitely made me question my morals after that! I would use this in the classroom to demonstrate white versus black in today's world. Most of the books and curriculum we have on race is from the 1970's and before. This book would be a great demonstration for racial differences in society for today's world.

Terry Trueman's Stuck in Neutral

I was wary of this book at first, mainly because the depth of the topic versus the small number of pages. I wasn't sure if a book this short could fully grasp the seriousness of the theme. But, this book did do it justice, and I would recommend it to anyone who has someone with a moderate to severe disability or is interested in the topic. At many times in this book, your morals will be questioned. I was left wondering what I would do in Shawn's father's perspective? Would I want to put my son "out of misery" as he calls it, is he really in pain? How do we know? In reality we don't. In the novel, we know what Shawn thinks, as he is our narrator. We know that his seizures are a time for him to be free, mainly pain free. However, to the outer world, his seizures appear to be a time of intense pain for Shawn. His father wants him to be comfortable, and it makes sense. Thinking in terms of a parent, I would want my child to be comfortable too. But does that mean killing my son? Personally, I don't think I could live with that on my conscious. This book raises many intense questions that one can ponder and may never find an answer. This book would be beneficial in a classroom, discussion would flow and the students will do a lot of self reflecting regarding morals and what is right and wrong.

Patrick Carman's Trackers

I had heard about this series this past Christmas while looking for books to give as a gift to my cousin who is 11. It seemed interesting to me, but I was wary of the Internet portion. I'm not sure why, but it had a negative connotation to it. However, after reading the first book in the series, I would definitely recommend it to my cousin and anyone else who enjoys suspense with a multimedia component. The videos online allow for the readers to put a face to the name, and visualize some of the most suspenseful parts of the book. The videos also helped to fill in some of the questions I had while reading. I also enjoyed the fact that it was based in Seattle, which is where I grew up. I recognized the majority of the street names and towns they talked about. The cover of the book was intriguing as well, the background of the hardcover book is a map with a grid overlaying it. Looking closer, I noticed the map is of central Seattle! I enjoyed pointing out well known streets and finding the corners of businesses and buildings where I have worked in the past. I would definitely recommend this book for my students, I don't think I would teach this book in the classroom, but if I had reluctant readers, I believe this book along with the Internet portion would help spark a passion for reading.