Top Ten Tuesday 14

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is our top ten all time favorite characters.  I have read so many books, but for me, there will always be characters that hold a special place in my heart.  What a fun topic!

My Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters




1.  Percy Jackson from Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan:  He's smart, cute, funny, and totally ADHD.  Just the kind of person I like to surround myself with!

2.  Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell:  The girl is a hot mess, and completely cruel and self-serving, but every time, I find myself on her side.

3.  Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson:  While probably more than a little mentally unbalanced, she also completely kicks butt, and shows a surprising sensitive side.

4.  Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling:  She's tough, stern, and always backs her students up.  Though ruling by fear has never quite been my teaching style, she is a teacher I can admire!

5.  Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien:  He is the sort of friend I can aspire to be; even in the face of absolute danger, he stands by Frodo and helps him.

6.  Haymitch Abernathy from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins:  While perhaps not the best role model for the entirety of the series, but I felt he was one of the most complex of the side characters.  I felt extreme sympathy for him, as I cannot imagine experiencing the job he has had for decades.

7.  Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:  In an effort to avoid too many spoilers, I will just say he makes an incredible sacrifice for love - and I love him for it.

8.  Aibileen Clark from The Help by Kathryn Stockett:  This woman has character, bravery, and a wicked sense of humor.

9.  Valerie Leftman from Hate List by Jennifer Brown:  Again, she is an admirable character who finds herself in a situation that is anything but.  However, I felt her pain so completely that she will always have a place in my heart.

10.  Akiva  from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor:  Oh, he just broke my heart with his loyalty and depth of love.  It doesn't hurt that I also imagined him as someone incredibly cute.


Honestly, I could keep going - I've read so many fantastic books with characters I was sad to leave!  Anyone you wish made the list?

W...W...W... Wednesday 6

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  To take part in this feature, you answer three questions in a blog post:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Sadly, what I should be reading right now are my kiddos' research papers, but instead, I've chosen to keep working my way through the Virginia Reader's Choice list!  

What am I currently reading?

Right now, I am reading Trapped by Michael Northrup.  It's a light and an easy read, so very enjoyable!

What did I recently finish reading?

Recently, I finished reading Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.  It wasn't necessarily my favorite book of all time, but it was cute.  Review upcoming!

What do I think I'll read next?

Next up on the Virginia Reader's Choice list is Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.  I've heard a lot of buzz about this book, so I am interested to see what I think!

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Image and summary from Goodreads.com:


What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

This is book three of ten on the Virginia Reader's Choice list that I will be reading and reviewing.  Though I was a bit disappointed by Oliver's Delirium, I went into this book excited to read.  I've heard nothing but positive reviews of it, much like Delirium, so I was willing to see whether it was worth the hype or not.  In this case, it absolutely was.

Samantha (or Sam) was a well-written main character.  Oliver managed to breathe life into a stereotype - in this case, the "mean girl" from high school - and made her into something much more than her label implies.  While Sam doesn't start out this way, by the end of the book I was cheering for her.  Her inner voice as she slowly unravels the web surrounding her death seemed believable; though she is in an unrealistic situation, her thoughts and feelings seemed very real.  Similarly, Oliver added interest to Sam's friends, by making each of them more than just the "mean girl" as well.  My only complaint with characters would be the love interest in the story, Kent.  There is a bit of a case of "insta-love" at play, which detracted from the novel.

I absolutely tore through this book, largely due to the exciting storyline.  While reliving the same day over and over might not seem thrilling, Oliver adds enough mystery and suspense to the story to keep the reader engaged.  Watching Sam make the smallest changes in each day, and how big the impact of those changes could be, made each "repeat" day almost an entirely new experience.  With each failed attempt to rectify her mistakes, Sam draws the reader in more deeply.  By the end of the book, I kept wanting to will myself to read faster, in hopes that somehow Sam would be able to fix her mistakes more quickly too!  At the risk of revealing too much, I will stop there - it really is a plot you have to discover on your own.


Admittedly, there are some content concerns in this novel.  Sam debates at length the merits of losing her virginity, drinks (a lot!), drives after drinking, and even kisses a teacher.  There is some strong language at points in the novel as well.  Overall, though, this book doesn't glorify the negative choices Sam makes; rather, she learns from them and later eschews repeating them.  For students who are not easily offended or put off, I believe the positive messages of the novel far outweigh its less than ideal points.

Despite my reservations about the author, I am extremely glad I read this book.  It was engrossing - so much so I read it in an entire day!  For a more mature audience, it is a solid pick for a contemporary take on themes that are ages old.

Review: Swim the Fly by Don Calame

Image and summary from Goodreads.com:


Three adolescent boys with a single goal: see a reallive naked girl. The result? Razor-sharp, rapid-fi re, and raunchy, of course. And beyond hilarious.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time — quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team. In the spirit of Hollywood’s blockbuster comedies, screenwriter-turned-YA-novelist Don Calame unleashes a true ode to the adolescent male: characters who are side-splittingly funny, sometimes crude, yet always full of heart


This is the second novel off of the Virginia Reader's Choice list I've read.  Knowing this is a book we are going to be recommending to students, I will admit the summary made me a bit leery.  However, after reading, I feel like it was well-placed on my Top Ten Books I Found Deceiving, for though the description makes it sound a bit crass, it was an extremely charming and thoughtful book.


The characters in this book were wonderfully cute and endearing.  Matt is exactly the awkward and geeky high school boy I was friends with throughout school (it happens when you're in the marching band), so I could relate to his character.  His inner monologue kept me laughing throughout the book!  His friends Sean and Coop were also well-designed characters; while they didn't get the detailed treatment Matt did (obviously), they also had humorous voices and demonstrated characteristics of good friends.  My personal favorite character was Ulf, the German body builder/survivalist that becomes Matt's swimming instructor.  He served as a voice for the themes of the novel, but in a way that maintained the humor of the story.  Plus, it was fun to see what sort of devilish torments he would devise for Matt to complete!


The plot is organized around Matt's journey through the summer to swim the 100 yard butterfly.  I felt the summary of the book was a bit misleading on this point, as it sounds like the novel will center around he and his friends' attempts to see a naked girl.  While a few chuckle-worthy moments originated from this quest, it is not even close to the focus of the plot.  Instead, it is more a story of Matt's growth and perseverance as he discovers what is really important to him - with some hilarious capers along the way.


Content-wise, I really think it just depends on who is reading the book.  I personally didn't find the book offensive - just funny.  There is no strong language, and no explicit sex (or even detailed sexual references).  Instead, this is more boy "potty humor."  Lots of references to male genitalia (with some pretty creative phrasing!), masturbation, and even a scene involving laxatives (which had me laughing out loud).  All of these contributed to the teenage boy voice of the story, and gave it some authenticity, which I appreciated.  Admittedly, for a conservative audience, these would be off-putting.  But, I felt the overall themes of the novel trumped any content concerns within.


Overall, I am glad I read this book.  It was cute, light, and funny - the perfect summer read. For students who don't mind a little silliness (and some embarrassing moments!), this book is just right.

W...W...W... Wednesday 5

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.  To take part in this feature, you answer three questions in a blog post:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

This week, I am plowing through books, as I am on SPRING BREAK!  Yay!  So, this list is one that will be out of date quickly.  But, still worth sharing!

What am I currently reading?

Right now, I am reading Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.  I LOVED Levithan's contribution to Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and can't wait to get further in this book!

What did I recently finish reading?

As I said above, this week is Spring Break, so I've been doing a lot of reading (that's my idea of vacation!).  I finished two books in the past two days - Swim the Fly by Don Calame, and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  Both books were tremendous, and I can't wait to share them with my students.  I also recently listened to The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han on the way up from Virginia to my parents' house in Ohio.  That one ended on such a cliffhanger, I can't wait to listen to the next installment on the way home!

What do I think I'll read next?

Again, this situation is unique because I'll be reading a book and listening to one.  I am going to start reading Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi as I continue making my way through the Virginia Reader's Choice list.  On my drive home on Friday, I will be listening to It's Not Summer Without You - if I can wait that long to see how the story continues!

Top Ten Tuesday 13

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is the top ten books that were deceiving, either due to cover art, summary, etc.  I am the first to admit I judge book by their covers; however, I also judge a lot based on summaries on the book jacket and reviews online.  There have been a few deceiving books, either for the better or worse.  So, without further ado...


The Top Ten Books I Found Deceiving


1.  Wither by Lauren DeStefano:


Everyone raved about this book online, and the beautiful cover gave me high hopes.  However, when I read it, all I felt was... blah.  It just wasn't that good, and the sequel Fever was even worse.

2.  The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez by Alan Sitomer:


This book was on the Virginia Reader's Choice list last year, and I'll be honest - I doubt many students read it.  The cover isn't exactly jumping out at the reader.  However, this was one of my favorite books I read in 2011.  It was both heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time.


3.  Delirium by Lauren Oliver:


This one is an example of reviews leading me astray.  All over the online community, this book has been getting nothing but absolute raves.  For whatever reason, I just didn't find it as compelling as everyone else.  However, I just finished Oliver's Before I Fall, and absolutely loved it.

4.  The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner:


As a teacher, I'm always on the hunt for "boy books" and "girl books."  Sadly, so few novels transcend the gender lines, and cover art helps me discern sometimes for which group a novel would be appropriate.  This cover looks super girly - wrong!  I found this novel is one that appeals to both genders, as the main character is a male and deals with lots of "boy" problems.  As long as my guy readers could get over the cover, they all seemed to enjoy this novel just as much as the girls.


5.  Swim the Fly by Don Calame:


Online, all the reviews list this book as "profane," "foul," and even "without literary or educational merit."  OUCH!  Read this book, and I completely disagree.  I would rate it as only slightly more inappropriate than The Sandlot (one of my favorite movies ever), with realistic "boy" humor.  Plus, the novel's themes of perseverance and the importance of friendship are sure to resonate with teens.

6.  Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn:


I read the summary of this book, and could not wait to get started.  A romance that spans lifetimes, with each of the partners meant for one another?  How charming!  Sadly, the book just did not live up to the premise.  The chapters were super short, so they didn't seem romantic at all - mostly just rushed.  Plus, the author had an "emerald" motif with which she bludgeoned the readers.  So not worth reading, in this life or the next.


7.  Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling:


For the longest time, I refused to read the series, as it seemed childish and not something I could relate to as an adult.  When I read it in grad school, it was only under the auspices of "well, my students will have read it, so..."  I shouldn't have let my prejudice get in the way.  All of the hype over the series was absolutely earned!


8.  New Girl by Paige Harbison:


This book was touted as a re-imagining of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier.  "Super!"  I thought.  "One of my favorites re-designed for modern teenagers."  However, I will never pass this book to a teen reader... ever.  The characters are flat, the story has some suspenseful moments peppered in to a relatively dull storyline, and there is FAR too much inappropriate content.  It just didn't live up to the legend of the first novel!

9.  The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman:


Sorry to say it, but when I looked at this cover, it just seemed totally 80s and out of touch for modern readers.  I assumed the story would be too. But, I have to say, this is one of my favorite teen books from one of my favorite teen authors.  The story is exciting, suspenseful, and has a good lesson at its heart.  Well worth sharing, even if the cover looks like it needs leg warmers and a boombox on its shoulder.


10.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon:


Another rather dull cover for a book that is anything but.  I had heard so many positive reviews of the novel, and I'm glad I chose to listen to those instead of judging by the cover!

Review: Bonechiller by Graham McNamee

Image and summary from Goodreads.com:


WELCOME TO NOWHERE.
Danny’s dad takes a job as caretaker at a marina on the shore of a vast, frozen lake in Harvest Cove, a tiny town tucked away in Canada’s Big Empty. If you’re looking for somewhere to hide, this is it.

It’s the worst winter in years. One night, running in the dark, Danny is attacked by a creature so strange and terrifying he tries to convince himself he was hallucinating. Then he learns about Native American legends of a monster that’s haunted the lake for a thousand years. And that every generation, in the coldest winters, kids have disappeared into the night. People think they ran away.

Danny knows better. Because now the beast is after him.

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This book is the first of the ten on the Virginia Reader's Choice list that I will be reading and reviewing over the next few months.  I gravitated towards this one first because of the premise of the story; as a long time Stephen King reader, I was excited to experience someone else's scary story.  Though this book is not nearly as terrifying as some of the King novels I've read, it was appropriately creepy and suspenseful to thrill a teen audience.


The characters in Bonechiller made an unrealistic premise seem much more real.  Danny, the protagonist and narrator, adds a humorous and self-deprecating voice to the narrative that I loved.  He is the first to laugh at himself or doubt himself, but also has a sense of confidence.  My two favorite characters were Ash and Howie, Danny's friends.  Ash is a completely kick-butt female character - she even boxes!  I was happy to see a romantic interest in a story who breaks out of the typical blond hair and dress-code inappropriate cut-off shorts.  Howie is the hypochondriac little brother of Pike who is also pursued by the Bonechiller.  His intelligence and problem-solving helped drive the story in an exciting way.

The plot of this story wasn't unpredictable necessarily, but still very enjoyable.  Any good monster story is only as scary as the monster himself, and the Bonechiller didn't disappoint.  Instead of attacking his victims and ending their lives right there, the Bonechiller plays with his prey, letting the kids think they've escaped before he reels them in.  The isolated and wintry setting of the novel enhanced this creepy feeling, as the omnipresent danger of freezing to death was always on the characters' minds.  We follow Danny after his first attack from the Bonechiller through his journey of... infection? (not sure there's a better word for that) all the way to the final showdown with the beast.  While this plotline is familiar to anyone who has read a horror story (or even seen a horror movie), there were still enough surprises to keep me engaged, and I genuinely found myself caring what happened to the characters enough to keep reading.

Luckily, despite the fact this story is a scary one, there isn't too much content-wise about which a teacher would worry.  The language is extremely mild, even as the characters face extremely perilous situations.  Similarly, there is a love story, but that doesn't necessarily take the forefront, so neither does anything inappropriate.  My only caution would be a generic one about younger or more sensitive readers.  There are always tenderhearts who are going to be bothered by a scary story (my little sister comes to mind), and this story has enough heart-pounding moments to potentially be too much for some.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel, and am excited to recommend something different to my students.  It's rare we see a horror story get literary accolades (at least, it is in my experience), so to have one land on the Virginia Reader's Choice list is pretty special.  I am sure plenty of my guy (and girl!) readers will love this one.