Tag Archives: Informal Reviews

Snow Day :)

8 Jan

On this absolutely wonderful snow day I plan on grading some Part III Odyssey quizzes and Breathing Underwater responses and projects.  I might sneak in some laundry, and just maybe, some reading too ;)   What are your snow day plans?

Before I move on to my to-do list, I want to write about my first book of 2010.  I just finished Red is for Remembrance by Laurie Faria Stolarz.  The first book in the series, Blue is for Nightmares, has a book trailer in the link I posted during Christmas break.   The books are about a girl named Stacey that practices Wicca and has dreams that serve as premonitions.  I’ve never learned much about Wicca, but we get a chance to learn more of what it’s really about while reading.  I don’t want to say too much about Red is for Remembrance because it will ruin the plots of the other books.  In the first three books Stacey is in high school, but it’s more of a boarding school similar to Culver Creek in Looking for Alaska.  In Red she’s moved on to college and a person close to her has died.  Yet her dreams are leading her to believe that maybe this person is still alive. 

I’d watch the trailer for Blue is for Nightmares and give it a try.  So far a pretty even mix of guys and girls have borrowed these books from me.  I did have Blue on my shelf, but it’s gone missing; no one has checked it out.  It looks like I’ll be buying a new copy of it.  Sigh…  I do have the other three though.

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

29 Dec

Considering all the books my students have been wanting to read, I didn’t ask for much more than books or book gift cards for Christmas.  Thankfully, I received two gift cards to Barnes and Noble and three different books for Christmas.  One of the books I asked for and received is Hold Still by Nina LaCour.  My brother bought me a copy, and my parents also bought me a copy!  At first I figured I’d just exchange one of them, until I read it.

I always have a hard time explaining why some books are so difficult for me to put down.  But every time I put this book back on the coffee table, I kept thinking about it.  It was like I put a good movie on a pause– I just wanted to start it again!  It starts with Caitlin being absolutely devastated over the death of her best friend, Ingrid.  Tragically, Ingrid committed suicide.  The book follows Caitlin as she returns to school and begins to put her life back together.  The hard part is that she discovers Ingrid’s journal under her bed and begins learning just how depressed Ingrid really was. 

Yes, this book made my teary, but it is already one of my favorites.  I’d read it again, and for this reason I am so very happy I have two copies to put on my shelf.  :)

Too Many Books Disorder

14 Nov

Last time I posted I was talking about The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimon.  I still think it’s a great book, but I’ve taken a break from it.  I started reading the Manga book Deathnote.  One of my seniors had me borrow it.  I’m about half way through that book as well.  It’s fun to read b/c I’ve never read a graphic novel before.  But then I was thinking about reading Tempted, the sixth book in the House of Night series.  This book is super good too.  Then, yesterday, I went to the mall…  I should have known better b/c every time I go to the mall I stop at Barnes and Noble.  And what did I buy?  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I HAVE TOO MANY BOOKS DISORDER…

Deathnote 
When Keith came home from work and saw it on the table he was completely shocked, but wouldn’t tell me why.  He grabbed the phone and called his friend to tell him what I was reading.  Once the phone conversation ended, he finally told me.  I guess his friends were obsessed with the videos a while ago.  I didn’t even know there were videos!  I doubt I’ll watch them.  The book is cool and I’ll read more graphic novels, but it’s kind of repetitive.  So that’s why I started reading Tempted.

Tempted
This is a fun series that I began reading while I waited for Breaking Dawn to come out.  A high school teacher and her daughter dual write the books.  The storyline is fun and the characters are easy to relate to despite being vampires :)   I don’t think the storyline should be made into this many books, but I’ll keep reading them regardless.  The only reason I stopped reading this book is because I walked into that darn Barnes and Noble…

The Hunger Games
The past two conferences I attended ranted and raved about this book and it’s series.  I’ve never heard of them before that, but after hearing two YA gurus rave about it was enough convincing for me!  I can’t explain why it’s so hard to put down, but it is.  It is reality TV to the extreme!  The books take place way into the future where a boy and a girl from each of the districts (similar to states) have to compete to survive.  They do this each year, and it is broadcasted on TV.  Only one person will survive, and EVERYTHING is watched by the viewers.  I haven’t finished (yet), but I definitely recommend it.

So, who knows what other books I’ll finish this weekend.  I know I’ll finish The Hunger Games and possibly Tempted as well.  We will see :)

The No Kiss List

10 Nov

I finished reading Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List on Sunday morning.  I always hope to have rave reviews for a book in hopes that the review will spark some student interest.  I enjoyed reading Naomi and Ely, but it simply wasn’t as great as Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.  The characters are edgy, witty and developed well, but something is missing.  I still think students should pick it up and let me know what they think though :)

I’ve transitioned to Neil Gaimon’s The Graveyard Book.  He is an excellent author of fantasy.  This book has illustrations inside like Coraline does.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie The Jungle Book and I’ve never read it, but the book’s inspired by Kipling’s story.  Nobody Owens is the protagonist and he’s been adopted by ghosts in a graveyard after his parents were killed.  I bought it because I love Gaimon, and I need to expand my reading horizons.  This is definitely different from what I usually read, but it’s different in a good way.  I’ll update once I’ve finished.

Early morning ramblings…

6 Nov

It is currently too early o’clock on a Friday.  Normally it would be an amazing feat for me to jump out of bed this early on a Friday.  Why not today you ask?  Because I have a conference (yet another one…) that begins at 8:30 at Baker College.  Did I mention that Baker is only, according to Mapquest, seven minutes from home?  Yeah, about  that…

So, why am I up?  Because being a teacher has taken over my life, and all I ever think about these days is getting my YA class together.  I literally woke up and thought: “I need to start putting my lessons on a calendar.  I should stop at Target and buy a cute calendar/planner!”  AAAHHH!!  That should not be running through my mind at 5am!  But it is.  Because I love what I do :)

While I’m up, I’ll update what I’ve read and am currently reading.  I finished reading Unwind.  It is an awesome book.  I’d love to teach it because I can only imagine the discussions that would come up!  What would any of us do if our parents could choose to unwind us?  How could our society ever think unwinding is a good idea?!  It’s scary to think about actually.  For any of you that want to read it, it’s waiting for you on my shelf.

Right now I’m reading Rachel Cohn and David Levithan’s book Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List.  It’s not as funny as Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (also on my shelf waiting for you), but I’m not sure if Cohn and Levithan want it to be.  Don’t get me wrong, there have been some lol moments so far, but mostly I feel for Naomi and Ely.  I don’t want to spoil the book, so click on the link to read a good review.  I’m pretty sure this will make it to my shelf by Monday.

For any of you that want to buy some new/used books, check this site out http://www.betterworldbooks.com/ Books bought through this site help fund world literacy programs.  Also, you don’t have to pay shipping when you order!  I bought six used books for $24.  Happy shopping :)

Before I forget!  I want to post, around my classroom, great first lines from books.  Do any of you have any suggestions for lines we should include?  I have about 12 so far, but I want more than that.  I also need to think of an eye-catching way to display them.  Any input will be appreciated.

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

20 Apr

Many of my friends have been telling me about what a great author Jodi Picoult is.  I read The Tenth Circle, but I wasn’t overly thrilled with it.  It was better than the Lifetime movie though!  Anyway, my friend told me about how she couldn’t put down Plain Truth.  I decided to give it a try.  My friend was right about not being able to put it down.  Instead of grading my large pile of papers this past Sunday, I sat on the couch and read the entire book!  Picoult includes so much detail that I felt like I was there with Ellie and Katie. 

Ellie is a burnt-out attorney that has gone to the country of Pennsylvania to get away for a while.  She is staying with an aunt that was once Amish.  While she’s there, her aunt finds out that her Amish niece, Katie,  has been charged with murdering her newborn.  Ellie is now put in the place to help  defend Katie and find out the truth, as well as learn the Amish way of life.  

Now…  What have YOU been reading?  Leave a comment with a summary of the book you read.  DO NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING!  I will not give you any credit if you do.  Also, let us know who you think would want to read the book you are talking about, and let us know what you think of it.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,191 other followers