A Terrifying Yet Wonderful Read

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Thriller and Horror are certainly not genres which I tend to read, but was intrigued by the reviews and awards which this book has received. I was not disappointed!
In the year of 1888, 12-year-old Will Henry witnesses an intrusion of terrifying, carnivorous monsters and captures every gruesome detail in his journal. Over one hundred years later, that journal reaches the hands of Rick Yancey who then turns the journal into this book...or so the story goes. The story of this young boy, who is a dutiful assistant to a monstrumologist in New England, is absolutely horrifying and has the potential of causing many a reader's nightmares. Yet, with a captivating story-line and exquisite writing, a literary gem lies beyond the bloodcurdling prose. Look for a sequel in September!

Visit Rick Yancey's website for more information on The Monstrumologist, including a captivating book trailer and a discussion guide.

Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
When his father insists that seventeen-year-old Marcelo work at his law firm for the summer, Marcelo feels nervous and reluctant. Having a condition similar to autism, he has trouble interacting with people and would be much more comfortable working on the horse farm as he has every other summer. However, once Marcelo is in the "real world", he surprises himself and others with his capacity for love and compassion and his strong sense of morality. Readers will appreciate the honest and innocent voice of Marcelo as well as the sincere characters who help inspire him.

Into the Beautiful North is a Beautiful Read!

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

An epiphany comes to Nayeli and her two girlfriends when they see The Magnificent Seven at their local theater in their small Mexican town. Following the plot of this American movie, they decide to head north to the United States to find seven worthy men to protect their village and to replenish their weakened male population. With their whole town rooting for them, and accompanied by Nayeli's gay employer, Tacho, they lead a mission filled with adventure, despair and plenty of laughter. Highly recommended!

"Catching Fire" Catches Interest

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Readers who were riveted by The Hunger Games and left yearning for more will not be disappointed in this exciting sequel by Suzanne Collins. Six months after Katniss and Peeta return from the Hunger Games as victors, they find themselves trapped by the menacing President Snow in a story of deceit. As the Capitol prepares for a grand wedding between Katniss and Peeta, Katniss finds herself struggling with hard decisions. Should her devotion be towards Peeta or her life-time, dear friend, Gale? Should she lead a rebellion against the Capitol, or would that be putting her mother, sister and the residents of District 12 in terrible danger? Catching Fire has plenty of twists and excitement to keep readers turning the pages and longing for the next sequel.

Book Review: Liar

Though Micah is a self-proclaimed liar, she begins the book with a promise: "I will tell you my story and I will tell it straight. No lies, no omissions. That's my promise. This time I truly mean it." Or does she? Throughout the novel, readers are taken on such a roller-coaster of self-admitted lies that nothing can be believed or taken for granted. Was she born a girl, a boy...or something completely different? What kind of relationship did she really have with Zach, a fellow high school student who was murdered? What does she know about the murder...was she involved? The ambiguous ending will leave readers intrigued with an urge to discuss the novel with others.

Larbalestier, Justine. Liar. New York: Bloomsbury, 2009. 978-1-59990-305-7. 376p.

Book Review: Sorta Like a Rock Star

I just finished reading Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick which is due to be released in May 2010. It's one of those very special reads which I didn't want to put down, and which I will be recommending to many. It most certainly will be one of my top ten for the PSLA Top Forty Book Review Committee!

Amber Appleton is one of The Five - a group of misfit, "freak" students who have been friends since they were put together for counseling in the fifth grade. After school, you can find Amber drinking green tea with a Vietnam vet who is fond of writing haiku's, tutoring Korean women in English by leading them in Motown songs, or visiting a retirement home where she and Joan of Old entertain residents with their optimism vs pessimism battles. At night, Amber sleeps (often alone) on the Hello Yellow bus which her mom drives for a living. Her mom is often "out fishing" at bars, looking for her next Prince Charming. Readers will smile with delight at the positive, vivacious attitude of Amber as she spreads hope among her various, eccentric friends. However, when she struggles to come to terms with a tragic, life-changing event, we find that Amber is not as capable of receiving help as she is at giving it. This is a truly delightful book which will have readers both laughing and crying throughout. Highly recommended!

We were privileged to have Matthew Quick visit our school last Spring to discuss his first novel, The Silver Linings Playbook. The students not only loved this book but were fascinating by his personal story of becoming a writer. Let's hope he has many more novels to come!

Book Review: Have a Little Faith

When Mitch Albom’s Rabbi asks him to write his eulogy, he feels both humbled and uneasy about honoring a “man of God” who has touched and inspired so many people. Although Albom has known “the Reb” since he was a child, he wants to be sure he captures the true character of the Rabbi, Albert Lewis. Thus begins the treasured relationship which Albom has with Rabbi Lewis for eight years. As he interviews and spends time with him, Albom realizes that the Rabbi is an incredibly giving and forgiving person who has a tremendous amount of love for people and life. Paralleling his visits with Rabbi Lewis, Albom befriends Henry Convington, a Detroit pastor who is a former drug addict and criminal. As Albom witnesses Convington’s unselfishness and devotion to helping the homeless and needy, Albom clearly sees that faith can be found in all religions. This is a wonderfully inspiring true story which stresses the importance of community and of the power of tolerance.

Mitch Albom speaks with Katie Couric about "Have a Little Faith":

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Review: Picking Cotton

Picking Cotton is the true story of Ronald Cotton, a black man accused of raping a white, college-aged woman in the 1980’s. The victim, Jennifer Thompson, picks Cotton out of a line-up and has no question in her mind that this was the man who broke into her apartment and raped her as she lay in bed. Eleven years after Cotton is sentenced to life in prison, new DNA evidence proves that, without a doubt, Cotton could not have been the man who committed the crime.

The book is jointly written by Cotton and Thompson, with the help of writer, Erin Torneo. In alternating chapters, we hear about both Thompson’s mental anguish and Cotton’s denial to freedom. The reader can easily sympathize with both “victims” and can’t help but feel that the system has failed them both. The positive side of the story is that after Cotton is released from prison, Thompson gets in touch with Cotton, and they both form an alliance towards changing the way in which suspects are identified. In fact, you may have seen the two of them on TV as they spread their message across the nation. (See the 60 minutes clip below).
The website for Picking Cotton has a lot of interesting information as well, including the actual case files, a book trailer, and an eye-witness test to see how well you do at identifying suspects (I failed miserably!) Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson have a compelling story which everyone must hear!


Watch CBS News Videos Online

48 Hour Book Challenge Complete

Although I barely got in 12 hours this weekend with the 48 Hour Book Challenge, it is a success in my mind since a) I did get a lot of good reading done and b) I saw a lot of great blogs and connected with some terrific people. I also rediscovered why I like audio books so much. Just today I cut the grass, got a lot of weeding done, did a load of wash or two AND got nearly 4 hours of a book "read".

Though I'm only 1/4 of the way into Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, I already have some boys at school who I'll be recommending it to. The YA novel is about a boy who finds himself under the careful scrutiny of the government after a terrorist attack on San Francisco. Their suspicions stem from his extensive knowledge and use of computer hacking, but their actions are over-the-top and quite alarming. This book would be a great one to start a discussion about the Patriot act.

Paper Towns Completed (Regrettably)

Paper Towns is one of those books you just don't want to end. I've discovered that John Green knows exactly how to write about young adults in a fresh, honest and humorous way. (Shame on me for not yet reading Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines yet! No worries...I have this summer.)

Quentin is the sensible, like-able, "good" guy with parents who are both therapists and, therefore, are constantly providing loving support in everything he does. In fact, they even like it when he curses in front of them since that only proves that he feels the utmost comfort with them. Margo is Quentin's next-door neighbor whom he was friends with when they were young. However, now in their senior year, Margo's among the popular crowd and Quentin (although he is not in Band) is happy with his group of Band friends whom are very knowingly not part of the popular crowd. When Margo decides that she needs more from her life than the imagined "paper girl" which she feels she has become, Quentin finds himself following her trail and discovers himself along the way. Green does wonderful things with metaphors which gives this coming-of-age story style and poignancy.

Green's inclusion of the paper town of Agloe, NY is interesting. The term "paper town" refers to something cartographers started doing in the early 20th century to deter copyright infringement. They included the fictional town of Agloe so that they could track any other cartographer's attempt to copy their map: if another map included Agloe, they would know that it was copied from their own map. Interestingly, an Algoe General Store was even built to acknowledge this fictitious place, thus turning fiction into reality. Green's use of the paper town works well in his novel since Margo has grown up fantasizing that she was someone she wasn't among an imagined place with imagined friends.

Sunday update thus far: 1.5 hours reading, 1 hour blogging and networking.

I'm off to start The Silver Linings Playbook by Quick, but am thinking I may also start the audiobook of Little Brother by Doctorow so I can get chores done in-between hammock rests. :-)

Matt Quick has a Strong Message

A couple of weeks ago, NHS was fortunate to have author, Matthew Quick, visit Drew Giorgi's AP Literature class. Giorgi had assigned the students to reading The Silver Linings Playbook and thus arranged for Quick's visit.

At the time, I had not started the book but was intrigued by the story-line and interested to hear more about it. The novel revolves around a young man who is released from a neural health facility and his coming to terms with his life as he regains his memory while living with his parents in New Jersey. My students tell me they really enjoyed the book for its wittiness, truthfulness and for the fact that Pat Peoples, the main character, is a very like-able guy.

What I found from the author is that he, himself, is indeed a very like-able guy. He's down-to-earth, funny, approachable, and has a life history that is interesting and endearing.

Growing up, Matt Quick was one of those kids who just didn't fit into school. He didn't like classes and it basically reflected in his grades. He had a strong passion for writing, but that passion was squashed by his father who felt that writing would not bring him success. So, Matt ended up going to college and eventually became an English teacher.

Fast forward about seven or eight years later when Matt suddenly takes inventory of his life and wonders how he ended up in the state he was - working in a profession which brought him little reward and in a near state of depression. Thanks to a wonderfully supportive wife who recognized Matt's unhappiness, he ended up quiting his job, moving in with his in-laws, and writing with passion in his in-law's basement. A couple of years later, and many rejections later, The Silver Linings Playbook was published in 2008 and he has a young adult novel, Sorta Like a Rock Star, forthcoming in 2010.

The lesson of his own story hit a chord in mine. As Matt spoke about his father's disapproval, I thought of my own son and his love of the arts and his struggle with academics. It is so, so important that I'm supportive of his creative passion. I guess, in fact, I always knew that. But hearing Matt talk about his own struggles and then his eventual success as a writer, the message hit home. Follow your heart and happiness will follow. What defines success more than that?