Cut

Cut by Patricia McCormick was one of the very first books that I bought for my classroom library the year that I was student teaching. There are loads of book in my collection that I wanted to read, and this summer I have been able to read a lot more of them than ever before. I am glad that I finally read Cut.

The text on the front cover of Cut had always caught my attention, "Then I placed the blade next to the skin on my palm. A tingle arced across my scalp. The blood tipped up at me and my body spiralled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next..." Every time Callie talked about cutting herself I got a little woosy. In high school I briefly considered a job in the medical field, but when I almost passed out when nurses came to our school for hepatitis vaccinations, I realized I probably was not cut out for the field!

I loved the voice in this book. Callie is telling the story through her thoughts and what she thinks about in response to her meetings with a therapist as part of her treatment at Sea Pines (what she and the fellow "guests" call Sick Minds). She talks in second person addressing her therapist in thoughts, although she never says a word, to anybody. She tries to sort out in her mind different family issues and her own feelings throughout the book and gain the strength to come to grips with her life.

A Friendship for Today

I have been wanting to read A Friendship for Today by Patricia C. McKissack since I bought it for my classroom library this spring. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I love to study the covers. The cover for this book is visually appealing, but it bothered me because it reminded me of my present day students rather than conjuring up images of the 50s. It got worse when toward the beginning of the book the main character mentions her mom brushing her thick, curly hair only to notice that there is nothing thick and curly about her counterpart on the front cover as far as I could see. Nonetheless, once I forgot about the front cover and got into the book it was great.

Inspired by her own life (explained in an author's note at the end), McKissack tells the story of how Rosemary ends up being the only African-American 6th grader at her newly integrated school. The first third of the book sets up the scene and gives background for the upcoming integration, racial tensions, Rosemary's homelife, and her friends. A cat Rags plays an integral role in the book as a symbol of perseverance and survival. The other two thirds of the book recount Rosemary's first year at her new school.

I enjoyed all the characters in the book and the way multiple stories wove together seamlessly. I won't spoil the end, but I loved the explanation of the title A Friendship for Today toward the end of the book.

Three Good Deeds

Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Velde was recommended at the same conference as Lubar's Punished! I can see how the two are quite similar as far as they both have boy characters who find themselves stuck with a certain condition as a punishment for their less than ideal behavior. However, I enjoyed Punished! a lot more. The main reason for this is Howard in Three Good Deeds was a goose for an extended period of time, from early spring until it is time for the geese to fly south. The author conveniently leaves out how he would ever explain where he had been all that time. I can only imagine how his family would have reacted to him saying the witch had turned him into a goose. Would anyone have believed him? Also, aside from his parents going house to house looking for him, it seems like they mainly go on about their daily life without too much concern for their son. Punished! on the other hand was more believable because Logan never completely disappears and his punishment only lasts a few days. Despite my hesitations with Three Good Deeds, I'm sure certain groups of students would enjoy both books.

Esperanza Rising

I had heard a lot about Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, and read bits and pieces with students who chose to read it as a literature circle. This year I heard about it more as my 2nd period ESL students would talk about it after reading it in Spanish in their 1st period class. With their teachers they laid on the ground to try to hear the earth's heartbeat, they drew images of everything important to them and then tore them up so they could get a sense of how it felt for Esperanza to have such a drastic change in her life where she felt like she was losing everything (an idea their teacher got from foster parent training), they saved the pieces in an envelope and later revisited them with the message of whether or not they were strong enough to put the pieces of their life back together regardless of the obstacles they encounter, they created yarn dolls like Esperanza and her mom in the story, and they saw a PowerPoint presentation with images of the labor camp mentioned in the story. Although I had heard so much about the storyline, I personally had never read the whole book. I decided to read it now because I am considering using it with my 6th graders either as a whole class read or a read aloud linking to our start of the year theme of My Community and Me.

Inspired by her own grandmother's story, the book tells the story of Esperanza, a young girl who has to leave behind her life as a "princess" in Mexico after tragedy strikes in her family. Esperanza has to adjust to drastic changes as a farm worker in the United States around the time of the great depression.

When I was almost to the end of the book I was thinking that I did not like it as much as Muñoz Ryan's other books. That all changed by the end of the book. I loved the last chapters and how everything tied together. I always enjoy reading notes from the author at the end of the book, and it was fun to see insights from the author about the historical time period and how she wove pieces from her grandmother's real story mixed with her own creativity. This would lead to a great discussion for writer's workshop, and it would be really fun to have students consider the option of interviewing family members about their own life stories as springboards to fiction narrative writing.

Remember Me?

I do not know how it even happened. It should be considered a sin! At the end of April my sister sent me a package with books she was passing on, including Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella. It sat in the box stowed away, forgotten until yesterday. I absolutely loved all of Kinsella's books (with the exception of the Undomestic Goddess, which for some reason I haven't read yet). Just with the Shopaholic series and Can You Keep a Secret? I was not disappointed. The fact that it sat unread so long is incomprehensible.

Lexi Smart wakes up after a car accident with amnesia. She cannot remember three years of her life, which may not be so drastic, except in the three missing years EVERYTHING about her life has changed. She is completely taken aback by her physical appearance, diet, loft, and "amazing" husband. It is the life of her dreams; the only problem is she has no recollection or clue of how she got from her old self to her current life. Little by little she tries to grasp to any possible clue so the memories will come back. Her perfect husband reminded me at times a little bit of the husband in Sleeping With the Enemy. I loved following Lexi on her adventure to reconcile her two opposite lives and rediscover exactly who she is.

De cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento

I've decided to do Spanish reviews for the books that I read in Spanish. If you do not speak Spanish but would like to know about a book (many of them are available in English), feel free to leave a comment and I will post in English as well.

Hace más o menos diez años yo había leido How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents de Julia Alvarez. Una hermana me lo prestó y me gustó mucho. Esta primavera cuando busque libros en Amazon.com, vi el libro en español y decidí leerlo otra vez, ya que había pasado mucho tiempo y sería como leerlo por primera vez. Más recientamente había leido libros de Julia Alvarez para jovenes (En busca de milagros, Antes de ser libres, Once Upon a Quinceañera, Las huellas secretas y Cuando tía Lola vino (de visita) a quedarse). Me encanta que puedo leer libros por la misma autora que escribió por variedad de edades.

Entonces empecé a leer De cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento. Lo leí en ratos. Después de leer una parte, lo puse a un lado, casi olvidado, mientras seguí con otros libros. Tarde o temprano siempre lo agarré otra vez. Hoy por fin lo terminé. Era como cuando leí Once Upon a Quinceañera. Me interesó mucho ciertos temas en el libro pero otras partes no me llamaron la atención tanto. De todos modos me gustó mucho el tema de demostrar las hermanas de adultas y luego repasar mucho de su vida para demostrar cómo llegaron a ser las adultas que son - una mezcla de la cultura de la Republica Dominicana que dejaron cuando eran niñas y la cultura americana de su juventud y su vida actual. También fue divertido que la familia es la misma de antes de ser libres, sino que son las primas que fueron a los Estados Unidos al inicio del libro. Así que había mención de personajes en común.

Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times

Yesterday I got Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times by Luis Rodríguez in the mail. I previously read Always Running: La Vida Loca Gang Days in East L.A. I first heard about it because the bilingual education professor who retired right before I started the program used to use it as a required text, so one of my friends talked about it frequently.

I am going to comment on this book different than my other books. I can tell that it will be a dense book filled with many rich ideas just as Always Running, so I will reflect periodically throughout the book instead of once at the end. So far I have read the introduction and the first chapter. The biggest idea that stood out to me in chapter one was the concept that often people would like to label youth as good or bad, but it is not that simple. Many young people who make mistakes or get involved in bad situations can still be very good people. He said, "In 1993 Pedro was a twenty-year-old gang leader. For most of his life, he lived off and on between his welfare mother and an uncle. He had been kicked out of schools and had served time in youth detention facilities. He was also a great human being" (23). I have seen this time and time again at school. Kids who are supposedly "bad" kids are very respectful and a pleasure to be around in school.

In addition, Rodríguez mentions a way to positively impact youth who are in danger of or find themselves in situations that negatively impact them and in turn their communities. He explains that working with students to get them involved in their community and positively impact it is invaluable. He further explains that it is natural that while students make these positive connections, they will not be able to leave behind their previous lifestyle automatically, but they are making positive changes nonetheless. As a teacher this is a good reminder to persistently keep working toward influencing students to care about social justice and become involved in their communities. Even though I may not see the overarching results, they are there, and it is worth it.

I am excited to keep reading this book because I know that it will give many valuable insights that I can apply in my classroom to work toward prevention and empowerment.

The Skin I'm In

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake is another one of those books that has been in my classroom library and caught my attention, but I just had not had a chance to read it. I always loved the first paragraph and wondered what the book would be about, "The first time I seen her, I got a bad feeling inside. Not like I was in danger or nothing. Just like she was somebody I should stay clear of. To tell the truth, she was a freak like me. The kind of person folks can't help but tease. That's bad if you're a kid like me. It's worse for a new teacher like her" (1). I'm not alone. At a recent trip to Barnes and Noble a co-worker bought the book and was reading the first pages aloud because it had impacted her so much.

Maleeka Madison has a distinct voice throughout the book as we get to know the different layers of who she is. Through her story teens can identify with everyday struggles, and teachers can remember what their middle schoolers go through in some cases on a daily basis. Maleeka has to make difficult decisions, suffer the consequences of mistakes, and try to accept herself throughout the book.

I have noticed that reluctant readers gravitate to this book.

Book Giveaways

Here are some fun book giveaways from other book blogs:

The Wednesday Sisters at The Written Word

and

Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging at Pop Culture Junkie

New Classics Challenge

As I was skimming even more, I came upon this challenge, and it drew me in too. I realized that I have seen a lot of the books as movies but have not read the actual books. As instructed the books I already read are in bold, and I decided to italicize the 6 books that I want to read between August 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009:

11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)

A link to the full list can be found here.

Book Awards Reading Challenge

I just happened to stumble upon the Book Awards Reading Challenge. I will have from August 1st, 2008 - June 1, 2009 to read ten award winners from at least five different awards. I can't wait to start building my award winning list!

1. 2002 Michael L. Printz Award: Step from Heaven by An Na
2. 2004 Newbery Winner: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
3. 2008 Caldecott Winner: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
4. 2003 ALSC Mildred L. Batchelder Award Winner: The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
5. 2008 Pura Belpré Award Winner for narrative: The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano
6. 2004 Pura Belpré Honor Book for narrative: Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
7. 1996 Pura Belpré Honor Book for narrative: Baseball in April, and Other Stories by Gary Soto
8. 2006 Newbery Honor Honor:Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
9. 2005 Newbery Honor Book: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
10. 2003 Newbery Honor Book: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Punished!

I heard about Punished! by David Lubar at a conference on books. It was suggested as a fun way to teach students about literary devices. Although it is recommended by some for younger kids, I will use it with my sixth grade students to foster a love for word play. When a professor catches Logan in the library for running he punishes him, and Logan soon discovers his punishment is that anytime he talks four words or more that a pun comes out. Everybody is groaning whenever he opens his mouth besides his little sister who thinks he is funny. In order to get back to normal Logan has to do three word quests for different literary devices. Students can learn along with Logan about the creativeness of words and start to do their own word quests. I can't wait to see how my students respond to the book.

Secrets of My Hollywood Life

At the start of Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita, the hip "it girl" theme did not hold my interest that much. Although, I knew this was mainly because I am in my late 20s and no longer my high school version frequently flipping through YM, Teen, and Seventeen. Kaitlin, a teenage soap star, wants to escape the Hollywood scene by enrolling in her best friend's school under a false name and in disguise. She can't wait to get a taste of what it would be like to be a "normal" teenager. I have to say as I kept reading I wanted to know with increasingly interest what would happen if Kaitlin inevitable got caught. It was fun to see her try to navigate two hectic lives without blowing her cover in her opposite lives. Scenes of the book reminded me of teen movies like Mean Girls and Never Been Kissed.

This year Calonita released two more books in the series, Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location and Secrets of my Hollywood Life: Family Affair. While I won't personally be rushing out to read them, I am sure they will be a fun read for the intended audience.

Into the Wildewood

Earlier this month I reviewed Tree Shepherd's Daughter, and now I just finished the second book in the trilogy, Into the Wildewood by Gillian Summers. Like the first book, the second one hooked me and once I got into it, I could not put it down. The second book has may familiar faces from the the first book, along with some new ones. To Keelie's chagrin Sean is away at another faire in Florida while Elia and her father Elianard are unfortunately at the Wildewood faire. Thankfully the Red Cap is gone, but Keelie has a whole new challenge. It is apparent that there is a dark power in Wildewood early on in the book. Keelie is drawn to a unicorn and senses that he is the key to turning the woods around, but she is torn because her dad warns her that it could have a negative impact on her.

Compounding things is a visit from Keelie's best friend from California, Laurie. With all the strange events going on Keelie struggles to find ways to hide her new-found half-elf, half-human identity. The twists and turns in this book kept me guessing all along about what would happen in various different plots and subplots. I can't wait for summer 2009 when book three is supposed to be released!

Monster

This spring I had the unforgettable feeling of matching a student with the right book. I couldn't seem to get him interested in reading outside of school. He talked about East Side Dreams as being his favorite book. He started to read it at a summer program but never finished it once he got home. He seemed to see the book with nostalgia without the motivation to keep reading it. However, it gave me some insights on the type of plot that would interest him.

His disinterest in reading changed when I gave him a copy of Monster by Walter Dean Myers. I had the book on my shelf for about a year but never read it. One day I opened it up and was captivated by the opening lines. I wanted to read it to myself, but could not miss the chance to get my student hooked on a book. As I had hoped, my student flew through the book.

Last night I decided to revisit the book and finally read it. I can see how the book pulled my student in. Steve Harmon is on trial for murder and the book is told from his point of view as a screenplay with some of his journal entries mixed in. Throughout the book Steve is starting to panic about the outcome of the trial. He cannot imagine living his life in a jail. He is also trying to figure out who he is and whether or not he is a "monster" as the prosecutor says.

Aside from the interesting content, the layout of the book is inviting to reluctant readers. The journal entry sections are written in a large sized handwriting font. The screenplay sections of the book are also quick to read because of the screenplay vs. narrative. In addition there are pictures intermixed to set the scene.

This is an excellent option for reluctant readers, but it will also catch the interest of students who love to read. As they read like writers, Myers' style will give them a lot to think about as far as craft.

Love the One You're With

My sisters, mom, and I had passed around Emily Giffin's three previous books, so I was thrilled when I received Love the One You're With in the mail unexpectedly from one of my sisters. The description on the flap intrigued me, the concept of a happily married woman with a perfect life second guessing her marriage after a chance meeting with her ex-boyfriend. As I read the first paragraph I instantly got pulled in as Ellen mentions that she notices "trivial landmarks" because of "a mild case of OCD". This made me chuckle knowing that her analysis of her marriage and decisions would only be confounded by OCD.

Throughout the book I could feel my emotions pulling right along with Elle grieving for what she had but lost with Leo when she was around or remembering him, but also sensing that she made the right decision to be with Andy when she was with him and explaining their story. The book took me on a rollercoaster ride to sort out Elle's thoughts and emotions as she dealt with major life changes and considered newfound details about past events. I cringed as she was dangerously close to crossing the line when it would no longer be easy to confess what she had done and move ahead with her marriage. Giffin kept me guessing until the end what the outcome would be and just hoping that Elle would be happy with however her life ended up based on her actions.

Rogelia's House of Magic

Yesterday Rogelia's House of Magic by Jamie Martinez Wood came in the mail. I had been so excited to receive it that I set aside the other two books I was reading to get started on it. I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and continued today to finish it. The three main character teen girls each have distinct personalities and dreams, but are linked together by magic and friendship. Under the guidance of Rogelia, a curandera, they learn magic and begin to overcome their individual obstacles and become better people by realizing the power within.

Xochitl is grieving the loss of her twin sister, and in the process has lost faith in magic. This is a theme that many people going through difficult times can relate to whether it is losing faith in magic, such as Xochitl, or losing faith in other core beliefs. Xochitl is not sure whether or not she can trust her new friends or if they are just using her because of their fascination with curanderismo that they can learn from her grandmother Rogelia. Xochitl's magical talent is the ability to disappear, but she has to learn that she should not use the talent to run away when faced with fears.

Fernanda, Fern, the self-proclaimed tree hugger is always busy working on watching out for Mother nature and the environment. Through most of the book she is working toward saving the Bolsa Chica wetlands from being developed. All the while she is trying to figure out how to interpret the auras that she is beginning to see, especially when it involves a cute boy Tristan.

While the other two live in the barrio, Marina's mother worked hard to move out of the barrio and does not hide her feelings against her Mexican roots. Marina struggles to understand her mom's perspective and sneaks around to reconnect with her Mexican heritage. Guiding her along the way to stand up to her mother and let her know her true feelings are two voices, one of which is in Spanish, the language that Marina never acquired as a result of her mother's disdain for the culture (even though her mom does tout her pride in her Spanish ancestry). It was fun to predict who the voices were.

Watching the girls navigate their new found powers was a fun adventure. I can see how many Latina girls familiar with curanderas will love this book as they will be able to connect to it, while teenagers from other cultures who may not necessarily have as much background knowledge will enjoy learning about this magical side of the culture.

As an extra bonus Martinez Wood has a fun site for teens where she currently has an essay contest with an August 29th deadline. Teens can analyze how each teen's clothing reenforces her characterization. I had read about this contest before reading the book, so it was in the back of my mind. It was fun to see how Martinez Wood carefully crafted clothing to create a more vivid picture of each character.

Also I just now read about how some high schoolers turned Rogelia's House of Magic into a play that will be available on YouTube in the near future.

Sneak Peaks

Yesterday I decided to buy a book Mary Castillo mentioned on her site in order to get a sneak peak at her upcoming book. After buying Lisa Daily's book Fifteen Minutes of Shame that I can't wait to read, I was able to view an on-line "swag bag" from the author with many other preview chapters. Here are some of the books that caught my interest and that I want to read in their entirety once they are released:

1. Mary Castillo's The Ballad of Aracely Calderon: Getting a glimpse at this book was the reason I wanted to get the swag bag in the first place. I already knew I would love her excerpt because I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books. I had heard her mention this book before featuring a female trying to take the lead of her deceased father's mariachi on her blog. The sneak preview showed her third chapter giving us a glimpse of Aracely at her father's mausoleum and flashing back to a pivotal childhood experience. I can't wait for her to announce the release date. As soon as I hear about it, I will be on Amazon to pre-order!

2. Matters of Faith by Kristy Kiernan: I did not read Kiernan's Catching Genius, but I enjoyed the excerpt of the first two chapters of her forthcoming book. It had a lot of threads going on including: a marriage that is going a little flat, a mom trying to protect her children, and a college boy trying to navigate his life by balancing family, faith, and love. The two chapters both started with the mom's point of view and then flashed to her son's perspective who was coming home from college with his girlfriend for the first time. One of the reviews mentioned that the girlfriend will make suggestions about the younger daughter's medical condition that will have disastrous effects. The excerpt gave a hint to this as well as many of the other layers that will be present in the book.

3. Sweet Life by Mia King: This book caught my attention the most of all the ones I previewed. The sneak peek showed the prologue as well as part of chapter one. In the prologue Marissa is waiting in her car in front of her Hawaiian house on a rainy evening. She is watching her husband rush through the house on Valentine's Day. By the end of the prologue it is clear that their marriage is on the brink of disaster. Part one of the book has a Hawaiian saying ("Love is peculiar; it pushes in opposite directions"), and chapter one also has one written in an island language to give the book an island flare. The first chapter flashed back to show how the couple moved to Hawaii at the drop of a hat. Although Marissa was hesitant, she also looked forward to being a stay-at-home mom and going through her mid-life crisis on the beach. She even had hopes that her marriage would improve. Given the prologue, it is obvious the island didn't turn out to be paradise for her. The prologue quote could have different meanings, but it does give me some hope that they will eventually find their way back to each other. I also love the cover for this with the island flower and the little girl's arm draped over her mom's back. (Note: If you click on the Amazon link, there is a special promotion by the author.)

Besides the previews for yet to be released books, there was also a download for the first two chapters of Sleeping with Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner. I had seen this title before on Amazon and was always a little curious about what it was like, but I never realized how hilarious it was. This would be a great book to read on any day that has been a little too serious or stressful.

I guess I like fantasy after all

As a teacher with a love for reading, I have often encouraged students to explore different genres when I myself usually stick to my regimen of chick lit. When I do read books from my classroom library they often match the same genres that I thrived on when I was the age of my students. After one of my favorite chica lit authors recommended The Tree Shepherd's Daughter, I couldn't resist. It made me realize that I can enjoy fantasy after all. I guess I always did enjoy magic realism when studying Latin American literature.

This book, the first in the Faire Folk Trilogy, by Gillian Summers hooked me by having Keelie Heartwood as the main character. She is a Californian teen much like any other teenager in the YA books that I usually lean toward (probably because they are younger versions of adult chick lit counterparts). However, unlike the average teenager, Keelie is shocked to find out that she is half-elf, half-human after her mother dies and she moves in with her father.

While many books take place over the span of a year or more, this book appears to cover about a few weeks. It is jam packed with discoveries as Keelie comes to grips with who she really is and how drastically her life will change based on her realizations. She knows she will not be able to simply go back to her old life and forget everything.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects to fantasy is that anything is possible. Because Keelie also has a human side there is a good balance between reality and fantasy. One minute she is dealing with an everyday teenage theme such as thinking about her current crush, while the next moment she is using her magical powers through her connection with trees. It was a perfect blend that always kept me flipping the pages to see just what would happen next.

I am still deciding whether or not to include this in my classroom library for 6th graders this year or if I should hold off until they are 8th graders. Keelie is a 15 year old and accordingly there are a couple scenes that make me think it is for readers a little closer to her age. However, there is one review on Amazon.com from a parent who homeschools her 7th grader and said that her daughter could not put it down. At the same time I am pretty sure that as a 6th grader I read plenty of books about high schoolers, so I may be a little too conservative.

Either way, I know that once I decide to include it in my classroom library, it will be a hit. I already have Into the Wildewood, and I can't wait to read it.

For those who decide to read the book, I found that Gillian Summers has a website with more details about the trilogy. Although it has not been updated since the release of the second book, there are interesting sections. For example, it was fun to see the map of the faire mentioned in the book. You can also read excerpts from the books there. I look forward to seeing updates to the site in the future.

Here's to exploring new genres!

Fact or Fiction?

Yesterday one of my sisters asked if I could pass on our other sister's Certain Girls. She is on summer vacation after finishing her second year of her PhD program, so she wanted to have some chick lit now that she has a little bit more time for it. I told her I would read it ASAP and get it in the mail. In about 24 hours I had finished the 384 page book and loved it!

I mentioned in previous posts that I like books told from multiple perspectives and this book alternated voices between mother and daughter. In this case it was the best of both worlds. When I was reading from Cannie's (the mom's) perspective it was like any other chick lit book, but when I was reading from her daughter, Joy's, perspective it was just like my favorite YA novels.

I could have sworn that I read Jennifer Weiner's other book Good in Bed with Cannie as the main character. I kept on thinking that references to the book would start clicking, but they never did. I went on Amazon and read the first few pages and it still did not seem familiar, so maybe I only read Weiner's other books In Her Shoes, Little Earthquakes, and Goodnight Nobody. I voraciously read her books along with Sophie Kinsella's when my sisters introduced me to chick lit my first year teaching. I already added Good in Bed to my Amazon wish list, and I also can't wait to read her short stories collection The Guy Not Taken.

Apart from the multiple perspectives, I also enjoyed the concept of authors who write "fiction" that actually involves a lot of truth from their real lives. In Julia Alvarez's book Once Upon a Quinceanera when she talked about events in her real life I realized how they closely related to her fiction works. Later in the book she even talks about how her mom was always bothered how she told all about her family in her novels. Although Cannie's is a fictional character thinking about how her reality mixed with embelishments composed her books and how it affected her life, I know that it is a real topic that writers face.

It was agonizing to see Joy read her mom's book without being able to ask her mom all the questions it brought to her mind as to what was true and what was fiction. Joy is quite the investigator trying to put together all the pieces on her own and blacks out sections of the book that she doesn't like. From Joy's point of view she says, "Fiction, I wrote. But just because it was fiction didn't mean there wasn't truth in there somewhere, glimmering, like coins at the bottom of a well. Who was she? I wondered as I recapped my pen. Who was my mother, really? And who am I?" (pp. 141-142).

Among it all the mother/daughter pair are also negotiating the details of Joy's bat mitzvah. I am not familiar with bat mitzvah's but it was interesting to catch glimpses of it from this book. There was also the element of unexpected surprises as I was blindsided with a shocker toward the end of the book.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed both voices and the events in the book.

Some of my girls' favorites

My girls absolutely love these books. Although they are different, they are all fun to read aloud with the girls because of structures and they way they sound.

Ella Sara Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine




A got this book for Christmas from one of her teachers and she loves it. It explains how Ella Sara gets up and what she wants to wear but her mom, dad, and sister all try to convince her that what she wants is too dressy/fancy/silly and giver her suggestions of what to wear. Based on the picture you can tell that they want her to dress like they do. Nonetheless, Ella Sara is persistent that she wants to wear her outfit. These are recurring lines:
"I want to wear my pink polka-dot pants,
my dress with orange-and-green flowers,
my purple-and-blue striped socks,
my yellow shoes,
and my red hat."

Each time she says it you can tell she is getting madder both because of the pictures and the text. In the picture after she talks to her dad she is stomping. When she tells her sister what she is going to wear she says, "AND MY RED HAT!" My daughter loves to hear how I read the repeated lines differently in order to show her escalating frustration. It is also fun to hear A pretend reading the book on her own because her voice also reflects the same.

In the end of the book it ends up that the clothes she wears are perfect for what she was going to do for the day.

(Side note: As I am typing this D came to curl up on my bed with me and started looking through the four books pretend reading them. With Ella Sara she flipped through and said "red hat" on every page. That is the part that A loves most, so it is the most memorable part for D as well.)

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw



I loved this book from the first time I read it because of the rhyme. There is a lot of rhyming with sheep and jeep, such as beep, steep, and leap. However there are also other combinations within the book such as uh-oh and go, grunt and front, and thud and mud. I was cracking up the first time I read this book.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle



I got this book as a board book in Spanish, so it has been a perfect book for my girls to look through on their own as one of their first books. A also heard the book with her teacher in English. Both girls pick up on the Spanish refrain ¿Qué ves ahí?. My younger daughter D always says "Niños, Niños" on the children page. It is a fun book for the three of us to read together.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault



I originally got this book as a promotion in a Cheerios box. The girls enjoyed it so much that I got the full sized version in both English and Spanish. I since also bought Chicka Chicka 1-2-3. D loves it when I read this book with her on my lap and bounce her up and down on the "boom boom" parts. A frequently says "Chicka chicka boom boom! Will there be enough room?" when she wants to join me somewhere. For example if D and I are sitting on the couch together she will say the line when she comes to sit with us. This is a fun way for the girls to see the different letters (and numbers with Chicka Chika 1-2-3).

All about reviews

When I started my first writing blog about a month ago I wanted to write about a variety of topics to represent seeking balance in my life. Nonetheless, I noticed that my blog was unbalanced with a lot of book reviews. Inspired by my sister who created a separate blog for reviews, I decided to do the same, except mine will be all book reviews from a variety of genres that I read. Here you will most often find reviews of children's literature (my girls are 5 and 2), young adult (I'm a 6th grade teacher), chick and chica lit, and education books.

Here's links to my first reviews from my other site:
never mind!
You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again
Make Him Look Good
The Melting of Maggie Bean
Cuando Tía Lola vino (de visita) a quedarse
Reaching Out