tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33287400522145109042024-03-18T23:29:47.339-04:00Well-Read in YAwellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-71658999327664475402017-03-29T08:46:00.001-04:002017-03-29T08:46:40.262-04:00S.T.E.M. REMODELING PROJECT<b><span style="font-size: large;">S.T.E.M. REMODELING PROJECT</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOurU8Dc-5Pf_lFxdMxlg_IV75PyAwfj_SJHRtyCxcZ2WPG5zVPc_6-j5SsMKZdQiYgdb8tm5vYCRC2jKQyf5ZmFHpQYEOQHxnll0LVPiHhM3dMB8tRflNDokhF7sT1O_YJUp4G8BCQ/s1600/IMG_2672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOurU8Dc-5Pf_lFxdMxlg_IV75PyAwfj_SJHRtyCxcZ2WPG5zVPc_6-j5SsMKZdQiYgdb8tm5vYCRC2jKQyf5ZmFHpQYEOQHxnll0LVPiHhM3dMB8tRflNDokhF7sT1O_YJUp4G8BCQ/s320/IMG_2672.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This area will become the Cyber Lab for students with blended schedules.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our high school runs a 2-year S.T.E.M. program. Students apply in their sophomore year, and if they are accepted, participate in seminars throughout their junior year. During their senior year, they are enrolled in an actual S.T.E.M. class. As part of their class, they are responsible for the planning and implementing of a project that benefits some aspect of the school district.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the first year that such a project was implemented. I applied last year to be the beneficiary of their program, and they selected my application in part because the library is a space that is used by the entire school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plan for the library is as follows...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) <b>A space for the Cyber Lab students.</b> The library is home to students who are enrolled part-time in cyber courses. They go to some of their classes, and they come to the library for classes that they take online.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8U1dL0D8DmwV0R4RAqsES2S6pO2cnL6CIGHTBFK2GER0g2C6HqoX4ndLGS_wqCqf9uJD-tyt8uWivVBc6PIimEGnHaH6mEoo22bsNRcsO9_dqlsOgYUhCSelqLd8uQwmLucGEoOmlg/s1600/IMG_2670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8U1dL0D8DmwV0R4RAqsES2S6pO2cnL6CIGHTBFK2GER0g2C6HqoX4ndLGS_wqCqf9uJD-tyt8uWivVBc6PIimEGnHaH6mEoo22bsNRcsO9_dqlsOgYUhCSelqLd8uQwmLucGEoOmlg/s320/IMG_2670.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This area will eventually be a makerspace.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) <b>A more contained instructional space</b>. Now that our students each have a Chromebook, the need for desktops has decreased. My instructional space is being reduced. I can still accommodate the same number of students, but less space is needed since they no longer need desktops. The extra are will be changed to...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) <b>Collaborative Space</b>: This are will have a project, mobile white board, and tables covered with a white-board surface so that dry erase markers can be used.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) <b>A Makerspace</b>: This area use to house the cyber students and a few desktops. For now, it will have approximately 6 desktops that will be better quality and more extensive applications such as C.A.D. and other advanced programs. Eventually, I would like to make this are more like the makerspaces I see in other libraries.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) <b>An updated reading area:</b> My cozy reading spaces will receive an upgrade. Furniture will be rearranged and new furniture, plants, lamps, and area rugs will be donated by local retailers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The planning phase is finally over, and the maintenance crew has been in the library all week. I will post "after" photos as soon as everything is finished!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Posted by: Nicky</span>wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-113453510192287572017-03-28T18:55:00.001-04:002017-03-28T18:55:03.431-04:00BOOK REVIEW: AUDACITY BY MELANIE CROWDER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: Audacity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Melanie Crowder</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Historical Fiction, Novels Written in Verse</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(via Goodreads)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">A gorgeously told novel in verse written with intimacy and power, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">Audacity</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;"> is inspired by the real-life story of Clara Lemlich, a spirited young woman who emigrated from Russia to New York at the turn of the twentieth century and fought tenaciously for equal rights. Bucking the norms of both her traditional Jewish family and societal conventions, Clara refuses to accept substandard working conditions in the factories on Manhattan's Lower East Side. For years, Clara devotes herself to the labor fight, speaking up for those who suffer in silence. In time, Clara convinces the women in the factories to strike, organize, and unionize, culminating in the famous Uprising of the 20,000. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">Powerful, breathtaking, and inspiring, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">Audacity </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">is the story of a remarkable young woman, whose passion and selfless devotion to her cause changed the world.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clara, Mama, Papa, Marcus, Nathan, Benjamin, Pauline, Joe</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved loved LOVED this book. I'm not, generally, a fan of fiction written in verse, but this was executed perfectly. The writing was eloquent without straining the flow of the story. It truly felt as though you were inside Clara's thoughts. I have been on an historical fiction kick lately, having loved <i>The Salt of the Sea </i>and <i>Orphan Train. </i>This book was also on the book list for our academic reading team, and a lot of my students (both girls and boys) raved about this one.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is also obvious that Melanie Crowder thoroughly researched her subject matter, the time period, and Clara Lemlich's life. The text is so rich that, when Clara is describing walking the street of New York, I could hear, smell, and see the city around her. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also picked up this book because, having recently read <i>A Handmaid's Tale</i> and <i>How to be a Woman </i>for a feminist book club that Janine and I both belong to, I have been looking for something about women in American history. I think if a historical fiction novel is well-written, it makes the reader want to read more about it's time period, it's characters, and it's true story. <i>Audacity</i> certainly accomplished that. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There isn't much I can find to be critical of in this novel. I didn't give it five stars on Goodreads because I only give 5 Goodreads stars to books that I consider "great literature"--books that affect me profoundly and which will resonate with me. Still, as young adult literature, I consider this <i>great</i> writing. The thing that frustrated me, and I think this is a result of the verse writing, is that I didn't feel as though I grew to know the other characters very well. Clara's family, Joe, Pauline--they all seemed rather two-dimensional.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final Grade: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> A-</span></span></span><br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review by <span style="color: purple;">Nicky</span></span></span></div>
wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-89354802205508458622015-06-10T14:48:00.002-04:002015-06-10T14:49:20.738-04:00BOOK REVIEW: THE WITCH HUNTER BY VIRGINIA BOECKER<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAT1EX-sSjqgQ1YbzwaQY3-3MjWrEjSSg8ybPR1PTqhr5Djq__bCtopDKXp6U3Nxr6h5pxnvQFjXtL3V9pmmQG6VHqwPtjoQmYHWylBkxZ0-itmy6fsVP9v301qNw1cDAOrMmStBFUQ/s1600/The-WitchHunter-Revised-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAT1EX-sSjqgQ1YbzwaQY3-3MjWrEjSSg8ybPR1PTqhr5Djq__bCtopDKXp6U3Nxr6h5pxnvQFjXtL3V9pmmQG6VHqwPtjoQmYHWylBkxZ0-itmy6fsVP9v301qNw1cDAOrMmStBFUQ/s320/The-WitchHunter-Revised-2.jpeg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Witch Hunter </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Virginia Boecker</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not that I could find</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital Copy Courtesy of Edelweiss</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Via </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodreads) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. When she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to die at the stake. Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can track down the person who laid a deadly curse on him. As she's thrust into the world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and all-too-handsome healers, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elizabeth, Caleb, John, Fifer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blackwell</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where to start, where to start?! There was so much I loved about this book! First I LOVE historical fiction so this book to start was right up my alley. The setting is the 16th century England and from the start you really feel as if that is where you are. Kings and queens, an internal struggle for power intermixed with the descriptions of an English village and life in it make you feel as though you are right there. One of my next favorite things is anything dealing with the supernatural and I love the take on it in this book. You are led to believe that these supernatural beings are the “bad ones” and Elizabeth and the other witch hunters are doing their noble duty and riding the country of them. However as the story progresses and you learn along with Elizabeth that not everything is as it seems. This change of thought process is complicated for Elizabeth and those around her trying to understand how she became what she was. I also loved Elizabeth. Yes, she is a strong character but what I loved more was that as she was discovering the deception and twisted truths behind her training and upbringing she was struggling with loyalty, truth and consequences of choices. Things that all of us struggle with (in our own ways) from time to time and its these struggles that make her a totally believable, and relatable character. The supporting cast of characters also should not be overlooked, they are unique and interesting, each adding so much to the story. This is one of those stories that grabs you from the beginning and doesn’t let go! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I will be honest in saying that there wasn’t much I didn’t like about the book. It was a great read that my students will love to read!</span></div>
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wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-31906121925997428782015-05-05T13:20:00.001-04:002015-05-05T13:31:47.256-04:00BOOK REVIEW: MADE YOU UP BY FRANCESCA ZAPPIA<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Title: </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ma</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">de You Up</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Author:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Francesca Zappia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Realistic Fiction</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stand alone</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Courtesy of Edelweiss</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ( Via</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Goodreads</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alexandria, Miles, Tucker, Charlie</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have to say that this book was difficult to read in a lot of ways, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! First we have Alex, who is struggling with Schizophrenia. She is our narrator for the story, so we are seeing things through her eye,s which is extremely difficult since one of her symptoms is hallucinations. She is constantly struggling with what is real and what is not. This, for me, was really a powerful thing. As a reader, I was constantly struggling with what was real and what was not. To be put in her shoes and see things from her point of view really put some perspective on the daily struggle that people have with Schizophrenia. It was frightening at times just how real her hallucinations were becoming and the lengths she tried to go to determine what was “real”. The story itself was written so well that when some things (and I won’t say which!) were pointed out as hallucinations, I had no idea. Her friendships grow gradually throughout the story, never feeling rushed or contrived, and when her friends find out about her illness they react as I feel like most friends would, supportive and caring and protective as they try and shield her from others who aren't so kind. I feel as though this book would give a sense of perspective and empathy to my students that they wouldn’t have had before reading this, which as far as I am concerned, will help them to be better able to interact with people who have a variety of conditions, illnesses etc. However, it isn’t without some conflict when others are made aware of her situation, which as a teacher made my stomach turn, and nostrils flare! This book will be one that my students will thoroughly enjoy, while at the same time giving them perspective on an illness that they may not be aware of or aware of how it affects a person and their daily life. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There isn’t anything I could have done without, but know that at times this book is difficult to read and confusing. This is a book that I would recommend reading so that when students have questions you can help them to process and understand (as best you can) what they have read.</span></div>
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<br />wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-13617949950561093862015-04-22T09:56:00.002-04:002015-04-22T09:56:14.188-04:00Book Review: The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="21490991" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395153306l/21490991.jpg" width="132" />: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: The Boy in the Black Suit</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Jason Reynolds</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Realistic Fiction</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(via Goodreads)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this wry, gritty novel from the author of </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When I Was the Greatest</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matt, Mr. Ray, Love, Chris, Matt's dad</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book is one of those rare gems that I can recommend with equal confidence to both male and female students. Matt, his friendship with Chris and Mr. Ray, his struggles with awkwardness with girls, his romance with Love, the gritty urban setting... these</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are all things that will appeal to a variety of readers. Matt is the kind of guy you want to bring home to mom (or in my case--you would like your daughter to bring home to you). He's genuine and charismatic. His struggles are real. Some readers may read the plot summary and think, "ugh... not <i>another</i> book about someone dying of cancer." However, Matt's way of handling his mother's death--his moments of both strength and weakness--are unique. Mr. Ray's character was definitely my favorite, and the things that Matt learns from him are universal lessons. This was just simply, a wonderful, well-written story.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The one thing that I struggle with when writing about this book or book talking it to students, is that it is difficult to really tell <i>what happens</i> in the story. A lot of things happen, but there is no arching climax. When Matt and Love find out that they are connected by a fateful night--a horrible event for both of them, the plot sort of reaches its peak, but there's no rush of adrenaline like a reader may experience with other books. Rather, this story is full of little vignettes or events that carry the plot along in a fast enough pace to keep you going. </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final Grade: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B+</span></span><br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review by <span style="color: purple;">Nicky</span></span></span></div>
wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-89979476443337444682015-04-20T09:49:00.000-04:002015-04-20T11:33:16.537-04:00Book Review: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/QH58kzeNi14gTROfaoTFlOTnxRSIoYQmtsC4amxcBrcOPLvrirHJuU0Qipx7hhlBnIjVt1-PmIj253URcOmmMwG85MS-_Sqq9OzrKE5X_3JgS1g8PItEY7IJno092qRDqYBspw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/QH58kzeNi14gTROfaoTFlOTnxRSIoYQmtsC4amxcBrcOPLvrirHJuU0Qipx7hhlBnIjVt1-PmIj253URcOmmMwG85MS-_Sqq9OzrKE5X_3JgS1g8PItEY7IJno092qRDqYBspw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="126px;" /></a><span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-ae5f-5403-27fae3a08961"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">The Walls Around Us</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Nova Ren Suma</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mystery, Suspense</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stand Alone</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital ARC Courtesy of Netgalley</span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(via Goodreads) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Walls Around Us is a ghostly story of suspense told in two voices—one still living and one long dead. On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of a girls’ juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom. Tying these two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We hear Amber’s story and Violet’s, and through them Orianna’s, first from one angle, then from another, until gradually we begin to get the whole picture—which is not necessarily the one that either Amber or Violet wants us to see.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amber, Violet, Ori</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a lot to love about this book, so I am going to try my best to do it justice without giving too much away (which is going to be difficult)! First, I really like the multiple points of view. I love hearing about an event from those involved, but when you hear it from two sides it really gives you a clearer picture of what is going on. In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to Amber, who is an inmate in the Aurora Hills Juvenile Detention center. She tells us of life inside and how it changed when Ori arrived. Ori is the connection between Amber and Violet. Her story is one that I still can’t forget. Ori is just one of those girls/ characters that everyone loves. She is well written, entirely believable, and kid that I could imagine at my school. She is nice, thoughtful and someone who brightens the room when she walks in. Then we meet her best friend Violet, who is the opposite in every way from Ori, and you are left wondering why, why would a sweet, nice girl be friends with someone who is obviously not. Violet is hard, cold, and conniving-- a difficult character to connect with. But as her story is revealed, you are left to wonder, not why she was the way she was, but were the events that occurred to her what shaped her, and was this the person she was always going to be? What surprised me was how big of a role bullying played in this book. It begins as teasing and then quickly escalates into much more. It adds a sense of realism to the book-- a what would you do, how would you react type of situation. Although, personally, knowing Violet’s whole story does not make her in the least bit more likable for me. I think that it will make a great book for discussion with my students. What are you born to do, and how much of what happens to you in society changes you. I also can’t wait for my students to read it because the ending….. OH MY!!!! I just need to talk about it with someone!! </span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-cc15a3df-d714-e1b9-7bdd-d3202099d3a5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The only thing I will say about this book is that at the beginning... it was confusing. I won’t give it away, but I reread the first section of Amber’s story because I wasn’t getting it. I think that when my students read it, I will just encourage them to keep going because it all does come together at the end!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final Grade: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B+</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review by <span style="color: purple;">Janine</span></span></div>
</span>wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-15343416467525850912015-04-13T08:46:00.004-04:002015-04-13T08:46:47.828-04:00"Big Books" Slatwall Display<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOZGJ6g5HUyAfxWJWkCv39aAPLmoBDTcft_qolMXdo11eUnndGnBvJVV0GI5jlL1y1N3GHOkyK98XPDvSlH9R9imaVH05eCbN3340Y5wC5DMU7BIQ4KVar8U5eU9Wh7P2sZUE7j7TvQ/s1600/IMG_2430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjOZGJ6g5HUyAfxWJWkCv39aAPLmoBDTcft_qolMXdo11eUnndGnBvJVV0GI5jlL1y1N3GHOkyK98XPDvSlH9R9imaVH05eCbN3340Y5wC5DMU7BIQ4KVar8U5eU9Wh7P2sZUE7j7TvQ/s1600/IMG_2430.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've seen this on several tee-shirts, especially at our yearly academic reading competition, so this display has been in the back of my mind for a while now. I finally put it up for one of my April displays, and the kids (and teachers) <i>love</i> it. The one problem is that the lettering is crooked and off-center, which as I sit here, is currently driving my bonkers. I also feel like it needs "more." I don't know what kind of "accessories" you would add to this display, but it's a little too plain for my taste.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhES_stYKRDaYpv8X0RGdjrqFOMYKrZ461V8srJJc23LlxKf2c6_3PsmcAvAZgzXQp71Yqwtz0hg83WZfHRR2NjhaIZdSKJK9ENmQFp0XcgHiZ1FLXaj8JVFCDt-_ioADZExbWKMTqnKA/s1600/IMG_2431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhES_stYKRDaYpv8X0RGdjrqFOMYKrZ461V8srJJc23LlxKf2c6_3PsmcAvAZgzXQp71Yqwtz0hg83WZfHRR2NjhaIZdSKJK9ENmQFp0XcgHiZ1FLXaj8JVFCDt-_ioADZExbWKMTqnKA/s1600/IMG_2431.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #999999;">post by Nicky</span></div>
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wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-45824005931225616632015-03-09T11:26:00.002-04:002015-03-09T11:26:58.273-04:00Book Review: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vanishing Girls</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Author:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lauren Oliver</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mystery, Suspense</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Series: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book a stand alone</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Source: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital ARC courtesy of Edelweiss</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Via </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodreads</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New York Times</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nick, Dara, and Parker</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plot: Nick and Dara are sisters with a close bond. Nick is the responsible older sister and Dara is the younger sister who is always getting into trouble, trying risky and dangerous things. One night after a party the sisters are in a horrific car crash and after, nothing is the same.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is so much to love about this book!!! I would like to begin with a disclaimer that this book is awesome BUT it has some major twists. However, I will not give any spoilers so if the review seems to be missing something, it is!!!!! This book is told in alternating points of view and at different time periods to you are getting the story of the sisters and what led up to the crash and the aftermath in bits and pieces. As Nick tries to regain her life back by working and interacting with people again and at the same time trying to come to grips with the aftermath of the crash on her and her sister and her family you can see just how far she has slipped into despair and guilt over what has happened. She begins working at the local amusement park at the insistence of her mother and even though she is hesitant she begins to come out of the shell that she has built up around her. She also at the same time is trying to find out what what caused her sister to go down the path that she did and what she could have done to help her. This is part of the guilt that is very much destroying her. This book is truly a psychological thriller so not only is it a little difficult to discuss without giving away a major plot point but it also makes you rethink (and in my case reread) everything in this novel. I found myself going back to different points in the book and seeing things much differently!!!! Since I am a librarian in a school this book will not only be LOVED by my students but will make for a great discussion! I can’t wait for my students to read it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It is not that I could have done without it but at the beginning it was a little confusing. The chapters alternate between different points of view (although each chapter is labeled with the person’s name) but what really got me was the different time periods for example some of them are labeled before and after and some have exact times. Once you get into the story it is less of an issue but at the beginning I had a difficult time with keeping things straight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final Grade: A</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Review by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Janine</span></span></div>
wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-91535505725002382162015-03-05T18:36:00.001-05:002015-03-05T18:40:41.363-05:00Book Review: The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Cemetery Boys</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">Author:</span><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> Heather Brewer</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Horror, Thriller</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital Copy Courtesy of Edelweiss (Release Date March 30th)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Book Summary:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ( Via </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodreads</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) When Stephen is forced to move back to the nowhere town where his father grew up, he’s already sure he’s not going to like it. Spencer, Michigan, is like a town straight out of a Hitchcock movie, with old-fashioned people who see things only in black-and-white. But things start looking up when Stephen meets the mysterious twins Cara and Devon. They’re total punks–hardly the kind of people Stephen’s dad wants him hanging out with–but they’re a breath of fresh air in this backward town. The only problem is, Cara and Devon don’t always get along, and as Stephen forms a friendship with the charismatic Devon and something more with the troubled Cara, he starts to feel like he’s getting caught in the middle of a conflict he doesn’t fully understand. And as Devon’s group of friends, who hang out in a cemetery they call The Playground, get up to increasingly reckless activities to pass the summer days, Stephen worries he may be in over his head. Stephen’s fears prove well-founded when he learns of Spencer’s dark past. It seems the poor factory town has a history of “bad times,” and many of the town’s oldest residents attribute the bad times to creatures right out of an urban legend. The legend goes that the only way the town will prosper again is if someone makes a sacrifice to these nightmarish creatures. And while Stephen isn’t one to believe in old stories, it seems Devon and his gang might put a lot of faith in them. Maybe even enough to kill for them. Now, Stephen has to decide what he believes, where his allegiances lie, and who will really be his friend in the end.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Characters: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephen, Cara, Devon, Markus, Harrold</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What I Loved: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved the super creepiness of the story. It begins about halfway through the book and there was a point where you didn’t have to rely on Stephen to tell you what was weird but you could feel it. You could feel the secrets that were looming just below the surface which kept me on edge until the end. There are also these “friends” that Stephen makes, which seriously makes you question his decision making skills but they ramp up the creepiness factor to a ten. Also I found the underlying theme of mental illness to a really unique twist in this story and it isn’t until after I finished the story and thought about it, that some of the things really started clicking. Then there is the end!!!!! It was such a twist (and so twisted)! I also loved the idea of a super small town with its unique superstitions and the lengths to which people will go to preserve themselves and their way of life and this town has the kicker of all superstitions.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What I could have done without:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I was not a fan of the first half of the book. Honestly I almost put the book down. I just didn’t like Stephen and the more I read I still didn’t like him or his family and I just couldn’t make myself care. I wanted to care, really, I did but I just kept thinking what the heck is going on?? Things seemed disjointed in the beginning of the story </span>wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-50022302392603205382015-02-24T12:21:00.000-05:002015-03-05T18:37:12.483-05:00Book Review: Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seeker</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Arwen Elys Dayton</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sci Fi/ Fantasy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seekers Book 1</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital ARC Courtesy of NetGalley</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-5886667f-bc97-7442-9780-2edbec2dc8ce" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Book Summary:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’. Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Characters: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quin Kincaid, Shinobu, John, and Maud</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What I Loved: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I loved a lot in this book. First I liked the set up of the book. The chapters are set up so that each character is giving us their part of the story from their point of view and I like that. It is clearly labeled at the beginning of each chapter who is speaking and more than that, it really works for this story. I think the story would be confusing or take a lot more explaining (making it extremely tedious). In this way the story can unfold naturally and often we see an event from multiple points of view which really helps in clarifying some things in the story that are initially confusing. I also really liked the story. It was different from what I have been reading and lately and was a welcome change. In its basic sense it is a story about following your dreams these three (Quin, Shinobu and John) are being trained to become a Seeker, something elite are revered only to find that they have been deceived. Now that they know the truth, what will they do and how will they come to terms with their choices. Which leads to my next love of the story,the action! There was a ton and not all of it was expected or predictable but it was intense and (for lack of better term), hardcore! There is also the love story part which I am not normally a fan of but for a few reasons ( that I will not elaborate on as to not give spoilers), it totally works (and I know who I am rooting for) and lets be honest, they are teenagers, if there wasn’t a little romance going on it wouldn’t be believable. There are family issues, trust issues, questions of morality and love, which makes it relatable to a lot of different students and I can think of a ton who are going to love this! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What I could have done without:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There isn’t much I didn’t like. The most difficult thing for me is going to be talking about this book with my students without giving too much away!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Final Grade: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span></div>
<br />wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-30338475044658427922015-02-22T16:49:00.003-05:002015-02-22T16:57:22.836-05:00Author Skype with Ellen Hopkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwkUkifkm5PkeyFslYrx3reW2ceFBJgnkvFb0mDxjiZZeU3FmgNQL3moLnyj4KA04ezE3S9w60FbS72TzvZnanhnNxT7jnpDKfSHDe8vU-gVidgSZSdM1i_rCVsjz1YsR5g0dgf-JXg/s1600/IMG_2184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwkUkifkm5PkeyFslYrx3reW2ceFBJgnkvFb0mDxjiZZeU3FmgNQL3moLnyj4KA04ezE3S9w60FbS72TzvZnanhnNxT7jnpDKfSHDe8vU-gVidgSZSdM1i_rCVsjz1YsR5g0dgf-JXg/s1600/IMG_2184.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the beginning of the year, I was fortunate to receive an email from a book publicist working for Ellen Hopkins. She was looking for librarians who hosted book clubs who would be interested in hosting a Skype session with Ellen. The only requirement, or fee, would be that the book club would have to show proof that they had purchased 10 copies of Ellen's newest book, <i>Rumble. </i>The copies were purchased, a copy of the receipt was emailed, and the date was set for January 8th, after school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ten copies of a book seems like a lot for a library to purchase, but I had no qualms about buying that many copies of any Ellen Hopkins book. Her books fly off of my high school library shelves. <i>Rumble </i>was extremely well-received by the students, they discussed the book frequently and I couldn't wait to see what questions they came up with for Ellen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I held the event after school on a Thursday from 3 to 5. We were to Skype with Ms. Hopkins from 3-3:30, then eat pizza (food is <i>always</i> essential for book club!) and discuss our conversation with the author and <i>Rumble. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The students were star-struck. Ellen was captivating. I had suggested questions written out on cards in case any of the students wanted to talk to the author but couldn't come up with something to ask her, but the students never needed any suggestions. They came up with a variety of questions on their own--everything from specific things from her books, to how she writes, to questions about her personal life. I had one young lady who had read every one of Ellen's books--she was so excited that she was in tears!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppzA8Z11a4HliI_urSNflo1OhNhXmLq2cvFLxImTclopztEjMwqCOlRmZQsiCZCEwAfvZIyG28Xc42cebHOJzJef06bIF4qnQ69gzotD3xBKDsnUb8D5rJdjn2Yn2PhBGeVhGKMqo3g/s1600/EllenHopkinsSkype.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppzA8Z11a4HliI_urSNflo1OhNhXmLq2cvFLxImTclopztEjMwqCOlRmZQsiCZCEwAfvZIyG28Xc42cebHOJzJef06bIF4qnQ69gzotD3xBKDsnUb8D5rJdjn2Yn2PhBGeVhGKMqo3g/s1600/EllenHopkinsSkype.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things that made this successful: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Planning: I had the Skype account set up ahead of time, the projector ready, and I tested everything before the event.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food: Always an important element.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The appeal of the author: Ellen Hopkins is one author who is <i>consistently</i> popular year after year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things I would do differently next time:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had each student approach my laptop so as they came up to ask questions. This created a lull between questions. Next time, I would like to set up a camera, elevated, so that the author could see the entire group of students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was one of my favorite events in the entire history of my career. The joy and excitement of these kids over the chance to talk to one of their favorite authors... that's the kind of thing that keeps me loving my job!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #0b5394;">Post by Nicky</span></span>wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-30251358328704399732015-02-22T15:38:00.002-05:002015-02-22T15:41:23.698-05:00Book Review: PERFECT CHEMISTRY by Simone Elkeles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi896TKmOR52wEv4_A3S8jTfQFA4loZo108F4-zQS3VU0D6WkgojUt3tT5_a6V-beoLBjucv47NMySpr79YFwIEWpkVbCBRyy9BKWIQyrYzy4ucP9yEe6oP8kAJnJYoSIOguqm51HbQCg/s1600/7722903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi896TKmOR52wEv4_A3S8jTfQFA4loZo108F4-zQS3VU0D6WkgojUt3tT5_a6V-beoLBjucv47NMySpr79YFwIEWpkVbCBRyy9BKWIQyrYzy4ucP9yEe6oP8kAJnJYoSIOguqm51HbQCg/s1600/7722903.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perfect Chemistry</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Simone Elkeles</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Romance</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perfect Chemistry</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: (via</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Goodreads</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Brittany Ellis walks into Chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Alex Fuentes, Brittany Ellis are the two main characters and make up the romance element to this book. There are a lot of other “extras.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plot</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Alex is the bad boy-- a Mexican gang member from the poor side of town. Brittany is her high school’s golden girl--popular, smart, from a wealthy family, and head of the cheer team. When Alex accepts a bet to get Brittany to sleep with him, and then the two are assigned to be chemistry partners, the obvious happens--they each realize there is more to the other than they first realized. They fall intensely, passionately in love. Brittany finds out about the bet. Alex cannot leave his gang like Brittany demands. Can this relationship survive? (Do you sense my sarcasm here?) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Admittedly, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">very little</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I can tell you, however that there are 2 things I liked about this novel:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like novels told in first-person from the point-of-view of varying characters. Elkeles writes back and forth between Brittany and Alex. (And, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ok</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I will admit it--Alex does seem pretty hot, which leads me to…)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fact that my high school kids (my high school </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">girls) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">love, love, LOVE this book. Any book that gets my students this crazy and talkative is okay in my book. This one is also an easy sell with reluctant readers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reason I read this book was that several girls in my monthly book club asked for a romance novel selection for February. I knew I was in trouble because I’m not a big fan of romance. Still, I thought I’d give it a shot. Some of the dialog made me cringe. The whole star-crossed lovers thing was so West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, Outsiders, etc. etc., and it has been done over and over and over again. I know Elkeles wanted to make these characters more complex and believable by making Alex close to his family and by giving Brittany a disabled sister, but both those issues seemed a little forced. Finally… the epilogue. I am </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a fan of epilogues, and this is one example of why they make me crazy. Everything ties up so neatly, and (without giving too much away) a cure for Alzheimer’s?? REALLY??</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20.7000007629395px;">Final Grade: C </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20.7000007629395px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.7000007629395px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="color: #073763;"> Book review by Nicky</span></span></span></div>
wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-75737821791197175222015-01-06T12:11:00.000-05:002015-01-08T17:32:01.504-05:00Book Club Discussion Questions The Selection by Kiera Cass<i>The Selection</i> by Kiera Cass<br />
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1. What did you think of the selection contest? Did anything strike you as odd or interesting?<br />
2. What were your first impressions of America (before the selection)? How about during the contest?<br />
3. What did you think of her "friends only" approach to the contest?<br />
4. During the selection there is a constant threat of attack, would you have wanted to be at the castle under those conditions? why or why not? How does these attacks add/ take away from the contest?<br />
5. What do you think of Maxon?<br />
6. What do you think of the "friendship of Maxon and America? How does this affect their relationship?<br />
7. Towards the end of the book what is your thoughts about Aspen? <br />
8. Team Aspen or Team Maxon?????wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-77100606885340411342015-01-06T12:02:00.000-05:002015-01-08T17:32:46.447-05:007th Grade book club DecemberBook Clubs<br />
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I host two book clubs one for 7th graders and one for 8th graders. I do these separate because we meet over lunch since it is the one time where everyone is together. In our school we have an activity period at the end of the day for clubs and such but the kids are so involved that it is a nightmare to find a day where everyone can attend. So I provide the lunch and the kids come and eat and discuss. First I want to say that I LOVE my book club kids. I truly love all my students but these are the kids who really get excited about what they are reading and since I do as well...... well you can understand our connection!<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">7th grade book club</span></b><br />
This year I didn't start the book clubs until a little later (which gives me time to get to know my 7th graders). Our first book we read was (drum roll please......)<i> The Selection</i>. Now I am not a fan of reality TV so the first time someone compared it to the Bachelor, I was less than excited to read it. I must say though, I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I liked the book (see my book review of <i><a href="http://wellreadinya.blogspot.com/2014/12/book-review-selection.html" target="_blank">The Selection</a></i>). My students where in love with the book ( most have finished the series by now). Our first lunch was walking tacos which are super easy and a favorite for kids. Needless to say we had a great discussion and good food, nothing could be better. I have also attached some of the discussion questions I used to "break the ice" <a href="http://wellreadinya.blogspot.com/2015/01/book-club-discussion-questions.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Stay tuned for our next book club discussion, <i>The Raven Boys</i> by Maggie Stiefvater!</div>
<br />wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-24159503626268511182014-12-19T11:58:00.000-05:002015-01-08T17:33:12.186-05:00Book Review: The Selection By Kiera Cass<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rsxhScWmL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rsxhScWmL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="200" width="129" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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Title<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The Selection</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-6d2aa2b4-637a-ebaf-553f-d90dbdf0b1b9"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Kiera Cass</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-6d2aa2b4-637a-ebaf-553f-d90dbdf0b1b9"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Dystopian, Romance</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-6d2aa2b4-637a-ebaf-553f-d90dbdf0b1b9"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Selection</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Book 1</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Book Summary</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: (via</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Goodreads</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: America, Maxon, and Aspen are the main characters. There are a ton of great secondary characters in this book!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plot</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: In this dystopian country of what was once North America is now has a royal family and is ruled by a king. America is living with her family, trying to help support them and figure out to marry the boy she is in love with who is of a lower caste when the Selection is announced. The Selection is a contest where 35 girls compete to win the heart of the prince and become a princess. All girls of marrying age are encouraged to apply for a part in this contest. From the applications, 35 girls are chosen. The girls live in the castle, and agree to have their lives filmed for TV (think The Bachelor). Prince Maxon will then narrow the girls down to 10 who will become known as the Elite. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Loved</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: AMERICA!! I loved, loved, loved her! Once she becomes part of the Selection she is awesome. She speaks her mind, (which I can relate to) although she never really thinks of the consequences of some of her opinions (which I can also relate too!). Without giving to much away I also liked how strong of a character she is, when the time comes for action she willing to to what it takes to help everyone, regardless of level. I have to be honest I really like Prince Maxon as well. He is naive, but likeable and the interactions between him and America are believeable which to me is one of the biggest wins for me in this book. I am not a fan of The Bachelor (or any reality TV really) so I was very hesitant to read this but I found myself completely sucked in and I could not put this book down!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I could have done without</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The love triangle. I understand why it is there and at the beginning of the book I kind of liked Aspen, HOWEVER by the end ugggggggg! However, this is my only complaint of the book. So really if you can get past it, this is definite read!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;"> Book Review by Janine</span></div>
</span>wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-10015240102968838232014-12-01T16:26:00.002-05:002014-12-01T16:28:04.304-05:00December Display IdeasThese are my current displays in my library. My bulletin board is <br />
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Stashing Through the Snow<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FrezyyQyXdIFrqp1UFpSoZ9dpGtyN0RZqFnuK6zbiRKzxw_8L8VHLGCVHiLxsgIHD1SuDNwWBFVI2iVDJ1zZuoIEHPxW_2qWRSs9uNSX-27gk3awPjrUQOWGBM4FA2ABf8_oRqQdwg/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FrezyyQyXdIFrqp1UFpSoZ9dpGtyN0RZqFnuK6zbiRKzxw_8L8VHLGCVHiLxsgIHD1SuDNwWBFVI2iVDJ1zZuoIEHPxW_2qWRSs9uNSX-27gk3awPjrUQOWGBM4FA2ABf8_oRqQdwg/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also have a plastic 8 1/2 by 11 vertical paper holder that I use to promote different books as well as our school calendar so that students are up to date on what is going on. These change monthly so they can be a little time consuming but the students really like them so it makes it worth it!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8uzApALPPfDAD_pAPGAp3cEEQQ3ezTFsC9jE8Ddh6eQCnngza6wHubX0QrJ2gOom1Uu7k_tXeXwoWHLMTqZTAs24GLQDPUD6GiL2Xt53N9DAVaFxXil_gnyCMeSKvJ2S7-2pevR-8g/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8uzApALPPfDAD_pAPGAp3cEEQQ3ezTFsC9jE8Ddh6eQCnngza6wHubX0QrJ2gOom1Uu7k_tXeXwoWHLMTqZTAs24GLQDPUD6GiL2Xt53N9DAVaFxXil_gnyCMeSKvJ2S7-2pevR-8g/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-40585381336011180942014-11-24T14:29:00.001-05:002014-11-24T20:14:17.874-05:00Book Review: THE 5TH WAVE by Rick Yancey<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLw4yHVvehUyPA1WX2wAY4vNwBclHXa6hbvpo95FC1DiNqqJNzazrhmkd6RlJHWY7p89ON4Sct_wu_sAu-_a-crLbiQOK0MZrD6GoeptpyknvndKcb0sBbpPftkzWjjE50SegGU-9TPA/s1600/16101128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLw4yHVvehUyPA1WX2wAY4vNwBclHXa6hbvpo95FC1DiNqqJNzazrhmkd6RlJHWY7p89ON4Sct_wu_sAu-_a-crLbiQOK0MZrD6GoeptpyknvndKcb0sBbpPftkzWjjE50SegGU-9TPA/s1600/16101128.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The 5th Wave</i> by Rick Yancey</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">REVIEW BY NICKY</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e3ef3d13-e347-1b22-3cf1-cef9c48c56b7"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was hearing so much about this book (mostly from Janine!) before I read it. To be honest, though, it was this book trailer that finally got to me: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKkEAIs4pJc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKkEAIs4pJc</a></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e3ef3d13-e347-1b22-3cf1-cef9c48c56b7"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cassie is on the run from “Them,” who are destroying all of humanity to make room for their own colonization of our planet. They are carrying out their attack in waves. The first wave, an electromagnetic pulse, makes the machines, upon which we rely so heavily, useless. The second wave consists of tsunamis that destroy all coastal lands. The third wave is a fatal disease spread by birds. With the fourth wave come the “Silencers,” alien consciousness that have been implanted into humans at their conception. Cassie and her brother Sam have managed to survive all of these waves, and she is determined to reunite with him after he is taken from her during an attack. “Zombie” is also a survivor, one who, after his training in boot camp designed to turn him into an alien killer, has nearly forgotten who he was was before the first wave. Their paths come to a surprising collision.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e3ef3d13-e347-1b22-3cf1-cef9c48c56b7"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This book, if nothing else, was definitely a page-turner! The suspense and twists and turns of the plot made me ignore mundane things like dishes and proper bedtimes in order to get to the next part. It’s one of those novels that is just destined to become a movie… not just because of the current dystopian trend, but also because, with Yancey’s detail, you can visualize everything as you read. This is another nice cross-over for YA and adult reading. I’m not sure why it hasn’t caught on more than it has. I would expect that this might be the next “Hunger Games” phenomenon. In my honest opinion, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The 5th Wave</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> certainly would merit the attention that the Hunger Games trilogy has, and I am itching to read the sequel, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Infinite Sea</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-78873433840256589922014-11-24T14:25:00.002-05:002014-11-24T20:15:04.925-05:00Book Review: A REALLY AWESOME MESS by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin <h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5b9htWiwZb340rz1j6K4pNMjwdeOHsTXTKTRdXuQd22SG9KeoztH4cUj5Yk-7aMvlPqHjfcoh01QbWYp7_6FS3VIDwVyRUgi0SpbF9z_5mvU_-Pl-QKXO69UN9jvxq83mYYvOfboPg/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5b9htWiwZb340rz1j6K4pNMjwdeOHsTXTKTRdXuQd22SG9KeoztH4cUj5Yk-7aMvlPqHjfcoh01QbWYp7_6FS3VIDwVyRUgi0SpbF9z_5mvU_-Pl-QKXO69UN9jvxq83mYYvOfboPg/s1600/index.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><span id="docs-internal-guid-e3ef3d13-e341-e31f-e905-c665b6703d9a"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Really Awesome Mess</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">REVIEW BY NICKY</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had high hopes for this novel. I mean, when the summary says that it is a little </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recovery Road, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a little </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and a bit of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Juno</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, my expectations are going to be high.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I liked the idea of the two authors writing in alternating points of view. Both narrators have both landed themselves in Heartland Academy, a somewhat swanky mental hospital for teens. Justin, still dealing with his parents’ divorce, gets caught in a compromising position with a girl, and takes a handful of Tylenol. Emmy, adopted from China, has a hard time fitting in with her “perfect” family. She is struggling with an eating disorder after a rather personal photo of her gets spread among classmates and Emmy threatens the boy who shared the photo. Along with a diverse group of motley characters, they form an unlikely friendship that gives them support and leads to one fateful night of freedom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here is what preventing me from enjoying this book: the dialog. One thing that drives me crazy is when young adult authors use a lot of slang or “dumb down” the language of teenagers. I spend all day with teenagers, and they </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">do not</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> talk like this! They are more intelligent and well-spoken than they are given credit. I don’t think Justin or Emmy or any of the other characters were </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">un</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">intelligent, but they were written in such a way that made me cringe.</span>wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-37732517436599970882014-11-24T09:53:00.002-05:002014-11-24T09:59:32.365-05:00DISPLAY: NO SHAVE NOVEMBER<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2F5K3t9Yy9BCPA3nWFpP1sOZ0IZ8evkiXL-9BaGdnDtkhyfU5u6rkaZQHdYJRP5OKOi4vd4OKqIGpoy8aBCnXX2XgxUktlyXOe1kVLQht8PfzhmPqWgTofmldshx4Ad-doe08p4ZFA/s1600/IMG_1772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2F5K3t9Yy9BCPA3nWFpP1sOZ0IZ8evkiXL-9BaGdnDtkhyfU5u6rkaZQHdYJRP5OKOi4vd4OKqIGpoy8aBCnXX2XgxUktlyXOe1kVLQht8PfzhmPqWgTofmldshx4Ad-doe08p4ZFA/s1600/IMG_1772.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></h2>
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NO SHAVE NOVEMBER</h3>
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NOVEMBER 2014</h4>
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This was a display that I repeated from last year at the high school. It takes a while for the kids to "get it," but it usually generates a few laughs, and this year, I had to replace 4 of the titles from the display due to check-outs, so that's always a good sign!</div>
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Post by Nicky</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_w5yakULTXyhNVmpd3mt4Acy6ceuMowkN8GSK66v1aAm27ONTm8Y-vRRymwy7-krmbPOBdB7EBGyYpHLXhagd0MK4C7O3vewtSwedhLNYLSTNWeWa-B8vqC-LmImrWrG4oBDL_yyKQ/s1600/IMG_1802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_w5yakULTXyhNVmpd3mt4Acy6ceuMowkN8GSK66v1aAm27ONTm8Y-vRRymwy7-krmbPOBdB7EBGyYpHLXhagd0MK4C7O3vewtSwedhLNYLSTNWeWa-B8vqC-LmImrWrG4oBDL_yyKQ/s1600/IMG_1802.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-66646563482367130062014-11-20T12:47:00.003-05:002014-11-20T12:48:03.206-05:00"Use in Case of Feels" Display<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTOE72dRdIYt7a6s2iiFJyfGGwI9ZXyrSOowTOpDn2a5JNmrIFPA0OPcI5appNGYl1tGwcFn2CY8dbE1cSzSs5SfLBhQsD-H4swzWXSiItB2uKTvr1Ff35njYjgO8JKy7VWugOWUWFQ/s1600/IMG_1770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTOE72dRdIYt7a6s2iiFJyfGGwI9ZXyrSOowTOpDn2a5JNmrIFPA0OPcI5appNGYl1tGwcFn2CY8dbE1cSzSs5SfLBhQsD-H4swzWXSiItB2uKTvr1Ff35njYjgO8JKy7VWugOWUWFQ/s1600/IMG_1770.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>November 2014</h3>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Inspired by a post I saw on Pinterest, this display has earned the most comments from my students! They </span><i style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">love</i><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> it, and it's been difficult to keep the display counter full.</span><br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhVShtsexvwgzKo8y1p20aIO0lYsgYnFKNxkbT1VltNrJbpGoGt6DyEybrd__5ocHHS0UHVnPLsHAGtRz-WZGuV6-sCgZwIXlJum1YPlfoFlHl12ussNNvOIqDRDjU5GXIo8N2uNX7Q/s1600/IMG_1773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhVShtsexvwgzKo8y1p20aIO0lYsgYnFKNxkbT1VltNrJbpGoGt6DyEybrd__5ocHHS0UHVnPLsHAGtRz-WZGuV6-sCgZwIXlJum1YPlfoFlHl12ussNNvOIqDRDjU5GXIo8N2uNX7Q/s1600/IMG_1773.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-83071796496141305132014-01-08T10:40:00.000-05:002014-01-08T10:43:10.779-05:00Book Review: The Raven Boys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0enxuFQocOrZsOSzBRN8NH9ePG7EocbT8sR02Af3TAHzGfMYQmVo270wnrj4BCZH5s2wEa7T2J7k1QG2kzWTJzE53LEKKmNSqhUh-b3LlOmpIo4hxaPOSeYvHxh9eB-62-97IS7U6A/s1600/untitled+(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0enxuFQocOrZsOSzBRN8NH9ePG7EocbT8sR02Af3TAHzGfMYQmVo270wnrj4BCZH5s2wEa7T2J7k1QG2kzWTJzE53LEKKmNSqhUh-b3LlOmpIo4hxaPOSeYvHxh9eB-62-97IS7U6A/s1600/untitled+(2).png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Raven Boys </i>by Maggie Stiefvater</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Review by Janine</span><br />
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<em>"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve. Either you're his true love ...... or you killed him.". - The Raven Boys</em><br />
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Blue Sargent lives in the little town of Henrietta, Virgina. Her mom and the rest of her family are psychics but Blue herself is not. As if that wasn't hard enough she has been raised being told that she will cause her true love to die and while she doesn't really believe this she feels that it is no worry as she has never met anyone that she would even consider to be close to her true love. That all changes however when she accompanies her aunt on St. Mark's Eve to see the souls of those who will pass in the coming year and for the first time Blue sees someone, Gansey. Gansey and his group of Aglionby boys turn out to not be what Blue expected. These boys are looking for an ancient ley line and with the help of Blue, they are on their way to quickly discovering its secrets and the secrets of a small town. As they get closer to their goal not everything is as it seems.... friendships and loyalties will be tested and not everyone is who they seem to be....<br />
This book is one of those the sucked me in and I couldn't put down. The story begins in alternating voices between Blue and Gansey, which I really liked because you really got into the different characters heads and could quickly see how their lives would be interweaving. Blue is such a likeable character... she is the misfit in her family since she herself is not psychic so while she doesn't always feel like she fits in, she isn't whiny about that, she just accepts it and moves on. I feel that since this is just the first book in the series that there is much more to her than meets the eye and I can't wait to see how that all plays out!! I also loved the Ganesy and his group of friends, Adam, Noah, and Ronan. Each of these boys who all are so interesting in and of themselves, have bought into Ganesy's quest for the finding the ley line (which Ganesy credits for saving his life). One of the things that I loved is that each of the boys has his own very strong character and really story. This for me makes the story so much more developed and really gives you a feeling that you know each of the characters and each really adds so much to the story. Then as the characters come all together it just...clicks like the missing piece of a puzzle. <br />
Between the characters, the flow of the story and the story itself, I was not ready for the book to end when it did! However this is one of those rare occurrences where I waited so long to read the book, number two was already out!! <span style="color: blue;">*insert happy dance* </span><br />
<br />wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-84981012169850799442013-10-24T13:21:00.001-04:002013-10-24T13:21:12.536-04:00Zombie Display, October 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxx-JaTwjb3XYTFyQz_D7O2Tvmrwin3f59ag-P6jSMFmQqj0_tD7E_V4g3g2HVZy64szKQyt4MbDBhwJFG6WW85u28VgIQIvAcR9c9EgnnOgS_fM-YxPbyaUauFD_tkRDMfHbX08U08A/s1600/zombie+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxx-JaTwjb3XYTFyQz_D7O2Tvmrwin3f59ag-P6jSMFmQqj0_tD7E_V4g3g2HVZy64szKQyt4MbDBhwJFG6WW85u28VgIQIvAcR9c9EgnnOgS_fM-YxPbyaUauFD_tkRDMfHbX08U08A/s320/zombie+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zombie Displays</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 2013</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whether it's because I'm reading the last book in the Rot & Ruin series, or because I'm binge-watching the Walking Dead, I am OBSESSED with zombies lately. Can you tell from these pictures? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWkvR9avJ2sUUSLgZ3m3AJ-fKh8k1Gz53WWpRDOvhzTR4rZoiQXeGyOnA0b5-Q1-lOz3z2W7rcjxc7Xb5sLH23PEIc-e0FEaSTmHp8OEoSKj4zSnsrtq40hfgGTJl1KwSS0HxjWFAhw/s1600/zombie+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWkvR9avJ2sUUSLgZ3m3AJ-fKh8k1Gz53WWpRDOvhzTR4rZoiQXeGyOnA0b5-Q1-lOz3z2W7rcjxc7Xb5sLH23PEIc-e0FEaSTmHp8OEoSKj4zSnsrtq40hfgGTJl1KwSS0HxjWFAhw/s320/zombie+2.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My students are really into any book dealing with zombies, so the displays have been very successful. I had a ton of fun putting these together!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcMNa2-16cJaj0WURsDcX4ASgcqYVTBeIrtLRhVnk-7jhUTMXE0cPEJ30CQMLeeRBBK5e_ReQ_44jOzbWJ-cgligZsUh8fQGJa71oM3s-KrsPaL5-JqZIBXX0ijxWqMjBd09reIS_pQ/s1600/zombie+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcMNa2-16cJaj0WURsDcX4ASgcqYVTBeIrtLRhVnk-7jhUTMXE0cPEJ30CQMLeeRBBK5e_ReQ_44jOzbWJ-cgligZsUh8fQGJa71oM3s-KrsPaL5-JqZIBXX0ijxWqMjBd09reIS_pQ/s320/zombie+4.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhlHTr040O__IGh1Q4FGoCHkh43WqbiPD7FN2U4xVxqFSrnTKjL7clzJux6qJ8GyGx2BuJU-X33va1Y1-i-rnhalZ5g3v79zuPn9ncSkgCae_rEYknG7og-25-9_sB_6MmoBYPOKRbw/s1600/zombie+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhlHTr040O__IGh1Q4FGoCHkh43WqbiPD7FN2U4xVxqFSrnTKjL7clzJux6qJ8GyGx2BuJU-X33va1Y1-i-rnhalZ5g3v79zuPn9ncSkgCae_rEYknG7og-25-9_sB_6MmoBYPOKRbw/s320/zombie+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdPWMipa3U_73XiRbFUePjgzyXnGng28cCGSwlChaab7N20fcHkCOQcgtJBnw2qJjJSjn1hqhJ-7UVh2kP_qv0fHePsX6ULxVaknb9_iC4ebx9gvvu7CkrI3Ty8lcC1NL5qFeZbXooA/s1600/zombie+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdPWMipa3U_73XiRbFUePjgzyXnGng28cCGSwlChaab7N20fcHkCOQcgtJBnw2qJjJSjn1hqhJ-7UVh2kP_qv0fHePsX6ULxVaknb9_iC4ebx9gvvu7CkrI3Ty8lcC1NL5qFeZbXooA/s320/zombie+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHq8MSkiQ8_TIDFCqrbVmXQYHCESvmXBWt2YtNJDk3vqDRnxq1H37WudxlOD_VUo33GWizO4HxzQ9cAZ6pWiPN0VqnXfqWFL3eSAP9NOityK7vP27kzcioiHkV2-ilMpEdXpQL9SFsQ/s1600/zombie+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHq8MSkiQ8_TIDFCqrbVmXQYHCESvmXBWt2YtNJDk3vqDRnxq1H37WudxlOD_VUo33GWizO4HxzQ9cAZ6pWiPN0VqnXfqWFL3eSAP9NOityK7vP27kzcioiHkV2-ilMpEdXpQL9SFsQ/s320/zombie+6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0iUF19rrkNZw2qDbdjYBgTlvbeazCxwnoh-HqcZV5XvxzhwpsZ5zxPEnV27anS8T-AMiJArxhWdIrLqf5ECH_wXIm-LYjlnsLTz96tbUa2HZ8BvsiMGmha5T_COtyoOAWEOlmhqSsw/s1600/zombie+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0iUF19rrkNZw2qDbdjYBgTlvbeazCxwnoh-HqcZV5XvxzhwpsZ5zxPEnV27anS8T-AMiJArxhWdIrLqf5ECH_wXIm-LYjlnsLTz96tbUa2HZ8BvsiMGmha5T_COtyoOAWEOlmhqSsw/s320/zombie+7.JPG" width="320" /></a></h4>
wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-7604100125830238642013-06-18T14:28:00.000-04:002013-06-18T17:11:26.271-04:00Book Review: Game by Barry Lyga<a data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=q_7C741zzrwr3M&tbnid=4AWT8Ttb9Lq9FM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heisereads.com%2F2013%2F06%2Fttt-top-10-books-at-top-of-my-summer.html&ei=rbvAUdWeMInC0QGOyYG4Cg&bvm=bv.47883778,d.dmQ&psig=AFQjCNEfziILyB5hY8kPvRBT0nWsgqg73A&ust=1371671828229133" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentColor; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="200" id="irc_mi" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NWbVPzPYv0/Ub8r8LsJK-I/AAAAAAAAGZw/70LS-8hYulM/s200/Game.jpg" style="margin-top: 35px;" width="131" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>Game</em> by Barry Lyga</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Review by <span style="color: magenta;">Janine</span></span><br />
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Game is the sequel to the book I Hunt Killers. This book is a continuation in the life of Jasper Dent, better know to his friends as Jazz, and better known to the rest of the world as the son of one of the most notorious serial killers, Billy Dent. Being raised by a serial killer has left Jazz with plenty to question in his life, but it has made him as invaluable resource to the law enforcement community. You see, Jazz just wasn't raised by Billy, but was being groomed to be the next serial killer, which means that Jazz knows that elusive question, "What is the serial killer thinking"? Jazz is being called upon to help law enforcement as another serial killer is on the loose in New York City. This, however, will be unlike anything Jazz has faced before. As old demons come back to haunt him, the questions remain: who are the players in the game, what are the rules, and what is the prize?<br />
If you read my review of I Hunt Killers, you will know that I LOVED that book and was anxiously awaiting the release of the next book. I am here to tell you that I was not disappointed!!!!!! This book was awesome! You dive right back into the town with the same characters and some new, and let us say interesting, additions (like Jazz's aunt, who just for the record, I am on the fence about) and of course a new crime to solve. This one is in New York City and is fairly gruesome ( I will not go into details but there were definitely a couple of ewwww parts!!!!). Jazz, from the beginning, is suspicious that his father (who at the end of the first book escapes from jail) is involved in some way. What I love about this book is the complexity of the Game. Even at the end of the book, when we are given a better understanding of what the game is, it is still a little mind boggling and leaves questions unanswered. I found myself as I was reading, marveling at how the author could come up with something like this..... the twists and turns, the rules and the players. I was in awe ( and to be perfectly honest, this makes me wish, for the thousandth time that I could write something this awesome!) Not only is the game quite complex but so is Jazz. You have a boy who was raised by a serial killer, who was present and privy to some seriously life altering situations of which he can't forget. He also can't forgive himself for what he believes is unwillingness at the time to stop his father, or to at least do something to help the victims. Combine that with the fact that he still has Billy's voice in his head, "teaching" him what he needs to know to be just like him, and you have one conflicted and complex character. One that is easy to like but would also be scary to know. I will not give away any spoilers but the ending I swear that you could hear me scream into the next state. Not because someone dies (after all it is a murder mystery) but because it just ends...... everything. It is like the "to be continued" at the best part in a TV show... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! and then to top it all off there is this, no way moment RIGHT AT THE END!!!! and now the waiting will begin again for the next book because I must know what happens!!wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-74430848641065380502013-06-08T16:12:00.002-04:002013-06-18T17:07:53.543-04:00 Book Review: Born Wicked By Jessica Spotswood<br />
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<a data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=fDP6pG8fG4DzCM&tbnid=MkYtSLj6F0yxuM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthebooksmugglers.com%2F2012%2F03%2Fbook-review-born-wicked-by-jessica-spotswood.html&ei=Vo-zUc_SHuz64AOehoCYCg&bvm=bv.47534661,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNGgM114-VCZtQYQQoBL_0f0mBtYhw&ust=1370808527637150" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentColor; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="200" id="irc_mi" src="http://thebooksmugglers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/10794427.jpg" style="margin-top: 24px;" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> <em>Born Wicked</em></span> <span style="font-size: large;"> Jessica Spotswood</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Review by <span style="color: magenta;">Janine<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is the story about the three
Cahill sisters: Cate, Maura and Teresa, and they share a secret, one with fatal consequences. They are witches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Witches once used to
be everywhere, but the Brothers have come in and destroyed most of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that the Brothers have taken over, no one
is above suspicion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who are
accused are sent to prison ships, an asylum, or are murdered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one takes this threat more seriously than
Cate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As her mother lay dying, she
entrusted her oldest daughter to keep their secrets and, more importantly, to
keep her sisters safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cate must keep
this secret from everyone including their father, housekeepers and servants--anyone who would potentially do them harm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As things begin to spin out of Cate’s control, can she keep their secrets while still being true to herself?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I will start this out by saying,
that I LOVED this book!!!!! What initially drew me to this book was that it was
about witches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any book with a supernatural
element really appeals to me and has since the first time I read Anne
Rice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What made this book even better
for me was the setting, it is set in the early 1800’s, which completely gives
is another element for me, believeability (which I am not even sure is word!) While
I know that a book about witches, isn’t necessarily believable, it is grounded
in believable elements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those being time
period, which we all know of the persecution of witches, whether real or
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another being the setting which is a town that you would consider to be typical, one with class systems, where girls
are to be trained according their place in the town and behave in such a way
that is above reproach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the beginning
of the book, Cate is just another 16 year old living in her town trying to watch
over and protect her sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Protecting
them from the Brotherhood, who would just as soon turn them in as witches and
from being caught doing witchcraft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
a governess arrives from the Sisterhood to train them to be proper ladies, Cate
knows that something isn’t what it seems, and she is doing everything she can to
figure out what it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is so much
underlying in this story, but to me is things aren’t always what they seem to
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this book, so much of what you
first think of something or someone changes as you read further on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what made me keep reading, the twists
and turns just when you think you have figured one person out, they change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also love the complicated relationship of
the sisters themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That to me
helped make the book, more “real” to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For as much as you learn in this book about the girls and their lives,
is as much (as I think back) that I don’t know. This is one of those books that
has it all: a love story, witches, complicated friendships, difficult siblings
and a governess who is more than what she seems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am glad that I waited to read this because
the next one is coming out soon and I can’t wait to read it!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3328740052214510904.post-20608608665522120792013-05-12T15:42:00.005-04:002013-05-13T19:28:34.253-04:00Book Review: The List by Siobhan Vivian<a data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=z88Z4_0wioGgnM&tbnid=XALBadSB_hG2-M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dreamingofbooks.com%2F2012%2F05%2Flist-by-siobhan-vivian.html&ei=kXaRUa7yAc--4AP96IDwBw&bvm=bv.46340616,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNGUwLjxud2Es6wJsEWT2FN28_2zuA&ust=1368573960359244" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentColor; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="320" id="irc_mi" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AOd_zIwhMGQ/T7GSTiWif2I/AAAAAAAACGc/nEMkGYzoYPE/s320/The+List.png" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="210" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em>The List</em> by Siobhan Vivian</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Review by <span style="color: magenta;">Janine</span></span><br />
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The List is book based on one week at Mount Washington High School, the week before homecoming. The Monday of this week brings the annual tradition of "The List". This list contains the girls who are the prettiest and ugliest of each class. We follow the girls on the list to see how each is effected by their nominations, either by being pretty or ugly.<br />
I have to be honest, this book is not one I would have picked up on my own. It is typically not the kind of young adult books I read. I choose to pick this up because I have the privilege of listening to Siobhan Vivian speak at the Children's Literature conference at the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and I really wanted to read one of her books before attending. She is a wonderful speaker and I highly recommend that if you have a chance to attend something of hers you do. Plus I am totally geeked because she lives here in Pittsburgh, which is so awesome!!! I only wish that I could have stayed to get my book signed but I had to leave to get a tooth pulled (another story, for another day!!). To my surprise, I really liked this book! I LOVED how the book was set up. It is divided by day (as the story is one week) and each chapter is a point of view of each of the girls on the list. While there were a lot of characters to follow ( at the beginning I found myself flipping to the list as a reference for who each of them were) as the story continues it all flowed so well that it not longer became an issue. What made this book for me, was the characters and not only how real they all seemed by how they developed, for good or bad. You really got to see what goes on, how important perception is, either by themselves or from their peers and truly how complicated high school can be. I don't want to give anything away but I think the best thing was really how we got past the surface of what was going on and really into the girls lives and what dictates how we behave, and why. It also shows that what think about a person and we know are often two wildly different things. This also begs the question who is the victim? The pretty girls? The ugly girls? The ones who don't make the list? or the creator of the list? <br />
To say that I am surprised with myself for really enjoying this book, is an understatement!! I think I tend to shy away from the realistic teen fiction like this because it reminds me too much of high school, the awkwardness of it, the intensity of friendships and relationships (maybe it reminds me too much of MY high school experience) but this book is one I would recommend, highly!!!<br />
My only wish is that there would be another book after this one! I really want to know what happens after the dance, after it all dies down..... I felt like each one of those girls still has a story left and I want to know more!!!wellreadinyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15007209289799058762noreply@blogger.com0