#IMWAYR May 18, 2015

I love Mondays, especially Mondays that are part of long weekends. This relaxing Monday I'm looking forward to more reading time, and more time to read and respond to other blogger's posts. If you want to join in, check out Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Rickie from Unleashing Readers who host this weekly event.

On Friday I headed off to Vancouver Island to spend the weekend with a group of women friends. Waiting for, and sitting around on the ferry, gave me lots of time to get serious reading done. 

I've been lucky enough to spend Victoria Day weekends with these women for going on for 30 years now. We hang out in a cabin on a beach talking and laughing and crying together. If only we had kept notes, oh what a tale we could tell. Thankfully we are all readers so nobody takes notice when one or two or three of us disappear into a book for a few hours. In fact, some of our best conversations happen when one of us lifts her head to ask a question arising from her book.

Here is the reading I've accomplished this week. It's been pretty spectacular!

5 stars

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

Wow! Just Wow! I've been showing this to teachers around the school this week and there have been many tears shed because of it. What more can I say than we love this book. It pairs up perfectly with I Am Jazz, but opens up so many more conversations.

4 stars

Max The Brave by Ed Vere (from Netgalley)

I read this to my women friends this weekend. We all laughed out loud throughout. I'm pretty sure my readers will also enjoy this story about the kitten who goes off in search of a mouse to chase. The problem is that he has no idea what a mouse is. I like it so much I'm preordering this one.

5 stars

The Case Of The Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

This is my first Mac Barnett chapter book. It won't be my last. I'm glad in some ways that it's new for me since I won't have to wait for more of the series to be published. I've ordered two paperback books of this first one, and one of each of the sequels. I really enjoyed this humorous action filled mystery, and I know many of my readers will too!

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart 

3.5 stars

Well, that was tearjerker. It's a fast read but it packs a wallop. Often I found myself getting angry with Mark, the 12 year old with cancer who's determined to climb Mt Rainier in the middle of a snowstorm. How could this kid be so irresponsible? But then I had second thoughts and realized I couldn't imagine being in his shoes. Is twelve old enough to decide how you want to die? Is it reasonable for adults to expect a kid to keep on going through treatment after treatment? Why don't adults ask kids what they want? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I'm thankful that Dan Gemeinhart wrote this book and got me contemplating them.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (from Netgalley)

5+ stars

This is why I love Rebecca Stead.
She's got this capacity to plumb deep into the hearts of her characters and in the process, illuminate multiple incarnations of universal truths.
This book is about people making mistakes. My guts got all tangled in knots with worried anticipation as characters made bad choices.
It's about people stepping up and doing the right thing: those who make the initial blunder, and those who intervene afterwards.
It's about damaged souls who may or may not be capable of redemption.
Through all this Stead unpacks what it means to be human and what, if any, purpose we have on this earth.
I suspect that fans of Lynne Rae Perkins will love Goodbye Stranger.

I already know that it is going to in my top five books for this year. Heck, it might even be my number one. 

Winger by Andrew Smith

3.5 stars

I worried about reading this one, but I did end up enjoying it. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I had been able to finish it in one or two sittings over just a couple of days. I would also have enjoyed it more if I didn't have Grasshopper Jungle, which blew my mind, to compare it to. I like Smith's characters. Gotta wonder though, if this is truly how boys' minds work, but suspect Smith knows his subjects. I found it a bit slow to start, but managed to get hooked. I was reminded of John Green's work as I read it. I'd complain about what irked me, but it would spoil it for those who haven't read it yet. I liked it enough that I'm thinking I'll give 100 Sideways Miles a chance.

Currently I'm reading Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan and listening to Ask The Passengers by A.S. King. I've got Sarah Addison Allen's First Frost waiting for me. (Hurrah! An adult book)