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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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)
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| 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
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| 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)
