Empire of Storms

Throne of Glass book 5
by Sarah J. Maas
Hennepin County Library hardcover 689 pages
genre: YA fantasy

Arg! Once again, I read a book in this series even though I do NOT love her writing style. And once again, I want to read the next book in the series to find out what happens!

Don't like:

• how the characters don't seem consistent in their own storylines from one book to another
• assumptions / jumps being made . . . or perhaps I'm not reading carefully enough to follow nuances
• choppy plot development
• references to long-dead rulers, various gods, etc. Who ARE these people?!
• overdone sex scenes . . . but if I were a sixteen-year-old, these probably would have been my favorite parts

Like:
Obviously, the characters have some resonance with me as a reader, since I want to find out what happens to them. Elide, Aelin, Rowan, Manon, Dorian, Chaol . . . and so many others.
I like how the battles turned out. And I like Aelin's sauciness.

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives

by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda, with Liz Welch
Hennepin County Library hardcover 392 pages
genre: non-fiction, memoir(ish)

Caitlin wrote a pen pal letter in 1997 as a seventh grader. She chose Zimbabwe. Martin Ganda received her letter and responded. Over the years, the two young people growing up a world apart. Caitlin slowly realized that her world was wealthy and shallow; Martin struggled to stay in school and have enough food to eat. A top student, he had many people encouraging him, but was so incredibly poor that survival was a priority. The gifts that Caitlin and later, her parents, sent truly made a significant difference for Martin and his family.

What an amazing book! I don't know where I saw the recommendation, but I'm so incredibly glad I read this book. I would love for my students to learn what Caitlin learned . . . and I love the photographs and the happy ending!

Seedfolks

by Paul Fleischman
PRMS paperback 102 pages (including the author's notes)
genre: YA realistic fiction

I don't remember why we picked this for book club . . . but I'm glad. It was a re-read for me and I really enjoyed it and the many positive messages in it. The kids mostly responded well to it, but they disliked the lack of resolution. I didn't realize / forgot that the author is Sid Fleischman's son. I get the two of them mixed up. This is a lovely book about people and a neighborhood garden that brings them together. The author purposely picked Cleveland for the setting and included lots of immigrants. Wonderful, short book (unless examining plot is your main goal . . . ).

Scythe

by Neal Shusterman
Hennepin County Library hardcover 435 pages
genre: YA SciFi

Oh my word. I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I think it is Shusterman's best ever. I'm not sure I can give a fair summary, so look for that on Amazon. This book was both horrible (I had to put it down, because it is very dark in places) and wonderful (offering insights on morals, philosophy, history, culture) in the guise of a new book for teens. Amazing!!!

Page 53 describes the Thunderhead. "The greatest achievement of the human race was not conquering death. It was ending government." That made me laugh. I would quote more of that passage here, but I'll just tell you to read the book. (The Thunderhead is what today's "cloud" becomes with AI.)

Page 82 ". . . he could tell it was in fine penmanship. It figures she would take penmanship in school. It was one of those classes people took just to be superior. Like Latin." Interesting observation. Taking classes to be superior to others who lack that knowledge or ability.

Page 85 I need to include this entire page. No commentary, except that I'm glad I have faith in God and His plan for eternity.

Page 118 Another journal entry from Honorable Scythe Curie. A passage on religion and the tone cults. I really would love to discuss this book with another reader! Also, I appreciate the scythes taking a name of a Patron Historic. The names were a really interesting part of the story.

Page 235 (Citra) "She resolved not to feel guilty about that. She'd had more than her share of guilt. 'Guilt is the idiot cousin of remorse,' Scythe Faraday had been fond of saying." Yes! Guilt is an idiot cousin and a waste of time.

page 262 From the gleaning journal of H.S. Prometheus - "Human nature is both predictable and mysterious; prone to great and sudden advances, yet still mired in despicable self-interest." Truly, this book has some amazing gems.

page 339 "The idea of truly wishing to end one's own life is a concept completely foreign to most post-mortals, because we can't experience the level of pain and despair that so seasoned the Age of Mortality. Our emo-nanites prevent us from plunging so deep." The nanites in the bloodstream that dull pain, heal, and do other health maintenance are an intriguing concept. Immortality is not something that I think human beings will ever attain on this planet, but as a future innovation in biomedical technology, some of this stuff might be prophetic (like some of the predictions in 1984).

Page 388 Another page contemplating religion and prayer, this time from Faraday's journal.

Page 433 I don't want to include a spoiler, so I'll just say I smiled like crazy when I read this page. If this book doesn't sound that fascinating, I'll just say that Citra and Rowan are two young people who could overpower Katniss Everdeen in a heartbeat. (And I *love* the Hunger Games series.) I MUST buy this book for PRMS and my avid readers. The violence is intense, but the story is amazing.

One irritating thing that I find more and more when I read new books . . . typos! Seriously?! What ever happened to proofreaders? I didn't mark the pages, but it really irked me. How do these get through the publishing process? Here's a new one for me:


(How do you spell "you" with a comma???)

Note added 2019.01.13: I re-read this blog entry when I saw that it had over 100 views. I laughed at myself when I saw an error (now fixed) in the place where I wrote about page 339. (I had "out" instead of "our.")  Then I got to this last note on proofreading and laughed at my own arrogance and carelessness! Sigh. I am only mortal, after all.

Uncommon Learning: Creating Schools That Work for Kids

by Eric C. Sheninger
Colleague's copy, paperback 194 pages plus appendices
genre: non-fiction education

I am not ready to review this book, but it confirms for me that I need to not be teaching at PRMS any more. The goals are lofty and some of the paradigm shifts are overdue. But children are still children and I'm not convinced that the majority of our students are mature enough to be "in charge" of their own learning. Student-centered education has not looked like the ideals put forth in this book, in my experience. I scanned the chapter on MakerSpaces (which is why the book was loaned to me) and it broke my heart. Clearly, I am the crusty old professional they wish to be rid of and I hope they can replace me with the dynamic young thing they're looking for.

Ten Days a Madwoman

by Deborah Noyes
Hennepin County Library hardcover 122 pages
genre: YA non-fiction, history

This story about Nellie Bly was fascinating! From helping students with this as a History Day topic, I was aware of her going "undercover" at an insane asylum. I did not realize, though, that she had a drive and perseverance that was unusual for her time. She had a tough life and was determined to take care of her mother and siblings.

I liked best her trip around the world - a "stunt" to increase readership - and her meeting with Jules Verne and Mrs. Verne in France. From page 92: "In Chicago, a cable that had missed her in San Francisco caught up with her: 'M. and Mme. Jules Verne address their sincere felicitations to Miss Nellie Bly at the moment when that intrepid young lady sets foot on the soil of America.' (The great writer was probably doubly pleased with Nellie in that she brought fresh publicity to his novel: Around the World in Eighty Days was reissued in more than ten new editions in France before Nellie even completed her journey.)"

I liked least the double-blue pages that focused on a story from Nellie's life. They seemed out-of-place in the middle of chapters where they didn't make chronological sense. Overall, though, this was a wonderful non-fiction book about an extraordinary young woman. I learned a lot!

Snow White

by Matt Phelan
Hennepin County Library hard cover unpaged
genre: YA graphic novel fairy tale

This is Snow White retold as a tale of the Great Depression. It is beautiful and has very little text. The "seven little men" are street urchin boys. The story is effective and worth owning (for my personal collection) but I won't buy it for school. I simply don't have enough budget and the story is told almost exclusively through images.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

by Jeanne Birdsall
Hennepin County Library audiobook 6 discs
read by Susan Denaker
genre: children's realistic fiction

When this won a National Book Award for Children's Literature, I heard lots of comments about the cover art being off-putting to readers. "The story is much better than the cover art leads you to believe." I've long been meaning to read this to find out for myself, so the audiobook was a perfect chance to do just that. (I clearly spend too many hours in my car!)

Denaker did a great job with the vocal work! The story is about four sisters - Rosalind (12), Skye (11), Jane (10) and Batty (4). Their mother did of cancer two weeks after Batty (Elizabeth, like her mother) was born. The thing that made me crazy throughout this book was that dad was off in his own world for the most part. Rosalind was the parent for her siblings! I know that the freedom the kids had was part of the plot, but it bugged me so much that she was setting limits, giving permission (or denying it), and generally acting as a parent. A twelve-year-old shouldn't have to do this!

The Penderwick family has rented a cottage for the summer. The cottage is at the back of the Arundel property, owned by Mrs. Tiften, a serious piece of work. Her son Jeffery becomes friends with the Penderwick girls (against his mother's wishes) and the five kids have adventures and fun.

Cagney is the handsome teen "garden boy" who works on Arundel's extensive gardens. He had learned from his uncle, who held the job before him until he died. Churchie (Mrs. Churchill) is the housekeeper and Harry the Tomato Man are the other main characters. Oh, and Dexter Dupree is Mrs. Tiften's nasty boyfriend / fiance.

There are four more books in the series. I won't read them. But I can enthusiastically recommend this title to my more innocent, capable readers. It's hard when they're excellent readers, but not ready for more mature content. This book has plenty to interest them.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot

by Natalie Standiford
PRMS hardcover 276 pages
genre: YA realistic

This book came to my attention when a sixth grader returned it and my paraprofessional left me a note. "She was upset by the swear words and sex talk in the book." Since I was unfamiliar with this author or this story, I checked it out and added it to my ginormous reading pile.

It was pretty mild in terms of content (and in relation to some of the other titles in my collection), but it's definitely not a sixth grade book. The blurb on the inside cover doesn't really get at the heart of the story, either, which is probably part of the problem.

Bea is new in town, living with mom (and her increasingly bizarre behaviors) and dad, a college professor who has moved them many times over Bea's life. Bea meets Anne Sweeney on her first day at Canton High School. Anne is one of the popular people, but she welcomes Bea and is kind . . . until she mentions Jonah Tate aka "Ghost Boy" and the funeral they had for him as a joke a few years back. Some joke. Jonah's twin brother perished in the same car accident that killed his mom, back when the twins were little kids.

To me, this is a story about kids who don't fit into the "norm" for whatever the reason. They see the world and themselves differently. Call them freaks, misfits, oddballs . . . or teens who are just trying to figure out their place in the world differently from their peers. It was beautiful and sad, but mostly unfulfilling to me (because of how the story ends). Now that I've read it, I know better which kind of reader to recommend it to!

The AM night radio program (and the people on it) were the neatest part of this story!

Ghosts

by Raina Telgemeier
PRMS paperback 240 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, supernatural layered on realistic

Wow! Another fabulous book by Telgemeier! In this story, the family is moving because Maya has cystic fibrosis and will benefit from a different climate. Older sister Catrina loves Maya and understands the move, but she isn't happy about leaving her home and her friends.

I just decided that I don't feel like blogging any more of this. It's a wonderful story, though I'm not typically a "day of the dead" / ghosts / celebrating with skeletons kind of gal. Telgemeier makes it work. I can think of many of my readers who will love this book and want to visit the town in Northern California to visit with ghosts themselves! (Though I'm pretty sure that Bahia de la Luna is a fictional town.)

Camp Midnight

by Steven T. Seagle and Jason Adam Katzenstein
PRMS paperback 244 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, supernatural

I don't love their artwork style, but I definitely enjoyed the storyline. Skye is supposed to be spending the summer with her dad and stepmom, but they send her off to camp. Camp Midnight is bizarre and the campers . . . all have their secrets. Skye is a dramatic but realistic character and her choices over the course of the summer show her maturing but still a kid. Delightful!

Linda Dierks gifted this to me from her Scholastic Book Fair.

The Fourteenth Goldfish

by Jennifer L. Holm
Hennepin County Library audiobook 3 CDs
read by Georgette Perna
genre: children's fiction, mostly realistic with a dab of SciFi

The "dab" of SciFi is that the protagonist's grandpa has developed a way to reverse aging. His thirteen-year-old self with his seventy-six year old brain, experiences, and attitude make eleven-year-old Ellie do some growing up of her own.

From notes I jotted at stoplights:

The narrator did a great job, but her voice sounded soooo young! It was a bit disconcerting at first.

Why would Ellie's mom keep replacing her goldfish? The teacher emphasized the point of the project / lesson was to learn about death.

Short chapters / fifth grader - fits the upper elementary reader this is intended for.
Science and scientists - I love the way the grandpa piques Ellie's curiosity and gets her researching just for the sake of knowing more.

I had to laugh when grandpa got detention. His comments were funny, even though I can't remember them.

A lot of discussion material on aging, teens, families, communication . . .

Grandpa is a cranky old man, always complaining. Gee - where have I experienced this scenario?

Great Feuds in History: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever

by Colin Evans
PRMS hardcover 213 pages
genre: non-fiction history

I picked this up while helping kids research Alexander Hamilton (it didn't help for their topic, but did cover the Burr/Hamilton issue). I was intrigued and checked it out for myself. I read about the Hatfields and McCoys (one of those feuds that's legendary, but I didn't actually know anything about it). Then I read the Trotsky/Stalin chapter (especially interesting after reading Stalin's Daughter this summer). Anyhow, I have too many books to read and other things to do . . . so I'm going to return it. But it's books like this that make me want to learn more about history!

The ten chapters are:
Elizabeth I versus Mary
Parliament versus Charles I
Burr versus Hamilton
Hatfields versus McCoys
Stalin versus Trotsky
Amundsen versus Scott
Duchess of Windsor versus Queen Mother
Montgomery versus Patton
Johnson versus Kennedy
Hoover versus King

This Road We Traveled

by Jane Kirkpatrick
Hennepin County Library paperback 322 pages plus author notes
genre: Christian historical fiction, Oregon Trail

This was a "like, not love" book for me. I enjoyed discussing it with Katie and Jodi. I always love to hear other people's perspectives! Yeah for book club!

Early on, the book frustrated me with the "men tell the women what to do." I know it's historically accurate, but it bugs me. I liked that Tabby was feisty and spoke her mind, but it took me a while (almost half the book) to begin enjoying the story.

page 102 - conversation between Virgilia and Tabitha - "Ultimately we really only have the choice of trusting that God's with us, willing ourselves to walk with him as we walk this earth, learning from the roads we take." (I hope to someday have this kind of faith and wisdom.)

page 145 - Tabby talking with Judson - "'We gather facts, then listen to our hearts and live with the results.' Wasn't that the way of life? Nobody knows what lies ahead. And if they did, truth be known, they might never have started out."

page 152 - John talking to Tabby about her role in her family - "But there's an aura of wisdom in your efforts, in the way you've lived your life that acts as a beacon for them, for us all. You have a hopeful spirit." (I love that phrase - "hopeful spirit" - I would like to be seen that way.)

page 177 - Pherne talking to Tabby - "Mother, you have the ability to turn sour into sweet. I wish I had half of that imaginative stew."

page 187 - Tabby's observation while they're traveling rough ground on the alternate trail - "Her granddaughters were no longer interested in spelling bees or discovering new words or facts. Being tired and hungry sure affected a child's learning spirit." (Yep. That is so very true! Hence the biggest issue for children of poverty is getting enough food to be ABLE to learn!)

page 198 - the turning point for me. I was finally invested in the story and what happened to these characters. This is the scene where John and Tabby leave on the horses to try to catch up to the front groups who have the cattle and get help, food, something for the families and wagons that are struggling.

page 241 - the conversation between Orus and Tabby. The difficulty of mother-son relationships at times . . .

page 251 - Pherne and Virgil talking - "'Promise me you'll try to see your mother today. I know she can be a trial, but you always seem cheered after you've been with her.' Cheered? Maybe so. 'Right after I feel terrible that I'm so woeful while she who has less than anyone can be so stalwart.' She whispered then, 'I actually sometimes resent her.' He laughed. 'Envy takes its toll. But think of it this way: some of her undaunted courage rubbed off on you, Pherne Pringle.'" (I can relate to Pherne's feelings of inadequacy and frustration! I wish I could relate more to Tabby's stalwart, positive attitude!)

page 269 - Virgilia contemplating her future and her relationship with Fabritus - "Until this journey west, she hadn't thought much about what it took to support another, to keep alive, find ways to sustain a family, and perhaps one day prosper beyond what her own family had done. She couldn't help but remember their comfortable life back in Missouri where they wanted for nothing, where books could be loaned out, read and returned, and necessities and luxuries purchased off supply ships sent down the Missouri from the East." (Why on earth would anyone leave this to travel the Oregon Trail and start from scratch?!)

page 322 - the end of Tabby's note to her granddaughter Sarelia - "We must keep both our feet and wings in good repair to face the uncertain road that is our life." (Love this! The author had a lot of primary source material to write this novel based on the real-life Tabitha Moffat Brown.)

Bury Your Dead

by Louise Penny
Scott County Library audiobook 10 discs
read by Ralph Cosham
genre: detective fiction

I read about this author in the Costco Connection and decided to try one of her books. It made me think "Dad would have loved this!" many, many times.

Chief Inspector Gamache is the head of the Surete in Quebec. He is recovering from an investigation that almost took his life, and killed several of his officers. There are three story lines - what happened in the investigation that went wrong (with flashbacks of conversations with Agent Moran), the murder of Augustin Renault at the Literary and Historical Society, and Agent Beauvoir is looking back into the murder of the hermit in Three Pines.

My dad would have loved these because they are set in Quebec and highlight some of the Francophone / Anglophone tension. There are so many cultural details that would resonate for him. And he liked the old-fashioned detective mysteries. Inspector Gamache is a fantastic character - strong, but flawed and with questions. This story made me miss my dad! (not an easy feat, but time tends to dull some of the frustrations of the past)

Cosham did a wonderful job with the narration - distinguishing the many characters extremely well. Moran was particularly poignant.

Additional notes from my car (added 11.30.16 to the above from 11.27.16):
Champlain - I'm curious! Samuel Champlain - founder of Quebec - burial / body lost / HISTORY! (I am inspired to research this . . . )
Henri, the German Shepherd - love this dog!
Renault "bordered on madness" / "He was the Capitol of the state of madness!"
I also have notes marked 11.10.16 . . .
Missing my dad!?!
Crying a lot lately
midlife? premenopausal? work stress?
This was early on in listening to the book (also pre-Thanksgiving). The story was a welcome diversion during my commute!

Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories

by R.J. Palacio
Hennepin County Library hardcover 303 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

Written as a companion book to Wonder (*not* a sequel), this book explores three young people whose lives intersected with Auggie's in some way.

Julian - the "bully" of Wonder - has an interesting back story. My favorite part was the scene with his grandma and his realization of a bigger picture. Great stuff! I also marked the page when Mr. Tushman talks to the three youngsters who are going to be Auggie's welcome buddies. As he leaves the room, Jack says, "I don't know what the heck karma is and I don't know what the heck mitzvah is!" Kids are so great at agreeing even when they don't comprehend!

The second story - Pluto - is about Auggie's childhood friend Christopher. There are some really poignant moments in the midst of Christopher's carelessness, selfishness, and cluelessness. His parents are divorcing. He wants to be in the jazz band with some older boys, but doesn't want to be cruel to the irritating younger kid. My favorite moment is when he wants to go back to the hospital to give his stuffed toy to the boy with the cleft palate who's all alone.

Shingaling is the third story, told from Charlotte's perspective. There's too much girl drama and friendship stuff, but it's definitely realistic. I tagged the part that says, "Funny how all our stories kind of intertwine. Every person's story weaves in and out of someone else's story." I love that! Human experience is full of individuals' stories, but they intertwine. Palacio is a gifted storyteller.

The Fog Mound

Travels of Thelonious (book 1)
by Susan Schade & Jon Buller
PRMS hardcover 214 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, adventure

Billed as "part graphic novel, part heroic fantasy," this book is about the adventures of Thelonious (Chip)Munk . . . a clever play on words that most middle schoolers would miss. (In fact, though I've heard of Thelonius Monk and knew he was a jazz musician, I'm not sure I can think of any of his music . . . )

Thelonious gets washed away from his tree stump home in the Untamed Forest during a big storm. He ends up in the Ruined City and meets up with a sneaky lizard (Brown), a kind bookstore porcupine (Fitzgerald), and a bear who works with motors and builds a flying machine (Olive). As the four unlikely friends band together to get Olive back to her home - The Fog Mound - they barely escape the clutches of the Dragon Lady and her minions.

On their way through the secret passageway, they encounter Bill - a miniature human scientist who doesn't talk. Based on the map of the land (page 99) and the map of the Secret Underground Passage (page 100), and the fact that Olive laments accidentally leaving the maps behind, I'm guessing book two involves the Dragon Lady and her minions finding their way into the Fog Mound.

Fun, easy mix of graphic novel panels and prose. I have it shelved in graphic novels. Now that I've read it, I'll be better able to recommend it to the right readers.

The Husband's Secret

by Liane Moriarty
Hennepin County Library
Hardcover, 394 pages
AudioCD 12 discs
read by Caroline Lee
genre: realistic fiction, relationships


Cecilia Fitzpatrick

• 3 daughters - Isabel / Esther (odd, serious, loves learning) / Polly (loves secrets)
• Berlin Wall (repeated in other storylines) - Esther's book, piece from the 80s in the attic
• "the sex thing" - don't talk about it
• husband John-Paul / letter he wrote long ago
• The Biggest Loser (another repeated element in other storylines)
• SuperMom - busy, organized, efficient

Tess

• husband Will
• cousin Felicity
• son Liam 
• mom has a broken ankle
• hurt, their betrayal
• St. Angela's school . . . (another repeated element)

Rachel

• Rob (son) and Lauren (D-I-L)
• Jacob (grandson)
• moving to NYC
• emptiness, loss
• daughter Janie died as a teen 

At different points in the story, I empathized most with Tess, then Rachel, then Cecilia. I read and listened to it at so many different points over the last few weeks . . . it was originally recommended by Brooke, my hygienist. I was on the waiting list for a long time!

The epilogue tells so much more of the story! The author uses this technique at other places in the book. "If Janie had lived . . . " Intriguing. The language was often so beautiful in this story. Had I read all of it in print, I would have used lots of post-it notes! As it is, I thought often of how different the characters' lives could have been if they'd had faith in Jesus and turned to him in their times of trouble.

Random car notes:

• People who've lost someone like to hear stories / memories because there won't be any new memories . . . I love when Cecilia shares her red marching story and Janie's encouragement with Rachel.
• "There's something sinister about PE teachers." Made me laugh! I'd love to share it with my PE teacher colleagues, but it's too strange out of context.
• Rachel and grief group  - tragedy bringing out the best OR WORST in people! So true!
• Missing dead people at odd times . . . I can relate. There are times I just miss my mom and feel the tears well up.
• John Paul's mom Virginia - nasty piece of work. "A mother would do *anything* for her child."
• Faith makes such a difference! These people need Jesus. Grief, relationships, marriage, forgiveness, . . . God's got answers!
• F-bombs and taking the Lord's name in vain . . . it's a lot harder to hear these on an audiobook than to read them in text. They used Jesus' name as a swearword, sexual release expression, etc. Gave me more opportunities to pray!

Overall, an amazing book. I loved the reader's Australian accent. It made the book come alive! I'm interested in finding what else Moriarty has written.

Desert Gift

by Sally John
Hennepin County Library paperback 378 pages
genre: Christian fiction, relationships

sad
marriage expert Jillian Galloway
doctor husband

page 186 - first time I sobbed. Jill's sister Viv talking to husband Marty. "It hurts so bad." "I know, babe, I know."

page 230 - Jill's mom Daisy telling story about having Viv ten months later . . . Martian. *Agnes* makes comment and Jill's observation that her mom really loved her.

page 246-7 - Bus accident . . . Agnes dead . . . so very sad. "Jack was . . . far away."

page 324 - Letting go of garbage.

I'm blogging this on 11.8.16 from notes I wrote a few weeks ago!

Main take-aways:
This book really made me sad. It also made me want to become a woman like Agnes - firm in faith, caring about others, not shy about reaching out and speaking truth. Beautiful in her faithfulness to God.

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins
Hennepin County Library audiobook 8 CDs
read by Kim Mai Guest
genre: YA romance

This one is much more tame than the author's Lola and the Boy Next Door. Now I know which readers to booktalk which title to . . .

Anna's author dad sends her to school in Paris for her senior year. She loves neatness, film, and her best friend Bridget (back in Atlanta, GA). She doesn't speak any French and doesn't know anyone at her new school. She quickly makes friends with Meredith, Josh, Rashmi, and Etienne St. Clair.

At first, I was struck by how very young Anna seems - more like a fourteen-year-old than a seventeen-year-old. But then I thought of how often I've been uncomfortable reading about younger teens acting like much older ones . . . and it's nice to have this more innocent character.

Likes:
- details (old films, bananas and elephants, etc.)
- Paris!
- Etienne
- friendship and romance
- narrator's vocal work - superb!

Dislikes:
- repetitive whining
- pointless "pain" at imagined slights
- generally juvenile approach to relationships

More scraps of paper found in car (added 11.8.16):
Anna is painfully young and immature for a high school senior (but a nice change from an unnaturally worldly 15 y.o.) The first two chapters are vapid and irritating. The author actually uses the term "the female race" - wow. This was slow to get going. Almost boring at first.

The Boys in the Boat: The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics

by Daniel James Brown
CHS hardcover 236 pages
genre: non-fiction history

I'm glad I borrowed this from Chaska High School . . . I had tentatively thought about buying it for my collection, but with my budget in decline and not many students reading non-fiction . . . it wouldn't be a wise purchase for me.

It was, however, a wonderful book to read! This is the "young readers" edition. The story of the young men who rowed for Washington in the early 1930s (and especially the story of Joe Rantz) was captivating. The author alternated between the rowing story and Rantz' life story. Rantz' mom died when he was only three or four, he went to live with an aunt but got scarlet fever and was deathly ill, his stepmom convinced his dad to leave him to fend for himself when he was only ten, and on and on it went. His fortitude and perseverance amazed me. I loved his personal story the most. The "boys" and their strength, talent, and hard work took them to the Olympics in 1936 (Jesse Owens, Louie Zamperini, . . . ) What a great story!

I love the part on page 168 when he is looking out over Lower Manhattan and sees the Statue of Liberty. "For the first time, Joe realized that he and the boys would not just be rowing for gold. They would be rowing for a way of life, a shared set of values. Liberty was perhaps the most important of those values. But to the boys from Washington, America also stood for trust in one another, for mutual respect, for humility, and for fair play. These ideals were part of what had drawn them together as a crew."

This is a very worthwhile title and I'm so glad that the author got to meet and interview Rantz prior to his death in 2007.

Broken Soup

by Jenny Valentine

PRMS hardcover 216 pages

genre: YA realistic

Rowan (15?) / brother Jack died on holiday / little sister Stroma / mom is grief-stricken / dad is absent / Bee becomes friend / Harper drives an ambulance

I booktalked this then thought - wait a minute! The mystery starts with a negative . . . do my students even know what a photo negative is? How old is this book? Published in 2008, I guess it isn't that unusual. But I read it to see if it would still "work" with my students who are almost all Smart-phone users and social media fanatics.

Character-driven story, but I didn’t connect with characters or their struggles much. Rowan is parenting her mom and Stroma, but her attraction to Harper and new relationship with Bee don’t ring very true. Ending a non-emotional event (Harper moving on; Rowan showing her fortitude.)

Pg 81 is where title comes from – Stroma drops a breakfast tray she has made for Rowan, making a mess of food and broken glass. “I tried to make things all nice and now look at this broken soup!” I like to “find” the title in the text, but this metaphor felt forced. Rowan and Stroma are living in the mess of their mother’s grief and inability to parent them.

Pg 137 makes me sad. “We were never fooled into expecting an afterlife, life the life we got given somehow wasn’t enough. . . . “ Wow. If it weren't such a blase' book (for me, at least), it would have been super depressing. Dealing with grief AND no faith in an afterlife.

This was an easy "delete and donate" title. It has never been checked out by my students and is in beautiful shape.

Saffire

by Sigmund Brouwer
Hennepin County Library paperback 316 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction

Although I didn't like this quite as well as Brouwer's Thief of Glory, the story of the Panama Canal and political intrigue kept my attention. James Holt is an interesting character who was in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show and has Teddy Roosevelt as a friend.

Page 34 - this was funny to read as the Clinton / Trump election mess is in the news constantly. "After all, if one takes delight in observing vitriol, blatant lies, character assassination, cronyism, and corruption, then American presidential elections provide first-class entertainment - happily repeated by newspapers of all stripes." (In reference to the early 1900s, of course!)

I put a marker in page 78/79, but I'm not sure why. I really *must* get the post-it note bookmarks! It might have been the racial differences - very Jim Crow-like. Or it may have been people's response to the music in the plaza. Or . . . I really do like his writing style.

page 95 - I love when James Holt leaves his parting shot about feminism purposely to yank Amador's chain. "Waldschmidt made a sound like he was coughing on a hairball. Amador turned a stony expression toward the far wall. And Raquel gave me a warm smile with those perfectly curving lips. All told, three perfect reactions."

page 152/153 - when he shares how his dad taught him to stand up to his fears (the dogs attacking), it made me sad. Louie and I did some "tough love" parenting, but nothing like that!

page 207 - When he is talking about the technological wonders of the turn of the century - telephones, ten story buildings, Kitty Hawk, Model T, etc. . . . "And in this time of wonder, nothing was more wondrous than what was unfolding around me - the connecting of the oceans, proof that there was not much left for humans to achieve." I love that historical perspective!

page 258 - With the dying Gerald Dawson's confession, Holt is closing in on the truth! I liked the mystery element of the story a lot, even though I didn't connect all the dots very well.

Again, liked but didn't love this one. Would have enjoyed the discussion at book club, but we were in Maui!

Queen of Shadows (book 4 of Throne of Glass)

by Sarah Maas
Hennepin County Library hardcover 645 pages
genre: YA fantasy

I retain my love/hate relationship with this series. (I have book five on hold . . . ) I feel as though the author *changes* the characters from one book to another. Their motivations, feelings toward themselves and others, etc.

But I am still fascinated by the story line and am looking forward to seeing how it all ends. At one point in this story, I thought, "the evil characters and their power are too great. There's no way this can end well." Hmmm.

My favorite moments - Manon and Elide, Lysandra and Evangeline, . . . some of the unexpected parts would be spoilers, so I'll just leave it at that.

Loving Frank

by Nancy Horan
Hennepin County Library audiobook 12 discs
read by Joyce Bean
genre: adult fiction, realistic

I only listened to two discs. This wasn't working for me. The main character has an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright and is pretty obsessed with him. The rest of her life (husband, children) suffer because of it. I just didn't want to read the whole thing.

"In this groundbreaking historical novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly." Okay. I'm just not that interested. I think I was initially looking for more information about Frank Lloyd Wright after reading the book about Svetlana (Stalin's Daughter) . . . but I'll just check Wikipedia. I don't want to invest this much time in this book, no matter how fantastic it is.

Wisdom's Kiss: A Thrilling and Romantic Adventure Incorporating Magic, Villainy, and a Cat

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
narrated by Anne Flosnik and Michael Page
genre: YA fantasy fiction

Quirky little story, but it kept my interest. The narrators did a good job with the different voices for the different characters, but I liked the female much, much more. Page's "Feliss el Gato" was so obnoxious I almost stopped listening. (I "get" that the character is a self-absorbed egomaniac, but it was hard to listen to him.)

From Goodreads:
"Magic, cunning, and one very special cat join forces in this hilarious, extraordinary tale by the author of Dairy Queen and Princess Ben. An incredibly creative tale told with diaries, memoirs, encyclopedia entries, letters, biographies, even a stage play, all woven together into a grand adventure."

Fortitude / Trudy - the barmaid who can "see" things (danger, hope, the future of a sort)
Thomas / Tips - the ne'er do well kid who becomes an acrobat in the Emperor's Circus
Wisdom / Dizzy - she bugged the heck out of me. What a flighty, selfish girl.
Benevolence / Ben - my favorite character, a queen with class and smarts
Temperance / Teddy - Wisdom's sister, we don't get to know her much

Enjoyed listening to it (mostly) but wouldn't buy it for my collection. The cat / dog piece was enjoyable.

Hot Scots, Castles, and Kilts

by Tammy Swoish
PRMS (book club) paperback 201 pages
genre: YA realistic / paranormal (there's a ghost)

Sami (Samantha) Ames and mom (an author of romance novels) to to Scotland to help cousins save MacKensie Manor. Molly (like a twin to mom) and daughter Fiona (odd duck) are at odds with neighbors the McClintoggs (at least, Fiona is).

Adan McClintogg is a hottie and he takes a shine to Sami. Meanwhile, clans, feuds, ghosts, history, and Medieval living all swirl around young Sami.

Fluffy, not engaging. I'm going to try to keep my mouth shut and let the kids talk about it.

Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape

by Peggy Orenstein
Hennepin County Library hardcover 236 pages plus endnotes, index, etc.
genre: non-fiction, sexuality

Wow. This was a hard read for me. It made me glad I don't have daughters and wonder how I can make a positive difference in the face of our current culture and "norms" . . . Sigh. It also makes me reflect on my own experiences, attitudes, etc.

This was on our summer reading list, and I would recommend it to parents, counselors, and others who care about teenage girls (and boys!) and their attitudes toward their own bodies. I'm more in the "prude" camp on the issue of girls and sex.

The first part I marked was page 28 - the section on Miley Cyrus and her "twerk" at the 2013 MTV music awards. For girls to see her as a "liberated" hero-type figure makes me sad. Her hypersexualized performances seem more like bondage than liberation to me. For girls to admire her and want to emulate her . . . just makes me sad.

Page 62 - Talking about sex ed . . . she makes some interesting points here. The male anatomy seems more "accessible" somehow. "Even the more comprehensive sex education classes stick with a woman's internal parts - uteri, tubes, ovaries. Those classic diagrams of a woman's reproductive system, the ones shaped like the head of a steer, blur into a gray Y between the legs, as if the vulva and the labia, let alone the clitoris, don't exist. Imagine not clueing a twelve-year-old boy into the existence of his penis! And whereas males' puberty is characterized by ejaculation, masturbation, and the emergence of a near-unstoppable sex drive, females' is defined by . . . periods." I am curious to talk to our personal wellness teacher about this. Girls should have solid information about their own bodies.

Page 77 - "Cashing in the V Card" - wow. Do girls really see virginity as something to get rid of before they go to college? This also makes me sad.

Page 112 - Not sure why I marked this. It's been a busy week.

Page 115 - Ugh. The part on frat houses and degradation of women (and women going along with it!) made me feel physically ill.

Page 181 - More puke-worthy info on sexual assault on college campuses. The Steubenville rape (and the guys' horrid comments, shooting video of it, etc.) are truly horrifying. And people who DEFEND the rapists as "good boys who made a mistake" make me so angry! It's horrible that young women get drunk and cannot stand up for themselves, but it's even more horrible that young men take advantage of them in such hurtful ways. I cannot imagine any of my sons doing this type of thing.

Also, guys commenting that this is "hilarious" scares me. That is so beyond immoral as to seem evil.

Notes I found in my car (added 10/30/16):
pg 185 "Don't tell girls not to drink; tell rapists not to rape."
pg 196 ". . . only perpetrators are responsible for assault, but assertiveness and self-advocacy are crucial defensive skills."

I need to finish pages 201-236 . . . but I'm not going to request the book from the library yet. I'm still trying to play catchup!

Choices

by Deborah Lynn Jacobs
PRMS hardcover 189 pages
genre: YA SciFi, alternate universes


Wondered if I should put this in realistic, SciFi, paranormal . . . ? So I brought it home to read it. It was a quick read, but not especially compelling. Kathleen is a straight-laced high school senior. When her brother is killed in a car accident while coming to get her from a New Year's Eve party, she is distraught and finds herself experiencing events from different perspectives. Since it hasn't been checked out by a single student in the nine years it's been in my collection, I think I'll just remove it. Not sure if it was fun or odd that she had so many Wisconsin-specific details . . . pierogies, etc.

Sew What! Bags: 18 Pattern-Free Projects You Can Customize to Meet Your Needs

by Lexie Barnes
Hennepin County Library hardcover 151 pages (incl index)
genre: non-fiction sewing

I didn't read this cover to cover, but I love her writing style, attitude, and designs. I should put this in my Amazon cart and buy it, but I have too much going on right now. I love this book and am eager to make some Christmas gift bags using her designs. Wonderful illustrations, photos, directions!

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential within us all

by Tom Kelley and David Kelley
Hennepin County Library hardcover 256 pages plus endnotes and index
genre: non-fiction motivational

This book was so powerful, I ordered a copy off Amazon. Some of what I read in here resonates with what we're doing at PRMS. Some of it really challenges me to get out of my comfort zone and off my duff!



Stanford d school . . . K-12 education . . . could I do this?

Growth mindset is crucial. It's "a passport to new adventures."

page 54 - losing confidence in creativity as a child. This immediately made me think of a "creativity" "test" given to me in school - elementary or middle school, I don't remember - with a series of circles to draw things. Being told that I wasn't very creative (because I stayed within the circles) . . . very discouraging. Almost a turning point in my life, certainly in how I viewed myself and my abilities.


page 218 - the importance of writing ideas down right away! They can be elusive, like dreams. Jot notes and capture them.

page 220-221 My comment from earlier comes full circle! I wish I knew which teacher in Bloomington convinced me I had just failed a creativity test . . . I'd like to chew them out.

I Hunt Killers

by Barry Lyga
Hennepin County Library audiobook 8 discs
read by Charlie Thurston
genre: YA murder mystery

This book creeped me out more than I anticipated. Jasper Dent is the main character. He was raised by notorious serial killer Billy Dent, who was finally caught and sent to prison after 124(?) victims. Billy's "voice" lives in Jasper's head, as do all the grisly things the boy saw his dad do. So how does a seventeen-year-old with that kind of heritage have a normal life? He doesn't.

Early in the story, I tried to guess the identity of the new killer on the loose in Lobo's Nod(?). I thought The Impressionist was the new deputy, Erickson, or perhaps the odd doctor IDing Billy Dent's MO on television, or the creepy reporter (I almost wanted it to be him), or perhaps Fulton . . . see spoiler alert at the end of this post if you want.

Note - "constant self-recrimination gets old" / As Jasper kept questioning his own motives and potential to do evil as his father did, I got irritated. I was glad when Connie blew up at him. "Stop the pity party!" Amen, sister.

Grandma's evil words were so hard to hear, too. She was a nasty piece of work. I wish Melissa had been able to get Jasper into a different situation.

The scene about Rusty and Jasper's crying . . . that was truly horrifying. I can't believe a boy could grow up into someone as nice and normal as Jasper with that sociopath raising him. The part where Billy is talking about being precise vs accurate was downright eerie. "Dear old dad" was effective in his role!

The narrator did a fantastic job with the voices, making each person distinctive. G William was a good guy. Howie and the tattoos . . . great details, wonderful writing. (Even the self-recriminations that bugged me so much - "Her death was all my fault . . . " that added tension when Jaz was with the dying Ginny (?) Davis. I actually thought he might strangle her to bring an end to her suffering.

I probably won't read book two or three, but this one is intense and now I know what kind of reader to "talk" it to.


In my notes that I jotted, I put "Fulton? Dad grief. (red herring?) . . . yup. Not actually Fulton, whose daughter had been one of Billy's victims, but a serial killer pretending to be Fulton.

Twenty Letters to a Friend

by Svetlana Alliluyeva
Hennepin County Library hardcover 246 pages
genre: memoir

I was so curious about this book after I read Stalin's Daughter, but now it doesn't interest me. I only read the first letter about her father's death. Perhaps it's the busy-ness of the start of the school year, but I just don't feel as though I have the time to dedicate to reading this right now. I do like the fact that she was able to publish a book and express herself. I cannot imagine having lived such a strange life, with the repressiveness of the Soviet regime (that her own dad created!) and yet the privileges that came with being Stalin's daughter. Perhaps another day I will delve.

Sunny Side Up

by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
PRMS hardcover 216 pages
genre: YA graphic novel realistic fiction

I keep forgetting that the author/illustrator team are siblings and not husband and wife! I love that they took a painful part of their own past (a relative with an addiction) and turned it into an accessible story. Sunny (Sunshine) is ten years old and looking forward to a fun summer. But when her parents send her to Florida to spend the summer with her grandfather, she has an entirely different experience than she expected. Through flashbacks, we learn about events leading up to her trip, with her older brother Dale making bad choices about alcohol, friends, and drugs. This is a very well-told story with believable events and emotions shown all too clearly on Sunny's face.

The Books of Magic

by Neil Gaiman (writer)
Illustrated by John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess, Paul Johnson
Lettered by Todd Klein
Hennepin County Library hardcover 198 pages
genre: graphic novel

I was curious to read Sandman (a classic, yet I've never read it!) but it wasn't in when I checked out books so I got this. Neil Gaiman is legendary and this work has so much in it - the universe, time, magic and science . . . Yet it didn't resonate for me. I think I would have really enjoyed it as a teenager. At this point in my life, I could appreciate all that went into creating this story of a teen boy - Timothy Hunter - who is approached by four mysterious men (an unnamed man shows him the past, John Constantine introduces him to other magicians, Doctor Occult / Rose shows him the far lands (fairyland), and Mister E shows him the future).

Kill the Boy Band

by Goldy Moldavsky
Hennepin County Library hardcover 312 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

I read this in July, just found my notes yesterday (9/6/16).

Apple, Isabel, Erin, Narrator (name? not sure. She likes 80s movies, is a good girl, a writer, her dad died, and she has struggled with mental health issues)

Plus:
relevant - I know girls like this mystery / whodunit style
The narrator's use of the word "Bless" in place of swearing . . . at times.

Minus:
LOTS of F-bombs and other ugly language
girls' friendships are so fake / nasty

page 60-1: "Why Did I love the Ruperts?" . . . "Did I love them because . . . " "Did I love them because they were the only boys in my life who consistently told me I was beautiful? Probably." How many girls fall in love with singers because of this experience of feeling valued?

page 63: "The joy you find as a teen, however frivolous and dumb, is pure, and meaningful. It doesn't matter that it might ferment and taste different when you're older. That's the whole point of being a teenager - not worrying about the future."

page 152: Narrator: "You're the one who always said boy bands have a shelf life of two to four years." Erin: "That's my entire teenage life!" I think it can be hard for teens to put things in perspective when they feel so passionately but don't have enough life experience.

page 157 "Those girls outside the hotel could overthrow governments with their passion! They have the potential to do so much more." Erin says this (as she's tearing down her "best" friend.)

What is "stan" and "stanning"? I'll have to look this up. stan
is an avid fan and supporter of a celebrity, franchise, film, or group, often a rock/pop musician.>
page 194 "It made me long for grown-ups in a way I thought I'd grown out of. I wanted an adult to swoop in and help us, take care of everything, clean up our mess and tell us it would be okay."

This book had too breezy a tone for me when it was dealing with obsessions, murder, and back-stabbing friends. It just did not work for this reader.

Carry On

by Rainbow Rowell
Hennepin County Library hardcover 517 pages
genre: YA fantasy, relationships

I read this in July, just found my notes yesterday (9/6/16). 

Makes me curious to read her Fangirl book. Not what I expected. Very similar to Harry Potter at the start, but I don't think it would appeal to my typical fantasy readers.

The mystery and relationships (Simon Snow, Baz, Penelope, Agatha, the Mage, Ebb, etc.) were engaging. The magic and words / spells connections were interesting.

I liked it a lot, but am worried about my slim budget! I definitely got drawn in to the story.

Dumplin': Go Big or Go Home

by Julie Murphy
Hennepin County Library hardcover 371 pages
genre: YA realistic

Read this in July and made notes. Just found notes yesterday . . .

Plus:
interesting characters (Mitch - sweet, Millie, Bo, Hannah (angry girl) . . . )
Willowdean's connection to Aunt Lucy
Texas stuff - football, pageants . . .
drag queen show / humor
W & E re-friending page 338-9 and *talking* to one another again

Minus:
Willowdean's confidence vs. fear, her treatment of El (Best Friend!), Mitch, mom . . .
page 124 - she has a hot guy totally into her and THAT makes her body-conscious?!
Too much teen angst / I don't really "get" her message about self-esteem and empowerment

Dolly Parton stuff - fun

This just didn't really work for me, but it was okay. I'm trying to think of readers who would enjoy it . . . not sure it would get read much.

The Nameless City

by Faith Erin Hicks
PRMS paperback 232 pages
genre: YA fiction graphic novel

I love this!

Wonderful story of Kaidu (Dao boy warrior) and street girl Rat. It's a Nameless City because each conqueror gives it a new name and none of the names are meaningful to the people who live there. Joah, the monk, cares for Rat. There action, friendship, dilemmas, and the wonderful artwork Hicks continues to produce. I can hardly wait for the next book!

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

by Sarah Maas
Hennepin County Library paperback 418 pages
genre: YA fantasy

I don't like reading series books out of order! When I read book one in this series, I wasn't super impressed. Then last summer, book three was on a reading list . . . or part of the YAC program . . . or something. So I read book three. Again, I didn't love it, but definitely got drawn into the story. I will have to read book four to find out what happens! (With my luck, it's going to be a ten book series . . . )

I'm not sure why I *still* don't totally love the protagonist, a kick-butt heroine who happens to be an assassin. It is because I'm not sure how to pronounce her name? ("Celaena" . . . "Selena"?) I definitely get drawn into the stories. I put on the car light so I could keep reading on our way up to the lake!

I'm glad that it filled in my gap of what happened with Nehemia, Chaol, Dorian, Asher, and even Sam (I barely remember book one at all.). I have book four on hold at the library!

There Is a Tribe of Kids

by Lane Smith
Hennepin County Library hardcover picturebook
genre: children's fiction

I think I got this because I saw a mention of collective nouns. There is so much more going on here than that! The text and artwork are beautifully woven into the story of a boy who travels through different groups until he joins the tribe of kids. Lane Smith is so gifted!

A Unicorn Named Sparkle

by Amy Young
Hennepin County Library hardcover picturebook
genre: children's fiction

Lucy sends for a unicorn for only 25 cents, but when Sparkle is delivered, he's not at all what she envisioned.
Fanciful, adorable, also recommended in the Wild Rumpus newsletter.

Wolf Camp

by Andrea Zuill
Hennepin County Library picture book hardcover
genre: children's book

This was so cute! Three dogs go to Wolf Camp and learn about being wolves. I want to buy this for my school . . . It was listed in a Wild Rumpus book list of recommended titles. Glad I picked it up!

The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius

by Kristine Barnett
Hennepin County Library audiobook 9 discs
read by Kathe Mazur
genre: non-fiction, parenting, autism

I loved this and wish I had the time and energy to blog it well. Comments I made while listening:

- focus on gifts and strengths rather than on weak areas to be improved
- "I'm so far out of my comfort zone, I can't even see it from here."
- The reader, Mazur, was fabulous! At the end of the audiobook, there was an interview with Kristine Barnett. Holy cow! She has a really irritating voice.

His amazing brilliance (taking college classes as a nine-year-old, having an IQ over 170, etc.) was fascinating to read about. But more powerful were his mom's observations of her beautiful son becoming withdrawn and uncommunicative, then having therapies constantly until she pulled him from the system and began homeschooling him. With her unorthodox approach and lots of love, Jacob transformed into a wunderkind.

His autism and what she experienced with him led her to begin "Little Lights" and a Youth Sports for Autism. Actually, it was somewhat overwhelming to read about all the things this woman did while raising three sons . . . she's like superwoman!

The Prodigal

by Brennan Manning and Greg Garrett
Hennepin County Library paperback 282 pages
genre: Christian fiction, relationships

When I first saw "A Ragamuffin Story" below the title, I thought, "I've heard of that but never read it." Not to worry - this works as a standalone title.

Jack Chisholm has built a mega-church on the credo "we have got to do better." When he has a fall from grace, he loses his job, his family, and his status overnight. Estranged from his father for the past decade, Jack finds himself back at his dad's house to pick up the pieces of his life.

Page 127 - "Funny, he and Grace Cathedral had done good things for people on the other side of the world. A lot of good things. For a lot of needy people. But he couldn't remember the last time he'd done a good thing for someone standing right in front of him." This made me think of my mom and how she disliked Mother Teresa - because people would send money and "take care" of their obligations to do good without actually changing anything in their own comfortable lives.

Page 149 - "Jack had always been a nervous flyer, couldn't talk until after they'd taken off and clearly weren't going to crash back to earth. A part of him could never quite believe that something so big could take to the air." This made me think of Jamie (and myself a little!) and the fear of flying.

Page 203 - This was the best scene in the book! When Bill, his former friend who was furious with him and his selfishness, offered him communion with tears in his eyes. Yes!

Page 281 - Wait! What? The conclusion to the story came so quickly that I thought I'd missed a few pages . . . .  the author apparently doesn't believe in denouement.

Overall, I liked it but didn't love it to the moon and back. It'll be fun to discuss it with my book club tonight! I love those women and am always interested in their perspectives and opinions.

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

by Steve Sheinkin
Hennepin County Library hardcover 324 pages + notes, biblio, etc.
genre: non-fiction history

This was interesting in that it pulled together bits and pieces of what I knew about the Vietnam War, Watergate, etc. and made it much more clear in my mind. I wish I'd paid attention in history classes back in the 80s! It was not as interesting as I expected it to be, based on our discussion at Litwits earlier in August. Still, I'm glad I read it.

I love the part when Senator Mike Gravel  "called a special session of his Sub-committee on Buildings and Grounds - just about the least prestigious subcommittee in the Senate. He opened the session with a crack of his gavel at nine forty-five. He was the only senator in the room." He started reading the Pentagon Papers, with a stenographer taking it down. The description of this event, particularly when Gravel wept at "reading a graphic description of combat wounds suffered by American soldiers." At the end of his session, "Senator Gravel asked for the unanimous consent of all sub-committee members to insert the rest of the Pentagon Papers into the public record. There were no objections."

The book raises questions about the balance between "state secrets" and the peoples' "right to know." The court cases raised questions about free speech, the press, and so much more. I'm glad Daniel Ellsberg didn't go to prison for what he did. Now I feel as though I should probably read more about Snowden and what he did . . .

Tiltawhirl John

by Gary Paulsen
PRMS discard hardcover 127 pages
genre: YA realistic

The first part of this story reads like a less-entertaining version of Paulsen's The Beet Fields. The rest is about the main character's experience working with the carnival. It's a pretty standard coming-of-age story, but definitely not one of Paulsen's better told stories. I'm okay with removing it from my collection and donating it to Better World Books.

Seriously . . . I'm Kidding

by Ellen DeGeneres
Hennepin County Library audiobook 3 discs
read by the author
genre: humor

Okay, I like Ellen DeGeneres. Her show is fun to watch and she's amazingly talented. This audiobook, however, was disappointing. The short chapters (50+ on three discs) were silly and most of them more irritating than amusing.
I like her emphasis on being kind - that's a wonderful part of her appeal. It was very interesting to hear about her stint on American Idol and how hard it was to judge people's performing. She is a very nurturing, encouraging person.
Chapter 29 was noises for the audiobook listeners . . . and incredibly obnoxious. There were definitely some amusing parts, and twice I laughed, but this just lacked the substance of her TV show hosting.

Creative Schools

by Ken Robinson
Hennepin County Library hardcover 257 pages
genre: non-fiction

I didn't get this done before I needed to get it back to the library. A bunch of people in Litwits told me to just watch his TED Talk - it's better and takes less time. Okay, then. Here's the link to his talk "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

I don't have time to watch it now, but I need to. This is too important to ignore. My school is already focusing on things that are more important than compliance. How do we foster creativity in our students? 

Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian

(With Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families, and Teachers)
by John Elder Robison
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction

This was very interesting! I took quick notes as I was driving in the car.

• Billy the Kid (documentary) - about an Aspergers kid. I'd love to watch this, but probably won't find it and/or the time. 
• He talks about three types of humans - Aspergians, proto-Aspergians, and "Nypicals" (neuro-typical). Most people are "nypicals" - what some would call "normal," though he emphasizes that these different types just use their brains differently.
• What was "weird" as a ten year old has helped him to become a successful adult. He shares how he got from weird kid to successful adult.
• Find your strengths! He emphasizes "positive attitudes translate to positive results."
• rituals / habits / behaviors - what are norms? who decides?
• manners, like "please" and "thank you" make things smoother / he makes a funny comment about how matters are important, but not at sporting events, where they just don't matter
• He gave advice at the end and emphasized again - finding your strengths and interests. "Greatness happens when you find your unique strengths and build upon them." / Environment matters / Resolve / Focus / Find Real-World Applications / Work Hard.
• Identify and improve your weaknesses if they're holding you back, but focus on your unique strengths!
• I like how he identified the differences between Aspergers and the rest of the autism spectrum disorder . . . language skills.
• Oh. My. Word. I listened to the very end, through the acknowledgements and he gave some credit to his brother Augusten Burroughs! They are brothers?!?! When I read Running with Scissors, I was horrified at Burroughs' life. They are brothers?!

This book is amazing and I wish I could buy it for PRMS. I think his insights and personal experience with Aspergers is valuable.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness
Hennepin County Library hardcover 317 pages
genre: YA realistic / fantasy

This was weird. Just really weird. Some normal kids dealing with teen stuff - OCD, eating disorder, friendships, romance, family, graduation, etc. And then there were the indie kids getting killed, the blue lights shining out of possessed people's and animals' eyes, a dead deer becoming a zombie deer, etc.

I actually got into the story after a while and enjoyed aspects of it, but it's definitely for older teens and a unique kind of reader.

Sacred Heart

by Liz Suburbia
Hennepin County Library paperback 309 pages
genre: YA / teen graphic novel dystopian

I didn't love the art style, but that didn't bother me too much. (I don't like Backderf's style, either, but can appreciate his storytelling.) This story had lots of partying, crude graffiti, sex, and random murders . . . but no police, no parents, and no clear sense of what this horrible society of teens and kids was all about.

Ben (a girl, but that's not apparent at first) is best friends with Otto. Otto is the only one who knows Ben's real first name . . . and since it was my favorite "reveal" of the story, I won't include it here. Ben's sister is named Empathy, an interesting choice. I'd love to talk with someone else who read it to see what I missed in understanding it.

The "gotcha" at the end helped, but was too little too late for this reader. With full-frontal nudity, I wouldn't buy this for my middle school anyhow. I hope Suburbia continues to create and to hone her storytelling and art style.

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy

by L.A. Meyer
Hennepin County Library audiobook 6 discs
read by Katherine Kellgren
genre: YA historical adventure fiction

Loved this! Kellgren's vocal work was fantastic, but I almost wished I'd had the print version at home to finish more quickly. A student had raved about this series last year and now that I've read it, I can see why! I want to keep reading the series, but will probably not have time.

The story opens with Mary being orphaned and joining a street gang of kids who beg to survive. The adventure (and some suspense) just keep the story rolling along. What a strong female protagonist. Love it!

I wrote the above on 8.13.2016. Louie and I listened to this audiobook on our trip to the lake last weekend. Today is 9.7.2017 and I just wanted to add that I liked it better the first time . . . but I definitely want to read the next book in the series. I can't believe she'll just go to boarding school in Boston . . .

Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva

by Rosemary Sullivan
Hennepin County Library audiobook 16 discs
(print version has photos and 623 pages plus bib, index, notes, etc.)
read by Karen Cass
genre: non-fiction biography

Wow! So glad I listened to this on audiobook. Cass' voice was perfect once I got used to the British accent. Her pronunciation of Russian names leads me to believe she's fluent in the language.

Notes from listening in the car:

• abortion as a form of birth control - how incredibly sad!
• Stalin as dictator / the csars before / Pultin now . . . cult of personality
• people and place names - confusing - what's a dacha(?) / I looked it up - like a summer house
• arrests, torture, imprisonment, death by firing squad, fear, talk, forced confessions, . . . horrible. I can't imagine living in this environment.
• Stalin's death . . . everyone too frightened to call a doctor. Wow.
• Laventiy Beria - never heard of him before. What power over people's lives!
• after Stalin's death, people either worshiped or reviled him (and Svetlana)
• Olgivanna Wright - what a psycho! Taliesin - now I need to read more about Frank Lloyd Wright and this crazy place.
• 20 Letters to a Friend by Svetlana - I am interested in reading this.
• Olga - interesting to look up pictures of Svetlana's daughter! (Stalin's granddaughter is a tattooed biker chick in Seattle!)

Overall, I was fascinated by this history lesson. I believe the author researched extensively. Others in Litwits thought it was too long, too detailed, and had too much of Svetlana being a crazy woman . . . but I think she was in such a unique position in history. Yes, she was an odd duck - part Russian princess, part defiant rebel, part ??? I'm glad I "read" this, and I like that it piqued my curiosity on many levels.

The Great American Whatever

by Tim Federle
Hennepin County Library hardcover 274 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction, LGBTQ

I liked this better than his "Better Nate Than Ever" because it's more accessible to kids, I think. Overall, it seems to be more about grief and loss than anything else, but has loads of romance, film references, and typical coming-of-age content.

Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old boy who hasn't yet come out (though those closest to him all know it already). His beloved older sister (and film-making partner) Annabeth died in a car crash just before Christmas break and Quinn hasn't been back to school in the six months since the accident.

Best friend Geoff, Geoff's sister Carly, and Carly's friend Amir help Quinn find his way out of the grief over the course of this very well-written and engaging book. The Ricky Devlin part was a bit much, but overall this was a good read.

Caveat: swearing, alcohol, sex . . . the "usual" teen content make this more for high school than middle school.

I actually put a post-it note on a page. Just like in Silver Linings Playbook, this book refers to "Native Pittsburghers" and the dialect. He writes "If you don't know anyone from Pittsburgh, look it up on YouTube." So I had to . . .

Brown Girl Dreaming

by Jacqueline Woodson
Hennepin County Library audiobook 4 discs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction memoir

I had seen positive reviews, but absolutely luxuriated in the author's memories and love of language. Her prose poetry takes us to the places she grew up. I feel as though I've spent time with her grandpa - "Daddy" she calls him, as her own mother does. Her love of words and writing (and the people who either inspired her or shot her down) are fully come to fruition in her adult life. I enjoyed her writing before reading this, and now I love it even more!

This would be good to use alongside All-American Boys and How It Went Down to help students understand why "Black Lives Matter" is such a big thing right now. How sad that little has changed since the Black Panther Movement, in terms of truly equal rights and fair treatment of all people.

The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice

by Alex Kershaw
Hennepin County Library hardcover 238 pages
genre: Non-fiction WWII history

This was so very sad, as all war books are. The copyright is 2003, so I'm not quite sure how it got on our Litwits list . . . but it was well-written and worthwhile, albeit more than a decade old.

Already on page 50, as the young Americans were heading to Europe, they saw horrors. The ship they were on (Queen Mary) rammed an escort ship (Curacoa) accidentally and "only 101 men from the Curacoa's crew of 439 were saved." How awful! Even with the information they had and being able to SEE the other ship, they couldn't avoid cutting it in half and continuing on themselves? Ugh. "Seventeen-year-old private Bob Sales of Company B had gone on deck to get some air. He couldn't understand why the Mary did not stop to pick up survivors." "'You're crazy as hell, man,' a soldier told him. 'The Mary, sitting still in the water - a German submarine could blow [us] off the face of the earth.'" Later the author notes "With their own eyes they had now seen how expendable men were in war."

It also makes me sad that in the 1940s, race problems were so awful (and on into the 1960s and nowadays . . . ). After mentioning what the soldiers read in Stars and Stripes, including the zoot suit riots, he notes that "In Detroit that June, where 300,000 whites and blacks had migrated to work in war factories, thirty-five people were killed, 600 wounded, and thousands jailed in two days of rioting."

New factoid for me: "Run by an ultra-secret intelligence committee, 'The Twenty Committee' (so-named after the Roman numerals XX - double cross), Operation Fortitude was arguably the most successful of all preparations for Overlord." I kind of like the clever wordplay, although I dislike the war strategies and the killing.

As far as WHY this young group of soldiers was chosen to be in the first wave, I don't want to think too hard. "Their lack of combat experience actually increased their confidence, some historians have argued. It was to the Allies' advantage that so many men had not seen combat; young men who have seen the horror of war are far less likely to rush headlong towards it. Naivete can perhaps be a powerful weapon." Reading this as a pacifist and a mom, I'm so sad for their relative innocence and their short young lives. I vividly remember watching Saving Private Ryan and being completely tense during the first twenty minutes, thinking "I'm watching this on a SCREEN in my LIVING ROOM! How did those young men DO this?" I know, I know. It's not like they could climb back onto the landing vehicle and say, "guess not. This is just too awful."

There's a paragraph on page 119 that actually made me laugh (amid all the depressing fighting and dying). I don't want to include it here, but the line, "made the most of an opportunity that Englishmen have sought since 1776" capped it for me.

Page 178 - "Stevens returned to his foxhole where he sat and prayed. 'I had come back,' he recalled, 'just like Jesus had said.' There and then I made  a deal with God. 'If you let me get back home,' I asked him, 'I'll be your servant.'" Roy Stevens was one of only six guys from Bedford who landed on D-Day and survived. Twenty-two others were killed in the Normandy campaign (19 right away in the first wave).

Very well-researched (lots of interviews and other primary source material) and written. Just a really sad book.