Novel – Page 69 – Unleashing Readers

Winger by Andrew Smith (Kellee’s Review)

August 13, 2014 by Kellee

Winger
Author: Andrew Smith
Published May 14th, 2013 by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Summary: Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

My Review: Andrew Smith sure knows how to write a teenage boy’s voice. He gets inside of adolescent male’s mind, and puts it all on paper for us. (It probably has something to do with teaching high school.) Ryan Dean’s voice and his story are so authentic. This book will make you cringe, laugh out loud, shake your head, and cry. I am also so impressed with all of the themes that are dealt with in this book without ever feeling over done. These themes include bullying, absent parents, peer pressure, identity, sexuality, prejudice, and friendship. In addition, Smith builds his characters, setting, and plot seamlessly. You fall in love with all of the characters, main and secondary. Even the antagonist. The setting itself is a character. And finally the plot arc was perfectly done, and was so unpredictable all the way to the end.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: First and foremost, this book needs to read by teens. However that happens, it is the right thing. The easiest way would be to get it into libraries and classrooms. There are also parts of the book that could definitely be pulled out to be used in the classroom in may different ways. On that junps to mind right away is using Ryan Dean’s comics as mentor texts for writing comics to write narratives of everyday events. Ricki also has some great ideas for Winger in the classroom in her review.

Discussion Questions: What kind of social challenges does Ryan Dean have to overcome since he is 14 but a junior?; Were you able to predict the end of the book?; What are some traits about Ryan Dean that made him easy to connect to?; How does Opportunity Hall and the rest of the school become a character in Winger?

We Flagged:

(p. 21)

Read This If You Loved: Looking for Alaska by John Green, Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Recommended For:

Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott

August 31, 2014August 8, 2014 by Kellee

Jumped In
Author: Patrick Flores-Scott
Published August 27, 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.

Goodreads Summary: Sam has the rules of slackerhood down: Don’t be late to class. Don’t ever look the teacher in the eye. Develop your blank stare. Since his mom left, he has become an expert in the art of slacking, especially since no one at his new school gets his intense passion for the music of the Pacific Northwest—Nirvana, Hole, Sleater-Kinney. Then his English teacher begins a slam poetry unit and Sam gets paired up with the daunting, scarred, clearly-a-gang-member Luis, who happens to sit next to him in every one of his classes. Slacking is no longer an option—Luis will destroy him. Told in Sam’s raw voice and interspersed with vivid poems, Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott is a stunning debut novel about differences, friendship, loss, and the power of words

My Review: This book is about depression, friendship, poetry, music, loyalty, teachers, and family.. It is amazing that through Sam’s interactions with Luis and introduction to poetry, he goes from trying to be invisible on purpose to having a whole different view of his surroundings. Luis changes how he sees the world because Luis ends up being everything he thought he wasn’t.

This book surprised me. I didn’t know what it was about when I started, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. At first Sam seems to just be a slacker that is hard to connect with, and I thought it was going to be similar to many other books with a bully that I’ve read. But it ended up being like Luis was to Sam–everything I thought it wasn’t going to be, and it was so unpredictable. From page 1, the author had me. The images just jumped out at me. And that was just the beginning of me being thoroughly impressed with the book. Both of the voices in this book resonated with me for a long time after (As much as I end up liking Sam in this book, I think Luis may be one of my favorite characters ever. He has a beautiful voice, and I felt privileged to meet him.). It was one of those books that I had to let marinate before I could pick up another one because it was still banging around inside of my head (and I couldn’t stop hearing Sam and Luis’s voices).

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This is a poetry-friendly book. First, although Sam is telling the story, throughout Luis’s voice is shared through his poetry. Beautiful poetry. Also, one of the main settings of the book is an English classroom with a pretty awesome English teacher talking about poetry. There are even examples of poems that she asks her students to write such as diamantes and nonets. All of her poetry unit (and writing process) activities would be perfect to use in the classroom.

Discussion Questions: Was there ever someone you judged by looking at them, but later learned that they were not what you thought?; Have you ever just tried to be invisible? Why?; Do you ever have “brain movies” like Sam when your brain just won’t stop thinking?; How does Luis’s friendship change Sam?; How is Luis different than what Sam assumed he would be?; How does Gilbert affect Sam?

We Flagged: “I pull away from everyone, and after a while, I pretty much quit talking altogether. It’s been two years. I’m a sophmore. I shouldn’t still be stuck like this. But the pit I’ve dug for myself feels so deep, I can’t climb out of it. I want to. I want to climb out and join the world. But I can’t. I don’t know how.” (Sam, p. 32)

“Callado

I’m Callado
Still waters, aguas quietas

But in school you have to speak
To be seen as running deep

To be thought of as more than
The tragic mask
I wear to put you off
I don’t know why, so don’t ask

Someday I’ll scrap the mask
I’ll let loose my new, crazy words
I’ll speak my piece
Without ceasing till you’ve learned…

That I’m as deep
As Everest is voluminous

I’m as thoughtful
As the sun is luminous

As lucid
As Casanova is amorous

As passionate
As a grizzly is carnivorous…” (Luis, p. 51)

Read This If You Loved: Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, Reality Boy by A.S. King, Wine Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin

Recommended For:

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

October 12, 2015July 24, 2014 by Ricki

I Kill the Mockingbird
Author: Paul Acampora
Published: May 20, 2014 by Roaring Brook Press

Summary: When Lucy, Elena, and Michael receive their summer reading list, they are excited to see To Kill A Mockingbird included. But not everyone in their class shares the same enthusiasm. So they hatch a plot to get the entire town talking about the well-known Harper Lee classic. They plan controversial ways to get people to read the book, including re-shelving copies of the book in bookstores so that people think they are missing and starting a website committed to “destroying the mockingbird.” Their efforts are successful when all of the hullabaloo starts to direct more people to the book. But soon, their exploits start to spin out of control and they unwittingly start a mini revolution in the name of books.

Review: Who doesn’t love a book about kids making mischief? The very premise of this book is exciting and clever: three intelligent students are frustrated that their peers don’t do the summer reading, so they decide to concoct a censorship conspiracy. The idea is brilliant, and it shows young readers that they have the power to make big changes in the world. English teachers will love this book because it inspires students to want to be more well-read. (And there are a plethora of allusions that were simply fantastic.) I enjoyed this book because it reminded me how much I love reading.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This would be a great literature circle text, or it would bridge nicely with To Kill a Mockingbird. If I taught this text in my class, I would have my students devise a conspiracy, employ it in our school, and write responses about its results. I imagine this would be great fun. Also, it would be neat for students to create a chart of all of the books that are referenced. This might inspire them to try to tackle some of the great texts that are mentioned.

Discussion Questions: How are each of the three students characterized? What do each of them add to the friendship? To the conspiracy?; What is Lucy’s relationship with her mom? How does this add to the story?; Do you think the three students broke any rules? Do you think what they did was wrong?

We Flagged:

“‘We’re going to be like terrorists,’ he says.

‘We are not terrorists,’ I tell him. ‘We’re more like literary saboteurs'” (Chapter 8).

Read This If You Loved: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora; Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Recommended For:

Schneider Family Book Award 10th Anniversary: Celebrating Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby with Author Interview and Giveaway

August 2, 2015July 18, 2014 by Kellee

The Schneider Family Book Award is celebrating its tenth anniversary! Since 2004, the Schneider award has focused on highlighting the best pieces of literature that “embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.” An author or illustrator can be honored and there are teen, middle school, and children’s awards. One of my favorite books, Hurt Go Happy won in 2008, and I am so excited to share it with you today to help celebrate the award’s anniversary.

I know that many teachers have gotten away from class novels over the years and lean more towards books of choice all year long with some read alouds along the way. Although I mostly believe in this as well, there was are a couple of novels keeping me from completely abandoning a class novel, specifically Hurt Go Happy. This is one of the those books that I finished reading, and I knew right away that I had to share it with anyone who would listen. Luckily, each year I have a bunch of middle schoolers that will listen, so I started reading this novel yearly with them.

Goodreads Summary: Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis is used to being left out of conversations. Though she’s been deaf since the age of six, Joey’s mother has never allowed her to learn sign language. She strains to read the lips of those around her, but often fails.

Everything changes when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, Sukari. Her new friends use sign language to communicate, and Joey secretly begins to learn to sign. Spending time with Charlie and Sukari, Joey has never been happier. She even starts making friends at school for the first time. But as Joey’s world blooms with possibilities, Charlie’s and Sukari’s choices begin to narrow–until Sukari’s very survival is in doubt.

Why is this novel so important? One of the things I think is so important during the middle school years is to talk about empathy and caring for others. We read The Lorax to talk about caring for the earth, we read Each Kindness to talk about treating each other with kindness, we read The Dot to discuss open mindness, we read Endangered to build our world view, and we read Hurt Go Happy to talk about empathy for animals, children, and for people with disabilities.

Hurt Go Happy truly pushes my students to think more about how their actions effect everyone around them. The book truly puts them in Joey’s shoes and Joey goes through so much in this book. Through our reading of this book, we grow even closer as a community of readers. While reading we discuss deafness, sign language, chimpanzees, abuse, research facilities, animal abuse, wild animals as pets, survival, parents, school, death, fear, and their future. The conversations get so deep. Much deeper than you would ever expect from middle school students.

Why did was this novel honored by Schneider? Not once in this book do you think Joey is incompetent because of her disability. Although her mother may try to keep her from growing, she has learned how to survive and succeed in the world she lives in. Joey may seem like a normal kid, but she is more than that. She has learned to live in a world with no sound without really, truly being able to communicate. Then when ASL is introduced into Joey’s life, you begin to learn how intricate of a language ASL is, and the reader begins to build even more respect for the deaf.

In My Classroom: This book gives me opportunities to work with setting, characterization, cause/effect, prediction, compare/contrast, sequence, and analogies. I try to avoid making the analysis of the book tedious, so throughout we discuss the story as needed and make predictions. We also complete Thinking Maps (a type of graphic organizer) looking at the characterization, plot development, and specific events throughout the book. I found that stopping sometimes and having these discussions helped ensure my students are comprehending and thinking about everything that is going on. Since Hurt Go Happy deals with some tough subjects, and subjects many of the students have never even thought about, it is important to talk about them. We also discuss our essential questions throughout: “Do you think animal testing is necessary? Defend your answer.” and “How would being deaf affect your life? How does it affect Joey’s?” Both which lead to some debate and, once again, deep discussions.

Following the reading of the novel, my students are lucky enough to be able to take part in an interview with the author of Hurt Go Happy, Ginny Rorby. The students generate the questions, vote on which ones to ask and even ask her the questions. Ginny even allows us to send her extra questions and answers them for my students. Often times, this is the first author my students have ever interacted with, so this becomes a very special moment for them. Ginny was actually able to come visit my school once as well. See how amazing an experience that was here.

The part that really makes students connect to the novel is the field trip that we go on. At the end of the book, the setting changes to a rehab facility called The Center for Great Apes (@CFGA) which, while in the book was in Miami, has moved to Wauchula, FL which is 90 minutes from my school. In the book, you even meet Noelle, a chimp who knows sign language, Kenya, another chimpanzee, and Christopher, an orangutan, who are actually at the center. It is an amazing experience to take the story and turn it into reality.

Hurt Go Happy is a book that I feel not only bring our class together but teaches my students some of the most important lessons for life: to care about every living thing.

Thoughts from the author: I am lucky enough to call Ginny Rorby a friend. We met at a signing at a Barnes and Noble here in Orlando, stayed in touch through me teaching her book, and soon moved to friends. She is an amazing person, and such a talented author. Today I am happy to share with you Ginny’s thoughts about winning the Schneider.

Unleashing Readers: What’s your best memory from winning a Schneider Family Book Award?

Ginny Rorby: That was my first national award, (and so far only) and for a book I spent 18 years working on. When the call came I hope I didn’t say, ‘you’re kidding’ but I conveniently can’t recall. I do clearly remember tears welling, my voice cracking, and the lovely women on the other end of the call saying, ‘Ohhhh.’

UR: What did winning a Schneider Family Book Award mean to you?

GR: For the first time in my then two-book career I could legitimately be referred to as an award winning author. There was a ten year gap between the publication of my first novel, Dolphin Sky, and Hurt Go Happy. The Schneider Family Book Award made me feel credible, and literally gave me the courage to keep at it.

UR: If Joey was alive, how do you think she would respond to knowing her story was honored?

GR: As long as kids are still reading Hurt Go Happy, Joey is alive. But if we could ask her, I think she’d say it wasn’t just her story. It was Sukari’s, too. She’d be happy to know that well over a hundred thousand kids have had the opportunity to rethink our treatment of animals, and each other. She’s glad for that.

UR: Why did you decide to make Joey deaf, and what did you do to prepare writing a story about her?

GR: Hurt Go Happy is about how closely related child abuse is to animal abuse. For Joey to soar above her disablity, she had to be tougher than the world around her. Her love for Sukari gave her the strength to reach her full potential. In essence, Joey and Sukari rescued each other.

I went back to college when I was 33. If I’d known that it would take me 8 years to finish, I might never have started. To educate myself enough to write a believable deaf character was a lot like that. I began by taking ASL classes followed by reading everything I could find written about being deaf and raising a deaf child. I watched every movie with a deaf character. It took years longer than I would have ever dreamed. Worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Probably not. But then again, my love for Joey and Sukari gave me the strength to reach my full potential, too.

UR: Anything you’d like to say about the Schneider Family Book Award on its 10th anniversary?

GR: I truly believe that HGH is still being read and taught in schools across the country because of that award. It was an honor to receive, and I’m forever grateful. The beautifully framed award is hanging on my book case. Whenever I feel like I can’t write one more real emotion, I’m free to glance at it and remember that I did and I still can.

UR: Thank you Ginny for taking part in this celebration of the Schneider award and Hurt Go Happy!

Giveaway: To help celebrate this special anniversary, one person can win a set of all 3 Schneider Family Book Award Winners from 2014. Participants must be 13 years or older and have a US or Canadian mailing address.

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Blog Tour: Check out all of the links of the Schneider Family Book Award 10th Anniversary Blog Tour & Giveaway

July 6, 2014 Nerdy Book Club http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/

July 6, 2014 Kid Lit Frenzy http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/

July 7, 2014 Nonfiction Detectives http://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/

July 9, 2014 Teach Mentor Texts http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

July 10, 2014 There’s a Book For That http://thereisabookforthat.com/

July 11, 2014 Kathie Comments http://kathiecomments.wordpress.com/

July 12, 2014 Disability in Kidlit http://disabilityinkidlit.wordpress.com/

July 14, 2014 Librarian in Cute Shoes http://librarianincuteshoes.blogspot.com/

July 15, 2014 The Late Bloomer’s Book Blog http://thelatebloomersbookblog.blogspot.com/

July 16, 2014 Read, Write, and Reflect http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/

July 17, 2014 Read Now Sleep Later http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/

July 18, 2014 Unleashing Readers http://www.unleashingreaders.com/

July 19, 2014 Great Kid Books http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/

July 20, 2014 Maria’s Mélange http://www.mariaselke.com/

Happy anniversary Schneider!
Keep honoring such amazing books as this one!

**Some of this information was post previously in my Hurt Go Happy review. View it here to see additional information.**

Blog Tour and Author Guest Post!: Five Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing by Rosie Somers, author of Because I’m Disposable

August 8, 2014July 17, 2014 by Kellee

Because I’m Disposable
Author: Rosie Somers
Published July 9th, 2014 by Smashwords Edition

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Callista Tanner was in the bathroom slitting her wrists the night her father took a fatal plunge down the stairs. People around her think she attempted suicide because she found him dead — or worse, because she had a guilty conscience. Few know the truth; Michael Tanner had been beating her for years.

The freedom that should have come with her father’s death becomes a cage of rumors and self-doubt. Callie seeks escape in the most destructive ways, bringing her emotional scars to the surface for the world to see.

One bright spot exists in Callie’s dark world.

Lincoln Devaux refuses to let Callie sink fully into the depths of her own depression, stepping into her life when she needs someone the most. She tries to push him away, but Link is determined to save Callie from herself. Even when she doesn’t think she’s worth saving.

Learn more: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, iBooks

Book Trailer:

Five Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing

1. Gird Your Loins

I started writing, seriously writing when I was eighteen. I’d always played around with storytelling, written poetry, short stories, etc. But once I got it into my head that I was going to write a novel, I immediately became convinced that I was going to become the next big thing. Overnight. Yeah, I was that author. But the hard truth is that agents and editors receive outrageous amounts of queries every day, and only a fraction of those meet what the agent/editor is looking for. Rejections are a part of writing, and no matter how nice the sender is, that rejection is probably going to hurt. Do what you have to do: cry, scream, turn into a raging, green mutant and trash your apartment. But when you’re done, dust yourself off, turn the coffee table back over, and try again.

2. First Novels Are Garbage

That first novel, the one I started when I was eighteen… it was pure crap. Of course, I didn’t recognize that when I was writing it. I didn’t recognize that when I was proudly passing it out to family to read. And I didn’t recognize it when I sent those first query letters. As those rejections trickled in and squished my ego back into my zip code, word by painful word, I started to look closer at my work, and I was able to recognize it for what it was: garbage. To this day, I keep that manuscript printed out and in plain view of my work area to remind me of where I started and that there’s ALWAYS room for improvement.

3. Constructive Criticism Is Constructive

I’ve seen plenty of writers get their panties in a bunch when a friend, beta reader, agent, or editor offers negative feedback. And I’ll admit, I’ve felt the bite of constructive criticism. But it’s important to remember these people are seeing something in your book that you are too close to see for yourself. It might hurt to hear that your book sags in the middle or the beginning is a snoozefest, but if your test readers are seeing it, real readers will feel that way too. Personally, I’d much rather listen to my betas and editor than put out a book with huge issues.

4. Don’t Quit Your Day Job

If you want a six-figure income, writing probably won’t do it. The simple truth is, the authors who bank are pretty rare. Sure, there are the Rowlings and the Meyers of the world, but very few authors will ever see that kind of success. Don’t write because you want fame and fortune. Write because you love the story.

5. Just Write

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter why you do it. It doesn’t matter how much you wrote or what the story is. It doesn’t matter if you win Nano by November 15th or take two years to write a novelette. Just write–at your pace, in your time, write your story. Don’t worry about what other people are writing or what is selling. Just write.

Author Bio: Rosie Somers is a YA author who lives in Florida, soaking up the year-round sunshine. She can often be found in her favorite spot on her favorite beach, nose-deep in a good book.

Website: http://www.RosieSomers.blogspot.com

Twitter:@prosyrosie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProsyRosie

Thank you to Rosie Somers for your insightful post and Sarah Nicolas for letting us be part of the blog tour!

and

Blog Tour with Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway!: Minion by John David Anderson

July 27, 2015July 11, 2014 by Kellee

In June, 2013 John David Anderson introduced us to the world of Sidekicked. Filled with superheroes, villains, and sidekicks, Sidekicked took us on quite an adventure. Check out my review here. Now John David Anderson returns to the world of superheroes he created in Sidekicked with an entirely new cast of characters in Minion, a funny and emotional companion to his first breakout tween novel—perfect for superhero fans who also love the work of bestselling authors Rick Riordan, Louis Sachar, and Frank Cottrell Boyce.

minion
Minion
Author: John David Anderson
Published June 24th, 2014 by Walden Pond Press

About Minion: Michael Morn might be a villain, but he’s really not a bad guy. When you live in New Liberty, known across the country as the City without a Super, there are only two kinds of people, after all: those who turn to crime and those who suffer. Michael and his adoptive father spend their days building boxes—special devices with mysterious abilities—which they sell to the mob at a price. They provide for each other, they look out for each other, and they’d never betray each other.

But then a Super comes to town, and Michael’s world is thrown into disarray. The Comet could destroy everything Michael and his dad have built, the safe and secure life they’ve made for themselves. And now Michael and his father face a choice: to hold tight to their life or to let it unravel.

Book Trailer:

We Flagged:

My Hero

When I was twelve years old, give or take, my father strapped a bomb to my chest and drove me to the First National Bank and Trust so we could steal $27,500. I know what you’re thinking: if you’re going to go through all the trouble of rigging your son with explosives and send him to rob a bank, you should set loftier goals, but my father has a policy that he only steals what he needs at the time, and at the time he needed $27,500 to finish one of his projects and to buy groceries. We were out of frozen waffles.

Dad parked outside the BP across the street to distract himself by playing Angry Birds and eating cashews while I walked through the bulletproof doors of the gray-bricked building. Me, a pale, wispy-banged preteen, green eyed and skinny, wearing a dark-brown overcoat and an impertinent expression, walking into a bank all by myself. There was no guard at the door, but there were plenty of little black globes hanging from the ceiling. Security cameras. My heart caught in my throat, but I forced it down—Dad had told me not to worry about the cameras. They were taken care of. He had my back.

I approached the first teller—a young woman in a navy blazer with her hair pulled into a stern bun and too much makeup masking a potentially pretty face—and opened my jacket, showing her the bomb. I could tell she was impressed by her platter-sized eyes and the choked-down, quietly-pee-your-pants scream, which came out all muffled, like a dog’s squeak toy under a couch cushion. I gave her the speech. The one I had recited at least a dozen times the night before and three more on the way over while finishing off a bag of Skittles for breakfast.

“There’s a horrible man outside,” I said, nodding back toward the glass. “You can’t see him, but he can see you, and he says if you don’t fill this”—produce Transformers backpack, old-school cartoon, not those overstuffed Michael Bay movies—“with twenty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, he will hit the detonator and you and me will both be carried out of here in Ziploc bags.” It was a speech prepared by my father, at least most of it. I added the Ziploc bags part myself.

And it probably would have worked. The bomb. The speech. The Ziploc line. It would have, if I had even tried, if I had bothered to get into character. Someone in my position, a kid picked up off the street, three pounds of explosives taped under his chin, a juvenile IED about to commit his first felony—you’d expect I’d be snot faced and crying, shaking uncontrollably, begging the woman to hurry or to call the police. But I just couldn’t make myself do it. I came off flat, I’m sure, as if I couldn’t care less.

As if I wasn’t worried at all.

Don’t get me wrong. I was. A little. I just knew more than I was letting on.

About the author, in his own words: John David Anderson writes novels for young people and then, occasionally, gets them published. Besides Minion, he is the author of Sidekicked, and Standard Hero Behavior. He lives with his patient wife and brilliant twins in Indianapolis, Indiana, right next to a State park and a Walmart. He enjoys hiking, reading, chocolate, spending time with his family, playing the piano, chocolate, making board games, chocolate, not putting away his laundry, watching movies, and chocolate. Those aren’t his real teeth. To find out more: www.johndavidanderson.org

Don’t forget to visit the other stops on the blog tour:

June 23 Maria’s Melange
June 24 The Library Fanatic
June 25 The Next Best Book
June 26 Jean Book Nerd
June 27 Book Egg
June 28 Word Spelunking Book Blog
June 30 Ms. Yingling Reads
July 1     The Book Monsters
July 2     The Book Monsters
July 3     Read Now, Sleep Later
July 6 The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
July 7 The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
July 8 Candace’s Book Blog
July 9 Middle Grade Mafioso
July10 Librarian’s Quest
July 11 Unleashing Readers
July 12 Mindjacked
July 14 This Kid Reviews Books
July 16 Charlotte’s Library
July 17 Literacy Toolbox
July 18 Small Review

GIVEAWAY

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Thank you to Debbie and Danielle at Walden Pond Press hosting this blog tour and for providing a copy of Minion for giveaway!

Voices of the Sea by Bethany Masone Harar

July 27, 2015July 10, 2014 by Ricki

Voices of the Sea
Author: Bethany Masone Harar
Expected Publication: July 22, 2014 by WiDo Publishing

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Loralei is the future Guardian of her Siren clan. To outsiders, she appears to live the average life of a teenager, but like her ancestors, her voice has the power to entrance men. But the Sons of Orpheus are determined to destroy all Sirens, and when members from her clan are savagely murdered, Loralei feels a responsibility to protect her people. When Lora meets Ryan, a new student in her school, she can’t help but be drawn to him in a way that feels both exhilarating and unsettling. The sea’s dark whispers urge Lora to find the Sons of Orpheus, and she quickly learns that no one can be trusted.

Review: I was drawn to the mystery of this novel. I found myself turning the pages quickly, eager to uncover the mystery of Half-Moon Bay. This is a book that would be very appealing to my students as it is very engaging. The romance is passionate and fiery, and it is a text that would be easily passed amongst peers. Loralei is a strong, independent woman who works fearlessly to lead her clan. She faces danger with her eyes wide open, and teens can learn much from her strength. The book is cleverly crafted with the perfect amount of detail to leave readers guessing.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: My heart swelled at the many references to mythology. This text is unlike others that may be defined as paranormal romance in that the author includes a rich history of Sirens. Teachers can capitalize on this by asking students to explore Sirens further or research other mythological creatures.

Discussion Questions: How does the author develop the plot to keep readers engaged? Which details does she withhold? Which does she provide? Can you see any foreshadowing?; Can Loralei trust the people in her life? Which characters feel nefarious to you? Which can be trusted?

We Flagged: “She could no more ignore the ocean than she could her own soul” (Chapter Two).

Please note: This quotation was taken from an advanced reader copy. It may change in the final publication.

Read This If You Loved: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, Nightshade by Andrea Cremer, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Recommended For: