Novel – Page 76 – Unleashing Readers

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil (Kellee’s Review)

April 11, 2015January 31, 2014 by Kellee

Life in Outer Space
Author: Melissa Keil
Published August 1st, 2013 by Peachtree Publishers

Goodreads Summary: Sam is a geek movie-buff with a ragtag group of loser friends who have been taking abuse from the popular kids for years. But when the super-cool Camilla moves to town, she surprises everyone by choosing to spend time with Sam’s group. Suddenly they go from geek to chic, and find that not everything boils down to us and them. With their social lives in flux, Sam and Camilla spend more and more time together. They become the best of friends, and Sam finds that he’s happier and more comfortable in his own skin than ever before. But eventually Sam must admit to himself that he’s fallen in love. If he confesses his true feelings to Camilla, will everything change again?

My Review: Loved this book. A perfect combination of Spinelli’s Stargirl, a John Green book, and a rom-com. Loved the voice, quirks, characters, and plot. A sleeper title from 2013 that you should read.

A couple things I really loved about this book:

The characters are such good people. Although they evolve, they never were kids I wouldn’t want my son to hang out with.
A romance-y book from a boy’s point of view!
Camilla is so cool yet so uncool and just shows how the labels and cliques and such of high school are just so stupid. Oh, and that you cannot judge a book by its cover.
The writing, music, and movie references. Just a bit of geeky, but not too much.

Ricki’s Review: Can be viewed here.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I think first and foremost, this book needs to be in libraries so that kids (and adults!) can get their hands on it. In the classroom, it can definitely be used as for a mentor text. I think it is perfect for an example of character development and voice. The characters in this book are so strong and there are lines and passages throughout that show the characters’ personality. There are also parts that deal with writing poetry/music and would be great passages to talk about writing with students.

Discussion Questions: How does Camilla change the dynamic at Sam’s school? And how did she change Sam and his friends?; (During) Why do you think Mike quit karate?; How does Melissa Keil use music and movies to help move the plot? Show character’s personalities?; How is Sam’s parents’ issues affecting him?;

We Flagged: “She is wearing a yellow dress that looks like it belongs to a 1950s housewife, and a pair of flat red boots. Her hair is longer than I’d imagine would be practical; it’s parted in the middle and hangs in brown waves almost to her waist. She peers around the room impassively. She doesn’t look terrified. She doesn’t look insanely overconfident, like Adrian that time in year seven when he performed a song as his book report for The Outsiders. Mike and I mark that event as ground zero for the downward social spiral of our group.” (p. 11)

Read This If You Loved: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Paper Towns by John Green, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Recommended For:

The Living by Matt de la Peña

July 27, 2015January 30, 2014 by Ricki

The Living
Author: Matt de la Peña
Published: November 12th, 2013 by Delacorte

GoodReads Summary: Shy took the summer job to make some money. In a few months on a luxury cruise liner, he’ll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with the bills. And how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two—every cruise has different passengers, after all.

But everything changes when the Big One hits. Shy’s only weeks out at sea when an earthquake more massive than ever before recorded hits California, and his life is forever changed.

The earthquake is only the first disaster. Suddenly it’s a fight to survive for those left living.

Review: It is difficult to review this book without giving any spoilers! It is a thrilling, action-packed text that is sure to keep readers on their toes. I loved how it kept me guessing, and I found it to be utterly unpredictable. By the end, I was surprised when I realized there would be a sequel! I fell in love with Shy’s honest voice, and he reminded me of many teens I know. Matt de la Peña proves, once again, that he can write books that are incredibly different from each other. His character development truly shines in this title.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This would make a great literature circle text. I loved all of the directions that the plot took, and it would be interesting to have students map the plot in a diagram. This book proves that all books don’t fit a perfect mold, and I think students could have a lot of fun trying to capture the different turns the plot took. I would also use this text to have students make predictions.

Discussion Questions: How does the author develop Shy’s voice? What defines Shy, as a character?; Which genres can this book fit into? If a librarian assigns this book to one of these genres, how might it be limiting?; How does Shy’s family influence his decisions?

Read This If You Loved: We Were Here by Matt de la Peña, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Maze Runner by James Dashner

Recommended For:

litcirclesbuttonsmall

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

January 16, 2014 by Ricki

Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Published: January 28th, 2013 by Harlequin Teen

GoodReads Summary: Life. Death. And…Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

My Review: I should start by mentioning that I will read anything by Elizabeth Scott. She does a great job developing characters in unique situations, and I always get lost in the plots of her stories. This book was different from the other titles I have read by Scott because it is quite a sad story. Emma’s situation is heart-wrenching, and I felt the pain of her grief. What I liked most about this story was Emma’s growth as an individual. She shows an incredible amount of strength and isn’t afraid to examine her beliefs as she tries to determine what is right and true.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Teachers might use this book to help readers learn about the stages of grief. It would be interesting to hold a debate about who is more justified in his or her position: Emma or her stepfather. Students might research the laws and practices of life support to help them think more deeply about the novel.

Discussion Questions: Is Emma’s position justified? Do you think she is being fair?; How does Emma’s relationship with Caleb help her grow as an individual?; Where is the turning point of the story? Why?; Do you think Emma’s mother should be kept on life support?

We Flagged: “When someone you love…when they die, you want it undone. You’d do anything to have them back, and it’s easy to believe that if only this had happened or that had happened, everything would be fine. And that’s what makes you angry. What makes you hate. You don’t want to believe that sometimes bad things happen just because they do.”

Read This If You Loved: If I Stay by Gayle Forman, The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork, Boy21 by Matthew Quick, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Hold Still by Nina LaCour, Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

July 27, 2015January 9, 2014 by Ricki

The Killing Woods
Author: Lucy Christopher
Published: January 7th, 2014 by Chicken House (Scholastic)

GoodReads Summary: Fatal attraction, primal fear, survival in the forest: From the author of the Printz Honor Book Stolen, the highly anticipated thriller about deadly games played in the dark.

Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily Shepherd’s dad is accused of the crime. A former soldier suffering from PTSD, he emerges from the woods carrying the girl’s broken body. “Gone,” he says, then retreats into silence.

What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent — isn’t he? Before he’s convicted, she’s got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee’s charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her — the kinds of games that can kill?

Review: I absolutely loved Stolen, so I was thrilled to read another book by Lucy Christopher. This book reads more like a thriller. I was sucked into the mystery and very curious about how the plot would unravel. I think this book is most notable for the intricate descriptive details about the setting. I felt the dark coldness of the killing woods. The setting was spooky, which set the tone for the dark story. There are richly realized themes of friendship, family, and loyalty.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Emily’s father suffers from PTSD. I think Lucy Christopher is delivering a message about PTSD, and it would be important for readers to think more about this. Students might find value in learning more about PTSD before, during, and after reading this book.

Discussion Questions: Why is everyone quick to blame Emily’s father? Do you think he is guilty?; What is The Game? What are the different roles that everyone plays in The Game? What does it teach us about this group of kids? Is it realistic and does it reflect people in general?

We Flagged: “I guess whoever built and buried that IED out there in the desert will never know how far that blast traveled. But all things ripple out, cause shrapnel.”

Read This If You Loved: Stolen by Lucy Christopher, The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles, The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Chicken House for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

December 27, 2013 by Kellee

Let it Snow
Authors: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Published October 2nd, 2008 by Speak

Goodreads Summary: Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

My Review: You cannot go wrong with those authors! What I found was not only a romantic, funny book, but a perfect holiday read! Let it Snow is like those movies where you follow three very different stories and then eventually they intertwine and everything seems to follow into place. I loved reading each story, wanting to learn more about a certain character and then realizing the next story was about them! The authors also did a fantastic job throwing in aspects of Christmas and pushing the holiday cheer without shoving it down your throat. Let is Snow is one of those books that I want to curl up and read by the fire while it snows outside.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I would love to read this book in its entirety with students and then try to make a timeline of the three stories and how they overlap. It would be a great discussion of connections and sequence. Also, you could look at the voice of characters and how each author made theirs distinct (and how the others authors kept them distinct in their sections). This could also lead to a great discussion about style.

This book is also loved by students and should definitely be in teen libraries.

Discussion Questions: Think of a time when you were stuck somewhere that you didn’t want to be and couldn’t really do anything about it, how did you feel? What did you do to keep yourself busy? Did something happen that you would not have expected or that wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t stuck or stranded?

We Flagged:
From “The Jubilee Express” by Maureen Johnson

“‘Oh my god!’ said one of the Ambers. ‘Is this not the worst trip ever? Did you see the snow?’
She was a sharp one, this Amber. What would she notice next? The train? The moon? The hilarious vagaries of human existence? Her own head?
I didn’t say any of that, because death by cheerleader is not really the way I want to go.” p. 22

From “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” by John Green

“I dashed upstairs, my socks sliding on the hardwood floor in the kitchen, and stumbled into my bedroom. I tore open the closet door and began feverishly sorting through the shirts piled on the floor in the vain hope that inside that pile there might be some wondrously perfect shirt down there, a nice striped button-down with no wrinkles that said, ‘I’m strong and tough but I’m also a surprisingly good listener with a true and abiding passion for cheers and those who lead them.’ Unfortunately, there was no such shirt to be found. I quickly settled on a dirty but cool yellow Threadless T-shirt under a black v-neck sweater. I kicked off my watching-James-Bond-movies-with-the-Duke-and-JP jeans and hurriedly wiggled into my pair of nice, dark jeans.” p. 131-132

From “The Patron Saint of Pigs” by Lauren Myracle

“Being me sucked. Being me on this supposedly gorgeous night, with the supposedly gorgeous snow looming in five-foot drifts outside my bedroom window, double-sucked. Add the fact that today was Christmas, and my score was up to triple-suck. And add in the sad, aching, devastating lack of Jeb, and ding-ding-ding! The bell at the top of the Suckage Meter couldn’t ring any louder. Instead of jingle bells, I had suckage bells. Lovely.” p. 215

Read This If You Loved:

Recommended For:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Ricki’s Review)

July 27, 2015December 5, 2013 by Ricki

Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Published: September 10th, 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin

GoodReads Summary: A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Review: I can’t remember reading a book that felt so authentic to and aligned with my own experiences. I have this urge to buy hundreds of copies of this book and pass them out to college freshmen. Freshman year of college is an incredibly difficult time, and this book helped me remember it vividly. From Rowell’s descriptions of the domesticated squirrels to the awkwardness of roommate interactions to the feeling of entering the dining hall for the first time and not knowing where to go or where to sit (and feeling sure everyone is watching you), this book perfectly captures the minute details of college life–and all of the insecurities that come with it. I loved the parallels cast between Simon Snow’s story and Cather’s, and it inspired me to want to be a writer. This is a beautifully compelling story that will resonate with readers.

View Kellee’s review of Fangirl HERE.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This would be a great book to teach along with a creative writing unit. It would inspire students to want to become stronger writers. Students could write their own fanfictions or alternate storytelling (like Nick and Cather did). Cather’s struggles as a writer are inspirational, and I am betting that most people, like me, close this book and want to get out their computers and start writing.

Very few authors are able to hone in on the minute details of humanity. I noticed Rowell’s incredible ability to do this in Eleanor & Park, and she certainly did not stop there. I would love to copy passages of this book for close readings. This would really help students understand good, powerful writing.

Discussion Questions: Cather finds it difficult to write about any world other than that of Simon Snow. Why do you think that might be?; How are Cather and Wren different? Do you think there are any underlying reasons for their differences?; What is Nick’s purpose in the novel? What does he show about Cather?

We Flagged:

“I feel sorry for you, and I’m going to be your friend.”
“I don’t want to be your friend,” Cath said as sternly as she could. “I like that we’re not friends.”
“Me, too. I’m sorry you ruined it by being so pathetic.”

“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can’t Google.)”

Read This If You Loved: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Looking for Alaska by John Green, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian

Recommended For:

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

July 27, 2015November 28, 2013 by Ricki

If You Find Me
Author: Emily Murdoch
Published: March 26th, 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin

GoodReads Summary: There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Review: It has been a while since I couldn’t put a book down. This gut-wrenching tale captivated me from the very beginning. When authors try to portray emotions, they can feel superficial for readers. But Murdoch’s writing feels effortless. I connected with Carey in a way that reminded me of how I understood Melinda in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. My hands shook with anger in response to her pain, and as she felt overwhelmed and scared, I cried along with her. The backwoodsy dialect made the story feel real and authentic. It constantly reminded me of where Carey was coming from. Murdoch expertly unfolds the plot for readers, which adds a level of complexity but also makes readers feel as if they are coming to terms with Carey’s life right along with her. This is a beautiful, compelling story that I won’t forget.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: One of the strengths of this book is the special bond between the siblings. Carey’s love for her 6-year-old sister, Jenessa, fills the reader with comfort and sureness. It would be interesting for students to consider this bond and what holds these two sisters together. I could also see students researching more about child abuse and neglect. Carey and Jenessa have to make a dramatic adjustment to life on the outside, and I imagine that students will want to learn more about this struggle and its potential difficulties.

Discussion Questions: Why does Carey keep secrets? Do you agree with her decisions?; Why does Carey have difficulty forming a relationship with her father? Do you think she has been brainwashed?; What are the long-term effects of abuse? What kinds of abuse are there? Will Carey ever heal?

We Flagged:

“I answer her with my silence, understanding the full power of it for the first time. Words are weapons. Weapons are powerful. So are unsaid words. So are unused weapons” (p. 24).

“We make attachments to what’s familiar. We find the beauty, even in the lack. That’s human. We make the best of what we’re given” (p. 169).

Read This If You Loved: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Room by Emma Donoghue, A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (for the sibling bond and the woodsy setting), Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Recommended For: