Voice – Page 19 – Unleashing Readers

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

May 9, 2014 by Kellee

The Beginning of Everything
Author: Robyn Schneider
Published August 27, 2013 by Katerine Tegen

Goodreads Summary: Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

My Review: Another novel filled with smart high schoolers—that makes me so happy!! I hope this is a trend because I love seeing brainy characters in my book and not stereotypical ones. The Beginning of Everything is described as witty, and it is very much so. The sarcasm and wit just bleeds out of this book. I found myself laughing out loud at parts, and usually just because a character had the audacity to say something they shouldn’t have.

In The Beginning of Everything, I actually connected more with the secondary characters than the protagonist. They were so well established and had such unique voices while Ezra sounded like any good-0le boy; however, I will say that by making his voice less distinct allowed for him to grow even in his prose. As he found his new, true identity, his voice became to ring out more true. I am not sure if the author did this on purpose or not, but either way it worked!

Oh, and the final pages. Guys, they were so good! Although it felt a bit rushed to me, the lyrical writing got me in the end. Perfect.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Although this book’s main home is in teens’ hands from a classroom, school, or public library, there are definitely parts that can be pulled out to be used in a classroom.

Since the characters are intelligent, many of the conversations have allusions to literature (Mary Oliver, Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Frost) or their topics are quite deep (connecting organic chemistry to life, panopticon, Banksy, German insults). Also, there are debate topics that would be so interesting to look into such as imperialism, capitalism, and the economy.

One fun activity that I would definitely pull out of this book is fake debates. When Ezra, Toby, Cassidy, etc. were at their debate tournament, they had fake debates where they had to choose a side of quite silly topics like “Should vampires be allowed to vote?” This would be a great activity to do in classes to work on persuasion and arguments. (However, be careful about actually reading aloud the scene this is in as they also make it a drinking game.)

Discussion Questions: Do you feel like we live in a society similar to the panopticon? [If you don’t know what this is, it is quite fascinating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon]; Do you think Cassidy made the right choice in the end?; Ezra truly connects with The Great Gatsby because of all the changes his life is going through. What book to you connect with and why?

Flagged: “Her face was inches from mine. I could see the freckles that dusted her nose and the gold flecks in the disquieting blue of her eyes.” (p. 111)

“My admirable opponent argues that vampires do not deserve suffrage, as many great yet misinformed politicians have done before her while calling for the continued marginalization of women, or other minorities.” Cassidy began. “Yet vampires were, at some point human. At what point can a man’s voting rights be revoked, if he is proven to be of rational mind?” (p. 157)

Read This If You Loved: Life in Outer Space by Melissa Kiel, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Paper Towns by John Green

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Kellee’s Review)

March 29, 2014March 28, 2014 by Kellee

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

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?

Ricki’s Review: Ricki was lucky enough to read this book before me and wrote a wonderful review in December, so check that one out too!

Kellee’s Review: You know a book is good when in the first 5 pages you already know and feel for you main character. Cath is like many college freshman–afraid. She has known one world for so long and everything around her is changing. This book is about her figuring out her way. Anyone that went to college will connect with Cath and her struggles of finding a balance between who you were in high school and who you are becoming. I really appreciate Rainbow Rowell’s main characters and how they are not perfect–this makes them so much more relatable. (I just give a shout out to the Emergency Dance Party scene–this made me love Cath so much!)

Oh, and the dialogue! I love the way her characters converse. The banter is hilarious and just perfect. Also, I cannot review this book without giving props to the secondary characters. They are so solid and thought out. Although Cath is the main character, no one feels like Rainbow Rowell didn’t put love and time into them. I especially love their father who is probably the most flawed character but is so full of love. (Oh, and Levi. Who cannot love Levi?!?!?!)

[As a teacher, I also liked the look into Levi’s struggle with reading yet his amazing intelligence. I think it is a great conversation starter and a great example of many of the students I encounter. Pg. 168 is Levi’s explanation of his struggles–powerful.]

And all of the book love! Anyone who has ever loved a book or series will adore the fangirl moments. Although an obvious allusion to Harry Potter, Cath and Wren’s love of Simon Snow will make any reader think about their favorite novel which they lose themselves in.

Also this book is about writing: the beauty of good writing and the struggle of good writing. Cath can write in the world of Simon Snow, but struggles in finding her own world. This actually runs parallel quite beautifully with her finding of her self. She is literally and figuratively trying to find her own voice. (And I love that a teacher plays a role in this.)

Overall, a just-right book. I read it in one sitting and didn’t want to put it down. (It did remind me a lot of Anna and the French Kiss–did anyone else feel this way?), but it really was a solid story filled with just enough love, nerdy, and soul searching.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: I can see how many aspects of this novel could be used in a creative writing course. So much of Cath’s story revolves around writing and different scenes or pieces of fanfiction could be pulled out to use in class. I especially like the discussion about “Why write fiction?” on pg. 21-23.

I also would love to analyze more the excerpts that are put before each chapter and how they connect with the chapter. Many have theme connections or direct character connections. They were placed very intentionally and discussing why would be so interesting.

Check out Ricki’s recommendations here.

Discussion Questions: Cath loves to write, but often finds it hard; what is something you do that you love, but often find challenging? How do you overcome this?; How does Simon Snow compare to Harry Potter?

We Flagged: “Cath wasn’t sure how she was going to keep everything straight in her head. The final project, the weekly writing assignments–on top of all her other classwork, for every other class. All the reading, all the writing. The essays, the justifications, the reports. Plus Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays writing with Nick. Plus Carry on. Plus e-mail and notes and comments… Cath felt like she was swimming in words. Drowning in them, sometimes.” (p. 100)

Read This If You Loved: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes, You Against Me by Jenny Downham, My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

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Winger by Andrew Smith (Ricki’s Review)

July 27, 2015February 6, 2014 by Ricki

Winger
Author: Andrew Smith
Published: May 14th, 2013 by Simon and 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.

Review: With every page I turned, I fell more in love with this book. I found elements of this text to be reminiscent of Looking for Alaska by John Green, another wonderfully compelling work. Andrew Smith does a beautiful job unraveling the plot of this story. I found it to be incredibly unpredictable—all of my predictions, in fact, were incorrect. The book surprised me in wonderful ways. The characterization and setting shine brightly. I felt as if I was in the boarding school right with the characters, and they were my friends just as much as they were Ryan Dean’s friends. I couldn’t stop reading by the end of the book, and I think readers will equally be hooked to this coming-of-age tale.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This text would fit in well with many units—particularly those of bullying, heroism, or homophobia. I could also see it matching well with Looking for Alaska, and readers might draw parallels between the two texts.

Discussion Questions: How does Andrew Smith build character? How does this characterization bolster elements of the plot?; What does the book teach us about friendship? About judging people?; Who is the hero of this story?; How does the sport of rugby play a role in the plot, characterization, and theme of this text?

We Flagged: “And then it’s always that one word that makes you so different and puts you outside the overlap of everyone else; and that word is so fucking big and loud, it’s the only thing anyone ever hears when your name is spoken.

And whenever that happens to us, all the other words that make us the same disappear in its shadow.”

Read This If You Loved: Looking for Alaska by John Green, Deadline by Chris Crutcher, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

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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:

A Big Guy Took My Ball! & I’m a Frog! by Mo Willems

January 10, 2014 by Kellee

A Big Guy Took My Ball!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Published May 21st, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

I’m a Frog!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Published October 15th, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

A Big Guy Took My Ball! Goodreads Summary: Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.

Gerald and Piggie are best friends.

In A Big Guy Took My Ball! Piggie is devastated when a big guy takes her ball! Gerald is big, too…but is he big enough to help his best friend?

I’m a Frog! Goodreads Summary: In I’m a Frog! Piggie has some ribbiting news! Can Gerald make the leap required to accept Piggie’s new identity?

Review: I love Elephant and Piggie. They are such amazing friends through all sorts of scenarios. Elephant keeps Piggie grounded and Piggie helps Elephant think/move outside of his box. Just a wonderful combination of character traits and they make for such funny books. And you know that they are good, they both won 2013 Early Reader Nerdy Awards!!!

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: Elephant and Piggie books are, of course, amazing for read alouds and will be loved by everyone who reads them. However, the books also have very few words and it is up to the reader to use inference (using the illustrations) to read even deeper into the story.

Discussion Questions: In A Big Guy Took My Ball! what did Elephant assume about the guy Piggie was talking about?; In I’m a Frog! how does Piggie help Elephant?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Any of the Elephant and Piggie books, Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel

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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:

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Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett

December 22, 2013 by Kellee

Battle Bunny
Authors: Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett
Illustrator: Matthew Myers
Published October 22nd, 2013 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary: Alex has been given a saccharine, sappy, silly-sweet picture book about Birthday Bunny that his grandma found at a garage sale. Alex isn’t interested; until he decides to make the book something he’d actually like to read. So he takes out his pencil, sharpens his creativity, and totally transforms the story!

Birthday Bunny becomes Battle Bunny, and the rabbit’s innocent journey through the forest morphs into a supersecret mission to unleash an evil plan; a plan that only Alex can stop.

Featuring layered, original artwork that emphasizes Alex’s additions, this dynamic exploration of creative storytelling is sure to engage and inspire.

My Review: This book made me laugh out loud! What a perfect insight into the mind of a young boy (reminds me of so many doodles I’ve seen on papers over the year!). Also, I was blown away by the creativity of Sceiszka and Barnett. I wish I was teaching in a classroom because it would have been a book that I would have brought into the classroom to share with kids (yes, even my middle schoolers. Actually, definitely my middle schoolers.) because it is just so awesome!

Teachers Tools for Navigation: This picture book would be so much fun as a read aloud (original story than the modified one). Also, I can also picture bringing in picture books (maybe older ones or bought at a used book store) and letting the students modify their own! And so much creativity, vocabulary, cleverness, imagination, etc. are needed to transform a text the way Alex did–it’d be such a fun yet tough activity.

There is even a Battle Bunny website (http://mybirthdaybunny.com) where you can make your own story. They give you the original Birthday Bunny text and let you make your own. They actually provide PDFs of the entire text! Also on the website are educators information that includes a curriculum guide.

Discussion Questions: What other stories could you build around Birthday Bunny?; (Writing activity) Using the picture book you were given, create a new story by changing words and adding photos.

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Scaredy Squirrel books by Melanie Watts, Bananas in my Ears by Michael Rosen, The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka, You Will Be My Friend by Peter Brown

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