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The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

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The Day You Begin
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator: Rafael López
Publication Date: August 28th, 2018 by Nancy Paulsen Books

Summary: National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpre Illustrator Award winner Rafael López have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.

There will be times when you walk into a room
and no one there is quite like you.

There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it’s how you look or talk, or where you’re from; maybe it’s what you eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.

Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael López’s dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.

Kellee’s Review: A beautiful book about the power of differences while also acknowledging the challenges that feeling as if you don’t fit in cause. I loved that the story was not exactly narrative but instead of a snapshot into multiple kids’ lives to help show different examples of differences. We are all unique and that is what makes this book and our world beautiful!

Woodson’s lyrical language with Lopez’s collage and colorful illustration makes this book a piece of art that is going to bridge gaps, help students think about others, give readers a mirror and a window, and build empathy in all that read it.

Ricki’s Review: A great many kids and adults will find solace in the text. The writing and illustrations are stunning. Every once in a while, a book comes around like this one. It is simply magical. I don’t often purchase bound copies of my F&Gs, but I knew I needed to pre-order this one after I read it. It is a great book for teachers to read on the first day. The emotional impact is powerful. Everyone has felt excluded at some time or another, and this book digs deeply into that emotion and pushes readers to analyze that feeling and push through it to find strength and resolve. I am having a difficult time conveying the power of this book. I promise you will love it.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Building classroom community around kindness and empathy is essential in building a safe, trusting environment for our students, and this text will be a perfect addition to any text set you have that focuses on these topics. In addition to these social-emotional impacts, the text allows for talks of theme, mood, and author’s intent.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What is one way that you feel very different than most people around you? How could people support you? How could you support others who feel different?
  • What examples of people’s differences did Woodson highlight in the story?
  • What was the mood for the first large portion of the text?
  • What is the theme of the book?
  • Why do you think the author felt compelled to write this book?
  • Why are differences important in our community? Nation? Classroom?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët, Normal Norman by Tara Lazar, Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell, What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers, Pink is for Boys by Rob Pearlman, Come with Me by Holly McGhee, We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio

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Student Voices: (Mostly) Fifteen Word Book Reviews by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

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Samia R.’s Fifteen Word Book Reviews (6th grade)

House Arrest by K.A. Holt
This book is really easy to read and has a strong message about sibling devotion.

Breakout by Kate Messner
This book is written in multiple formats which was different and also fun to read.

Masterminds by Gordon Korman
This book has the perfect mix of action, mystery, and action, and it’s really good.

Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart
It’s emotionally attaching and makes you want to finish it the day you started it.

Booked by Kwame Alexander
This is a novel in verse and also deals with real important real life issues.

Posted by John David Anderson
This book is about five friends struggling to fit in at school and finding themselves.

Kimchi and Calamari by Rose Kent
This book is about a boy who feels he’s between two cultures because he’s adopted.

Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiassen
This fun book mixes action and mystery perfectly and will definitely keep the reader hooked.

The Summer of May by Cecilia Galante
This book is touching and funny and also so emotionally, so it is really good.

The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher
This book is about two friends who find a mystery and try to solve it.

Vasudev M.’s Fifteen Word Book Reviews (6th grade)

Legend by Marie Lu
This is a dystopic, suspenseful book that has a mix of action, romance, and mystery.

Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
A book with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Has a mix of romance, action, and science fiction. This book is centered around loyalty.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
A book that shows that a group together during the most desperate times can prevail.

Warcross by Marie Lu
A book with a mix of action and romance that demonstrates loyalty, friendship, and determination.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
A mix of action, romance, and humor, and has many twists that keep you interested.

The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
A fast-paced action-packed book with a pinch of humor and romance. It is well composed.

Rescued by Eliot Schrefer
An adventurous book that shows friendship and determination teaches you to do the right thing.

Champion by Marie Lu
An action-packed book that has suspense and romance. This book has many unsuspected twists.

Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
A clever book based off of Greek Mythology that has action, suspense, and humor.

Ariana M.’s and Mariana S.’s Fifteen Word Book Reviews (7th grade)

Rescued by Eliot Schrefer
We love this book for a myriad of reasons. First, it opens your eyes to a lot of things that kids are in the dark about like palm oil and how to treat orangutans. When you read Rescued, you fall in love with it because you feel like you’re in the story, too, and fall in love with the characters.
(Kellee’s note: This book review was written before they decided to do fifteen word book reviews, so this is just a regular review.)

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
This book teaches you about the struggles of family and how sometimes sisterhood can be tough.

Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
Teaches you that you aren’t alone even when life gets hard, you’ll have a friend.

Real Friends by Shannon Hale
This book shows the importance of having true friends and to have confidence in yourself.

Explorer: The Lost Islands edited by Kazu Kibuishi
This collection of stories show you that not everything is as it seems and that teamwork is very important.

Emily P.’s Not-Fifteen Word Reviews of her favorite SSYRA books 2015-2018 (8th grade)

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson
This book is amazing! It is so action-packed and so interesting. I must admit, it was a slow start, but it took off. Piper and Gee make my heart melt and the sisterly love is so sweet!

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
This dystopian novel had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Cia is so clever and sweet, and Tomas and her are such a power couple. The whole series is absolutely amazing.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
This sad, sad book is so heart-wrenching and so good. Mark’s story may be sad, but I wanted to keep on reading to make sure he and Beau were okay.

Frenzy by Robert Lettrick
This book is definitely my type of book: thrilling, funny, and fast-paced. I couldn’t stop reading, and the twists and turns throughout the book were really confusing to my emotions.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Ada’s story gives me hope, but reminds me of the terrible people in this world. So many turning points will make you never want to stop reading. You’ll fall in love with so many characters, especially Ms. Susan.

Thank you to my wonderful students, Samia, Vasudev, Ariana, Mariana, and Emily, for your reviews!

 

Review and Giveaway!: Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White

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Goodbye Brings Hello: A Book of Firsts
Author: Dianne White
Illustrator: Daniel Wiseman
Published June 26th, 2018 by HMH Books for Young Readers

Summary: There are many ways of letting go.
With each goodbye, a new hello.

From being pushed on a swing to learning how to pump your legs yourself, from riding a beloved trike to mastering your first bike ride, from leaving the comforts of home behind to venturing forth on that first day of school, milestones are exciting but hard. They mean having to say goodbye to one moment in order to welcome the next.   

Honest and uplifting, this cheerfully illustrated ode to change gently empowers readers to brave life’s milestones, both large and small. 

About the Author and Illustrator: 

When she was five, Dianne White said goodbye to her house and her teacher, Mrs. Dunlap, and hello to a new school, and her newest favorite teacher, Mr. Loop. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the award-winning author of Blue on Blue. She lives in Arizona, where she writes full-time. Her next book, Who Eats Orange?, is due out August 2018. For more information, and to download a free activity kit, visit diannewrites.com. Twitter: @diannewrites

Daniel Wiseman remembers saying goodbye to the training wheels on his bike, and saying a great big hello to skinned knees and elbows. But the freedom of rolling on two wheels was well worth the bumps and bruises. He still rides his (slightly larger) bike almost every day. Daniel loves to draw, and has illustrated several books for children. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit him at danieldraws.com. Instagram: @d_wiseman

Praise: 

“White and Wiseman have created an engaging set of vignettes that will appeal to young listeners in the process of learning new skills.”—Booklist

“This book will give courage to any child feeling a little nervous or scared to try something new.”—Kirkus

“The brightly colored, naive-style illustrations add a cheerful positivity to the book.”—School Library Journal

Review: Wow! What a great lesson within the pages of this book! As kids grow up, one of the hardest things is the saying goodbye to things as they outgrow or as the world changes. For example, Trent just finished preschool and is now in a jump start to pre-K program, so he is switching teachers. What a hard transition! We’ve also had a lot of change at my school that I teach at, and I have had to talk to my middle schoolers about change. It is hard for them, too! And the book doesn’t only deal with big changes, it also shows that seasons change, clothes change, haircuts change… Life is about changes, and we have to learn how to work through them to live our happiest life. Because of the way the book is written, a lot of discussion can happen inferring from the writing and the illustrations to help determine what change is happening to the kid in the illustration.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Activity kit including discussion questions, poetry, graphing, mazes, looking at seasons, and other fun activities here: https://bit.ly/2s3WA40

Discussion Questions: Here are some some of the discussion questions from the activity kit:

  • What are some things you’ve had to say goodbye to? Were you sad to leave them behind? Or did you feel happy that you were moving on to something new?
  • On the back cover of the book it says, “Trying new things takes courage.” What do you think this means?
  • Can you think ahead to what things you’ll do in the future? What will you be saying goodbye to soon? What hellos are you looking forward to?
  • Do you think saying goodbye and hello to things only happens when you’re a kid? Do grown ups say goodbye and hello to things?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: School People by Lee Bennett Hopkins; Time for School by Brian Biggs; Monster Needs to Go to School by Paul Czajak; On My Way to School by Sarah Maizes; One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count with Me by John Micklos; When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review and giveaway!**

Student Voices: Reflections on Mrs. Moye’s Advanced Reading Class by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

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In continuing the reflections shared on Friday, here are some students’ reflection posts on taking Advanced Reading with me:

Favorite Activities in Mrs. Moye’s Class by Daniel U. and Ian B. (6th grade)

  • Book Trailers: We made a whole presentation about a book we read and liked. Mrs. Moye gave us recommendations of where to make the presentations and helped us prepare to type our ideas and thoughts about the books. We also added images and music, and we presented it to the class. It was a fun experience making the presentation and watching all of them and learning about new books.
  • In-Class Book Clubs: Mrs. Moye gave us a choice of what book we wanted to read with a group then set up dates for our book club meetings where we talk about the book. In between meetings, we write questions to discuss with our group. This was great because you get to socialize and get to read a great book and discuss it with others.
  • Passion Research Project: We made a presentation about a topic that connected to Rescued, the book we read. We used different websites to get our information that we turn into a presentation with images. Then we presented it to the class who jotted down facts and new things that they learned from each presentation.
  • Affixes: We learned how to use different word parts such as prefixes, suffixes and roots, and how to use them to define unknown words by breaking down words. This makes passages easier because the different meanings of word parts help us understand words that we may not know. When we break them down while reading, we can figure the passage out.
  • Novel Study: We read Rescued by Eliot Schrefer as a class, answered questions about the book, and we did focus questions every week while we were reading. Then we went on a field trip to the Center for Great Apes!

Why I Decided to Stay in Advanced Reading for Three Years by Maria N. (8th grade)

I decided to stay in Mrs. Moye’s class for all three years of middle school because not only is it a great learning experience, but it is also fun. Mrs. Moye’s class has taught me things that I didn’t learn in other classes and that made me feel very smart. Word parts were also a need to know in her class, and they helped so much when I didn’t know a word on tests. Her class was also fun because we got to laugh, smile, and cry over amazing books. I made friends that I will forever be thankful for. I not only made great friends, but these friends like books just like I do. Mrs. Moye gave us many book options that my friends and I could read, including reading the same book if we wanted to or we could read books that are completely different. So many options. I am so thankful for Mrs. Moye’s class.

Why I Decided to Join This Class in 8th Grade by Haruna R. (8th grade)

I decided to join this class because I heard a lot of good things about it. When I heard that it was about reading books, I got more interested in it. I also knew a lot of my friends were in it, and they told me there are so many books to read. When I first came into the class, all I saw was books. I saw so many series that I love, and we got to check out books with no specific due date. Mrs. Moye is very flexible about turning in and grading work. She also makes the class fun. I like to read books as a class and in book clubs. We also had a field trip to The Center for Great Apes which was a great experience, and we could connect the book we read to the field trip. Mrs. Moye has read so many books, so whenever I read a book, I could talk to her about it. I could also ask questions about the book. Mrs. Moye also recommends books and talks about books she has read, so we can read it if we want. There is never a time when I ran out of books to read. Mrs. Moye encourages us to read and tells us about books that she enjoys. We use Goodreads to keep track of what we read and what we want to read. You can discover new books on the website, too, and can even narrow them down by genres. Overall, Mrs. Moye’s reading class has been wonderful, and I will miss it very much!

Why I Didn’t Leave Advanced Reading by Amanda C. (8th grade)

When I saw my schedule the summer before 7th grade, I was so upset to see that I was taking a reading class. I hated reading! It was boring, and there was never any good books to read. When the first day of school rolled around, I was dreading the very though of going to first period. I assumed that I was probably going to get assigned a whole book to finish by the end of the week. The teacher was probably mean, too. But I was wrong. Mrs. Moye turned out to be so sweet and had such a passion for reading. And no, I didn’t have to finish a book by the end of the week. In fact, Mrs. Moye let her students read whatever they wanted. She had a huge classroom library with every kind of book you could think of, including books even SHE hasn’t read yet. We got to do research projects, make book trailers, and we even had a debate unit! I had a lot more fun in her class than I thought I would. And while we did all of these things, the most important thing I did was find a love for reading. By loving to read, my vocabulary has gotten so much larger, and I’ve found some great friends through reading and the class. I’m going to miss walking into Mrs. Moye’s class every morning because her classroom is somewhere I feel safe and joyful. Thanks for everything, Mrs. Moye! <3

Thank you to my wonderful students, Daniel, Ian, Maria, Haruna, and Amanda, for sharing the joy you got from my class! I have the same joy teaching you all! XOXO

Kellee’s 7th Grade Lunch Book Club 2017-18

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Two years ago, towards the end of the year, I walked into our library, and I noticed a smattering of kids sitting around the library. They were doing homework, reading, eating, sitting silently, etc. I started talking to them, and they shared how they felt the lunchroom just wasn’t the place for them: it was too loud, too full of drama, or too cliquey. It was then that I asked them if they would be interested in a lunch book club–they all answered with a resounding YES!

This year was my 2nd year with my book club, and I am so glad that I can give kids a friendly place to eat lunch, but equally important, I am so happy that I can give them some amazing reading opportunities as well! Last year, we split our book club into Mock Newbery, Author Skypes, and Harry Potter clubs. This year, the students really wanted to have more opinions in what they read, so they voted to only do author virtual visits this year.

Funding: Book Grant

Our Orange County Foundation Grants has a grant that is given each year to middle school book clubs, and I was lucky enough to receive it! This grant funds my book club completely (books for the entire year and food for an end-of-year party), and I cannot thank the Foundation enough for having this grant that is funded by the License 4 Learning and the School District Education Foundation Matching Grant Program.

Choosing Authors and Books

I want students to not find the book club to be a burden to their free choice of reading that we give at my school, so I do not give much guidance in their choices. We met for the first time in late September after I was told that I had received the grant. To start, we visit Kate Messner’s amazing list of authors who are gracious enough to virtually visit with students who have read their books for free. From this list, I had the students pick their top 6 authors (one for November, January, February, March, April, and May). We were so lucky that all 6 of the authors we contacted were able to visit with us, and we were able to find Fridays that worked for them and us!

My students purposefully picked their authors. They said they wanted a mix of authors they knew and didn’t know, and a mix of authors of different backgrounds and ethnicity. After researching the list and looking up authors, they chose:

  • Michele Weber Hurwitz
  • Laurel Snyder
  • Eliot Schrefer
  • Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • Dan Gemeinhart
  • Mitali Perkins

After we chose our authors and they had confirmed their availability, the group members were able to look at all of the author’s books and pick at least one title they wanted to read. They like doing it this way instead of the whole club reading the same book because it allows more freedom of choice. Once students chose their titles, I ordered them through the grant.

Set Up

The book club originally was going to meet only Tuesday and Thursday, but after a bit they all wanted to start meeting every day, and I was so happy to do so (though it was not required). The book club is quite informal for 2 weeks out of the month: we just hang out together and eat. Then about 2 weeks before the author virtual visit, we spend our Tuesdays and Thursdays lunch periods chatting about the books, usually separated into smaller groups by what book they read. During their book meetings, they would also come up with questions for the author. We also use our online component (Canvas) to do online discussions. This allows students to put their thoughts down on a discussion board while they were thinking about it. Then they can use this if they need help during their book meetings. Finally, the last meetings before the virtual visit we get our questions in order and assign who is going to ask them, making sure that everyone has something to ask.

Virtual Visits

Each visit was as wonderful as the last! I always wish I had recorded them because I am terrible about taking notes when listening since the authors are so brilliant and funny and awesome!

I cannot thank these authors enough for their generous donation of their time! My students love this experience, and I am so lucky to be able to give this once-in-a-lifetime book club experience!

Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford

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Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: James E. Ransome
Published January 2nd, 2018 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Summary: You can be a King. Stamp out hatred. Put your foot down and walk tall.
You can be a King. Beat the drum for justice. March to your own conscience.

Featuring a dual narrative of the key moments of Dr. King’s life alongside a modern class as the students learn about him, Carole Weatherford’s poetic text encapsulates the moments that readers today can reenact in their own lives. See a class of young students as they begin a school project inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and learn to follow his example, as he dealt with adversity and never lost hope that a future of equality and justice would soon be a reality. As times change, Dr. King’s example remains, encouraging a new generation of children to take charge and change the world . . . to be a King. 

Praise: 

“While the book is accessible as an inspiring primer on social justice and taking action, it also challenges more sophisticated readers to make connections between the art, the text, Dr. King’s life, the civil rights movement at large, and the continuing struggle to affect change . . .This book is sure to spark discussion and empower readers of all ages.” –  Starred review, School Library Journal

“Thoughtful paintings of moving scenes are paired with brief, motivational reflections that evoke all the sentiment and fervor of the American civil rights movement.” –  Foreword Review

“The book manages to make essential lessons in civic responsibility accessible to the very young reader.” –  Booklist

“The historical scenes, painted in Ransome’s signature thick, saturated style, are infused with a powerful sense of narrative.” –  Publishers Weekly

“The use of rich, realistic paintings with pencil detailing for King’s life contrasts with the brighter, simpler drawings for the contemporary children, giving a physical reminder that his work is ongoing.” –  School Library Connection

Review: I am so happy that a book like this exists! It makes a beautiful connection between King’s history and how the same concepts can (and should!) drive us today. The book is very young kid friendly and is a great scaffold to talk about Dr. King or about kindness; however, it could also be used with older kids to infer and go deeper into the lyrical language Weatherford uses. I also loved how Ransome’s illustrations changed between King’s biography and the more contemporary school narrative.

P.S. As a teacher and a person who believes in kindness and equity and acceptance and friendship, I am so happy to see conversations like this happening so freely now! My students and I speak about injustice and prejudice and equity so often now when it would have been a stigma just a few years ago to even mention race or other social justice issues. It is important to talk about race in a non-prejudicial way with children to allow them to learn and grown and reflect. Sadly, it has been through horrific injustices that has gotten us to this point, but hopefully with our future generations having these types of conversations starting at such a young age, these injustices will stop.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Have students look at each school spread (or split up the spreads between groups of students) and ask them to connect the ideals happening in the spread with something that King spoke about. This idea can also be used with the King spreads because it does not explicitly state what historical event each spread is representing, so students could look through King’s story and try to match each illustration and words with an event in his life.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What was Dr. King’s dream?
  • What are some ways you can fulfill this dream?
  • Although he was speaking of a much larger issue than a classroom, how can King’s ideals be transferred to how we treat each other in the classroom?
  • What events of King’s life were portrayed in the illustrations?
  • What other ways could you BE A KING?
  • Why do you believe the author wrote this story?
  • What is the author trying to teach the reader?
  • How did the author structure the story to reach her purpose and theme?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Stories of MLK, Jr.’s life, Books (historical fiction or nonfiction) about the Civil Rights Movement, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

Recommended For: 

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The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie

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The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
Author: Lindsay Currie
Published October 10th, 2017 by Aladdin

Summary: A girl unravels a centuries-old mystery after moving into a haunted house in this deliciously suspenseful mystery.

Tessa Woodward isn’t exactly thrilled to move to rainy, cold Chicago from her home in sunny Florida. But homesickness turns to icy fear when unexplainable things start happening in her new house. Things like flickering lights, mysterious drawings appearing out of nowhere, and a crackling noise she can feel in her bones.

When her little brother’s doll starts crying real tears, Tessa realizes that someone—or something—is trying to communicate with her. A secret that’s been shrouded in mystery for more than one hundred years.

With the help of three new friends, Tessa begins unraveling the mystery of what happened in the house on Shady Street—and more importantly, what it has to do with her!

Review: I always go in tentatively to spooky books because I am so jumpy and also really don’t enjoy when the only point of a book is to scare the reader. But I could tell right away that Shady Street was going to completely exceed other just-scary books because it was about so much more. Sure, there was definitely a shady mystery and some really scary moments, but it was all entwined with a story about friendship, family, identity, and moving. Lindsay Currie did a perfect job balancing the two goals of the book: to scare the reader and to make the reader care so much about her characters.

In addition to the plot development being on point, Shady Street‘s characters were each were fully-developed to give every reader someone to connect with. I also liked how Currie included actual Chicago folklore and landmarks to enhance the story (and as a girl who lives in Florida and loves Chicago, I loved the Florida truths throughout also). Check out Currie’s website for behind the scenes info, and here’s a video of Lindsay Currie on a walking tour through Graceland cemetery, one of the settings of the book:

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Students are going to love this story because it is a perfect mix of ghost story and coming-of-age story, so classroom, school, and public libraries all definitely need to have a copy–once one students reads it, the word is going to get out, and it’ll never be on the shelf!

In the classroom, using Lindsay Currie’s website and video, Shady Street is a good example of author’s decision-making, how the setting of a story can impact the plot, and how an author uses the setting to affect the mood.

Book Trailer: 

Discussion Questions: 

  • How would the story have been different if Tessa had not gone to the pond the first time?
  • Why do you think Inez chose Tessa?
  • Did the story end how you thought it was going to?
  • How did the author use the setting to affect the mood of the story? The plot?
  • Which character do you connect with the most? Explain.
  • What caused Inez to act the way she did?
  • Similar to what Tessa did at the end for Inez, create a name plate for yourself with illustrations that identify you.
  • Explain the act of condensation.

Flagged Passages: “The door clicks shut behind her, and I grab a pair of jeans off the chair I slung them over last night. My sketchpad is open just slightly and I stop in my tracks, confused at the small blur I can see in the upper left-hand corner of the sheet. It’s grayish black, like I started something then just barely ran the bad of my thumb over it.

‘What in the–‘ I start, bending closer to the page.

I didn’t draw anything last night. I was so tired from carrying boxes all over this ginormous place that I crawled into bed without even brushing my teeth.

I stare at the mark. It’s small and shaped like an upside-down L. Lifting the book and giving the paper a tap, I watch asn the unwelcome spot becomes dust again and drifts into the air. There will still be a darkened area there, but I’ll camouflage it with shading later. Still. There’s something about the mark that bothers me. Something off.”

Read This If You Love: Mary Downing Hahn novels, The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd, Ghostlight by Sonia Gensler, Doll Bones by Holly Black, The Seer of Shadows by Avi

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Lindsay Currie for providing a copy of the book for review!**