Satchel Paige

I was excited to see how short Satchel Paige was :) At first the format interfered with my reading, although I have read and enjoyde graphic novels in the past (Neil Gaiman's Sandman), I didn't think the text or content fit the format. To me it seemed like historical fiction, and I am not use to reading about those experiences in such a "new" way. I did find myself engrossed, especially because I love baseball so i was caught up in the often "play by play" narration of the game. I think this format would appeal greatly to reluctant readers, as well as enhance comprehension because the font allows for more meaning to be easily tranferred, like when one of the Jennings twins yelled at Paige, calling him "a washed out ******," of course that would be emphasized regardless, but the ability to increase the font size helps too.

Very Interesting article from NY Times on Matt De La Pena's book being BANNED! READ!

March 19, 2012

Racial Lens Used to Cull Curriculum in Arizona

By MICHAEL WINERIP

TUCSON — Ana Verdugo is a fan of Matt de la Peña’s young adult novels; she read his “Mexican WhiteBoy” in two days.

Like the lead character, Danny, Ana is a Mexican-American whose family does not have much, is being raised by her mother and has a father who spent time in jail.

Like Sofia, the lead female character, Ana, a high school junior, is hoping to go to community college, where she wants to study accounting. “Most books I read, I don’t know the people,” Ana said. “This book is the truth.”

Last fall, she had the idea of inviting Mr. de la Peña to Tucson High. “I didn’t think he’d say yes,” she recalled, “but maybe he would.”

For the next several months, Ana and the school librarian, Amy Rusk, worked to raise $1,000 for his speaking fee. It was not easy — their most successful bake sale netted only $124.

Still, on Tuesday morning at 8:30, Mr. de la Peña walked into the Tucson High library, although there was a surprising plot twist.

On Jan. 1, after a new state law targeting Mexican-American studies courses that are perceived as antiwhite was upheld, it became illegal to teach “Mexican WhiteBoy” in Tucson’s classrooms. State officials cited the book as containing “critical race theory,” a violation under a provision that prohibits lessons “promoting racial resentment.”

For those who have read the book, like Ana, it is hard to figure. In “Mexican WhiteBoy,” the hero’s hope is to become a pitcher on his school’s baseball team.

The novel’s story is pretty much the American dream.

Andrew LeFevre, a state spokesman, said that while the Education Department had found the Mexican-American studies program out of compliance with the law, it was the Tucson district’s job to decide how to enforce the ruling. “I think the district said: ‘Let’s be safe and collect this material. We don’t want a teacher from Mexican-American studies to use it in an inappropriate fashion.’ ” he said.

The conflict dates to 2006 when Dolores Huerta, a labor activist, gave a speech at Tucson High, telling students “Republicans hate Latinos.”

Tom Horne, the state education superintendent at the time and a Republican, sent his deputy to the high school to convey their concerns. But students saw the visit as an attack on free speech, and 200 walked out in protest.

Ka-boom. Mr. Horne accused the district’s Mexican-American studies program of using an antiwhite curriculum to foster social activism. At the time, the program served 1,400 of 53,000 students in the Tucson district, which is 60 percent Latino.

In 2010, after several attempts, the Republican-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor passed a law prohibiting classes that advocate overthrowing the government, are designed for students of one ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of treating pupils as individuals. The state wanted Tucson’s Mexican-American studies program disbanded.

When Tucson officials resisted, the attorney general’s office issued subpoenas. Investigators obtained textbooks, PowerPoint presentations, teachers’ college theses, exam prompts, poems and lyrics from hip-hop songs.

Class lessons were singled out over apparent political bias, among them “From Cortes to Bush: 500 Years of Internalized Oppression.” Seven texts were ordered removed from all classrooms, including “Chicano! The History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement” by F. Arturo Rosales and “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire.

“Mexican WhiteBoy” fell into a category of books that could no longer be taught but could be used by students for leisure reading. To get an independent assessment of the program, the state hired a consultant, for $110,000, to conduct an audit.

The audit found that while some aspects of the program needed changing, it was doing a good job. It noted that students who took Mexican-American studies were more likely to attend college, and that the program helped close the achievement gap. The state ignored the audit, calling it flawed.

John Huppenthal, the new state superintendent, told a reporter that he was fighting a war. “When we encountered this situation, we did what Hannibal did to the Romans,” he said. “This is the eternal battle, the eternal battle of all time, the forces of collectivism against the forces of individuality.”

In January, facing a $15 million penalty from the state for failure to comply, the Tucson resistors threw down their arms. Administrators went from room to room, collecting hundreds of copies of the seven textbooks.

Mr. de la Peña’s visit, which began in October as a literary event, had political implications by March, although little he said was directly political.

Mostly, he told the 300 students his story of reluctant reader to successful writer. He explained that, half-Mexican, half-white, he had grown up speaking no Spanish; too white for Mexican kids, too brown for whites.

He got to college because he could play basketball. His hope was to play professionally until, in one of his college games, he guarded Steve Nash. (Nash: 36 points, 4 assists; de la Peña: 3 points, 1 assist, 8 turnovers.)

He told them that if they were serious about writing, they had to be ready to accept lots of failure. He once wrote a poem for a girl he liked, but after reading it, she never spoke to him again. His goal as a writer, he said, “is to give grace and dignity to people from the other side of the tracks.”

“If you are Mexican-American, embrace it,” he said. “If the classes are offered, take them; if not, try to get them back.”

Mr. de la Peña donated his fee to buy 240 copies of his books, which he gave to the students. “I want to give back what was taken away,” he told Samantha Neville, a reporter for the school newspaper, The Cactus Chronicle.

As for Ana, this may have been the greatest day of her life. Having finished all four of Mr. de la Peña’s novels, she is now reading “The Lucky One” by Nicholas Sparks, about a Marine’s search for a mysterious woman in a tattered photo he finds, who turns out to be strong but vulnerable.

“It’s not the same,” Ana said. “I don’t know anybody like that.”

E-mail: oneducation
@nytimes.com

Finished with Monster

I think the ending of the book exposes who the real monsters are. I am happy Steve was found innocent, and actually surprised too. I felt he was, but I know how the whole innocent until proven guilty saying works too. Often, if you are a minority you are always guilty in the eyes of certain people. Why did Steve's attorney turn away at the end? That part proabably bugged more than anything else. And that will plague him for a long time, it is difficult not to let other peoples reactions and perceptions sink in to your skin.

I like how at the end Steve says he is looking for one true image of himself. I think what he reveals in this last part is that although he is not sure who he is, he has the power to define himself, he is the camera man, he is in control of his life. There may not be that true image because life, just like on camera, all rests on perception and the perspective.

TGIF

Ok, I have been a bad blogger as of late. I was very excited earlier this week to begin Ball Don't Lie, but unfortunately the book has sat on my desk untouched, and actually buried under tons and tons (literally!..well not really...) of papers! AP Lit and Comp, AP Lang and Comp, and two vastly different classes of English III....AIS meetings this week, and LTED 626...MY OWN children are coming home with notes from THEIR teachers requesting more help with homework....Let's see if I can finish off this semester without a nervous breakdown....
At least that's the optional read! I am used to putting off what I want to do and instead focusing on what demands I have to meet, so W.D. Meyers, I am reading your Monster right now. I personally do not enjoy this book. I think it lacks depth and is not dynamic enough for me so far. I do think many students would like it, and it would show them a kid maybe similar to them, who wants to be tough on the outside, but inside is scared and never wanted to be in any kind of trouble. I do think Steve is innocent. I think he would have admitted it in his "movie" if he was not. One part of the book I really do like is him pretending his life in jail is a movie. He says nothing seems real, and it is like he is watching someone elses life, and so to put distance between him and his life he is "making a movie" out of his experiences in jail. I think it is a cool way for this caharcter to survive mentally, and it shows in my eyes that he is innocent. He is a kid, and his love for film and his success in his film class show that he is a good kid. But good kids can get themselves in trouble...and that is what I like about this book. So many people have a negative perception of urban students. When Is ay I work at Edison the response I get make me so angry "Oh that must be tough" or "Wow you are one brave soul" or "I bet the kids are real bad." I love my students. 4 weeks in and I love them. They are good and smart and amazing and the environment that surrounds them is often a negative one. It is very difficult to be and act a certain way when the environment you are raised in is conducive to a certain type of ....don't know the word I am looking for. It is like expecting to grow an avocado when you are planting in an apple farm. ??? get it? both fruits are good, but they both grow under different conditions and come in packages that insist they be different....I hope I did an ok job trying to demonstrate that kids are kids, just like fruit is fruit, but there are some differences and its natural and you cannot blame an apple for being an apple, or an avocado for being an avocado. Anyway, my students are often victims of their environmnet, much like Steve was, and now he is scared and the evil prosecuter...."monster" how dare her. Now poor Steve is starting to believe it. Reminds me of A Lesson Before Dying when the prosecutor calls the man on trial a hog, and his grandmother is set on making her sure her grandson goes to his death a man :( so sad.

Can't wait to start this week's reading!

I am very excited for my "optional" read this week! It is Matt De La Pena's Ball Don't Lie, and though I am not a huge basketball fan, if it is anything like his last book, I am sure to love it!

Finished with Hunger Games

Ok, this book kept my attention....and I admit...I was enteratined, and I can say I liked it....but at the same time there was so much I did not like and just made me feel dumb.....

Like the crazy outfits...I am sorry, I just could not fully believe, by into, or take seriously the girl on fire...all the prep and the parading of them and ceremony, I don't know, I truly dislike reality tv shows and how scripted they are too....all aspcts of them bug me, and so of course this did.

I think what really bothered me was that they could dress people up, interview them, test them and score them, and watch them die. It's just weird and I want to say (stupid!) I know it is making commentary on how our society functions, but I just (as everyone has probably noticed in my other responses) have a hard time bying in to things that I cannot "imagine"...I do have a good imagination too...some things though, just do not sit right with me....The whole soap opera love affair too...just...I dont know, not a book I'd push on to students...and actually I was asked to. I guess the RCSD ordered a bunch for the tenth graders and i was asked to take a box and give them to kids to read. I was like...whoa...I have a TON of books I can reccomend to students, this one....not so much....

Hunger Games

I really like Hunger Games so far because it is easy to read and descriptive. I need something easy and enjoyable right now. Katniss decsribes and sets us up well to visialize the setting and her district. She seems like a smart and resourceful girl. I know this is set in the future, but the way they way she hunts and attempts to live off the land, and the way they decribe the hungergames themselves, and the "Dark days" seems more like a time a long time ago, nothing any civilized society would think up or lead to. Sadly, I need to admit that based on the other books we have read so far this semester (Breadwinner, Book Theif, Yellow Star) perfectly good and modern societies impose and commit horrific inhuman monstrous acts againts human beings. But my kid...NEVER. I COULD NOT WOULD NOT put up with this. The idea that so many are ammuesed by the Games is sickening, and....I wonder if today's reality shows are any match in analogy for this. I personally cannot stand reality shows. I have not gotten too far, but I am glad Katniss took Prim's spot, because I don't think we'd have a possibility at a rest of a book if she didn't....

My thoughts on Crank...(the book)

Ok, at first, Crank left me feeling very uncomfortable. I think the subject matter and the roles of parents all contributed to that. It really felt uncomfortable and dirty  and raw, that this man would allow his daughter to be doing meth and possibly sleeping with this boy right under his nose. That whole first part was gray and dark.
Then, when Kristina (or Bree) moved back to her mom's house, even though she would spiral into a much larger drug problem, the book was still "sunnier" than the time spent with her dad. I can't explain this, but I am apt to visualize what I read so much that often when discussing soemthing I read in the past I am convinced I had watched it as a movie because I can "see" everything so clearly (that however, is why i did not like Deadline, I couldn't visualize it fully. It never seemed real enough for me, that must say something about me as far as who I am and my experinces,but I'm getting too far off subject now). So time spent with her dad: grimy gray, dark and dirty. Back at mom's summerish and yellow, yet full of a stomach tightening pain of disgust and of the knowledge that a life is being wasted.

Ok, I get way too personal in these things. When I was a senior in high school my friends and I dabbled in lots of things we shouldnt have. Not meth, but simialr stuff. We were suburban kids with money. We had happy families and cars and freedom. Too much freedom. I remember we got out of work one night (many of us all worked at the same restaurant) and we were going to try "it" for the first time. We all agreed that it woudlnt turn into an everyweekend thing, we were just curious. Well, a week later, it wasn't an everyweekend thing, it was an everyday thing. It was summertime and our bank accounts were loaded up from our recent graduation parties. believe it or not though,  I have a very high moral conscience. I never, repeat never felt "good" or "comfortable" I was the least into all this of all my frineds and I think it's because my family. I have always had a very close relationship with my mom and dad, and am the middle of five kids. I knew what I was doing would hurt them. The worst day, was when my older sister and her new husband came over to show us pictures of their honeymoon in Jamaica they had just returned from. I remember my mom calling me and telling me "Julie and dave just came over, come home!" everyone was excited to see the new happily married couple and their pictures. I was with my best friend, we have known each other since we were five and my family and hers are very close. We go to my house. We were "on" stuff. I did not want to be there. I was trying to act normal and happy for them, but all I could think about was the stuff out in the car. I looked at my younger brother and sister, both 13, and I felt so low. I looked at my entire family, and felt so wrong. I wanted to be with them, I wanted to want that anyway. i wanted to be good for them. I sat there thinking what if I died and how my family would react. I did not like who I was right then. It was not me.
Shortly after that i told my mom what iw as doing so she would make me stop. It was not hard, I never had that strong of a desire for what i was doing. i was done an that was it. My friends kept it up for a little while until they too got over it. Happy to say we all were able to put that part our lives behind us. That was over ten years ago.
Reading Crank really reminded me of me when I was 17 and 18, except, I was not as far gone as she was, and I always wanted to help and love my fam,ily. Kristina made me very mad the waay she acted towrads her family. I understand it was the drugs talking, but I did not relate to how she acted and how she snuck out. I had a job, a car, and freedom. Ok, so please don't judge...it was one summer, but I really could relate to Crank....not the dark beginning though, just the sunny suburban girl in danger of throwing her life away part.

Library computers not letting me post comments on other blogs! Grrrr....

Here is a comment I wanted to leave on "Bez Says" right after Katie's comment, but for some reason it won't let me so I am posting it here...sorry :(

Regarding Crank....
I have only just started to read, and am having a little trouble adapting to the format as well. I know many of my students have read and liked the book, and even a girl at the YMCA saw me holding it and stopped to tell me what a good book it is. Well, after reading your description, I am having trouble believing any of you! It sounds...hmm...how can I say it...it sounds like a journey I don't want to go down right now! Never thought I'd say this but....I want a happy story! Just reading your blog prepared me for the emotional and disturbing tone of this book...

Yellowstar

So I finished Yellowstar lastnight. Theverse style  allowed me to read easily and fluidly making the book a very easy read as far as actual picking words of the page. It was a very difficult book to read as far subject matter is concerned. Comparing it to Breadwinner, it was fairly simple. Nothing to deep or introspective. The horrors were laid out for what they were. I don't even know what else to say about it, it is just terrible. One thing, it does remind me that we are never safe. one day our lives can be normal, and they next....crazy, but I do truly believe something like this could happen again. But the children, that is the one part I can't get over. i admired all those that hid their children and went through great measures (sleeping in a hole in a graveyard!) to safe them. I could not imagine. I can't see any parent having to deal with that. Walking into the library today, i was in the kid's section with my kids and I saw a book on the return shelf and it was "Children of the Slaughter" a book about children of the Holocaust. I scanned it for Syvia but did not see her name :( I was amazed to discover at the end that they lived in Rochester when they came to America!! That was so exciting to me! and it said her son went to one of the best school district in the country! (RCSD? Maybe in the 70's!) Anyways, good, heartwrenching read.....at least this one had a happy ending...kind of..
Looking forward to starting Crank later!

Disregard last post regarding The Book Thief!

Who would have known that only pages after i posted my last blog my feelings for the book would change dramatically. Now finished with The Book Thief, I have a love for it and a definite saddness inside me that was not there before. Rudy and Liesa both became much more dynamic in my eyes after the one hundreth page, as did Hans and her "mama."

I find it very interesting that  SO many of these YA novels center around a love of stories and reading. Mattie in A Northern Light loves to read and write and is amazed when she is brought into her teacher's library. Miguel, from De La Pena's We Were Here reads and connects and grows by reading canonical books, and even (what is his name? All I can think of is "Little Wolf"...is it Ben?) Deadline has a main character that is inspired by a book. I like the message it sends to readers, that reading books can transform you.

Anyway, The Book Thief is AMAZING! I came to really appreciate the style and the language. But the saddness...oh. my. god. This book offers a perspective not often seen. I really liked when during an air raid, as many families were crammed into a basement, death pondered if these German's, who all gripped each other tight, and attempted to quite the little ones, deserved this fate. Many of them were party memebers, they "heil Hitlered" Should they be punished for the crimes of their countrty? Were they all guilty?
This to me spoke largely about how we group a country and it's people. Just like I mentioned about the Breadwinner, we often hear "Afghanistan" and think terrorist, and we hear Nazi Germany and it's citizens and we think they are all bad. These people suffered too. And as Hans and his wife demonstrated as well as Rudy and Liesa, were human beings. Unlike some of the monsters who were stripped of their humanity.

I had a thought while reading...while thinking of Werner (who each time Liesa brought him up caused me to cry (maybe it's because I have a six year old) while thinking of Max, and his dad, while thinking of the next door neighbor and her two sons, both of whose lives ended tragically, and of cousre, the end, where death pulls the ground out from under the reader, yes, he kept warning us, but it came so fast. the way he described carrying the souls of the children, how Hans' soul sat up to meet him, Rudy...oh my god I am actually crying as i write this! Well, back to my point, as i thought about all this, I had a thought, and it reminded me of The Giver. I'm not sure how many are familiar with that book, but i thought of how much it hurt the Giver to tranfer the memories to the reciever (jonas, and the liitle girl who failed, his daughter) and I wondered if you Dr. Jones, felt bad for having us read that. It contained such Saddness. Utter pain and grief. It defintely hurt parts of me to read it. However, I loved this book and want everyone I know to read it!

The Book Thief: Not Feeling It

I am about one hundred pages in, and I am still not too sure how I feel about The Book Thief..the book, not the girl that death calls the book thief.
The narration feels different...the bold faced captions and announcements every few pages, the distance or detachment rather...death (the narrator) is making me "feel" different and right now I am not sure how I feel about that. I think the a lot of what has to do with the way i feel, and I guess this is a credit to the author, is his ability to make me feel uncomfortable. I feel dirty reading it. I feel gray and drab and just not "good." Maybe that is the point. My heartbreaks for Leisa. I just cannot even get past the fact that she lost her brother and her mother abandons her. I mean, I know her mother's choice was based on what she thought was best for Leisa, but still. Hans, or "papa" just smokes too many cigarettes and I think the constatnt reference to that also makes me feel dirty and stuffy and bogged down with heavy smoke filled air....
I'm liking Rudy and enjoy watching their friendship develop, I think they are good for eachother, but I don't feel that I know him well enough either. So far Leisa has only stole one book, but she is about to steal another. I am curious to see how this book thievery will play out. I'll be back soon with more!

More Thoughts on A Northern Light

I finished A Northern Light and my love for the book persisted all the through to the end. As I mentioned in my previous post, this book really resonated with me because of the realistic descriptions of the setting and the life they live. As I read on, even more resonated. As with De La Pena's We Were Here, there were a few times i had to put the book aside and in awe of what I was reading, because of shock or at the beauty of the words. Mattie's conflict throughout: should she stay and work the farm, staying true to her promise to her mother, or should she go to NYC and attend Barnard and pursue her dream of being a writer, is one that interested me because it is something I myself often think about. (No, I don't work on a farm nor do I have a full scholarship to a school in NYC). I think we talked about this with Deadline? The idea of following our dreams even though it will/may cause pain to those we love. I really connected with Mattie on this. At first I was not too fond of Mattie, and cannot really articulate why, I just felt like she did not understand what was good for her...if that makes sense I guess I was upset that she wouldn't read the letters at first, that irritated me. I was very upset that she was giving up her opportunity...but I understood completely why she felt she had to... Then I thought, if I was characterful in a book...would I like myself? probably not...too stubborn and argumentative...:)
I miss what is good for me because I am too stuck on trying to prove others wrong and proving something to myself.
One of my favorite parts is on page 202 I put a post it in at that part with tons of exclamation points and the words "EXACTLY" This is when Mattie is sitting in her teacher's library and is going on about how books are not "real" enough. She say's "why do writers make things sugary when life isn't that way?...Why don't they tell the truth?" That is how i feel about the difference between Deadline and We Were Here, yes, Deadline did deal with some heavy issues, but it did so in a way that made everything seem as if it had a sugary coating...We Were Here did not sugar coat anything, it was gritty and raw, it held truth. When I read page 202 I loved Mattie. I really liked the way it ended and was pleased with her choice. I can't believe that the couple at the Glenmore was real and I really want to read into it..very interesting and this is definitely a favorite book of mine now!

A Northern light by Jennifer Donnelly

So, yesterday while I was tutoring my student for my LTED 626 class I started to read A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. I paused after reading the first page and just sat there...breathless..I read it again, and I found my eyes nearly welling up with tears. I wanted to call across the desk to my student and tell her "Oh My God! This book is amazing already!!!!" The character is describing the perfect summer day, bringing in so many images, awakening all of the senses, I know first hand exactly how she felt, wanting that day to go on forever. For time to stand still...for a moment to last longer...to want to live inside a moment. i often think about how sad it is that time just keeps on going and all of our good memories happen so fleetingly...I just want to hold on to some...I remember a day i spent at the beach with my son when he was a year old...it was early evening in September and there was something magical about that day. I loved watching him run through the crashing waves chasing seagulls, the color of the sky, the people flying kites, the smells from the grills...everything about it, i remember wishing that I could keep these moments alive forever! (I guess that's what we do when we write, now I just reminded myself of Tim O'Brien in The Things They carried) Anyway, I loved the book from the first page. I love the setting and how she is painting it, i have always loved reading and watching The Little House on the Prairie because of the description of the daily life, preparing and cooking the food, doing the chores, making the clothes...I am not sure why but that type of life has always appealed to me, it just seems so natural, real, and necessary. So needless to say, i am thoroughly enjoying this book. The Hubbard's, The Weaver's, the Loomis's are all so well described I can see this whole town and its people. I have many questions, like how does Mattie get to work at the Glenmore? (right now I am on pg. 135) why does Weaver say he hates the place? (when he is at the Glenmore, he says the place takes away everything beautiful..or something? I don't have the book right in front of me!) I cannot wait to continue reading!!

Big Splash

No lie, I finished this book in less than a day. My feelings are neutral regarding it. It was a good read, and I would tell others to read it, but I cannot rave about it. Definitely entertaining, and its suspenseful nature, or the whole "whodunnit?" quality had me reading until two in the morning. I did tend to laugh when  the kids had conversations about the squirt guns and  such matters and I saw how easily the conversations could be seen being had by men and women three times their age, with slicked back hair, next to a black Cadillac in a dark alley, with some nine mm's and some body bags! I was extremely disappointed when we never found out what was between Mr. Carling and Matthews's mom, AND what happened to Matt's dad. Why give us the clue about the mysterious typed up "code" if he was not going to tell us what it meant???Made me think there must be a sequel! Or maybe we have to figure it on our own... don't know but that upset me! Overall though, I liked it, and I even really liked the character Matt, at first I thought I'd feel about this book the way i did about Deadline, but this never tried too hard to be something it wasn't like Deadline did...

Busy reading!

Ok, so i know it has been a little while since the last time I posted, but I have been busy reading!
I finished Breadwinner and was disappointed. I know it is only part one, but nothing really got resolved, it's like I must read the next one if I want any satisfaction! At Parvana's dad came back....anyway, i really enjoyed Breadwinner, although it was a very simple read (I think the lexile level for it is upper 500's or early 600's) because of the shocking yet real circumstances the individuals live through. It really forces you to think how lucky or fortunate we are in America...so far..(don't mean to sound pessimistic, but with Obama passing NDAA this country seems to me to be fast approaching Big Brother status...)anyway, again...I really related to Parvana because she is strong, and even though so much responsibility rests on her she does her job. She feels under-appreciated, yet proud for what she does. As I said in  a different post, I am doing this book as my guided reading in my other class where I tutor a 12 year old girl. She too really relates to Parvana and so far has made many text to self connections with the feelings Parvana expresses, also, this book is bringing up many questions about government and rights during our tutoring sessions, i think its a good pick!

Breadwinner!

I started the Breadwinner last night because I think I want to use it for my guided reading in my other class, and i couldn't put it down! (becoming a pattern with these YA books!) I was slow to get in to it, but once I got to the part where her father was taken away I couldn't stop! I like how Ellis incorporates the history of the country as well as the positive attributes of the people, because in our media today, Afghanistan gets a pretty bad rap. I am about ten pages away from finishing and I can't wait to see if she finds her family!

We Were Here....I am done but I wish I wasn't!

Ok, so I finished reading Matt de La Pena's We Were Here, and I must say...that book was amazing!!!!!!! It was shocking, both in its true to reality feel and it depth and complexity without feeling fake. It actually turned my stomach at times, and I was so emotionally involved while reading, that at one point I was reading it while waiting for the "car rider" release at my kid's school and there I am in a crowded but quiet cafeteria with dozens of other parents and I am squealing and bursting with "oh my god! I cannot believe this! I had to take deep breaths, look back at the page, take another break! all because it was so amazing and shocking!!! Wow.....all I can say....just crazy!! I want everyone to read this!!! One of my favorite things about the entire book is the coast and the waves and how symbolic the continuously crashing waves are...this idea that we are "just passing through" and how small our lives are in the grand scheme of things, the mountains and rivers, oceans and waves will long persist when we are gone constantly going and going....like a beat...but making peace with yourself and finding purpose in your own life is still crucial despite this, and Miguel learns that lesson! LOVED this book!! 9.1 outta 10!!! :)

We Were Here....

I finished Deadline and am back to reading We Were Here...I love the title...anyway, while reading I came across a part that I wanted to share for coincidences sake :) Miguel, the main character is in  a group home for boys because of some trouble he got into back home in Stockton Cali. (he won't say what it is he did yet), and he is refusing to talk to any of the other boys so he starts to read. He makes a deal with himself to read every book on the group home's bookshelf, then he mentions none other than.... MALCOLM X! He says that he heard Malcolm X read everything he could get his hands on in prison and he (Miguel) would do the same. I found the coincidence that Ben Wolf from Deadline and now Miguel from We Were Here both admire Malcolm X! Just felt like sharing :)

Met the Deadline for Deadline....

Ok, so I finished the book in two nights, and last night as I read well into the AM hours I thought about coming downstairs to blog , but I decided I'd wait, but here it is...As a whole, I must say I loved the book, I could not stop reading it! Only thing....I am not too comfortable with I guess ANY of the characters...I just couldn't "buy" them....I wasn't sure why, until I considered the question "what is it about my own life or experiences that would cause me to have the reaction I had?" and I think it's that I never knew anyone like Ben, and his small town is alien to what I knew growing up. I had over 500 kids in my graduation class alone, not to mention the ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders in my school. I just could not relate..he actually annoyed me a little at some parts, like he was too corny....Also, his relationship with his brother did not seem real to me..it was too smooth, there was no conflict at all...ever...what kind of brother relationship is that? It just seemed to lack dynamic. But enough about that, as I said, I did really like the book and I think it is because of the very wise and philosophical insights with "Hey-soos." I was amazed at the insight into the meaning of life, and I really liked the "life as a video game" metaphor....very cool...Ben and Cody's family (the parents) also added a dimension that caused me to enjoy it,life can never be too "nice" when you have to deal with a parent with a mental disorder. and that is bound to make them grow up a little fast. The ending was shocking....you know Ben's going to die (even though a part of me hoped it was a mistake the whole time!") but the other boy, that was real sad, and I really felt for his father...he had a lot of guilt on his hands. Oh! one last part I thought was AWESOME was when Ben would argue about bigotry and racism....the points he was making were excellent and I loved it! He was a very smart and insightful kid!! I would (and have already on Facebook) tell others to read this book!

Looking forward to starting to read Crutcher's Deadline

Tonight, after I finish about one hundred pages of reading in my Assessment and Instruction text book, I will joyfully begin to read Deadline by Chris Crutcher. I am looking forward to becoming lost in a book for the purpose of homework; it's been a while since I have had the pleasure of reading fiction as an assignment. Becoming familiar with it by reading the back of it, I know a little bit of what to expect. So this high school senior learns he has one year to live...and he doesn't tell anyone!? What?! How is that even possible?! Right away I am almost angry...this kid's parents MUST know! I think it's funny that the last line on the back of the book says "What will Ben do when he realizes he isn't the only person who's keeping one [a secret]? WELL!!! what makes Ben think he is the only one who can keep secrets? Especially one as serious as this?  I am predicting a suspenseful story of "what's going to happen?" and some anger on my part for a kid who'll keep this kind of secret, who knows, maybe I'll begin to understand him as I read....

First reactions to Matt De La Pena's We Were Here.

 As I started reading this book I felt instantly that it was a good choice for me. I liked right away that it


seemed "real." The main character Miguel instantly seemed like many teenagers I met teaching in the RCSD. I think often when I read YA fiction the characters do not seem real, they seem like the author is trying to hard to be a teenager. Honestly, it seems strange, but I really liked that the character swore and used foul language, it seems natural, but I was thinking, I hope he changes in a way throughout the book that won't encourage kids to act like him. If kids look up to Miguel then they too will think it's cool to fight, swear, and be in "juvi." I do think kids will relate to him and that is understandable, but I don't think it's good for kids to want to be like him. I think age is important in determining who will read this, I think early middle school may be  to young and kids may think it's cool to be like him in the beginning. I also felt that this book will resonate with many kids, as it has already started to with me. It offers up opportunity for deep thinking and I am only 20 pages in. Ideas of God and Identity and relationships have already surfaced that I think will spark the minds of almost anyone. 

I think the reason I was instantly pulled in to this book is because of what I already stated, it's real. I do not like things that are sugar coated or made to seem all happy and good. I like truth and struggle, I like conflict and overcoming, and this seems full of it. It's not as if my life has been full of conflict and struggle, though I have had my share, I just can relate to this idea of internal conflict, and fighting to be true to yourself and people you love, even when you are not sure of what that means. I really like the idea of thinking about larger, philosophical ideas and the impact they have on the way one lives there life. I think it is very important for people to evaluate beliefs, stereotypes, and ideas they hold in order to be their true self, and Miguel seems to be someone who is doing that.