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.