Seconds Away (338 pages)

Just finished Harlan Coben's new YA book and it is a doozie! It is the first in a series,  and I can't wait for the next book! Mickey Bolitar has two new friends, Ema and Spoon. They are suddenly in the middle of a mystery along with another friend named Rachel. Part of the mystery involves the Abeona Shelter. This organization's goal is to save children who have been abducted. Mickey, Ema, and Spoon are suddenly rocked by a shooting that appears to injure Rachel and definitely kills her mother. Now Mickey's mom has been committed to a hospital for drug rehab. Rachel's mother HAD been in a mental hospital, but Rachel managed to bring her home, because she believed her father had her mother committed to get her out of the way so he could marry someone else. I am not doing the book justice. It is a fast, exciting page tuner,  and one that boys will enjoy and girls may also.

Multiple Professional Books

This is a "heads up." Many of you are building your own professional libraries, and this is a good thing. As I have told you, in both Developmental Reading and Grammar classes, you may very well be questioned by experienced teachers and concerned parents about practices that are new to them and not understood. Your professional library is the source where you can turn to help explain the "whys" of activities. All of the books below are from Heinemann.

Kylene Beers and Robert Probst have written a new book that is wonderful. Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading introduces 6 "sign posts" teachers can teach students so that they can practice close reading. There are lessons included. There are also many printable forms that you can use with your classes. This is really good "stuff". Appropriate for Grades 4- 10. $23

With Rigor For All: Meeting Common Core Standards for Reading Literature by Carol Jago pairs YA literature with classics to aid comprehension, Uses CCSS as a teaching touchstone, and includes tips to motivate reluctant readers, a study guide, and guidelines for curriculum development. Appropriate for Grades 6-10. $21

 Teaching Argument Writing: Supporting Claims with Relevant Evidence and Clear Reasoning by George Hillocks, Jr. Shows how to move from simple to complex arguments; Shares lesson ideas for writing and evaluating fact, judgement, and policy arguments; Includes handouts, activities, and discussion models. Appropriate for Grades 6-12. $24

The Story of My Thinking Expository Writing Activities for 13 Teaching Situations

Two teachers, each with 30 + years of classroom experience, Gretchen Bernabei and Dottie Hall have written this professional development book, and it is filled with writing lessons that respond to specific teaching situations. For example, "If you want to begin with heartfelt moments from students' lives" the activity is called "Indelible Moments".  Turning to that section, the teacher will find Basic Steps, Tool, Setting the Scene, The Point, Teaching It, Debriefing, What to Do Net, Spin-offs, and Student Samples. Believe me, there is enough here to keep you and the kids busy for months! The book can be purchased from Heinimann, and I don't remember the cost, but it isn't much. he book is appropriate for 4th - 9th grades....and maybe more! Enjoy.

Son (393 Pages)

This is the 4th and final book in Lois Lowry's   The Giver series. Ass most of you know, the first three books include The Giver, Gathering Blue, The Messenger, and now, Son. I just finished this last book and all I can say is, "WOW!" Lois Lowry's son was killed last year in Afghanistan, and she has dedicated this book to him. It makes it even more moving that this is so. The book's theme involves a mother's determination to find her son. The book goes back to the first book and pulls events from that to create the plot line in this book. Claire is the birth mother whose child was taken from her at birth and nurtured by Jonas's father, who brought the baby home each night for he was a fussy baby. If you remember correctly, Jonas discovers that the plan is to destroy the baby (he had witnessed his father destroying another infant), and as a result he decides to take the infant and escape from the community. At the end of The Giver, the reader is unsure as to whether or not both survived. So in the final book, Claire identifies her baby, and knows that she must find him. She escapes on a boat that frequently brings supplies to the community. The boat is lost at sea in a horrible storm, but Claire washes up on a shore, barely alive. She is welcomed into this new community, but has almost lost all of her memory. This is eventually returned, and at that point she vows to leave the village in search of her son. It takes several years for her to build up her body to be able to successfully handle the difficult trip. She accomplished this only to meet, at the end of her harrowing experience,  a man known as Tradesman. He makes trade to give people what they want. He tells Claire he will take Claire to her son if she will trade her youth. She arrives at her son's village a haggard, bent over, old lady. There she meets Joan, his wife and 2 children, and is able to see Gabe from a distance. But what should she do? Let Gabe see his mother as a bent, old hag? Or  should she just be satisfied that she has found him?

Insurgent (525 Pages)

I can't believe that I never entered this book on the blog! It is the book between Divergent and Bitterblue. Lord only knows where my mind was! In this book, Veronica Roth continues the tale of Tris and Tobias. It is a fast paced read like her other books. In this book, Tris and Tobias attempt to protect Bitterblue from her cruel father. They succeed, but at great cost....Your students will enjoy this book as well.

Picking Cotton (282 Pages)

The title of this book will fool you! This is a memoir written from two points of view with the help of Erin Torneo, the third writer. Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton both are able to tell this story during which the reader finds her reactions and concerns shifting from Jennifer to Ronald, to Jennifer to Ronald. Jennifer was a senior at Elon College in North Carolina. She was an A student, had a boy friend who she was planing on marrying, and looked forward to her graduation. Then she awoke one night in her off campus apartment, to a man holding a knife to her throat as he proceeded to rape her. Asked to come to the police station to view a lineup, she proceeded to identify Ron Cotton as the rapist. He was then sentenced to life in prison. All of this occurred shortly after the O.J. Simpson case. Eventually Ron was represented by lawyers who believed his innocence and were able to prove it using DNA as evidence. However, Ron had spent eleven years in jail for a crime he never committed. And then there is a surprising turn to the story. Ron forgives Jennifer, and they both become a team giving talks about the fallacy of memory and eye-witness testimony. This is a book with much room for class discussion, and may be one you'd like to consider for an all-class reading.

Stolen (299 Pages)

Lucy Christopher is the author of this Printz honor book, and it certainly grabbed me and held fast for the entire read! Gemma has a somewhat rocky relationship with her mother. Like so many teens, her emotions are raw and controlling. Her mom doesn't like the top she's wearing, thinking it to skimpy, so when she leaves her parents at the Bankok airport to get a cup of coffee, the beautiful mezmerizing, blue eyes of the stranger over-shadowed her common sense. He bought the coffee for her, and said he'd bring it to the table for her. She sat down, and he poured a drug(s) into the coffee. Before she knows what is happening, Ty takes her out of the airport, gives her a disguise to wear, and the next thing the reader knows, they are in the desert of Australia. She alternately hates him, is attracted to him, hates him, wonders what he's going to do to her, hates him, is attracted to him.... she attempts to escape, it doesn't work. Only when she is bitten by a poisonous snake does the story turn to Ty getting her help. He has never done anything to her, and it turns out he has been observing her from a distance for years. It is unbelievable, yet the reader is pulled into the story as it becomes more and more believable. Your kids will love this book!