Every Day (322 Pages)

In this book, David Levithan has created a fantasy in which a sixteen year old high school boy (known only as A) wakes up in a different body. some days he's a boy; other days he's a girl. Some days he's in the body of a drug abuser; some days he's in the body of a person who is gay. But the one day that creates a problem for him is the day he's in the body of another junior boy who is "going with" a girl that A finds very attractive. That one day he falls in love with her. They spend most of the day at the beach, where he is much sweeter to her than her boyfriend could ever be. But he'll never be that boy again. Regardless of the body he's in, A keeps in touch via email with this girl. Eventually he tells her about his situation. They see each other again, but this time he's a girl. This is a very strange book. While reading it, the reader knows this could never happen, but in spite of that, the characters seem so real, that it's forgotten. Very interesting....

Shelter (304 Pages)

OK, so without input from you guys, I'd probably continue along life's path sublimely making mistakes and never knowing what I'd done. Friend and former student, Katie, informed me that I'd read Harlan Coben's book Seconds Away before reading the book that came first in what is bound to be a wonderful series. Shelter is the book that introduces the reader to Mickey Bolitar and his friends. It sets up the background information for Seconds Away. This book will be enjoyed by both boys and girls. It is exciting, fast moving, and interesting. One of the things I found interesting was the explanation of The Bat Lady who is Lizzy Sobek, the young girl who escaped from Auchwitz during WW II. I also found out about the Abeona Society, a group committed to "saving" young girls who are in a dangerous life situation. Mickey's mother and father were working for this society all around the world,  before moving to a town and settling down. It is here that Mickey makes a commitment to continue his Dad's work. Enjoy!

Beautiful Lies ( 422 Pages)

Jessica Warman has written an incredible book about two identical twin girls. Now, I had two sets of identical twins in my class in high school. As I got to know them, I was always able to tell them apart, but my teachers couldn't. So they switched places every once in a while. Often on April 1st, but sometimes on other days as well.  But in this wonderful new read, Alice and Rachel have more in common than just looks. They are able to literally feel each other's hurt.  Rachel disappears as the twins are with friends at a local fair. Alice knows something horrible has happened to her. Now, Alice is the one who always seems to get in trouble, feel angry, struggle with school work. So with Rachel's disappearance, Alice becomes Rachel to everyone else. When raw marks appear on her wrists, and bruises appear on her face, she makes sure to cover them up. She explains that as embryos they shared the same amniotic sac, and that is why they feel each other's pain. The switch will be a surprise to some readers, and I'm not going to talk about the end of the book, but I was so amazed by the ending that I found myself going back and reading it a second time, and then a day after finishing it, I went back and read the end again! It's quite a read!

The Story of My Thinking- Professional Book

This book, co-written by Gretchen Bernabei and Dottie Hall, gives teachers expository writing activities for 13 teaching situations. It is definitely for secondary teachers who are trying to move away from the 5 paragraph essay, yet maintain strong writing. With direct links to CCCS, the book assures teachers that it is not only possible, but desirable to create academic writing that has voice, narrative, addresses audience, and is interesting to read!  Early in the book the authors say,"This book is for teachers who need a lesson, but don't have time to read a book before applying it!" Included are such fun lessons as giving students paper plates, telephone answer pads, coffee filters and more to write their own "indelible moments" on. Indelible moments  is an idea from Tom Romano, and I think it's a great one to keep in mind. Believe me when I say that the book is filled with absolutely yummy teaching ideas that will help your students' writing improve AND have fun doing so!

Dodger ( 353 Pages)

This is Terry Pratchett's latest book, and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. I've read other books he's written, but not for a long time. Now there are many "British words" in this text, and some of them were completely unfamiliar to me. But as I read, I came to understand almost all of them and that was partly because there is a terrific amount of humor in this book.  Speaking of humor,  the main character is a 17 year old boy by the nae of Dodger. He spends most of his time toshing. Now toshing means going down into the sewers of London and searching for money that has accidentally landed there. It doesn't sound like a great experience because of rats ever presence and because of sewage that accumulates in the sewers....not pleasant at all.  So Dodger is emerging from a sewer one evening during a horrible storm when he hears a coach ride by and a girl jumps out of it screaming. Of course he must save her. This is where the story takes off. It includes Dodger meeting up with Charlie Dickens, and Mr. Disraeli, among other well known characters. But will our students be able to connect with this book? Dodger is a great character. He lives with Solomon, a marvelous Jewish man who knows so much, and cares so much for Dodger. I am not doing the book justice. I giggled when Dodger said, "No Brit would ever say, " I think, therefore I am." However, he might say, "I think, therefore I am....I think." or how about this quote, " if you are going to be a successful urchin, you need to study how to urch."(p.78) Ha! I loved it. I'd really like some of you to get hold of this book and let me know what you think of it! PLEASE!!

The Girl Who Was On Fire (261 Pages)

This is a book that teachers might want to use as a series of discussions about the Hunger Games. 16 YA authors have contributed to this book, and they cover a wide territory of ideas. There is a chapter about the political messages in The Hunger Games; there is a chapter explaining  the importance and meaning of the characters' names in The Hunger Games; there is a chapter about the importance of fashion  in The Hunger Games; there is a chapter explaining "Game Theory" in The Hunger Games; and there is a chapter on the scientific information in The Hunger Games! SO, each chapter is an essay written by various writers about the ideas they formed from reading this series of books by Suzanne Collins. I leave it to each of you to decide whether your students can handle reading this book. It could really be fun to have different students each take a different chapter and bring it to the attention of the class as a panel discussion....You could do much with this book. I found it fascinating! The book is edited by Leah Wilson, and although I was only familiar with a few of the authors, their writing is wonderful. Wouldn't this make an interesting "cross curriculum" piece of work? Can you see a panel consisting of a science teacher, a social studies teacher, an English teacher, a math teacher, an art teacher, and a phys ed teacher- each taking a different section of the book to discuss with the students? WOW! Other teachers read for enjoyment??? Who knew?!

Reached (512 Pages)

Reached is the third book in Ally Condie's Matched,  and Crossed series. Those readers who met and loved Cassia, Xander, and Ky will find this book a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. A plague has manifested itself throughout the Society and Rising communities. Cassia, as a talented sorter, and Xander as a talented physic, conspire to find a cure as the plague mutates, and Ki becomes a victim of the mutation. Those infected with the mutation are called "the still" which appears to be another name for a coma. They do not move; their eyes remain open, yet they don't appear to see; they don't talk; and the physics are not sure if they can hear, and then they begin to die. Cassia and Xander work feverishly to find a cure and to save Ky's life. But there are obstacles in their way. Readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats as they root for Cassia and Xander to succeed.