Where She Went by Gayle Forman - video!

Gayle Forman's new book Where She Went, a sequel to the hugely popular If I Stay, is coming out soon. The publisher recently posted this video where the author takes viewers on a tour of New York, visiting the sites the characters visit during the book.

See the video here!

Closed for the Season

Some 7th graders stayed after school today for a book discussion on Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn. This was a really creepy mystery about an unsolved murder, missing (embezzled) money, and also themes like friendship and loyalty. One of the things we talked about was staying true to yourself and standing up for what you believe in. I'm always proud of my kids when we have a discussion and I find that they've grasped these important points on their own.

Because an important location in the book was a closed, rundown theme park where a lot of the action takes place, one thing we talked about was local legends about haunted buildings and unsolved mysteries. We managed to creep ourselves out, and while I had one story that they'd never heard - the house that turned around - they also had plenty that they all knew, independently of each other. It was a lot of fun.

Paper Towns discussion

I had a really good GMBA book discussion with some high school kids last week. They took home John Green's book to read over February break, and we met with snacks after school to talk about it. They had a lot of good insight, and they all pointed out that John Green does a really great job of writing realistic teenagers. Also, he is hilarious. They all know him because we watch vlogbrothers videos all the time too, so that makes him an extra real person. In our discussion we talked a lot about the ways we can never really know somebody, only our perception of who we think they are. As John Green writes, "'What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person". I also spent some time making a page for my students with links, videos and pictures of references from the books. How cool that they now get to know the Mountain Goats!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

We recently completed a book discussion at school for this DCF nominated book. 7th and 8th graders attended and we had a great conversation. Besides discussing the plot, we also talked about how Modo's appearance affects his life and makes him sympathetic to the plight of the orphans, whether Mr. Socrates acts ethically in purchasing Modo and training him to meet his own ends, and some of the gender roles during the Victorian era. 

The Hunchback Assignments is an exciting steampunk adventure, full of villains and heroes, as well as romance and intrigue. The hideously ugly orphan Modo, purchased from gypsies at age 5 by his benefactor Mr. Socrates, spends his life in isolation, rigorously training for he knows not what. After being forced to survive on his own in London for six months as a test, Modo finds himself using all of his intelligence and fighting ability to try to save missing street children from the nefarious clutches of The Clockwork Guild.

My library

Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat

This memoir by the bestselling Haitian author Danticat provides a poignant look at her family and upbringing, particularly of the relationships between her, her Uncle Joseph who raised her for many years while her parents were in the United States, and her father. It also illustrates and makes interesting some of the conflict in Haiti throughout her life and shows how people were affected in their daily lives. Danticat has always written lovingly but realistically of Haiti and its people and history, and this story is especially personal, winning the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 2007.