Welcome back to school! It's hard to believe that summer has flown by and we are starting another school year. School means hello to cooler weather, predictable routines, seeing friends everyday, sharpening new pencils, and the library once again filling with business and voices. It's also good-bye to hot days on the beach, gardens, flip-flops AND many hours of reading ...just for the pure joy of it! I took home a stack from our library and didn't get through all of them but made a considerable dent in the pile!
Here's my ramblings on my summer readings. Since this blog is "the good, the bad, and the epic", I'll try to rate them with one of those options!
Title: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Rating: Good to Epic
Thoughts: This is the amazing story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks who was only known to scientists for years as HeLa, the name given to her rapidly reproducing cells. Her cells were used in the development of vaccines, knowledge of cancer, atomic bomb effects, and gene mapping. The cells were harvested illegally and her family didn't know for 20 years after her death.
A great "science" read with human interest stories.
Title: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Rating: Epic
I read this wildly popular book while floating down the Mississippi River on a houseboat this summer. This was the second book that I read on a Kindle!
Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's, this story line follows three women who write a book together about the true stories of the "colored" help and the lives that they lead while working for white families.
Title: Angel of Death by Alane Ferguson
Rating: Good
Thoughts: If you like the TV show "Bones", you should try this forensic mystery about a 17-yr-old girl named Cameryn. She helps her father solve murder mysteries by looking at dead bodies! This mystery involves the death of her English teacher and the arrival of a mysterious new boyfriend. This is a little gory! :-)
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Rating: Good
Thoughts: I saw this book fly off the shelf this year in the EMS library as a popular classic read. Although published in 1938, it still reads very comfortably for a modern day audience. At the beginning of the book "Rebecca" has been dead for eight months but the legacy she leaves behind is both intimidating and horrifying for husband's new bride.
Title: Black and White by Paul Volponi
Rating: Good
Thoughts: A good pick if you are a basketball player or Walter Dean Meyers fan. Black and White are nicknames of two friends who are a force to be reckoned with on the court. Several mistakes they make soon put them at odds with their friendship, future and family.
Title: The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
Rating: Good
Thoughts: For all you Ted Dekker fans, I finally read several of his books this summer. I wasn't sure that I would enjoy "thriller" books and while they were intense, I also loved some of his main points such as that we are each God's favorite... as was part of the bride collector story when all the most beautiful women in town were being killed! Ack! Scary! :-)
I also enjoyed his
Blink of an Eye.
Title: Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen
Rating: Epic
Thoughts: I went to Guatemala for my cross cultural experience at EMU and heard many stories from the people there about the terrible war that claimed many lives. In this story a boy named Santiago and his four year old sister are fleeing for their lives after the guerrilla soldiers attack their village. The only way they will be safe forever is to leave Guatemala so they set out in a kayak for America...
I also LOVE Ben Mikaelsen's
Touching Spirit Bear. That is a MUST read!
Title: Bless Me, Ultima
Rating: Good
Thoughts: This is another book that I watched fly off the shelf this past year at EMS and wanted to read it for myself. It is a coming of age story of a young boy in New Mexico. I loved the Spanish words thrown in as well as learning the secrets of the
curandera, the healer that comes to live with the family.
Title: After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
Rating: Good
Thoughts: This is a sequel to
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie. Two eighth grade guys are cancer survivors and also close friends. They try to help each other overcome their personal challenges and start living again instead of just surviving.
Title: The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller
Rating: Epic!
Thoughts: This is a book about teaching reading but this is the book that I wish ALL my teachers had read at some point. In order to develop a lifelong love of readings, students should be given silent reading time, personal book selection and teachers who loved to talk about books!
Title: The Circuit: stories from the life of a migrant child by Francisco Jimenez
Rating: Good
Thoughts: A small book but full of poignant stories. If you want to be content with your life, read about the hardships of being a migrant worker in California and the longing for education and a place to call home.
Title: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Rating: Bad to Good
Thoughts: This wasn't a bad book but not very compelling for me. I loved the cover on this book much more than I actually enjoyed the story. It was a short book told in dual narratives about the refugee struggle in Africa and also the grueling task of fetching water.
Title: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Rating: Good
Thoughts: This is the first of many Maximum Ride books. Max and her "family" are each unique due to some terrible experiments that were preformed on them as young children. They can all fly but must remain vigilant because they don't want to be discovered and turned into circus freaks or worse... be sent back to the school where they came from.
Title: Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Rating: Good
Thoughts: This is a sequel to
Locomotion. If you enjoy books that are written using beautiful language and significant ideas put into simple words, try Jacqueline Woodson. Lonnie writes letters to his younger sister who is living in a separate foster home. He tries to "remember" everything that is happening to them while they are growing up apart.
Title: Teaching that Transforms: Why Anabaptist-Mennonite Education Matters
by John D. Roth
Rating: Good
Thoughts: As a product of Mennonite education and now part of the Mennonite education community, this read helped put into words what I so highly value about the Mennonite school experience and also reignited a call to teaching.
Title: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Rating: Good
Thoughts: We've all heard of Blackbeard, Long John Silver and "Yo-ho-ho!" I've also read the young readers version of Treasure Island but never read the seafaring tale for myself. An enjoyable read while riding on a boat... a bit reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean.
There's a list of most of my summer reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the books above that you might have read or contact me to become an EMS library blog author yourself!
