Ginger's question for the week is a difficult one.
Promote An Author: Is there a particular author you wish got
more recognition? Pick one author & tell us why we should read their work.
I have so many authors I could talk about, but I'm going to pick Dana Reinhardt, because I don't hear nearly enough about her....
I think Dana Reinhardt is exceptional at capturing teen personalities, dialog, interactions, and just generally setting an authentic teen situation. If you are a YA contemporary fan, you don't want to miss her books!
I wanted to tell you about a reading program that is near and dear to my heart. I know that many states have children's choice book awards, and Illinois has four of them. The one for high school students is called The Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award. This award is run by our Illinois school librarian association, and in past years, I have been on the committee to select the nominated titles. We select 22 titles every year, and there are always actual teens on the committee who get to give input and actually are allowed to chose four of the titles on their own. One of the requirements for nominees is that the book is available in paperback, so you will see there are some older books on the list, but they always come up with a great list.
Here's the 2013 List of Nominated Titles (links are to my reviews):
Students vote each year in February, so we don't have this year's winner. I think it will be announced March 20th, so I'll be sure to post it then. Past winners are:
2011 Suzanne Collins -- Hunger Games
2010 Cassandra Clare -- City of Bones
2009 Ellen Hopkins -- Crank
2008 Stephenie Meyer -- Twilight
2007 Scott Westerfeld -- Uglies
2006 Jodi Picoult -- My Sister’s Keeper
2005 Dave Pelzer -- A Child Called “It”
I'm anxious to read the nominated titles that I haven't read yet. I only need to purchase two of the titles for my library--I have the rest already! Do you know what your state does for student choice awards? Feel free to share your lists -- sometimes the titles are very comparable, and sometimes they are very different, so I'd be interested to see them!
The Technologists is and intricately woven mystery, that will entertain the reader with a lush historical setting and surprise you with its twists and turns.
We are in 1868 Boston, and our main characters, Marcus, Edwin, and Bob, are looking forward to being part of the first graduating class from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
When unexplained terrorist events are occurring in Boston, these technologically oriented students want to help figure out what is happening during these strange events. You see, these aren't your normal bombings and shootings. First, the navigational instruments in all the vessels in port go haywire, causing substantial damage to the port and many sailing vessels. I won't tell you about the other events, but they are similarly mysterious in origin, and completely different that the first event.
No one in Boston believes that MIT will survive. They don't believe in their "hands on" type of study. The workers are afraid that new inventions may take away their jobs. They are frightened of technology. The people at Harvard don't like this new method being used. This is also the time of Darwin and his writings, which Harvard administrators are totally against. So controversy surrounds this school and its students. And, to top it all, MIT has allowed a WOMAN to attend.
The students are told that they cannot have anything to do with investigating the strange events, for fear that the school will end up being accused of contributing to them. But, no one has any confidence in the Boston police or Professor Agassiz from Harvard, who the police have asked to help.
So, behind everyone's back and in secret, The Technologists, made up of our main characters, and eventually Miss Swallow, the very bright female student, begin to do experiments and investigations in the basement of the school to determine how these attacks are being orchestrated.
There were a few unexpected twists during the eventual resolution of this mystery that were enjoyable. I certainly didn't see them coming. The book is a bit long, and at times the plot slowed, especially during the setting up and beginning of the investigation. Once The Technologists started figuring things out, the pace picked up. The amount of scientific description might be a bit much for some, but, personally, I enjoyed those parts.
Marcus has flashbacks of his time of service in the Civil War, and particularly, his time as a war prisoner. These events have, of course, shaped his life. He is the character that we learn the most about, the real main character of the story. I did wonder why we were learning these details of his past; this seemed unnecessary. But, I assumed these events were important to the story, and I was correct, so don't be frustrated. Perhaps these segments could have been shorter and more spread out throughout the story, but this is really nitpicking.
Another somewhat insignificant comment is that towards the beginning of the story, we are taken to the perpetrator's laboratory, and see things just for a couple of pages, through his/her eyes. That was the only time. I wish that part would have been either left out, or that we revisited that scene a couple more times during the story. I just felt it didn't fit--it was out of place.
The best part of my reading experience was the historical setting, and learning about the origin of MIT, and the absolute hatred of this institution by almost everyone else. The treatment of women, laborers, and of course the African Americans during this time is all touched upon. The description of the desolate marshy area where the Institute was built is fascinating, especially to those who are familiar with current day Boston. I enjoyed all of these details.
This isn't a quick, easy read. The vocabulary and sentence construction is more complicated than my usual fare. I guess you call this "literary," and I really enjoyed reading a well-written, complex, literary book for a change. I would, however, hesitate to recommend this to all but my most mature "literary" teens. This one is definitely an adult book.
Published by Random House, February 21, 2012
496 pages
Copy obtained from TLC Book Tours, for review
Rating: 3.5/5
The tour is allowing me to GIVE AWAY one copy of The Technologists! You can enter here.
Song of the Sparrowis a retelling of the story of the Lady of Shalott. It's unique and beautiful because it is told in verse.
Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, lived in an army encampment with her father and two brothers. They are constantly battling the Saxons, who are trying to invade Britain. They are fighting with Arthur (soon to be king), Lancelot, Gawain, and many other familiar characters. Tristan appears, and we are given a short summary of his story with Isolde.
Elaine's mother was killed when she was very young, so she has had a unique upbringing, not so much ladylike as "tom boy," given that her playmates have been from Arthur's round table.
Sandell's story flows beautifully. Elaine is in love with Lancelot, but he looks at her as if she's a child. When he returns to camp with Gwynivere, she is crushed because it is obvious that Lancelot is enchanted with Gwynivere, who is to be married to Arthur.
The excitement begins when Arthur decides to go on a five-day ride to meet and defeat the Saxons once an for all. Elaine decides to follow, by herself, this army, since she can help heal them if they are wounded. The trip turns out to be much harder than Elaine expects--she is woefully unprepared. Then, she is all at once in much grave danger. Her rescuer is unexpected--and that's all I'll say, except there is a satisfying and romantic ending.
If you have shied away from verse novels, Song of the Sparrow would be a good place to start. Its easy to read and a somewhat familiar story. This one should be added to your repertoire of books about King Arthur and is highly recommended to fans of those stories.
Welcome to my meme, Monday Memories, where I feature favorite books we've loved from the past. You can link to an old review, or write something new about a beloved book from your past. Really, what's important is not the book, but why it is memorable to you. So, have fun reminiscing, and leave a comment below, so we can all enjoy your memories.
I also wanted to let you know about another wonderful blog that you should check out. Ashley @ Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing does a weekly post called Memory Monday. She has been posting about her childhood memories of books. What's great about Ashley's site is that she is asking for guest posts for her Memory Monday event! So hop on over there and check it out.
I read Little House on the Prairie when I was very young. I fell in love with Laura. I wanted to BE Laura. Everything about her life seemed so romanticized. Then, when the TV Series came out, I thought maybe this wasn't really the life for me. I mean, there were scary things they had to deal with. Blizzards, illnesses, "Indians," and mean bullies like Nellie Oleson!
What's interesting is that I don't remember reading any of the other books in the series. I think I may have read at least one other, but the first one is the one that left an impression.
I would still encourage young girls to read the Little House books. I think they are classics that kids today can still enjoy. But, it's been a while, so maybe I should read it again before I say that!
Share one of your cherished book memories!
You can do a Monday Memories post on your blog. Copy my button and link back here, so others can see all the other posts. Leave a comment below with the link to your post.
Or, just leave one of your Monday Memories right here in the comments.
Be sure to visit some other blogs that have posted their links. Thanks!
A small, but still meaningful haul this week for me. How about you? I'd love to see what you found worthy of bringing home, so I can add to my wish list! Thanks to Kristi, The Story Siren, for hosting again!
Have a great week! Hope you find lots of time to read....
Wonder was a painful read. I think it's a great book, but I'm still upset by it.
I may be too "tender-hearted" for this book. I was choked up almost the entire book. Now, books don't often make me cry, but when they do, it's because some main character goes off to war and dies or something. This book wasn't like that at all. Wonder was emotionally gut-wrenching.
August has severe facial deformities from birth, and has been homeschooled, since he had so many surgeries and was so ill for much of his childhood. Now that he's going into 5th grade, his parents have encouraged him to go to regular school, and August has agreed.
He, of course, goes through many uncomfortable, cruel situations with the kids at the school. But he's dealt with this all of his life. The principal has "assigned" three students to help him get adjusted, and this has had mixed results. There's also Summer, who has decided on her own to be friends with August. Summer says, "He's just a regular kid, and besides he's funny." I think Summer is in the minority as far as 5th grade students go.
August gets betrayed by his supposed best friend; he is the victim of a school rumor that if you touch him, you will get cooties. He is subjected to ridicule, and those who try to be his friend are also subjected to ridicule. It's a very complex, albeit realistic portrayal of how cruel (and, thankfully, special) kids can be.
August has a sister, Via, who has suffered just by being his sister, having to give up her parents much of the time. One of the scenes that tore me apart the worst is when August discovers she has kept the fact that she's in the school play from the family, because she's at a new school and no one knows about her deformed brother. She enjoys not having to explain August to everyone. She doesn't want her parents to bring him to the play where everyone will see him. She enjoys not having to receive their sympathy.
I understand that Palacio's resolution of the story is supposed to be uplifting, but I just couldn't get there. It's beautifully told; it's not preachy or sappy. I just felt too much pain and sorrow for August. I have too much sympathy...and can't get past that.
You should read this. Given all that I've said, I still highly recommend Wonder. It will make you very thankful for what you have. Fortunately, it's a quick read -- so my suffering wasn't too long, although I'm still dealing with the after effects. Any book that can to this is a "must read" in my opinion. You just have to read it....and you have to get your young teen readers to read it...
And one more: In Under the Never Sky when Aria runs away from Perry and is in a cave, and.....(no spoilers...)
Let me know which scenes you think are "must reads!"
Parajunkee and Alison have a question many of us talk about a lot:
Q: What book would you love to see made into a movie or
television show and do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main
characters?
I don't think about this a lot, since I'm usually disappointed in the results of "books to movies." I'd have to say, since Hunger Games is getting so much hype, I think Divergent would be a good movie. I also really like the Flavia De Luce Mysteries, and would enjoy seeing those on the screen.
What great ones am I forgetting? Hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!
First, a story. When I realized that Katana takes place in St. Louis, I looked in the back to see where the author is from, and turns out she lives in a town in Illinois about 10 miles from me. So, I looked up her blog and emailed her. She responded immediately. Turns out I grew up in the same town as her husband's family, and don't think I had him in class, but he attended the school where I teach. Small world...and, I loved this book!
Katanahas a unique premise. It's modern day, but Rileagh begins to remember her past life as a samurai. She is mugged, and before she realizes what happened, she has subdued and injured all three of her attackers. Kim hears this on the news, and seeks Rileagh out because he suspects she is the reincarnation of a Japanese warrior, Senshi. And not just any warrior, but one of the best warriors, and also the love of Kim's life.
Of course, Rileagh isn't buying any of this, but she continues to hear voices, and when confronted again at Kim's dojo, she is able to defend herself against three trained samurai. Kim also must convince her that because her story is out, others will be out to kill her, and she is in grave danger.
The pacing is excellent. I always had a hard time putting the book down, but the character development doesn't suffer. Rileagh's confusion and soul-searching comes through loud and clear. Her best friend, Quentin, is everything a best friend should be and adds realism to the story. The plot steadily builds towards a very exciting conclusion. I must admit, I had strong suspicions about who the bad guy was early in the book, but that didn't really take away from my enjoyment.
The romance is slow and sweet, even though we know how it is going to end up. There's no cliffhanger, but plenty of potential to meet these characters again, and according to Gibsen's blog, she is working on a sequel. Yeah!
Recommend this to teens who like a kick-ass female main character, surrounded by strong supporting characters. Many St. Louis landmarks are mentioned, so that will be another draw for my students. The adventure got my heart pounding, and I can't wait to share this one.
