Pretties: what an ending.

Pretties is such a great book.  Such twists and turns it takes in the end.  I actually lol'ed and gasped while reading with my students today in class.  The main character, Tally Youngblood, has so much, ummmm, gumption.

gump·tion

   [guhmp-shuhn]  Show IPA

noun Informal .

1.

initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness: With hisgumption he'll make a success of himself.

2.

courage; spunk; guts: It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job.

3.

common sense; shrewdness.

She can get herself out of any situation. Like anything.  I went directly to the library and checked out the 3rd book:  Specials.  I'm so excited.  

It was so great to see everyone so excited about taking Reading Counts! quizzes today.  And you were asking for help to find a good book.  We're really going to raise some Lexile and MAP scores with all our hard work!  Happy reading.

Can you read 2 books at the same time? I can.

So I'm reading 2 books right now.  I usually only have time to read, umm, no books.  But I'm making reading a priority because I'm making reading a priority for my students.  They have to see me read.  They have to see me "want" to read.  They needs to know sometimes, it's ok to want to sit and watch a completely mindless TV show like "Bachelor Pad".  They have to know that blowing an hour on Facebook is OK, but you still have homework and reading to complete.  And you have to read.  There's no way around it.


I'm reading Pretties by Scott Westerfield.  It's a great book.  It's a thriller...keeps me guessing.  And during Core Plus, I pull the book out and read.  And it's painful because I could be answering email, grading those pesky ungraded essays, taking attendance, making sure the kids are reading, watching the wasp in my room (does it really have a nest above the 4th light back?).  But I'm glad I force myself to read during class.  It makes me a better reader.  Period.  Case closed.


And at night before I go to sleep, I started reading Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine.  The narrator of the book as Asberger's--a form of autism.  It's so neat to see the world through Caitlin's eyes.  At first I did not like the book, but Caitlin is growing on me.  I'm interested to see how she thinks, what she'll do.  I recommend it.  And it's 11 SRC! points.


And by the way, I heard that this blog was passed around on Facebook by my 8th grade students.  I'm flattered.  Truly.  I'm glad you're talking about reading or at least were interested enough in a teacher who blogs about reading to post it and click on the link.  Do it again.  I dare you to link it to Facebook.  I'll read more if I know you're listening, I mean reading.  And I hope it shows you I care about your reading success.  Cuz I do. (you want to edit that, don't you?)


Now get off this blog and read!

Good reads in the library

So I took my classes to the library and Mrs. Brockman, our new rock-star quality librarian, recommended some great books!  Here they are:

Secret Lives of Bees
Peak
Found
anything by Sara Dessen
anything by Nicholas Sparks
Hunger Games
Uglies/Pretties
Zen and the Art of Faking It
anything by Mike Lupica
Mark Twain nominees http://thelibrary.org/kids/bookplanet/twain.cfm
Truman award winners http://thelibrary.org/teens/bltruman.cfm
13 Reasons Why
Code Orange


Some book recommendations from my friends:
authors Terry Pratchell or Neil Gaiman
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
The Cay
Lord of the Flies
"Life as We Knew It", Joan Baurer books
"Hattie Big Sky"
"Penny from Heaven"
"Fly Girl"
"Someone named Eva"
"Dragon Slippers"
"Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life"
"The Lightning Thief"
Heist
Matched
My Name is Memory
Adoration of Jenna Fox
The House of the Z Scorpion
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Last Thing I Remember
Good luck finding a great book and get reading!

Stealing Heaven: A Little Predictable

Finished up Stealing Heaven this weekend (another book finished on the dock).  The book is about a girl and her mom who move from place to place stealing--it's their occupation.  The main character was believable enough...and I felt like I needed to know what would happen to her.  However, I felt like I could predict the ending....  The foreshadowing was just a little obvious.

I've read a lot this summer, thanks mostly to this blog.  It's kept me focused and looking forward to the next novel.  I hope it helped you too.  Summer reading assignments are due in one week.  Where are you on that?  Make sure you are ready on the first day!

I pick up Pretties this week at the library.  Can't wait to read book 2 of the Uglies series.  All upcoming 8th graders should try to read Uglies--it will give you some background/insight when it comes time to read The Giver in class.

I head to my classroom tomorrow. I'll be there 1-3:30.  Join me if you'd like to:)

Uglies + The Giver + Hunger Games = The Same

Hey upcoming Holt freshmen!  You won't want to miss out on Uglies if you haven't read it already.  It is so similar to The Giver and the Hunger Games that I'm thinking I could teach all three books at the same time and have the same exact discussion going.

Uglies is a sci-fi book which has an alternate world just like Giver and Hunger Games.  I don't really like sci-fi but this is so interesting.  I'm fascinated how the book parallels our own world and how we value "being pretty" with happiness.  When in reality that's not what the world should be about.  It has such a great theme--some really great life-learning lessons.

The main character in all 3 books struggles to learn the truth about what they thought they knew was real and what reality actually is.  The reader follows their journey as they learn the real truth about the world.

I really think you all should give this one a try.  The author is coming to town this fall...I can't wait to meet him too!  Looking forward to reading Pretties before he comes to town.

OK, so just about 2 weeks until school.  Have you completed your summer reading?

Hate List is a great book!

Finished Hate List yesterday on the dock.  I was totally crying.  Although the ending wasn't as good as the whole book...and has one of those open endings that my 8th graders love so much (sarcastic), I still loved the book.

Val really had to go through a lot during the book and grew so much as a person.  I can't imagine how she dealt with all of it without yelling "I didn't shoot anyone" all the time.  And I wasn't a huge fan of either her mom or her dad...or brother really.  What mom never asks if her daughter is guilty?  What mom doesn't step in and help a daughter more?  It was weird.  And her dad.  Yuck!

I thought that they should have put a yearbook picture of Ginny--from before the shooting--in the time capsule.  That would have been very sweet.  Where you thinking that the ending would have been different.  I thought her speech would have been very different at graduation.  I couldn't understand why she kept mentioning the hate list....it was driving me nuts.

Also where did this art teacher fit into everything?  She wasn't related to anyone?  It was really weird.  Not that she liked to draw...but the teacher.  I don't understand why she had to be so eccentric and described in so much detail.

I've started Uglies now and it reminds me so much of The Giver.  The whole location and concept is very much like The Giver's government and ideology.  I like it so far...it's so different.  What a neat concept for a book.  Anyone going into 8th grade should read it before reading The Giver.

Just great reading!

So City of Ashes is pretty slow, so I put it down and waited for Laurel to finish Hate List (which is a book from the list on the right).  She LOVED it, so I was really looking forward to it.  And it's already due next week....

I started Hate List last night and it is certainly worth the wait.  It's about a school shooting, and it goes back in forth in time which is a bit confusing so far.  Laurel said it takes some time to get used to it.  I'm not very far into it, but it pulled me in right away.  I could really identify with the characters immediately.  What I've already learned is no matter much you hate (and you shouldn't), don't write it down on a list, cause that list will surface one day and you'll look bad--like really bad.  That's a good theme, huh?

I reserved and picked up Uglies and Stealing Heaven this morning (the right Stealing Heaven this time).  Laurel is excited to get started on one.  Can anyone recommend which one she should try first?

What are you reading now?  Is it good?