I can’t tell you how frightened I was to create one and now, a year later, I don’t know what the big deal was about. I don’t post status updates and I scan my news feed of friends, family, stores and shows I’ve liked, but there’s nothing earth-shattering about being on. To me it has just been another communication tool. Which is why I’m pursuing a Facebook page for our high school library, as another form of communication. There’s announcements, posters, lunch, word of mouth, and class visits, but there’s just something about adding Facebook to the mix that to me will bring in more “business”.

I’m introducing glogs to an English class so this is my example– it fits along with the 11 things, so figured I would post this one. (Each of the students is creating an anthology of original poetry alongside poetry from a selected poet. One of their original poems will be created as a glog and introduce the anthology). So excited for tomorrow!

Can’t wait to explore another storytelling device!

Deadline by Chris Crutcher, which is a great companion to Jenny Downham’s Before I Die. In Deadline, Ben decides to hide his illness in order to make his senior year normal, but really learns the lesson that those he loves truly deserved to know earlier, especially to cope with his loss. Crutcher always has a lot of characters in complex situations, and this book is no exception, yet all of the characters have an endearing quality that makes them likeable and readable.

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman is also very similar to another recent read that is fantastic called Keeping Corner by Sheth.  In Venkatraman’s novel of India during World War II, Vidya learns that books are her gateway to a better life, especially now that her father is physically incapable of supporting the family and her brother has decided to join the war effort. A beautiful and inspiring read.

As you all know, I’m quite the fan of Ann Rinaldi’s body of work. So, I was excited to see another on the shelf, this time about Nat Turner, the slave and preacher who rose up against southern plantation owners and murdered them in The Letter Writer. Caught in the middle is Harriet, who gave Nat Turner the map to plot his uprising, yet also saved some plantation owners from death once she realized what Nat Turner was doing (as he was attacking and murdering her family on their plantation).

Now, there are other books I’ve read and found interesting, yet not particularly noteworthy. Big Fat Manifesto by Vaught, Now You See Her by Mitchard, Raiders Night by Lipsyte, Many Stones by Coman.

My Most Excellent Year by Kluger, Devil’s Knot by Leveritt, Quaking by Erskine, and Black Pearls by Hawes.

I wasn’t too impressed with Black Pearls, however I can definitely see who’d I’d recommend the book to, those who love twisted fairy tales, fractured fairy tales, or anything like it. I do to an extent, I mean, I loved Book of a Thousand Days, but there’s just something about the little stories that didn’t intrigue me the way an entire story would unfold.  The other book I wasn’t too impressed with was Quaking, I don’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t that. I can’t describe why I didn’t care for it, whether it was because I disliked Mattie, the main character, or because at times I didn’t quite know how all of the pieces fit together to weave a story and an idea.

However, I was a big fan of  Kluger’s novel. I was endeared to all of the characters, which at times did get a big overwhelming, but for some reason it reminds me of witty novels like a new favorite, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. There were a few layers to each characters experiences that created very real and very dynamic characters. The format was also fun, with instant messages, emails, essays, etc. the reader felt more like a voyeur than just an outsider. It was fun and easy. Then, there’s the nonfiction novel, which I don’t generally read, but I have already seen the documentaries about the West Memphis Three, so I thought it was worth flipping through. While much of the information was gathered before reading the book, it was still worth a look. Three eight year old boys are murdered in West Memphis, while three teenage boys are accused of the crime.