Posted by John David Anderson

 

Posted by John David Anderson is another one of the books my school purchased for our middle school book clubs this year. The cover definitely grabbed my attention and I felt like the summary on the back would be intriguing to a lot of kids, so I figured I'd give it a try myself. I read this partially on my lunch break in bits and pieces and then finished it off in a few sittings over winter break. I admit that it had a bit of a slow start, but I ended up being really glad I picked this one.

The story follows an eighth grader named Frost. He's a bit of a geeky kid that likes writing poetry. He has a small group of similarly geeky friends named Deedee, Wolf, and Bench. They've been a tight knit group for years and do everything together. Their comfortable group dynamic begins to shift, however, when two big changes happen at their school. First, after some inappropriate online activity, the school enacts  a complete cell phone ban. Without the ability to sneakily text each other during class, students turn to leaving sticky notes on each other's lockers. The anonymous nature of this leads to a lot of bullying and truly mean comments being flung around, some of which are directed towards Frost and his friends. 

The second change is the arrival of Rose Holland, a new student to their school. Rose's stocky frame and eccentric personality immediately draws a lot of negative attention from the other students. She takes a liking to Frost and his friends though, and inserts herself into their group. Without meaning to, she causes a divide between the boys that leads to a lot of complicated feelings on all sides. Frost is caught in the middle of the divide. He doesn't want anything to change, but he also doesn't mind Rose being around. Eventually the mean sticky notes and the situation with Rose work together to cause problems that can't be easily solved and Frost has to come to terms with the changing nature of people and relationships.

I ended up really liking this novel because everything in it felt very true. The characters acted like real middle schoolers, the conflicts between the boys were realistic, and the resolution wasn't neat and tidy. The main themes of the story centered around the power of words and how they can be used to hurt and to heal. There was a strong anti-bullying message as well, which are all ideas you would expect to find in middle grades fiction. What I thought was unique though was that a good chunk of the story concerned how friendships don't always last. In general, people don't keep their middle school friends for life. People drift apart for a variety of reasons and that's just a normal part of growing up. That happens here, with one of the friends in the group moving onto a different social circle. While there was some drama attached to his exit, he ultimately just didn't fit in with the group anymore and wanted to hang out with other people. It was sad, but it was also understandable. I liked that this was included because it's so relatable. I can imagine having some very interesting class discussions about this since so many kids will have experience with changing friendships to draw on. It's a life lesson that's not clichéd or cheesy to talk about. 

Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised by Posted. It was realistic in a way I wasn't expecting. I will definitely be recommending this to students this year. This will be my last book read in 2023 and it was a nice book to end on. It was about a lot of things that are difficult, but it contained a lot of hope as well. While the world can be a mean place, the relationships we build with those who move in and out of our lives will sustain us and make us strong.

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 24/24 - Complete!

Clear the Shelves 2023: 13/24

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

 

I've had The Mists of Avalon on my shelf for a seriously long time. My husband bought it for me back when we were first dating, which was over  twenty years ago at this point. It's been sitting on my shelf all that time, waiting for me to finally pick it up. To put things further in perspective, when I finally did pick it up a few months ago, an old Blockbuster receipt fell out of the back. I rented Heavyweights in 2002. That movie is still iconic. 

Anyway, the reason it has taken me so long to get to it is its length. This is a 876 page tome with small print. I have so many other books I want to read that I tend to shy away from picking up long ones that will take a few months to get through. I must have been feeling ambitious back in November though, because I decided to finally give this epic fantasy a try.

The Mists of Avalon is a sprawling fantasy epic that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the women involved in the story. The point of view shifts between several women throughout the text, but the main character is Morgaine, more commonly known to us as the enchantress Morgan le Fay. The novel follows her from childhood to her old age as she works to preserve the holy island of Avalon in the face of different threats, including the invasion of the Saxons and the spread of Christianity. At first, protecting young Arthur and ensuring he takes the throne are her main priorities. He has sworn an oath to always defend Avalon. However, as time goes on his support of Avalon wavers and Morgaine's mission turns to removing him from power. Her journey is an emotional one, fraught with many struggles, betrayals, and losses along the way. She must eventually learn to make peace with the path her Goddess has dealt her and come to terms with her changing world.

This was a really phenomenal novel. I read it slowly and it took me a long time to make my way through it, but it was well worth the time. When I finished reading it, I felt like I had experienced something special; The Mists of Avalon is more than a book--it's an achievement. Telling the story from the viewpoints of the female characters gave the well-worn legend a fresh and interesting face with new layers of depth. This is not exactly a page turner. Instead, it is a story meant to be savored and considered from the many different perspectives running through its pages. 

The world-building was excellent. Bradley truly made the famous places from Arthurian legend come to life. The mysterious Avalon and the regal Camelot we rendered in loving detail. Similarly, the characters were developed beautifully. Each were different with distinct personalities, opinions, and goals, and each changed over the course of the novel. Each one was interesting to read about, and I never felt that there was a weak or boring perspective presented. The overall themes of loyalty versus compromise, men versus women, Christianity versus other religions, and old versus new continually asked interesting questions and presented compelling situations for the characters to grapple with. I enjoyed every aspect of it. 

Reading The Mists of Avalon is certainly a commitment, but it is one that is worth making for any fantasy fans that haven't given it a try yet. It may have taken me over twenty years to pick it up off my shelf, but I am very glad that I finally did. The beauty, complexity, and emotion of this one will stay with me for a while. I consider it a new favorite.   

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 23/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 13/24

100-Word Stories by Kim Culbertson

I am a serial buyer of teacher books, even though I rarely have time to read them. These slick, crisp volumes with their pages full of ideas represent endless promise. Maybe this book will be the one that solves all our problems and motivates kids to learn! Maybe this will be the perfect set of ideas to build the kind of classroom where kids are engaged and excited to do their work! Of course, those are wild fantasies, but it certainly doesn't stop me from dreaming...and scouring the Heinemann website every few months. I picked up 100-Word Stories from there a few weeks ago. I was initially intrigued by its idea of using short pieces of text to teach an array of literary concepts and its inclusion of lots of sample 100-word stories to use in the classroom. When the book arrived, I was both surprised and pleased by how short it was (it makes sense when you think about it). This, finally, was a teacher book I could sit and read in a few sittings. I got started hoping to find some ideas to bring to my school.

100-Word Stories begins with an explanation of how Kim Culbertson found success using 100-word chunks of text in her language arts classroom when teaching various concepts. She describes how she was able to get more student participation and engagement when the stories were very short. Not only were students better able to maintain their focus with these texts, but they also allowed her to explore many different concepts quickly. After that short introduction, she moves onto a series of chapters each focusing on a different story element. Each concept contains two 100-word stories, discussion questions for students to grapple with, and suggested writing activities for students to try. The book contains a total of 25 short chapters covering everything from basic story elements to revision strategies, making this a wide-ranging resource for reading and writing teachers.

Overall I did like this book. The idea of using short texts is a good one, as I can personally attest to the fact that students struggle with paying attention to longer pieces. These lessons offer quick and interesting ways to see different literary elements in action and provide good examples for students to try the techniques out by writing their own short stories. The discussion questions are thoughtful and encourage deeper thinking and the suggested writing activities incorporate a lot of student choice. This book contains some solid strategies and advice.

One element that was a bit of a disappointment for me were the 100-word sample texts. There is a little note at the start of the book warning that some of these might not be appropriate for all ages, but that an effort was made to have at least one story per chapter that was appropriate for grades 5-12. I did not always find that to be the case. Some of the stories included content that was inappropriate for younger readers, some of the stories had vocabulary that would be very difficult for struggling readers, and some of the stories required more inferencing skills than your average 5th-8th grade reader would have. Most of the samples are written by students too, which is fine, but I was hoping for pieces by well-known writers that I could use as a bridge to encouraging students to read their longer works. I work with 7th and 8th graders. If I was going to use these lessons, I would frequently find myself needing to source other texts or write the samples myself. This book is more user-friendly for high school teachers. As the sample 100-word stories were what I was looking forward to the most, this was a bit of a disappointment.

In spite of that, however, I did still enjoy the book and think that it is a good addition to my professional library. I agree with the logic behind using short texts and I think these lessons are a nice way to change up writing instruction and increase student engagement. Is this the magical teacher book with all the answers? No, but it certainly does have some answers that will help teachers improve their writing instruction.

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 22/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 12/24

Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle

 

Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle is another young adult memoir my school purchased as a book clubs option for our students. I've been making my way through several books from this order to see which ones might appeal to different kids. I decided to give this one a try next.

Enchanted Air tells the story of Margarita's childhood as a Cuban-American girl growing up in the 1950s and 60s. Her mother is from Cuba and her father is American. They live in the United States, but take regular trips to the island to visit family. On these trips, Margarita feels like a whole different person; she loves the tropical atmosphere, the rural lifestyle, and horses that live on her family's farm. This version of herself is more courageous and independent than the shy, nerdy Margarita that she is in America. She treasures the time she spends in Cuba and looks forward to returning there each year. 

Political conflicts, however, soon cut Margarita off from the island she loves. The revolution, and the ensuing hostility between Cuba and the United States, make travel impossible. Tensions also rise at home with neighbors, teachers, and classmates regarding anyone of Cuban descent with suspicion. Margarita feels like half of herself is missing and struggles to adjust to a life without her beloved island. She also worries about her Cuban family, who lose their farm and land in the transition to communism. Eventually, she finds some solace in reading, writing and through travel to other places with her family. She comes to understand that the world is vast and full of beautiful places to explore, and remains hopeful that she will be able to visit Cuba again someday.

I realized while sitting here typing out this summary that it seems like nothing much happens in this book, but it definitely doesn't feel that way when you're reading it. The story is written in verse, and Engle does a wonderful job of capturing not only the pain she felt at her separation from Cuba, but also the typical struggles of growing up and feeling like an outsider. Her story has its sad moments, but it has uplifting moments as well. I was thoroughly engaged in the memoir and moved through it quickly. The language was truly beautiful; I could feel Engle's love for Cuba in the pages alongside her confusion and frustration over the politics that stood between her and her family. 

Enchanted Air is short, but quite striking and memorable. Aside from being a great memoir in its own right, it also touches on aspects of history that many students are unfamiliar with, like the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missle Crisis, and the Cold War, from the perspective of a young person actually impacted by it. It has won a slew of young adult awards since its publication in 2015 and they are certainly well-deserved. I will definitely be recommending this memoir to students in the future.                 

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 21/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 12/24

You Don't Know What War Is by Yeva Skalietska

 

You Don't Know What War Is by Yeva Skalietska was another one of the books my school purchased for a language arts unit on memoirs. As it was pretty short and very new, I decided to give it a try and see if our students might like it.

This memoir is the diary of Yeva Skalietska, who was twelve years old and living in Ukraine with her grandmother when the war with Russia began in 2022. The town they lived in, Kharkiv, is very close to the Russian border, so Yeva began to see the impacts of the war immediately. She wrote all about her experiences in her diary, documenting her fear and terror of the falling bombs and her sadness at having to leave her home to find safety. Her and her grandmother end up traveling across Ukraine to Hungary, then to Ireland as refugees. Her diary updates paint an informative and emotional picture for readers of what it is like to really live through, and escape from, a war.

Yeva writes about this journey in a thoughtful way that illuminates the impact of war on children. She focuses only on the danger and terror of the situation and how it upended her life. She does not get into any politics or history at all. Her writing is easy to read for a young audience and remains appropriate for middle grades while still being realistic. The short length makes the memoir accessible to younger readers as well. I think that both adults and kids will appreciate this story. Kids will enjoy reading something real from the perspective of someone their own age, and adults will find the young point of view all the more poignant through their older lens.

Ultimately, I can definitely see myself recommending You Don't Know What War Is to our students once they reach their memoir unit. It is a realistic look at how war affects the lives of children and the fact that it is so modern will make it feel relevant in a way that a lot of older works don't. This is definitely a worthwhile read.

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 20/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 12/24

Signs of Survival by Renee Hartman and Joshua M. Greene

 

One of the books my school purchased for our seventh grade memoir unit this year was Signs of Survival by Renee Hartman. This short memoir centers around Hartman's experiences as a young Jewish girl living in Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust. The cover of this one was quite striking, and as I generally try to read at least some of the selections we have available in our student book clubs, I decided to give it a try.

The memoir is told from two perspectives, that of Renee Hartman and her younger sister Herta. Most of the story comes from Renee, who explains that she was around ten years old when the Nazis invaded her hometown of Bratislava. Her parents and younger sister were all deaf, so she has to act as the ears for her family and stay alert to the ever-increasing danger of the occupation. Eventually, the family is separated and Renee and her sister are sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Renee describes how they endured starvation, violence, and illness until they were liberated at the end of the war. Both girls were lucky to make it out alive. Their parents, however, did not survive. Renee and her sister regained their freedom only to find themselves alone. Renee goes onto explain how they created new lives for themselves after the war and the efforts they made to teach others about their experiences. 

It's tricky to critique a memoir, especially one that deals with such a difficult and painful subject. Signs of Survival was certainly an interesting and heartbreaking read, and I have deep respect and admiration for Renee and Herta for sharing their story. It takes great courage and strength to relive the events of a genocide and Hartman manages to explain her experiences in a way that is both truthful and not too graphic. This memoir was written for a young audience, and it is definitely appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students. Its short length means that students won't be intimidated by it, and I expect that many kids will pick it up this year. The Holocaust is one of those subjects that everyone needs to learn about, and this is a very accessible way for students to explore it through the eyes of some of the survivors.

One aspect of the memoir that I wished had been a little different was the amount of detail. The pace is very fast and a lot of specifics that would create more of a solid story structure were missing. The way things looked, smelled, felt, etc. were mostly absent. At the end of the book the collaborating writer, Joshua Greene, reveals that the text for this memoir was transcribed from a collection of video recollections Renee and her sister contributed to for a museum. This is why it doesn't feel like a complete story - it was originally a spoken recording. While this was enough to convey the events of the experience, I couldn't help but feel that reading a transcript version of a video was not the best way to digest this information. By not watching the video, we lose the powerful visual and audio elements of Renee and Herta telling their own story. Also, because people don't speak like they write, we also lose the extra details we would get from a traditionally written text. I wish that a little more writing was added in to round out some of the sparse parts and bring a sense of cohesion to the story.

In the end though, Signs of Survival was still a compelling and important story. While I wish the level of detail had been greater, it was still a very moving and worthwhile read. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for older teens or adults, but it is a wonderful memoir for an upper elementary and middle grades audience. 

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 19/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 12/24

Coo by Kaela Noel

 

My school recently got in a shipment of new books for our book clubs. A lot of them looked really cute, so I decided to choose a few to read on my lunch breaks. Coo by Kaela Noel was my first pick. I was drawn to the beautiful cover at first, and the summary on the back seemed so wholesome that it sealed the deal. 

The novel tells the story of Coo, a young girl abandoned by her parents as an infant. She is discovered by a flock of pigeons that lift her up to the rooftop of the building their dovecote is on and raise her as their own. Coo knows nothing of the world outside of her rooftop; the pigeons are her family and only companions. They brings her plastic bags to fashion into clothes and feed her bits of bread and old pieces of fruit they scavenge from dumpsters. In return, Coo scares off predators, like hawks. She can speak to the pigeons and loves them. They do love her in return, although, being pigeons, they are limited in the amount of affection they show. The exception to this is Burr, the pigeon that first found Coo as a baby. He has a special relationship with her and they look out for each other. 

Everything changes for Coo when Burr is injured one day. He breaks his wing and needs real medical attention to survive. Coo bravely carries him down from their rooftop to find him some help, and this sets off a chain of events that draws her into the world of humans--a place far more complicated than her dovecote ever was. She is able to find help for Burr, but soon after she learns of a city extermination plan that will harm her entire flock. Coo must learn how to navigate her strange new surroundings and figure out how to interact with other humans in order to save her friends.

This was a really cute story, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Of course, the premise is ridiculous and you have to suspend your disbelief in order to read it, but once you get past those things it's a good time. I liked the relationship between Coo and the pigeons. These weren't like cartoon pigeons at all, they spoke in their own, simple dialect, didn't understand a lot of concepts, and retained their pigeon instincts and concerns. There were several points throughout the story where Coo wished for her flock to understand more things or feel complex emotions, like loyalty or sacrifice. She loved them, but most of them could not love her back in the same way. It was interesting to watch her navigate that.

Coo herself was a very sympathetic character that was easy to root for. The human she eventually forms a relationship with, Tully, was much the same. Their story was very sweet and just as I expected, incredibly wholesome. This novel is perfect for the middle school audience it was written for and I think a lot of students will enjoy it, especially those who are into animals. The only potential downside is its length. At 407 pages, kids might be hesitant to pick Coo up. Granted, the pages are very short, but the visual of a thick book is a tough sell for young readers sometimes. Even so, those that aren't intimidated by its size will find a lot to love here.  

2023 Reading Challenges Tally:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 18/24

Clear the Shelves 2023: 12/24