World War Z

I really liked this book. This is the first Sci Fi book that I have ever read but I throughly enjoyed it.
Something that was nice about it was that it came from different people, from different backgrounds all over the world. This gave it the true WORLD war Z effect and introduced us to a bunch of different perspectives instead of just one situation. It also allowed the reader to get a better idea of all everything that would be effected if a Zombie apocalypse were to happen.

An aspect that this writer did extremely well on was touching every aspect of this idea and doing it realistically. From survival, to family, to the start of the infection, to solutions, to post war, to everything else, he had a story that gave us every angle and every perspective of the tragedy. It's true that a zombie apocalypse is a little played out but I think that he did a good job at relaying the panic and what people would actually do in a severe crisis like that one. Had he been writing about the Holocaust or some other type of World War he would have been very accurate on the reactions given world wide by government, families, and individuals.

One story I especially liked was the one about the elite business man who turned the zombie attacks into a reality TV show, giving celebrities and those with a lot of money a sort of haven from this disaster all while filming it. It was a little freaky to think about since I would not be surprised if something like that actually happened. When more ordinary citizens tried to climb the fence and get in to safety, however, the outcome and the hostility they all showed was really sad. Even the fake tears was a little unsettling. I had always thought that in a moment of need status and wealth would be thrown out the window, but after reading that part, his scenario seems like it would be fairly accurate.

I would definitely reccomend this story to my students as a free reading book in order to get them more into reading. I would also seriously considering teaching this book. Although it is a little lengthy, the individual stories are short and it might make for a fun lesson plan during Halloween or something.

Maus I and II

Although I am usually not a huge fan of graphic novels, the Maus books were a good read in order to understand the horrific details of what times were like during the Holocaust. Something that was nice about this book was that the writer and the speaker of the book did not experience concentration camps and the Holocaust for himself so the book was written in order for people to understand what people went through during this time.

I liked that the author went through his entire writing process in his book. Before I read it I thought that it would strictly be about his father's experience throughout the Holocaust; giving us captions into how his father and mother coped with what happened to them was really interesting and gave us a more long term picture of what kind of effect it had on people who survived the camps. Even Art was effected by his parents experience, even though he was not born until after the war. His mother could not cope with the feelings that she had from this so she took her life- without even leaving a note- which really negatively impacted Art and his father. His father could not part with anything and was never, EVER wasteful even in the most silly of circumstances. When confronted about this his father explained that he did not want to waste anything after Hitler. This really gives us a perspective on how little these people had to live off of when they were in the camp. Even going as far as taking paper from restaurants to save some money on napkins. 

Something else that was nice about this book was that since the characters were portrayed as animals, the content was received a little less intensely, which might be good for a younger reading audience. It might not give a message that kids can relate to but at least it gives them an introduction into understanding and knowing what went on during this period.

Another nice thing about this book is that it reaches a wider range of students. Many books given to kids in school are traditional novels; a graphic novel gets kids who maybe don't enjoy extensive reading as much something to enjoy while also getting a good reading content. 

I probably wouldn't teach this book but I would definitely give it as an option to students when doing a Holocaust segment. Even though the reading level isn't extremely high, I would still probably suggest giving this to 9-12th grade students due to the intense content.

Hitler Youth

This is a wonderful tool to use while learning about the Holocaust. I would actually probably pair this with Night so that students could see not only the concentration side of it but also the side of the Germans who were not Jewish and who were put into the Hitler Youth group.
It is scary how much campaigning Hitler did for the youth. It makes sense because I think it is easier to get children involved in things and if they are involved at a young age it is more likely that they will support you later too because that is all that they know. In order to get them to join, Hitler promised many things to the German people saying that in order for Germany to obtain power and respect they must take drastic measures. They also made the Hitler Youth very tempting by saying that they would do a lot of fun things and that they would be looked at as heros if they joined. Once that stopped working they used different tactics which proved to be more forceful. Many parents had no other choice than to allow their children to join for fear of being arrested or have their children taken away.
The pictures in the book were really nice and gave a lot more meaning behind the information since we were able to see who was being talked about. Also the stories that were interspersed throughout the book made the book a lot more interesting to read. It kept the readers attention and again gave the whole thing a lot more meaning to be introduced to those children.
Something that I think is also good about this book is that it provides more understanding. It is easy to say that we hate Germans for doing something so awful as that but I think that it is important that we teach kids that things aren't always as they seem and all that it is more a few terrible people that were the cause of this tragedy.
I would use this book for 7-12. For middle school this would be a good book to just introduce what kind of things went on during this period. With high school students, I would pair this book with another book to give them more insight to the whole story.

Night

Night is a book on the life of one individuals encounters in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Although the content in this book can be quite graphic, I think that it is a good read for students who are learning about the Holocaust. When learning about it in school it is next to impossible to really understand or comprehend such evil and cruelty- this book allows students to know more about what people had to go through when in concentration camps. Because of the content I would probably recommend this book for 10-12th graders. The Holocaust is such a huge thing to wrap your head around so I think that the older they are, the easier it would be for them to really get the severity of what happened.

It was really hard for me to get through this book. The writing was done very well and the story was interesting but the situations that he had to go through and the different stories that he shared really got to me and made it hard to read. The scene that was most disturbing to me was when they were first brought to the concentration camp and the babies were being thrown into a pit. It is so hard for me to imagine such cruelty and I really had a hard time with that.

Something that I noticed with this book and with Kindred, is how easy it was for the main characters to get into the roles that were expected of them. For Dana, she knew that slavery was wrong and she despised it, but at the same time it scared her how quickly she fell into the roles given to her; similarly, Eli found himself becoming less and less "human" going further and further into survivor mode and becoming less disturbed by the things that were happening around him.

I would definitely teach this book in a class room. It isn't terribly long, with simple language- the content is also very interesting so I think that this would reach a wide range of readers. Like I said, I would teach it to 10-12th graders. I would also maybe pair this book with a movie on the Holocaust or have our next book be Number the Stars or something, just to give the students more of a perspective on the matter.

So sad that this is part of our history but I am glad that he turned his experience into literature so that we can better understand what happened and like he said prevent history from repeating itself.

Kindred

This book is about a woman going back in time to the days of slavery in order to save her great great great grandfather from various life threatening accidents before she has conceived her great great grandmother.

While going back, Dana has a lot of self conflict between doing what she knows is right, fitting into the time that she has been thrusted into, and surviving, all while making sure she does not change the course of time that will determine her fate and the fate of her family. This is especially hard for Dana because of the mistreatment she receives and sees others receive. She is stuck in a world where she does not belong to either opposing side. She doesn't fit in with the whites because she is black; she doesn't fit in with the blacks because she is seemingly "too white" for their liking and don't trust her. Although she makes a few friends who are always there for her, she is suffocated by a boy who she despises, yet can't seem to stop saving him. In the end she ends up taking his life when he tries to make advances on her. It was a tough decision for her since she knew that she would be putting a lot of people into bad situations.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked reading it and thought that the plot and the twists were both entertaining and original but the content and graphics of the book made it kind of depressing and dark. I definitely would not recommend this to teach as a high school book and maybe not even a class book at all but if I was to teach it as a class I would stick to freshmen in college age.

Warriors Don't Cry

"Warriors Don't Cry" by Melba Pattillo Beals was a wonderful book. Knowing that it was a biography (and after reading "Hope in the Unseen") I was a little skeptical about whether or not I would enjoy this book. I was pleasantly surprised that this book was not only a fast read but it also gave a lot of insight into the lives of the people who made integration possible.

This book is about one girls journey of integrating an all-white school in order to stop the spread of segregation. Throughout her time at Central High School she is teased verbally and physically by both students and teachers alike. The only way that she is able to keep her sanity is through the power of prayer, her family, and the small acts of kindness she receives from those who are willing to accept her.

My favorite part in the book was in the epilogue, and the very last sentence of the book when Melba is overwhelmed about being back to Central (30 years later) and a black, well dressed, young man comes out of the school introducing himself as the president of the student body. After all the hardships that she went through she was finally able to see with her own eyes what a difference and how worthwhile her cause was. How cool is that!

I would definitely teach this in a classroom, probably for 9th-11th grade. This book allows students to understand a time where segregation wasn't only allowed but promoted. I think that this would be a good book to pair with another class like history or something when they are covering the Civil Rights period. That way students will be able to better understand all of the political things going on in places all over the US during the time that Melba was integrating Central High School.
Wonderful book!

Copper Sun

I really enjoyed reading this book. It actually surprised me on how quick of a read it was; looking at the cover and reading the back I thought that it would be kind of slow moving but I was hooked from the very first page.
Something that I think that Sharon Draper did really well was telling the story from more than one perspective. I have read books like that before and some of them work but most of them just get really confusing and messy. She did a good job at transitioning into the two girls view on the world, which made it a lot easier to read. I think that it was really important that she chose to tell this story from a slave and a white indentured servant's perspective. This allowed us a better understanding of everything that was going on in this time.
My favorite character was actually Mrs. Derby. Her kindness and love really made her a charismatic character and (like said in class) allowed us to look back and see that some people were aware of the injustices being done and wanted nothing more than them to end. The whole situation with her, her baby and Noah was heartbreaking. While reading this part I was really hoping that by some miracle the baby would live and be raised a slave and that Mr. Derby would never find out what had happened. When he shot Noah and the baby was the worst part in the book and I definitely had to put the book down for a moment to recollect myself. Although many situations in the book were just awful to imagine this one was the one that really got to me the most.

I would teach this book to 7-9th graders. The main characters are about that age and I think that it is a really good book for kids to really understand what it was like when we had slavery. We are taught about slavery around this age but I don't think that any one can really understand the magnitude at which this happened. This book helps kids to realize the truth about this time period and not just facts. It is also useful in order to stop predetermined prejudices that kids may have had about other races and teach them to be more loving and excepting of each other.

This book was excellent and has definitely made it into my top 20 favorite books. I loved it!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This was my first time reading this book but I really enjoyed it. It took me a little bit to get into the writing style of the book but the content definitely made up for that. One thing that I found refreshing about this book was the overall outlook of the main character. He didn't always do the right thing, or say the right thing but he was always looking for ways to make himself a better friend, brother, son, student, etc. Even though not all of his situations were completely relatable, the overall feelings and emotions behind Charlie are ones that adolescents face, especially in their first few years of high school. Another thing that I liked about this book is that it reaches a wide group of students since Charlie is a freshmen and his friends are all seniors.

This book had a lot of surprises in it. The first major one was Brad and Patrick being gay. I liked that it added this because I think that it reaches out to those in high school who are different and feel as though they will be outcasted because of it- a group of kids that don't always get that kind of attention in literature provided at schools. The biggest surprise in the book for me (and I'm assuming most) was when we found out that Charlie's aunt had molested him when he was little. When the psychiatrist asked him to focus on past memories, I kind of gathered that he had some sort of repressed memory, but I would have never expected that to of happened to him. When it came to that page I actually had to put the book down for a couple minutes because I was so shocked!

One thing that I liked and also hated, was the secrecy of the letters. I would have enjoyed finding out AT LEAST who "Charlie" was writing to and why this person stuck out to him so much. On the other hand, it was a creative way to write a book and the mystery of it left it to focus more on the overall moral of the book.

I enjoyed the ending. Even though it wasn't a happily-ever-after, it gave us hope for Charlie and it gave a good message about valuing family and friends who love you.

I think that I would consider teaching this in a classroom but I would probably rather recoomend it to an individual student. Some of the content may not be perceived appropriate for students (even though all of his letters are expressed in an innocent and relatable way) so I think it would be easier to be able to talk to an individual students parent(s) and discuss the content of the book.

Grass Dancer

When starting this book, I didn't really know what I was going to be reading. Upon finishing the book, however, I was pleasantly surprised at my liking it. This book follows the stories of a number of interconnected people living on or around an indian reservation. This book had many twists and turns that I was not expecting- the first being the death of Pumpkin. I thought that this would be more of a love story between Harley and Pumpkin, so the accident and her death within the first 50 pages was a huge shock. I liked that this book gave a lot of background. It started in 1981 and went backwards over the span of about 20 years and then came back to 1982 (a year after Pumpkin's death). By doing this we got a glimpse of how the traditions of Native Americans shifted from generation to generation. Instead of the present day characters just emphasizing how important tradition was, the author brought us into the some of the characters lives who were just starting to shift out of some of those traditions.

This book would be really beneficial to teach so that students could get a real world inside look into the lives of those who live or surround Indian Reservations- telling them that in many ways, they really aren't that different from our own traditions and cultures.

Something Like Normal

This book was SO good, I finished it within a few hours. The author, Trish Doller did a really good job at making the book flow and only putting the things necessary to the plot line. Many authors give a lot of details and kind of filler chapters, which is nice sometimes to get a good image, but by Doller allowed the reader to really use their imagination with the details. I also liked that we got snippets of Travis's time in Afghanistan through his dreams. This gave us a better sense of what he went through and a better understanding of his relationship with his troops, compared to the relationship he has with his family and friends back home.
This would be a really good book for really anyone. It has a lot of things that appeal to a wide audience. The love story gives it a lightness and also something to look forward to for Travis, while the nightmares of his time in war, post-tramatic stress and Travis's "tough guy" attitude gives the story depth and I think a clearer view of what people have to face when coming back from war.
LOVED THIS BOOK!

Refresh, Refresh

"Refresh, Refresh" was definitely different from any other book that I have read before. Just glancing at it, I was originally a little skeptical of this book but I found myself really enjoying a visual along with the text; I also liked how some scenes could be told through pictures only and no text of dialogue.

This type of book isn't one that I am particularly interested in searching for, but I think that the message behind it is really relatable to those who have family in the military. Although it was pretty short, I thought that it covered a lot of events and did a good job at incorporating many characters so that the reader felt sad for them when they lost their fathers.

A Hope in the Unseen

Personally, I didn't especially love this book. It was a little slow starting and, for me, hard to relate to. One thing that benefiting me by reading this book, however, is that it made me more aware of what intercity schools are like and got me thinking more about where I would want to teach at. It was so crazy to me that the gossip kids talked about there was who had been shot, or died most recently. I knew things like that happened but it was just so crazy to me how nonchalant and everyday sounding it was put in the book. It really opened my eyes to thinking about what kids who will come into my classroom are feeling. I have to always be conscious and aware of every student and really read body language to make sure my students are getting the help that they need, if they need it. Although I didn't especially love this book, I think that it is important for us as educator's to know that it is out there; even though I couldn't relate to it, there are many kids out there who can and who could really be inspired by Cedric's drive to do well in his life.

This would be a good book to suggest to my classroom, even though I wasn't really fond of it.

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl was just wonderful. From the the very first page she engages you through an emotional roller coster with a girl who is constantly berated by her past. This again sends a really positive message, through a relatable way, on how we always have the means to become the person that we want to be, regardless of our past and our families. Although these things shape us into the people we are, we do not have to let is control the path of our future. For many adolescents, the decisions we make at young ages seem to haunt us, when really it is only minuscule in the big picture. This book allows those who have a troubled past, or who just made bad decisions, see that with those who make "declarations" for us, we can do anything and be anyone.

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

I really enjoyed reading this book. At first it was really hard for me to get into, which made me nervous because my first project was on it, but after I got used to his unique writing style, I really got wrapped up in this heart wrenching story of a boy, searching for his place in the world. My favorite thing about the book was how relatable it is and how perfect a read it would be for young readers. Although Felton's home story is a bit extreme compared to many, the conflict with family, friends, classmates, activities and the self are things that all people experience and can grasp onto. This book was awesome; and how cool that it was written by an MNSU Alum!