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.