As Good As Stargirl

If you liked Stargirl, you will also really like Schooled. The premise is similar (take a home-schooled kid and throw them into a public school and watch them try to survive) but it doesn't feel like a copycat of Stargirl, just a very good companion to it. I really enjoyed it, and marked this quote and one I know I'll use one day: "When you're unkind to others, it's usually because you don't believe that you, yourself, deserve kindness." Ah, words of wisdom.

For Those Who Don't Fit In...

This summer I listened to the audio of Alt Ed by Catherine Atkins. Many of the book's themes hit home for me: the struggle to fit in, the pain of adolescence, etc. I thought it was realistic and had many good lessons.

The Hunger Games Sequel!

At the end of July I was fortunate enough to borrow an ARC (advanced reading copy) of Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games. It was just as good as the first! There's no sophomore slump to worry about here! It was every bit as compelling as Hunger Games.

Catching Fire just came out this week and I urge you to read it. But start with Hunger Games first if you haven't read that.

I can't wait to read...

...the sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts. The new book, titled Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko will be out in September. Even though many sequels can be disappointing, I loved the first Al Capone book so much I'm really looking forward to the next.

What Are You Reading?

Once again, I haven't read nearly as much as I wanted to this summer. I think it's partly because when the weather is nice and I have time off there are so many other activities that are vying for my attention.

Right now I am listening to the audio Paper Towns by John Green, which so many students have told me I HAVE to read. And in between, I'm doing quick easy reads (what my book club refers to as "book candy") which consist mostly of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.

So, what's the BEST book you've read this summer?

Here We Go!

I waited a REALLY long time before creating this first blog. I was wracking my brain to come up with a name I liked. This one is pretty good for now. I even did several searches on some band name generators...yeah, didn't really come up with anything school appropriate. I plan on using this for students to post and comment and hopefully will post some video footage of the classroom too.