Winger by Andrew Smith

There are a few things I need to say right off the bat: 1. I LOVED this book. 2. It is not meant for intermediate students- but if you are a high school teacher- you need to buy this book! On the surface, Winger is a book about a very smart boy who is 14 years old and in grade 11. His parents have sent him off to a prep school and because of a few issues in his past he finds himself living in 'O-Hall', the residence for boys who need more supervision and restrictions. Ryan Dean is a bit afraid of the people who live in 'O-hall', they are big, football players who have an intense dislike for the rugby team of which Ryan Dean is a part of. To make matters worse, Ryan Dean is only 14 and the rest of the students in O-hall are all 17-18 years old. But Ryan Dean has decided that this is his year, he is not going to be the little boy anymore. He is going to show people he is tough. Yet with all 14 year old boys, things happen that he can't control. Through it all, Ryan Dean deals with embarrassing, difficult and challenging situations with humour. There were many times when reading this book that I laughed out loud. Yet this book also deals with very serious issues such as friendship, peer pressure, relationships and sports. This book was so incredibly unforgettable. I think Ryan Dean will live inside my head for a long while. I just heard as well that there will be a sequel to this book. As I said right off the bat, this book has very mature content. Ryan Dean is a 14 year old boy dealing with girls and he is very free with the thoughts that run through his mind and for this reason alone I wouldn't have it in my Intermediate classroom. I am planning on sharing it with my own 14 year old- I think he will like the quirky, real life situations Ryan Dean finds himself in.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio with updates

After reading all summer about the Wonder of Wonder on Twitter, I finally got around to ordering it. I started it this morning and finished it this afternoon, it was that brilliant!

To any of my teacher friends reading this blog- you need to pick this book up RIGHT NOW! I would love to know what kids think of this book, I think it has potential as an amazing reading aloud- there are so many wonderful stopping points and places you could have really really deep discussions about many important topics and concepts throughout this novel. Wonder is the story of how August, a 10 year old boy with a severe facial deformity learns to deal with the harsh reality of middle school. But, it is also about how his peers, friends and family learn to deal with getting to know who someone really is outside of their appearances. This is Palacio's first novel and she has hit a homerun with it. Wonder is told mostly from August's perspective, but there are times when you hear from his sister, and a few of the other kids at school. It is really interesting to read how they all deal with his appearance and the pressure they feel by knowing him and even befriending him. This book teaches empathy, kindness and how to stand up for what you believe in. I just checked out Palacio's website and I really like the questions she has posted for discussion. This is an incredibly powerful story, I know August will live with me for a very long time. UPDATE- January Many classes have been reading and discussing Wonder. A friend of mine read it aloud to her class and then had her students create a blogpost about the book. She shared one amazing post with me, and I had to share it here. You can check out Mackenzie's thoughts about the book http://mackenziec206.edublogs.org/2014/01/21/wonder/ But you also need to see the Wonder video the class made- you can see that below. UPDATE- May I just found out today that R.J. Palacio has written a chapter from Julian's point of view. You can only buy it as an ebook, which of course I did. This chapter allows the reader to catch a glimpse of what motivates Julian. Here is a video that has R. J. discussing why she wanted to write this chapter. You can check it out here.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

So many people have talked about this book and for some reason I didn't pick it up. It wasn't until two friends told me they were reading it to their class that I decided I had better read it. I think what was stopping me was the fact that the target audience was a little younger than I usually read. However, now that I have read it, I can't see any reason why Intermediate students wouldn't want to read this book. Actually, now that I think about it, I can see kids of all ages enjoying this story. The One and Only Ivan is written from the perspective of Ivan- a silverback gorilla. And when I say it is written from his perspective, I really mean Ivan is the narrator of this story- the book is written as if he did the writing. As we learn Ivan's story, we learn that he has been in captivity for a very long time. He has some memories of his life in the jungle, but he tries his best to block those out. Ivan lives at the mall, and at one point he was the main attraction. He lives with a collection of other animals and they have all been friends for a really long time. When Ruby, a new elephant joins the gang, Ivan comes to realizes that being held in captivity isn't right and he decides to take a stand for his new friend. Of course being a gorilla, his options are a bit limited, but Ivan is an incredibly resourceful gorilla and he is determined to make a better life for Ruby. I am so glad I read this book. In many ways Ivan reminds me of Charlotte in Charlotte's Web, but the unique writing style allows the reader a glimpse into the world of being an animal in captivity. I think what is most remarkable, is that this book is actually based on a true story. No matter what age you teach, you should really read this book!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Last summer, I read the book Eleanor and Park by this same author and fell in love with her writing style. I have been reading a great deal about Fangirl and didn't realize it was written by the same author, or I would have picked it up sooner. I am so glad I read it this weekend. I started it Saturday morning and could not put it down until I finished it Saturday afternoon. What a great way to spend a Saturday! Fangirl is written for students in high school, although I think I would put this one in an intermediate classroom, there is a bit of swearing, but not much else. The main character Cath is just starting her first year at university. She is nervous about going because she doesn't like meeting new people, and her twin sister declared that she doesn't want to share rooms when they are away. Cath struggles to really find her place at school. What keeps her going is her obsession with Simon Snow (a character from a book/movie) and her ability to write fan fiction online for her followers. But what Cath doesn't realize is that there are people out there who are going to pull her into the land of the living, regardless of how she feels about it. Cath is a really interesting character. I can relate to her complete obsession over a character. Reading about how she learns to navigate life, school and relationships was very rewarding and I can see that many readers would identify with her challenges and struggles. I will admit that at first, the similarities between Simon Snow and Harry Potter put me off the book, however, once I got over that, I found that the way Rowell wove in Cath's fan fiction, the author of Simon Snow's story and Cath's story was really fascinating. I don't usually tend to read or look for meaning in quotes/poems etc. that are shared in fictional novels, but I found myself looking for links between the different stories. This was a fabulous book, but I would warn anyone teaching grade 7 & 8 to read it first before giving it to students. I wouldn't hesitate to give it to students, but I would want you to make that decision yourself. Regardless, it is a great read!

Counting by 7's by Holly Goldbery Sloan

Counting by 7's was a quirky little book. I have been reading many reviews of it on blogs and Twitter, so I decided I had better see what all the buzz was about. Counting by 7's is the story of a young odd girl named Willow. Willow doesn't have many friends, but is happy in her own world. She loves reading, gardening and learning. Early on in the book, tragedy happens and the rest of the story deals with how Willow copes with the situation she finds herself in. As I was reading this book, I was reminded of other books I have read like Stargirl and Wonder. Like Stargirl, Willow has a profound affect on everyone she meets. Once Willow enters a person's life, she has the ability to change their life for the better. Willow doesn't set out to change people, it is just that once people get to know her, she inspires them to make changes that they didn't even know were needed. I like that about this book- watching the impact Willow had on the people around her. Counting by 7's is a really nice book- I can see kids who like Stargirl enjoying it, but also kids who enjoy reading about a character who doesn't really fit in at first glance, but when other's look past what they see on the outside, they discover a person who they need to be in contact with. I am wondering if it would be a good choice for a read aloud- perhaps for a younger grade- maybe grade 6. I'd love to hear what other's think about this book.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Please Ignore Vera Dietz was recommended to me by someone at Chapters and it has been sitting on my self since the summer. It is an interesting read- for more mature students- I would be hesitant to leave it in a Grade 7 or 8 class. I think I will give it to a high school friend and see what she thinks. The main character in this book is Vera- she is 18 and has spent her whole life trying to stay invisible, just the way here parents have taught her. She wants to experience things, but she is also very aware of her father's expectations of her. She appears to be a mature, responsible, hard working young lady, but she has many secrets. The story opens with the funeral of Vera's best friend Charlie and the rest of the book deals with flashbacks of what led to his death and Vera's role in it. I did enjoy the story, it was an easy read, although it was hard knowing some of the things that Vera was involved in. She is a very mixed up young lady. There were also some hints at what a dark life Charlie led, and while nothing was every explicitly stated, the hints were enough to make you so sad for this young man. Like I said, this book has some very mature themes, so I would be very careful with who I gave this book to.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant is the third book in the Divergent Trilogy. If you haven't read the first two, you might want to stop reading this and go back and check out the first two books, Divergent and Insurgent. I always find when I read sequels to books, I have a hard time remembering characters and minor details. It is almost worth it to go back and reread the series when the final book is published. I didn't find Allegiant as hard to get into as Insurgent, I seemed to remember more details for this one. In Allegiant, Tris and Four are now living in a factionless society. Their lives with the rules and clothing choices and attitudes that were always predetermined, has changed now that Chicago is faction free. When Tris and Four are offered a chance to have a life outside of Chicago, they take the offer pretty quickly. But of course, nothing is easy. What Tris and Four soon realize is that power corrupts people. Everyone wants what is best for them, and Tris and Four are left to navigate a new world with only their instincts and trust in each other to guide them. As with all books in this trilogy, there is action, excitement and violence. Tris and Four are challenged in their relationship with each other and in knowing who to trust and what to believe. This book took me quite a while to get through, although I did enjoy reading it. It was a nice conclusions to a great trilogy. I don't think you can ever feel comfortable when finishing a trilogy. The end is always so final and it is hard to know you aren't going to hear anymore of characters you have come to know. With this one though, the ending was satisfying.