BTT: Summer Read #1

I finished my first book of the summer!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry



I actually got up at 4:30 AM yesterday to finish it--just because I wanted to know what happened!

The book focuses around Echo, a girl with a troubling past that she can't remember. All she knows is something happened that night with her mom which made her father put a restraining order on her mom and Echo is covered in scars.

Everyone at school thinks Echo tried to kill herself, but Echo has suppressed that memory and she just wants to be "normal".

Enter Noah. Noah is the typical bad boy on the outside, but is dealing with a lot on the inside. After a fire that took his parents lives, he has been bounced from foster home to foster home while being separated from his two younger brothers. He wants to get them back no matter what it takes.

When Noah and Echo's paths cross, who knows what will happen. Can Noah help Echo remember what happened that night? Can Echo help Noah get custody of his  brothers? Will their lives ever be normal?


Review: This book was a good summer read. While it was somewhat predictable in areas, other parts had me totally surprised. I thought McGarry did a great job explaining a young adult romance without getting too graphic. The story was a dual narrator jump between Noah and Echo so it was interesting to see how different the two main characters really were.

Overall: Good quick read!

2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults

Here is one of the lists that I use for new reading material:

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/bfya/2013list

Book Talk Thursday's Summer Home!

This year, I introduced Book Talk Thursday (BTT) in my classes. I am extremely passionate about sharing what I'm reading to others. A few of you have expressed how you'll be "lost" without BTTs, so I'm using my blog to continue to let you know all the amazing books I'm reading!

I'll try to post at least once a week! I'll also try to post some book lists for you to browse through. Feel free to leave comments/suggestions about what you are reading! I will miss your suggestions just as much as I will miss BTTs!

Suggestion from Betsy Sumpter which I'm adding to my reading list: "These Things Hidden" by Heather Gudenkauf

This week's book: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Summary (From the book's website):

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina's father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.

Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experience in her art and writing. She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive.

It is a long and harrowing journey, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

Between Shades of Gray is a riveting novel that steals your breath, captures your heart, and reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit.


My thoughts on the book:

I really enjoyed this book. I have always been fascinated with the Holocaust and this is a unique look on another group of people who were taken from their homes and forced to work. Sepetys does a great job with the description--most of it is absolutely horrifying, but you want to know what happens to the characters. If the name Ruta Sepetys seems familiar, it should! She also wrote the book, Out of the Easy, which was the book talk about the daughter of the prostitute. This book is completely different, but I can seem some similarities between the writing styles.

If you still are unsure, watch this video from her webpage. It hooked me: http://betweenshadesofgray.com/

Ficiton Lead-in

Jenn knows that Charlie's mother is tough. There has never been a girlfriend of Charlie's that she has liked. And it seems that if Momma doesn't like the girlfriend, the relationship is doomed to failure. After finding out that his mom is coming to visit their new place today, Jenn is nervous about her visit. Will their place meet their expectations.....and more importantly, will she?

Fiction!

Ever since I was little, I've always had a dream of being a writer. I would love to walk into Barnes and Noble and see MY novel sitting on the shelf.

Every time I read a book or see a movie, I always catch myself thinking, "Why didn't I think of that idea?" When looking at a finished piece of writing, everything looks like it came so easy. But in reality, it must have taken months/years to get that piece of writing to the amazing finished product. Coming up with the topic is only half the battle. After that, it is getting down into strong prose; prose that others are going to be compelled to read and want to read more.

I have realized that strong writing isn't as much as a gift as it is a process. Are you willing to devote yourself to the process of getting your ideas down, of crossing out, add, editing, and maybe throwing it all away just to start all over again tomorrow? Not everyone is cut out to be a writer--it takes just as much determination as training for a marathon. Writers write everyday; most writers set aside hours in their day where they will write. Am I at that place in my writing life? No, but I would like to be.

Maybe I won't see my name in Barnes and Noble anytime soon. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing. All it takes for a successful novel is one idea...One idea and the ambition to tell the idea to the world.


One of the best books I've read this year was "Pivot Point" by Kasie West. It tells the story of Addie, a girl who has the gift of being able to see both outcomes of any choice she has. Typically there has always been one strong choice. But what happens when Addie isn't happy with either choice? Is your own happiness worth sacrificing for the sake of others?

"Pivot Point" was a fast read because the chapters changed between the two choices Addie was faced with. They would leave off at a key point in one chapter and you'd have to read two more chapters to figure out what happened. Addie was also a very relatable character--she had close friends that she would do anything for and was very down-to-earth. You also can relate to Trevor, a boy she meets at her new school in one of her choices. You sympathize with him because he lost something that meant a lot to him. But you also can feel his genuine niceness coming out through the pages.

Dear 5 year old me....repost!

Dear Five year old Self,

I sit here and write this letter to you over 20 years down the road. I'm sure you can't believe you'll ever be that old, but I promise you will be and you'll be happy. Here's a few pieces of advice that I hope you'll think about as you go through school:

1. Be a friend to everyone. Too often you are going to be put in positions where you can either be a leader or a follower. Be the leader you know you should be. When the other kids tease the girl in the class who can't afford new clothes, stand up for her. In junior high, a girl you used to be friends with will be teased...a lot.You just stood by and watched her...and now she struggles with eating disorders and a lot of other issues. Be the friend she needs you to be. In about 13 years, you are going to need the same empathy/support that so many others deserved and didn't get.

2. Love your freckles. They may be cute when you're five, but I promise there will be a time that you will wish they were all gone. There will be a time when you are teased about them. Instead of becoming very insecure about them/yourself, love yourself for you who are. P.S. Your beautiful daughters only inherit a few of them.

3. Make sports/extra curricular activities your focus. You already know that you love school and do well academically. You will, at some point, grow out of your awkwardness and be really good at sports. Make sure you never put yourself in a postion where you aren't allowed to participate in sports. Your friends will understand. You will miss sports after school, so take every opportunity to play them and work hard in high school.

4. Be open with your parents. This may be a real shocker to you, but Dad will be one of your biggest fans/supporters when you are older. You may not ever see this during school, but know he probably has always been your biggest fan, but just didn't make the time to show you. The sooner you learn this and figure out how to be open with him, the better. When he makes harsh judgements without thinking them through, realize he has your best interest in mind. (You will not believe how amazing of a 'Papa' he is to your kids).


I could continue to give you ways to make your life better, but it really does turn out okay in the end. I'm not saying it was easy. You have some difficult years ahead of you. Just a few changes could easily make the end that much better. Good luck 5 year old self.

Love.
Jacque

P.S. Give Grandpa a big hug every time you see him. You'll miss those big bear hugs and yes, even the smell of his cigars.

Road Trips to Minnesota!

One of my fondest childhood memories was my family's roadtrips to Minnesota. My mom's parents lived about 8 hours away in the northwest tip of the state. At least 2-3 times a year, we'd pack up a week's worth (or more) of stuff and start the daunting trip. Until I was ten, my parents drove a old Bonneville (it looked similar to this):

Now, imagine if you can, 5 people being in that car for over 8 hours. Keep in mind that my brothers were 8 and 5 years older than me, so I was stuck in the middle of them for the whole trip. Although this may sound like complaining, these trips were some of the most memorable times of my childhood. We didn't go on very many vacations, so these trips were the only time I got out of the state. We would stop  at random locations (like at Paul Bunyan's Statue for example):

We'd play games, stop to eat and stretch our legs, and do anything that would pass the time. But for me, it was the time I spent with my family that really means the most. I think I realized that it didn't really matter that we never went anywhere except my grandma's house. We spent time together and really got to know each other. 

Now that I am grown and have a family of my own, I make it my misson to make sure we take a vacation every year. Some years, it is just camping for a week. Other years, we do a big trip like Walt Disney World! But I hope I'm sending the same message my parents sent to me: Vacations are about being together! 

My family on our camping vacation to the Black Hills last year!