Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

I will be the first to tell you that I love love.  It is warm, feel-good joy, and there are few people who do love more intensely than teenagers.  Uffda, first love, high school love, breaking-up because of college love...it's all dramatic, huge-pay-off, bigger heartbreak kinds of love.  I remember it, and I see it in the halls of SAMS and SAVHS.  But I've rarely seen it written about so genuinely and painfully and enchantedly as in this book, Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stapehanie Perkins.

Readers will fall in love with Josh, the handsome and independent comic book artist that Isla has been crushing on since freshman year.  Readers will fall in love with New York City and Paris and Barcelona- the three back-drops of this romance story.  Readers will cringe when Isla and Josh steer more toward insecurity and away from love.  Readers will swallow this fun ride in a sitting or two.  It's a love story, no doubt. So be warned- it's ooey and gooey, but lovely.  Fans of Sarah Dessen and e. lockhart will swoon over this read.  This isn't a series book, however, Ms. Perkins wrote two other books and the main characters of those books stumble into Isla and Josh's story.  So, for the rules-following types of you out there, you might want to start with Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy. Be warned, though!  It's not for the cynical or the unbelieving. 

Feel the love and find the love here in my latest book blog title: Isla and the Happily Ever After.  Read all about it's author here.

Keep reading, all.

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

I don't know if I can talk about this book yet.  It knocked the breath right out of me, and fear, sadness, and pain filled me up.  But this book is about so much more than sadness.  This book represents resilience and the power of the human experience, connection, and survivial.

The book is about a Cambodian boy, Arn Chorn-Pond, who lives through the Khmer Rouge revolt.  He really did...the author's story is a retelling of his life. It's like the movie "Killing Fields" but in YA literature.  I don't want to say much more about it because I'll never do it justice or the experience of reading it justice. 

I just know teenagers, by their nature, are drawn to stories of justice, survival, and resilience.  As I read this book, I couldn't stop thinking about my boys and my students and how much I yearn to protect them from this kind of injustice, violence, and hatred.  The truth is, I can't.  This violent hateful story represents how this world works too often, and if we don't share these experience in safe, artistic, and genuine ways, we risk being too far removed from them.  We need to live them...especially those of us who are safe, insulated, and privileged.  So, yes, I recommend this book to my 8th graders (and to both of my boys once it's timely), and I celebrate Arn's story.  I celebrate, with Arn, the power of tears, the power of music, and the power of embracing the past in order to live, alive and awake and aware, in the present.

Here is some of the buzz around this book:

Reading Rants (my most trusted book blog)
LA Times
NY Times
NPR
YouTube

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

In all my reading life, I have never cried so hard over a book.  I cried because it's a book about war.  I cried because I'm so sad my time with the characters came to a close.  I cried because everything beautiful about this book is ultimately everything human.

Now I realize what I've said so far isn't going to inspire kids to read this book (especially boys) but oh, how I want EVERY kid to pick up this book.  Because there's something in this book for everyone...

• War
• Bullies
• Soccer
• Nazi Germany
• Stealing
• Foster care
• Friendship
• Death (after all, Death is the narrator)
• Creativity

Pick up this book today.  Take your time reading it's pages.  This book will stay with you.  It will haunt you and change you.  Pick it up and tell me what you think.

Ghostopolis by Ned TenNapel

This graphic novel amazed me.  It's full of various surprises, scary creatures, historical figures, and real life tragedy.  Some parts frightened me, some parts humored me, but all of it enthralled me.

The story seems simple...a young boy is mistakenly sent to the underworld- Ghostopolis.  Once there, Garth finds only a handful of characters willing to help him get back to the real world, and he stumbles across others who don't want him to make it home.  Eventually, he finds himself in an epic battle with the King of Ghostopolis.  To find our if he beats the king and makes it back home, you'll have to pick up the book.  Believe me, it's a treat.  Read it now! (before the movie comes out...)

Keep reading, everyone!
-stenson

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt

Two 14-year old best friends from St. Paul stumble into the ride of their lives when they find themselves in the middle of a stolen art mystery.  The books takes readers to Paris, London, and Amsterdam as they follow the protagonists trying to uncover the mystery of the "Gallery Guy".  Many aspects of this book are enjoyable:

• the friendship the girls have...it's not perfect, but it's reflective of how friendships go in 9th grade.
• the history of art lessons...I didn't know I was so interested in classic, museum-esque type art!
• the places the book takes you...I can't wait to go to Europe to see those places for myself
• the mystery...I love a caper!  
• the MN connection...since these girls live in St. Paul, there are references I recognized from being a St. Paul-ite myself.  Fun!

Hope you enjoy it.  It looks like it's going to be the first in the Lucas and Kari series. Just another reason to fall in love with this book.  Let me know if you pick it up!  Keep reading, everyone!

thanks to letsbuyit.co.uk for the image!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Flavia, the protagonist from the mystery The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, made me laugh, made me want to study Chemistry, and made me keep reading until the caper was solved. I really fell in love with little Flavia. Feisty, smart, fun- this little girl has two sisters she's constantly trying to poke, pinch, and prod and a father she is constantly trying to delight and charm. The family lives in her deceased mother's family's estate in 1940's Britain.

Day by day, Flavia is entertained mostly by the chemistry lab in the family mansion, but all of that changes one day when she stumbles upon a dead man in the garden of the estate.

Flavia is part Scout, part Sherlock Holmes, and part Marie Lavoisier (don't worry, I didn't know who that was until I read this book either), and she pulls you right into her mind, her home, and her life- a land where emotions though rare sneak out, observations are detailed, complete, and funny, and the story, like the mystery at the center of it, only gets better and better.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is definitely a challenge book (those of you who have had me as a teacher will know what I mean) because I think it's intended audience is grown-ups. However, this delightful tale will be enjoyed by all ages, and the writing is simply too brilliant and too fun to not be shared by everyone of all ages.

Enjoy! The book is a part of a series so get excited for all sorts of amusement.

Please visit the sit for more information about this charming, fun series. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. The picture above was taken from the site linked to the left: www.flaviadeluce.com.

Keep reading!

-stenson

"I want to be thoroughly used up when I die."

My DA kids are reading the book Three Cups of Tea. The geography and the people, the story and the spirit of this book are each extraordinary.

The man behind this true story, Greg Mortenson, is a true American hero who school by school is promoting peace and justice in an impoverished land; but he is not alone. Jahan, the first young girl from her village to be educated, has just as much courage as Greg. Haji Ali, a village leader, holds himself with wisdom and patience unfamiliar to the Western world. Jean Hornei and his wife Jennifer Bergman give so generously, it's not surprising that the title of this post comes from Jennifer's necklace inscription.

There are several versions of this book. Anyone up for a challenge should try the original, but there are a few other versions depending on who is reading the book. For more information, please go to this website.

I urge you to read this book. It will reach right through you and grab you by the spine. In my experience, that's always been a sign of a good book.

Peace,
-Stenson

From India.

We can no longer afford to remain unfamiliar with the lands far from us. Thomas Paine said: "the world is my country and all mankind are my brethren".

Well said, Mr. Paine. Books are a critical tool for us, then. Books will bring where we need to go.

So, when I ran across this list of recommended books set in India or are written about Indian teenagers, I thought I should share them.

Here is the most recent post taken from MashUp (a great blog about books for teens).

In recent years, there have been many books for young readers set in India or the Indian diaspora. Most notably is this year's Climbing the Stairs. Set during World War II amid the burgeoning Indian independence movement, this book offers a lot of detail about Indian history, while also telling the story of our heroine Vidya, who wants only to further her education, not to be married off.

A similar character is found in Kashmira Sheth's Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet, although this time the book is set in contemporary Mumbai. Jeeta also wants an education, rather than marriage, and it doesn't help that her dark skin makes her difficult to marry her off. This is a good immersion into contemporary Indian culture.

There are also several good books about the Indian diaspora. In the United States, 2.6 million people are of Indian descent. Born Confused is a wonderful portrayal of ethnicity and assimilation, set in suburban New York. Dimple just wants to be like the others in her suburban school,but when her blond best friend becomes infatuated with an Indian boy, Dimple discovers that being "cool" and being Indian aren't mutually exclusive.

There is a wonderful series of light books for girls set in England, starting with Bindi Babes. These books for middle-grade readers involve three Indian sisters who live with their father after the death of their mother, and their attempts to engineer the events in the adults of their lives.

Finally, an even lesser known story of India is that of the Indian population in East Africa, featured in Child of Dandelions. Here, Indians living in Uganda, even those who were Ugandan citizens are being asked to leave the country within 90 days. While hopelessly violent and sad, this book again features a strong heroine trying to keep her family together in frightening times.

Use books to embrace the world!

Keep reading folks,
-Stenson

Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

What an interesting book! It's received a lot of attention, mostly because people have never seen anything like it!

We've been talking about genres in 7READ, and I don't think any of the genres we've discussed fit this book. It's not a picture book, or a graphic novel. It's not a normal novel either. It's part silent movie and part flip book and part novel. No matter what you call it, you are sure to call it a super book!

Here are a few things to get you more interested and curious about the book! I would love to have a mini-book club with this book. Let me know if you are interested. We'll set a date, order some treats, and invite Hugo to join us!

Check these sites out:

About Hugo Cabret (on this site, you can see the 22 page illustrated drawing of the opening scene of the book...so cool!)

A video interview with the author (Brian Selznick)

Get on board with this book!
You won't be disappointed.

Keep Reading!
-Stenson