Gone Girl

Gillian, F. (2012). Gone Girl. Detriot:  Thorndike.

I have searched for this book for quite some time.  A few teachers I work with recommended Gone Girl for summer reading.  Gone Girl is of the mystery/thriller genre, so it's not something I would normally read.  Yet, I'm so very glad that I did.

Gillian Flynn's third novel is told from the point of view of a husband and wife, Nick and Amy Dunne ("done").  We all know that I love multiple perspective novels.  In the opening of the novel, Amy is missing.  Of course, Nick is the first and prime suspect in Amy's disappearance.  To add fuel to the fire, Amy goes missing on the couple's fifth wedding anniversary, and the couple has been having marital problems.  Amy's story, told through old diary entries, gives the reader background to the couple's relationship leading up to the conflict of their marriage.  Nick's story, told through present actions, gives the reader the current plot line.  The couple alternates chapters making the narrative line shift from past to present every other chapter.

I don't want to give too much away about the novel, or else I would ruin the plot entirely.  Gone Girl kept me on the edge of my seat during the entire reading, making me finish the novel in just two days.  While I am a fast reader, I rarely have the desire to read a novel so quickly.  I just couldn't put it down.

Gone Girl is definitely meant for a mature audience.  Some of the language is a bit much.  But the characters are wonderful and complex, leaving the reader to question what is right and wrong in a relationship.  There is already a movie in the works, due out this fall.  Nick is played by Ben Affleck, so I'm very excited!

To Kill a Mockingbird

Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird.  New York:  Warner. 

 I have always loved a good Bildungsroman with a spunky female narrator with a historical context. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird perfectly fits the bill. I first read the novel while preparing for the English essay portion of the Praxis, then again when I taught freshman. But, to be honest, I didn't truly enjoy Lee's work. I decided to give it another go. And I must say that I am completely in love. Scout is my new favorite character in literature. 

The Midwife

Petersheim, J. (2014). The Midwife. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers.

Well, Jolina has done it again.  Since I finished The Outcast, I have been waiting for her sophomore novel, The Midwife.  She did not disappoint.  Once again, Jolina (I will always refer to this author by her first name since she is a friend of mine) enters the Tennessean Mennonite community as the backdrop for The Midwife.  Like The Outcast, Jolina takes on multiple personas to create a story that is told from the mid 1990's and today.  

The narrators include Roda--the head midwife at Hopen House, a place for young unwed mothers who is keeping a long and dark secret--Beth--a graduate assistant, who is a surrogate for her professor and narrates from the past--and Amelia--a teenager who is the newest resident at Hopen House with an undiscovered past of her own.  Each narrator has a distinct and independent voice.

The Fault in Our Stars

Green, J. (2012) The fault in our stars. New York:  Dutton Books.

First I want to day that I have not seen The Fault in Our Stars movie yet. My twelve-year-old cousin leant me her copy of John Green's young adult novel. I have seen a lot of my students reading this book lately. And with a title that alludes to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, how could I resist?  After reading The Fault in Our Stars, I look forward to both watching the movie and reading some of Green's other works.

National Library Week

In honor of National Library Week, I thought I would share a little bit about the two libraries in my life.

First of all, I have been to many public libraries in my life.  I have to say that the public library in my town is my absolute favorite.  It is everything that a library should be.  It is so inviting.  The children's and young adult selections are to the side as soon as you enter.  The children's section is a great place for kids.  Sometimes I don't even make it to the adult section.  I am glad that the children section is separate.  Adults don't have to be bothered by children while they try to read, and parents don't have to worry about the noise level of their children disrupting others.  The section is a big area so that children can run and play.  Multiple times a week, the library offers activities for different age levels for children.  I took Brody once a week last summer and plan to take him again this upcoming summer.  The rest of the library is gorgeous.  When I am feeling down, sometimes I go to the library just to walk around and gain some perspective.  The library offers a large selection of choices and gets new books regularly.  When my friend Jolina Petersheim published The Outcast, I could not find the book in any book store near me.  However, I checked my public library and they had a copy on the shelves within a week of the release date.  There are so many wonderful things I could say about this library, but I will save that for another time.

The other library currently in my life is the library at the high school where I teach.  My school has two wonderful librarians.  They sponsor a book club at the school and are constantly trying to get the students to read.  They host a "blind date with a book" event near Valentine's Day every year.  Often, the librarians will order class sets of books, so that the teachers do not have to use their purchasing money to order books.  These two women are always great references whenever you are looking for something to read.  They are like literary match-makers.

Ben Franklin founded America's first library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, in 1731.  America's first library was founded before America was even a country!  Libraries are so important to our cultural literacy.  I love to read (obviously) and own so many of my own books; yet, books are becoming more and more expensive.  Libraries are great places to borrow books from.  And guess what?  That's their purpose in the first place.  Studies have shown that exposing children to books at an early age improves their reading and cognitive abilities later.  Brody is almost two.  I read to him almost everyday.  His language is beyond that of other toddlers his age.  He is already gaining use of correct pronoun usage (I vs. me) and verb usage.  He has an expansive vocabulary and picks up on things very quickly.  He can sit still for a half an hour, as long as he is reading.  He is far from perfect; yet, literature is helping him develop into a little person.

I know it has been quite some time since I have posted anything.  I am so busy with teaching, finishing my masters degree and life that I haven't had much time to read anything, let alone post.  But, several months later, my life is finally slowing down a little bit.  So I hope to be positing again soon!

The school year ends in a little more than a month, so if anyone has some summer reading suggestions, let me know!

A Separate Peace

Knowles, J. (1959). A Separate Peace. New York:  Secker and Warbug.

This year, I decided that I wanted to teach something new to my advanced sophomore class. I still taught Lord of the Flies, but I wanted something different. As I was looking at the book list, I realized that A Separate Peace is also on the AP list. So I thought, "Why not?  If I don't like it, I won't teach it again."  I am so glad that I decided to give Knowles's novel a chance.