I’m very late to the party on this one, but a coworker’s enthusiasm pushed the book to the front of my To Be Read pile. If you want a hint of the plot, watch the trailer.

or read the New York Times review by Michiko Kakutani. I happen to agree with much of what it says. Ruth never sat well with me. I attributed her obsession with Susie to a crush that never ended due to Susie’s death. When Susie enters Ruth’s body, I was jolted. Now we were entering fantasy land, though her actions, once human again, were understandable.

The allure for me was the nature in which Sebold tackled Susie’s killer (though his demise was a little hard to believe, especially after all the build up via Hal, the police and Harvey’s brazen return to the Salmon residence). Some of it was tedious reading (some of the Salmon family past was excessive), but overall, a decent read.

I’m sure to make my way to the theater to see Jackson’s vision, though I have mixed feelings about the absence of a rape/murder scene. Early reviews applaud this absence (Good. Too many filmmakers revel in horror. The Sun) and others balk (The screen version, by contrast, is so infuriatingly coy, and so desperate to preserve the modesty of its soulful victim that it amounts to an ongoing clean-up operation. The Guardian).

Students today began working on a culminating project to demonstrate skills they’ve learned toward developing and analyzing a theory across texts. Later in school (eighth grade and on into high school), students must be able to organize ideas to demonstrate this kind of thinking in literary analysis essays. For this demonstration, students will create a collage that focuses on one theory, shows evidence for the theory, raises new questions and makes connections beyond the text. This assignment is due Tuesday, December 8 for periods 1-3 and Wednesday, December 9 for periods 4-5.

• Theory Collage Assignment
• Theory Collage Planning Worksheet
• Ms. Lima’s sample planning worksheet
• Ms. Lima’s sample theory collage
• Ms. Lima’s sample collage reflection

Will Carter, known to everyone as Carter, and thankfully not Slappy (and is that a funny/painful story…)  is about to become a freshman at Merrian High.   Carter finally gets it by Brent Crawford is all about Carter’s freshman year and it is funny (read: hilarious) and embarrassing (read: cringe-worthy).

Carter has a mild form of ADD and has to really concentrate on not spacing out, which can be a problem when he is playing sports (football and swimming).   Luckily, he has a close group of friends but, man can he get himself into situations!

From going to high school parties where people get drunk and his bike gets stolen, to dating and bragging in the locker room, Carter has a lot to deal with.  His sister tries to help out by giving him advice.  Which isn’t a bad idea because if he does something embarrassing it will reflect poorly on her.  Expect to read language you would hear walking down the hall of a high school and expect to be telling the people around you what it is that you are reading that is so funny.  I’m sure you will easily convince others to pick up a copy.  That is, once you stop snorting and have wiped the tears from your eyes.

Today, we talked about a new project in which students demonstrate the work they’ve learned in the past several weeks around questioning, connecting, inferring and building theories. Students are required to select a realistic fiction text for independent reading and complete four pieces of a larger project. Students have completed all pieces of the project in class with our short stories; now they will be demonstrating those skills with an independent book.

This project is due Monday, January 4. Students will work on this assignment in class every Wednesday until holiday break. The majority of the work will be completed outside of class.

View the assignment

View the sample for the first piece of the assignment:  Quote/Response entries.

Title: How to Say Goodbye in Robot

Author: Natalie Standiford

Summary: Beatrice might be a robot. She isn’t as emotional as her mom, and often fantasizes about what it would be like to die – so she can dream about how cute guys would cry over her remains. When her family relocates again the summer before her senior year, she anticipates moving swiftly through another new  school without making real friends and finally leaving for college.

When Beatrice meets Jonah, a quiet, pale-skinned guy nicknamed ‘Ghost Boy’ by his snarky classmates, her world is forever changed. She and Jonah become inseparable – not boyfriend/girlfriend, but so close that the word ‘friend’ doesn’t seem  to describe it either. But there is a reason why Jonah is a ghost boy. As Beatrice finds herself becoming more girl than robot, she begins learn that sometimes no matter how hard you try to help, or how much you might love someone, you will have to say goodbye.

Who will like this book?: This deeply moving book is perfect for teens about to face the transition from high school to college. If you are the kind of person who others often ask ‘Why are you friends with them?,’ this is the book for you.

If you like this, try this: Paper Towns by John Green. For something very different, but sort of the same, read the wordless graphic novel Robot Dreams by Sara Varon.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

Popular teen authors, John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle write three intertwined short stories about Christmas romances.  Maureen Johnson starts with “Jubilee Express.”  Jubilee (yes, that is her name) is heading to her grandparents after her parents are arrested on Christmas Eve for taking part in a riot at the Flobie Santa Village factory.  Jubilee is upset that she’s missing Christmas with her overachiever boyfriend, but even more upset that he doesn’t have time to listen to her troubles.  On the train, she meets Jed, who we’ll get to know better in the third story.  Jubilee’s train gets stuck during a snow storm, forcing her to schlep over to the Waffle Hut with 14 perky cheerleaders.  There she meets Stewart.  We also meet the interesting “tin foil guy” who makes other appearances as the next two stories unfold.

 In John Green’s Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, we find out how the guys at the Waffle Hut feel about being invaded by cheerleaders.  It’s a Christmas Miracle!!  Kuen phones friends, JP, Tobin and “The Duke” and tells them to get there, pronto and bring the game, Twister.   The story is filled with John’s signature hilariously witty friend banter.  There is also a great car race in the snow between the friends and two lopsided twins.  Tobin realizes he should have been thinking about the girl sitting next to him, instead of perky cheerleaders.

 In The Patron Saint Of Pigs, Addie is heartbroken because she ended things with her boyfriend, Jed.  (You’ll remember Jed from the train, he is also moping at the Waffle Hut in the 2nd story.) Addie is a bit of a drama queen, as her two friends subtly remind her.  Jed is not the boyfriend Addie wants him to be.  She would like him to be more romantic (Edward Cullen-like, I am assuming.)  After Addie’s huge mistake, Jed is supposed to meet her at Starbucks.  When he never shows, Addie suspects the worst.  Addie’s friend, Tegan has a pig obsession.  Enter the world’s cutest pig, a tiny tea cup pig named Gabriel and lewd boy named Charlie and a bus full of senior citizens and the cast of interesting characters grows even larger. 

 Some ideas for discussing with teens:

 Addie wants Jeb to change.  She doesn’t think he’s romantic enough.  Talk about how drama can get in the way of a good relationship.

 Why are the guys so obsessed with the cheerleaders?  Talk about how the cheerleaders pay attention to them at first and why the guys are disappointed later.

 Jubilee thinks she has a great relationship with her overachiever boyfriend.  Talk about how she may have lost herself along the way.

 What drew Jubilee & Stewart, Addie & Jed, Tobin and Angie to each other?

 Tobin and the Duke (Angie) are good friends.  The Duke likes Tobin, but he is afraid to ruin the friendship.  Talk about making that transition between friends and more than friends.

Students have done a lot of work discussing “big idea” questions and developing theories about human nature–why people do the things they do. Today, we learned about how we might test a theory. Instead of trying to find only evidence that supports a theory, students began to consider evidence that might contradict a theory or that might require them to modify a theory.

We worked as a group with the theory, “People act tough when they’re really not because they’re scared.” We tested this theory against the short story, “Priscilla and the Wimps.” Students considered whether or not the events and characters in the story made them agree or disagree with the group theory, and they noted their thinking on a sticky note placing it in the spot in the story that they think provides evidence for their thinking.

Sample sticky note response to theory

Students absent today will complete this required work independently.

by Jacqueline Woodson

It’s nice to have a chance to know more about Lonnie (Locomotion) and the next chapter in his life. It is a moving account and one can’t help but admire every single person (well, maybe not Ms Cooper) in the story for their tenacity and compassion.

Riley feels like a loser, especially when it comes to sports.  Dad was an all-star — good at every sport, and feels Riley should be the same. Sports are so problematic for him, that one misstep causes an accident in which a dog is hurt so badly his leg must be amputated.  When Mrs. Lerner, the dog’s owner, decides to put him down since he can no longer be a show dog, Riley steps in and takes on the responsibility of caring for him.

Riley learns that Champ, a border collie, requires a lot of attention and energy, despite only having three legs. His neighbor, Mr. Douglas finds a way to help, not only the boy and the dog, but also himself.  Champ needs challenge despite his disability, and Riley learns through perseverance that you can succeed.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Lerner swoops in to take Champ away once she learns others still think he’s worthwhile.  In the end, Riley proves his worth, both to himself and his father.  Winning isn’t everything.

I started this book with low expectations based on my previous experience with Thornton Jones’ Bailey School kids series.  However, in this book, she proves she is a very good writer, tapping into the feelings of the main character and his family.  So many points in this book will resonate with both boys and girls, and being a quick read, it will be one of the more popular Surrey Schools Book of the Year Nominees.

Highly recommended:  Gr. 3 – 6

For more information:  www.marciatjones.com

~Sophia Fredo, Blue Team

I could see it now, in my mind’s eye: the dream above all dreams, the reason I lived and breathed. I shut my eyes, playing the mental move I had seen too many times to count.

Flashing lights, thunderous applause, music pounding heavily from intricately decorated speakers. The click of stiletto heels on the marble catwalk. The swishing of my latest and greatest designs, flowing elegantly from the models’ lithe, slinky frames. Judges whispering and hissing in heavy Italian accents, shooting comments from the corners of their mouths faster than shooting stars. Competition. Firenze. Am I going to win?

Eight models
Seven designers
Six outfits
Five days
Four houses
Three broken hearts
Two judges
One catwalk

Will it be me?

Bobby is a Dublin kid, always in trouble. He thinks nothing of stealing money, crashing cars, or dodging the police. In fact, these are the things he most enjoys. Only when he’s out of control does he feel truly alive.

To save her son from inevitable trouble with the law, Bobby’s mother moves the family to a small house in the Irish countryside. There, she says, they will start a new life.

“I won’t stay,” Bobby tells her. “I’ll go back to the city, first chance I get.”

Bobby thinks the country is a bore, with its cows and daisies and broken-down stone walls. And it isn’t just boring, either. It’s creepy. The man who last rented this house disappeared without a trace. The people before him were rumored to have murdered their own daughter. And now, Bobby’s little brother is talking about strange noises during the night.

Suddenly, Bobby is scared: scared of the wild energy inside him, of the future that seems so hopeless, and most of all, of whomever — or whatever — is visiting their house in the dark.

(For all you eighth-graders: this is a really good novel for book forms because it’s full of symbolism and character development. And it’s also very suspenseful — I read it in one day.)

Today students returned to work they completed this month about “big idea” questions, and they reviewed theories around those questions that they developed for the Socratic seminar on 11/13. We then collected ideas about how various realistic fiction texts might support our theories.

Today’s notebook work includes the “big idea” question, then theory, and three pieces of evidence from at least two different texts (so 2 from one text and one from another or one each from three different texts) in bullet form. Students absent today will need to complete this work. Be sure to label it, “11/24 Question and Theory.” The value in this work is that it not only engages students in thinking about a big idea across multiple texts, which is a very high-level skill, it also prepares them for organizing ideas for literary analysis essays that they will be assigned in high school.

Monday, we will read a final text with a theory in mind and consider how the new texts supports, adds to or changes our thinking.

Frankie Landau Banks is starting her sophomore year at Alabaster prep school.  She has physically matured over the summer and is excited to return better looking and out from her family nickname of “Bunny Rabbit.”  She almost immediately starts dating one of the hottest seniors at school, Matthew Livingston, who claims he doesn’t remember her even though her older sister introduced them several times the previous year.  She loves being his girlfriend but knows that he and his friend Alpha are hiding something from her.  She soon finds out the secret that they are part of The Bassets, a secret all male society on campus.  Frankie becomes determined to show Matthew, without him knowing, that she has the brains to pull off pranks just like the boys of The Bassets.  She starts secretly plotting all their pranks without Matthew’s knowledge.
Frankie is a great character.  She is mischievous without being destructive and puts a lot of thought into her pranks.  I did want to tell her that she needed to dump Matthew since he didn’t treat her like an equal, but that was a key part to her mentally maturing through the book.  I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would recommend it to girls in middle school and early high school.