A Year Without Autumn

A Year Without Autumn is my first experience with Liz Kessler's work; I am in awe! A Year Without Autumn should be a novel receiving some Newbery buzz, and while I was reading I had visions of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me.

Jenni Green and her family are on a family vacation at their time share. This is a dream come true since Jenni will be spending the week with her best friend in the world, Autumn. However, the trip does not turn out as planned because when Jenni takes an old elevator she finds herself in the future. And what she realizes about life -particularly hers and Autumn's- is that there have been vast changes. And they aren't all good.

Despite not loving the fantasy genre, I absolutely loved this book, and have told my ten year old this is a must read. Just as with When You Reach Me, I don't even know how to adequately summarize this story without giving too much away, and truly, this is a book worth reading to find out for yourself how good it is.

Throwback Thursday

This week is flying by.....not that it seems to be going very quickly when my alarm goes off, or when I have been up at night with my youngest daughter and her allergy issues. But, here it is Thursday already!

While I was growing up there were many adult books that I read after hearing my mom talk about them. I was interested and amazed by Torey L. Hayden and her work as a special needs teacher. Her book, One Child, was a Readers Digest Condensed Book (my mom would get my grandfather's once he'd finished), and I recall her sharing the general outline of Sheila's story: abused as a young child, Sheila was eventually placed in a BD room with Hayden as her teacher after she tied up a young boy to a tree and started him on fire. I think she was somewhere around the age of six. One Child was instantly gripping to me. I wanted to know more about Sheila, but in the process learned a lot about Hayden and her dedication and devotion to her students. One Child was the first book I read that Hayden authored, but it was not my last. I have long loved these books and still recommend them to teachers and friends looking for a good non-fiction read about special education. Hayden does continue Sheila's story in a later novel, and it is so interesting to see how time has changed Sheila and the relationship she and Hayden once had.

Gooney Bird: On the Map

Gooney Bird: On the Map is the fifth book in this series by Lois Lowry. I like this unique character- someone along the lines of Junie B. Jones, yet not. Where I at times think Junie B is naughty and I have a problem with her incorrect grammar (something I have heard often from teachers and parents), Gooney is a girl with a mind of her own, and her books - at least the three I have read- feature some good learning and talking points.

Gooney Bird: On the Map is no exception. In this installment, Gooney and her classmates are learning about the different states and spend their time making a map of the U.S. outside in an area of the school playground that has been set aside for them. Three of her classmates continue to discuss their winter vacation plans - something that they learn is called gloating. Gooney continues to be a favorite in our household. Even my fourth grade daughter was excited when I opened this package, bringing back happy memories of previous Gooney books she has read.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: Defending Jacob by William Landay

Due out January 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.

The Luck of the Buttons

Anne Ylvisaker's The Luck of the Buttons has been sitting in my library stack for far, far too long. Set in Iowa in the early 1900s, this slim novel tells Tug Buttons' story - how her family never seems to have any luck. Tugs is excited, and somewhat surprised, when Aggie, a girl clearly out of Tugs' social circle, asks her to run the three legged race together, and from that point on luck seems to have turned for Tugs. Tugs is also the only person who is suspicious of a new arrival in town promising to start a town paper and asking for money from its residents as an investment in the paper. I loved how this story developed and grew more interested after my initial inability to really get into this book. By book's end I was totally in love with Tugs and her family. While reading I felt hints of Kit Kitteridge, the American girl, and appreciated the time period this story is set in.

The Sixes

I love Kate White's mysteries and have had my eyes out for a while for anything new that might be coming out from her. When I saw The Sixes I was intrigued by the departure from White's series, not sure I would enjoy this novel.

The Sixes sucked me in right away. I started it on Saturday morning and read nearly the whole time I worked at the public library (It does help to have a job like this where there aren't tons of customers and my own children can't bother me). I loved the suspense in this novel, set at a college and featuring a secret society (The Sixes) of mean girls.

Phoebe Hall is a new professor at Lyle College where her good friend Glenda is the president. When a Lyle student goes missing and turns up drowned in a river, Glenda asks Phoebe to do some sleuthing around on her own to see what she can uncover. Not only does she uncover the existence of the Sixes and becomes the target of some of their pranks, she also starts digging into what could possibly be a serial killer who seems to target a co-ed each fall and spring and push them into the river.

This book was creepy and suspenseful and full of interesting twists and turns. I loved the college setting and the way in which the plot unfolded. Although The Sixes could easily be a stand alone novel, I am hoping that readers get to meet up with Phoebe Hall again sometime. Kate White has managed to write another great novel.

Sunday Salon

This weekend is once again rushing by- and almost over with. I worked yesterday morning at the public library which gave me some quiet time as it is never very busy. I became totally absorbed by Kate White's The Sixes which I finished off last night (review to come). I did get a bit of cleaning done while my husband worked on installing an invisible fence for our dog. He's still not done, but since the Packers are playing this afternoon, work has ceased.

Last night we took the girls to see Tonic Sol-Fa, an acapella singing group. They enjoyed it a lot, and so did we. This morning I taught Sunday school, and then we quickly dashed off to my parents' to have family pictures taken. My sister and her family were sick a few weeks ago when this was scheduled, so we were happy we could get it in today. Although a bit brisk, the sprinkles that fell a little before our photographer arrived did hold off and the sun peeked out. I think the pictures will be so cute, so I can't wait to see them.

Now I am at school - working a bit on things to prepare for the week. My oldest two girls stayed to spend time with my mom and dad, but my youngest daughter needs some new clothes, so she is with me. Right now she is finishing an episode of Arthur. We also need groceries before we can return home. I'd like to get a run in tonight and I am really hoping that I can see the new show PanAm that premieres tonight. Considering I am not a TV watcher, we'll see how this goes.

Tomorrow it is back to another jam-packed week: piano lessons, gymnastics, a cheerleading clinic and performance at Friday's football game, as well as a performance of Max and Ruby Live are some of the activities we have in store.

What about you? What's up for your week?

Girls in White Dresses

Jennifer Close's Girls In White Dresses is a first novel for this author. The cover of the book intrigued me, and what I expected was a chick lit novel with a little romance. Close's book is that - sort of. Close follows the lives of Isabelle, Mary and Lauren who are single and in their twenties, navigating their shift from college to life in the city - first jobs, career moves, relationships with men (not boys any longer) and the endless parade of weddings they attend. I felt as though I could relate to these women, remembering what life was like for me a little over a decade ago. Although I didn't ever have the city life aspect of their story, this book felt a bit like the mid 90's - after I graduated from college.

I read several reviews on Amazon that picked this book apart- especially focusing on a lack of plor or any real climax in the book. While it's true, this book does just move among these characters and the events in their life, it seemed very true to real life to me. This is not a classic romance, and these women share their feelings about the guys they date and their own questions about their relationships and their futures.

I really liked this book, and while I understand the criticism other readers may find with it, Girls in White Dresses worked for me. I found it entertaining and engaging and hard to put down.

Sweet Jiminy

Sweet Jiminy, Kristin Gore's third novel, is a different sort of book than her first two: Sammy's Hill and Sammy's House. Two of my friends labeled it "ok" and "all right," which, I admit, didn't cause me to rush to read it. I almost took this book back to the library without reading it because I had hung on to it for so long.

Last night I started Sweet Jiminy, and this morning I finished it off. For me it was better than the mediocre ratings that were passed on to me.

Jiminy is visiting her grandma in the South. She has dropped out of law school and is finding herself. While there she reconnects with Bo, the nephew of her grandmother's cleaning lady. As Bo and Jiminy begin a romance, issues of race and the way people react to them being together highlights how different people feel about a mixed race relationship. Jiminy also discovers that Lyn (her grandmother's cleaning lady) had a daughter - also named Jiminy- who died under mysterious and tragic circumstances along with Lyn's husband. Seeking the truth Jiminy gets assistance from Carlos, a lawyer who specializes in civil rights crimes. Add in to this a growing Hispanic population that continues to feel pressure by whites in this small southern town, and there is a lot going on in this slim novel.

After my initial confusion at the beginning of this novel- trying to figure out who Willa and Lyn were and Jiminy's connection to them, I really did enjoy this book. While set in the South, I wouldn't call this novel big on Southern charm, but it did give a good look at racism in small town settings and kept me engaged til the end as the people who killed Jiminy and her father were revealed. The only real thing I disliked about this story was the last two pages which are narrated in Lyn's voice. For me, those two pages were unnecessary and somewhat confusing. I enjoyed how Gore finished things off prior to that.

Sweet Jiminy is yet another book in Gore's growing collection of work. I will happily read any future novel this woman writes.

Throwback Thursday

For some reason most of my initial childhood memories of reading involve chapter books. Yet, I was read to from a very young age, and had many picture books that I spent hours "reading" or having read to me. One classic book that my grandmother often read to me was The Poky Little Puppy. Both my sister and I enjoyed this story - she perhaps more than me.

My own children have had this book read to them, but I'm not sure they even remember it all that well if I would ask them.

As I am recalling books from my own childhood, I am curious as to what my kids will come up with. We have a lot more books in our home than I did as a child and therefore more options for reading. We don't read and re-read a ton, unlike my family when I was growing up. I am sure the constant re-readings have led me to now, as an adult, be able to recall certain stories with great accuracy.

The Poky Little Puppy still makes my list of classic children's books, a story I think every child should know.

Are there certain books that you had read and re-read to you in your childhood? What are some classic childrens books you think every child should hear?

The Sacred Acre

Ed Thomas was a legend in Aplington-Parkersburg where he taught in the high school and coached football for more than thirty years. Everyone in these two small town seemed to know him and were connected to him in some way. While his impact on the town was great, it is only after his untimely death that his story and life have reached people across the nation.

I still remember hearing the breaking news on television two years ago in June, a newscaster breaking in to announce that Coach Ed Thomas had been shot in the high school weight room on a summer morning. A murder in a small town almost a mirror image of my own seemed impossible. As more news leaked out the picture became clearer- a young man with a mental illness - someone who Ed knew personally- came into the weight room after methodically searching for him - and shot him in the head repeatedly.

With that one act, Ed's life ended. And yet, while his life ended, what he stood for has managed to touch more people than you could imagine. Sports Illustrated featured Ed on its cover. A bill passed through the Iowa legislature allowing law enforcement to be notified when someone with a mental illness was released from a hospital (which is what happened to the young man who shot and killed Ed), and people far and wide got to know Ed and all he stood for. His family, which could have been bitter encouraged the town to embrace the young man's family. They have chosen to live their lives with the same character their father and husband lived his.

When a colleague told me this book was amazing, I had my doubts. I knew I would enjoy it simply because my small town is not far from Aplington-Parkersburg. It is always fun to see places you know well referred to in print. I already knew Ed Thomas' story, so that was not a surprise. And I knew the way people who had known him talked about him with such respect and admiration. I expected the book to be a rather typical ho-hum rehashing of events.

While the writing is good, it is not that that kept me reading. I loved how each chapter began with a phrase or "words to live by" that Ed Thomas used and believed. I loved the way in which his faith shone through. While this book is somewhat biographical, most of this story focuses on the A-P after a tornado struck in 2009. An E5 tornado ripped through the town, demolishing much of it. Ed, with his commitment to the community, was instrumental to its rebuilding and vowed to his football team they would play their first home game at a newly redone field in their hometown. While the town was still recovering from an enormous tragedy, the man the field was named for, was also taken from them.

I finished this book earlier in the day, and have thought about it on and off all day. I have enormous respect for Coach Thomas and the life he lived. I have enormous respect for his family and the way they have gone on living their lives after his death.

Sacred Acre is a wonderful book, and a wonderful example of how ordinary people can and do go on to do extraordinary things.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: Mrs. Nixon by Ann Beattie

Due out November 15, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

The New York Times Book Review recently hailed Ann Beattie as “a national treasure,” and selected The New Yorker Stories as one of the top 10 books of 2010. Here, Beattie delivers a wholly original work about Pat Nixon—a riveting exploration of an elusive and modern icon and of the fiction writer’s art.
Mrs. Nixon, once a community theatre actress, understood the world, in part, from some of the roles she played. Ann Beattie puts her on stage again, to try to understand what her thoughts may have been—from the perspective of a fiction writer.
Pat Nixon remains one of our most mysterious and intriguing public figures, the only modern first lady who never wrote a memoir. Beattie, like many of her generation, dismissed Richard Nixon’s wife as “interchangeable with a Martian.” But decades later, she wonders what it must have been like to be married to such a spectacularly ambitious and catastrophically self-destructive man.
Drawing on a wealth of sources from Life magazine to accounts by Nixon’s daughter, and his doctor, to The Haldeman Diaries and Jonathan Schell’s The Time of Illusion, Beattie reconstructs dozens of scenes in an attempt to see the world from Mrs. Nixon’s point of view. Like Stephen King’s On Writing, this fascinating and intimate account offers readers an unprecedented glimpse into the imagination of a writer.
Beattie, whose fiction Vanity Fair calls “irony-laced reports from the front line of baby-boomers’ war with themselves,” packs insight and humor into her examination of the First Couple with whom boomers came of age. Mrs. Nixon is a startlingly compelling and revelatory work.

The Language of Flowers

Victoria is a foster child, eighteen and newly emancipated from the system. With nowhere to go she sleeps outside in a field near the city of San Francisco. Although she is supposed to find a job, Victoria instead spends her time planting flowers and plants and transferring them to this field. The flowers seem to speak to her, and she knows what each one is trying to convey.

Diffenbaugh shifts between the present time and Victoria's past as a young child in the foster care system. As a ten year old Victoria goes to live with Elizabeth, a woman who runs a vineyard. There she is loved and cared for and also learns a great deal about plants. I wished so much for Elizabeth to adopt Victoria, yet knew it was not to be, as the book opens with Victoria's emancipation. Yet, I couldn't imagine a better or more loving environment for Victoria to grow up in.

As an adult Victoria finds relationships difficult and has a way of keeping people at an arm's length. Watching her navigate her relationships is at times heartbreaking, especially as Diffenbaugh slowly reveals what Victoria's earlier life was like.

I will admit to knowing very little about flowers. However, I was amazed by the way Diffenbaugh wrote about the different language that flowers have and the meanings and feelings behind the different plants. Handily, at book's end there is a small glossary of flowers along with the feelings they evoke.

The Language of Flowers is Diffenbaugh's first book. This would be a great selection for book clubs and women's fiction lovers - plenty to discuss and enjoy.

Sunday Salon

Today is such a rainy, dreary day....it really feels like fall is on its way. I can't way I am excited for shorter days, snow, winter driving and all of that. But, I do enjoy the crisp fall weather, football season, and feeling warm and cozy inside.

My youngest daughter went to her first birthday party today. Her friend, Garrin, from daycare invited her to go and see Lion King in 3-D. She thought it was great. My middle daughter helped my husband by an Invisible Fence for our pooch at Home Depot and had lunch with him at Taco Bell, and my oldest daughter stayed home with me. We curled up in the TV room and watched a few shows together, which is very unlike me. I have so many books to read and a lot to do, but this weather just erased any motivation.

I also attended a fabulous play, The Dixie Swim Club, with a good friend last night. It's a great story of women, friendship, the cycle of life and passage of time. Our local theatre put it on and it was wonderful. I wish my mom would have had tickets to go as well, because this story about a group of college friends who meet each year and help each other through their ups and downs in life, is one I think she would enjoy. She also has a close group of college friends who meet up each year for a weekend. They have known each other for over forty years now and still find time for each other.

Luckily we ran our errands yesterday so tonight we are taking baths, washing hair, and getting things ready to go back to school for the week: piano practicing, lunch making, spelling word quizzing.

I started The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and am enjoying it, although I am not very far into it. The bad news is that it is due tomorrow. I may end up having to pay a quarter or two as a fine since I can guarantee it won't be done by then and it is too good to just quit reading and return.

This week ahead looks long to me. We have had several weeks where the students have only come for four of the five days. From now until Thanksgiving there are no breaks. To add to that, I (and the rest of our staff) am tutoring after school three nights every week. And, Wednesday, the one day we usually get to leave early, is a day that we have been scheduled to attend Professional Development until 6 PM. Calgon, take me away!

Falling Together

Marisa de los Santos' latest novel, Falling Together, reminded me of the reasons I enjoy her novels: great writing and characters that feel real.

Cat, Will and Pen have not seen each other or spoke in the past six years. When Pen and Will receive a message from Cat to meet them at their college reunion because she needs them, the friends anticipate reuniting. But what awaits them is not the reunion they planned.

While this story did not strike me as horribly unique, I loved de los Santos' writing. Just as with her other novels, she seamlessly moves between the present and the past creating a full, well rounded picture of these characters as scenes from their past are revealed. While I loved the characters in de los Santos' previous novels, I also enjoyed these new characters and their friendship as well.

Falling Together is a well written, hard to put down story of friendship and loss. A great book to curl up with.

The Grief of Others

Leah Hager Cohen's newest novel, The Grief of Others, shares the story of the Ryrie family who has lost their baby after his birth just a year before. John and Ricky find their marriage deteriorating, whether from this tragedy or from other secrets they have kept. Their daughter Biscuit has been skipping school and their son Paul has become the victim of bullying, something they are unaware of until he is suspended for fighting. John's grown daughter from a previous relationship, now pregnant and single, shows up in the midst of this, adding another dimension to this story.

And while the family should perhaps address these issues, as John is contemplating the state of his marriage he realizes, "a certain atmosphere of normalcy was hard to avoid, frankly, in a family where the kids needed their reading logs signed, the laundry needed folding, the fridge restocking, the plants watering (208)." The truth of the matter is that avoidance has become a way of life for the Ryries.

While the Ryries have just recently lost a child, the focus of this story is not on their grief so much. For all appearances, their lives appear to be moving along, and I never felt as though grief was the overriding theme of this book. Yet, perhaps it is the avoidance of dealing with their loss that truly moves this novel along.

This is not a happy novel, but despite its sadness, I enjoyed it. Cohen's story is one of a family much like many others who are caught up in the day to day hustle of life and don't find time to deal with problems that arise until perhaps it is too late.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu has already received some Newbery buzz for 2012. This novel, inspired from Hans Christian Anderson's Snow Queen, is part fairy tale, part realistic fiction and worthy of the press it is receiving.

Hazel has always been best friends with Jack, her neighbor. Aside from him, she feels lonely and is dealing with her parents divorce and a new school, no longer able to afford the private school she had attended. Jack is now interested in hanging out with other boys his age and is growing away from his desire to play make believe with Hazel.

After getting injured at school one day Jack doesn't return the next day and Hazel wonders and worries what has become of him. When she hears that he has entered the forest near their homes with a strange woman, Hazel decides to go and find him. What she finds is a fantasy world where she encounters different dangers as she searches for her friend.

I loved the Minneapolis setting because of its familiarity to me and Ursu did a great job of drawing me into the story from the first page. While I am not somone who gravitates toward the fantasy genre, I enjoyed Hazel and Jack's story very much. I am also not familiar with the Snow Queen as a fairy tale, but Breadcrumbs has piqued my interest and reading this will be a great springboard to interest my students in this new title.

Want To Go Private?

There have been two books this week that have reminded me a lot of my early teen years. Sarah Darer Littman's novel Want To Go Private? is an important and realistic look at internet predators - something most of our teens need to be aware of.

While I grew up in the stone ages apparently -not having the internet until my college years when it was more accessible, Littman's book is a look at what teens today face and how they think at the age of thirteen or fourteen.

Abby is smart- a straight A student with a lot going for her. But when she begins her freshman year of high school, she is lonely and depressed. Her best friend Faith has found another friend and they aren't as close as they once used to be. Even though Abby is aware of internet predators, she enjoys chatting with Luke, a guy she meets on ChezTeen, an internet chatting site. The two of them have many private conversations, and Abby begins to rely on Luke for his friendhsip and always being there for her. Deep down Abby must know what she is doing is wrong because she doesn't tell her friends about him, instead fabricating a story about dating a boy she met at the church camp she attended in the summer. When Abby has a fight with her parents about her grades, Luke suggests they run off together. And Abby decides to go for it.

You can imagine what happens next. Abby's parents involve the police to find their missing child. Her friends and sister try and think back to any clues or hints she left. When the police look at Abby's computer they are able to find out some information about "Luke."

There is a huge lesson to be learned in this book. Many teens have the attitude of "that could never happen to me." However, Abby was smart, too, yet she was vulnerable and easily taken in by someone who appeared to like her. This book does contain graphic content, so I would recommend it for older and more mature students. Yet, the message is so important that it is a book that needs to be read.

I can remember my freshman year of highschool and the need to fit in. The desire to have friends and be noticed by cute guys. Abby is a character many girls will be able to relate to. While the setting is a few decades after my own high school experience, Abby reminded me so much of what it was like to be fourteen again.

Right now I am busy teaching my upper elementary students some rules of internet safety and the need to keep your information private. While they seem to understand this concept and many can add information to our conversations about different stories they have heard or read about in the news, I am surprised by how many do continue to give out information on websites and have facebook accounts despite the fact that they are not old enough - at least legally- to have one.

Littman's book brings to light a crime that is relatively new because of the technology we now have available.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week's pick: Blue Nights by Joan Didion

Due out November 1, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

From one of our most powerful writers, a work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion examines her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness, and growing old. Blue Nights opens on July 26, 2010, as Didion thinks back to Quintana’s wedding in New York seven years before. Today would be her wedding anniversary. This fact triggers vivid snapshots of Quintana’s childhood—in Malibu, in Brentwood, at school in Holmby Hills. Reflecting on her daughter but also on her role as a parent, Didion asks the candid questions any parent might about how she feels she failed either because cues were not taken or perhaps displaced. “How could I have missed what was clearly there to be seen?” Finally, perhaps we all remain unknown to each other. Seamlessly woven in are incidents Didion sees as underscoring her own age, something she finds hard to acknowledge, much less accept. Blue Nights—the long, light evening hours that signal the summer solstice, “the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning”—like The Year of Magical Thinking before it, is an iconic book of incisive and electric honesty, haunting and profoundly moving.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

Jenny Wingfield's The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is a great piece of fiction - set in the 1950s in the South, Samuel Lake, a preacher returns home one summer to join his wife and children (already staying with their relatives) after he is not assigned a church for the coming year.

Part the story is of Samuel's work as a preacher, but also focuses on his family. As I try to determine which points are most important to share about this family, I realize it is like most families- relationships are complicated, interwoven with various events that happen over time. Willadee supports her husband in all he does and manages to trust him despite her sister-in-law's intentions of winning him over.

Sam and Willadee's daughter, Swan, makes friends with a neighbor boy, Blade, who is abused by his father. Their friendship thrives and when Blade runs away from home, the Lakes and Moses families offer him shelter and safety. Their offer comes with a price as Blade's father seeks to get revenge.

Eventually events reach a suspenseful climax and resolution, and Samuel Lake and the rest of his clan is able to show the strength of a family who supports each other.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake grabbed me from the beginning. This is Wingfield's debut novel, and one I will recommend to others.

9/11 In Books

The events of September 11, 2001, are ones that stay with you for a lifetime. Just as my parents can recall where they were (highschool, senior year) when JFK was killed, I will always remember where I was on 9/11/01 (at home on maternity leave watching the events unfold live). I realized that this year my elementary students have no memories of this event. At most they may have been a year old. While they know bits and pieces of something they told me "happened a really long time ago" they don't know what life was like before that day. I had been looking for a book to share with them - one written for kids - and came across America Under Attack by Don Brown. Brown's hometown of Merrick, New York, lost fifteen residents - equalling the number of men lost in the Vietnam War. His book is dedicated to them. Within this picture book is the story of what happened on 9/11 in a way students can understand. While this might not be the book for lower elementary students, my fifth grade classes listened so attentively and were so serious and interested in this story of our nation that they left the library to return to their classroom and continue their discussion for another hour. Brown 's story features several people affected by this tragedy- some who survived and some who did not. While it is not pleasant to relive the events of that day, Brown's book is well done and appropriate for students wanting and needing more information.

I, too, have been feeling the need to read about the people affected by 9/11. Immediately after 9/11 there was a large number of books that were published, and I read many of them. After watching continuous news coverage, I felt somehow connected to people like Lyz Glick and Lisa Beamer who lost their husbands on United Flight 93. Both women went on to write memoirs that I enjoyed reading.

On Top of the World : Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal by Tom Barbash gives greater understanding of this company who lost 658 employees on 9/11. One of those employees, Lauren Manning, who was burned on over eighty percent of her body, miraculously recovered and reclaimed her life. Her story, Love Greg and Lauren, a compilation of her husband, Greg's, emails to friends and family chronicling his wife's fight for life, was published after the tragedy. Now, Lauren has written her own book, Unmeasured Strength, about not only the accident but the past decade as she worked hard to become the woman she is now. I have just purchased this one from Amazon and am anxious to read it; Manning is an amazing woman!

Marian Fontana's book, A Widow's Walk, is a memoir I read a few summers ago. Fontana's husband, Dave, a firefighter, died on 9/11, their eighth annniversary. Suddenly Fontana found herself a single mother trying to make ends meet and missing her husband terribly. While her story doesn't sound that different than the many other women who lost their spouses, Fontana's writing is amazing and I found myself nearly unable to put this book away. Tonight I finished up The Alchemy of Loss: A Young Widow's Transformation by Abigail Carter. Carter lost her husband, Arron, on 9/11, the only day he attended a meeting at Windows of the World restaurant. Her story reminds me of many other widows', and yet each story is unique. Each person lost on that day left behind family and friends and each story touches me. I had not heard of Carter's book, published in 2008, until recently when she was featured in All You's September magazine. I enjoyed reading the article about Carter, a Canadian citizen, who has since relocated with her children to Seattle and started life anew.

While there is no way I can read these books one after the other, each fall I find myself revisiting that day. Our beautiful fall weather here this past week is certainly reminiscent of the cloudless blue sky in New York ten years ago. As a Midwesterner, 9/11 at times feels remote to me, a small-town girl. I know that reading a book about this day cannot possibly replicate the experience, but it allows me to see and feel what many others are still dealing with a decade later.

The number of books being published to comemorate this anniversary is great. A few others on my radar:
Where You Left by Jennifer Gardner-Trulson

Reluctant Hero by Michael Benfante

After The Fall: New Yorkers Remember Septemer 2001 and the Year that Followed by Mary Marshall Clark

Memory Remains: 9/11 Artifacts at Hangar 17 by Francesc Torres

A Decade of Hope: Stories of Grief and Endurance from 9/11 Families and Friends by Dennis Smith

Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 by Damon DiMarco

102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight To Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer

Alice On Her Way

Oh, how I have missed Alice! Years ago I read through every available Alice book by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I fell in love with this girl being raised by a widowed father with an older brother, Lester. Alice was a girl I could relate to. I enjoyed her voice as she navigated issues with friends, her dad's dating, school, and growing up. Unlike some series, Alice does age in these books. Now the series stands at twenty four books (I think), and Alice has gone from an elementary student to a college student. I haven't quite made it that far in my reading, having just finished Alice On Her Way.

In this installment Alice is looking forward to getting her license and her sixteenth birthday. Patrick, her long-time boyfriend (who I loved!) is a thing of the past, and she is now dating Sam. Alice is definitely more grown up in this book, yet she is still Alice. I enjoyed watching Alice being faced with some more grown up issues and feelings while still retaining her original character. Naylor does not force Alice into being a goody-goody, instead allowing her to do normal teen activities. When Alice and her friends take a class trip to New York City, they manage to sneak out one night and go to a nightclub. She is very attracted to Sam and enjoys the physical side of their relationship, yet questions in her mind whether the physical aspect is what she enjoys more than Sam himself. Naylor provides Alice an opportunity to explore these growing feelings toward boys by having Alice enrolled in a class (signed up by her father against her wishes) at her church about s*x. There she learns a lot about her own feelings and about relationships and s*x all with the guidance of two adult leaders.

Watching Alice's friends navigate their teen years is also interesting. Pamela, still hurt by her mother's desertion, begins to act promiscuously. Faith deals with an abusive boyfriend. Sam, Alice's new boyfriend, seems overly needy and too attached to his mother. As Alice became irritated by his constant attention and affection, I could almost feel Alice's irritation myself.

Alice On Her Way just increases my love for this girl and book series. Alice makes me laugh and she makes me hopeful that their are girls out there who are as level-headed and interesting as she is.

Throwback Thursday

Lila Perl is well known (at least to me) for her Fat Glenda books. I loved those books during my tween years. However, back in fourth grade I read a book by Lila Perl, and never even realized who the author was until recently when I began hunting around for an image of this book. That Crazy April by Lila Perl was my go-to book of fourth grade. My teacher had a very worn paperback copy in our classroom library and despite the unattractive cover, I decided to give it a try. I read this book and re-read and it and re-read it. It has been a few decades since I've returned to this title, and I can't remember the main character's name, but I do remember a few highlights: a best friend named Monique who was more glamourous than the main character and hard to live up to, being a part of a bridal show at a mall, an older cousin named Xandra, a mom who was into women's lib, some struggles with growing up. I have thought about re-reading this one as an adult just to see if it lives up to my childhood remembrances. Because I actually have a copy of this title. In fact, I did something horribly awful as a child. I took the book from our classroom library. Not cool. And I hate when kids do that to me. But....I will at least say that That Crazy April did go to a good book loving home where it has been treated well.

Did anyone else read this book as a child? What books do you remember from growing up? Taking a book from a classroom library - please tell me I'm not the only bookworm who did such a thing!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Due out in 2012

There's not a lot of info. out on this one yet. No cover image. No synopsis on Amazon. But it's Emily Giffin and I've read and enjoyed every single one of her books.

Visit Emily's site to read an excerpt from Chapter 1.

Killing Kate

I have enjoyed the first three installments of Julie Kramer's mystery series (Silencing Sam, Missing Mark, Stalking Susan) and was excited to see the fourth, Killing Kate, out this summer. Kramer does not disappoint in her latest book.

Riley is still dealing with her irritating boss, Noreen, and still hunting for breaking stories as a television reporter. This time when Kate, the sister to Riley's college roommate who she no longer keeps in touch with, is murdered, Riley is on the scene. There are a few similarities with other murders that have occurred, and a connection to an angel statue in an Iowa City graveyard. Riley can't help getting involved in this case, especially when her former roommate Laura moves in with her for a bit and the two discover Kate's secret life.

I loved the Iowa connection that Kramer added to this story. One of the reasons I first was intested in this mystery series was because of the Twin Cities setting. Adding a more familiar locale just increased my interest, and also piqued my curiosity about the angel statue Kramer writes of. I love some good Iowa history, and will have to research this one on my own.

Kramer's novels have been published regularly for the last few years, so I am hoping that her next one will also be on shelves within the next year.

Time Off!

I will admit to really appreciating having a three day weekend. I have been back in school for a month, now, and despite really loving my job, I am enjoying having a bit of extra time around home. We have done a bit of cleaning - which we managed to save until today- and a bit of reading. I also went through some library books and realized that I just need to clean out my stacks. Maybe someday in the future I can get to these books, but my piles are so high that I need to focus on the ones that have been waiting for a while.
One thing I wanted to do this weekend and did not happen was see The Help. I find it rather depressing that so many of my friends have already seen it, but at this rate I may end up waiting for it to come out on DVD.
The weather is beautiful today - perfect fall-like weather. Saturday was gloomy and rainy and cold, but today makes up for it. It is unfortunate that we couldn't have tomorrow off, too. This coming weekend is our town's garage sale day. I have been busy hauling my stuff in to my mother-in-law's house to sell. She is nice enough to get everything ready and price it all, and give me the profit. I can't beat that deal! I am really hoping some stuff sells because I desperately want a new couch and have decided that perhaps this garage sale money could go toward that. (That is until we have the heating/cooling repair man come tomorrow to look at our broken water heater. After we get that bill, our money might not be going for a new couch).
I'll be back to regular book reviews and blogging starting tomorrow. I have enjoyed having a little break, but have a few titles to write about. There just are not enough hours in the day to get everything done!
Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend and is ready to get back to the real world tomorrow.

August in Review

I started school this month, and have felt it in terms of leisure reading time. There definitely is not as much right now.
The books I did manage to get through:
1. The Daughters Take the Stage by Joanna Philbin
2. Eight Keys by Suzanne Lefleur
3. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
4. Burnt Mountain by Ann Rivers Siddons
5. Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
6. The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin
7. Bent Road by Lori Roy
8. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
9. Kindred Spirits by Sarah Strohmeyer
10. Water Balloon by Audrey Vernick
11. A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano
12. Next to Love by Ellen Feldman
13. Turn of Mind by Alice La Plante
14. Grounded by Kate Klise
15. Ten Rules for Living With My Sister by Ann M. Martin
16. This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman
17. Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
18. The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt
19. Close Your Eyes by Amanda Eyre Ward
20. Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillstad Butler

10 of 20 books were middle grade/young adult, 10 were adult
1 book was written by a male author, 19 by females
5 of the 20 books were from my shelves, 15 were library books
All 20 books were fiction, no non-fiction

A Blast From the Past

In September 2001 we were adjusting to life with a newborn, and not getting a lot of sleep. Our country also experienced 9/11, an event so shocking that it is impossible to forget where we were when we first heard about it. I still managed to get a few books read, despite all the upheaval in the world. Five highlights include:
As I look at these titles, it surprises me how little I really remember each of them. Up a Road Slowly by Hunt is the one I may remember the most, but possibly because it is one that I was re-reading in September of 2001, having read it as a junior high school student. I love looking back at my reading log and seeing where I was a decade ago. What about you? What were you reading ten years ago?

Throwback Thursday

Nancy Drew books were an important part of my childhood. And I often checked them out from the public library. While the library in the town where I lived didn't have the entire collection, a nearby library did. I remember being overwhelmed by the yellow spined collection and selected based entirely on the cover picture. Eventually I owned some of my own Nancy Drew books. The Twin Dilemma was the first Nancy Drew purchase I made. While the yellow spined novels ended with #56, this later addition to the series added almost twenty books to the collection, and allowed Nancy to solver her mysteries in the late 1970s and early 80s.

I loved these books. I saved my pennies for these books. I waited until family vacations to Minneapolis to visit a large bookstore to make my purchases. I remember reading this entire book on the way home from Minneapolis, and stopping after each chapter, trying to make my enjoyment last longer.

This book introduced me to the word titian (Nancy's hair color), the name Eloise (Nancy's aunt), and created an excitement for series mysteries (which I am still known to read).