Still up for a fun/serious mash-up??

     I'm still here!!  I am in the midst of student teaching and up to my earballs  in grading, lesson planning, and data analysis.  It's an incredible time!   I love the students. I love the teachers. And I love the job.
     I'm still reading as many books as I can squeeze in and can't wait to be back on here sharing them and joining in on blog events. For today, I'll leave you with this fantastic selection recommended by one of my most fabulous instructors:



The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen
Winner of the  Canadian Governor General's Literary Award

       This book is what I consider a sleeper.  And I don't mean it will put you to sleep! My copy had no jacketflap intro an just starts out with a journal entry.  I started reading this and laughing out loud at the story this pre-teen boy was telling about life in secondary school. Being set in Canada, I'm not sure what grade that is, but he's still pretty young as a character.  He's trying to find his place in his new school and town, but there's the universal of youth - clingy nerds and bullies at school.

     It starts out with Henry's brutally honest descriptions of people he encounters at school and home, but then he starts talking about "IT". IT is something that happened that changed his entire life.  IT is the reason he reluctantly journals his daily life.  He has you questioning, "Will Henry turn out ok? Can he keep it together?"   I'd say you could run out to B&N and grab a copy, but being a Canadian title, this may be one time you need to hit up EBay or Amazon.

I give The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen   5 stars

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Plot Twist.....tragic or brilliant?

    So, I noticed a trend lately in authors really hitting you right in the gut with their plot-twists. Wait,  is it a plot-twist if it's at the end? Is there another name for it at that point in the story? Is it just the end? The grande finale?

(Possible spoilers here....)

 Over the winter break, I read a couple of books that just blew me away at the end. I mean major book-SHOCK!  I had to just sit there and think and re-read the final chapter to take in all the detail and fit it in my head. I wasn't sure if I was mad at the author or if she is a genius!





     I noticed a trend lately of authors either killing the main character, or secondary character or even more interesting (spoiler here) messing with their brains. Not in just one book, but a few. At first, I felt cheated. After all that time with the character, she dies.or she's lobotomized. his personality is reprogrammed. And I wondered -  is that really fair to the reader?

     And then I thought about it a little more and realized that I think YA authors are reaching a new level of being true to their characters. They are going one step further to make the reader feel. And isn't that why we read?

     I don't think I can take anymore tragic endings right now. As a reader, a little goes a long way. But call me a little bit twisted, I think I'm ruined for happy endings.

Do you read a book without knowing if it's a tragedy? Do you just jump in blindly? Would you read a series knowing a main character is killed?

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BritLit - Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

   

 Although not British, this one is still part of our BritLit trip. For me - this one caused a reading revolution! Revolution is actually written by an American author about the French Revolution - get ready for fireworks!
     Jennifer Donnelly has captured the essence of the struggles of the "citizen" of the French Revolution and intertwined it with a modern angsty-teenage musical prodigy from Brooklyn to the point that two characters become one soul. Andi and Alex (Alexandrine), two strong-willed teenage girls whose hearts ache for a young child whose lives they wish to save meet through Alex's 200 year-old journal. Andi becomes obsessed with Alex's personal account of the revolution and how it affected the innocent. Both Andi and Alex find that they must complete a monumental task to mark the importance of just one life.

     The thing about reading Revolution is that Jennifer Donnelly makes you feel like you are there. You don't just read the scenes. You smell the stinking city of Paris - devoid of all sanitation and personal hygiene, you feel the hunger that the citizens endured and the fear, pain and anger they endured trying to bring "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" to France. Through Andi, you journey through Alex's journal and relate to her quest to let little Louis-Charles know she still cares, that he is not forgotten.  
     Revolution is not just about the past, but about the present revolution going on inside Andi and Alex. Both girls are struggling to know their inner-selves. What do they stand for? What are their lives really about? Andi continually struggles with finding her self-worth and teeters on the brink of suicide. Several times I felt genuine fear for Andi. Would she do it? Would she take that "one step" and give herself the punishment she thinks she deserves? And Alex - she's so mixed up trying to do what everyone demands of her, will she find the strength to do what she needs to? Will she be true to her own heart - even if she's killed for it?

   

Notre-Dame

No other book has gripped my heart like this one. Sure, books have made me emotional - why else would I read them? But this one, these characters, have grabbed my heart. I claim Andi and Alex for my own - my literary sisters and BFF's. I want to ride mopeds in Paris with Andi and watch Alex perform at the Palais-Royale at night when she's only performing for herself, without an audience. I want to be there for them when they reach rock-bottom and tell them to hang on just one more day. When we asked Jennifer on Skype which character was her favorite, she said it was like being asked which one of her children she loved more. I agree, they cannot be weighed against each other -without Alex, there wouldn't be an Andi and without Andi, we wouldn't know what Alex wanted us to know!

Revolutionary Paintings-J.David

The beautiful streets of Par-ee!

 The triple-bonus of Revolution is that you are taken all over Paris - up, under, across in both centuries. If you want to know what it's like there, this one will take you there. I stood in all the same places as Alex and Andi, visited the Eiffel Tower, stood at the door to the catacombs, watched a horse-drawn carriage as I ate at an outdoor cafe, ate baguettes with meat and cheese, rode the Metro with crowds of people and pick-pockets, climbed the steps to Sacre Coeur, and walked behind the chapel to watched the artists paint in Montmatre.

The Catacombes

Walked through the gates of Versailles

Sacre Coer

     

225+ steps

The sunset at the Sacre Coure

     A first for me, I read this book in three formats - started with the digital download, but it expired, so I switched to the audio version which was killer! Alex and Andi were read by two different readers and Alex was read with a strong French accent! Then I re-read it in print. So protective of how I use my limited, precious reading time, until this one, I've never re-read a book in the same season. 

Rather than a 5-star rating, I give Revolution 

This one's for the Green Man!

Fireworks!!!

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BritLit: War Horse the novel, movie and performance

   

 War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo, is a novel from the perspective of a horse named Joey, trained by a farm boy and sold into the Army in WWI. Not only is it available in hardcover and paperback, it's available in audio book, at the movies, and theater production. I listened to it on audio book and what was really amazing was that when I got to the New London Theatre, the actor Albert must have been the same actor from the audio recording. It was like the book came to life hearing it with the exact same voice.


     More mind-blowing were the puppets. Yes, puppets. These horses look like they are made of steel or sticks, but their movements are so fluid and life-like the actors trick your mind into believing they are living and breathing, stomping and dying. At one point, when one of the horses dies, we were all soggy-eyed and the woman behind us was sobbing! That's how real it felt.

   

     Even if you don't enjoy war stories, this story really boiled down to a boys love for his horse and how far he would go to be reunited. It brings up the cruelty and foolishness of fighting and peaks with soldiers on opposite sides calmly deciding which one of them should get Joey who is stuck in No Man's Land. Imagine soldiers armed and fighting suddenly stopping to flip a coin - both treating the horse with kindness and respect. It makes you think about the human condition and foolishness of violence when words are all that's needed.

    This production is just one of those performances you have to see in motion. Photos do little to bring it to life. If you ever get to see ANY production by the National Theater or any life-sized puppet production, consider yourself privileged! War Horse will be in Denver on Jan 8, 2014, Souix Falls, LA and lots of other US locations starting in September.  Visit www.warhorseonstage.com for more pictures, videos, and performances.

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Book Review: Hidden by Sophie Jordan

      Lets talk about Firelight series #3 Hidden by Sophie Jordan. 
Firelight is one of my all-time favorite books because who doesn't like to see through the eyes of dragons who morph into human bodies. How about soaring on a draft or breathing a little steam on that mean girl taunting you in the bathroom? They have no hidden agenda except freedom. They want to live with their pride and be able to blend with the humans, but they can't - not with the hunters relentlessly pursuing them. 
     Jacinda already has the pride mad at her for leaving, but even worse, one of the young ones followed her and was captured by a hunter and delivered to their headquarters. Jacinda rallies her sister, her ex-hunter boyfriend Will, her draki sister Tamra, and Cassian, the future king of the pride, to help rescue Miriam.  What they find at the headquarters is shocking: Draki on the brink on insanity locked in cages, men in lab coats, and stainless steel equipment from wall to wall.

     The best part was when they were all released into their "yard" and Jacinda meets the grey - the Megatron of all draki and he's in a bad mood. Sophie Jordan takes it from there with wild character traits and paranormal powers - even the least likely can use their powers to accomplish amazing feats under the incredible pressure. The will to survive takes over and choices have to be made.
     My only complaint about Hidden was that it was over so quickly. I think back and wonder  - do I feel cheated? And the answer is N to-the-O!  It feels more like she wrote a long novel and cut out all the clutter, leaving a story that cuts to the chase and never bores you.  I feel like there's a whole story for her to tell about Deghan "the grey" and Jacinda's sister Tamra. Even if you've never read Firelight, if you like Hunger Games or descriptive tales about dragons with "gossamer wings", or paranormal powers, you will love Hidden.

For the book trailer click here

 I give Hidden  four stars!

And BONUS!!!  Sophie leaves us with Jacinda's best friend Az in her novella, Breathless

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Changing it up today - It's Let the Sky Fall Friday!

 

Breath-taking cover!!!

   It's time for a stars-and-stripes all-American story, but wait - are they even our species?   Shannon Messenger, author of Keeper of the Lost Cities, rocks the YA world with her YA debut revealing the realm of Sylphs in Let the Sky Fall.  Could they be Slyph-Americans? I mean VaneWeston is as normal as you can get, except for the fact that he really loves his parents, a rare trait for a main character.  Hottie unwaware, he lives for girls, burgers and fries and game controllers. Considering himself an average-Joe how could he be a Windwalker? And why is this pretty girl insisting she's his guardian?

     But there's more, there's his blank-memory past and that mysterious brown-haired girl who's been in his dreams since he was little. How could he be so special to be the only survivor of a massive tornado? And when it's revealed to him bit-by-bit he questions how it could fall on him to be the one guy who can save his town from another catastrophe.  So many questions, but so much happening all at once. Shannon Messenger braids together unique paranormal abilities, epic battles, personal challenges, family, and romance. The next time the wind blows in a freaky storm, I'll be wondering if they are out there battling for our safety. 

     This book was so edgy, fresh and fun,  I devoured it and then did one thing I rarely do - read it again! This was me holding up my booklight for an encore......er..sequel.....

I give Let The Sky Fall  5 stars and a Bro-fist for appealing to girls AND guys ! 

I was just thinking how I almost hope there's another  villain out there because I want to see Vane and Audra back in action and SQUEE!!!! Look what was announced on Goodreads while I was abroad....

                                                

I can't wait until March - Thank You Shannon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

(Chants)"ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC "

....running off to see if Shannon has any ARC Rafflecopter giveaways on her blog.......

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BritLit- Macbeth at the Globe, London.....

                 .....and  Macbeth for Kids by Lois Burdett 

     Out of our entire trip, seeing Macbeth performed at the Globe was unforgettable!  It was so different from seeing the Royal Shakespeare Acting company perform As You Like It. Macbeth is a tragedy, so this performance was traditional, serious, and intense!   It was raw and gritty - even creepy when Banquo was haunting Macbeth. The acting company's costumes were so incredible, I just wanted to touch the velvet and see how heavy the dresses were.

All of us ambushing Billy Boyd

      A big surprise was actor Billy Boyd (Pippin from Lord of the Rings) played Banquo. I hear Patrick Stewart also did a performance here, too. It was a bit confusing though. Typical of Shakespeare, some of the actors played several parts. So one minute Billy Boyd is dead, the next he's back in a different role. The only way to really know what's going on is to study the play before you go. Bring in Lois Burdett again. We already used her children's book As You Like It for Kids and this time we used Macbeth for Kids. As they say, if something is too difficult for adults, write it for children. Even thought the playbill had a summary, without her book, I would have been so lost.


          The lead actors, Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro had us mesmerized with their performance - especially when she started to go crazy and he was having visions of dead Banquo. Performances in the Globe are so traditional that the actors actually walk out into the audience. It felt like any minute he might grab you and yell into your face that death was stalking him -  like any minute Macbeth was going to snap! 
If I was in London for the summer, I would see it again and again.

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BritLit- Royalty, adolescents, and bringin' on the boom

Buckingham Palace

     A nice change from Buckingham Palace and the crush of tourists trying to get a glimpse of the changing of the guard is the Queen's summer home - Windsor Palace .

 

Here you can walk around in peace, actually see the guards from the upper windows or driveway, and check out her collection of arms, knights' armour, and swords. While it was all very impressive, I couldn't help but wonder if she feels like she's stuck with all this old STUFF! I mean, it's her summer home and she's got rooms and rooms of heirlooms that I'm sure she must display out of duty.

Queenly stuff is all good, but these were some of our first encounters with Londoners. We read some children's lit books to just get a feel for the culture. The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jaqueline Wilson and Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging which I talk about all the time. What we found is that in England there's city life with shows and tubes and then there is country life where they walk to town, parks, and school. Tracy Beaker is one of those incredibly normal kids who believes everyone is out to get her. She's prone to meltdowns and screaming-fits, but couldn't possibly have broken that girl's clock on purpose. Georgie Nicholson gives a glimpse into early teens and all that marvy-jazz. Of course, I already went on and on about her in an earlier post, but she's won me over to her entire series. One thing we learned from Georgie is that the world centers around teens just as it does queens. 
     

     What better way to dive into culture than head down to the Covent Garden and over to the theater district. Everywhere we turned were marquees for shows. Even the Beiber was there! We took in Stomp and War Horse.  It  just made me think how different life would be if your Friday nights were spent arguing over which theater show to see instead of what episode to watch on Netflix!

Stomp

War Horse

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BritLit - Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall

      Swan Lake is one of those productions you can enjoy just because it is beautiful and the costumes rival Cirque de Soleil, but there's more to Swan Lake than just a seat in the balcony. 

Waiting for the swans 

     In order to dig deeper into the performance, we read a children's book about the origination of the costumes and the five dance movements. The Swan Princess of the English National Ballet impressed us by performing 32 fouette's (toe-top spins) I heard from other students that even doing TWO fouette's is killer, so this dancer was over-the-top with talent.

This one is my favorite

We fell in love with this Degas sculpture

     Not only did we enjoy the background, we saw the Edward Degas paintings at the Louvre. They house a collection of all his sketches of ballerina's behind the scenes and on stage. He captured moments of dancers warming up, one of a dancer tying her toe-shoe, and a favorite - one of a dancer scratching her back. They say Degas spent so much time painting them, he could name all their movements. 

One big surprise just after the final bows was a full-scale evactuation of the Royal Albert Hall. Someone mentioned a smoke machine, but it really made me want to get as far away from the crowd as possible!

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