It’s Monday! What are you reading? –From Picture Books to YA–is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts. Head over to their blog for links to many great blogs and a plethora of good book suggestions.
The last few weeks of school seemed like such a whirlwind and time seemed to fly by. I am so excited to be starting with my summer #bookaday challenge. I will be attempting to read 80 books this summer, which is a few more than the number of days off I have.
Books I Finished This Week:
I LOVED Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The book is extremely well-written with lyrical language and amazing characters. Both Ari and Dante are very likable boys with very complex issues. What I really loved about this book was the emphasis on family relationships. The adults in the book all really worked to do what they felt was best for their children. I liked it that the characters were complex and that the adults had made some really big mistakes but were willing to own up to them. The difficulty that Ari has with understanding his father is so realistic and well-written. I don’t want to give any spoilers and won’t, but I really kind of fell in love with Ari’s parents at the end. Please visit my longer review here.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was so much fun to read. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading the book. I am a sucker for a good fractured fairy tale, so this book was right up my ally. I highly recommend this one to anyone grades 4 and up who wants a good laugh and a fun adventure story.
This year my school received some sets of books for literature circles from a grant. We did not have any say in the titles that were ordered, but I love that I have a lot of wonderful titles to use now. One of the novels in this set of books is Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. So, when I saw this graphic adaptation on clearance at Half Price Books, I knew I had to snatch it up. I enjoyed the story, but I am hoping that I will enjoy the novel more. At least I will have another version for students who might need help with visualization while reading this one.
Many of the books in the Pretty Little Liars series were also in the clearance section last weekend at Half Price Books. I love this television series and really was interested in reading the books. When I read the first one, I was kind of disappointed because I already knew everything that was going to happen from watching the show. This second book was a bit better because there were some things that were different and it made me more interested in the outcome. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans of the tv show and Gossip Girls. I know students will love these books and I am glad I got them.
More of this book was different from the tv show. I am starting to like the novels more because I am more interested in the mystery and am not sure about what will happen next in the books.
Books I am Currently Reading:
I started Code Name Verity today. So far, I am intrigued by the story. I am also trying to catch up with reading Notice and Note so that I can participate in this week’s chat. I missed last week because I was so busy with closing my classroom and end of year records that I did not have a chance to read section 2.
What’s Next:
I have Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and a few other library books that I will probably get to. I also will start On Writing by Stephen King in preparation for Teachers Write. I will see where the week leads me after that.
My first world problem this week will be packing for a month in California at my sister’s house. I have been seriously contemplating shipping myself a box of some of the books in my TBR pile and then shipping them back at the end of July. I will figure that out this week as well.
What are you reading? Happy Reading!
