Book Review: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Hey Readers!

I know it's been a minute since I posted a review on here.  This summer has been a combination of joyous events, not so joyous events, and a lot of trying to piece things all together again.  So my attention span for reading has been pretty much shot.  I would start a book, put it down, and not go back to it.

Until last night.

I don't know if it's the realization that school starts again in a week and my free time is about to be gone or what, but last night I decided to go on a digital library binge.  (Did you know you can borrow E-Books from your local library?  It's pretty awesome, and I suggest you check it out.)  In the midst of said binge, I virtually borrowed my first David Sedaris book: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.

Why have I never read David Sedaris before?!  I've heard of him, like on NPR and whatnot.  But I never picked up one of his books before.  Which is surprising, because his website has a short eared owl on the homepage.  (I love owls.  This makes me love Sedaris even more.)

I read Squirrel Seeks Chipmonk in one sitting.  Basically, the book is a collection of short stories that use animals to deal with human problems.  It's classified as satire (which means essentially it's a snarky look at life) and it was wonderful.  While all of the stories were very well done, a few stuck with me more than the others.  One was "The Crow and the Sheep", which is about a crow who is struggling to feed her family and has a discussion with a mother ewe about it.  I'm not going to ruin any endings here (what's the fun in that?), but know that it turns dark like many of the stories in here.

Overall, I really enjoyed Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.  I think David Sedaris hits on a lot of different issues in our culture in a very well done way.  It was a fairly light read, too, which  I needed.  The fact that it's made up of several stories makes it easy to get through when your attention span is shot.  The only thing I would say was a little off putting is that most of the stories take dark turns at the end.  But considering the state of our society and culture at the moment,  I'm really not surprised.

I highly recommend Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk and I think anyone of the 18 + audience would enjoy it.  I know I did.

~Meaghan

The Graphic Novel: My Friend Dahmer and Group Discussion

Hello my dear readers!

One of the incredibly popular genres of YA literature is the graphic novel.  Some people call these comic books, but in reality, they are so much more.  The use of images and words to tell a story can give so much added depth for the reader - pictures can sometimes say more than words ever can, and the combination allows for multiple readings of the story while getting different meanings each time.

The novel I chose was My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf.  Backderf went to high school with Jeffery Dahmer and chose to write and illustrate a graphic novel about it.  I was drawn to it because 1. there's something fascinating to me about a serial killer and what made them snap and 2. the art is so interesting - like caricatures.  (You can see what I mean by checking out Backderf's site; he posts weekly comic strips and stuff, which is always fun.)

The book was intense.  The portrayal of Dahmer as this lonely kid who had a horrible home life and was just trying to fit in made me almost empathize with the guy.  Backderf did a really good job at incorporating actual photographs of Dahmer throughout to ground the story and remind everyone that he was a real person; the cartoonish style makes it somewhat easy to forget that these things actually happened, and the photos break that up.

In our group, we talked about how the three of us who read the book immediately wanted to learn more about Dahmer when we were done.  That someone could do something so horrible fascinated us.  We wondered if things had been different (such as Dahmer's parents not being so wrapped up in their divorce or if Dahmer had been able to come out as gay without judgement) if he would have still done the crimes he did.

 We also noticed that Backderf did a great job of changing the use of white space throughout the novel to show the downward descent Dahmer had - by the end of the book, there isn't any white space left in the panels, only darkness.  The panels that had not words at all were also incredibly impactful.  Seeing a young Dahmer walk through the woods at night by himself has a completely different feeling than if it was narrated in text.

Overall, My Friend Dahmer was a really interesting read.  The style is great for people familiar with graphic novels and even if you aren't, the frames are done in a manner that makes it easy to figure out.  I recommend it for mid to late high school students and above.

~Meaghan

The Verse Novel: Crank

Hey there, my readers!

One important genre of YA literature is the verse novel.  These novels are written in poetic form.  This allows the words to take multiple meanings and the lines to take various shapes, much like in poetry.  The subject material can range from biographical to completely fictional.

I read Crank by Ellen Hopkins as my verse novel choice.  Hopkins wrote the book in verse form after her daughter dealt with drug addiction.  It explores the chaos meth can place on you and your family, as well as how sometimes you don't realize how much you're giving to the drug until you hit rock bottom.  Hopkins has a great website that has a place for adults as well as a place for young adults.  The adult site focuses on her new adult novels while the YA site has resources for students and teachers.

Crank was a difficult read for me, based on the subject material.  Hopkins doesn't shy away from any of the nitty gritty details that go with drug addiction: loss of friends, rape, drug deals gone bad, family struggles, withdrawl.  It's all there.  Which I think is a good thing, because everyone (especially teens) need to see what comes with the high.  The ending was hopeful, which is equally important because it is possible to get better and for things to heal.

The verse form was especially powerful in this book.  There are places where you can read across the columns or you can read just one side or the other; both impact the meaning of the story and lend to the madness of the situation.  It can be a fairly quick read or it can take longer, depending on how you process it.  For me, I had to read sections twice to fully grasp the impact of them.

Crank is also part of a series.  It's the first book.  The other books in the series follow what happened after the events set in motion.  It is considered a work of fiction even though it is loosely based on Hopkins' experiences with her daughter.

I recommend Crank for 11th and 12th grade, and beyond.  Younger than that and I think it might be a little difficult.  I do think that even with the hard material, everyone should read it.  Don't shy away.

~Meaghan

Supernatural Fiction: The Graveyard Book

Hello again dear readers!

So in my YA lit class, we read supernatural fiction.  Supernatural fiction isn't anything new to the genre (remember Goosebumps from elementary school anyone?) and can be seen, in my opinion, as an introduction to the horror genre.  That isn't to say they are all scary, though.

I read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book as my selection for the supernatural.  I'll be completely honest: I'm not a huge Gaiman fan.  I tried to read Stardust but got bored with it a third of the way through.  I also tried American Gods and had similar trouble.  But The Graveyard Book was something altogether different.

The first time I read it was for Children's Literature last year, so this was my second reading.  I enjoyed it completely both times.  The Graveyard Book follows young Nobody Owens.  Nobody's family is murdered when he is a baby and yet he somehow evades the killer (named Jack) by crawling to the graveyard up the hill.  The hosts of the graveyard (ghosts) take him in and raise him as one of their own.  His mentor is a vampire named Silas.  As Bod (his nickname) grows older, his adventures become more and more wild.  By the end of the story, he has to face the killer of his family as a young man.

The writing is well done and the story is great.  It is a middle school level book, so it's less intense than some of Gaiman's other works (like the ones I mentioned above that I couldn't get through).  The pages are set up in a manner so that there are some illustrations to help guide the story along.  There are also places where the page layout lends to the feel of the story, such as a dark background around a chapter opening.

I highly recommend The Graveyard Book.  Even if you are like me and struggle with Gaiman's work, I think this one is worth a try.

(Also, here is some fantastic fanart that fans of the book have done.  Harper Collins publishes it on their Tumblr page.  I am impressed.)

~Meaghan

Science Fiction Novel: Feed and Group Discussion

Hello dear readers!

For my YA lit class, one section of material we covered was science fiction.  The selection I picked was Feed by M.T. Anderson, a novel in which everyone in a future society has tech systems embedded in their heads that are constantly marketing to each individual.  When the main character meets a girl named Violet who wants to break the system and break free of the "feed", he thinks she's nuts initially.  But as the story progresses, he begins to understand why she's doing what she does.

(M.T. Anderson is a really interesting writer.  If you go to his website, it's very much "steampunk" which I think speaks for his writing.  I recommend checking out his books.)

In our group, we had an interesting discussion about the role of technology in the lives of kids today.  Many kids can't be seen without their smartphones in hands, checking Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.  The premise of Feed is that these streams would be pushed directly into the minds of everyone who had a "feed".  The interesting thing is that Anderson wrote this novel in 2001, which was before the Facebook boom.

Another interesting thing about Feed is that the language is very dumbed down.  The reason for this is to make a point that too much technology can reverse the learning process.  We felt this was a very deliberate choice on Anderson's part; while it does make the novel hard to read in some places, it gets the feeling of this society all about consumption across well.

Overall, I enjoyed Feed.  I think it could be a really good launch point for discussion with teens and adults alike.

~Meaghan

Young Adult Non Fiction: How They Croaked Plus Group Discussion

Hello again, my lovely readers!

A key component to education and to the reading curriculum of young adults is non fiction.  Non fiction material can range from the funny and gross (which is what I read for this post) to the serious and grim.  There are a few challenges in non fiction, especially for teens.  It needs to be both engaging and factual, and somehow it has to hold the attention of someone who may or may not have the focus of a goldfish.  The key with young adults is to get them reading what they are interested in, be it space, dinosaurs, fashion, etc. and use it as a launch point into other non fiction material.

(If you are looking for some ideas for non fiction for YA readers, Goodreads has a pretty great list here.  A lot of these look really interesting, and can be a great way to get YA readers involved.)

For the non fiction selection, I chose to read How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg and Kevin O'Malley.  The book is filled with bios of famous people ranging from Mozart to Washington with facts about the time periods, practices, and other random bits and pieces.  The book also has a lot of really funny drawings throughout as well.

I loved it.  This is exactly the kind of book I was reading when I was in like 5th grade - the weird, gross out fact book was my preference of choice.  I love how How They Croaked was humorous throughout, especially with some of the more gory deaths.   I think by keeping the tone light it kept it from getting too dark.  The facts were really neat, too; I had no idea Mozart died from strep throat.  Overall, I  think anyone in upper elementary through middle school will probably enjoy it.

In our group, we came up with a list of things we learned from How They Croaked, and if this list doesn't entice you into reading it, I don't know what else will:

1. Doctors could be just as lethal as the illnesses they were treating.
2. Thank God for antibiotics.
3. Always let someone know that you've died.
4. One of the leading causes of death is science.
5. Always do what you love, even if it kills you.

Again, a really great book.

~Meaghan

Identity Novel: Esperanza Rising Plus Group Discussion

Hello readers!

The identity novel is a really important part of YA literature, as it explores growth and issues that many teens are dealing with in some form or another.  For my selection, I chose Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan.  Her website is found here and is full of all kinds of interesting things, including resources and discussion guides for her books.

The basis of Esperanza Rising is starting over from the ground up.  Esperanza starts the story as a wealthy girl in Mexico during the 1920s.  Her father is killed and she and her mother make an escape to California, where they work as laborers in the fields.  At first, Esperanza is upset.  The life in California is different than anything she's ever known and she hates it.  But as the story continues, she starts to grow and come into her own, proving that even if you lose everything, you can still find yourself.

In our group discussion, we all latched onto the themes found in the story.  There is smoke and fire (from Esperanza's home being burned), crochet and family (her grandmother teaches her to crochet and it becomes a lifeline while Esperanza is in California), and the fact that you can always recreate yourself.  The biggest key we found to the story is the idea of cycles and circles.  The book is structured after the agricultural growing season, and by the end, it has come a full season, much like Esperanza's life.

Esperanza Rising is a great book for upper elementary and middle school students, although I think everyone can gain something from it.  I highly recommend it.

~Meaghan

Group Discussion: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Hi there, readers!

This is a reflection of our group discussion regarding Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick.  There will be spoilers, so you have been warned.

The first thing we talked about in group was how difficult this story was to read.  We reside in Colorado and shootings are nothing new: every  member in our group has been impacted directly by a shooting (Columbine High School, the Batman Theater Shooting, Arapahoe High School, etc).  That tends to taint how you react to a book of this nature.  Most of us were also bullied or depressed in high school, which also impacted how we read the text.

Once we got that out of the way, we were able to dive into the text.  The biggest thing we found with the book was how Herr Silverman reacted.  He saved Leonard's life and took the teen to his home for the night.  But should he have really done that?  Should Silverman have instead taken Leonard to the ER where he could be evaluated and held on a 72 hour hold?

The truth is, none of us were really sure where the line is drawn.  As a teacher (most of us are education majors), what do you do in a situation like that?  I don't think we ever fully established an answer to the question, either.  The closest we got was that you do what needs to be done and deal with the aftermath later.

We also discussed whether or not this book helps or hinders young adults.  The story has a lot of really good coping techniques that it shows the readers, such as when Herr Silverman has Leonard write letters to himself from himself in the future.  And because the book deals with such a heavy topic, it can help others feel not so alone and show them there's more than what looks like the only way out.

The overall conclusion, however, was that it's a really important read that young adults should read, but they should read it with adults available.  The idea of having adults available isn't necessarily realistic.  Mostly, though, adults (parents, teachers, friends, etc.) need to be present to listen and help their teens sort through the information.

The concluding bit we came up with is that it's a very heavy but important book, but probably shouldn't be geared towards anyone below 12th grade unless the person recommending it is sure of the readers maturity level.

~Meaghan

The Problem Novel: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Hi there readers!

Today's post is about the problem novel Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick.  (Matthew Quick is the guy who wrote The Silver Linings Playbook, in case you were curious.  His website can be found here.)  There are minimal spoilers in this review, so consider yourself warned.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a pretty dark young adult novel.  It follows the 24 hour day of Leonard, a high school student who is plotting to kill his tormentor and then himself later in the day.  It's Leonard's birthday and no one remembers: his friends (his elderly neighbor, a kid at his school who plays violin, and a really religious girl who hands out pamphlets at the train station) don't remember, his mother (who is absent most of the time and even when she is present, isn't really there) isn't even in the same state as him, and his teacher Herr Silverman (who is trying desperately to understand and help Leonard) doesn't know.

The story is first person in real time, which I thought was a pretty cool approach.  I didn't necessarily like the story, but it did keep me enthralled.  And it was a very powerful read.  The only real issue I had was that it started to drag a little in the middle.  Other than that, it's very well written.  I will warn you though: be prepared to have a lack of resolution at the end.

Overall, I think Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a really important read for 12th graders and above.  You may not like it, but it will leave an impact on you.

~Meaghan

The Lauren Oliver Novel: Before I Fall

Hello dear readers!

Today I am reviewing the young adult novel Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  (Lauren Oliver is an up and coming young adult writer, and actually writes a wide variety of genres.  I highly recommend you check out her website if you get the chance.)

Before I Fall is a novel that follow a high school girl named Samantha, or as she prefers, Sam.  Sam is one of the popular girls and can get away with just about anything.  Her clique that she hangs with can be mean (they bully one girl, Juliette, relentlessly) and snobbish.  Think of that group of girls we have all known from high school - you know the ones.

Almost from the get go of the story, Sam ends up in a car crash and dies after we've seen a typical day for her.  But she is given a second chance.  And a third.  And a fourth.  In the end, Sam ends up reliving the day of her death a total of seven times.  Each time is a chance for her to change things: to change how she lives, how she loves, and how she dies.

The novel is incredibly interesting.  We see Sam go from a horrible, selfish girl to a compassionate one who changes the people around her for the better.  In the end, Sam still dies.  But her death is no longer a freak accident of a mean girl.  Instead, it becomes a meaningful death in the place of someone else.

Before I Fall is one of those books I struggled with, but in a good way.  At the start of it, I hated Sam with a passion.  Memories of the girls who teased me in elementary school (before I was homeschooled) came back and I wanted to punch her in the face.  But by the end of the book, her transformation was so amazing that I was bawling my eyes out when I finished.  If that doesn't tell you it's worth a read, I don't know what else will.

I do recommend Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.  I think adults and high school students alike should read it.  It's Oliver's first novel as well, so now I'm incredibly interested in reading the rest of her writing to see how it grows and changes.  I highly encourage you to check out Lauren Oliver and especially Before I Fall.  It will be worth your time.

~Meaghan

Classic Novel 2: The Book Thief

Hello readers!

Today I'm going to be giving my review of Markus Zusak's novel The Book Thief.

The Book Thief has been around for a little while and was a book I was actually recommended for reading when I was in upper high school.  I never got around to reading it.  In hindsight, I'm not sure why I didn't.  The story takes places during World War II in Nazi Germany, which is something I've always been interested in.  The only thing I can figure the recommendation came during a period where I wasn't reading much.

I was incredibly pleased to read The Book Thief for this literature class, and the book did not disappoint me.  As mentioned above, the story takes place in a Nazi Germany town.  Most of the action occurs on Himmel Street, which translates into Heaven Street.  The narrator is an omnipresent individual (I won't spoil for you who the narrator is in this post) and tells us (the readers) the story of Lisel, a young girl living with a foster family.

The town they reside in is very pro-Hitler.  Lisel is forced to participate in the Hitler Youth program and the activities they put on.  These contain, among other things, book burnings.  Lisel doesn't know how to read in the beginning of the story, but she begins stealing books anyway.  As the story progresses, her foster father begins to teach her to read in the basement of their home, until Lisel is reading on her own and able to devour all the books she's stolen.

Through events out of her control - including hiding a Jewish man in the basement, the bomb threats that begin constantly plaguing the street, and the increasing stress from Hitler - we experience Lisel's growth and struggles.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Book Thief.  It brought a refreshing take on World War II by showing a different side that we rarely get to see.  The book is funny, smart, and emotional.  There were parts where I felt the narrator was over explaining their intentions, but I do understand why Zusak chose to write it that way.  I highly recommend The Book Thief for high schoolers and adults alike.

What are your thoughts on The Book Thief?

~Meaghan

P.S. : If you want more information on this book or on Markus Zusak, his website can be found here.

Classic Novel 1: Looking for Alaska

Hello readers!

Today, I'm reviewing John Green's Looking for Alaska.  If you haven't read it and don't want spoilers, I suggest you turn away now.

Up until this point, I had never read anything by John Green.  I think it had to do with the hype.  Last year, after all, was when The Fault in Our Stars blew up all over the big screen and social media.  So I stayed away.  Nothing personal to John Green, I just don't like things with hype - it can never be as awesome as everyone plays it up to be, and I always end disappointed.

Then Looking for Alaska appeared as an option on my reading list for this semester in Young Adult Literature, and something in me decided to take a risk.  Maybe it was because the book was under three bucks on my Kindle, or maybe it was because I was finally curious enough about why teens and adults alike adore Green.  Whatever it was, I bought the book and was on my merry way.

It. Was. Excellent.

The book is written through a first person narrator, a teen names Miles.  Miles decides his life is boring in Florida and opts to go to a boarding school in Alabama.  There he meets his roomate and future friend Chip (who goes by "The Colonel"), a boy named Takumi, and a girl named Alaska.  The first half of the book is called "Before" and each section is listed with "x number of days before".  In it, the kids go through what I would expect is pretty typical teen drama - relationships, classes, pulling pranks, smoking and drinking while trying not to get caught, and forming friendships.

And then.

It happens.

I'm not going to fully go into what happens, but the second half of the book is called "After" and each section is listed with "x number of days after".  The kids suffer a trama that changes everything for them.  The book goes from being typical to becoming a struggle of grief and survival.

I loved this book.  It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it kept me involved.  I understand why teens and adults love John Green, and hype has nothing to do with it.  The language is witty and real, the situations are important, and the characters are memorable.  I'm hoping to read more of Green's works in the future.

Overall, I recommend Looking for Alaska.  How about you guys?  Have any of you read John Green?  What did you think?

~Meaghan

P.S. - Come find me on Goodreads!  You can connect with me here!  I really recommend Goodreads.  It's a great way to find new books. 

Review: The Giver

Hello dear readers!

Today's post is a review of the book The Giver by Lois Lowery.  If you have not read the book, you might want to skip this post as there will be spoilers in the discussion.

The Giver follows twelve year old Jonas.  Jonas lives in a community where everything is full of sameness - there is no color, no free will, no pain, no joy, no anything.  Families are picked for each individual and you have to apply for spouses and children.  Jobs are assigned to individuals when they turn twelve and are chosen by a committee of elders who observe the youth throughout their lives; these jobs range from birth mothers (the women who keep the population going) to nurturers (who care for the babies) to trash collectors.

At Jonas' ceremony, he is selected for a very different kind of a job: to be the next Receiver.  The position of receiver is basically the keeper of the memories so that the members in the community do not have to carry them.  Jonas begins training with a man called The Giver.  Through the placement of The Giver's fingertips on Jonas' back, the memories of all human kind are transferred into Jonas.  He learns colors, sounds, beauty, hatred, violence, and love - all of the things that the community has purged in their pursuit of sameness.

Once this training has begun, Jonas realizes he can't look at his life in the community the same.  He realizes that he can't live in a world without love, without color, without flavor.  The Giver and Jonas then come up with a plan that will restore the memories to the community and free Jonas from the confines he now can not stand.  But when a catalyst is triggered, Jonas leaves earlier and the plan is jeopardized.

The book is very well written, with an ambiguous ending that forces the reader to think beyond the pages of the story.  It has won many awards, including the Newberry Award.  It is required reading for many middle schools, and has also been turned into a feature film with Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Into the Woods) and Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, Iron Man) as The Giver.

I read this book once in 6th or 7th grade.  While I enjoyed it, there was a lot I don't think I fully grasped or that I really took away from it.  But upon re-reading it for this young adult literature class, I found The Giver had a lot more meaning for me.

One thing I found through this second reading is how the idea of sameness feels a lot more repulsive as an adult than as a middle schooler.  I can't even imagine a world without love, color, or free will.  The control of the government for the good of the community in the book was horrifying to me.  I do not want that for my children.

Another thing I really took away this time was the suicide of the receiver before Jonas.  Her name was Rosemary and while I think there were only like three sentences devoted to her, she stuck in my mind.  She was The Giver's daughter and she killed herself because of the weight of memory.  My heart ached and I can't shake her from my mind.

The Giver really is filled with a lot of emotional and mental complexities.  It deals with government control, genocide, nothingness, suicide, lying, and so much more.  One of the articles we read as a class to complement the story discussed how because of these complexities, maybe it's not a read suitable for middle schoolers.

On the one hand, I kind of agree.  I know (as I mentioned before) that I really didn't fully comprehend the story when I read it in middle school.  But I also know that it's good to expose students to this kind of book early.  And since Jonas is twelve, it makes sense to me that middle schoolers read it.  What do you think?

Overall, I really enjoy The Giver and re-reading it was great.  I highly recommend it to everyone and I think it should be on every life book list.

~Meaghan

P.S. : Here is a link to watch the trailer for The Giver.  I haven't seen the movie, but it does look like they've changed a few things from the book.