Better Late Than Never: Catching Up on This Year's Reading

Building relationships with my students has become a goal that I strive to achieve yearly. As I participated in Professional Development on Twitter last night and responded to questions and provided answers, I realized that I choose to build these relationships differently than my peers. We all have the same goal in the end, but we each go about it in our own manner. I, for instance, like to build my relationships with my students through literature. As a reader, seeing my students make a connection to a book or a piece of literature provides me with such joy. Knowing that my students are becoming captivated as they turn the pages conveys to me that they are experiencing life outside of their realities. I have come to appreciate YA literature these last few years, but have made a point this school year to focus more on YA, to make those connections with my students, strive to build better reading habits, and most importantly develop a passion for reading. 

This school year, I made it a point to focus on popular or newly released YA literature and have possibly been produced into a movie or series on Netflix. I have a rule in my home and my family is not very fond of it. You have to read the book first to watch the movie. With the list of YA fiction that I have read this school year, I have tried to catch up with watching movies or series. Some of the books were read the last 2 years, but I am just getting to the point of watching the movies. Some of the YA literature that I have read are not yet or are not movies. The YA novels listed below I read in either print, ebooks, or listened through audiobooks on our school district OverDrive. 

November 2016

December 2016

 

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

April 2017

With the school year beginning its closure, my list of YA novels is continuously growing. I plan on spending my summer days reading, whether it is in the car, before bed, having my morning coffee, or any chance possible, I will have a YA novel at my finger tips print or electronic. 

Netflix: New YA Series

Recently, Netflix has come out with a series based on the YA novel, Thirteen Reasons Why. 

Since this series has broadcast, the conversations among my students has increased regarding people's actions and how one may impact another without realizing it. I have been surprised at the responses, varying from truly understanding the main character, Hannah, and the impact her peers had on her to those who acted like it was just another sitcom and didn't think much of the content of the novel or series. In a way, it hit a nerve knowing some of my students did not think the subject matter of teen suicide was a big deal or that their actions or words mattered towards others or that they left an impact on someone else whether they meant to or not. It was an eye opener as to how much they are aware of what and who is around them. Not much. With social media, self entitlement, and everything surrounding them, students are not aware or choose not to be aware of what is happening within our society and to those around them. 

I have seen students checking the book out from the library, putting their names on the waiting list or going out and personally purchasing the book to going to the local library to read it. 

Watching the series, the book is portrayed well. Although language can be harsh at some times, the story of Hannah and her suicide is conveyed to the audience in a true manner and students are able to relate. This series has provided many talking points these last few days and as myself, my students, and other teachers continue this series, the conversations and relationships can become stronger, more in depth, and even create a more emotional connection for many. 

Point of Retreat: Slammed Trilogy #2

Hoover, C. (2012). Point of retreat: A novel. New York: Atria Paperback.  

Will and Lake's story of emotional turmoil continues as they struggle to keep their relationship in tacked. Will's past comes to light and puts a toll on their connection. They both go through a point that they separate to figure themselves out and what would be best for them. Should they retreat from one another and focus on themselves and their families or should they fight for the love they have for one another? 

After reading finishing Slammed and reading this within a day, I once again was pacing the house anxious as I needed to get to the next book. The loves story between the two is so captivating and intense that you cannot help but get emotionally involved. You cannot help but become angry at Will for his actions or talk to Lake for her thinking or actions as well. Yes, I talk to my books and the characters within them. I just want to crawl through the pages and talk (or scream) to them for their decisions at times. 

This book is the middle ground or midpoint in the relationship with Will and Lake. Although they want be together, retreating is always there for when things become to heated between the two; personally and emotionally.

Slammed Trilogy #1

 Hoover, C. (2012). Slammed: A novel. New York: Atria Paperback.

This is book one of three. Eighteen year old Lake and her family relocate after her father dies unexpectedly, from Texas to Michigan. It is there that she meets her neighbor, twenty one year old Will, across the street. While out on their first date, they attend a poetry slam. They both have younger brothers who like to play with one another and soon become best friends. They are around each other, you would think they were connected at the hip.  It is not until when Lake enrolls in school that her and Will's world comes to a halt. When it seems that Will is Lakes poetry teacher, turmoil begins. Both has to learn how to balance school and intense feelings before someone finds out. If someone did, Will could lose everything; his little brother, his home, his career, and have to drop out of college.  It is through the poetry that Will creates and assigns his students that he and Lake are able to communicate their true feelings for one another.

The moment I realized that Will was Lake's poetry teacher was a moment that I about lost it. I didn't have anyone to turn to to talk about it (typically the case) and I was about to go crazy! My husband could tell something was going on as I could not sit still while reading, had my eyes glued to the book while in the car, and saw the glow of the flashlight as I read in the middle of the night to early hours in the morning. He has gotten used to it. I became instantly hooked with this love story and was anxious throughout the events of all three books.

I have become such a HUGE fan of Colleen Hoover and every chance I get, I make sure to find a book. Typically, I get one at a time, but not in this case. I got all three. Knowing it was a series, I had to. It would have bothered me to much to wait and have to go back. This is not the first of Colleen Hoover that I have read. I cannot wait til more material is published to continue reading.

I didn't realize that The Advett Brothers was a real band. I got on YouTube and searched for them and instantly fell in love with their music. Listening to them, I became excited hearing the quotes from each chapter in their songs. So thank you Colleen Hoover for introducing me to a new band that I find I can connect to at times and feel not overwhelmed or edgy when listening to them. I am definitely keeping an eye out for tour dates. 

The Boy in the Black Suit

Reynolds, J. (2015). The boy in the black suit. New York, NY: Anthem Books for Young Readers. At seventeen years old, Matthew Miller experiences something so devastating that his world is turned upside down. Everything is not what it should be. Everyday, Matt puts on his black suit, not because of his mother’s recent passing, but he wears it to work at the funeral home. Since his dad is hitting the bottle to drown out the world, someone has to help out with the bills. As he tends to funerals, he searches for someone who understands his felling of loneliness. That is when he meets Lovey. A girl who is so tough, he is drawn to her. As they build a friendship, Matt and Lovey find that their loneliness begins to grow into something else.

Reynolds provides a realistic story of a teenager loosing his mother to cancer, who father turns to alcohol, and finding that he is lonely when none of his peers seem to understand him. The black suit that Reynolds has Matt wear throughout the book represents not only the death of his mother, but it becomes part of the process of him mourning her, as well as apart of his identity. Wearing his suit and working at the funeral home are things that help him cope with his loss and find comfort in others feeling what he felt and still feels. When he meets Lovey, he finds that through her toughness shows him that things do get better and finds comfort in knowing they have experienced similar loses.

Matt highly dislikes flowers, but Reynolds places them throughout the book within the funerals, his mother’s gravesite, and the botanical garden towards the end of the story. With flowers comes life and death, full of colors of different forms at the beginning and dullness crumpled to dust in the end. Reynolds uses the flowers to represent the cycle of life, its beginning and its end.

Reynolds also uses such dialect that is common amongst young teens, both when speaking and in Matt’s thoughts. He is able to present a story through Matt’s eyes and mind. This alone will captivate young adult readers.

Reviews

“Gr 7 Up—Matt's mother just died, and his dad isn't coping well, hanging out with the local drunk and downing whiskey, which results in his getting hit by a car and landing in the hospital. Matt is also grieving his mom's death and now he's on his own, until he lands a job at the local funeral home: $15 an hour and Mr. Ray as his boss. Attending other people's funerals helps the teen come to grips with his own grief. Hearing mourners express their real thoughts of suffering at each funeral allows Matt to figure out his own feelings. Mr. Ray is wise and shows up at all the right times to help out the struggling young man, and when Mr. Ray's secrets come to light, he appears even cooler in Matt's eyes. Amid all this, Matt meets Lovey, the girl of his dreams, who is smart, funny, gorgeous, and tough. A mystery intersecting Lovey's life and that of Matt's best friend, Chris, deepens the plot. Written in a breezy style with complex characters who have real lives, this is another hit for Reynolds, fresh off the success of his When I Was the Greatest (S. & S., 2014). The author's seemingly effortless writing shines in this slice-of-life story, which covers a lot of the protagonist's emotional ground. The realistic setting and character-driven tale keeps readers turning the pages of this winner.—Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, San Leandro, CA. School Library Journal”

"The realistic setting and character-driven tale keeps readers turning the pages of this winner." -School Library Journal

"A vivid, satisfying and ultimately upbeat tale of grief, redemption and grace." -Kirkus Reviews

"Matt is a wonderfully sympathetic, multidimensional character whose voice is a perfect match for the material and whose relationships with Love and Mr. Ray—also a fascinating character—are beautifully realized. This quiet story is clearly a winner." –Booklist

I fell in love with this book immediately upon turning the first few pages. I was able to connect with Matt with the experience of losing a parent to an illness. Matt decided to become active in honoring his mother when working at the funeral home and tending to the services. He constantly had flashbacks and memories of his mother that made his move forward. He knew that if he did or didn’t do something, his mother would be so mad at him. I wear purple a lot in honor of my mother, it was her favorite color, I try to do what she would have done as a mother. I went back to school for myself as well as for her. It was the one thing she wanted to do, but couldn’t due to being sick.

Those young adults who have lost a parent to sickness will definitely understand Matt’s point of view throughout the story, they will be able to connect with his character. The reader will find that there is a sense of healing with Matt as he journey’s through his process.

The Fault In Our Stars

 Green, J. (2012). The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton Books.  Cancer sucks. Especially when is takes ahold of your life and ones that you love and care for. Although her cancer is not terminal, Hazel, attends a support group where she meets Augustus Waters, who she falls for. Their friendship becomes much more when Augustus uses his wish to take Hazel to meet her favorite author overseas. It is when they return that life takes a turn for the worst when not Hazel's, but Augustus's cancer returns for the worst. 

This story of friendship, young love, and heartbreak captures the young adult audience in a way that pulls them into the lives of the characters, making them feel apart of the love story. With messages throughout the story, Green presents lessons to the readers about dealing with lose and heartache and dealing with those individuals who are negative and hurtful around us.