The Wave by Todd Strasser

From Goodreads,

"The Wave is based on a true incident that occurred in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969.

The powerful forces of group pressure that pervaded many historic movements such as Nazism are recreated in the classroom when history teacher Burt Ross introduces a "new" system to his students. And before long The Wave, with its rules of "strength through discipline, community, and action", The Wave sweeps from the classroom through the entire school. And as most of the students join the movement, Laurie Saunders and David Collins recognize the frightening momentum of The Waveand realize they must stop it before it's too late."

Goodreads - The Wave

Awards:

• Preis der Leseratten des ZDF (1984)

When I first saw this book I saw the sticker that said "The classroom experiment that went too far" on the cover.  It caught my eye because I'm a teacher and I'm always intrigued by things related to my profession.  I read the back cover and was like "Wow!  This is based on real events and this teacher was able to fully engage his students in his lessons."  I was sold on the book and knew I had to read it and find out what the experiment was and how it went too far.  

This book starts with a foreword that states that this book is based on true events that happened in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California in 1969.  The book then begins following a couple students and getting a brief glimpse of what is happening before they enter their history class.  The teacher is trying to teach about World War II and Adolf Hitler.  Of course students ask questions pertaining to how something could go so far and how people could just give up their rights.  The teacher sees an opportunity to show the kids how they could just fall in with what the dictator said.  From there, the entire experiment spiraled out of control and took over the school until the teacher had to put an end to it. 

This book gave me lots of mixed feelings.  The experiment was completely out of line and should have never happened.  But at the same time he saw a teachable moment and he capitalized on it.  I've been known to take a moment like this and make it something where the students can learn something new.  But this went absolutely way too far.  I know I have personally asked myself how someone like Hitler could make so many people follow them and do what they say.  But after reading this I realized they were scared to leave because they were afraid that they would end up in a worse situation than if they just followed the leader.  This book is a super effective way to realize how easily and quickly someone can fall into a cult or powerful group.  

One thing that I don't like about this book is that Strasser wrote it based off of the movie that was created back in 1981.  After I realized this was based on the movie I was irritated because I felt like I should have just watched the movie and saved myself some time.  I would have enjoyed it more if Strasser had researched and wrote his own book.  I do understand that this is based on real events, and that makes writing a book much more difficult.  I think I would have really enjoyed it if this had been a complete work of nonfiction instead of just loosely based on events.

Overall, this book was somewhat boring and I was so excited when I finally finished it.  If you like books based on true stories then there's a slight chance you will enjoy this.  I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

From Goodreads,

"Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn’t he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty—and fun—in their routine and the world around them.

This energetic ride through a bustling city highlights the wonderful perspective only grandparent and grandchild can share, and comes to life through Matt de la Pena’s vibrant text and Christian Robinson’s radiant illustrations."

Goodreads - Last Stop on Market Street

Awards:

• New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book (2015)
• Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book (2015)
• Newbery Medal (2016)
• Caldecott Honor (2016)
• Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor (2016)
• Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book (2016)

My boyfriend and I have decided to read all of the books on the Newbery Award list as a fun thing for us to do.  The first book we both read since starting this challenge was Last Stop on Market Street.  He read it out loud to me first.  He finished the book by saying that it was absolutely awful.  From what I had heard I agreed.  Then I decided to take the book and read it for myself, and honestly I had a totally different opinion by the time I finished the book. 

This book is about CJ and his grandma who take the bus to get where they are going.  CJ is just a young boy and he continuously asks questions while he rides the bus with his grandmother.  The entire time she answers his questions while trying to get him to find pride in himself and his community. 

This book isn't just a simple children's book.  It definitely has solid underlying messages that are important for children to learn about.  One of the most important messages that I took away from this book was to respect and take pride in your community.  CJ didn't have much pride in his community and the fact that he had to ride the bus with people who were different than him.  His grandmother continuously reminds him to enjoy the people and things around him.  I think this is good for students to read about because in today's world, nobody appreciates what they have.  Everyone is always wanting something bigger and better.  I hear my own students talk about how other towns have this or that, but I don't hear them talk about what things we have in our own town.  I don't hear them talk about the disc golf course that we have or the new escape room that just went into an old building in town.  This book really makes me want to do a community service project with my students to help build some pride and respect for our community.

This book also has an important message about diversity.  In the book we meet people who are all riding the bus with CJ and his grandmother, and they are all diverse.  There are people from different ethnicities, people with disabilities, elderly people and young people all included in this book.  There's a little bit of everything and everyone.  I think it is good to see the diversity in books because it allows children to find a character that they identify with.  We really need more diverse children's books in classroom, and this book is definitely one to help students see diversity in books.

While this was a good book with some serious themes, I think that many would be overlooked by students.  I'm not entirely sure how this book won the Newbery Award in 2016.  The award focuses on content, not length, but I still feel like this book lacked a lot for it to be a Newbery Award.  Especially considering I just finished The Girl Who Drank The Moon.  Either way, I give this book 3 stars out of 5.  It wasn't a chapter book like I was expecting and I had to read it twice just to get any messages or feeling out of it.  

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

From Goodreads,

"Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you? 

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Mitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live."

Goodreads - Tuesdays With Morrie

Favorite quote from Tuesdays With Morrie,

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."

When I was in high school I really found my love for reading.  I went to a small high school and was blessed to have one of the most amazing literature teachers ever.  She helped me become a better writer.  I still remember having red marks all over my paper because I needed to do a better job.  I took everything she taught me and I have carried that with me into life.  Once I got to college I was very thankful I had been in her class two years in a row, because it honestly helped me survive all the papers I had to write.  She also introduced me to books that I would never dream of picking up.  Books such as In Cold Blood, The Great Gatsby, and even Tuesdays with Morrie.  I still remember to this day how the book was taught to us.  We would do round table discussions where we would move our desks into a big circle.  Each student was assigned a chapter and we had to discuss the meaning with the class.  I still remember the chapter I had, and even what I discussed.  I first read this book in 2009 or 2010 and I loved every moment of it.  I was constantly encouraging my Mom to read this book, but she never took the time.  A few years later my niece was in her literature class when they read this book.  We talked about it and sure enough, she loved it too.  My mom was convinced she needed to read it sometime.  During the summer of 2017 my Dad was admitted to the hospital.  I told my Mom I would pack anything she needed or wanted and bring it to her.  She asked for some books and I ended up packing Tuesdays with Morrie.  I still remember sitting in the ER room with my parents.  My Dad was resting, while my Mom and I were sitting by the door.  The lights were off in the room and all we had was the light from the hallway.  I sat and read the book to her and I remember us whispering and discussing the book.  I left the book with her and a few short days later she had finished it.  I decided I would go ahead and reread the book because it was summer and I didn't have much else to do.  It had been a while since I read it and I figured it would be fun to reread a book I enjoyed so much when I was younger.  I am so glad that I read it because there was so much that I took away from this book now that I'm at a different place in life.

This book is about Morrie Schwartz who was a professor at Brandeis University.  There he taught many students including Mitch Albom.  They were great friends while Mitch was in college and they always got together on Tuesdays.  Once Mitch graduated he got busy with life as a sportswriter and he lost touch with Morrie.  But one night, Mitch saw Morrie on TV.  Morrie was being interviewed on Nightline, which is when Mitch found out that Morrie had ALS.  They reconnected and Morrie decided to teach one final class where Mitch was the only student.

My favorite thing about this book is that there is SOOOOO much life advice in it.  There is something for everyone.  Mitch and Morrie talk about life and death, love and marriage, money and emotions, family and aging.  There's something that everyone can relate to.  But the secret to this book is that it isn't a "preachy" book.  It doesn't tell you what to do to save money or how to handle emotions.  This book is conversations between two very real people.  One person is well experienced at life and knows the end is coming, while the other realizes that he has life ahead of him with plenty of time to make changes to how he is living his life.  When I finished this book I was definitely asking myself if I was truly living life the way that life should be lived.  We live in a world where we are constantly on our phones, and I'm very guilty of this.  We don't ever take time to enjoy the friends and family who are around us.  We don't take time to enjoy what is around us in nature.  This book made me realize the faults in my own life and it made me really try to strive to live life to the fullest extent, because you never know when your time is up.

My favorite quote from this book was, "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and how to let it come in."  We live in such a hate filled world.  We don't show love to each other.  We are at a place in the world where school shootings are becoming a normal in life, and I take this personally because I'm a teacher.  When they are describing the shooter you typically hear the words "loner" or "depressed".  What if someone in this world had showed them a little bit of love and compassion?  What if they had let love in?  Would we still be in such a hate filled place?  I like to think that we would have a better understanding for each other and we would be more willing to help each other.  There have been times when I've had a bad day and I go through the drive thru and I get a little snotty.  Is it their fault I had a bad day?  What if they are also having an equally bad day?  Everyone has something going on in their life and we all need to be a little more understanding and compassionate.

A lot of Morrie's beliefs were to let love in and live life to the fullest.  I know I personally struggle with loving everyone all the time, because sometimes you have a bad day.  I know that I don't live life to the fullest.  There are times when I trudge through the week looking for the weekend.  I need to change my perspective, and thankfully this book has started putting that into motion.  I loved this book the first time I read it, and I loved it even more the second time.  I give this 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Hidden: A True Story of the Holocaust by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller with Joshua M. Greene

From Goodreads,

"In 1942, Nazi soldiers marched into Fanya’s town. She had to hide to survive."

Goodreads - Hidden: A True Story of the Holocaust

When I was in junior high and high school I feel like all we focused on was the Holocaust.  Year after year we read about it and discussed and dissected it.  After a few years of studying the Holocaust we all knew what had happened and why.  For me though, I always took this topic differently because my grandmother is German and was just a young girl when Hitler was in control.  She wasn't taken to a concentration camp and she was in no way responsible for what happened, but nonetheless I still feel like I have the slightest connection to the Holocaust through her.  She rarely speaks of the war, which is understandable.  There have been a few things that she has told me, and those things will forever stick with me.  One of the things she has shared was that the girl who lived next door to her was there one day and gone the next.  She can only assume what happened to her and her family.  It's the smallest connections that make me pick up books like this, even though I know they are all going to be the same general story over and over.

This book is a work of nonfiction that is told by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller.  It tells of a young Jewish girl and her family who goes into hiding during World War II.  The family ends up having to rely on people to help keep them hidden as they move from place to place trying to stay alive.

I have read quite a few books about the Holocaust, and some of them have been works of nonfiction.  This book was by far one of my least favorites.  The entire book was just Fanya and her family living in cramped quarters and hopping from place to place praying they wouldn't be found.  As I was reading I was constantly waiting for something exciting to happen.  There was absolutely no depth to this book and honestly everything about it lacked details.  I felt like all the people in the book were one dimensional and not real people.  I just find it hard to believe that Fanya's mother, father, or brother didn't have any wishes, hopes, dreams, or thoughts for themselves.  We didn't really even get a good description of the traits of these characters before they went into hiding.  The people in this book were real people, and I find it heartbreaking that they weren't all a little more developed in the book.

One thing that I did enjoy about this book was that it included a chapter to tel where everyone ended up.  We didn't have to sit and wonder what happened to all of the people from the book, because thankfully that was included by Fanya.  She chose to include reconnections with some of the people such as Hania or what happened to her brother Arthur.  I think that was nice to finally give the characters some realness, but it was a little late in the book to think about doing that.

This book is definitely written for younger students, but unfortunately I don't feel that any of my students would enjoy this book.  I think they would find it bland and boring.  I personally give this book 1 star.  It lacked details and character depth.  I would place in my library, but would find it very difficult to recommend to a student.

The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill

From Goodreads,

"Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. 

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.

The acclaimed author of The Witch’s Boy has created another epic coming-of-age fairy tale destined to become a modern classic."

Goodreads - The Girl Who Drank The Moon

Awards:

• Andre Norton Award Nominee for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (2016)
• Newbery Medal (2017)
• Charlotte Huck Honor Book (2017)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2018)

Favorite quote from The Girl Who Drank The Moon: 

"Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't there.  Some of the most wonderful things in the world are invisible.  Trusting in invisible things makes them more powerful and wondrous.  You'll see."

As a teacher I am constantly encouraging my students to read more books and to find something that interests them.  I love making suggestions to kids and pride myself in reading books on their level.  I've even had students make recommendations to me, which I typically listen to and then consider purchasing or reading the book.  About a year ago, a student suggested to her teacher that she should read The Girl Who Drank The Moon.  Unfortunately the teacher responded with, "Oh I don't read that much.  You should tell her, she reads all the time."  The student looked disappointed with her teacher, but eagerly came to me and shared why I should read the book.  While it didn't seem like a book I would read I went ahead and purchased it through Scholastic.  I told the student and she was so excited that I took her recommendation and bought the book.  I took the book home with high hopes of reading it soon.  Fast forward a year later and I finally got around to reading it.  My boyfriend and I decided to take on the challenge of reading all the books on the Newbery Award list.  We wanted to start with the first book that received the Newbery Award, but couldn't find it in stores.  So we decided to start with the last awarded book which was The Girl Who Drank The Moon.  He actually started reading before I did, but shockingly I finished the book weeks before him.  (He still hasn't finished the book.)  It took me six short days to read this book and I loved every minute of it. 

This book starts with the village leaving a baby in the woods as an offering to the witch.  There are myths and legends around the witch and what she does with the children, but what they don't known is that the witch Xan isn't horrible at all.  She doesn't quite understand why they keep leaving babies in the forest, but she always rescues them and takes care of them as she walks them to the town on the other side of the forest.  She feeds these children starlight as they make the walk to their new home.  But one night she reaches up to the sky and accidentally feeds the baby moonlight.  This moonlight is much more powerful than starlight and the child is filled with a magic that cannot be contained.  Xan makes the decision to keep the child as her own, but the decision sets them on journey greater than they ever imagined.

My boyfriend started this book before I did and naturally he stayed ahead of me in the book for a few days.  We talked about the book until I passed him.  Once I passed him he asked me not to talk to him about it since he wasn't reading it.  He felt that the book was very slow at the beginning and that he was trying to figure out where the book was headed.  I do have to agree that the book started out slow, but once I finished it I realized that it was slowly laying the backstory for everything to come.  I ended up binging the book just a few short days after I started it.  I think a lot of my desire to finish the book quickly was because of two reasons.  One was that there were many characters and I wanted to figure out how they all fit together, and two the book progressed over a long period of time.  Since there were so many characters I was constantly trying to figure out how they all fit together and what their role was in this story.  I changed my mind on who the antagonist was at least three different times, and I honestly think a lot of that has to do with the slow progression of time.  Unlike most books that progress over weeks or months, this book progresses over years.  I was excited to see how all of the characters were going to age and mature, and what path they would go down.  The many characters and the book progressing over a long period of time really added a sense of excitement and mystery as I tried to figure everything out before I reached the end of the book.

As I said above, there were lots of characters in this book.  And while it was fun to figure out how they all fit together, it was difficult to figure out who each chapter was focusing on.  This book is not told by one main character.  Instead, each chapter is told by a different character in the book, which is nice because it gives different views, but is also a pain to keep up with everyone.  At the beginning it was easy to keep up with the characters who the chapter was focused on.  But as the book progressed more and more characters were focused on in the chapters.  There were a few times when I was wondering why we were even following the actions of a certain character because up until that point they had been just a secondary character in the book.  I found it confusing because we had so many different characters who we were following from chapter to chapter.  It didn't help any that there was no pattern to the chapters.  They honestly just bounced from character to character to character.  I think it would have been easier to keep up with if the chapters had been somehow labeled with who was telling each chapter.  

Overall, I understand why it was selected as the 2017 Newbery winner.  It is a book that has lots of depth and imagination.  This is a perfect book for some of the student's I have.  I give this book 5 out of 5 stars even though I struggled with the chapters.  Hopefully my boyfriend will get the book finished so we can finally talk about it.  

Letting Ana Go by Anonymous

From Goodreads,

"In the tradition of Go Ask Alice and Lucy in the Sky, a harrowing account of anorexia and addiction.

She was a good girl from a good family, with everything she could want or need. But below the surface, she felt like she could never be good enough. Like she could never live up to the expectations that surrounded her. Like she couldn’t do anything to make a change.

But there was one thing she could control completely: how much she ate. The less she ate, the better—stronger—she felt.

But it’s a dangerous game, and there is such a thing as going too far…

Her innermost thoughts and feelings are chronicled in the diary she left behind."

Goodreads - Letting Ana Go

After reading Go Ask Alice I purchased the rest of the books in this series.  Out of all of them I was looking forward to reading Letting Ana Go the most.  I knew that I would have a connection with this book because it focuses on a girl struggling with her weight.  I have always been self conscious and have struggled to get the pounds off.  This book definitely had an impact on me, a very negative impact.

This book follows the unnamed girl who I will refer to Ana, as she unexpectedly embarks on a weight loss journey.  Ana is a high school student who is very active and fit.  Her cross country coach tells the team they have to start keeping food journals to ensure they are eating enough and not developing an eating disorder.  At first Ana keeps her health in check, but soon she starts obsessing over her weight and how much she is eating.  One of her friends starts to encourage her to eat less and workout more.  Tragedy strikes when Ana passes out at a cross country meet.  At that point it is discovered that she has anorexia.  For the rest of the book Ana, her family, and friends struggle to help her overcome this disease in hopes they can save her.

As I was reading this, Ana made it seem so easy to not eat and to just lose the weight.  She constantly saw herself as being fat, even though she was nowhere near that.  The longer I read this book, the more I realized I was unhappy with myself.  I kept thinking that I needed to start working out again and counting calories.  By the end of the book I had texted my boyfriend and said I was going to start working out again.  And then it hit me.  I had been sucked into the twisted obsession over my size.  I thought about how I didn't look how society says I should look.  It was at this point that I realized this book is very dangerous, especially if a young girl was to read this.  I have the self control to not go to the extreme that Ana went to in the book.  However, if a young teenage girl read this, I think she could easily get pulled into the book and start doing exactly what Ana did.  This book is completely dangerous because it glamorizes anorexia and makes it seem "fun" because you'll look amazing in the end.

This book really affected me because I felt like it preyed upon my insecurities and made me even more self conscious than I already am.  This book is completely dangerous and makes it seem so easy to lose the weight.  It lays it out how to easily drop the pounds and what to do to cover your tracks.  I give this book 1 star out of 5.  I don't recommend this book to anyone.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

From Goodreads,

"In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape."

Goodreads - Ready Player One

Awards:

• Prometheus Award for Best Novel (2012)
• ALA Alex Award (2012)
• Mary Shelley Award for Outstanding Fictional Work (2016)

This isn't a book I would typically pick up and read.  My boyfriend and I had a conversation about our favorite books.  He's more of a gamer than a reader, so it definitely surprised me when he informed me he had a couple favorite books.  One was 1984, which I have yet to read, and the other was Ready Player One.  I picked up 1984 at Target because the book was on sale, but I was having trouble finding Ready Player One.  I ended up going to Austin, Texas to visit my best friend.  We went to a bookstore called The Book People and it was absolutely heaven for a book nerd like me.  I ended up finding the book.  It was the last copy.  And it was signed.  The author, Ernest Cline, lives in Austin and often frequents the bookstore.  I was ecstatic.  I texted him once I had checked out and he was pretty jealous of the fact that I found a signed edition of the book.  As I read the book I kept my boyfriend well updated on where I was at in the book and my overall thoughts.  Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

Ready Player One follows Wade Watts, also known as Parzival in the OASIS, as he journeys to find the ultimate prize.  The creator of the OASIS has passed away and has released a video stating that he has hidden clues in the OASIS that will lead to the egg that holds all the power.  The ultimate prize is ownership of the OASIS and all of his wealth.  Wade/Parzival decides to try to figure it out and ends up being the first to find the first clue.  From there Wade/Parzival must fight to find the rest of the clues and find the prize and he must fight to survive.

In the book, Wade/Parzival attended school through the OASIS.  Of course he was also trying to find the ultimate prize of Halliday's Easter Egg Hunt.  One of the things that I loved about this book was how it was centered around the virtual reality technology.  I think that Cline did an excellent job of describing the technology and how this virtual reality was utilized.  His inclusion of this advanced technology made the book even more realistic because this kind of technology is becoming more and more advanced and becoming more accessible to people.  The school that I work at received two virtual reality systems and they ended up purchasing two more.  I underwent training so that I would be able to utilize these in my classroom and it was absolutely amazing.  There are so many teaching opportunities with the virtual reality systems.  We can virtually explore different locations or things that will help further aid my student's understanding of the concept being taught.  The possibilities are endless with virtual reality being in a classroom.  I feel like our world is moving closer and closer to a world that Wade/Parzival lives in.  And while it is exciting to see where this technology can take us, it's also a little scary to think that I could one day be replaced by a virtual teacher.

I had only two downfalls for this book.  One of the downfalls was the amount of references that were made to games, movies, songs, quotes, etc. and the obscurity of some of those things.  A lot of the references would be considered obscure to normal folks like myself.  I'm not a gamer and I'm not nearly as familiar with gaming as my boyfriend is.  He warned me ahead of time that I might not understand all of the references and that it may affect how I interpreted the book.  I did not understand all of the references and that bothered me.  If I'm reading a book I want to at least somewhat understand what I'm reading or be able to visualize it in my head.  Some of the things referenced in the book were obscure enough that I had to choose to not understand it or to go look it up.  For me it was a pain to have to stop reading just to research what the characters were talking about in the book.  There was one incident near the end of the book where a game was being played and they were describing what it was like.  I could not, for the life of me, visualize this game.  I ended up having to stop reading and go research the game just so I could understand what they were talking about.  For me, it's okay to have to do this for a word or two in a book, but when it's a lot that you're stopping to Google, then it becomes a hassle.  I definitely didn't have to look up all the references, but I think overall it helped me better understand and enjoy the book even more.

The other thing that I wasn't happy about in this book was content at a very specific point in the book.  Parzival ends up with some money, finds that he is lonely, and purchases a brand new set up along with an adult doll that can be used for adult things.  When I got to this point in the book I was highly disappointed.  As I was reading I was excited to buy another copy of the book to put into my classroom library.  There were kids that I knew would love this book because of the gaming aspect.  But unfortunately, due to content, I didn't feel comfortable putting this in my library and definitely not comfortable recommending this to a student.

Overall, I have to give this book 5 stars even though I had to research some of the references and I wasn't happy with the adult content.  I highly recommend this book to any gamers and definitely think that high school students would enjoy this.  I'm looking forward to the release of the movie in March 2018.  Once I've seen it I'll come back and post my thoughts on how the movie compares with the book.