Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

From Goodreads,

"The first ten lies they tell you in high school.

"Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." 

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. 

In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.

Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature."

Goodreads - Speak

Awards and Nominations:

• SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Fiction (1999)
• National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature (1999)
• Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2000)
• Michael L. Printz Award Nominee (2000)
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (2000)
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2001)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2001)
• Evergreen Teen Book Award (2002)
• South Caroline Book Award for Young Adult Book Award (2002)
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for YA (2002)
• California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Young Adult (2003)
• Lincoln Award Nominee (2005)

I faintly recall reading this book in junior high or high school.  I remember it was one of those moving books that everyone wanted to read and it was a pain to get your hands on a copy from the library.  I decided to reread this book since Anderson just released her newest book Shout.  I'm excited to get to review this book so that I can jump into her next book.  

This book is told from the teenage perspective of Melinda.  Melinda just wanted to be a normal high school freshman, but being at a party the summer before changed everything.  Melinda was raped at the party and she called the cops as a result but ran before they arrived.  Melinda walks around everyday living with what happened.  Her grades plummet and her social life sinks.  Melinda gets to a point where she stops speaking.  But she must decide if she has a voice or not because the monster who raped her walks the same halls as her. 

This book is honestly about rape and having the voice to stand up and tell what happened.  Melinda was terrified to say what happened.  She wanted to forget the whole thing, but every day she was struggling.  When she told one of her former friends what happened the friend told her she was just jealous and that she was a liar.  I feel like this book is more relevant now than it was years ago, especially with the #metoo movement.  More and more women are coming forward, sharing their stories of sexual harassment or rape.  Girls and women alike need to learn and understand that they have a voice and they need to use it if something happens.  I do feel like a shift is happening where it is becoming more normal to report and share what happened.  I honestly feel that books like this are what will make people speak up and report.

I have two complaints about this book.  One was that it felt so disoriented and scattered.  I understand that it was written this way so that the book was truly from the perspective of a teenager.  I, however, found it annoying and it kind of took away from the book.  My other complaint was that there wasn't any real healing after everyone found out what happened.  The book just kind of ended.  I would have loved to have read about her healing and how her parents handled the news.  I just felt like there was more story to be told, and it just wasn't told.

Overall, the book was good.  I give it 4 stars and recommend that teenagers read this, both boys and girls.  I think that everyone can learn something from this book.  I will say that this book has a rape trigger in it and warn people to take caution before reading. 

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

From Goodreads,

"Set in the Deep South, this Newbery Medal-winning novel tells the story of the great coon dog, Sounder, and the poor sharecroppers who own him.

During the difficult years of the nineteenth century South, an African-American boy and his poor family rarely have enough to eat. Each night, the boy's father takes their dog, Sounder, out to look for food and the man grows more desperate by the day.

When food suddenly appears on the table one morning, it seems like a blessing. But the sheriff and his deputies are not far behind. The ever-loyal Sounder remains determined to help the family he loves as hard times bear down on them.

This classic novel shows the courage, love, and faith that bind an African-American family together despite the racism and inhumanity they face. Readers who enjoy timeless dog stories such as Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows will find much to love in Sounder."
Goodreads - Sounder

Awards and Nominations:

• Newbery Medal (1970)
• Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1970)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (1971)
• Nene Award (1973)

It's been a little while since I have read and reviewed a book on one of my reading lists.  I am currently reading through the Newbery Medal winners, the Coretta Scott King winners, the Charlie May Simon winners, the Missouri Gateway winners, and the Arkansas Teen Level 1 & 2 books.  It's quite the list, but it has been so much fun to read and compare the award-winning books and make my own decision if the book deserves the award.

This book is about a young African American boy who lives with his parents and siblings in a house way out of town.  The boy's dad has a dog named Sounder who is the best coon dog in the area.  The father and Sounder go out to hunt for food for the family.  Everything is fine until the father is arrested for stealing ham.  Sounder gets shot while trying to save his owner.  The boy must work to take care of the family and find his father, all while trying to get Sounder to bark again. 

There wasn't a lot that I liked about this book.  My favorite part was probably the loyalty and the relationship between Sounder and the father.  I think that anyone can relate to having a dog and the relationship you have with it.  It definitely made me think of my English Bulldog who passed away almost two years ago.  Anytime I was sick he would curl up with me.  If I was sad he would scratch and bump my bedroom door until I let him in.  The relationship I had with George was like none other.  This book has this kind of amazing relationship in it.  The dog is faithful and loyal to the family, but especially to the father.  This book shows what loyalty looks like in all aspects.  

This book had big-time jumps in it.  One minute the boy was just a boy and a few chapters later he was a young adult.  There was no real record of the time and the chapters weren't even marked by big events.  Each chapter was just more searching for his father.  The chapters were dull and all ran together.  I felt like the book lacked organization and a real storyline.  

Overall, this book lacked a lot in my opinion.  There was a great relationship between the family and the dog, but there was no story.  The entire book was just the boy wandering the state searching for his dad.  I have to give this book 2 stars.  

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott

From Goodreads,

"Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?"

Goodreads - Five Feet Apart

I love reading books that have a movie that goes along with it.  I love getting to compare the two and getting to decide which was better.  I try to read the book before I watch the movie, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.  I happened to watch the movie about a month before reading the book.  My boyfriend and I went to watch the movie together and I loved it so much that I cried at the end.  He also enjoyed it, but no tears were shed.  I'm so excited to share this book review!

This book is about a girl named Stella who has cystic fibrosis.  She has been in and out of the hospital since she was six.  The older she gets the worse her lung function gets, and she is hoping for new lungs.  Everything is going accordingly until she meets Will, a cute boy with CF too.  She knows they have to stay six feet apart at all times to avoid catching each other's germs.  But as time goes on she starts falling for Will and decides that she is going to take back a foot so that she can live life like a normal teenager.

I feel like the "cancer" books are all the rage, but this is a nice change.  I love that this book is bringing light and awareness to cystic fibrosis.  It is something that isn't often discussed among young adults.  I love that this book really showed the "behind the scenes" of having CF.  It discussed all the medications they have to take, the treatments, the inability to breathe well, and dealing with getting new lungs or dying.  This book honestly made me step back and think about how lucky I am that my lungs do what they are supposed to do.  I am amazed every day by the strength of people who have life-threatening illnesses.  This book made me grateful for the life I have and to stop complaining about my health because things could be a lot worse.

This book is so much like The Fault In Our Stars.  I feel like this book was a little bit of a rip off of The Fault In Our Stars. It has the same storyline of two sick kids falling in love until someone gets too sick to continue.  I would have loved for this book to have a different more optimistic ending.  It felt way too similar to The Fault In Our Stars.

The movie and the book were very similar.  There were minor differences, but for the most part, it was exactly the same.  I enjoyed this book and shared it with one of my former students.  I give this 5 stars.  If you loved The Fault In Our Stars then you will definitely love Five Feet Apart.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

From Goodreads,

"Mary Alice remembers childhood summers packed with drama. At fifteen, she faces a whole long year with Grandma Dowdel, well known for shaking up her neighbors-and everyone else. All Mary Alice can know for certain is this: when trying to predict how life with Grandma might turn out . . . better not."

Goodreads - A Year Down Yonder

Awards and Nominations:

• Newbery Medal (2001)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2002)
• Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Nominee (2003)

I read A Long Way From Chicago quite some time ago.  It started off slow, but the characters were always up to something with Grandma Dowdel leading the way.  I was excited to jump into this book to see what adventures and trouble Grandma Dowdel stirred up.  

Mary Alice spent multiple summers with her brother Joey at their grandmothers house.  Every summer was filled with some kind of trouble their Grandma Dowdel stirred up.  Joey is grown up and off working, and Mary Alice and her family is moving.  It was quickly decided that Mary Alice would live with Grandma Dowdel while her parents got settled.  Mary Alice dreaded the move to the middle of nowhere, but quickly found herself in all kinds of drama with her Grandma.

I liked this book more than I liked A Long Way From Chicago, which is saying a lot because I really liked the first book.  I loved that this book was told from the perspective of Mary Alice and that we got to see her grow and change over the course of a book.  I think that Mary Alice's transformation from hating being with her crazy Grandma to worrying about her was my favorite part.  At the beginning of the book she was just a normal teenager who cared only about herself.  As the book progressed I noticed she was worrying about her Grandma more and more until she didn't even want to leave her to go back home to her parents.  I think that young kids need to learn that their grandparents and even parents are older and that they should look out for them.  We need to take care of and look out for our elders.  We also need to spend as much time with them as possible because they won't be here forever.

I still love the short story format in which this book is written.  This book had a deeper connection between Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel in my opinion.  I give this 5 stars and recommend it to everyone.  It's a great book with a great lesson about family.  

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

From Goodreads,

"High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world.

In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler’s pitch perfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author’s award-winning, widely read work."

Goodreads - Twisted

Awards and Nominations:

• Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2008)
• South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010)
• Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2010)
• Lincoln Award Nominee (2011)

In today's world we hear of young girls being raped at parties because they were intoxicated and were unable to say no.  In almost every case it is the woman's fault.  The men who did the heinous crime are never faulted.  It is always the woman who should say no, who should take care of yourself, etc.  This book should be a requirement for all boys and men so that maybe they can learn right from wrong.  

Twisted follows the story of a troubled boy named Tyler.  He is on probation after doing graffiti on the school, but he has spent his summer working to make amends and correct his behavior.  Tyler however is secretly in love with the girl down the street named Bethany, who also happens to be his Dad's bosses daughter.  Things progress until Bethany invites Tyler to a party.  They both attend and Bethany is soon intoxicated and tries to sleep with Tyler.  Soon it is clear that someone took photographs of Bethany and all fingers point to Tyler.  The book comes to a climax when it all becomes too much and Tyler take things into his own hands. 

As I said before, this book should be a requirement for all boys and men to read.  This book focuses a lot on the right and wrong of situations and about consent.  The entire book Tyler liked Bethany, but he always played by her rules and went at her pace.  He never once forced himself on her or tried to get her to do something she didn't want to do.  Bethany was drunk at a party and tried to force herself on Tyler, but Tyler was responsible and told her no.  He continued to keep an eye on her as best as he could for the rest of the party.  Boys and men alike need to learn that when a woman is drunk it doesn't mean she is giving consent.  Even if she is saying yes, she is intoxicated and is not thinking clearly.  Men need to be the ones to step up and say no.  That being said, I will also say that women need to protect themselves too.  They don't need to hope and trust that a guy will say no if she forces herself on them or that someone won't take advantage of her.  I believe that girls need to watch out for themselves and men need to be responsible with their actions.  We hear so cases of rape where a girl was intoxicated and that if a guy would have taken her home or watched out for her, she wouldn't have been raped.  Rape can be prevented, but it takes active action by all parties to prevent it.

One thing that I didn't like about this book was that it seemed to drag on.  There were a few exciting points throughout the book, but it wasn't very captivating.  After things were figured out about the party incident it seemed to plateau really quickly.  It felt like there needed to be a resolution between Bethany and Tyler that resulted in them dating or being good friends at the very least.  But instead, the book concluded with his family pulling their act together.  I just needed more fire and excitement throughout the book and definitely a stronger ending.

Overall, I felt okay at the end of this book.  It wasn't one that I would read again for the third time, but it was one that I would suggest to teenage boys.  I give this two and a half stars.  It was good, but it just wasn't there for me.  It lacked something, but was also a strong book at the same time.

You Are The Everything by Karen Rivers

From Goodreads,

"Can you want something—or someone—so badly that you change your destiny? Elyse Schmidt never would have believed it, until it happened to her. When Elyse and her not-so-secret crush, Josh Harris, are the sole survivors of a plane crash, tragedy binds them together. It’s as if their love story is meant to be. Everything is perfect, or as perfect as it can be when you’ve literally fallen out of the sky and landed hard on the side of a mountain—until suddenly it isn’t. And when the pieces of Elyse’s life stop fitting together, what is left?"

Goodreads - You Are The Everything

I am a huge fan of love stories.  The moment when two people realize they love each other is something that cannot be described... well unless it is in a book.  Then it is usually described quite well.  I was very excited to read this book because it had not only a love storyline, but a survivor storyline.  I do have to inform you that I cannot properly review this book without disclosing that there will be spoilers.  If you plan on reading this book I highly advise you to not read any further.

You Are The Everything is told by teenage band student Elyse.  She, along with the rest of their band are returning home from Paris where they performed.  Elyse is in a huge fight with her best friend, and she is luckily sitting next to her crush Josh on the flight home.  Everything is normal until it isn't.  The plane suddenly nosedives and they crash into a mountain in France.  Elyse somehow rolls out of the explosion and ends up with Josh.  They end up dating and trying to find a new normal until the end of the book comes spiraling at the reader.

This book was what I expected, but also not what I expected.  This book is told in a second person perspective and it was very unsettling for me.  I felt like I was so inside of Elyse and her emotions.  I felt like Rivers did an excellent job at writing Elyse in this book.  The character was strongly written and her thoughts were put into such a way that seemed familiar.  I love that this book portrays two survivors who are just trying to find a new normal.  It shows the PTSD and the anxiety that is present after a traumatic incident.  The book is raw and it shows the coping that Elyse does while experiencing a panic attack.  I think this book would be really relatable for people who are in the same situation as Elyse.  Someone who has experienced trauma might find this book to be comforting to know they are not alone.

I stated at the beginning of this review that there would be spoilers... so here they come.  This book starts with Elyse being on the plane and it crashing.  The middle section and large part of this book is Elyse and Josh Harris being in love on a football field and managing anxiety attacks.  The last part of this book is the twist.  The last chapter retells what ACTUALLY happened when the plane crashed.  The book ends with us finding out that Elyse and Josh DIDN'T live.  THEY DID NOT LIVE!  Now this was very unsettling for me because I had spent many late nights reading this book and wanting to finish it because it was so good.  The whole thing was a completely made up account of what MIGHT have happened if Elyse and Josh had lived.  It tells of what would have happened if Elyse had gotten all her hopes and dreams.  I was furious at this ending.  I feel like the book was this big dramatic build up about how they were so lucky and fortunate that they survived, only to find out they all died.  The entire book felt like a sham, especially the love story that was promised.  I read this book excited for the love that would blossom between two survivors.  What blossomed was nothing at all.  Their "love" was a lie, as was the entire middle section of the book.  While I'm furious at this ending and the fact that it was all this big elaborate build up to nothing, it was also a plot twist.  It was the ending that I didn't see coming.  The fact that I didn't see it coming makes the book a little more manageable, but it still upsets me that this didn't end the way I thought it should have.

While the book was good, you need to understand there really isn't a love story and there really isn't a story about survival.  This is a tale of trauma and the aftermath that can come with it if you survive said trauma.  The ending upset me and it took me a full week to digest before writing this review.  I actually ended up emailing Karen Rivers about the ending to hopefully get answers.  I wasn't disappointed.  She said,

"Well, I do think that once I've finished writing a book, what "happens" (or doesn't happen) becomes up to the reader and how they interpret the story as it is on the page, but I will say that in my mind, yes, they died in the plane crash."

I was originally going to give this book 3.5 stars, but author response makes plays a big part in my rating if I have reached out to the author.  So I have to give this 4.5 stars thanks to Karen Rivers having a timely and nice response.  I think this would be a great book for young adults.  Some adults might find it enjoyable, as long as they don't get too attached to the characters and their stories.

Punished! by David Lubar

From Goodreads,

"Logan and his friend Benedict run into the wrong guy at the library--literally. When Logan slams into the reference guy in the basement and gives him a little lip, Logan gets punished, really and truly punished. He has three days to complete three tasks before Professor Wordsworth will lift the magical punishment that keeps getting Logan in even more trouble."

Goodreads - Punished!

Awards and Nominations:

• Keystone to Reading Book Award for Intermediate (2009)
• Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (2010)

This past school year I took the time to make multiple projects through Donors Choose which is a website that allows teachers to post projects and ask for supplies all while people around the world can donate money to help.  I posted a project to receive the book Punished! for my students because it would allow us to learn about figurative language.  I was very fortunate that a donor fully funded our project so that we could receive a class set of books.  My students were extremely excited to get the books and even more excited to read them. 

Punished! is told by a young boy named Logan who can be a little unruly at times.  One day Logan and his friend Benedict are playing tag in the library when Logan runs into a man.  The man ends up punishing Logan by making him say puns every time he speaks.  Logan must quickly complete three quests set by the man in order to get his punishment lifted. 

This book is absolutely perfect for teaching figurative language.  This book has a lot of puns, oxymorons, redundancies, anagrams, and palindromes.  The book is split so that a quest takes a chapter or two to complete, but the reader also learns what each of these things are.  While I was teaching using this book I used a unit study I purchased.  It had pages where students had to find the different types of figurative language in the chapter or they had to come up with their own oxymorons.  I think the favorite activity my students did was when we searched for palindromes.  Students were given a sheet of paper and tried to come up with as many as possible.  They sat for probably 15 minutes just working to find different ones.  Our phonics curriculum has letter cards that are located on my board.  My students utilized those and kept referring back to them.  They also applied rules that they have been taught through the phonics such as vowels that are typically doubled in a word such as "ee" or "oo".  The whole activity was a great pull of skills from the book we were reading, from our phonics program, and from basic spelling rules.  The book definitely made my students more aware of things that are used in conversation and I noticed they started identifying the figurative language people were using.  My class even pulled a pun in math using the word isosceles.  From a teacher standpoint this book is a great way to teach figurative language in a fun and engaging way instead of droning on and using worksheets. 

My students liked the book for the most part, but they had two complaints.  One was that the book had a terrible ending.  My students felt like the book ended abruptly with no exciting end.  I have to agree that the book did have a shabby ending.  Once the final quest was complete the book ended swiftly with no exciting twist to it.  The other complaint was that there wasn't a lot of action.  My students said they wanted a book that had more ups and downs with exciting points that left us hanging.  Unfortunately, this book was literally just Logan working straight through to get the punishment lifted with very few issues or problems that caused any sense of excitement. 

All in all, the book was an excellent work to use to teach figurative language.  I plan on using it as long as I stay teaching in my current grade.  The book could use more excitement and adventure, but it does the job on covering figurative language.  I think this book is perfect for use in a classroom.  I give this book 3 stars.