Slam! by Walter Dean Myers

From Goodreads

An exciting, eye-catching repackage of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers' bestselling paperbacks, to coincide with the publication of SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH in hardcover.

Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top. Or maybe he'll stumble along the way. Slam's grades aren't that hot. And when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up.

Slam never doubted himself on the court until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn't have the ball.

Goodreads - Slam!

Awards and Nominations:

• Coretta Scott King Award for Author (1997)
• South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book Award (1999)

I remember being in elementary school, maybe fourth grade, and I asked my Mom if I could play basketball that winter.  The only other sport I attempted was tee-ball when I was in kindergarten.  As soon as I was to move up to machine pitch I was out of the softball game.  That being said, my loving mother kindly informed me that it was a contact sport where I would have to run and there was a possibility of being hit with a ball.  I quickly decided that I did NOT want to play basketball.  Looking back I wish my parents would have pushed me to play a sport.  I think it would have made me more of a "team player".  That being said "Slam!" is all about basketball and all about being a team player and good sport on and off the court.

Slam is just a typical kid growing up on a shady block in New York.  Drug deals go down around him and he knows people that are dealing.  He has been lucky enough to get in at an art magnet school, but it is unfortunately full of white kids.  Slam finds that he doesn't quite fit in, but hopes to if he joins the basketball team.  It seems that everyone has it out for him, and he thinks it is because he is black.  Slam must learn from one of his coaches how to be a team player and a good person on and off the court so that maybe he can get out of the hood and into a good school with a scholarship.

As I mentioned earlier I didn't play sports.  I grew up watching football because that is all my hometown would eat, sleep, or breathe.  So I gradually learned the terms and what thinks meant, even though I never played.  So it is safe to say that I am lacking in the sports interest department.  This entire book is centered around basketball and it is to the point that if you don't understand what a pick is or what a box-and-one is then you are going to be totally lost.  Every time Slam went to practice or to a game I internally groaned and tried to power through it as quickly as I could.  That being said I think there are ways the book could have had the strong basketball theme, but getting across more of a message.  I think the overall plot was weak in this book.  If someone close to Slam would have died, such as his grandma, Ice, Mtisha, or Bianca then it would have had a more emotional pull in the book.  This could have easily been pulled in with the drug dealing that was happening in his neighborhood.  I also think that there should have been more focus on Slam's education.  I think that with him being an African American character many kids reading this book will connect with him.  They will see that he was struggling with school and never really got help, and they will think that life will work out for them too if they just focus on sports and never improve their grades.  I think that Myers had a lot of opportunities to write a character that could be looked up to, but I also feel he wrote a very realistic character who just believes that everything will work out and he can ride a basketball scholarship to fame and fortune.

This book does have a few sexual references.  I'm not entirely sure that a fifth- or sixth-grader would pick up on them, but an upper middle school and high school student absolutely would.  The book is very dated as it brings up HIV/AIDs multiple times and talks about video cameras and VCRs.  In the 90s these were all big things, but in 2020 not so much. 

Overall, this wasn't my type of book.  It is packed with basketball terms and references and I was beyond lost.  I think it could have had a stronger message and plot.  I give it 1 star.  It is on the Coretta Scott King award list so I was going to have to read it sooner or later.  I think boys, especially those who play basketball, would really enjoy this book.  

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

From Goodreads, 

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Goodreads - The Fault in Our Stars

Awards and Nominations:

• Buxtehuder Bulle (2012)
• The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2012)
• Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction (2012)
• The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2012)
• Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas for Mejor novela extranjera independiante (2012)
• Odyssey Award (2013)
• Georgia Peach Book Award (2013)
• Audie Award for Teens (2013)
• West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Older Readers (2013)
• Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Young Adults (2013)
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (2013)
• Indies Choice Book Award for Young Adult (2013)
• Deutscher Jugendileraturpreis for Preis der Jugendjury (2013)
• Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (2013)
• Dioraphte Jongerenliteratuurprijs for vertaald boek en publieksprijs (2013)
• Alabama Author Award for Young Adult (2013)
• FAB Award Nominee (2014)
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2014)
• Soaring Eagle Book Award (2014)
• Lincoln Award (2014)
• Green Mountain Book Award (2014)
• Luisterboek Award (2015)
• Evergreen Teen Book Award (2015)
• California Young Readers Medal for Young Adult (2015)
• Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice (2015)
• Missouri Gateway Readers Award (2015)
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for High School (2015)
• Goodreads Nominee for Best of the Best (2018)

I remember the first time I read this book.  I tore through it in less than 24 hours.  I also remember stopping at a very specific point in the book and crying because I knew what was going to happen.  I saw everything that was happening and emotionally broke down.  This was the second time I've read this book.  And while a lot of emotion was still there, and I read it very quickly, I didn't cry.  Upon finishing the book I also rewatched the movie. 

Hazel is just your average teenager, except she has stage IV cancer.  Her lungs don't work like they should, but her parents want her to have a normal life and practically force her to go to support group.  She begrudgingly goes and meets a boy named Augustus Waters.  Augustus, a survivor, lost his leg due to his battle with cancer.  Hazel and Augustus soon become inseparable and bond over Hazel's love of a book that ends in the middle of a sentence.  Augustus decides to use his wish to fly them both to Amsterdam to meet the author and get their questions answered.  On this trip, one of them learns that the other is extremely sick.  

I absolutely loved rereading this book and I am now questioning why I've never put it in my top 5 books.  I'm a huge fan of illness books.  Should that be cancer, a rare disease, or mental illness, I'm a fan of it.  I loved that Hazel talked about all the medical of it, but spoke as a kid explaining it not as a doctor.  I feel like so many illness books talk in medical jargon that takes some exploring and researching to determine what it means.  Hazel told the story from her point of view and she really "dumbed it down" for us.  I also feel like there was so much emotion in Hazel and she had a wonderful character arc from being a pent up frustrated teenager to having fallen in love with Augustus.  His character was a constant throughout the book and he never really wavered from that.  There was one moment where he broke down emotionally, but other than that he kept the same humor and life throughout the book.  I just love that both of these characters were able to find each other and fall in love despite all that they were facing.  

While I had no complaints about the book itself, I did have a complaint about the movie.  We all know that Hazel is on oxygen and struggles to breathe at times.  When she goes up or down stairs her lungs have to work harder to keep up.  In the movie, there is a scene where she wakes up in the middle of the night unable to breathe and screaming for her parents.  Out her door we see a light come on as her parents run down a set of stairs and up a set of stairs to reach her.  Why do they live in a house with so many stairs if she struggles to breathe while climbing them!?  I feel like that is the worst thing you could do to someone on oxygen.  I understand if their fictional family had fictional memories, but they seriously needed a one-story house instead of one with a labyrinth of stairs.  

I have to officially say that this book goes into my top 5.  It is a fast read for me because it is so good, even though I know what is going to happen.  It has a wonderful story and they fall in love which makes everything more "magical".  I give this 5 stars.  I definitely recommend reading the book before watching the movie.  

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

From Goodreads,

"For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.

Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts... he's at Hogwarts."

Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst."

Goodreads - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Awards and Nominations:

• Bran Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers (1999)
• Whitbread Award for Children's Book of the Year (1999)
• Nestle Smarties Book Prize for 9-11 years (1999)
• Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2000)
• Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2000)
• Hotze de Roosprijs (2001)
• Maine Student Book Award (2001)
• Golden Archer Award for Intermediate (2001)
• Soaring Eagle Book Award (2002)
• Indian Paintbrush Book Award (2004)
• Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award (2004)
• Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Older Readers (2005)
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (2008)

I've officially finished Year 3 at Hogwarts and I am beyond ready for Year 4.  I'm seriously loving reading this series for the first time, but also getting to enjoy the illustrations that are with this book.

Harry is back at the Dursleys preparing for his 3rd year at Hogwarts.  He soon gets news that a mad man has escaped from prison and is on the loose.  Harry accidentally inflates his aunt which causes him a great deal of trouble and he hurriedly grabs his things and flees.  He soon finds himself staying in Diagon Alley while awaiting school to start back.  On the train, to Hogwarts, a Dementor enters and Harry passes out.  He soon realizes he is affected by Dementors and soon starts training with his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Lupin.  As the year progresses Harry is gifted a map that will allow him to enter and exit Hogwarts without getting caught.  This map ends up being a turning piece for the entire story to unfold and conclude for Year 3. 

As I was starting this book I immediately knew that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would have a vital role in the book.  Professor Lupin is introduced and seems to want to help Harry in any way that he possibly can.  I found this interesting as the first teacher we met was being controlled by Voldemort and the second was a fraud.  It was nice to meet Professor Lupin and find that he had a rich history with Harry's father James.  As far as I know, he is a good guy.  I also have extremely mixed feelings about Sirius Black.  I can't decide if he is Team Harry or Team Voldemort.  I feel like he is for Harry, but he was extremely sketchy when he was introduced in this book.  I'm hoping to see more of Sirius in the next book to make a definite decision on his character.

I still love the illustrations in these books.  But this one had illustrations that spread over a few pages and connected together.  I didn't really like that because I didn't feel I got the full picture.  For example, there was an illustration of a wolf and it stretched over 3 spreads which are 6 pages.  It would have been stunning laid out side by side, but unfortunately, that isn't possible with a bound book that is printed front and back.  It was the perfect opportunity for a fold-out illustration instead of the way it was printed.

The more I read of this series the harder I find it to give a review.  I feel like all of the books are fantastic and it is difficult to find the best part of it and a weak part.  I give this book 5 stars.  I've said before that the illustrated versions are perfect for first time young readers of Harry Potter.  

The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole by Michelle Cuevas

From Goodreads,

A girl's friendship with a lonely black hole leads her to face her own sadness.

When eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan's Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home, and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything he touches, which is challenging to say the least—but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those items that Stella doesn't want around. Soon the ugly sweaters her aunt has made for her all disappear within the black hole, as does the smelly class hamster she's taking care of, and most important, all the reminders of her dead father that are just too painful to have around.

It's not until Stella, her younger brother, Cosmo, the family puppy, and even the bathroom tub all get swallowed up by the black hole that Stella comes to realize she has been letting her own grief consume her. And that's not the only thing she realizes as she attempts to get back home."

Goodreads - The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole

During the winter months, I feel like I fall into a black hole.  Time seems to drag on, everything is drab and dark, and I fall into a "lack of warmth and sunshine" depression.  So I am very excited that summer is right around the corner.  I bought this book a few months ago because the cover was cute and the title was interesting.  I quickly realized that this book took an interesting approach to depression and grief.

Stella wants to see Carl Sagan at NASA.  She wants to give him a recording of her dead father's voice so it can go on the Golden Record that is being launched to space.  After being turned away Stella goes home only to find that something has followed her.  She soon finds that a black hole has followed her home and quickly becomes her pet.  Stella starts to train the black hole she names Larry, and she feeds it things to help her feel better about her dad being gone.  Overtime Larry grows and eventually swallows Stella and her brother Cosmo.  The two must work together to escape Larry and get home.

This book was so adorable.  It had fun illustrations throughout the book that absolutely added to the entire story of Stella and Larry the black hole.  I love that Michelle Cuevas represented depression and grief as a black hole.  It is a VERY kid-friendly way to represent being more than just sad.  Stella's dad died and she is trying to learn to cope and grieve.  Things about her dad make her sad and she doesn't want to feel that so she puts those memories and things away, or as represented in the book, she feeds it to the black hole.  Stella soon learns that when she doesn't think about these things she starts to really lose the memories.  As time passes she learns she needs to experience these emotions so she doesn't forget and so she learns to cope with what is going on.  When our English Bulldog passed away I was absolutely heartbroken.  Like sobbing at all hours at any little thing that reminded me of him.  It's been two and a half years and sometimes it is still hard for me to talk about him, but it does get easier.  I can now look at pictures of him and miss him, but I don't break down sobbing because I miss him.  There are most definitely days though.  And I think that is what this entire book was about.  That you have to grieve and learn how to continue living.  That there will in fact be hard days, but it will get easier.

I know that it wasn't an important piece of the book, but I really wondered the entire time what happened to Stella's dad.  It never told how he died and my nosey self really wanted to know what caused him to die.  I feel like it was a minor detail that should have been included to really paint a picture of Stella's situation.  Was it an unexpected death like a car wreck?  Or was it an illness that had been going on for some time?  I think it is important to know if Stella had had time to say a proper goodbye or if he was taken so suddenly that she never said goodbye.  I just like for books to be fully rounded so that I get all the necessary details for the story, and unfortunately, Stella's father's death was a big piece of Stella's story. 

This was a really good book with cute illustrations and even a middle section of black paper when Stella was first in the black hole.  I think this will be a well-enjoyed addition to my classroom library.  I give this 3.5 stars.  It wasn't quite a 4, but it wasn't a mediocre 3.  Anyone who is dealing with depression or grief will find this book relatable and possibly helpful. 

My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List by Rena Finder

From Goodreads,

"The astonishing true story of a girl who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oskar Schindler, of Schindler's List fame.
Rena Finder was only eleven when the Nazis forced her and her family -- along with all the other Jewish families -- into the ghetto in Krakow, Poland. Rena worked as a slave laborer with scarcely any food and watched as friends and family were sent away.

Then Rena and her mother ended up working for Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who employed Jewish prisoners in his factory and kept them fed and healthy. But Rena's nightmares were not over. She and her mother were deported to the concentration camp Auschwitz. With great cunning, it was Schindler who set out to help them escape.

Here in her own words is Rena's gripping story of survival, perseverance, tragedy, and hope. Including pictures from Rena's personal collection and from the time period, this unforgettable memoir introduces young readers to an astounding and necessary piece of history."

Goodreads - My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List

I have always felt like I had a connection to books that were about WWII and the Holocaust.  My grandma was a teenager in Germany while Hitler was the chancellor and my grandfather was fighting the war when he met my grandma.  So I always feel that I have a connection to that piece in history.  My grandma doesn't like to talk about that time in her life for obvious reasons, but she has stated that many people had no idea what was really going on during the war as far as concentration camps were concerned.  This being said, I always get a strong opinion when it comes down to nonfiction books about the Holocaust because they are either extremely unforgiven or hate everyone that "did nothing". 

My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List is the true story of a Jewish girl named Rena.  She and her parents were forced out of their home and into a ghetto.  Eventually, her father was taken away, her grandparents, and her cousins.  She was able to stay with her mother as they were forced into a concentration camp.  Rena was able to get her and her mother onto a list to work in the factory owned by Oskar Schindler.  Rena and her mother were able to continue to work with Schindler until the war was over, which essentially saved their life.

When I started this book I had very little background on Oskar Schindler or his list.  I knew that a movie was made about him and that I've been told multiple times that I need to watch it.  I had no idea the role he played during the Holocaust and I was very mesmerized by his kind acts toward Jews even though he was a member of the Nazi party.  He was very unselfish as he paid off people so that he could get away with what he wanted that in turn saved over a thousand Jews.  I think this book was a great introductory story to Oskar Schindler and his selfless acts.  I would love to read a book about Schindler, and I may even have to watch the movie about him.

The details and information about Oskar Schindler was the only thing that I really enjoyed in this book.  I had very mixed feelings about Rena's story.  It is told in memoir fashion and the entire time I felt like she was personally telling me her story.  It is however packed with information and very matter of fact opinions.  The information is great for an introductory book to the Holocaust but was very unnecessary for me which caused me to get bored with the book.  Rena has very strong opinions throughout the book.  She gets clearly frustrated with anyone who didn't try to help those being sent to concentration camps.  I felt like she blamed everyone who did nothing, which isn't a fair thing to do.  My grandma who was living in Nazi Germany didn't know what was happening.  She told me one day that her neighbor was Jewish.  They had grown up together and played together as kids.  One day she was there and the next she was gone.  She said at the time she had no idea what happened to her, but now as an adult, she knows that she was sent to a camp where she was murdered.  I think it is wrong for Rena to blame everyone because many had no idea what atrocities were taking place.

Overall, this would be a great introductory book for a middle-school-age child.  It has plenty of facts and information with the personal story weaved in.  It didn't sit right with me and I have to give it 1 star.  I don't plan on putting this in my classroom library, but I do have a student who is very fixated on Anne Frank and I think this would be a great read for her. 

Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel by Kimberly Willis Holt

From Goodreads,

"Twelve-year-old Stevie's world changes drastically when her parents are tragically killed and she is forced to live with her estranged grandfather at his run-down motel. After failed attempts to connect with her grandfather, Stevie befriends the colorful motel tenants and neighbors. Together, they decide to bring some color and life to the motel by planting a flower garden, against Stevie's grandfather's wishes. It will take Stevie's departure before her grandfather realizes just how needed she is by everyone."

Goodreads - Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel

I keep a pretty close eye on what books students are checking out.  There are always classics that make their way through my classes.  There are also new releases that make their way through.  Throughout the school year, I have seen multiple of my students reading Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel.  Many have said it was really good so I figured it was time to read it and give it my own review. 

Stevie is just a regular girl who loves her parents, her farm, and planting flowers.  But one day Stevie's parents are killed in an accident that leaves her on her way to live with her grandfather in Texas.  She has never met her grandfather and doesn't know what to expect.  Stevie soon meets a wide range of characters and decides that she is just the thing that is needed at the motel. 

I absolutely loved the cast of quirky characters that lived at the motel.  I felt like it was such a diverse crew that really rounded out the book.  Horace and Ida are wheelchair-bound and have a longing desire to go to Florida for the honeymoon they never went on.  Arlo and Roy are just a father and son trying to make it after Roy's mother left him years ago.  Violet is a single woman who takes things from the hotel's lost and found and claims them as her own.  Mercedes speaks very little English but is a hardworking maid.  Winston is Stevie's grandfather and he is a very stingy and cold person who has to learn how to love again.  I enjoyed how diverse the residents and employees of the motel were.  I think that everyone can find a character that is similar to someone they know.  I also liked that each of these characters had their own small development within the story. 

On the flip side of this, Stevie was my least favorite.  I don't know any twelve-year-old that would be so calm with everything that had happened.  She had a minimal reaction to her parents being killed.  She didn't have a real reaction about having to go live with her grandfather who she had never met before.  She was handed a wad of cash from selling her parent's things and sent on her way.  She blew through her money to make a garden and spent the rest of the time just moving through the days.  I felt like she also didn't have real character development.  She was the same at the end of the book as she was at the beginning.

I was also really frustrated with Stevie's parents.  They kept a TON of secrets from her concerning her family.  Throughout the book, I kept expecting something to come up that explained why they had kept everything so secretive.  But that never happened.  We never find out why they were the way they were.  That was irritating and I feel that there was a missed opportunity for Stevie to better understand and learn about her parents.

I can see why my students have enjoyed this book.  It has a good hook at the beginning, but it really flatlines as the story progresses.  I give this 2 stars.  This is definitely a book for middle school students. 

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

From Goodreads,

"From two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles, a masterpiece exploration of one of the darkest moments in our history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War.

May 4, 1970.
Kent State University.

As protestors roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why.

Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points -- protestor, Guardsman, townie, student -- Deborah Wiles's Kent State gives a moving, terrifying, galvanizing picture of what happened that weekend in Ohio . . . an event that, even 50 years later, still resonates deeply."

Goodreads - Kent State

I have mentioned before that I tend to find myself drawn to certain topics in books.  I find myself drawn to cancer/illness books, mental illness books, love stories, and unfortunately school shooting books.  I think my pull to them is because I'm lowkey trying to educate myself on what to do and what not to do in the event of a school shooting since I'm a teacher.  That being said, I saw this book at our book fair and was intrigued by the cover design.  (I also judge books by their cover.  Don't judge me.)  I immediately knew this was a school shooting book just based on the bullet holes and the gun on the cover.  It is actually quite fitting that I'm posting this review today because it has been 50 years since these events took place, and this book starts with the events on Friday, May 1, 1970.

Kent State is the confusion tale of the events that unfolded from May 1, 1970, to May 4, 1970.  The story is written in a prose format that rotates through multiple voices and viewpoints.  Wiles writes to tell the story the best as possible of what happened on that fateful Monday in May.

I usually start with a positive about the book, but I have to start with a negative.  This book is relatively short and written in prose.  It shouldn't have taken long for me to read, but it took a couple of days because I was literally avoiding the book.  The writing style is absolutely terrible.  I'm perfectly fine with having prose.  I'm perfectly fine with having multiple narrators.  But this... this book had 5 or 6 narrators who were unnamed and unlabeled.  The only way I knew that someone different was speaking was because the font changed.  This book was an absolute hot mess.  I wish the narrators would have been given names, even if they were fictional names so that a connection could be made.  I feel like they were just spitting out the minor details they each knew and it was all slammed together to make a book.  I would have really loved an in-depth story about Kent State and not just hearsay from a variety of people who were involved. 

I had never heard of Kent State until I picked up this book.  I definitely had to do some research to get a background on what happened.  I would have loved to have seen this book with multiple characters all sharing their viewpoint and what they felt and saw.  I think taking an approach similar to Alan Gratz's Allies or even Ellen Hopkins' People Kill People.  Both books have multiple perspectives but still fit in a solid story format that allows more details and feelings to be attached to each character.  I would definitely consider reading a book on Kent State.  I think this book was a good introductory of the event, but not enough details were given. 

Overall, I was kind of disappointed in this book.  I was really excited to read a book about an event that I knew relatively nothing about, but it was a scattered mess of nameless narrators.  I sadly have to give this book 1 star.  I wish that it had been a story instead of just characters having a conversation with each other.  I think people who have good background knowledge of Kent State will enjoy this book, but a young adult would definitely need some kind of background information to really grasp the whole story.