The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

From Goodreads,

"16-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in a hospital's mental ward after a failed suicide attempt. Now she must find a path to recovery - and perhaps rescue some others along the way.

When Vicky Cruz wakes up in the Lakeview Hospital Mental Disorders ward, she knows one thing: After her suicide attempt, she shouldn't be alive. But then she meets Mona, the live wire; Gabriel, the saint; E.M., always angry; and Dr. Desai, a quiet force. With stories and honesty, kindness and hard work, they push her to reconsider her life before Lakeview, and offer her an acceptance she's never had.

But Vicky's newfound peace is as fragile as the roses that grow around the hospital. And when a crisis forces the group to split up, sending Vick back to the life that drove her to suicide, she must try to find her own courage and strength. She may not have them. She doesn't know.

Inspired in part by the author's own experience with depression, The Memory of Light is the rare young adult novel that focuses not on the events leading up to a suicide attempt, but the recovery from one - about living when life doesn't seem worth it, and how we go on anyway. "

Goodreads - The Memory of Light

Awards:

• Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award (2017)
• Americas Award Commended Title (2017)

As a teacher we are constantly on high alert for students who are unstable.  In my community we have had multiple students commit suicide and frankly it is unsettling.  I'm not entirely sure why I am attracted to books that are about mental health.  Maybe it is because I work in a profession where I have to constantly monitor my students and their mental health.  Maybe it is because each story is unique and different from the last.  Either way, I tend to gravitate to books about mental illness.

This book starts with Vicky Cruz waking up to find herself in the hospital.  She realizes that she has survived her attempt at suicide, but she isn't sure how.  Vicky makes friends with her roommate and two other people.  She doesn't know what is wrong with her, but she does know that she isn't okay.  Her father and stepmother think she is fine and they want her to leave.  Vicky tells them she needs to stay and they reluctantly agree.  Over time Vicky comes to realize what is wrong with her and finds out the truth behind why each of her new friends are in the mental ward with her.

I loved that this book had various people from various backgrounds with various mental disorders.  Even more than that, I loved that everyone didn't get a happy ending.  I feel like with mental illness books they go one of two ways.  They either end with the person being "fixed" or they end with death.  This book had various endings for each of the characters.  I think that Stork did an excellent job at portraying mental illness because honestly no one with a mental illness is ever really healed or fixed.  They learn how to manage and cope with the disorder they have or they don't.  In this book Vicky was slowly learning how to cope with her disorder and how to handle being back in her normal environment again.  However, Vicky's friend Mona was bipolar and we read about her deciding to stop taking her medication because she didn't like how it made her feel.  Mona didn't learn how to cope with and manage her illness.  I feel like this book was a true picture of people with mental illness.  Some want help and will do anything possible to make things better, and some don't care.  Things aren't always rainbows and happy endings, and Stork did an excellent job at portraying a real world ending.

While I loved the realness of the characters, I wasn't too fond of the storyline.  I felt like there lacked a solid plot that had exciting twists and turns.  I honestly expected there to be more events that led Vicky to attempting to commit suicide.  I expected there to be a big fiasco that happened at school or at home, or something that happened between a friend or a boyfriend.  But there never was anything that really stuck out.  The story was kind of flat and lacked depth in my opinion.  Vicky basically tried to commit suicide, talked to counselors and worked through her problems, went to a ranch retreat, and went home.  The plot was a typical mental illness plot sprinkled with characters with realistic personalities.

I enjoyed the characters in this book because they didn't portray happy-go-lucky characters that all had a happy ending in the end.  The plot had a lot to be desired.  I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.  I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of mental illness books.  

Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

From Goodreads,

"Mafatu has been afraid of the sea for as long as he can remember. Though his father is the Great Chief of Hikueru - an island whose seafaring people worship courage - Mafatu feels like an outsider. All his life he has been teased, taunted, and even blamed for storms on the sea. 

Then at age fifteen, no longer willing to put up with the ridicule and jibes, Mafatu decides to take his fate into his own hands. With his dog, Uri, as his companion, Mafatu paddles out to sea, ready to face his fears. What he learns on his lonesome adventure will change him forever and make him a hero in the eyes of his people."

Goodreads - Call It Courage

Awards:

• Newbery Medal (1941)

I posted a couple of weeks ago that my boyfriend and I decided we would tackle reading all of the books on that had received the Newbery Medal Award.  This is almost a hundred books considering the first award was given in 1922.  I finished the first book which was the 2017 winner The Girl Who Drank The Moon.  I waited for about a week for him to hopefully finish the book.  I got tired of waiting and read another book in the meantime.  A few weeks later he sadly told me he wasn't going to finish the book and that he wasn't going to read all the books on the list.  I was irritated to say the least, but I also understood where he was coming from.  Reading isn't his thing.  It's mine.  I decided I would continue with the task of reading the books on the award list.  While I had originally planned to read the books in order as closely as possible, I ended up randomly grabbing a book off my shelf, and it happened to be the 1941 Newbery Medal Award winner.  I was really wanting a short book and that is definitely what I got.

This book is about a young boy named Mafatu who is terrified of the water after a nasty run in while with his mother as a child.  Mafatu feels that he escaped the wrath of the ocean, but that Moana the god of the sea is going to seek revenge because he escaped.  He feels like an outcast because the people on his island live and breathe the ocean.  The other boys make fun of him and eventually Mafatu has enough.  He loads a canoe with his dog Uri and the essentials and he sets sail to make a path of his own and to prove everyone that he isn't totally terrified of the ocean.

There wasn't much that I really enjoyed in this book.  I felt like I had already heard this storyline before.  And then it hit me.  I realized that this story was very similar to the Disney movie Moana.  The plot line was the same for both the book and the movie.  It has the general storyline of a person that doesn't fit in with their village, they take a canoe and travel somewhere, they have to accomplish something, they encounter hardships, and they eventually return home as a hero.  The book mentions Maui and Moana and the two main characters in the movie are Maui and Moana.  Both main characters in the book and the movie have 2 sidekicks.  One that stays in the canoe with them and one that doesn't.  I cannot stop thinking about if Disney ripped off this book.  The two are just too similar.  It's a little unsettling.

I honestly didn't like this book.  It was a very shallow book that lacked in my opinion a real story line.  I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.  If you are wanting to read all the books on the Newbery list then you'll have to read this book, but otherwise I wouldn't even bother with it.  

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.