Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau

From Goodreads,

"A congressman's daughter who has to be perfect. A star quarterback with a secret. A guy who's tired of being ignored. A clarinet player who's done trying to fit in. An orphaned rebel who wants to teach someone a lesson. A guy who wants people to see him, not his religion.

They couldn't be more different, but before the morning's over, they'll all be trapped in a school that's been rocked by a bombing. When they hear that someone inside is the bomber, they'll also be looking to one another for answers."

Goodreads - Time Bomb

Any time that I go into Books A Million I check out the teen reads section.  I glance over the covers to find one that is appealing and then I read the synopsis to decide if I want to read it.  This was a book that I picked up, read the synopsis and put down.  But after roaming the store a while longer I decided to go back and get the book.

This book is told from the perspective of six very different students who attend the same high school.  On one day before school starts they are all in the school for various reasons when a bomb goes off.  Each student has to fight to survive and get out.  Eventually the students realize that one of the bombers is among them and they need to figure out who it is quickly before another bomb goes off.

This book wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be.  One of the things that I was upset with at the beginning was sorting the characters and the character progression.  I found it hard to keep the different characters sorted and organized at the beginning.  As the book progressed I was able to connect small details to names to help me better remember them and keep them sorted.  As the book went on I was glad it was a slow progression because we got to learn about the characters through the others' eyes.  I also thought that the students would all be trapped in the same room when the bomb exploded, but that wasn't the case.  The students were all in varying locations and slowly started finding each other and working together.  At first I was kind of irritated about it, but I found that having the students progress through the burning building alone or in pairs helped me to better figure out who the bomber was and why they were doing it.  The slow progression and the placement of characters during the bombing really helped this book keep a level of excitement and mystery to it.

When I first started reading this book I immediately knew the direction the book was headed.  One of the students has a father who is a senator.  I knew immediately that the bombing would have some relation to him and his trying to pass a bill called Safety Through Education.  While the ending ended up being different than I expected there was still the agenda to gain attention for the bill.  I was disappointed because I had called it from the beginning and had hoped the entire time that it would turn out differently.

The book was a little bit predictable, but the character's being scattered in the book and slowly getting to know them helped keep a sense of mystery to the story.  I was constantly wondering who was the bomber and why, even though deep down I knew.  I give this book 4 stars and recommend it to people who like mystery or thriller books.

Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick

From Goodreads,

"When Oakley Nelson loses her older brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she'll never recover. Between her parents' arguing and the battle she's fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend a few months in California with Aunt Jo, Oakley isn't sure a change of scenery will alter anything, but she's willing to give it a try. In California, Oakley discovers a sort of safety and freedom in Aunt Jo's beach house. Once they're settled, Mom hands her a notebook full of letters addressed to her-from Lucas. As Oakley reads one each day, she realizes how much he loved her, and each letter challenges her to be better and to continue to enjoy her life. He wants her to move on. If only it were that easy. But then a surfer named Carson comes into her life, and Oakley is blindsided. He makes her feel again. As she lets him in, she is surprised by how much she cares for him, and that's when things get complicated. How can she fall in love and be happy when Lucas never got the chance to do those very same things? With her brother's dying words as guidance, Oakley knows she must learn to listen and trust again. But will she have to leave the past behind to find happiness in the future?"

Goodreads - Love, Lucas

I tend to find myself reading books of similar themes.  Typically I lean toward books with themes about mental health, humor, cancer, or love.  This book had the two of the themes with one being cancer and the other being love.  This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but it was still absolutely stunning and part of me wants to read the other books in the series.

Love, Lucas is about a girl named Oakley who is trying to come to terms with the loss of her brother to cancer.  They were always very close and it seemed that Oakley would absolutely fall to pieces with him gone.  But her mother takes her to California so they can get a fresh start and maybe try to get their life going again.  While her mother tries to figure life out again, Oakley meets a boy named Carson who she finds is similar to her brother.  Carson is adventurous and finds that he cares deeply for Oakley, but Oakley has to figure out what she wants.  The book comes to an exciting climax that will absolutely shock anyone who reads this book.

This book is titled Love, Lucas because Oakley's brother Lucas decides to write letters to Oakley to help her grieve.  I was really expecting the letters to be a bigger part of the story, but they weren't.  This book really focused on Oakley falling in love with Carson with the letters being sprinkled in throughout the book.  I just feel like if the book is going to be titled Love, Lucas that it should have a tighter connection to Lucas's letters.  I felt like having Oakley fall in love with Carson kind of took away from the letter aspect of the book.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!!!  Read with caution!

I absolutely loved the climax in this book.  Oakley and Carson were out in the water making up after their big break-up fight.  That was when Carson spotted a shark and told Oakley to get back to shore.  But the shark ended up grabbing Carson and pulling him under.  When I read this I had an immediate jaw drop moment and was trying to turn the pages faster than I could read them.  I did not see it coming and was in complete shock that the author would throw Carson under the bus like that.  The whole situation with the shark attack made me want to read the other books that go along with this book. 

This book was a tad bit slow, but it had a couple big moments that were shocking and exciting.  I'm considering reading the next book in this series and will post a review if and when I read it.  I give this book 3 stars and recommend it to people who want a teenage love story. 

Lemons by Melissa Savage

From Goodreads,

"What do you do when you lose everything that means anything?

Ten-year old Lemonade Liberty Witt doesn’t know the answer to that question, except what her mom taught her. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But what if those lemons are so big that you forget how?

How do you make lemonade out of having to leave everything you know in San Francisco to move to the small town of Willow Creek, California and live with a grandfather you’ve never even met? In a town that smells like grass and mud and bugs. With tall pines instead of skyscrapers and dirt instead of sidewalks. Not to mention one woolly beast lurking in the woods.

That’s right, Bigfoot.

A ginormous wooden statue of the ugly thing stands right at the center of town like he’s someone real important, like the mayor or something. And the people here actually believe he’s real and hiding somewhere out in the pine filled forests.

How can anyone possibly be expected to make lemonade out those rotten lemons?

Everything is different and Lem just wants to go back home. And then she meets Tobin Sky, the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives, Inc. and sole investigator for the town. He invites her to be his Assistant for the summer and she reluctantly agrees. At least until she can figure out her escape plan.

Together, Lem and Tobin try to capture a shot of the elusive beast on film and end up finding more than they ever could have even imagined."

Goodreads - Lemons

I have been doing read alouds with my class and after we finished Saving Winslow I let my students pick from a series of books.  Lemons was in the stack along with a couple other notable books.  I gave the students a one sentence summary of the book based on the summary on the back.  The students all voted and we ended up selecting this book to read.  At times the students were fully engaged in this book, at others they were somewhat bored.  It ended up that I finished reading the book for the kids because they really lost interest.

Lemons starts with a young girl named Lemonade, being taken to her grandfather's house who she has never met.  Lemonade just wants to go back home instead of live in a place she's unfamiliar with, with a man she doesn't know.  Soon Lemonade meets a young boy named Tobin who runs the Bigfoot Detectives, Inc.  Lemonade is stubborn and continues to tell Tobin she will be going back home to San Francisco.  But eventually Lemonade settles into life with her grandfather and hanging out with Tobin.  Together they search for bigfoot and along the way they find something even greater.

I absolutely loved this book, but my students were a little mixed about it.  I loved that the story was set back in the 70s, but it also had a still relevant vibe to it.  This story was really big on the connections we have between people and the value of them.  Lemonade and Tobin struggled at times in their friendship.  Lemonade had to learn to trust Tobin and Tobin had to learn how to make Lemonade realize that she belonged in Willow Creek.  Lemonade also had to learn that she needed her grandfather just as much as he needed her.  I absolutely loved the importance that was placed on relationships in this book.  A lot of young adults don't value the relationships they have and they honestly take them for granted.  This book was packed with various examples of relationships with people, and even more importantly the various strains that relationships can have.

One of the downsides of this book is that it was lengthy for a read aloud and it was pretty dull for a large chunk of the book.  I think the lack of excitement was really what put some of my kids off from this book.  About half of them were interested to find out what was living in the woods, the other half was ready to start a new book.  I adored this book as I read it aloud and finished it by myself.  It was a very good wholesome book that had a lot of good things packed in it.

Overall, this book wasn't what I expected, but it was still wonderful.  My students were a little disappointed with the book, but were glad to hear the ending.  I give this 4 out of 5 stars.  This book doesn't really have a specific crowd that I would recommend it to, but it is still really good and is a good fun read.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

From Goodreads,

"Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart."

Goodreads - Dumplin'

Awards and Nominations:

• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2015)
• Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee for High School (2017)
• Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2017)
• Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee (2018)

I purchased this book a few months ago because the synopsis was catchy.  Soon after I realized they were making a movie adaptation of the book.  I was in the middle of a couple other books and one book led to another that led to another.  Soon I realized the movie was out on Netflix and I was behind on the times.  I wanted so badly to watch the movie, but I have a strict movie-book policy.  I ALWAYS read the book before I watch the movie.  I have done the opposite before and found that the book was completely ruined for me.  So I decided to finally start the book and was blessed with a snow day that allowed me to finish it.  

Dumplin' is about a teenage girl named Willowdean who is often called Dumplin' by her beauty queen mother.  Willowdean is a typical girl who goes to school and works at a local restaurant.  The only difference is that Willowdean is a self proclaimed fat girl.  She always had a connection with her Aunt Lucy who was also overweight, but Lucy passed away.  Willowdean is trying to figure out how to do the thing called life with school, boys, and friends in the mix without her Aunt Lucy.  One day Willowdean discovers a pageant entry form that her aunt had filled out.  Willowdean decides to try her hand at the pageant world and to try to find her self confidence. 

I really enjoyed this book on a personal level.  I'm overweight and it is something I have struggled with for years.  Willowdean exudes confidence in this book.  She is so sure of herself and all that she does.  This is a book that gave me confidence and made me want to go out and chase my dreams no matter who says I can't.  There is a lack of self confidence among girls and women today.  We all believe what society tells us and what others say about us.  Every girl and woman is influenced by society.  Imagine a place where there was a positive light and energy around women.  Imagine magazines that told you it was okay to be curvy instead of sharing the "10 secrets to losing belly fat".  We need to find confidence within ourselves and share it.  When someone gives me a compliment it makes my day.  I've had multiple people compliment me on a perfume I wear.  And guess what?  I have been wearing it more often because it makes me feel confident and powerful.  Women and especially girls need to see positive things in the environment that are uplifting and bring confidence.  This book really made a point that we need to stop point out our flaws and focus on the things that we are good at and exude that confidence. 

I normally give you another positive or a negative about the book, but I've decided to give a brief review of the movie itself and how it compares to the book.  I was definitely glad that I read the book first, because the movie was a bit of a hot mess.  There were a couple characters from the book that didn't make the cut into the movie which was disappointing.  The book had a strong focus of the relationship that Willowdean had with Bo during the summer, and it was NEVER brought up in the movie.  I was so mad.  There was also the relationship she had with Mitch who wasn't in the movie.  There were also many moments in the movie that had no explanation as to why it was happening or the connection.  For example, we never really find out the back story of why Amanda decides to participate, but it's in the book.  The movie had some major differences and overall it disappointed me. 

The book was really good and I enjoyed it.  I'm definitely excited to read the next book in the series titled, Puddin'.  The movie was okay, but nothing to brag about.  I think that a lot of teenage girls and girls in their twenties would enjoy this book.  I know that I definitely did.  I give this a solid 4 stars and recommend you read the book before watching the movie.  

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

From Goodreads,

"Life with his little brother, Fudge, makes Peter Hatcher feel like a fourth grade nothing. Whether Fudge is throwing a temper tantrum in a shoe store, smearing mashed potatoes on the walls at Hamburger Heaven, or trying to fly, he’s never far from trouble. He’s an almost three-year-old terror who gets away with everything, and Peter’s had it up to here!When Fudge walks off with Dribble, Peter’s pet turtle, it’s the last straw. Peter has put up with Fudge for too long. Way too long! How can he get his parents to pay attention to him for a change?"

Goodreads - Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Awards and Nominations:

• Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (1975)
• Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1975)
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award (1975)
• California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Intermediate (1977)
• Grand Canyon Reader Award (1977)
• Massachusetts Children's Book Award (1977)
• West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Young Readers (1980)

I was first introduced to this book during my first year of teaching fourth grade.  I read it by myself one weekend and knew that I had to use it in my classroom.  I have taught it every year since then and have included more activities and interactives each year.  This will probably remain as my favorite book to teach in fourth grade because it is so relatable.  

This book is told by Peter who is in the fourth grade and annoyed by his little brother Fudge.  Each chapter is a sort of short story that showcases the annoyance Peter experiences with his little brother's antics.  Each chapter elicits laughs from kids and it comes to a dramatic conclusion in the last chapter. 

This book is full of amazing chapters and ways you can teach each chapter, but I'm going to focus on two chapters and share the things that I do with each chapter as I teach it.  The first chapter that I enjoy is Chapter 2 Mr. and Mrs. Juicy-O.  This chapter focuses on Mr. Hatcher's clients Mr. and Mrs. Yarby coming to visit.  They own the Juicy-O company that Mr. Hatcher makes commercials for.  Things go awry thanks to Fudge being his usual Fudgie self and the Yarbys end up leaving to stay in a hotel and Mr. Hatcher loses their account.  When we get to this chapter we always read it together and complete comprehension questions.  We talk about what Juicy-O might taste like.  I break the students into groups and give them a list of 5 drink ingredients.  I usually use apple juice, cranberry juice, white grape juice, pineapple juice, and strawberry-banana juice.  I tell the students they are going to make a recipe for Juicy-O.  I give them a limit on how many cups they are making.  I usually make it 2 or 3 cups depending on group size.  I let students make their recipes and practice fraction skills.  Students normally ask if we are making Juicy-O, but I tell them this is a fictional recipe.  Usually the next day I tell the students to get their recipes back out because we are going to make Juicy-O.  Every time I have done this I get the usual response of "Eww!  This is going to taste nasty!"  After we make the Juicy-O I always do a taste test and tell the students which is my favorite.  The students drink their Juicy-O and they are surprisingly impressed with how it tastes.  This is a great project because the students get to work on fraction skills and they get to work with a group and learn to comprise because some people don't like some of the juices that were presented.  It is a wonderful project at the beginning of this book.  

The next chapter I'm going to focus on is Chapter 5 The Birthday Bash.  This chapter is about Fudge's 3rd birthday party and the chaos that ensues with the three other children at the party.  I always tell my students that this is my favorite chapter of the book because there are so many memorable and hilarious things that happen at the birthday party.  This is one chapter that gets many giggles and ewws as we read the chapter.  After reading I always explain to the students that this book was written in the 70s and that times have changed since the book was written.  I always inquire if any students have heard a record before.  Some years I get a bunch of hands and other years it's just a few.  I plug in a record player and play a record for students to hear the pops and clicks.  Many are amazed that the record can play music and it baffles them as to how it works.  After listening to the record player for a bit I always shut it down and tell the students that since it is a birthday party we are going to celebrate.  I pass out drinks and cupcakes for the students and they snack while they work on their comprehension questions.  It is a memorable chapter as students get to celebrate Fudge's 3rd birthday. 

This book is such a fun book and my students enjoy it year after year.  As long as I'm in fourth grade I plan to teach this book with all the fun activities.  I give this 5 stars and recommend that teachers use this book if they teach fourth grade and suggest that fourth graders read this as well.  

The Titanic by Emma Carlson Berne

From Goodreads,

"Discover the stories of the real people and events that shaped American history in the Real Stories From My Time series. Perfect for book reports with full-page illustrations throughout, these nonfiction chapter books also include historical photos, maps, a timeline, a glossary, and a bibliography at the back. Plus, in each book, an American Girl historical character shares a bit of her own fictional story.

Titanic includes real life stories of the passengers who were aboard the supposedly unsinkable ship-from everyday life on board to the night of the infamous iceberg collision. American Girl Samantha Parkington shares her own story of traveling across the ocean as a first class passenger on a steamship in the early 1900s."

Goodreads - The Titanic

I'm a huge Titanic fan.  My best friend and I like to claim that our friendship really officially started when we both fell in love with a Titanic book in second grade.  Either way I have an abundance of Titanic books and movies.  When I saw this American Girl book with Samantha I was super excited to dive into this book about the Titanic.

The main focus of this book is the history and stories of the people who were on the ship.  Throughout the book there are journal entries by Samantha that tell of her family that was on the ship.  The book is an even balance of fact and fiction that any lover of Titanic or the American Girl books would enjoy.

I have read the six main books of Samantha of the American Girl series.  I was really excited when I saw that this was a book with Samantha in it, because she was honestly the first American Girl that got me hooked on the books.  I absolutely loved that this book had such a balance between the fact and fiction of the story.  The main part of the story was the history and facts of the Titanic.  I think that this is highly beneficial for students to get the facts of an event, while also getting the fun side of a fictional story.  The inserts by Samantha were well balanced throughout the book and made for an exciting little short story throughout the facts.

This book was perfect the way it was.  It incorporated real pictures with illustrated ones, the same way it had the facts and the fictional story.  I think that anyone who loves Titanic or American Girl books would like this book.  I give this 4 stars.  

Frindle by Andrew Clements

From Goodreads,

"From bestselling and award-winning author Andrew Clements, a quirky, imaginative tale about creative thought and the power of words that will have readers inventing their own words.

Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it."

Goodreads - Frindle

Awards and Nominations:

• Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature Nominee (1997)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1998)
• Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (1999)
• Washington State Sasquatch Award (1999)
• North Carolina Children's Book Award (1999)
• Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (1999)
• Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Grade 4-6 (1999)
• Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1999)
• Massachusetts Children's Book Award (1999)
• Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 3-6 (2000)
• California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Intermediate (2000)
• Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (2001)
• Bluestem Book Award Nominee (2015)
• Phoenix Award Children's Literature Association (2016)

I remember being in Junior High when I first read this book.  It was the first book I read by Andrew Clements, and it definitely wasn't the last.  As a kid myself, I thought it was so cool that a kid was able to create a new word for a simple object like a pen.  I absolutely understand why and how this book as so many awards that stretches for almost 20 years.

Frindle is about a rebellious young boy named Nick.  He is full of great ideas and loves to waste time in class by asking his teachers ridiculous questions.  Everything is great until he meets his match - Mrs. Granger.  He asks her a question about the dictionary, that in turn leads to spark of the idea of creating a new word.  What was meant to be a harmless joke, turns into a huge ordeal that gains lots of attention from everyone.

I love how this book can inspire and spark an idea in a person.  Nick had the idea to start calling a pen a frindle.  Others started doing the same and it eventually caught on until a frindle became a name for a pen.  I've taught this book before in my classroom and at the end of the book I always have students pick an ordinary object and give it a new name.  This book really shows students, that with determination, they can take a simple idea and turn it into something. This book also has a lot of gateways to talk about our vocabulary in today's world of technology and how people have created words.

One thing that I didn't like about this book is that the chapters are a little bit choppy.  It doesn't follow a fluid timeline, but instead jumps forward every couple of chapters.  I have found that students sometimes struggle to grasp the jump in time in this book.  The book starts fairly slowly progressing over time, but then at one point it jumps months ahead.  Students struggle with this because it doesn't share what happened in the the months we didn't read about.  They just seem to be lost.  I would have honestly preferred this book be longer with more details than to have the time jump.

This book will definitely inspire at least one student to grab an idea and work to make their idea a reality.  I give this 4 stars.  This is a fun read aloud, but is really geared toward middle school aged students.