Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

From Goodreads, 

"In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human."

Goodreads - Rot & Ruin

Awards & Nominations: 

• Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best Novel (2010)
• CYBILS Award for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2010)
• Missouri Gateway Readers Award (2013)
• Lincoln Award Nominee (2016)

We are just weeks after an election and things are still in constant turmoil.  While the election was going on a coworker and I joked that this would end in either a civil war, the purge, or maybe the rapture would happen.  With everything going on I felt like it was a good time to read a good old fashioned zombie book.  Who knows, we may be in a similar situation of life and death before too long. 

Rot & Ruin is the story of Benny and his older brother Tom who is a zombie bounty hunter.  Benny is 15 which means he must find a job or his rations will be cut in half.  After many failed job interviews and first days, Benny decides to take his brother Tom up on the offer to go into the family business - zombie hunter.  Benny soon learns that Tom isn't a coward that ran during First Night instead of helping their parents.  Tom and Benny end up in a bit of trouble as they must set out into the rot and ruin to find Benny's friend Nix and a mysterious and elusive girl known as "The Lost Girl".  

I'm was not looking forward to this book and it has sat on my shelf for over a year.  I'm not big in the zombies and brains genre, but knew that I had to eventually read this book since it is on the Missouri Gateway award list I'm reading.  Interestingly, this book lacked in the gore and brains and zombies aspect.  There was a larger focus on the relationship between Benny and Tom, and the relationship between Benny and Nix.  The author really spent this entire first book just laying the groundwork for the coming books and building fairly elaborate character profiles.  I think the relationship that unfolded between Benny and Nix was a long time coming but was really predictable.  The moment that it was mentioned that Benny's friend Morgie liked Nix I knew exactly how it would play out.  Benny had a fairly big character arc in this book as he grew up and changed due to all that he had seen and had to deal with.  I do however think it was a really BIG change in a very SMALL amount of time.  It was a little extreme in my opinion for Benny to be going day to day just enjoying hanging out with his friends to focusing on saving others and slaying the twisted humans and the walking zombies.  I've never seen a character make that kind of transition in such a short period of time.  

This book dragged on in the same slow manner that a zombie moves.  There were chapters that I was begging for something exciting to happen.  I think that Maberry focused too much on the characters, their stories, their relationships, and ultimately their character arc that he forgot to focus on telling the story.  Half of what was in this book focused on building a character profile.  I felt like I was given too much information about some of the characters that I honestly don't want to read the rest of the series because I can already predict how it is going to play out.  I expected way more brains and zombie scare scenes.  

As I said before, this isn't a book I would normally read.  It reminded me of a lot of the book Scythe.  I do not plan on reading the rest of the series.  This book dragged on and left me hoping it would end quickly so I could move on to something else.  Overall I have to give it 2 stars.  I think this would be a popular book for teen boys, especially those who are wanting a zombie-filled story.  

Fly a Little Higher by Laura Sobiech

From Goodreads, 

"Laura Sobiech tells the amazing story of how God used her son’s battle with cancer to touch the lives of millions.

“Okay, Lord, you can have him. But if he must die, I want it to be for something big. I want someone’s life to be changed forever.”

This is what Laura Sobiech prayed when she found out her seventeen-year-old son had only one year to live. With this desperate prayer, she released her son to God’s will.

At that point, Zach Sobiech was just another teenager battling cancer. When his mother told him to think about writing good-bye letters to family and friends, he decided instead to write songs. One of them, “Clouds,” captured hearts and changed not one life but millions, making him an international sensation.

But Zach’s story is not just about music. It’s a testament to what can happen when you live as if each day might be your last. It’s a story about the human spirit. It’s about how God used a dying boy from a small town in Minnesota to touch the hearts of millions—including top executives in the music industry, major music artists, news anchors, talk show hosts, actors, priests and pastors, and school children across the globe.

Zach once said, “I want to be known as the kid who went down fighting, and didn’t really lose.” Fly a Little Higher is about how God used Zach to do something big."

Goodreads - Fly a Little Higher

I was in college when I first saw a video being posted on Facebook about a young boy named Zach Sobiech who had a cancer diagnosis.  I remember watching it and being captivated by his strength and his attitude knowing that death was right around the corner.  Fast forward a bit and I found this book on the shelf at Target.  There was no question that I had to read this book and get the full story of Zach Sobiech and his family. 

Fly a Little Higher is the story of the Sobiech family and how they relied on faith and each other to get through Zach's cancer diagnosis.  The book shares the high moments of happiness to the moment of Zach's passing.  It also shares the struggles that each family member faced, especially as they all planned for a wedding and for a funeral.  

Favorite quotes from Fly a Little Higher:

"But I do know that God is very, very close.  He will not abandon you.  Sometimes, when things are darkest, it is because God's hand is overshadowing you."

"They can talk about God and Jesus all they want, but it's how they live day-to-day and how they confront suffering that really tells the story." 

Can you imagine being in your teens and facing death?  At the age of 27, I cannot fathom having to accept that I was going to die.  I cannot imagine planning my funeral, how I wanted my last days to be, or how I was going to say goodbye to those I loved.  But Zach took it all in stride and truly believed that he was given cancer for a reason.  Zach's mother, Laura had the same belief that if he was going to die that God was using him for something much bigger than he understood.  Zach ended up writing goodbye songs for his loved ones and out of that came the song "Clouds".  It ended up being a ridiculously uplifting song for thousands of people around the world.  The song is catchy and has this tone that things will get better.  After rewatching SoulPancake's Last Days episode and reading this book, I found myself constantly humming the tune of "Clouds".  

This entire book and it's real-life characters are so positive in light of something so dark in their lives.  I would love to read a book from Zach's father's perspective or even his three siblings.  I felt like Alli had a pretty strong voice in the book.  I think that was because she was planning a wedding while Zach was nearing the end of his life.  There was a lot of turmoil for her and her parents as they had to decide what to do if it came down to Alli's wedding and Zach on his death bed.  I found it very interesting their logic to go to Alli's wedding if it came down to it because they knew Zach would understand and Alli would never forget they weren't there.  I thought that was very unselfish of Zach's parents to choose the day of joy for their living child than to be with another child while they took their last breath.  I don't know how they were ever able to come to that decision.  I personally would pretend that death wasn't lurking in the doorway and take the approach that we would handle that moment when we came to it.  Zach's other two siblings Grace and Sam were fairly quiet throughout the book.  I didn't feel they had a prominent voice like Laura and Alli did.  I would love to read a book from the perspective of Alli, Sam, and Grace.  I found it interesting that Grace didn't have a bigger role and voice in the book since she was so close to Zach.  

There was never a time in this book where I wished it would get on with the story.  It never lulled and flowed in such a way that I have never experienced a non-fiction book flowing.  I've actually had this book on my shelf for a few years.  But after seeing ads on Facebook for a new movie on Disney+ I knew I had to get this book finished so I could watch the movie.  As usual, I will give a review of the movie since I've finished the book.  The movie didn't even come close to the amazingness of this book.  I thought the movie was a bit of a disappointment and didn't do the book justice.  The way things happened in the movie didn't compare or line up with how they happened in the book.  I understand a lot of things had to be cut down because it is a movie, but there were some serious sequencing and events that I didn't feel were portrayed the same way as in the book. 

I absolutely loved the book.  The movie had a lot to desire.  I think I loved this book so much because the entire book centered around their faith, but it never felt pushy or preachy.  I give this book 5 big, fluffy clouds.  This book was absolutely amazing.  It's definitely a read for all adults.  

War Stories by Gordon Korman

 From Goodreads, 

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Restart, a story of telling truth from lies -- and finding out what being a hero really means.
There are two things Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games and his great-grandfather Jacob, who is a true-blue, bona fide war hero. At the height of the war, Jacob helped liberate a small French village, and was given a hero's welcome upon his return to America.

Now it's decades later, and Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war -- from training to invasion to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get to the village, Trevor discovers there's more to the story than what he's heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his great-grandfather's heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and importance of genuine valor."

Goodreads - War Stories

Last year I had a student who was obsessed with all things military-related.  It didn't matter what war or what branch, just as long as it had to do with the heroes of America.  I was constantly keeping an eye out for books that I thought he would enjoy so that I could make recommendations.  Even though this student has moved on to sixth grade, I still try to keep an eye out for books I think he would like. 

War Stories is a story that is intermingled in the past and the present.  The book rotates between telling the story of Jacob Firestone while he was stationed in France and telling the present-day story of Jacob Firestone, his grandson Daniel, and his great-grandson Trevor.  Jacob Firestone has been labeled as a hero for helping free a small French village and has been invited back to the village for an award.  Trevor thinks it is beyond awesome that his G.G. is a war hero, much like the video games he plays, and that he is receiving an award.  Daniel thinks G.G. is too old to be going back to Europe to retrace his path during the war and that Trevor idolizes war too much.  On the journey to the French village, each will learn something about themselves and each other, until the truth eventually comes out. 

I loved the alternating story format that Korman used in this book.  I felt like it really kept me interested in the story the entire time.  Since G.G. is making a journey back through Europe I think it was great to have the alternating timeline because it allowed us to have some insight as to what he was thinking about, as well as the stories that he was telling Daniel and Trevor.  There were times when Jacob's stories felt a little far stretched, but one can never truly understand or retell what happened during the war.  I do like that Jacob experienced loss during this book, but that he didn't paint an extremely gory picture.  He just reflected and made a passing remark that he wished he could unsee that.  Death in this book was very tastefully handled.  

While the alternating timeline format was a big plus in the book there was a very small thing that drove me insane THE. ENTIRE. BOOK.  The family name of "Firestone" was WAY overused.  It felt like every time Jacob's name was mentioned it was followed by Firestone.  I get it if it's a flashback and his buddies are all talking and call him Firestone.  But none of them did.  After the first few chapters of referring to him as "Jacob Firestone," it was pretty clear what his last name was and it was beyond unnecessary to keep mentioning it.  Also, I hated that we never got closure on Beau!  The entire time it was Jacob, Beau, Freddie, and Leland.  We know that Freddie and Leland "bought it" as they all called it and didn't make it home.  And we know that Beau was injured, but we never find out what happened with his life or if he stayed in touch with Jacob.  That was extremely frustrating to see the outcomes of the characters but to never find out what happened to Beau. 

Overall, this was a good book, but it doesn't make the top ten for books by Korman.  This war genre just doesn't seem like his genre and felt like he was grasping at information and straws to write this book.  I think middle school boys will find it interesting, but it wasn't a big hit with me.  I have to give it 2 stars.  If you like books by Korman or war-themed stories, this is definitely one to add to your "To-Read" list. 

Roll with It by Jamie Sumner

From Goodreads, 

"The story of an irrepressible girl with cerebral palsy whose life takes an unexpected turn when she moves to a new town.

Ellie’s a girl who tells it like it is. That surprises some people, who see a kid in a wheelchair and think she’s going to be all sunshine and cuddles. The thing is, Ellie has big dreams: She might be eating Stouffer’s for dinner, but one day she’s going to be a professional baker. If she’s not writing fan letters to her favorite celebrity chefs, she’s practicing recipes on her well-meaning, if overworked, mother.

But when Ellie and her mom move so they can help take care of her ailing grandpa, Ellie has to start all over again in a new town at a new school. Except she’s not just the new kid—she’s the new kid in the wheelchair who lives in the trailer park on the wrong side of town. It all feels like one challenge too many, until Ellie starts to make her first-ever friends. Now she just has to convince her mom that this town might just be the best thing that ever happened to them!"

Goodreads - Roll with It

I am constantly trying to add to my classroom library.  I try to find books that I think kids will want to read.  There's this fine line between it being a cheesy book or it being an amazing edge of your seat book.  I feel like this book fell a little more to the cheesy side, but it had a wonderful main character who is wheelchairbound due to cerebral palsy. 

Ellie has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair.  She is strong and independent and is constantly letting her mom and her aide at school know that.  But after Ellie's grandpa drives through the front of a grocery store in Oklahoma, Ellie and her mom decide to pack up and move to help her grandma.  Ellie is at first unhappy with the move, but she makes two new friends and an amazing teacher that pushes her to go the extra mile. 

I'm not going to sit here and lie... I read the reviews on Goodreads after finishing a book.  I always want to see how my thoughts and feelings toward a book compare with other peoples.  I had a lot of mixed feelings after looking through the reviews.  A LOT of people weren't happy with Sumner or this book.  People were ranting that able-bodied people don't need to write books from the perspective of a child who is disabled.  For the record, Sumner's son has cerebral palsy.  So she isn't completely lacking in knowledge about this.  And I can almost guarantee that after being with her child and having conversations with him, she was able to write a book on what he feels like and deals with.  I think that we need more books featuring disabled people.  And people also need to keep in mind that not all disabled people can sit down and just write a book.  Some may need additional help or even a voice to tell their story.  This isn't a true story.  It is fiction.  People need to calm down on the bashing fest of this book.

Now that I am stepping off my soapbox, I can share my thoughts on the book.  I thought this was an extremely cute book and that it probably does reflect the feelings of someone with cerebral palsy living in a wheelchair.  I know that if I had cerebral palsy and had been in a wheelchair my entire life, I probably wouldn't be rolling around saying "Oh!  Life is grand and fabulous!!"  It would suck to watch your friends be able to run and play.  It would suck to be treated differently all the time.  It would suck to not be able to do things yourself like going to the bathroom or taking a bath.  I think that Sumner portrayed those feelings and emotions much like I would if I were writing a book about a disabled child.  Disability books aren't always rainbows and sunshine.  We need to realize that life isn't always glamorous and that things don't always go as planned.  This book excellently executed that message. 

On the flip side of this book being straightforward, it was a little bit of a drag.  There were some low points in the book that I had to push myself to get through until something exciting happened.  It honestly lacked a plot.  I think Ellie's grandpa was the piece that kept the book moving.  It was heartbreaking at times to see him deteriorate and forget the people around him.  And it was terrifying that he would put himself in danger without even knowing it.  I think Sumner did a great job of portraying someone with dementia/Alzheimers.  

This was a cute book with a main character that is outside of the usual run of the mill characters.  She had an attitude and she was strong and independent despite her situation.  I think this is a perfect diverse novel to put in my classroom library.  I give this 3 stars.  

The Best Man by Richard Peck

 From Goodreads, 

"Newbery Medalist Richard Peck brings us this big-hearted novel about gay marriage from a kid’s endearing perspective.

When Archer is in sixth grade, his beloved uncle Paul marries another man—Archer’s favorite student teacher. But that’s getting ahead of the story, and a wonderful story it is. In Archer’s sweetly naïve but observant voice, his life through elementary school is recounted: the outspoken, ever-loyal friends he makes, the teachers who blunder or inspire, and the family members who serve as his role models. From one exhilarating, unexpected episode to another, Archer’s story rolls along as he puzzles over the people in his life and the kind of person he wants to become…and manages to help his uncle become his best self as well."

Goodreads - The Best Man

The more I read middle school and young adult books, the more I find that I like certain authors.  Alan Gratz, Kwame Alexander, and Dan Gemeinhart all rank fairly high on my favorites list.  Richard Peck has slowly wormed his way into this list as well after I read A Long Way From Chicago.  I was surprised that he continued writing into his 80s before he passed away.  When I found this book on Scholastic Book Clubs it seemed like a good book that had a good message and good diversity. 

The Best Man is told by Archer who chronicles the time leading up to him being the best man at a wedding.  We learn of the mishaps throughout school and the friendships that were made and built along the way.  The entire book is a journey to turn archer into the best man he can be. 

I loved the LGBTQ+ support that was present in this book.  It was a bit of a subtle thing at the beginning.  And I honestly don't think that a middle school kid would easily pick up on the hints that were dropped throughout the book about Archer's uncle.  And the entire journey that all of the men in this book were going through is a wonderful example of growing up and being the best you.  Archer and his dad have to learn to cope with the loss of Archer's grandpa.  And his dad has to learn how to readjust that aspect in his life.  Archer and his dad both help his uncle realize what he needs and wants and how to get it.  They are able to convince him to be happy with Archer's previous student teacher.  The book also touches on changes that are happening at the middle school age and the differences that start to become present between boys and girls.  This book was a wonderful coming of age story.  

The story wasn't quite what I was expecting.  The summary led me on to believe that the book was going to be about him being the best man at a wedding.  The entire book focused around school and everything that went along with it.  The wedding didn't happen until the final chapter of the book and even then it was a very brushed over event.  

The title of this book is definitely a double meaning.  Archer gets to be the best man at his uncle's wedding, but the big point is that archer learns how to be the best man.  He looks up to his grandpa, his dad, his uncle, and even his student teacher.  He learns what makes them the best men they can be and what he can do to be like them.  This was a good book, especially for it being Peck's final book before his death in 2018.  I give this 3 stars.  I think this book has the perfect balance with nothing that is too in your face and overwhelming.  

The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

 From Goodreads, 

"Bob sets out on a dangerous journey in search of his long-lost sister with the help of his two best friends, Ivan and Ruby. As a hurricane approaches and time is running out, Bob finds courage he never knew he had and learns the true meaning of friendship and family."

Goodreads - The One and Only Bob

I was so excited to learn that Katherine Applegate was releasing a new companion book for the book The One and Only Ivan.  I read it six years ago and did a reread just recently.  (My reread review was posted last week!)

The One and Only Bob follows a wiry little dog named Bob who first appears in The One and Only Ivan.  Bob now lives with Julia and is pretty content with his comfortable life and bed.  But he soon feels that something is coming.  Julia and George both say that a hurricane is coming.  Julia decides to go with George to the zoo to see Stella and Ivan before the hurricane hits.  But soon everything is a mess because a tornado makes landfall right on top of the zoo.  Habitats are destroyed and animals are everywhere.  But Bob thinks he hears a familiar bark.  He thinks he hears his sister.  He soon takes off to try to save her and save the rest of the animals. 

This book had emotion like The One and Only Ivan, but it was a different kind of emotion.  Bob really talks about his past and the demons he faces with the decisions he's made.  He is presented as a rough and tough street dog in the first book, but he definitely morphs into a very caring dog in this book.  I loved that he talked about how he felt bad for leaving his siblings behind when he was just a puppy.  They were thrown out of the car while it was driving down the road.  He thought he heard a whimper, but he thought only about food and shelter, and ultimately only thought about himself.  He faces this and has to learn how to sort it out and even apologizes to his sister when he finds her.  I love that this was brought up and he had to learn how to forgive himself.  I think so many people have made similar decisions and they've struggled with the decision that they made because they were only thinking of themselves.  You have to learn to forgive and move on.  This is something that Bob has to learn to do, and he makes amends in the best way possible. 

This book had a much different feel to it than the first.  It had a more upbeat feeling even though a tornado and hurricane happen in the book just moments apart.  I enjoyed it and give it 4 stars.  It was missing something, but I can't put my finger on what.  If you've read the first book I absolutely advise you read this!

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 From Goodreads, 

"Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope."

Goodreads - The One and Only Ivan

Awards and Nominations:

• California Book Award for Juvenile - Gold (2012)
• Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Middle Grade & Children's (2012)
• SCBWI Crystal Kite Member Choice Award for California/Hawaii (2013)
• Newbery Medal (2013)
• Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 3-6 (2014)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2014)
• Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Nominee (2015)
• Bluestem Book Award (2015)
• Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for Children (2015)
• Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2015)

I tend to jump on and off the reading list bandwagon.  I've been working on reading through multiple award-winning lists for a while now.  I figured it was time to jump back on for a book or two before I lead astray and read random books.  

The One and Only Ivan is told by a silverback gorilla named Ivan who lives at a mall right off of exit 8.  His best friends are an elephant named Stella, a wiry dog named Bob, and a girl and her dad who clean at night named Julia and George.  But one day a new animal arrives to hopefully become the star of the show.  A baby elephant named Ruby arrives.  Soon Ivan makes a vow to get her out of the big top mall by hopefully painting a sign asking for help.  

I absolutely love that this book is based on a true silverback who lived a very similar life to the Ivan in the book.  This book has an overall sad feel to it.  You can tell that Ivan isn't happy in his domain at the Big Top Mall.  He experienced tragedy very young when his twin sister died after they were captured.  I think the emotion in this book was such a big piece of the story.  After Stella dies Ivan is determined to get Ruby to the zoo so that she can be happy and safe.  Even when trying to get George and Julia to pay attention he had to be aggressive to get them to realize what all the paintings they had meant.  I find it so intriguing to read about animals who have emotions and feelings.  I've heard so many people say that animals don't have emotions or feelings, and I absolutely disagree.  This book is a great example, especially since it is based loosely on a true story. 

In August 2020 this book turned movie was released on Disney+.  I watched it and felt it was only fair to give a good review of it as well with this book review.  The movie and the book have very little in common.  Mack was portrayed in the book as being a terrible human who didn't care about his animals.  In the movie, Mack cared for them to an extent.  He never used the claw stick in the movie which was kind of a pivotal point in the book.  In the movie, the animals all made a grand escape to go live in the wild.  That never happened in the book.  While I was watching I was quite confused as to what was happening since it was a turning point in the movie.  The movie was cute and it was well put together, but the book was way better in my opinion.  

This is a wonderfully cute book that has a good story.  I'm excited to read the sequel to this book which is told by the wiry dog named Bob.  This would be a perfect read in a classroom.  Especially since students could go research the real Ivan and his story.  I give this 4 stars.