Inkheart

Last spring a student of mine came to class one day and practically shoved a thick, red book into my chest.

"You HAVE to read this, Mrs. Gira!" Julia pronounced with wide eyes and a shortness of breath.

"What is this?" I asked.  "I've never heard of it." 

"Oh. My. God.  This book IS my entire life.  Just promise you'll read it." 

Well, dang.  If it's YOUR LIFE then how can I possibly say no?  I love when students get excited enough about a book that they feel the need to force it upon me.  An English teacher's dream.

And with that I jumped into the world of Inkheart, where books truly come to life.  It may have taken me a good four months to complete it (things came up like exams, three other books on my nightstand, and raising a two-year-old) but I kept my promise and I'm glad that I did.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke is a fantasy novel (trilogy actually) that could possibly rival the treasured Harry Potter series (although in my book, nothing ever could).  However, while reading, I could not stop feeling a strange likeness to Harry Potter.  Not so much in the story line but more in the likable characters and the obvious love that Funke poured into the novel.  I understand there is a big fan base for the Inkheart series and this is not at all surprising.  

Meggie is twelve-years-old and lives with her loving father Mo.  Besides a deep love and reliance for one another they also share a love of books.  Mo makes a living doing what he loves, binding books and Meggie is a voracious reader.  For years, Mo and Meggie have enjoyed their love of the written word and have shared many great stories together EXCEPT for one minor detail - Mo refuses to read aloud to his daughter. No matter how many times she begs he won't do it.  Ever.

As strange as this sounds, Mo has a very good reason for his refrain.  Mo possesses a special power.  When he reads aloud from a book the characters come to life.  They literally come out of the book and into the present world.  As you can imagine this can more often than not be a very bad thing.  Very bad indeed. When Meggie was a baby, Mo read aloud to her and her mother Resa one night from the pages of Inkheart, a story full of old-world characters including nasty, ruthless villains.  Needless to say, Mo's entrancing voice summoned out three fantastical characters - Dustfinger, Basta, and the black-hearted Capricorn.  To make matters even worse, Resa gets transported into the book and they haven't seen her since.

Twelve years later, Mo and Meggie find the mysterious Dustfinger standing on their doorstep and no sooner are they off to find and fight Capricorn in hopes of returning Resa to her family.

Funke's plot is probably every book lover's one true wish - to be able to bring written characters to life (I'm assuming this is why Julia claimed the book was HER LIFE). With an enticing story like this, Inkheart could really do no wrong. Perhaps even stronger than the plot is the development of the main characters, particularly Mo and Meggie.  You feel the love they have for each immediately and therefore are rooting them on the whole way.  My only hiccup with this novel was the length.  It was just too long and it didn't need to be.  Although I was engaged throughout the reading I did feel as though I was being dragged through certain parts. There were a few times when I thought to myself, "Okay.  Get on with it.  I can't wait any longer."  As a comparison to another lengthy fantasy novel, I NEVER felt that way when reading Potter.

Recommended Age: 12 and up (because of vocabulary and style)

Quality Rating (out of 5 stars):

Linking Up With...

Kid Lit Blog Hop

Out Of My Mind

Wow.  Just wow.

This book has guts.  Susan M. Draper is a courageous author to have stepped into the mind, body, and soul of a physically handicapped girl.  Out of My Mind is a masterpiece of so many things ... reality, acceptance, perseverance, power, understanding, respect, and love.  And all of these concepts are addressed so eloquently with the young adult in mind. Draper does a remarkable job drawing young readers into a world which they are most likely unaware yet leaves them feeling grateful and perhaps better for the experience.

Cognitively speaking, Melody is pretty much just like any other 11-year-old girl.  She loves cool clothes. Purple is her favorite color.  You can find her jamming out to music, especially country tunes, her favorite. Melody loves to watch The Wizard of Oz and snuggle up with her precious pooch, Butterscotch.  Similar to her peers, she gets annoyed with her younger sibling, she worries about what others think of her, and she most desperately wants to be included and accepted.  The only difference for Melody is that nobody knows any of these things about her.  Melody has never been able to share herself with others because she can't speak.  Melody has cerebral palsy.

Melody is an intelligent, witty, thoughtful soul trapped inside a body that doesn't work.  Succumbed to her wheelchair, almost every choice regarding her life is made by another person.  Her day-to-day existence is a guessing game for all who care for her and she's forced to live by what others think she wants, needs, and loves.  That is until the day she receives the best gift of her life: a Medi-Talker.  A Medi-Talker is the high-tech computer that allows Melody to express herself by typing in words, phrases, and even whole sentences and hearing the digital voice speak for her.  It's amazing and it changes Melody's life in more ways than one.

With her new freedom to interact with the world around her, Melody can't leave her special ed classroom fast enough.  The best part of her day is when she's able to escape the mundane routines of her specialized curriculum and join the exciting world of a general ed 5th Grade class.  This is where she feels she truly belongs but it takes a lot of work to convince others of her intelligence and worth as a student.

With much dedication, perseverance, and the love and support of the most wonderful neighbor and caregiver, Mrs. V (who is also the most powerful character in the novel), Melody blows everyone away by making it onto her school's coveted Quiz Team.  The opportunity undoubtedly opens up a whole new and exciting world for Melody but also forces her to come face to face with the harsh realities of being "different."

I loved Out of My Mind for its realness.  Draper does not paint a silver lining around every event that unfolds in Melody's life and I appreciated that.  I instantly fell in love with Melody's character and the fact that she had to face multiple challenges head-on made me love her even more.  For some reason I have been craving these types of stories.  The underdogs.  The obstacles.  The not-so-perfect endings.  The life lessons. I'm so proud of the quality literature that today's youth is privy to. Bless Draper and all the other authors who have the guts and compassion to write stories that really matter.

Recommended Age: 10 & Up

Quality Rating (out of 5 stars):

In other news...
If you get the chance and need a small chuckle, read my latest Facebook post about recently getting locked out of the library. You can also take a peek at my newest library checkouts for both myself and my lil' bean. I'd love to hear what you've checked out lately as well!
 

Ask the Passengers

Two words: Standing Ovation

Is it just me or has the world of Young Adult literature been doing a phenomenal job with addressing tough issues?  Where oh where were these story lines when I was a teen?

A.S. King hit a home run with Ask the Passengers.  She took a very delicate issue and brought it right out into the open, giving teens a heartfelt and realistic perspective.  I can only imagine this is a very daunting (and risky) task for an author.  But not for King.  She completely nailed it and then some.

Astrid Jones is a 17-year-old girl living in squeaky-clean suburbia with her detached family.  Mom is an icy workaholic that cares too much about keeping up appearances.  Dad is a secret pothead who desperately wants to escape his mundane life (and controlling wife).  Sister Ellis is the athletic over-achiever constantly trying to please and impress.  And then there's Astrid.  A down-to-earth thinker who gleans perspective from her philosophy class, hates her judgmental small town, feels misunderstood by her family, and has a serious secret weighing heavy on her heart - she's in love with a girl.

Trusting her secret to no one, Astrid confides in the passengers flying thousands of miles above her quiet spot within the backyard.  She tells them her worries, shares her innermost feelings, and asks them the hardest questions.  They in turn share their own trials which have common threads that connect to Astrid's life.  With much hesitation Astrid finally reveals her truth to only her closest friends but soon finds herself spiraling through a string of lies in order to mask the truth from everyone else ... including herself.

In an almost desperate attempt to come to terms with the events shaping her life, Astrid, taking a cue from her philosophy class, creates an imaginary version of Socrates whom she lovingly nicknames Frank.  The two have conversations about what it means to be completely honest and why it's important to question everything. (The most brilliant literary move I may have ever seen.)

King's story is one that's been told again and again ... but never so poignantly.  It demands the answers to the age-old questions: Who am I?  What is real?  What is love?  It makes no assumptions.  The characters are forced to discover and decide for themselves what truly matters.  Laced with wit and out-of-the-box processing, King provides a sort of therapy for young adults struggling to be free.

Recommended Age: 14 and up

Quality Rating:

No Fault Here

John Green is nothing short of brilliant.  His approach to writing teen literature goes far beyond any other author of the genre that I can think of.  I am so grateful that I took the time to acquaint (submerge) myself with his novel, The Fault In Our Stars.  A story of young love so beautifully written I was in a constant state of awe.

Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters lock eyes on one another during a cancer support group meeting for teens. Definitely not the typical location for meeting your first true love but this is in no way your typical teen love story.  The bright but painfully sheltered Hazel (better known as Hazel Grace) quickly finds a deep connection with the brutally handsome and witty Augustus (better known as Gus).  Opposites in many ways, these two are unlikely magnets and thrive on conversations about books, video games, quirky philosophies of life, and of course, living with cancer.

The novel takes Hazel and Gus on a journey to Amsterdam to meet the estranged (and severely alcoholic) Peter Van Houten, the author of Hazel's favorite book, An Imperial Affliction.  However, the trip becomes more than just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Expectations are crushed, truths are told, realities come forth, and the love between Hazel and Gus intensifies and becomes almost immeasurable.

Green takes the stereotypical "cancer story" and flips it on its head.  He creates characters that are so raw and vulnerable you can't help but feel the story and emotions behind them.  This is not so much a story about kids dying from cancer as it is about kids living with cancer and what it feels like to fall in love.  The perfectly written passages of crass remarks intertwined with gut-wrenching and beautiful insights are what make this novel memorable.  Green creates a powerful blend of both the humor, pain, and beauty of being dealt a bad hand in life.

I chose to listen to the audio version of this novel and it was superb.  Kate Rudd's reading is impeccable.  She was able to capture the voice of Hazel in a way I probably wouldn't have in my own head.  Her witty cadence reminded me much of Tina Fey (weird, I know) but in the same breath she was able to express the tender and honest thoughts of Hazel just as effectively.

This is yet another example of YA literature that is enjoyable for adults.  Sometimes I think YA novels are smarter, fresher, and more relevant than adult novels.  The Fault In Our Stars would indeed be one of them.  Because of the extensive vocabulary, I would recommend this book for high schoolers and above.  This won't stop me from adding a copy to my middle school classroom collection but I predict only my more "seasoned" 7th and 8th Graders will truly understand and appreciate its content.

For more information about John Green and his novels visit: http://johngreenbooks.com

Have you read this novel or any other works by John Green?  I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.  Do share!

Wonderful Wonder

I'm a middle school teacher.  Bullies are naturally on my daily radar while protecting and celebrating the underdog is ingrained in my teacher DNA.  With that being said, there was no way I was not going to fall in love with the wonderful August Pullman.  He's one of those characters you stumble across only once in a blue moon.  Those particular characters who have the power to steal a forever spot in your heart.  R.J. Palacio created August to remind us all, children and adults alike, of the power of kindness.

Wonder found its way into my hands in an interesting way.  I had heard about the book from a few colleagues who instantly loved it and I had also been reading its critical acclaims.  It was immediately added to my ever-growing list of to-reads but I wasn't sure when I was going to get around to it.  It was at that time that I found a mysterious package in my school mailbox.  I opened it to find a brand new copy of Wonder with a letter from a teacher in Battle Creek Michigan.  Mr. Sharp, a 4th Grade teacher, was so moved by the story of Wonder that he randomly sent a copy to me (and I assume to other teachers as well), encouraging me to read it and relish in its beautiful message. My first thought after reading this lovely letter was, "This must be a sign.  I HAVE to read this book now." And that's just what I did and I'm so grateful for the experience.

August Pullman is a ten-year-old boy who was born with a rare birth defect that left him with a severely disfigured face.  August (better known as Auggie) is about to enroll in public school for the first time as a 5th Grader.  Of course, he's terrified and anticipating the looks of horror from his new classmates when they see his face for the first time.  It reminds me of the terrific movie, Mask, only with younger characters.  Auggie faces his fears of rejection and isolation through the love and strength of his AMAZING parents and older sis, Via.  His family is his anchor and they are the foundation that gives Auggie his courage and big heart.

Needless to say, Auggie's first few months of school are tough.  He is forced to face some serious obstacles that have him second guessing his worth as a human being.  This is more than a lot for a ten-year-old to shoulder. However, through the cracks emerge a few noteworthy characters who turn out to be Auggie's best friends come year's end.  These high-quality friends help hold Auggie up when scary situations arise.  It's heartwarming to watch these friendships grow throughout the story.

Aside from Auggie's courageous battles with bullying and having to identity his self-worth, the real cornerstone of the entire novel is found within a speech given by Auggie's principal, Mr. Tushman near the end of the story.  Mr. Tushman's words are so simply and beautifully written and leave his student body audience (and us readers) with a full heart and open mind. To me, Tushman's speech was Palacio's speech.  This is what Palacio's story is truly about.  Her words are a heartfelt testament to the importance and power of acceptance and kindness.  It is so apparent that Palacio had a deep love for her characters and in turn we, her readers, have no other choice but to fall in love with them too.

For further information about Wonder and to learn about pledging to make a difference, visit Choose Kind.

Have you too had your heart warmed by the wonderful Auggie?  Have you read other powerful anti-bully novels?  I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings.  Do share!