Acquired today at the library…

Today at the library I took out:
Uglies- by Scott Westerfield
The Chocolate War- by Robert Cormier
and I still have a lot of “classics” out from a few weeks ago that i’ve made little to no progress on.
I also made some reserves:
how i live now- by Meg Rosoff
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, [...]

Kit’s Wilderness- David Almond

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Kit’s Wilderness is a novel that is very realistic but includes fantastical elements.  Kit is a 13 year old boy whose family has recently moved back to the town in which is grandfather grew up.  Part of the story revolves around Kit’s grandfather’s declining health and mental state.  I identified with this aspect [...]

Poll #5: Who is your favorite YA author?

Obviously I could not list every YA author, but I am interested to know who your favorite is.  If he or she is not listed PLEASE let me know who they are- I’m always looking for new and different authors to explore.
Edit: I just realized it’s hard to read some of the names, so here [...]

Results from Poll #4

Last week I asked: Does YA lit have a place in high school classrooms?  And, here are the results- keep in mind, being a blog about YA literature, my sample might be a bit skewed in one direction.

1.  Yes, it is a valuable tool for teachers. 68% (27 votes)
2.  Depends on the book. 28% (11 [...]

A Step From Heaven- An Na

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This book reminded me of Kira Kira, as they both tell stories of Asian immigrants in America.  I found this book a little hard to get into, perhaps because it doesn’t focus on one time in her life but rather goes from Kindergarten through beginning college.  The story follows a Korean girl from [...]

Persepolis- Marjane Satrapi

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This was my second foray into graphic novels, and I think I’m becoming a fan.  While completely different than American Born Chinese, this graphic novel still held my attention.  I feel like “recent” history isn’t taught or talked about enough, so reading about the revolution in Iran was extremely interesting and informative.  I [...]

The Battle of Jericho- Sharon M. Draper

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I am a fan of Sharon Draper.  I love that her books are urban, but have subtle and not so subtle morals.  When I’ve used some of her other novels in class the students really identify with the characters.  She does it again with this book.  The characters are all easy to identify [...]

Poll #4: YA Lit in High School Classrooms

This is a question that we discussed at length in my Advanced Adolescent Literature class at Ohio State.  So I’m curious as to what you all think.  I’d love if you could comment and tell me whether you are a teacher, librarian, teen, parent, or just someone with an interest in YA lit.  I’ll tally [...]

Poll #3-Brit Lit Results!

Here are the results for this week’s poll.  
What one British Classic do you think that all high school students should read?
1.  Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen 23% (6 votes)
1.   1984- George Orwell 23% (6 votes)
2.  Mary Shelley- Frankenstein 12% (3 votes)
2.  Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad 12% (3 votes)
3.  Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte 8% [...]

Weekend Reading Plan- 4/17-4/19

This is a crazy weekend for me with the funeral for my grandma, out of town company, and finishing preparations for my interview on Tuesday.  So in light of all that I’m not setting my sights on anything specific in terms of reading this weekend, if I find a spare moment I’ll try to do [...]