May Recap

May wasn’t my greatest month for reading.  But, I did get some good books read. So in case you missed it- here’s what I read:(Numbers correspond to their placement on my list of books read so far for the entire year.)
24. Being Nikki- Meg Cabot 
25. The Chocolate War- Robert Cormier 
26. Dead is the New Black- Marlene Perez
27. Jellicoe Road- [...]

Tears of A Tiger- Sharon Draper

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Written in 1994 Tears of A Tiger will still resonate with students now, 15 years later.  This story deals with the aftermath of a drunk driving accident that kills a high school student.  The relationships between friends, children and parents, teachers, and counselors are all discussed through transcripts of discussions, newspaper articles, diary entries, [...]

Jellicoe Road- Melina Marchetta

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This Printz winner took me a while to get into. I’d say I was a third, to half of the way into it before I really became intrigued, but then I didn’t put it down.  There are numerous interesting characters whom I loved, but at the same time had some difficulty keeping everything [...]

Summer Reading List

This summer I hope to get a bit of reading done- especially on the 12 hr each way road trip I’m going on.
So I’m going to start a list of books that I want to read- this list will have both YA and non-YA lit on it. I might even through in some non-fiction… [...]

From the Library

Today I went to pick up The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party at the library and lo and beholdJellicoe Road was also waiting for me. I’m going to try to read them both relatively quickly because I have a feeling there are waiting [...]

Dead is the New Black- Marlene Perez

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I do not usually pick up books about vampires, but this one jumped out at me from the shelf in the library and I figured I’d give it a try. It is the first in a newer series, and is relatively light with some dark moments, and looks at a different type of [...]

Results: Poll 7- Content in YA Lit

Here are the results of this week’s poll:
Should sex, drugs, alcohol, and violence be portrayed in YA Lit?
1. Yes. Kids experience it so it should be included. 56% (10 votes)
2. Yes, but only if the potential consequences of participating in those activities is shown. 17% (3 votes)
3. Other: 11% (2 votes)
4. No, stories can be [...]

The Chocolate War- Robert Cormier

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The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is a story about a boy at an all boys Catholic high school who decides to rebel against a school tradition.  He also gets involved with a secret high school society.  The book addresses friendship, bullying, and teacher student relationships.  I enjoyed this book, and I think that [...]

Poll #7- Content in YA Literature

 
Feel free to leave ideas for future polls.  And to comment on this poll.

Results for Poll #6: Favorite Genre

Here are the results from last weeks poll:
1.  Realistic Fiction 28% (7 votes)
2.  Sci-Fi 16% (4 votes)
2.  Multi-Genre/Alternative Genre 16% (4 votes)
2.  Other: 16% (4 votes) 
3.  Fantasy 12% (3 votes)
4.  Graphic Novels 8% (2 votes)
5.  Plays/Drama 4% (1 votes) 
 
Historical Fiction received no votes.  I wonder if people have the same taste in genre across the [...]