fun

Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando

roomies sara zarr tara altebrando This book made me want to go back to college. Not like now, as an adult, adding college classes to the insane list of everything else I already do, but like be 17 and about to start college for the first time again. (No, I’m not saying I’d wish away my family or anything crazy like that. Calm down.)

Roomies does a great job of capturing two girls’ emotions as they transition from high school at home to living on the campus of UC Berkley. Elizabeth (known as EB) is an East Coast only child living with her single mom of questionable morals. Lauren is a native San Franciscan living with her parents and seemingly dozens of siblings as one big happy family. When they find out they’re going to be roommates, EB starts off an e-mail chain of correspondence spanning the remainder of their summer as they wrestle through the important things leading up to college:

  • Who brings what stuff?
  • What happens to my high school friendships?
  • Long distance romances… yes or no?
  • How can I leave my family?
  • How can I NOT leave my family?
  • Am I really ready to grow up?
  • Will we get along and be able to live with each other?
  • Can even I do this?

On top of all of that, which was fun to watch as EB and Lauren grew up over the course of the summer and developed a great foundation of a relationship to start their college experiences off with, the story is told in alternating points of view, which I love. I’m a sucker for a well written story with multiple points of view. I find it fascinating. And in this case, with Zarr and Altebrando both writing (I assume they each wrote one of the girls), they really FELT like two completely different people instead of one person writing two characters. It was cool.

I’d recommend this for girls in high school, probably tenth grade and up, and for college/adult women as well. There’s a lot here to make you reflect on your own college experience. It made me wonder how my college years could have been different if I’d had a chance to get to know a roommate before moving in. Or what I would have done differently that summer before college knowing how those high school relationships would fade away so quickly once I moved across the country.

Anyway, I really enjoyed these two characters and seeing how their final summers at home played out. I’d also really like to see a follow-up of their first year in college or something. While the story ended well and I felt satisfied that it was sufficiently finished, I also wanted to know more about them.

Make sure you check it out! Roomies releases on December 24 and can be ordered here on Amazon.

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Friday Favorite: #SherlockLives!

I’m such a fan of this Sherlock series! Great acting, great writing, great all over. Now, I haven’t gotten to level of fandom where I change my twitter name to include the main actor’s and embrace true Benedict Cumberbatch fangirlishness, but you know. It’s just about THAT good.

What fascinates me the most about this is just the simple fact that Sherlock is a 19th century character that’s still one of the most relevant and influential characters in the literary and pop culture worlds. I can’t even imagine what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have to say about Sherlock today. What would it feel like to create a character so lasting? It’s amazing.

And really, for real, I can’t wait for January 1st at 9:00. #SherlockLives!

Ten Books That Had An Impact…

I got tagged in a bookish thing on Facebook. You know I can’t resist THAT! But then my response turned into far more than just a status update (my bad) so I’m putting it here, too.

So, here’s a list of ten books that have stayed with me in some way and had an impact on me, including a short description of the affect they had. If you’re looking for a new book to read over the holidays, check this out.

– Where The Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak. – Hands down my favorite book ever; my kids can nearly quote it. I love it for it’s literal meaning, and for the figurative meanings my English degree has allowed me to squeeze from it. Also, I feel like, as a teacher of middle schoolers, I AM A TAMER OF WILD THINGS.

– The Giver, Lois Lowry. – I don’t even know where to start with this one because I love it so much. This classic dystopian is the basis by which I judge all other dystopian novels, and Jonas is probably my favorite character in a book ever.

– The Fault In Our Stars, John Green. – It’s an instant classic. I laughed, I cried, and I still have a giant book crush on Augustus Waters. It’s a really beautiful story that should be read by teens and adults alike.

– Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Jordan Sonnenblick. – Somehow I discovered this and instantly started making my 7th graders read it. Barnes and Noble now carries Jordan Sonnenblick’s books because I bullied them into it. Seriously. The characters and the story are unforgettable.

– Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller. – This book shaped my views on my faith more than any other (except for the Bible, obviously, so calm down). The confession booth scene in this, along with the raw, honest language used to explore what it means to be a Christian, have made me a better thinker and a more intentional and purposeful human being. I also got to meet Donald Miller and it was super cool.

– The Truth About Forever, Sarah Dessen. – I’m using this title, probably my favorite of Dessen’s, to represent the whole Dessen-esque genre of teen fiction books that are popular right now, including Jennifer Echols, Stephanie Perkins, Susane Colasanti, and more. They’ve had a big impact on me and my writing.

– The Dollhouse Murders, Betty Wren Wright. – The first book I remember actually WANTING to read on my own, and it was super freaky. Really, really freaky. From here, I moved onto Christopher Pike and RL Stine and the Sweet Valley Twins and the Babysitter’s Club, all of which are probably responsible for my current ridiculous reading habit.

– The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton. – I actually didn’t read this until a few years ago, and I was surprised how much I liked it… and how much every single one of my students like it each year. It’s timeless; it has truly found a way to “stay gold.” Also, S.E. Hinton tweeted me last spring, which I’m still sort of fangirling over.

– Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison. – This is the beginning of a ten book series about a group of British teenage girls and their endless quest for boys to kiss. AND THEY ARE SO FUNNY. I’ve laughed to the point of snorts and tears while reading these again and again. They’re also surprisingly tame and appropriate – totally ok for teens to read even though the titles sound all crazy sexual.

– How to Save A Life, Sara Zarr. – A really, really beautiful book that alternates between the story of a family adopting a baby and the story of a pregnant teenage girl about to give her baby up for adoption. It’s so very worth reading, and for very personal reasons touched me deeply.

You should most definitely read all the books.

Elf on a Shelf!

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I avoided this book for a long time, not because I didn’t think it was a great idea, but because I didn’t want to read it to my kids and feel obligated to do something with the elf every night. I kept seeing all these pictures all over Facebook of crazy things people did to their family elves – dressing them up, staging tea parties, toilet papering Christmas trees – it was endless.

So last year after Christmas, I picked up an Elf on the Shelf kit for 50% off. When we pulled out our Christmas stuff this year, we found it, read it, named our elf Jingle Jack, and we’ve been having a blast ever since.

Now, my son is almost 8, and he’s been hesitant to believe Santa is real for the last year or two. However, he’s all about believing that Jingle Jack actually goes to the North Pole to report to Santa every night. He even caught me in the act of staging this “bubble bath” and just laughed, completely oblivious to the fact that I had been putting the finishing touches on the scene as he walked into the room.

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The thing is, it doesn’t take too long to set up a scene. Even the bubble bath one took less than five minutes, and most of that time was just gathering the stuff from my daughter’s random doll junk. Toilet papering the Christmas tree? Thirty seconds. And it’s FUN.

So even if you’re not a parent with children, GO GET AN ELF ON THE SHELF. Rotate nights with your family members or dorm mates or whatever and have fun with it. It’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit, and it’s really neat to watch people react to what you’ve done.

Merry Christmas, and ENJOY this!

Jane Austen Academy novels by Cecilia Gray

I LOVE THIS SERIES!

Cecilia Gray has done an incredible job of taking all our classic Austen favorites and turning them into modern stories… all set at an amazing boarding school, Jane Austen Academy. Really, the school sounds amazing. If I could travel back to my high school years and if the Jane Austen Academy were a real place, I’d beg my mom to send me there.

Aside from the sweet Austen romances, which of course require a cast of interesting girls and swoony boys, I appreciate that Gray kept the complete appropriateness of Austen’s works while updating the stories and setting them on a current boarding school campus. She doesn’t change the morality to make them scandalous. I like that. I would feel completely comfortable with having these in a middle school classroom, and I know their appeal would go up into college and adult women as well.

Gray also focuses on the friendships between the girls equally as much as the guys are involved, so there’s a lot here that doesn’t depend on the romance. All of the characters are well rounded and intelligent, and I’m having fun working my way through the series and learning more about each character as I go. It’s great that all of the books are happening at the same school so we see characters again in future books.

I’m a fan. :)

Find Fall For You, book 1 in the series, here on Amazon FOR ONLY $2.99 (kindle edition)!

In Fall For You, you’ll meet Lizzie and Dante as you get acquainted with the whole crew of Jane Austen Academy characters in a beautifully done retelling of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility! The rest of the books that have been already released are also available on Amazon for $2.99 for kindle. You’ll finish one and need to keep on going!

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

For those of us that enjoy reality TV competitions like Master Chef and The Next Food Network Star, Kelly Fiore’s Taste Test has everything we could ever want.

Nora Henderson is a high school senior about to spend her final semester of high school as a contestant on a reality cooking competition. She’s grown up helping her dad in the kitchen of their North Carolina mountain BBQ restaurant, so she has plenty of skill in the kitchen… but can she handle the stress of school, the drama of the competition, and the possibility of a new romance (or two)? It’s really fun to experience everything along with Nora – I enjoyed this the whole way through.

There’s more to this than just your standard romance (as the cover would suggest). I like the way Fiore throws in elements of family drama, romantic comedy, coming of age, and even a pretty solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Don’t worry, though, there’s quite a bit of the swoony romance all of us girls love.

Taste Test will be available in stores on August 27, but you can go ahead and preorder it now – Click here to find it on Amazon. Also, spend some time on Fiore’s website, which is completely adorable and creative, and she’s also doing giveaways leading up to the release of Taste Test.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Epic Fail was really cute! Elise is a great protagonist – I love her fire and wit, even though I was slightly frustrated by her initial inability to trust Derek, the hot son of a famous actress. She soon learns, though, that she can’t judge people at her new school based on appearances or who their parents are, and we’re rewarded with a great teenage love story.

As a frequent reader of teenage love stories, I’m also particularly appreciative of the fact that Claire LaZebnik gives us that satisfying ending where the girl gets together with the right guy, there’s kissing involved, and then the story continues for a while longer. None of this ending on the verge of a kiss and abruptly the story is over business… you get a fully satisfying ending that feels good and solid.

I was also impressed with LaZebnik’s ability to tell a great story, drawing from an Austen classic, with out making the teenaged characters drunken sex-crazed idiots. Because, you know, not ALL teenagers are drunken sex-crazed idiots. The content of this was relevant to teenagers without being at all inappropriate. I’d be comfortable putting this on my middle school classroom shelves, but it easily has an appeal to readers through high school and into college.

Check this book out! I’m looking forward to reading more from this author. Enjoy. :)

#ThrowbackThursday – Sweet Valley Twins

First of all, I’m LOL’ing at these covers. Teenagers, welcome to the late 80’s and early 90’s…

I can’t believe I read books with covers this cheesy.

Anyway, I think Francine Pascal actually started with the Sweet Valley High books, which feature beautiful, blond, popular, identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica. Their adventures are cheesy, dramatic, wonderfully campy, romantic, and super edgy… I mean, check out the covers from Don’t Go Home With John and Teacher Crush. Hahahahahahahaha

Seriously though, these books were GREAT fun, and Francine Pascal is my hero – she created these worlds and then other people wrote lots of the books (there are some ridiculous number like 400+ of them). And now she lives in New York AND the South of France. REALLY? Tough life.

She is still writing some current books, including a ten years later book featuring Jessica and Elizabeth. I haven’t read any of her recent stuff yet. I have a few requested from the library. There are also several reprints of the Sweet Valley High books… if you ever find one, you should check it out just for fun. Or, next time you’re at the Goodwill, you’re bound to find some super cheap used copies.

Enjoy some cheesy throwback fun! :)

The Truth About Forever

I have to admit, I’ve only recently become a fan of Sarah Dessen. My students have read her books non-stop for years, but I never really gave them a fair chance. I just assumed they’d be simple and stereotypical plots. But, that assuming? It totally made an ass of me. I’ve read several of Dessen’s books now, but the one that absolutely solidified my status as a legit fan (to the point where I follow her on both twitter and instagram) was The Truth About Forever.

The protagonist of this novel, Macy, maintains insane control of her life as she strives (and achieves, sickeningly) perfection in everything she does. This stems from the traumatic death of her father and the way that her family has dealt with that loss. And though, on the outside, it looks like Macy is a pristine model of the perfect life, in reality she’s just sad. Her relationship with her boyfriend is sad. Her relationship with her mom is sad. Her life in general is just sad.

Luckily, Macy meets an entirely new group of people who are everything she needs. She learns to act like she’s alive again. She laughs and argues and smiles and talks. It’s a good thing… especially as a relationship begins with Wes, leaving her to decide what to do about her “perfect” boyfriend.

Dessen’s style is unique. Her writing is charming and enjoyable, but also very real and authentic. Life’s not always sunshine and roses, but you have to find some sunshine to warm your face and some roses to delight your senses in every rough spot you go through. You just have to. Dessen has an understated, graceful way of putting that life lesson into her books, and the result is addicting and inspirational. I’m sure we’ll see her on the blog again later as a Friday Favorite. :)

For now, though, go read The Truth About Forever. It’s wonderful in ways you’d never expect. I’ll leave you with this quote:

“Life can be long or short, it all depends on how you choose to live it. It’s like forever, always changing. For any of us our forever could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. You can never know for sure, so you’d better make every second count. What you have to decide is how you want your life to be. If your forever was ending tomorrow, is this how you’d want to have spent it?” 

― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever

Enjoy this story!

It’s All About The Beach

First of all, take a minute and look at this cover. Really. Look at it. Imagine yourself there. Who wouldn’t want to be spending their weekend on that balcony, reading a book, listening to the waves? Exactly. Everybody in their right mind would want to be there right now, which is why I’m recommending it this weekend.

The Guest Book is a great modern romantic read for any time of year. Of course, right now as we head into winter, it’ll have you looking forward to the fun possibilities that every summer brings and begging your parents for a weekend at the beach. Like, NOW. The characters are fun and full of life, especially Macy, the protagonist. There is a sweet, very romantic mystery involving the Guest Book that had me guessing all the way to the end and left my heart super happy.

Enjoy the book… pretend you’re on that porch on the cover as you read. It’ll make it even more fabulous.

I’m blessed to know this author personally (a bunch of her kids have already had to endure my Language Arts class, and her youngest once chased my son around the church classroom to kiss him when they were two years old… hahaha). Marybeth Whalen and her family have had a great impact on me personally, for which I’m eternally grateful.

But, while all of that it nice and warm and fuzzy, it’s not the reason I’m recommending her book on my blog. I’m recommending it because it’s GOOD STUFF. When I first read it, I found myself becoming totally jealous of this family and their annual time in the beach house, as well as the protagonist’s fun, artsy, mysterious romance. I wanted to stalk the locations and spend my summer in it. I resisted, but mostly just for financial reasons. :)

Anyway, Marybeth Whalen’s books aren’t typically what you’d consider YA or teen fiction, but teenage girls love them! I’ve had them in my classroom library, and they’re checked out regularly. While I’m focusing on The Guest Book for this recommendation, I also would recommend The Mailbox for teen readers. Yeah, the protagonist is older, but it’s overall a hopeful story that inspires younger girls.