"The Selection" by Kiera Cass

4.5 of 5 stars.

The Basics: This novel follows America Singer in this dystopian- type novel. In this post democratic America, the country of Illea lives by castes. America is a Five, while the love of her life is a Six. They must keep their love a secret because a woman marrying into a lower caste is frowned upon.
In the highest caste, One, Prince Maxon is of age to marry. This brings upon the Selection. 35 women are chosen (in a lottery type fashion) to win over the prince and become his wife. Though America is completely against entering for the Selection, her love, Aspen, convinces her that she should. To her surprise, she is chosen and whisked away to the palace. Her plans were to stay for a little while to provide for her family, since the families of the selected are payed, but in a twist of fate America finds herself in a deal with the prince. She also develops feelings toward him that she never knew could be there. Though her feelings are in a flurry because she still loves Aspen, dealing with the other girls in the Selection, thinking about her family, and wrestling with her "friendship" with Prince Maxon becomes a struggle....especially when Aspen shows up at the palace.

My Thoughts: I loved this book. It reminded me of one of those reality shows where several women are vying for the attention of one man (and in the end, only one wins). I can certainly understand America's disposition toward Prince Maxon in the beginning of the novel and I love what their relationship is becoming. I'm happy the author did not make America into this whining, annoying protagonist because that would totally put me off of this book.
I find myself being excited for American as she learns to deal with her new position in life and I love that she is humble, which is the only way she can be coming from her caste (a Five). I also like that Prince Maxon is a likable character. The reader can relate to him though he holds so much power.
Overall, I really don't have anything bad to say about this book other than I truly dislike Celeste...but that's expected.
On to book 2...The Elite. By the way, I am late to this series, but I can pretty much figure out the plot point based on the book titles...lol (The Elite, The One).

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"The Other Side of the Pillow" by Zane

3 of 5 stars

The Basics: This book follows Jemistry and Tevin as they navigate love. Jemistry is a successful high-school principal who has bitter feelings toward men because of her past relationships. She hasn't allowed a man to have a relationship with her because of the way men in her past have treated her. She is Ok with having casual sex with two men, one in which wants a deeper relationship with her.
After a poetry reading she runs into Tevin, a successful doctor, who is intrigued by her bitterness. He seeks to prove to her that not all men are the same.  After letting Tevin in, their romance goes through ups and downs and Jemistry learns that love can be kind, caring, faithful, and dedicated.

My Thoughts: Ok, so when I started the book I absolutely loved it. I thought, "This is going to be a great love story", but my mind quickly changed. This was my issue. Zane keeps interjecting her two-cents on all of life's issues and I'm thinking, "Shut up already and just write the story, stop breaking up the plot with your political and social views!!!" This just ruined it for me. Zane put in her opinion about the state of education, which was Ok since the main character is a principal. Then she talks about single moms and how they treat their sons like their spouse, then she talks about President Obama and present racism, then she talks about the filth of tv shows like Jerry Springer, and there was so much more...the opinions bog down the story and it just kept irritating me.
Either way, this book could have been something good but it fell short for me. At the end of the book Zane gives her commentary that this book serves as an extended conversation piece for relationships. That's great but I think she makes so many generalizations and sticks to stereotypes that I am kind of put off by the whole thing. I know she is reflecting on some of the letters and e-mails she gets but again you can't make generalizations about a group of people based solely on the e-mails you receive. You can address the issues but don't accept those individual issues as the norm for a group of people. Either way, I could say so much more but I'm going to save my opinions because I really feel like Zane tried to do what she does best (write) based off of the issues she wanted to address.

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

May's 30 Day Challenge

So one of my favorite blogs, Mocha Girls Read, is participating in a 30 Day Book Challenge for the month of May. I'll be updating throughout the month!



Day 1- The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Day 2- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Day 3- Gideon series (Sleeping with Strangers) by Eric Jerome Dickey
Day 4- Resurrecting Midnight by Eric Jerome Dickey
Day 5- The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons
Day 6- Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe
Day 7- Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
Day 8- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Day 9- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Day 10- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Day 11- Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Day 12- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Day 13- Eric Jerome Dickey
Day 14- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 
Day 15- Conner (The Akron AWOL) from the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman
Day 16- Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series
Day 17- "The world is a possibility if only you'll discover it." Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Day 18- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Day 19- Hunger Games by Veronica Roth
Day 20- Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Day 21- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Day 22- The Battle of Jericho by Sharon Draper
Day 23- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Day 24- The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons
Day 25- Medusa in The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons
Day 26- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Day 27- Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Day 28- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Day 29- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Day 30- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"Yellow Star" by Jennifer Roy

4 of 5 stars.

The Basics: This novel is a first-person narration by Syvia, a Holocaust survivor of the Lodz ghetto in Poland. It was actually written by her niece, the author Jennifer Roy, based on multiple interviews and phone conversations. The book follows Syvia's years in the Lodz ghetto from the time she was 4 to the time the ghetto was liberated by the Russians when Syvia was about 10 years old. The book includes background information in the beginning of each section pertaining to what is going on during the war as the plot of the story continues.
 
My Thoughts: I love that this novel is written in free verse. It is so fitting since Syvia is a young girl when she enters the ghetto. The questioning and innocent nature of a child is expressed in this free verse format. I read this book with my students and they absolutely loved it. It was informative and gave insight into the feelings that many experienced during this awful time in history.
I have read that some of the plot was a bit exaggerated which I did sense as I read the book. It seemed like Syvia's family got lucky too many times and the way in which her father handles some situations seemed a bit fictionalized. Either way, the story was good and allowed insight into the procedures and life in a ghetto during the Holocaust.

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"The Kill Order" by James Dashner

4 of 5 stars.

The Basics: This novel is the prequel to The Maze Runner. I absolutely loved that series so I figured that I must finish the series by reading the last book (which was actually the prequel). The book follows Mark as the sun flares first begin and the world starts its apocalyptic course. Mark happens to be with his crush, Trina, when the sun flares scorch the Earth. They run into a group of people including Alec and Lana, two hardcore military personnel. Throughout the course of the novel we learn how and why the Flare virus was spread. Also, the cruelty of the post sun-flared world with the introduction of the Flare is cruel and sad.

My Thoughts: The action in this book is constant, which makes it very interesting. There are not many "down parts" to this book. The action keeps coming and coming and coming. BUT, where is Thomas and the Gladers? They have nothing to do with this book which is why I was kind of put off by the novel as I read. The world in which The Maze Runner is set is created within this book, but the characters that we loved in The Maze Runner don't make an appearance. The epilogue of this novel sets us up for a brief insight into when Thomas was taken by WICKED.
Either way, this book was good because it gives the reader a look into Dashner's disturbing world but I thought I would have some kind of closure on Thomas's early interactions with WICKED, but that did not happen.
Either way....

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!