"I Survived: The Joplin Tornado, 2011" by Lauren Tarshis

4 of 5 stars.

The Basics: This book is part of a series titled, I Survived. The novels are all historical fiction documenting real tragedies. This book, in particular, documents a realistic fictional account of the Joplin tornado disaster in 2011. Dex, meets an old friend of his dad's, Dr. Gage, who is a noted storm chaser. As they explore a brooding storm nearby, Dr. Gage realizes that the storm is more dangerous than expected. Dr. Gage and Dex get caught in the midst of the Joplin tornado which caused vast destruction to the city of Joplin and caused over 100 deaths.

My Thoughts: This is a great introductory novel to the destruction caused by the Joplin tornado. It gives some background information through Dr. Gage on the dangers of rain-wrapped tornadoes and storm chaser's plight to track and uncover the secrets of tornadoes.
I teach eighth grade, but I had some of my lower-level students read this novel as an extension of our reading of "The Evil Swirling Darkness" narrative, nonfiction article in SCOPE magazine, written by Lauren Tarshis. After reading this novel, I purchased a class set of another I Survived book because it is a quick read that gets students interested in historical events.

"When Mom Killed Dad" by Julius Lester

4 of 5 stars. 

The Basics: This novel follows siblings Jenna and Jeremy after their mom is shot twice in the head by their father. Jenna, who was often at odds with her mother, is coping with her mother's death by seemingly trying to understand why her father committed the crime. As the novel progresses, Jenna realizes that she cannot take back the hurt she has caused her mother and that may be her biggest regret as she copes with losing her. Jeremy, on the other hand, is disgusted with his father and misses his mother dearly. As Jeremy and Jenna try to cope with the loss of both parents (one to death and one to jail) they mature and learn that it can be hard to be a human, period.

My Thoughts: The subject matter of this novel was tough. What does one do when they have lost a parent? In such a heinous way, at that? How do you cope at such an early age, realizing that your parents will no longer be there and your family dynamic has completely changed? Lester puts us right in the middle of a child's mind when coping with such loss. I like that Jenna and Jeremy had varying relationships with their mom so it was nice to see how each dealt with the loss. It goes to show that you should really respect your parents and show them love while they are still walking this earth to receive that love.
I will say that the sexual innuendos between Jenna and her father were quite disturbing. I think the story could have been told effectively without the sexual inappropriateness between these two characters.
Either way, I did enjoy the book, though I don't know if I would recommend it to just anyone. You have to be in the right state of mind to read something like this.

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"Matilda" by Roald Dahl

5 of 5 stars

The Basics: This classic, childhood novel follows young Matilda, who is a child genius. Her father is a deceiving car dealer and her mother is obsessed with her blonde hair and Bingo nights. While her family is concerned with everything but education, Matilda visits the library at only four years old and ends up reading many classical novels seemingly beyond her comprehension, but unbeknownst to her family and those around her, she understands every word.
After entering her first year of school, Matlida's teacher, Miss Honey, realizes that Matlida is wise beyond her years and tries to move her to a higher grade level. But, Headmistress Trunchbull will not hear of it. Miss Honey and Matlida go on to learn a great deal about each other, including Matlida's seemingly temporary telekinetic powers. 

My Thoughts: I read this novel with my eight year old daughter and I can't believe I haven't read it earlier. I think every child should read a Roald Dahl book. His writing is absolutely appealing to the young mind. My daughter loved the book and that was enough for me!

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"A Child Called It" by David Pelzer

4 of 5 stars.

The Basics: This is a first-person narration of an extreme case of child abuse. David's mother starts off as a loving, caring parent but as David gets older, he becomes the focus of her brutality. She takes out her anger on him solely, though he has four other brothers. David's retelling of the hell he endured throughout his young life is chronicled in the book. Luckily, he is taken from his home after the nurse at his school notices continued bruises and his teacher notices that he is obviously going through something beyond what they could even imagine when he goes home from school each day.

My Thoughts: I have read some reviews that question David's reliability as he reflects back on his abusive childhood, and I could see why those questions would arise. It is so hard to imagine what he went through, but this type of brutality does happen in our world. I just questioned why his mother chose to make him the focus of her anger? It did not make sense to me because he really didn't explain it. Also, he did not explain why the shift happened with his mother. As the reader, we knew that both his mother and father were drinkers but why did his mom turn from a loving, doting parent to a brute?
Also, it seemed very odd that his father would do nothing to help him. I do find it hard to believe that David endured all of this and his father just stood by because he did not want to upset his mother. The "gas chamber", the deprivation of food, and by far the worst part of the brutality was when his mother stabbed him. That was horrible! How could his father do nothing as he saw that his son was having the life drained from him. I feel as though his father was just as culpable as his mother because he stood by and did nothing though he knew what was going on.
This book is hard to read because of the brutality, but it was insightful and makes the reader happy that David survived through this abuse.


~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

4 of 5 stars. 

The Basics: Cadence is a Sinclair. Her family is wealthy and owns their own island where each of her grandfather's daughters have their own house. She and the Liars (Johnny, Mirren and Gat) enjoy each other's company every summer until a fire changes everything. Her cousins, Mirren and Johnny, are the closest things Cadence has to best friends. They are all a few months apart, Cady being the oldest. She falls in love with Gat and they become inseperable every summer.
During Summer Fifteen, everything changes which causes Cady to have terrible headaches and unexplained amnesia. We don't find out the truth about the Liars until the end of the book.   

My Thoughts: This book was wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was definitely confused about some parts of the novel because I didn't know what to believe. I couldn't figure out if Cady's perspective was true or if what she was seeing was accurate. Then, when I got to the end of the book, I was like, OMG, I have to read the whole book over again. LOL!
Lockhart does a great job in building the reader's suspense because you want to keep reading to figure out what happened leading up to Cady's accident. One thing that did annoy me was the extensive metaphors. Figurative language is great, but when it confuses the reader completely, then that's a problem.
I did participate in the read along at Bookish Lifestyle. Click here for discussion one and click here for discussion two.

~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!