GIRL IN TRANSLATION by Jean Kwok

My husband often brings home books that he gets from Goodwill (4 books for a dollar!) that he thinks would be good for my classroom library, and this is one of them. 

Girl in Translation is about a girl named Kimberly Chang who emigrates with her mother from Hong Kong to the U.S. The book is about Kimberly's struggle with adapting to a new culture while respecting her own cultural beliefs. 

I read this book in a day and a half because the story was so good. While I can't relate at all to aspects of Kim's and her mother's lives (their living conditions, working in a sweatshop, their reliance on Kim's aunt), I have so much respect for Kim's experience and the decisions she made throughout the book. 

The writing style was great: Kim's voice and meaning come through so well that I was able to understand her experience very well. While her daily experiences in school were not action packed, I wanted to keep reading because of how she related to her classmates and teachers and her internal thoughts and feelings. I suppose what I liked most about this book is that it did not dramatize anything; Kwok was honest and straightforward about Kim's life. It was difficult at times, but realistic. There were romantic parts in the book, but they were not overwhelming or sappy. There were sad parts that made me tear up and my heart swell, but they were not over dramatized.

Through Kim's experiences, I understood better how children who emigrate to a new country develop their own kind of culture; Kim remained true to some of her traditionally polite, respectful Chinese culture while also adapting the more independent, outspoken American aspects that I see often in young people. I've never had so much respect for a character in a novel before because Kim is truly herself throughout the whole book; even though her life is difficult, she knows what she wants and keeps true to that. Kwok herself immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong, which is probably why this story seems to honest and true.

This books also has one of the best endings I have read because for Kim's character and her life, it makes the most sense. 

THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir

When I heard Mr. Smith, the math teacher across the hall from me, say he wanted to incorporate this novel into his classroom somehow, I was very excited! I always love to hear non-ELA teachers encouraging reading. When he described the book to me, I thought I would give it a read.

I have always been interested in space travel, and this book entertained my imagination. This story is about Mark Watney, a man who was on a mission to Mars. Something goes wrong during the mission, and he is stranded, alone, on a distant planet.There is a lot of science and math in the book which I thought would throw me off, but it awakened a part of my brain I haven't used in a while; it's nice reading literature that does this! I also appreciated Weir's character development, especially of the main character. There were one liners that made me laugh out loud, and Watney's personality is very clear to the reader. While I did feel, at times, his sense of humor seemed a bit much for his situation, Weir did a good job of describing the necessity of this aspect of his persona, and it makes sense how important it was for his survival.

All in all, this was a very entertaining read, and I think anyone remotely interested in outer space should read it, although there is some strong language that could be offensive to some. There is a movie coming out soon based on the book, but as always, I suggest reading the book instead; they are always better.

HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown

This is a book that is quite popular among young adult readers. So many of my students have read it and loved it, so I wanted to give it a try.

The story of Hate List centers around the main character, Valerie and her involvement in a school shooting. She and her boyfriend, Nick, began a "hate list" where they recorded names of people and things that they hate. While this sounds like a pretty mean thing, it was a way for them to vent their frustrations in a non-violent way; unfortunately, Nick takes the list too far and goes on a shooting rampage at their high school.

I thought the way Brown presents the teenage experience was right on. She deals with issues like bullying, friendships, and romance in a very realistic way. Once the shooting takes place, Valerie's struggles are developed in a way that allows the reader inside Valerie's head. The flashbacks she has of the "normal" Nick that she fell in love with are very powerful and got me thinking about the friends and families of the real-life school shooters that I have heard and read about.

The way that Brown structures this book is quite interesting: she begins with a section from a newspaper, and continues to include parts of the article throughout the book. This allows the reader to hear about the story from a different perspective, actually quite similar to our current media. Because the main character questions how the media treated the school shooting, it made me wonder how media in our own lives functions and the impact it has on people's opinions.

Overall, I would rate this book a seven out of ten. The story is well developed, the characters are realistic, and the topic is quite interesting; it's definitely the type of book you continue to think about long after you are done reading it.

LOOK AT ME by Jennifer Egan
This book sounded very interesting to me; it is about a model who is in a car accident and has to have reconstructive surgery on her face. The surgery changes her appearance so much that when she sees people she knows, they do not recognize her. She has to readjust her life, including her career, of course, in order to adapt to this change.

I thought the book would stay focused on the main character herself, but it branches out to other characters: the daughter of her childhood best friend, the brother of her childhood best friend, and a mysterious man who she has a brief relationship with. While the characters are very unique, it was difficult for me, as a reader, to really enjoy reading this book because it felt like four books in one. There are connections between the characters, of course, but I did not understand the book as a whole. The most confusing character was the mysterious man. I did not see how he fit into the story. While his character was interesting and he represented some very controversial ideas, he was not of the same world as the other characters.

The writing itself was very nice. Egan actually used some phrasing that sounded familiar to me, and reminded me occasionally of songs lyrics that I have heard.

Overall, I would say that this is a book for adults. While the theme of image may be relevant to teens, the content of the book itself is very mature, and some of the relationships are very complex and may be difficult for teens to connect to and understand.

This may be a book that I reread after I have some time to reflect on the characters and think about their individual contributions to the story. It took Egan six years to write the novel, so perhaps it will take me another read to better understand the complexities of her story.

THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfield

I had been interested in reading this book for a while, and when I finally picked it up, I could not put it down.
This novel is well written and tells a unique story. It starts off with a young woman whose father owns a book store. (This drew me in right away: it is one of my many dreams to have a book store and read, discover, and talk about books all day.) The book store is a magical place for Margaret Lea, the main character. She and her father run the store together, and the way Setterfield describes Margaret and her father's passion for books sounds so familiar to me; often, they spend the afternoon reading, swept away by the words on the page. Many of the characters in the book are passionate about reading, and I enjoyed the references Setterfield makes to other novels, including Jane Eyre, one of my favorites.
When Margaret receives a letter inviting her to write the biography of a wealthy, popular author, Vida Winter, the mystery begins; this is where the story transforms from familiar to fascinating. The author herself is old and declining in health, which adds an element of excitement to the story: will Margaret get all the information she needs in order to tell the whole story, or will we, like Margaret, be left wondering about the end?
I appreciate how Setterfield relates the story, beginning with the odd history of the family and continuing with a more personal, exciting story of Vida's childhood and growing up as part of a strange, secretive family. Her characters are well formed and honest, faulted and flawed, and allow the reader to connect to them as if they are human instead of imagined characters. She also builds the story very well through not only Vida's telling of her childhood but Margaret's research of the family as well. The transitioning back and forth between Margaret's modern life and Vida's history is handled well; since Margaret is immersed in Vida's story, her experience researching adds elements to the story and fills out the details, giving Margaret proof that Vida's story is true.
As the story unfolds, we become swept up in it, wondering and puzzling ourselves about how it all plays out. The ending is a satisfying one, and the characters stay with you long after you've put the book down.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I'll Give You the Sun was a beautifully written, dark tale of a seemingly "normal" family.  Narrated by twins (Jude=girl, Noah=boy), this novel includes the themes of family, conformity, coming-of-age, and the sacrifices people make to LOVE and BE LOVED.  Although the content of this novel was often mature (some swearing, some intimacy), I think students can relate to the pressures of being torn between pleasing one's parents versus pleasing one's self. 

The struture of this novel is unlike any I've read.  I am familiar with the every-other-chapter-by-a-different-character structure, but this didn't really fit that.  Yes, the narratives did jump back and forth between Noah and Jude, but Jude's chapters were always "Jude, age 16" - essentially present tense.  Noah's chapters were past tense, but always moving toward present tense.  For example, "Noah, age 13" then later "Noah, age 13.5."  Although it sounds confusing, I was never confused.  Jude's story was always the the right bookend, while Noah's was the left.  And there was mystery in between.  And conflict.  And ruined relationships.  Not until the last chapter of the novel do all of Noah's conflicts match up with Jude's conflicts to provide the reader with all of the facts. 

The plot is amazing on its own, but the language and images the author creates appeals to my love of the craft of writing.  The setting is oceanside, so there is an abundance of water imagery.  Noah and Jude are also artists, so students who are interested in art might enjoy this novel. 

I'll Give You the Sun is Jandy Nelson's second novel.  It won a ton of awards in 2014 for Young Adult Fiction.  I have purchased her debut novel, The Sky is Everywhere, and I cannot wait to begin reading it. 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I read often, but it has been a while since I've read a book that I couldn't put down.  I ignored all other responsibilities until I completed this novel.  The chapters are usually one to two pages, so reading "just one more chapter" got me through this book quickly.

We Were Liars is a puzzle.  The characters and their relationships are all very simple (mostly), but their haunting secrets kept me hungry page after page.  Cadence and her cousins/friends spend every summer together on a small, private island owned by her grandfather.  His three daugthers (Cadence's mom and two aunts) bring their whole families to Beechwood Island, and they leave the reality of a busy life behind.  But one summer there is an accident.  The author provides just enough clues to make the reader think he or she has it figured out, but BAM! Part Five! All the clues finally come together, and the puzzle is completed.

#twist
#didnotseeitcoming

I would recommend this novel to high school students, but, WARNING! there is some swearing. 

-AO