I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

a. Middle school
b. 6th grade and up
c. Inspiring, she is someone you can root for. Her parents were actually supportive and spoke out against the Taliban. She sees the importance of education
d. None that I can think of. It does have violence, but it's from the Taliban. And they are evil. Some images being described might be too horrifying for some people.
c. New York Time best seller, no swearing, author is a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
d. I would definitely add this to a Middle school Library collection. Perhaps it will inspire someone to  fight for their basic human rights one day. The book is very inspiring and encourages people to never stay silent and fight for what they believe in.

Words on Fire By Jennifer A. Nielson

a.  Grades 7 and up
b. grades 5 and up
c. It's a part of a history that very few might know about. The main character, Audra, is brave and very smart. The relationship between her and Lukkas is sweet.
d. The fighting and comments form certain characters made me angry.
e. The actions being described might be too much some readers. No swearing.
f. This book would be a good edition to Middle school libraries. Especially given today's political climate

Game seven by Paul Volponi

a. Grade 5 and up
b. Grade 4 and up
c. I could easily imagine what was happening in my mind. I kept wanting to know when they would arrive and hopefully be safe.
d. The trip that they took from Cuba to Miami I felt was dragging. You don't know what happens to sister and Mother.
e. There's no swearing, or any that I remember.
f. I would recommend this for an elementary school library as well as a middle and high school library. Given the political climate right now, kids could really learn about what refugees have to go through and the risks they take be free. It could also inspire children of immigrant families that no matter where you came from, you can always make something of yourself for a better life.

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

Audience: The book is intended for ages 13 and up

Appeal: I think that this could appeal to older Elementary school students. They might find the Day of the Dead interesting.

Strengths: The story can help students deal with death and dying. It can help them realize to celebrate the life of a loved one and not be sad. They can learn about another culture.

Weaknesses: None that I can think of. One of the characters has a disease that might need to be discussed because the students might not know what it is.

Special considerations: The author is a New York Times #1 best seller. As I said earlier, the graphic novel can help kids deal with death and dying.

Verdict: I would recommend this graphic novel for older Elementary and middle school libraries. This will help the students come to terms with life. It is a nice way for the students to celebrate a loved ones' life.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

A. ages 14 and up

B. teenage girls because it's told by a teenage girl (boys are more than welcome to read it too)

C. It's very gritty and real. They don't sugar coat it for the reader. Young people who are struggling with body images issues can relate to the main character

D. I am as Liberal as they come, but the sexual language in the book bothered me. The mother was abusive,  it's also assumed that she was abused as well.

E.  It can help with acceptance and coming to terms with certain issues. From what I can tell on the cover, it has won at least three awards

F. I would definitely recommend it for Middle and high school libraries. It deals with issues that lots of teens go through such as sexuality, body acceptance, religion, etc. I would however recommend that parents read the book as well to proceed with cation.

Ready Player One By Ernest Cline

Ready player One is recommended for grades 5 and up. I think that this could be used as great critical thinking exercise to ask the class what they could do if this happened in the real world. Depending on if they get the refrences, middle and high school students might enjoy it as well. I really enjoyed the pop culture references. I was born in 1985, but I vaguely remembered some of them. I love classic arcade games (even though I am terrible at them) but they are fun to play. The pop culture references might count as a weakness because I don't know if teenagers would get them. I got a few, but not all. A movie version was made is the only special consideration I can think of. I wanted to go see it, but I never found the time. I would recommend adding it to a middle and high school selection, because it will encourage kids to not give in evil corporate overlords (no, I do not all of them are evil, but you get the picture.)

Summerlost

Summerlost by Ally Condie is targeted for ages 12 and up. It shows how even after a family tragedy, we can all find acceptance and understanding of what happened. In addition, we can heal the hurt through time. Another strength for me was that the main character and narrator, Cedar Lee, had another brother named Ben. Ben was autistic. As an individual who was diagnosed with ausperger's syndrome, I could see myself in his shoes. The only problem with that was Ben and the father died in a car accident before the events in the story. A weakness I guess was that Cedar was sooo busy with what she was doing with Leo and the Summer festival, she never really paid attention to what was going on with her other brother, Miles (who is still alive) and her Mom. They were both still clearly hurting. This could be a great teaching tool to instruct kids about empathy and compassion. (There were bullying). To me more specific, Cedar once told a story about how Ben was eating the cafeteria and the kids were throwing food at him. Ben would just yell "Don't!" My heart broke. Cedar, (who was running an errand for her teacher), came and helped Ben go the office. The teacher could ask the class what they would have done (or could have done) to help him. this would be great for grades 6-8.

Contemporary Realistic Fiction - Wonder

Title: Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio

The intended audience for the novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio is grades 5-8 and that is the age this novel would appeal to as well as adults. The novels strengths lie in the characters who exhibit self-acceptance, respect, family support, friendship, empathy and this is all bound together with humor. A weakness to consider would be that the main character does not seem to take his very serious health issues serious enough in an attempt to fit in. This would be a strong read for teaching empathy within your curriculum or to address the issue of bullying. As a bonus there is a 2017 film that could be used as a tie-in. This would be a strong addition to elementary and middle school libraries for its positive strengths and opportunities to support curriculum of grades 5-8.

Beaslty

I chose Beastly for my movie/book comparison project. I did not realize that the 2011 film (that I saw) was based off this. I got to say, it's interesting hearing this form HIS point of view. I like all things Beauty and the Beast (mainly the Disney version).

Summerlost

I have started on Summerlost by Ally Condie. I can already tell that something is up between the mom and daughter.

I Give You the Sun

I just finished I Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. This book was definitely contemporary fiction. I think this is a great book to teach kids about stories that do not take place in chronological order. It keeps the reader engaged. The three words I would use to describe it are as following:
Engaging-the way the story is written made me want to keep reading to find out what happened.
building-I knew what something was leading up to. I could see it a mile away. I kept waiting for other characters to discover the truth.
shock-I could totally understand the shock that one character went through when the whole thing came out.

Finished The Outsiders book

I finished the book. It was a lot shorter than I anticipated. I think that this would be most appropriate for grades 7 and up. The author, S.E Hinton, was 16 when she wrote it. I guess the genre is historical fiction because it takes place in the past ( the early 1960s I think) and I am pretty sure the characters are fictional. My three words that describe the book would be depressing, hopeful, and dark.

The Outsiders

I started on the Outsiders. I am an on chapter 11.

Welcome Fellow Readers

...I am excited for your posts to start appearing as you read your way through IM 625 this semester. 

Remember, in this blog, you are reflecting briefly on the "choice" reading that you have done in each of the categories listed on the right. Choice reading is defined as any titles that are either a book or your choosing from each genre not on the required reading list OR a second book of your choice from the reading list after you have already read at least on in each category.

When you are ready to reflect and share, please choose the appropriate page from the list at the right and go to that page to post.  By using the individual pages, I am trying to impose some semblance of order on the posts rather than having everyone posting in one BIG blog about all types of books and resources. 

Happy reading, listening, viewing and reflecting!