It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.
I have been horrible about blogging this school year. I forgot how much work is involved in learning a new grade level and adjusting to the students. I am having a fabulous time in my 4th grade world this year.
New Year’s Resolution #1: Blog at least on Mondays and Saturdays for my favorite link-ups.
The last time I wrote a post for Monday was the end of October. I have read MANY books since then so I am just going to share about my favorite books. Bear with me, though, because this might still turn out to be a long post.
Books I Finished:
The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin was one I was eagerly awaiting and had preordered in order to read it right away. I absolutely loved the first two books and was chomping at the bit for this one. Although I felt the mystery was still as intriguing in this book, I was disappointed by the ending. The narrative in this book felt forced and I just didn’t buy some of the resolution of some of the plot lines. I still would recommend the series, but I was quite bummed that the third one did not wow me like the others.
I love that I was able to share Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla with my students. We finished reading The One and Only Ivan earlier this fall and it was great to read this one and get the true story.
I loved The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson. It is a really fascinating science fiction story that questions how far is too far in biomedical engineering. I was riveted the whole time and will be looking for the other books in this series.
I was super excited when In The Blood by Lisa Unger was the daily deal on Kindle. I saw Lisa Unger at Key West Literary Seminar last year and was really interested by her description of this book. This is a psychological thriller that really delves into the question of whether there is a genetic predisposition to being a psychopath. This is a really compelling mystery book for adults.
Believe it or not, Take Me to the River is the first book I have read by Will Hobbs. I definitely can see how this author is a popular one, especially for boy readers. This is a title I will be recommending to boys in grades 5 and up who like adventure stories.
I love A.S. King and this one does not disappoint. I wanted to slap Gerald’s mother. That is all.
I had never read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz before. I read it now so that I could do some work with the book in my classroom. We had an opportunity to take a field trip to see a musical production of The Wizard of Oz and we are having fun working with this story.
I can see why Midwinterblood won the Printz award last year. It is a very well-written and literary book. I very much enjoyed the book and it absolutely made me think. However, I am not sure it is a book that many young adults will enjoy.
What the Moon Said by Gayle Rosengren is a middle grade historical fiction novel set in the great depression. Esther’s family moves from Chicago to a farm in Wisconsin to try their luck at making money that way. Needless to say, it is a very difficult transition for the whole family. I would recommend this book for grades 4 and up.
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer Smith is a fun teen romance book. I enjoyed the way the author used e-mails as transitions between chapters. She did a good job of keeping the book light-hearted while also dealing with some heavy issues. I would definitely recommend this one for grades 8 and up.
I got this title as one of the free audiobooks from Sync audiobooks one summer. I laughed out loud numerous times at the hilarious musings of the protagonist. At times the book is quite crude, but I imagine that it is quite true to life and that many teenage boys think this way. I would recommend this one to anyone in high school or older, but especially to boys.
Gamer Girl was another fun teen romance book, with a little bit of teen angst thrown in as well. I enjoyed this quick read and would recommend it to grades 8 and up.
I devoured The Program by Suzanne Young. It is incredible to me how authors can keep dreaming up dystopian worlds that are different yet equally terrifying as the ones I have read before. I highly recommend this one.
I don’t even know how to describe Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. It was shelved with the mystery books at my local library and I don’t think that is the correct place for it, but I wouldn’t know what genre it is either. I do know that it was incredibly intriguing and definitely had quite a bit of historical fiction. If you haven’t read it, you should.
Okay…I know I said I was just going to share the highlights, but I keep reading amazing books so they all feel like highlights. Believe it or not, I did actually leave some books out of my list.
Books I am Currently Reading:
I am slowly making progress through El tiempo entre costuras by Maria Duenas (The Time in Between in English). It is such a big book and Spanish always goes slower for me. I am also reading The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliot. I am really enjoying learning more about the French revolution through the historical fiction. I also just started listening to Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson. So far, it is quite intriguing.
What’s Next?
I have a bag full of books from my classroom that I wanted to read during winter break. I am not sure how many of those books I will get to, but I will probably read The Blood of Olympus and Crossing the Wire. I will have to see.
What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments! Have a great reading week!
I adored Life After Life. I've been giving it away as gifts ever since I finished it a couple of summers ago. It is one of those crossover books that could fit into so many genres. I admit to not having read any of the Mara Dyer books yet, but after reading your review, and then reading about the series on goodreads, I've added the first in the series to my books to read next year list.