It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly link up hosted by Kathryn at Book Date . Then, Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers decided to give it a focus on kid’s literature. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their weeks 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 and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.
Books I Finished:
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger tells the story of four orphans as they runaway from school and set out on an adventure that crosses the country. This was an outstanding book! The depth of the characters, the beautiful landscapes, the setting in the midst of the great depression and the hardships experienced then combined to make a novel that was gripping and spellbinding and hard to put down.
Here is the book description from the author’s website: “1932, Minnesota—the Lincoln School is a pitiless place where hundreds of Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to an orphan named Odie O’Banion, a lively boy whose exploits earn him the superintendent’s wrath. Forced to flee, he and his brother Albert, their best friend Mose, and a brokenhearted little girl named Emmy steal away in a canoe, heading for the mighty Mississippi and a place to call their own.
Over the course of one unforgettable summer, these four orphans will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds. With the feel of a modern classic, This Tender Land is an enthralling, big-hearted epic that shows how the magnificent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams, and makes us whole.” I wholeheartedly agree with this description and highly recommend this book.
Jacqueline Woodson is one of my favorite authors of children’s books. She just does such an amazing job of bringing up some really tough issues in her beautiful poetry.
This novel in verse was a quick read and really good. In this book, ZJ is struggling to understand what is happening with his dad, who is (was) a professional football player. His father is experiencing memory problems and severe headaches, among other symptoms.
ZJ has to figure out a way to come to terms with his hero not always being the same anymore. I thought this was a very well done story and the poetry made it even better.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone was a powerful read. Justyce is faced with blatant racism when he is arrested one night while trying to help his ex-girlfriend, who is drunk, get in her car so he can drive her home. He is black. She is light-skinned. The cop thinks Justyce is carjacking and will not listen to him.
This is the first of a long chain of events that lead Justyce to re-examine every aspect of his life. This is a must read for teenagers and for anyone who is working to understand the Black Lives Matter movement. I highly recommend this book as well.
Books I’m Reading:
The Art of Coaching is a book that I am reading for professional growth.
We watched and enjoyed the series The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. I did not really like Beth’s character that much and I am curious how this story unfolds in the novel. So far, it is almost exactly the same.
I am loving this book so far. I like the way the book moves between prose and verse.
What’s Next:
I will be finishing the books I am currently reading and focusing on writing for the Slice of Life Challenge. If I have time to start something new, I will most likely start the next Pendergast novel this week.
What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
I loved, loved This Tender Land and Dear Martin, still need to read Before the Ever After. Yikes, so many that I do want to read! And I also liked Becoming Muhammed Ali. Hope you’re still liking that coaching book. Happy March, Andrea!
What a great set of books! I really loved Before the Ever After—Woodson is such a great author! I’m hoping to get Dear Martin reviewed in the coming weeks as well. Thanks for the wonderful post!
After the Ever After and Dear Martin are both wonderful. I have This Tender Land on my list. Your review convinced me to finally find a copy.