Reader's Flow = Writer's block

I haven't written much lately because I've been completely absorbed with reading, listening to audiobooks during long, summer car rides, and watching lots of documentaries (which I've found also fuels my ideas about reading and writing).  I plan to write in depth about some of the books I've read (Little Blog on the Prairie and Fat Cat), but the rest of my opinions, and my bookshelf, can be accessed through my Goodreads account (Dgooding).  I'm not great at keeping it up to date, but I try.

Bruiser

Bruiser is a must-read for mature kids.  It tackles some pretty tough topics, but Neal Shusterman is a GENIUS with storytelling and sneaky vocabulary.  This book was obviously crafted word by word.  My favorite kinds of books are those that challenge and entertain me.  I think kids enjoy that as well. 

The story begins from an adolescent boy's perspective, but what I adore about the crafting of this book is that it is written from the perspective of all of the major players.  This technique allows readers to understand the story's more phenomenal aspects from all perspectives, one clue at a time.  Tennyson is your average, popular, completely self-absorbed teenage boy.  Like all popular, self-absorbed teenagers, he doesn't enjoy realizing that anyone could not like him, especially when this realization is fueled by his twin sister, Bronte:

"It's true, Tennyson!  You're a bully.  You've always been a bully."

"Says who?" I immediately imagine punching out anyone who might call me a bully, and then realize that my own thoughts are proving Bronte's point, which just makes me want to punch someone even more.  This is what we call a vicious cycle, and I don't feel all that good about it.  I never thought of myself as a bully; and although this isn't the first such accusation, it's the first one that breaks through my defenses and hits home.  Suddenly I realize that maybe, in some people's eyes, I am.  This is what we call a revelation.  Revelations are never convenient, and always annoying.

This is the kind of thing I would like every middle school kid to read while simultaneously questioning their own motives...in a perfect world, right?  As simple as it may seem, kids need to read this!  I've desperately, and unsuccessfully, tried putting ideas like this into words so that my students would "get it" that they're not nice to each other.  Shusterman says it so eloquently (and sneakily) that no kid could pass up this provocation to self-exploration that spans the gap between humor and deep, pensive understanding.  In our world of rampant cyber (and every other venue) bullying, kids never have to own their issues.  They're protected by a veil of anonymity.  They need someone to call them on their selfish disregard for others' feelings.  A vital message is sent here and through Tennyson's journey.

When we get to meet Brewster, we see that he is painfully poetic and outcast by his own doing, maybe even for his good.  He comes from a broken home, and that's where the tough and somewhat violent realities make this book for a mature reader.  Again Shusterman keeps his audience guessing with a different structure and style of writing.  Those who love a challenge will be intrigued by Brewster's poetry, and the kids who feel like outcast weirdos will identify with his pain:

I saw the weak hearts of my classmates shredded by
     conformity, bloated and numb, as they iced the
     wounds of acceptance in the primordial gym, hoping
     to heal themselves into popularity, [...]
Yet out of this frigid pool of judgment stepped Bronte,
     untainted by the cold, radiating warmth in a
     rhythmic pulse through her veins, echoing now in
     mine

Brewster and Bronte's friendship and care for one another (PG-rated romance) leads to the conflict of the novel that can't fully be described without ruining the mystery.  The dramatic conclusion had me in tears.

I enjoyed and internalized the message of this novel:  tragedy and pain lead to growth and joy.  I could identify with Tennyson's heartfelt words on the last page of the novel:

I believe what I can see, but now I also believe there is room in the world for miracles.  Maybe not the ones we expect, but they're miracles all the same.  They happen every day if only we pay attention.

Rose-Colored Glasses

I truly believe that author Laura Resau must see the world through her own version of rose-colored glasses.  Her book The Red Glass is a delight to the senses.  I completely became lost in the moment.  I felt like I had gone to Mexico, I had fallen in love, I had saved the day.  Isn't that the purpose of great literature?!  It gave me hope that there are still authors that believe in the art of writing.  The best part was that it wasn't just detail for the sake of detail.  The details were intentional.

Normally I might incorporate quotes into something meaningful I'd like to add, but I know after reading the following quotes, you can develop your own meaningful connection.

"I pushed myself in the hammock with my foot, rocking back and forth.  Beams of sunlight sifted through the leaves, illuminating a patch of my left thigh, my right ankle, the center of my chest.  Above me, the layers of green shifted, like all the layers of myself.  Layers I'd forgotten about, or maybe never knew existed.  I saw my trail stretching before me.  Up ahead, it branched into two.  One route led through a forest of thickening fears to a small, closed-in life, and the other led...somewhere else." 

"Our trip had a sound track, like a film or a music video.  Angel played his shoe box full of tapes:  cumbia, salsa, merengue - a background to the scenery out the window and the antics in the van.  I liked the music.  When it was on, I couldn't stay wrapped in my separate world.  The pulsing beats pulled me, like gravity, into the planet of the van.  Surrounded by the music, I felt like someone else, riding into unknown territory, some adventurous woman in a movie."

"As he opened the van door, a little trail of sparks flew in his wake. Maybe static from his clothes and the sleeping bag. While he was outside, I felt a warm spot where his foot had touched the sheet over my thigh. When he came back through the van, he left another small trail of sparks, silent miniature fireworks."

"I held Pablo's hand, and when no one was looking, Angel would slip his hand into mine for a moment, or I would let my arm graze his, or he would touch me with the excuse of pointing out something and let his hand linger a few beats.  The crowd was pushing us into each other and we let it happen.  I loved the shade created just for a moment between his arm and mine, his face and my neck, my hair and his hand.  And in this space, I could almost forget that he was leaving for good."


As a lover of writing, both consuming and creating, her ideas about reading inspiring writing (many references to The Little Prince were included ), were, well, inspiring!  I truly enjoyed the peek into her craft, and she made me want to read everything she's written, just for the pleasure of reading.  This is why I want to read and write:  to be inspired and therefore inspire through absolute enjoyment.  It's what I missed as a kid...the escape, the mystery, the indulgence.

Bottom line:  READ THIS BOOK!  Let it spark something in you.

Reckless...Abandoned (Officially)

If you've talked with me in the past month (or longer) about what I'm reading, I probably said Reckless by Cornelia Funke.  The problem is just that...a month and a half to read a YAF novel??  I guess you could say I'm in a Funke...ok, bad joke, I know.  Admittedly, I'm a slow reader...always have been.  I think, though, that I've had a case of reader's block.  I didn't really intend any philosophical meaning when I titled my blog "Reader's Block," but it seems one has manifested itself.  I guess I'm deeper than I thought.

The biggest frustration for me is that I cannot bring myself to finish this book.  I've tried.  I've fought.  I've even struggled, but it's like a looming obstacle that I just need to give up.  I struggled with the book for several reasons.  First, I am not good with all-out fantasy.  Something about journeying to a fictional world is just not that appealing.  That, I know, is my own problem.  I kept telling myself, "Just get over it!"  I've read other fantasy books and liked them, but not this one.  Maybe Funke's world behind the mirror is just too confusing for me.  That brings me to my second complaint:  what the heck is going on?!  Stone people and fox people and Edward-freaking-scissor-hands?  Really?  Third, there are too many story lines.  I think that may have been confused and magnified by the omniscient narrator, but I still don't know with which main character I was supposed to form a connection.  I know that in the end it will all pan out and I will see how the dark fairy is related to the fox girl, but I'm halfway through the novel.  Finally, I feel like I wasted my time, and I don't know any students to whom I could recommend this book.  I would like to be able to recommend every book I read, but I know there will be some I just don't like.  I think there must be a kid out there who would like it, but if I'm confused, I wouldn't want to share this disgruntled feeling with them.

There's this gut feeling I have, like Dory in Finding Nemo, "just keep reading, reading, reading."  Eventually, if I swim through enough...uhhh...seaweed, yeah, that's what I'll call it, I will find what I'm looking for.  Unfortunately, I'm giving up.  I'll never know because I just can't take it anymore. 

Next novel:  The Thief  by Megan Whalen Turner

And one more thing...deceptively cool cover for Reckless.  I do judge books by their cover, and that is just so sneaky of them.

Gigglebox to Tissue Box

Jordan Sonnenblick's duo of books following a pair of brothers through their eighth grade years are simply delightful.  My most recent reads, I was constantly in stitches or tears throughout the book Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie and its sequel After Ever After.

The series starts by following big brother Steven who has all the normal 13-year-old boy hangups...including being a band nerd in love with the hottest girl in school.  Sonnenblick's honesty is refreshing.  I enjoyed what, I believe, is a true look into an adolescent boy's mind.  When Stephen's little brother, Jeffrey, is found to have Leukemia, his journey through cancer treatments is told without over seriousness.  Stephen copes by making mistakes, carrying burdens by himself, and always leaning on his best friend Annette.  He learns that his life is not always about him.

Book two follows Jeffrey as an eighth grade cancer survivor.  His relationship with his best friend Tad, fellow cancer survivor, is both hilarious and heartwarming.  Sonnenblick's use of "your mom" jokes shows the constant competition of teenage boys.  When inquiring about the new girl in science class, Tad asks Jeffrey, "Wow, Jeff, who's the babe?" Jeffrey, like every other red-blooded American male couldn't resist saying, "Your mom."  Their softer sides are not ignored, however, and the two share a relationship of self-sacrifice and vulnerability that few others understand. 

Jeffrey's primary hangup in the novel is his struggle to be a successful math student.  Certain parts of his math journey are just "blocked" in his mind due to an aggressive form of chemotherapy he endured to beat his leukemia.  It helped me to understand the struggle some kids must endure when looking at a page of words that swim away in the very moments when they feel within reach.

One of my favorite features:  Sonnenblick teaches his readers about becoming an author.  He gives a mini writing lesson at the end of Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.  His willingness to share the secrets of his craft will inspire young authors to overcome their fears to embrace the writers they could be.

As my dad has been recently hospitalized, I identified strongly with the respectfully morbid humor in the books.  Nobody enduring a medical crisis wants to be constantly reminded of the looming possibilities.  It is healthier to make fun of life...lemonade, so to speak.  Some of my best memories of recent months are of crowding in a hospital room with my siblings and mom, joking about what exactly was going to happen to the portion of my dad's skull that had been temporarily removed.  Of course these memories pale in comparison to the absolute joy of seeing him walk into the room last weekend using only his walker and his own two legs.  Sonnenblick's got that sentimentality covered as well, capturing the bond between brothers and dear friends.  His characters share in one another's victories as well as heartbreaks, making an emotional roller coaster that I'll be happy to ride again and again.

Do I Want to Start Something?

As a child, I "hated" reading.  There were few times that I could truly say that I loved a book or was unable to put it down.  Now, I teach English...that's irony for you.  There were so many factors that influenced my sentiment about reading as a pastime, but I think, most of all, it lied in book selection.  I didn't know what books to read, and I had no one who was excited about reading to influence my choices.  I only read books I had to for school, and obviously those were less than enthralling at times.

I remember walking to the public library on hot, summer days, the Texas sun baking all living things.  After much prodding from my mom, I would resign to "get ahead" on my AR points (a system my school used to assess my reading comprehension) and make the trek.  The crusty folder in the library that held "the list" was my first stop.  Perusing its titles, I never seemed to find books within my required reading level that looked in any way appealing.  I remember feeling frustrated, disgusted, and exhausted...there had to be more to reading than this.

Captivated.  I want my students to describe their reading experiences with one word:  captivated.  To achieve this, I've learned that I need to be an educated reader of young adult literature, and I'm missing a childhood worth of reading time.  Put simply, the purpose of this blog is to chronicle my journey as a reader with my humble assessments of what I've read.