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.