I've been reviewing my summer goals. I think that I've been doing moderately well with the great exception of working on my Master's Portfolio. Haven't touched that yet. But I'm going on a beach vacation soon, so I guess I'll worry about that when I get back to CT.
I'm trying to read as many YA summer reading titles as possible. I like knowing what the students might possibly be reading for summer reading, and it gives me a leg up when grading their projects. Because our school only recommends books, and because the recommendation list is about 100 books long, I've got quite a large selection.
4. The Christopher Killer (YA) by Alane Ferguson. This was a forensic mystery. Overall, it was pretty good. A definite replacement for CSI if, like me, you've seen almost all the existing CSI episodes. A small town coroner's daughter named Cameryn becomes involved in the mystery of a serial killer. Although this was a pretty good read, there are definite arguing points. First, what small town of 700 has its very own coroner? (Spoiler Alert!) Second, the murderer is able to trap his victims by putting roofies and an antacid in his own drink. He spills the drink, and his waitress must come to clean it up. The spilled, spiked drink touches her skin. The antacid opens the pores of the skin and allow the roofies to get sucked into the waitress's blood stream. Really? Really? Whatever. Third, the dialogue is a little flat at times, which definitely depersonalizes the protagonist. But like I said, a pretty good read. A beach read.
5. Among the Hidden (YA) by Margeret Peterson Haddix. Luke, a 12 year old, is a third child, who are strictly prohibited in this futuristic America. Third children must remain hidden. While this was a good and quick read, I wasn't blown over by it. I'll still probably read the rest of the series, because the books are super short and can be read quickly.
6. Life as We Knew It (YA) by Susan Beth Pfeffer. An A+! An asteroid hits the moon, pushing the moon closer to Earth. The new gravitational pull results in catastrophic tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes. In northern PA, a family tries to survive the following year. While living unscathed from the immediate effects of tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes, the family still must deal with lack of sun (due to the ash from so many volcanoes - think Krakatoa), lack of food, lack of electricity, and rampant disease and flu. Miranda, the protagonist who tells this story through a series of journal entries, is exceptionally characterized. Her emotions fluctuate from adolescent angst over romance to her forcing herself to find the strength and determination to help her family survive. The other characters are also realistically portrayed. The mother, who is described as someone who would usually be charitable to others in need, becomes overly obsessed with rationing food so that her family will survive the winter. The family tries to hide the severity of the situation from the youngest child, who for awhile lives relatively ignorant.
Last year, I did a unit on the book called The Girl Who Owned a City. A virus proves deadly for all individuals who are over 12 years of age. The children must learn to survive without them. A ten year old girl takes charge, and very little is ever said of sickness or lack of food or heat. Basically, it is a pithy preteen pipe dream. In reality, it takes the form of libertarian propaganda. Anyway, this book sucks compared to Life As We Knew It. I should mention that Life As We Knew It is a definite YA book, while The Girl Who Owned a City is an upper intermediate book. TGWOAC was riddled with unrealistic situations: nothing was ever mentioned about the need to use an outhouse, a stocked food warehouse was never discovered or pillaged by anyone other than the protagonist and her gang. LAWKI also has a few flaws. The most glaring one is that the protagonist's well water still works for months after the electricity is turned off.
That's all for know, folks (a.k.a. my husband). I'm still going to try to tackle A Christmas Carol over my beach break. Hey, Christmas in July! But I'll probably just find something else to read instead.
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