Friday Five - June 5

It's The Friday Five! Welcome - come on in!

1. Viola in Reel Life - check out this summary from PW:

"...Adriana Trigiani’s Viola in Reel Life. The first YA book from bestselling author Trigiani, the novel is the first in a series featuring Brooklyn teenager Viola Chesterton. Chesterton, a funny teen whose parents are globe-trotting documentary filmmakers, is forced to attend her mother’s alma mater, a stuffy boarding school in South Bend, Ind., called the Prefect Academy. Convinced she’ll hate Prefect and South Bend, Viola, who largely views the world from behind her camera, learns unexpected things about herself—and starts a romance—as a result of the move..."

People, I live in South Bend, Indiana!! IRL! OMW! This is a total must read for me. And..it just moved Very Valentine closer to the top of the reading pile! This is so rad!

2. Twitter Party - yes, you read that right! I'm going to a twitter party tonight! Come join @sarahockler for a night of fun and good times with to kickoff your summer of reading. We'll be discussing Twenty Boy Summer! What? You haven't read it? Get off the computer and read it!! NOW! This will be here when you get back! See you at the Twitter Party at 7pm EST!

3. 48 hr Book Challenge - I'll be starting this later today. Watch for my beginning post. I will be donating books from their wishlist to Color Online's Summer Book Drive. If you'd like to help out they have a wish list at Powell's. If you can't find their wishlist - use their email address - cora_litgroup@yahoo.com.

For each book I finish, I will buy them a book from the list.

4. Jane Carter Solution - seriously thinking of locing my hair. Right now it's twisted and I always undo it before it locs. Twisting takes about 2 hrs and my hair is short! Still, it's an easy do. I think I'm going to take the plunge sometime this summer...thoughts? Also, if you go to JCS - turn down the sound, it talks automatically!

5. 20 Must Reads - Last year I posted 20 YA books I wanted to read over summer. I've read 17, not too bad. Here are 18 more plus 2 from my previous list:

• Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
• Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
  
• The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon
• Reality Check by Peter Abrahams
• Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
  
• Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
• Return to Sender by Julie Alvarez
• Ash by Malina Lo
  
• Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange
• Hate List by Jennifer Brown
• Happy Face by Stephen Emond
  
• Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
  
• Diego by Carmen T. Bernier-Grande
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, 1 by MT Anderson
• Never Slow Dance With a Zombie by E. Van Lowe
  
• My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson
• Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose
  

You will note that a couple of these haven't come out yet - giving me a little leeway! What's on your must read list?

Well, that's the Friday Five today. I'll be posting an awful lot over the next few months so I hope you stick with me! Look for my first Contest Monday on...Monday!! Have a great weekend!

PS - Apologies to E. Van Lowe - I have 2 ARCs of your book right here!! I was just typing too fast. Please forgive!

Sunday Salon - May 31, 2009 - 1

I hope you've all had a good week. It went too fast for me. I haven't finished work at the middle school yet due to my internship but all my teacher friends are done...WAH!

Well, today I've decided to do a mini ReadAThon. I am going to post each hr. for about 4 hours. We will see how far I get!

Same Difference
Siobhan Vivian
Push/Scholastic

Update 1 pg. 75
We meet Meg, Emily and Rick. Emily has decided to go to art school for part of the summer because she doesn't have a boyfriend. She is not really enjoying it though because the students seem to know so much more than she does.

It's moving a little slow for me right now but i"m sure it will pick up. Plenty of good quotes to keep me turning pages.

Meg definitely prefers niceness to truthfulness. and when you know that about somebody, it's practically impossible not to feel insecure...p. 11

He get's that I'm important, that I matter p. 12

It's embarrassing how much effort it took for me to wear something that looks exactly like a blank piece of paper. p. 30

Review - Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

Readin'
Jumped
Rita Williams-Garcia
HarperTeen
Pgs: 168
Rdg Time: 2 hrs

Writin'
This is the story of Trina, Dominique, and Leticia. We follow them around school one day. Dominique, the ball player, who uses force to get what she wants, Trina, or Cute Trina, who uses her looks to get what she wants, and Leticia, who blames everyone else for not having what she wants. Dominique can't play because her grades have fallen and her teacher won't change the grade. Leticia has to take zero hour math and French I and the guidance counselor won't switch classes. Trina is walking around being Trina but she sets the action in motion.


Rithmetic'
The story rotates among the main characters and each have a distinct way of speaking. I could actually "hear" their voices!

You have Dominique Duncan, the "boy-girl":

"I'm a yard with a big-ass sign: DO NOT TRESPASS. It's that simple." p. 33

Cute Trina who believes all the girls want to be like her and all the boys want to be with her.

"Its like the world can witness your greatness and you don't have to say a word" p.84

And Leticia who doesn't want to take responsibility for herself or anyone else.
"What Principal Bates should do is find a song called "Mind Your Business." If people minded their business everything would be straight." p.72

Williams-Garcia keeps the story rolling and you get to know each character a little better each time they speak. The pictures form in your head and you know them. I enjoyed the pacing and the story has a lot of everyday humor to offset the feeling of doom. You know we are racing towards something but we actually enjoy ourselves on the way there. There were so many times that I found myself smiling or laughing or writing down quotes. I enjoyed the insight into the teachers, the guidance counselors, and the absent Bea, who was at work.

I found the plot realistic. Sometimes what we see as small stuff is enough to set someone else off. Each person brings his or her own schema and somewhere in there, is something only they know about.


**********SPOILER ALERT*****************************



The ending was spot on - no one changes overnight! This is real and it didn't make me mad because the rest of the book fit right in, no neat wrap up necessary!


**********END SPOILER ALERT********************


This book was thought-provoking and entertaining and something I must buy for the library. It has 4 copies written all over it. It is YA though for some sexuality which is only alluded to not explained nor explored. All in all, a great read. Again, I say 4 copies!

Are you my Newbery:
IMHO, I don't think this will go for Newbery. I think the mature themes make it more of a Printz contender. I hope to see it on the shortlist for one of these though.

Favorite Lines:

"I see how it all relates to my life because every other day I'm up a tree pushing some loser to his eventual death, then breaking out into a soliloquy." p. 39

"He's teaching his teacher heart out. He's funny as hell to watch but I get it. He just wants to play his full game." p. 59

"By closing my folder she clicks the power off on the remote, signifying The Leticia Comedy Hour is over." p. 77

"Pretty cheerleaders with bouncy hair and pom-poms are a necessity." p. 106

Funny stuff! I must find more Rita Williams-Garcia!