Death Coming Up The Hill - Chris Crowe

Crowe, Chris. Death Coming Up the Hill. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2014.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get this book into my library or what led me to it just now, but I’m so very glad it is here! A novel written entirely in haiku.  I think that statement bears repeating - a novel written entirely in haiku-976 of them to be exact.  And exactness is crucial. 16, 592 syllables - one for each of the casualties in Vietnam in 1968, the year in which the novel is set.  Just. Wow.

Ashe’s story is one uncertainty and tragedy, but ultimately grace and sacrifice.  He is just trying to survive 1968.  He knows his parents’ marriage is on the verge of ending, and his mom’s unexpected pregnancy to another man is surely the catalyst.  His dad is angry and demanding.  He is determined to take care of his mom.  He falls in love with a “hippie.” And together they try to process the chaos of the Vietnam war and the chaos in their own lives.  Sometimes it feels like altogether too much. This glimpse into this volatile time in American history is a priceless one. One might think that much might be lost in the strictness of form, but the setting is fully fleshed out, the characters developed in lovely detail. In many respects students will be drawn to this books, because while the setting and the war are crucial, Ashe in many ways transcends time. Current students will relate well to his concerns and his triumphs - another strength to this story.

I love that after the story ends, the Crowe writes about the struggle he had in writing this book. Students who are aspiring writers can learn from his persistence.  Students often believe that the first thing they write is the best thing they can write.  He also talks about the process of revision with the complications of the form - such a lovely illustration!

I look forward to book talking this title, and will soon.  I am grateful, I have a couple of more opportunities this year to do so.  I can pair it with titles set in the sixties or titles about war or books in verse.  I love the versatility of this title.

Say What You Will - Cammie McGovern

McGovern, Cammie. Say What You Will. New York: Harper Teen, 2014.

Amy and Matthew are quite a … couple… or not.  I guess it depends on which you are talking to and when.  Their friendship is a precious one. Amy has Cerebral Palsy and has, until her senior year, led a fairly sheltered life.  Matthew is suffering from OCD and doesn’t really even know it. After he is brutally honest in his assessment of her life, she works toward getting to know him because he appreciates that honesty.  Instead of adult aides, she persuades her parents to hire high school students to help her navigate her day.  She urges Matthew to apply. He does, and the relationship that develops is awkward, intriguing, and all the while very engaging.

I believe that my readers will continue to be drawn to this book.  I love that both of these kids are somewhere outside of the realm of what teens define as normal and that this book illustrates so very effectively how their hopes and angst are just the same.  We learn that Matthew can truly “hear” Amy, in spite of the fact that she relies on a computer to do her talking. We watch Amy push Matthew to seek treatment for his OCD and step outside of his comfort zone. We also  see very clearly that they don’t always understand themselves nearly as well as they understand the other.  Together, yet apart, they navigate first jobs, first dates, a disastrous prom, first semesters in college, first love and so very much more.

I wasn’t necessarily as prepared for the very much more.  I didn’t anticipate the complexity of Amy’s first intimate encounter and all that it would lead to.  Oddly, the characters had seemed so fully realized to me up until that point, seemed strange to me for a bit.  But...I’m thinking, that my students might say, that is when they were the most genuine.  I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I guess this is vague, but I am always excited when a book provides talking points for me and my readers.  I love getting to know them just a little bit better. And I love any book that invites my students to accept others in spite of differences.  I so enjoyed, for example, the acceptance that Matthew experiences at his place of work.  They accept him for who he is; mock him just a little; and stretch him too.  I love the examples these character set.  

McGovern tackles a tough story and does so with originality and grace.  A neat, neat read!

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This Is How I Find Her - Sarah Polsky

Polsky, Sarah. This Is How I Find Her. Chicago, Illinois: Albert Whitman and Company, 2013.

Sophia’s story is a precious one to me. She has felt primarily responsible for caring for her bipolar mother since she was 11 years old. At 16 she finds her nearly gone from an intentional overdose. She is nearly, understandably, destroyed. She must move in with her Aunt and Uncle and her cousin Leila - who used to be her best friend until inexplicably at 11 she is cut out from her life. Everything is painful and awkward in their home and at school. She worries about her mom, feeling a huge burden of guilt for not seeing that her mom had stopped taking the Meds that keep her stable. Sophia can't really see a way out.

But little glimmers of hope appear. She finds some satisfaction in working with her uncle after school and on Saturdays. There she meets Natalie, who seems to want to be her friend. She finds peace in her art class with a lovely teacher who seems to intuit just what Sophia needs. An English project forces her to confront her cousin Leila and her former best friend James, breaking down the walls between them. Her mother seems to be improving slowly in the hospital.

Sophia is a beautifully rendered character. Readers will be drawn to her sorrow while being frustrated with her stubbornness. They will feel her loneliness and root for her as she forges new relationships, however tenuously. The supporting cast is carefully developed as well. The exploration of family and family relationships is painfully honest and will resonate with readers. The adult relationships are astonishingly developed in this young adult offering. The revelations shared by Leila and James are painful, the lost time and hurt, stunning. But many of my readers will be drawn to these folks. The ending, without spoilers, just lovingly rendered with the help of a poetry project - be still my English teacher’s heart!

I will be talking this book that is a part of my e book collection very soon. I can see it pairing in a lovely way with Linda Vigen Phillips’ Crazy. Two young protagonists struggle with their mothers’ mental illness. I can also include in the discussion Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory. I think we can barely just begin to know the struggles of many of our students. Any book that I can offer to help them along in their journeys is a gift to me. This is How I Find Her is one such gift.

Finding Hope - Colleen Nelson

Nelson, Colleen. Finding Hope. Canada: Dundern, 2016.

Sometimes a book will just break my heart, perhaps mend it, and break it again.  Finding Hope is one such title.  Nelson tells, in alternating voices, the stories of Hope and her brother Eric.  These stories are difficult ones. Hope is off to boarding school. Such a move is not her choice, but her mother is driven to get her out of the small town in which they live, so that she does not suffer the same fate as her brother.  Eric is addicted to meth; because of tough love, he is homeless and helpless, were it not for the money and supplies that Hope sneaks to him when her father is not around.  Boarding school does not work out so well for Hope.  She becomes the victim of mean girls and bullying.  Eric’s life becomes uglier and uglier as secret causes for his behavior are revealed. Together, will they have the strength to overcome the horror of the worlds around them.

This book is not an easy one to read.  The gritty reality took my breath away.  And what seemed too difficult for me to believe is sadly the likely reality for too many young people in our schools and our neighborhoods.  I’d like to say the events are unbelievable.  I’d like to say Nelson tackles too many big issues in one book. I’d like to say our kids should be protected from the story of Hope and Eric.  What I must say is that Nelson creates genuine characters, fully realized, flaws, strengths and all. The conflicts are powerful and fully fleshed out. When I wanted to say, “Too much,” I said, “of course; oh no!”

My older students need to read this book.  They need to understand the paths down which they can walk, ones nearly impossible to reverse. This title is instructive without being didactic and contains the kind of honesty to which many of my kids are drawn.  Honestly, though, I still would not be comfortable with my tweens taking this one on.  Certainly some of their lives can also be reflected in these pages. Others are still largely innocent, and I feel duty bound to protect that innocence even for just a bit longer. While this novel will not likely be in my library, it will certainly be in my arsenal, for the kids who need to see the other side of the dark, to see that they can, in fact, find hope.

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Speed Dating!

So I was teaching AP Literature in a classroom one day, and the desks were set up in such a way that my students and I were reminded of speed dating.  We discussed, somewhat in jest, the idea of speed dating poetry. (I do still intend to develop that idea.) When I got back to my library, I met with the 10th grade teacher about book talks I had planned. We were doing banned and challenged books for most of the sections, but wanted something a bit more intriguing for the academic students who are reluctant readers.  Speed dating was at the forefront of my brain, so we decided to pursue a speed dating activity to introduce these readers to some high interest and lower level books that are often overlooked. Without much time to plan I took my “fresh” and “original” idea to the internet looking for forms that I didn’t think really existed. To my surprise (not really) speed dating ideas abounded.  For the tenth grade I used a version of the form found on Pinterest.

I had enough success with these tenth graders that I decided to pursue a speed dating activity with the entire 7th grade.  For February, I thought it would be a unique twist on my monthly book talks. Fortunately I have an amazing ELA teacher there, who is willing to go out on a limb with me.  I used many ideas found from Mrs. Reader Pants, and am grateful for this very thorough description.

We had a total of eight stations:  Who’s Who (biography); Who Knew (science/nonfiction); And the Winner Is…(Newbery titles); Magic (subject: magic); People Who Make a Difference (inspiration and self help); It’s a Mystery (mystery); Double Dates (fiction and nonfiction pairings on the same subject); and Online Dating (E book collection).  My creative aide made signs for each of these tables that sparkled! I introduced our ideas quickly with the help of a hearty powerpoint slide. We moved the students in groups of 2 - 4 at about every 5 minutes. I encouraged them to study the covers, read the book descriptions, and look at the first several pages before evaluating the books on a sheet that looked like this. We allowed about 7 or so minutes in the end for some hot chocolate (thanks to my ELA friend for arranging that!) and candy.  We used this time to circulate and talk about the books they liked and didn’t like.

I have to say we were pleased with this activity at every academic level.  We didn’t worry much about being quiet. (In fact, I played a Harry Connick, Jr. Pandora station while they “dated.” We called it the “music of love.”) The kids were just really talking about the books.  “I read this one and loved it.” “Look at this cover.” “I think ____ should read this one.” “I don’t like a single book at this table.” I will definitely do this again, and will actively seek out more alternatives to the traditional book talk that allow these middle schoolers to be active and engaged.