The Fault in Our Stars

Over the last few months, I heard so much about this book that I just had to read it.  It's been one of those crossover titles, like The Hunger Games or books by Jodi Picault or Nicholas Sparks, that seems to appeal equally to adults and teens.  In this novel, sixteen year old Hazel is living with cancer; she is not cancer-free, but her cancer has stopped spreading since she began taking a new drug two years ago.  She knows that she is living on borrowed time, and she prides herself on taking each day as it comes, realistically and philosophically, without pinning too much hope on a future that she might never get to see.  Then one day in support group, she meets a cancer survivor named Augustus; she begins to discover that although it might be painful to risk hope and love when the future is uncertain, that risk makes living worthwhile.

Although this book is beautifully, beautifully written, I cannot confidently put it in the hands of my students.  If I taught high school, I might feel differently.  As it is, however, The Fault in Our Stars contains enough rough language and morally "muddy" subject matter that only a parent would know if it is appropriate for his or her own 12- or 13-year old.  After I finished the book, I gave it to my daughter, a sophomore in high school, with the understanding that she and I can discuss the trickier aspects of the plot if she chooses to read the book.  Beyond my disappointment that the book is truly "young adult" and therefore too mature for my classroom library, I really enjoyed the writing in The Fault in Our Stars and will probably seek out other books by John Green in the future.

Ender's Game

Ender Wiggin may be a child, but he cannot afford to act or think like a child.  Ender is a "third" whose entire reason for existing is to serve humanity by training to become a soldier in a possible Bugger War.  At the age of 6, he leaves his family and is taken to battle training school where he is to learn the art of warfare in hopes that he may someday be able to command Earth's starfleet as it responds to the alien threat of the Buggers,  a race of insect-like beings who had already invaded the Earth twice.

Each chapter begins with a conversation between two shadowy speakers, adults who are discussing Ender's progress and promise.  I was a little confused by these exchanges at first, but the text looks different in these parts than in the rest of the narrative so it became easier to understand them as I read.  Since the rest of each chapter focuses solely on Ender's thoughts and actions, the conversations that open the chapters help the reader see a bigger picture than Ender himself can see.

Ender's Game started a little slowly for me, perhaps because I was reading it while distracted by planning for the new school year.  By the time I was halfway through the book, though, I had to force myself to put it down.  I love Ender's empathy, his leadership, and even his self-doubt.  I cannot imagine a world in which children would have to go through what Ender and his friends do!  In that respect, Ender's Game reminded me of The Hunger Games; people who enjoy Suzanne Collins's trilogy should give Ender's Game a shot.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven describes the life, death, and afterlife of a carnival worker named Eddie who dies while trying to save a little girl from a malfunctioning ride.  He finds himself dropped into a series of strange but familiar scenes where he meets five people whose lives intersected with his in some way, and he learns something special from each of them about the meaning of life.  Eddie realizes eventually that all of humanity is connected and that everyone is important within the fabric of human history. 

This is a quick read, and it introduces some intriguing questions.  I found myself wondering whom I might meet in the heavenly anterooms imagined by Albom.

Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising

With the third book in the Alex Van Helsing series coming out this summer, I figured it was about time to give the original a re-read.  Confession: I have known the author, Jason Henderson, since we went to college together at the University of Dallas.  He was the first published author I ever knew in real life and was something of a celebrity on campus after getting his first novel published during his junior year.  In a campus full of people planning to write a "great American novel" someday, Jason proved to me what writing is really about: dedication, focus, organization, humility, unceasing work, and a probably unhealthy amount of caffeine.

Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising introduces Alex, a 14 year old boy who has just been sent to a boarding school in Switzerland.  There he encounters a mysterious teacher, menacing bullies, a few true friends... and vampires?!  All his life, his father has told him that the famous stories about the Van Helsing family being vampire hunters are pure fiction.  But when two of Alex's friends are captured by the fearsome vampire known as Icemaker, Alex has no choice but to embrace his dangerous destiny.

The Alex Van Helsing series mixes elements of classic literature (You'll never guess Icemaker's origin!), horror, adventure, suspense, and spy stories.  My favorite character is actually one of Alex's friends, Sid, whose encyclopedic knowledge of vampires and passion for manga make him an invaluable asset as Alex tries to learn more about his family's past and about the challenges in store for him.

The second book in the series is called Voice of the Undead (HarperCollins, 2011) and the third book, just out at the end of July, is The Triumph of Death. 

Wonder

You GUYS...  Read this book!  Not tomorrow, not next week.  Then let's talk about it afterward, because I'm dying to hear your thoughts.

For each of the past three summers, I have read one book that utterly slayed me with its incredible-osity.  Two summers ago, it was The Hunger Games, a stay-up-'til-all-hours-of-the-night-gasp-out-loud adventure.  Last year, it was Anything but Typical, a heartbreaking but hopeful journey into the thoughts and daily life of an autistic teenager who struggles with the pain and anxiety of growing up.  This summer, I was sure my far-and-away favorite would be Hatchet (because, well, it's awesome).  Then I read Wonder.

Wonder tells the story of Auggie Pullman's year at a new school.  Actually, it's his first year at any school, even though he's entering fifth grade; Auggie has been homeschooled his entire life because he was born with severe craniofacial deformities and has had to endure more than twenty reconstructive surgeries in his short life.  Auggie feels like an ordinary kid: he likes to play video games, he has a great sense of humor, and he wants friends just like anybody else would.  However, he looks far from ordinary.  How will Auggie deal with the precarious social world of middle school when he is such an easy target for bullying?

I loved the way that R.J. Palacio alternated narrators so that I could understand so many of the characters more fully.  The emotion of the book -- its glorious highs, its devastating lows, its knots-in-the-stomach suspense and its never-saw-them-coming surprises -- makes it really special.  So read it!  Tell me who emerged as your favorite character.  Which parts made you laugh?  Did any parts make you cry?  Let's discuss the wonder of Wonder.  :-)

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Recommended by a slew of teachers at the Scholastic Reading Conference last month, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda leapt to the top of my list of "books I must read this summer."  The first in a series (including Darth Paper Strikes Back and The Secret of the Fortune Wookie, which just came out this month), Origami Yoda begins with the central narrator, Tommy, explaining that he is collecting case studies from his fellow 6th graders in an attempt to understand a mystery: how Dwight, the class weird-o, can somehow speak great wisdom through the use of an origami finger-puppet shaped like Yoda from Star Wars.  The perspective shifts from chapter to chapter as different characters describe their experiences with Origami Yoda.

I really enjoyed this characters in this book, much in the way that I love the voice of Greg in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.  Thinking about reading ladders, I think this might be a step up in complexity from that series since the perspective changes from chapter to chapter.

Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?

I plucked this graphic novel from the YA reading section of my local library, and as soon as I finished I raced to Amazon.com to purchase a copy for the classroom.  Brian Fies traces the history of America's fascination with the future, moving from the 1939 New York World's Fair through the moon landing, the space race, and the shuttle program, finishing with a prediction about how technology will develop into a future we could hardly have imagined.  In addition to simple and appealing drawings, the author includes actual images from some of the historical events he describes.  The book even contains a few "Space Age Adventures" comic books that both fit into and illuminate the action in the rest of the story.  I can't wait to put this into the hands of my students!

Night

Elie Wiesel's Night is an incredibly powerful, affecting account of the author's experiences in Auschwitz during the final days of World War II.  It is astonishing that such a thin, sparse work can capture so completely the devastation suffered by one boy and his family. 

This is the second time I've read Night.  I first read the original translation a few years ago for a class that examined man's response to evil in the world; this newer translation, by Wiesel's wife, is the one that Wiesel himself prefers according to his introduction.  Whatever the translation, however, readers will always remember the power of Wiesel's voice as he struggles to hang onto his family and his faith during the longest and darkest night in modern history.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough to mature readers.