Good reads

Lately I have actually found the time to read some new books and to blog about them. I finished Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver a couple months ago and I must say it is really good. It is one of those books that just pull you in and you can't seem to stop reading. The narrator is like so many of the students who sit in my classes each year. They simply follow along with others, even though inside they know it is wrong. I was so fascinated by this young narrator that when I was modeling a poem with my freshmen, I wrote the poem about the book. When I read the poem to the class they all wanted to read the book.
I haven't blogged about Lisa McMann's trilogy Wake, Fade, and Gone. They are FABULOUS! I had to buy several copies of each book to keep in the classroom. I think the plot is so unique but yet students can relate to the situations that Janie finds herself in during the stories. If you have read them yet, then get busy.
Another good book that I recently finished is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This book ranks up there with To Kill A Mockingbird for me. I love the three different points of view in the story. There are parts of this book that break my heart, like the reason Abilene leaves before the white children grow up and the helplessness the blacks feel the night Medgar Evers is murdered. This book is wonderfully written and the characters are so well developed.
I also had the opportunity to revisit The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini with my Honors class this year. I had forgotten how touching the story of Amir and Hassan is and how much the novel teaches about the cruelty of the Taliban in Afghanistan. This book really does make me grateful to live in America.