This book by Corey Ann Haydu is about Elodee, her twin Naomi who along with their family move from Juniper to a place called Eventown. This seems like a great move for them, because it is a chance for a fresh start. Things in Eventown are exciting and perfect when they first move. The food that Elodee cooks is amazing, her father’s rose bush is blooming and her mother is the happiest she’s ever been. There is also a Welcoming Center, where you talk about your most embarrassing, angry, or scary stories and then your memories are locked forever.
This book by Renée Watson is about a girl named Jade who believes she must leave her poor neighborhood in order to succeed in her education, so when she moves to a new school, she joins a club called “Woman to Woman” where she has a mentor named Maxine. Even though joining the club was a good idea at first, it makes her feel even more judged. The first day of Woman to Woman, Maxine doesn’t even show up which leaves Jade devastated. Another time, the Woman to Women club went out to a museum but Maxine had to take a really “important” call from her ex boyfriend, Jon. Jade is now unsure of whether to quit Woman to Woman. Though Maxine has good intentions, she comes from a wealthy family and Jade feels pitied.
Jade always gives Maxine a second chance whenever Maxine messes up, but sometimes Jade gets frustrated and agitated.
This book by Gordon Korman is about a boy called Chase who fell off his roof. He woke up in the hospital remembering nothing. The doctors told him he had amnesia. He also loved to play football, but after his fall he couldn’t play, since he had dislocated his shoulder too. When he was able to go back to school, he saw kids with very different reactions towards him. Some of them treated him like a hero, others were very afraid of him. After, not playing football for months, he decided to join the video club where he met Shoshana Weber -Joel Webers sister. Before Chase’s fall, Chase and his 2 best friends Aaron and Bear would bully Joel so much that Joel had to leave and go to a boarding school.
My Thoughts.
Each chapter is written with the perspective of a different character. I didn’t realize this until I read a couple chapters. This book was quite different book because the main character was actually a bully . How often do we see that? It seemed upsetting at first. however, when Chase joined the video club and realized he was actually decent at filming, it lifted the sadness that was floating around. There was also bits of humor sprinkling around in the book.
My favorite character was Chase because he was a different person after the accident. I think this meant that perhaps people can change for the better. Even bullies. My least favorite character was Shoshana’s mom and dad because even though they don’t have a major part in the book . They didn’t believe Shoshana when she said that Chase was a different person after his fall.
The author’s writing was brilliant. He was able to have me hooked from the very first page. Korman used simple but effective writing and carried the story forward at a good pace.
This book is available at the ASD school library. Maybe you can check your school library to see if it’s there.
This book called George by Alex Gino is about this girl named George, but when people look at her they see a boy. Her teacher says their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. Now, George really wants to play Charlotte’s role but she’s not allowed to because she’s a boy. But with her best friend, Kelly by her side, George comes up with a plan…
As soon as the roles for who is going to be who in the play is out, George realizes that her best friend, Kelly is Charlotte. Even worse, Jeff and Rick the class bullies keep on hectoring George calling her names like “FREAK” even punching George right in the stomach.
What this book teaches us:
The book teaches us how to be brave and stand up for ourselves, and how to not be ashamed of who we are. Furthermore, it teaches us not to give up. In the book, George had the determination to be Charlotte and didn’t give up despite the fact her teacher said no.
How I felt during this book:
It was definitely an emotional roller coaster. George had many ups and downs. For example getting bullied was a put down but being able to tell Kelly what she was feeling over the phone made her feel better. In the end George knows that she has Kelly and her family by her side every step of the way.
My favorite part of the book was when George fought back with Jeff, “accidentally” dropping a piece of paper on his back that said ‘SOME JERK’. My favorite character was Kelly because she helped George when she was feeling upset.
This book by Alex Gino is about Jilly P.’s younger sister, Emma, who is born deaf. Jilly needs to learn how to cope with her sister as she grows up.
In the book, Jilly then makes a connection with Derek, who is an American Sign Language user. So now she has someone she can go to for help but she never knows when it’s the right time to ask for it. She makes some mistakes and encounters minor frustration with Derek and her family members.
During the course of time certain events allow Jilly P to learn how to support other people and not just focus her attention on her little sister. When she finds out that a girl in her school, who is black, got shot she soon realizes that she needs to start supporting other people.
What I Liked About This book:
I liked how the book taught us about modern racism and police violation in the United States. Alex Gino said that this book was aimed especially at white people to help them not be very judgmental about blacks.
What I also liked about this book is that Alex Gino’s writing style was perfect. It wasn’t overly descriptive, so that I would get lost, and it wasn’t too concise that I would not be interested in it. Jilly also told me how to make a perfect PB&J sandwich which was so interesting to read and it made the book way more interactive. My favourite character is Derek because he was very friendly to Jilly even if she didn’t know how to ask for help.
About the characters:
Jilly P is a sweet and lovely girl. She is very eager to learn sign language and she is very determined to help her baby sister. However she wants tips and tricks from Derek she sometimes not know the best way to ask him.
Derek (aka, profoundinoaktown which is his name on an online chat called Vidalia) is a very cool and inspiring character. He is very patient with Jilly and teaches her how to cope with deaf people since he is deaf himself.
Have you read any books by Alex Gino? What did you think?
This book by Paul Mosier is about a twelve-year-old girl whose name is Laughter, but she likes to be called El instead. She has a very positive attitude and has no trouble making friends in school. Everything is working out fantastic for her, but soon something miserable happens. El’s younger sister, Echo, is diagnosed with a terrible illness. With a world like this El feels lost, scared and powerless. Over time, she befriends Octavius, the only friend who knows what El is going through.
The Miscalculations of Lighting Girl by Stacy McAnulty is about a girl named Lucy Callahan who was unfortunately struck by lightning at the age of 8. That lightning zap gave her amazing math and genius skills! Ever since that dangerous zap of lightning struck her she had been home schooled.
She has an obsessive compulsive disorder, where without a specific routine the numbers of pi start to swarm around in her head like a bee. Now at the age of 12 she’s ready for college! That’s how great of a genius she is!!
Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown is about a boy named Flint who is losing his vision unfortunately because of a disease called ‘keratoconus’. He has a passion for drawing comics and has entered a competition for the best comic!
On the journey of drawing his comics, he meets a girl named McKell. McKell has some hidden talents herself but doesn’t share it because she fears being judged by others. Flint and McKell soon become good friends and they are learn to trust each other and most importantly believe in themselves!
I picked up this book as soon as my brother told me “Zoha you should read this book. It’s fantastic!” So I set off reading the book and believe it or not my brother was right! (He usually isn’t!) This book was so good, I was glued to it constantly!
Zoha Flips a Page 