Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Intense.  That's the only way to describe this.  I am still shaking and crying as I write this.

Will's brother was murdered.  In his neighborhood, it's expected there will be revenge.  With his brother's gun, he boards the elevator.  He's heading down to the Lobby to seek that revenge.  On each floor, a ghost from Will's past enters to offer advice.  The last ghost to enter is his brother Shawn.  I am not going to spoil what Shawn says exactly, except to say I broke out in awful, ugly tears and started shaking.

Because I don't want to give away the words Shawn says, I will instead make some comparisons I thought of as I was reading.

First, in A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is visited by 4 ghosts (Marley, Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future).  Their purpose is to persuade Scrooge to change his ways.

Second, in "The Lady or the Tiger", the maiden's choice is not revealed to the reader.  Did she send her lover to the altar with another woman?  Or did she sentence him to death by the hungry tiger?

That's all I am going to say on the plot.

Now, one other bit of review.  The story is told in verse, in a sort of free style poetry.  I know many people scoff at the idea of reading poetry, but for this it just works.  Will is giving us his inner most thoughts and feelings (and those of the ghosts who visit). Our emotions do not follow the laws of prose.  We don't think in paragraphs and proper grammar.

An amazing story that will stick with you.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Heart of Ash by Kim Liggett

If you've been reading this review blog for a while, you know I love Kim Liggett's books.  Last Harvest and Blood and Salt rank among my favorites for horror (both reviewed here in you scroll back). I've been waiting for the sequel to Blood and Salt for a while!  Starting right after my review of Finding Apeman, I could not put this down.

You definitely need to have read Blood and Salt to understand this. 

It's been a year since Dane and Ash parted ways.  Dane is now a jet-setting playboy while Ash has become a hermit.  Beth lives with Ash in NYC, learning about life off the commune (she provides the comic relief with her misquotes of everyday idioms), but is still a quasi-seer.  Rhys, Ash's twin, is still missing.  Dane and Ash meet again when he comes to NYC for a glamorous fundraiser.

What follows is a who-is-telling-the-truth and who-is-tricking-whom cat and mouse game to find Rhys, end (or increase) immortality, and make a lot of money in the process.  I don't want to spoil too much, but know Coronado is up to his old tricks and he has a twin sister...

I'll be donating this once we return to school!

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Finding Apeman by M.G. Higgins

First, a little background as to how this came into our collection.  This was REMOVED from another library's collection and all the copies from that library sent to me.  Now, last time I checked, librarians were all about the right to read and the first line of defense against censorship.  I can tell you kids a lot younger than we wished know about sex, drugs, and the politics of illegal immigration. I'm still trying to decipher why the sender chose me--because I WOULDN'T remove such a book?  Because my kids are older (not by much)? Because my kids are urban (he story takes place in RURAL California)? Lemme get off my soapbox now.

Diego, an American born son of illegal immigrants from Guatemala, is an aspiring artist and tells the story in a stream of consciousness.  His father expects him to pursue the American dream (i.e. college), but Diego plans to attend an art school.  Diego is funding his plans via small-time marijuana sales.  He knows the vast majority of his rural farming community is hooked on meth, but he won't touch or sell the stuff.  Diego's father and paternal aunt shock him when they announce two cousins have entered the United States and will be coming to live with him.  By their very entry into the country, they are "illegal", but it is their morality that might help turn Diego's endeavors around.

Will this go on any of my all-time favorites lists?  Nope.  Is it an example of amazing literature? Nope (in fact, there were two typos).  Is the do-the-right-thing theme a little over the top and a bit, for lack of a better word, corny? Yep.  Is it reality and therefore not to be censored? Yep.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

I could not get into this.  I started and stopped and started and stopped.  There was just not enough intrigue for me to keep going to find the thrill in what was labelled a thriller.  I found child and adult versions of Anna annoying.  To me, young Dexter and adult Dexter were both overly full of himself.  I frankly didn't care what happened to either or the other supporting characters.  There was a lot of potential for something here, but I didn't find it. A big disappointment.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Neon Angel by Cherie Currie

Late one night I was flipping through the channel guide looking for anything to watch.  I came across a just starting movie The Runaways.  I knew Joan Jett and Lita Ford were both part of the all-girl rock group and knew one of their songs was "Cherry Bomb".  Then I saw Kristen Stewart was playing Joan Jett.  I actually laughed out loud.  Really?  Ridiculous.  Now I have to watch just to see what a train wreck this movie was going to be. 

And I was so very wrong.

Stewart was absolutely amazing as Jett.  Dakota Fanning played Cherie Currie, the lead vocalist and was equally amazing.  I was totally blown away by the movie. 

That's why I had to read this memoir by Currie. 

From what I gather, The Runaways was based on Currie's first edition of the memoir.  In her afterword, she states this edition includes a lot more of the bad side of things than her "YA" version.  The movie does not include many of the details in this edition, and there are a lot of really, really, awful things that happen to Currie.  It almost makes the movie seem fictionalized with how much is left out.

The memoir is not an easy read.  These teenage girls grew up way too fast, on the road, unsupervised, and taken advantage of.  While Jett and Ford went on to have successful solo careers, Currie's life after the band was a hot mess until she got clean.

I'll be donating this once we return to school! 

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Brass by Xhenet Aliu

I intended to sit, relax, and read today while my husband works.  I started this yesterday afternoon.  I won't be reading it today as I read it in one evening.  I could not put it down.  It was THAT good. 

When this came in on a water money order, I was interested by the cover.  The cars in the picture are the kinds my family would've turned into race cars for Waterford in the early 90s.  So when I flipped open the cover, read the jacket description, and saw this was set in Waterbury in 1996, I added it to my "take out this summer after inventory" list.  I'm so glad I did.

Let's review a few important facts.  I was 16 in 1996.  Our main character was 19.  Waterbury isn't too far away.  A LOT of what Elsie describes is within my own memory.  Industry leaving Connecticut, city diners, grunge.  I had pregnant friends in 1996.  Fast forward to Luljeta's story, Elsie's daughter.  Some of those kids, the children of my pregnant friends, have now been my students, awaiting their college acceptance letters just like Luljeta.  Lulu grows up not knowing her father except for her mother's disdain for him.  She doesn't know her family right in Waterbury, family that doesn't know what happened to the baby girl she once was.  I grew up not knowing the cousins I had just two streets over.

For me, this story hit so close to home.  I cried a lot.  I smiled at Elsie's memories that could've been my own.  I felt I knew Luljeta as one of my former students.  I know I'm sounding mushy which is not typical of me, but seriously, this may go on my all time favorite list. 

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS. Tweet what you're reading this summer #whhssummerread.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Ready for Summer Reading!

Welcome back to the WHHS Library book review blog!  A friendly reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are SOLELY those of Mrs. W. and do NOT represent the views of any other WHHS staff member or WHHS as a whole.

Now on to it...

Here is my summer reading list so far (in no particular order):
Finding Apeman by M.G. Higgins--removed from a local library collection*
The Jazz of Physics by Stephon Alexander--because Jazz Band and science*
Heart of Ash by Kim Liggett--sequel to Blood and Salt+ 
And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich--student recommendation*
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds--Coretta Scott King and Newberry Honors*
Love, Janis by Laura Joplin--I love Janis and another of her biographies is a CT State Summer Reading book for high school this year+
Neon Angel by Cherie Currie--saw the movie and was BLOWN AWAY+
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan--WWII historical fiction with a female lead*
Brass by Xhenet Aliu--set in Waterbury*
Legendary by Stephanie Garber--sequel to Caraval+
Scrapbooks: An American History--a pictorial*

*denotes books from the WHHS Library collection
+deonotes books that will be donated by Mrs. W. in September

This summer, remember to get out the word about what you're reading.  Tweet with #whhssummerread (two H, two S, two M, two R), post to the English department Padlets, submit a Google review form, add your titles to the West Haven Public Library site.  There are lots of ways to share what you've read.  Best of all, no matter which way you share, your participation will be recorded--meaning if there are rewards, prizes, or raffles, you'll be part of all them.  Miss Fanelli (English), Mr. Consorte (Social Studies), Ms. Kym (at WHPL), and myself will all be cross-referencing each other's participants this year as a pilot program!  So, GET READING!

Good luck on your remaining exams!  Have a happy and safe summer!

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS