What I've Been Reading

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The last 3 years, I have greatly increased the amount of books I have been choice reading.  Due to this, I no longer post all my reading updates on here.  For updates on my reading, please see my goodreads profile at www.goodreads.com

In 2017, I read 40 books. Here are some of my top choices in different categories

2017 Favorites:

YA: 
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon 
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
Refugee by Alan Gratz
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

AP:
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Memoir:
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai 
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Self Help:
Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niquist


Fiction:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 

Poetry:
Counting Descent by Clint Smith






A Work In Progress by Conor Franta
Date finished: Feb. 7, 2016
My rating: 4 stars
Average Gooodreads rating: 4.49
I chose to read this book after having students fly through it and absolutely love it, and also after seeing it had been named Goodreads memoir of the year. Memoirs and non-fiction are not really my thing, so it was a bit harder for me than some of my other reads.  With that being said, Conor Franta is an extremely likeable and positive author who delivers a great message, especially for teenagers and young adults. This is a book that shows young adults the importance of being true to themselves, following their hearts, and appreciating all life has to offer.  I especially enjoyed his honest story about discovering his sexuality and its impact. Many of my students will love to check out this book!
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The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
Date finished: Feb. 3, 2016
My rating: 4 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 4.61
A good story about teenagers growing up and making their own future instead of letting their parents/past/last name decide it. The middle of the book was the best part for me, where there was such raw emotion that it was palpable and and realistic enough to transport me back to a similar time in my life. 

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Date finished: Jan. 13, 2016
My rating: 5 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 4.04
I absolutely loved this book!  I enjoyed the format and variation of style, and I am certain this will also appeal to my students. More so than just the format, the book brings up real questions of loss, grief, and family dynamics. This is one of my new favorites!
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Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Date finished: Jan. 4, 2016
My rating: 5 star
Average Goodreads rating: 4.14
This YA romance had a good balance of romance and other issues going on in the characters' lives. I really liked the quickly changing viewpoints that allowed the novel to have a fast pace, and both narrators seem wise beyond their years, which I enjoyed. Many of my students would connect with this book. 

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler  **AP book**
Date finished: Dec. 28th
My rating: 3 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.27
This was an easy read that I thought had an interesting plot: a man gets hit on the head by an intruder and finds he can't remember anything. He then tries to discover the parts about his life that he forgot.  It was a very easy read, but I just kept expecting something more exciting to happen. And nothing ever did. 

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Date Finished: Dec. 11th
My rating: 4 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 4.12
Very high action and made me want to keep reading.  The only reason why it got 4 stars instead of 5 is that I'm just not that into the Fantasy part of it.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Date finished: Nov. 25th
My rating: 5 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 4.05
I mostly listened to this on audio and loved it because it was an easy read, yet still very engaging.  It's a great book about how a sibling's choices can impact the other sibling as the family as a whole. 

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff
Date finished: Oct. 27th
My rating: 4 stars
Average Goodread rating: 4.15 stars
Overall, this had a good plot and I think some of my reluctant boy readers might like this.  I did, however, tend to get a little frustrated with the main character, Trent, and how he treated the adults in his life who were trying to help him.  However, he is a middle schooler, and it probably does a good job depicting a middle school boy who's had to deal with something like what he has. 



I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Date finished: Oct. 18th
My rating: 5 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 4.15 stars
This started off a bit slow for me, but the story unfolded and tied together so beautifully that it has now become one of my very favorites.  It would be great for students, especially those who are LGBT.
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Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
Date finished: Aug. 17th
My rating: 3 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.94
This reminded me a lot of Little Fish which I read earlier this summer.  However, this one, to me wasn't as poignant as the other. 


Rikers High by Paul Volponi        
Date Finished: Aug 13, 2015
My rating: 4 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.75

Even though this is just not the type of book I would normally like, the character Martin is so likeable and I found myself rooting for him so much, that I read it quickly because I wanted to see what would happen to him.  The book follows Martin’s story as he is locked up Rikers Island, which is a juvenile correctional facility.  Interestingly, the book’s author spent 6 years teaching on Rikers Island, which is what inspired him to write the book.  Not my personal favorite type of book, but I think a lot of my students, especially the boys, would like this. 



The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Date finished: Aug 8, 2015
My rating: 5 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.93
I loved this book so much that I simply couldn’t put it down!  The story is about Hayley, who is forced to go to a traditional school for the first time her senior year after spending most of her life on the road with her father.  Her father suffers from PTSD and his episodes make life difficult for Hayley to deal with.  This is a page-turner and I think many students will be able to related well to Hayley, especially those who have to deal with family issues.



Little Fish: A Memoir from a Different Kind of Year by Ramsey Beyer (Graphic Novel)
Date Finished: Aug 1, 2015
My rating: 4 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.47
This was my first time reading a graphic novel for fun, and I was surprisingly pleased.  Little Fish follows the story of Ramsey as she graduates from a small town in Michigan and moves to Baltimore to go to college at an art school. She goes through her first year in college and realizes that she is being pulled in two different directions—missing home but also loving her new life.  She also realizes that she has now gone from being a “big fish in a little pond” to a little fish.  This book does a great job of accurately depicting the struggle of the first year of college, and I think it would a be a great book for my students, especially seniors, to read.



That Summer by Sarah Dessen
Date Finished: July 26, 2015
My rating: 4 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.49
This was my first Sarah Dessen experience, and I really enjoy her as a writer. She has a beautiful way of using imagery to make her writing lively and fun.  This book was about a teenage girl, Haven, who has a difficult summer where she has to go through many growing pains.  The plot wasn’t very exciting, but it was an easy read, and I think many of my students could relate well to Haven.



Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Date Finished: July 24, 2015
My rating: 2 Stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.5
First off, let me say I absolutely LOVE Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.  I think this is important to note, because many of us who were attached to the original had trouble coming around to this one.  Secondly, I think it is also critical to remember that this was actually a ROUGH DRAFT of a novel.  This was the draft Lee took to publishers and editors, who then told her to focus more on the story of Scout when she was younger.  I still appreciate Lee’s beautiful writing.  I appreciate the conflict that the characters face in a world where race relations are struggling.  However, I like To Kill a Mockingbird more because I feel that it focuses on much more than that.


Allegiant by Veronica Roth (3rd in Divergent Series)
Date Finished: July 16
My rating: 2 stars
Average Goodreads rating: 3.99
I was very disappointed in this novel after loving the first 2 books in the Divergent Series.  I disliked the changing of narrator and couldn't really get into it as much. 


















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