Sunday, May 20, 2012

One of the Best Reads This Week!





        COME VISIT TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS, WITH JEN AND KELLEE WHO ARE HOSTS OF THIS KIDLIT MEME, FROM PRIMARY TO YA.  CHECK OUT THE LINKS TO SEE WHAT SO MANY ARE READING!

        It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys, a variety of reviews to find even more books for your TBR list. 



          So much talk, and I knew it must be good.  We should be so grateful this year for the marvelous stories that have been presented to us by R.J. Palacio, Christopher Paul Curtis, Silas House & Neela Vaswani, John Green, and now Jo Knowles.  I read this book, See You At Harry's, faster than others I loved just as much.  I just couldn't bear to stop.  The characters were shown so realistically; the plot was shocking yet not surprising.  I see these events reported sometimes on the news.  I thought the book was about something else equally compelling, but it turned on a dime, as my own life has this year, and I was touched by the reactions of the family-so real, so like life.  It's not to be missed.   When recommending to those young students for whom this is written, I would take care to keep in touch with them as they read.  It's important to discuss, not dismiss as "so sad", "didn't you think it was sad?" and then move on.  





My favorite quotes:  "And that is definitely not the kind of fame you want.  Ever."
--------------------
"Wow, Ferny.  Punching Tooty's nephew in the face.  I never knew you had it in you."  


"I lean back in the seat again and look out the wIndow.  I feel my mouth turn into a smile.  Me, either, I think."
--------------------
"I wait and wait, but my lap stays empty.  Everything is empty."
--------------------
"I think Ran already knows exactly how I feel.  And exactly what I need.
Just quiet.  Just a friend.  And the impossible."
--------------------
"And it is enough."
---------------------
              At The Library:  I found several audio books to help me catch up on books for younger students.  I'll listen on my way to work and back!  And I checked out one picture book which caught my eye.  It is a book published in 1996.  I hope you can find it because it is about writing and observations out of doors, journaling, and imagining what things seen outside at night might be saying if they wrote letters.  The book is titled Night Letters, by Palmyra LoMonaco, illustrated with watercolors by Normand Chartier.  One letter says:  Dear Lily, Every evening I sip sweet nectar from the flowers, then I flutter my wings and move on.  
                                            Very truly yours, the Hawkmoth.

What's Next!  Still reading Divergent, and liking it, but just took a break to read the above.  And planning to listen to those audio books I checked out.


14 comments:

  1. See you at Harry's is on my to read list. Must more actively seek it out - like put in an order for it! Will take about a month to reach me, but you have encouraged me to go get it!
    Kathryn

    ReplyDelete
  2. See You at Harry's was amazing. It's hard to review it without giving anything away, but you did a great job. I thought Fern and Holden were the main story but it is so much more, although truly, it is about family. So glad you enjoyed it. 2012 has been an amazing year for reading.

    ReplyDelete
  3. See You at Harry's is still on order at the library! It can't come fast enough. All this book love chatter is killing me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't wait to receive my copy of this book! Jo Knowles is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. Thank you for this, Linda. It's just added to my excitement about the book.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just read See You at Harry's last week too. I finished it in lightning speed also.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Harry's is all the rage this week. I ordered it for the library and have myself on hold. I must see what everyone is raving about! Here is what I am working on this week http://wp.me/pzUn5-Zj

    ReplyDelete
  7. You listed some great quotes here! I love the relationship that Ran and Fern had with one another.
    I was so happy with Fern hit Thing 1, but appreciated how Jo Knowles kept it real when that didn't solve the problem at all.
    Great book! I read it so fast first time, I plan to go back and savor it again this summer.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Night Letters sounds like a great book. Too bad they often go out of print so soon - just when you get to discovering them sometimes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you can find it at the library! Thanks Donna.

      Delete
  9. I'm glad you finally got your hands on See You At Harry's...and I'm glad you found it as wonderful as I did. I agree with that you said about how the story was going one way and then it completely went a different way and how that's so like life. We have no idea where life will take us or what things will be thrown at us - nor does life stop because something we perceive as monumental is happening. Life goes on whether we are ready for it to or not. Things don't happen in nice isolated moments all the time.

    I agree that this has been a phenomenal year for books! I have loved so many of the books i have read this year!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't read either of these books but they both sound amazing. NIGHT LETTERS is right up my ally with everything I have been trying to do with my students. Thank you so much for reading and sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. See You At Harry's sounds intriguing.

    I enjoyed Divergent but haven't gotten to its sequel, Insurgent, yet.

    Enjoy your books this week!

    Sue

    Great Books for Kids and Teens

    Book By Book

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love how you multitask and read several books at the same time. Sounds like the story of my life. Hahaha. I love the quotes that you shared, Linda. This is not the first time I've seen a glowing review of this book. I hope that I find the time to read it when I go on vacation. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting!