Saturday, September 24, 2016

Leave Me by Gayle Forman

28110865Maribeth Klein has it all.  Her dream job.  Her dream husband.  Twins, a boy and a girl - of course.  But she's also killing herself doing it all.  Literally.  Maribeth suffers a heart attack at 44 years of age.  It's really not a surprise she's unwell, as she's nearly run a marathon before she even gets home for dinner.  Anyone relate to that?  As she sits at home trying to heal life just seems to get more hectic and stressful until Maribeth cracks.  She packs her bags, scribbles a quick note to her husband and she's gone.

Leave Me is a story about a busy mom who takes a time out from life to heal.  Maribeth also uncovers more about who she is and her relationships as friend, mother and wife.  Leave Me is a great read that is at times funny and emotional.

I was very surprised to find out that Gayle Forman is also the author of If I Stay and Where She Went.  If I Stay was made into a movie in 2014.  Both books are on my to read pile and have been quite popular at my school with the Grade 7 and 8's.


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

23310699The One and Only Ivan is one of my favourite reads of all time.  It is so beautifully written and has a great lesson too.  Fits perfectly with the grade four curriculum.  The new cover of Crenshaw captured my attention right away and the Applegate name drew me in.

This is not a book to judge by it's cover.  The cover suggests a light read about a boy and an imaginary cat.  Which is what the book is about but there is so much more.  Jackson is a young boy with a lot to deal with.  Jackson's dad has MS.  When things get too bad he's forced to leave his job and try and make ends meet but unfortunately the ends don't meet and the family ends up homeless.  Much more serious topics then the cover makes you imagine.  To deal with these issues Jackson creates Crenshaw.  A large and mischievous cat.  This was ok when he was little but now Jackson is years old and once again facing homelessness.  Crenshaw is back but isn't Jackson too old for an imaginary friend?

Crenshaw is a beautiful story with some fun, but a very sensitive and serious story as well.  Not quite what you would expect from the cover.  Strange that I read two books with children affected by MS in a row.  That was totally random.  This was a book that I was recommending to some of my stronger grade 3 readers but now that I know the mature theme I would place it more with grade 5.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

18656207Maggie is a very self absorbed 11 year old girl.  She loves school.  She plans to be president - she's already campaigning.  Maggie loves food, especially candy.  She also loves her super cool dad and her stay at home mom.  She tolerates her two older sisters.

When Maggie's stay at home mom suddenly goes back to work and her super cool dad quits his job to stay home, Maggie is determined to figure out what's going on.  She knows Dad's legs have been falling asleep a lot but what does that mean?  Is it a big deal?  Why is the letter M always missing from the encyclopedia set at home?

Maggie sets out to do her science fair project on curing her dad.  She's won the science fair the last few years.  She's confident this year will be a winner too - at home and school.  But she has to figure out what everyone in her family knows and is protecting her from.

I loved the way Maggie grew in this story.  I also loved the way her family tried to protect her and then realized she wasn't a baby anymore and needed the truth.