Absolutely fantastic story about a middle-school-aged girl born with no arms getting through life. It’s a first-person narrator with a wry tone and wonderful sense of humor. She’s adopted, and…
Young Adult Fiction
Beyond the Bright Sea
June 10, 2019A friend brought this for my daughter (8), but the book is too “mature” for her, in both plot and style. It’s a pretty good story, a coming-of-age tale about…
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
August 18, 2018A former student of mine, let’s call her “Madison,” insisted I read this book because it’s her favorite book and she reads it annually. This is a lot of pressure…
A Wrinkle in Time
June 1, 2018Here’s my contribution to the “unpopular opinion” trope going around social media: I do not like this book. I tried, but I failed to see what people seem to appreciate…
The Giver
September 21, 2017Rather depressing story about what we might give up if we wanted a perfect world of “Sameness”: colors, music, real feelings, holidays, family bonds. Don’t get attached to the kid…