Stuck In Neutral

I have to admit that I've had Stuck In Neutral in my classroom library for quite some time, but never got around to reading it until just now. This book is unique, in that it tells the story from Shawn, a fourteen year old boy with Cerebral Palsy. Although he appears to be a "vegetable" (his words), he is actually just a normal fourteen year old boy, with all of the hopes, desires and worries that go with that age - with one exception. He believes that his father may be planning to kill him. Although this is completely a work of fiction, the author is the parent of a child much like Shawn, which lends a truthfulness to the story that I don't think would have been there. PG

Leaves - A Writer's Community Ning

I'm revisiting two things I have "touched" in my past, but didn't pursue at the time. The first came about four years ago, when I went through the New Jersey Writing Project Institute, and became addicted to the writing community, and went through GREAT withdrawals when it ended because I loved the interaction within the writing process. The second thing was recently when I "did" the Ning part of 23 Things. Over the last week I've been back into the NJWPT/Abydos Institute, working through a new piece with a community of writers - and have remembered how much I enjoyed being a member of a writing community. This has spurred me to revisit my wish to start a writer's circle in SBISD. Sooooo... I've created a Ning entitled "Leaves" (get it? Spring Branch - branches have leaves - leaves of paper??? ). The link to it is on this page. Please take a moment to visit, and, if you feel so compelled, join! I've set it up so that anyone who'd like to join, can.

Incantation, by Alice Hoffman

I love it when authors sneak in history while telling a fantastic story! Set in the 1500s in Madrigal, Spain, we are given a glimpse into the lives of the Conversos, Jews who had converted to Christianity to avoid persecution during the Spanish Inquisition. Told in the voice of Estrella (a.k.a. Raven), Hoffman skillfully spins a tale of fierce loyalty, the importance of family, and most of all, the necessity of staying true to oneself, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable uncertainty and danger. An absolute MUST READ! G

Fear Nothing, Dean Koontz

Okay - I admit it - I LOVE Dean Koontz novels. While he does have a tendency, in my opinion, to overuse similes and metaphors a tad too much, he writes one heck of a story, with complex characters caught in complex situations. As a teacher, I appreciate his ability to use dialogue to "flesh out" his characters (in my opinion, he is downright masterful!); as a reader, I can't get enough of his high intensity, non-stop action plots - PLUS, you just never know what twist he'll throw in. In Fear Nothing, the books protagonist, Christopher Snow, finds himself in the midst of a mystery when his father's death sets in motion a bizarre series of events that will ultimately redefine his understanding of not only his closest friends, but the world around him. Koontz deftly weaves a story that asks the question, "What is risked when humans play God?" Definitely a "more mature read" due to some of the content, this one is not a book I would just put out on my classroom shelf, but would definitely recommend to "readers in the wild", as John O'Flahavan would say (at least I think it's John O'Flahavan that says that! :) ) R

The Shack

Well...I wish I could say that I LOVE The Shack, but I can't. While the content in and of itself is beautiful, and definitely strengthened my understanding of grace, the writing is less than stellar. I could picture Young reaching for the thesaurus, just digging for that alternative verb - you know, the one your teacher encouraged you to find - the "active verb"? Still, I applaud the author for taking on a HUGE concept, and doing a lovely job of explaining some pretty tough topics in a straightforward, compassionate way. Even though the writing isn't great, it's still worth a read! G