Month: June 2019

Laurie Halse Anderson

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Although high school can be a fun place, it can also be a place associated with dreadfulness. This is the case for Melinda Sordino. While trying to navigate her way in high school, Melinda finds it to be full of cliques or clans, as she calls them. However, she falls into the clan of the Outcasts, and sadly, she is the sole member.

Melinda is an outcast due to one catastrophic event that happens at a party. As a result of trying to do the right thing, she is ostracized; she has lost her friends. This novel explores the dynamics of man vs. man, man vs. society, and man vs. self.

I really like how Halse allows Melinda to narrate her story. There are a few times when people talk to her, and she responds. But there are other times when people talk to her, and she does not say a word; the only thing that can be heard is silence. It is the lack of words that lets readers know that whatever has happened to Melinda is extremely traumatizing.

I also like how this novel focuses on Melinda’s classmates who are viewed as powerless due to censorship by Mr. Neck, a teacher at Meadow Merryweather High School; however, one student, David Petrakis, fights back. David becomes one of Melinda’s true friends who encourages her to speak up like the Women Suffragettes.

Lastly, this book reminds me of Fomba, a character in The Book Negroes. This character suffers a tragedy so great in his life that he loses his ability to speak. Although their experiences are different, their suffering is the same – the inability to be heard. Will Melinda ever her find her voice? Read Speak but do not be surprised if you are at times, speechless.

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Forever Reading’s Rating = 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars

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The Walking Dead, Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars opens with the group, led by Rick Grimes, searching for a place that they can call home. On their journey, they discover a prison, which looks to be a promising salvation for these weary travelers. But before this new residence can be called a permanent home, it must be cleared of certain inhabitants, zombies. In addition to the zombies, they meet Dexter, Axel, Andrew, and Thomas, prisoners who have been locked in the cafeteria.

Even though some of the prisoners have been incarcerated for various crimes, Rick’s group and Dexter’s group are coexisting because they have the basic necessities in life: food and shelter. Hence, life for them is great right now. Besides, when travelers are beyond exhausted and inmates are experiencing a new freedom and do not know how to survive in an apocalypse, it would make sense for them to live together in a peaceful manner.  

Expectedly, the parents continue to experience challenges with raising their children, which requires more energy due to this apocalypse. Also, as with the previous volumes, death is inevitable in this new world. The loss of life will cause some of the residents to experience a hurt that will be everlasting. For the readers, they will ponder if there really is safety behind bars. 

Who dies? Who is the murderer? Have the deaths fractured the relationships in Rick’s group? Have the deaths caused an end to the tranquility between both groups? How will the residents move forward together? What does Rick discover at Shane’s grave? Read this Volume 3 to find out the answers to these questions. Note: AMC’s prison storyline is much different than the graphic novel. Therefore, if you have not read the book, do so because you will be surprised.

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Forever Reading’s Rating =  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Don’t You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey

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Siblings, Tish and Matt Bonner, have a tough life at home. Their parents have an extremely rocky marriage. Their mom is so obsessed with pleasing their dad that she neglects not only herself but also Tish and Matt. What is worse is that their father cannot keep a job, and he stays away from home for periods at a time. When Mr. Bonner is at home, he is abusive: physically, verbally, and mentally.

Even though their mom is the head of the household, when their father is not at home, it is actually Tish who makes sure that she and Matt have what they need. Tish is the only person providing a stable life for Matt. He recognizes this, and he looks to his sister for security. But who is there to help Tish?

Fortunately, Mrs. Dunphrey provides Tish with an outlet — writing — but this is not the typical journal assignment. Students can write about anything in their journals, but if they don’t want Mrs. Dunphrey to read a particular entry, then they simply write at the top of the page, “Do not read.” What happens when her mom reaches her lowest point? What happens when Tish has to become an adult at 16? Will she write about her family struggles in her journal? Will she allow Mrs. Dunphrey to read her journal entries? Will she write, “Do not read” at the top of her journal entries?

This is my second time reading this novel, and it still has a profound affect on me. As an educator, I have had the opportunity to help many Tishes and Matts. It is heartbreaking to see students endure adult situations in which their teenage minds are not mature enough to handle the stress that accompanies them. But like Mrs. Dunphrey, we help our students within our legal rights. Although this novel is fiction, it is true in many ways. It is a must read! It is a good read!

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Forever Reading’s Rating =🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟