Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell

I have had several people recommend this book to me, but the main reason I decided to read this is because one of my former students, Jackie, suggested it in a Facebook comment.  (Gosh, I love social media when it keeps me connected with kids that have moved away!)

Set in 1986, this one took me back to high school, with the characters bonding over mixed tapes of The Smiths and The Cure, among other iconic 80's bands.

Eleanor is a "big" girl with red hair.  At 16, she's the oldest of five kids being raised by their mother and an abusive, alcoholic stepfather named Richie.  She shares an overcrowded room with all four of her siblings, and they are incredibly poor and neglected.  They are quite literally, the "red-headed stepchildren."

Park is a comic book reading, punk music listening half Korean/American boy that Eleanor meets on morning school bus. Park has one foot in popularity and one foot in the land of the misfits.  He and Eleanor form a friendship over comic books and music shared on a Walkman.  That friendship blossoms into a first love that's intense and complicated.

I loved this book.  The characters are so fully and wonderfully developed that I felt like I knew them personally.  I don't want to give away too much of the story, but I know this will be an incredibly popular read during the upcoming school year.

Thanks, Jackie!

COALTOWN JESUS, by Ron Koertge Blog Post by Mrs. Schauer

I just read this one, start to finish, right when I opened my newest shipment of books for the high school library.  Wow.  What a great read!  Ron Koertge's latest novel in verse plunks Jesus Christ right down into the bedroom of a fourteen year old boy's room in Coaltown, Illinois.  He is there to help Walker deal with the death of his older brother Noah--and he does exactly that.  I won't give away too much of the story, but I will say this:  I will be recommending this little treasure to everyone I know!

Koertege depicts a Jesus that is exactly what Walker needs at this juncture in his life.  Koertge's Jesus is witty and irreverent, while at the same time being deeply profound in that irreverence.  Within the first few lines of Jesus's dialogue I was immediately reminded of the Jesus depicted by Christopher Moore in  Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.  In fact, I would say Coaltown Jesus could almost be the "junior" version of Moore's book.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

Jesus:  "I'm sorry, but I can't just giggle.  I'm God."
Walker:  "You look like Jesus."
Jesus:  "John 10:30: I and my Father are one.'"
Walker: "I don't think I understand that."
Jesus:  "You're not the only one."

Jesus:  "I'll be back. Relax.  Or as they say in the Bible, 'Fear not.'"

Jesus:  "I love being called the Great Spirit.  Some of the other names not so much.  The Anointed One, for instance.  Makes me feel greasy."

Walker:  "You're mad at kids for wanting a pony?"
Jesus:  "Little kids I don't mind.  Every kid want a pony.  It's grown-ups that get my robe in a knot.  Stop with the begging, okay?  Adore me for a change. Or give thanks.  I like gratitude.  Or ask for guidance.  But oh, no.  It's always the pony."

Jesus:  "All of a sudden I'm in this body.  I've got a heart and hands and feet.  I can see and feel.  That's why babies cry so much.  All of a sudden having a body is a lot to deal with."

Jesus:  "I knew what was coming down the pike so I'd practice.  Like making one hot dog feed six kids and running on water."
Walker:  "In the Bible, you just walked."
Jesus:  "Yeah, but I was so bad at it that I'd run so I wouldn't sink so fast.  Didn't help  Went right down like a stone.  Faith is like anything else:  you have to work at it, I wasn't that good at first."

Jesus:  "Ah, there it is. Signs of your holiness."
Walker:  "I just smiled.  You made a dumb joke and I smiled."
Jesus:  "And that isn't holy?"

Jesus: "Confusion is good."
Walker:  "Everything's good to you."
Jesus:   "And that's a bad thing?"

SEE YOU AT HARRY'S, by Jo Knowles

See You at Harry's, by Jo Knowles
Interest Level:  6th Grade and Up
Reviewed by Mrs. Schauer

I first got this book as an ARC at Net Galley.  I started reading it, but only read the first few pages before life got in my way and I never finished it.  I have this problem where I have a hard time putting a book down once I pick it up.  I have to read the entire thing in one sitting, and nothing else in my life gets any attention. For the past week, I've done nothing but read....and last night, I finally read this wonderful book...yep, in one sitting.  :)

I fell in love with the characters immediately.  How could I not?  Four children, ages 3-18, who are named after some of my favorite book characters:

Sara, the oldest:  She's named after Sara Crewe, from The Little Princess.  She longs to have been born in the age of dead-heads. She couldn't get into any good colleges, so she's taking a year off to work in her parents' restaurant.   She's blunt and honest at all times, and has dreadlocks.

Holden:  He's the second child, aptly named in honor of Salinger's angst-filled protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye.  Holden is fourteen years old , and the reader is allowed the privilege of growing with him, championing his strength and bravery as he comes to terms with his sexuality.

Fern:    Her mom named her after Fern Arable from Charlotte's Web, because she knew, from the moment she was born, that she had a special soul. In her own words, she knew Fern would be a good friend....a hero.  The story is told from Fern's point of view, and she is indeed, possessed of an incredibly special soul.

Charlie:  Ah, Charlie...perfectly named after Charlie Bucket, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Charlie is three years old, a "surprise" addition to the family fold, and he is the light of their lives.  Charlie is full of life and finds joy in everything around him.

I will not give away too much of this family's story, because it's just something that readers need to experience for themselves.  I will only say that I fell in love with this quirky family, as they dealt with running a family business and the joys and sorrows of life.  I laughed, I cried, my heart soared, as well as broke into a hundred pieces.  By the end of the book, I was a blubbering mess of tears and snot....but in a very good way....a way that does the heart good.

Jo Knowles is one of my favorite authors because she writes about subjects that are tough...and she does it in a way that is just so REAL.  She writes important books for teens and young adults...books that bring healing and hope.  I applaud her!

For my review of Knowles' Lessons from a Dead Girl, click here.

To view a trailer, created by Kaycee, one of our Pettus middle school students,for Jumping Off Swings,  click here.

THE DAY BEFORE, by Lisa Schroeder

THE DAY BEFORE

by Lisa Schroeder

AR: Not Yet

Interest Level: 9th and Up

Wow, I have been so bad about keeping up with this blog. I've read a lot of books; I just never seem to tie myself to a chair long enough to post about them! This one, though...I simply MUST share, for several reasons:

1. It's written by Lisa Schroeder, and to put it plainly, Lisa rocks my face off. Click HERE to find out why. :) Click HERE to visit Lisa's blog.

2. It's written in verse, which means it will automatically fly off of the shelves the same way my (multiple) copies of I Heart You, You Haunt Me, Chasing Brooklyn and Far From You do. While it's true that novels in verse tend to resonate with reluctant readers, they are by no means easy to write! It takes a true gift and talent to use so few words and still manage to capture enough emotion to fully develop a character.

3. Emily, my (you should read this next part real fast and run the words together without taking a breath, or it will just look like poor sentence structure) "unofficial library assistant for the past four years who picked out so many great books for our collection and just graduated and I'm going to miss her so much I can't stand it," bought it on our Kindle at like midnight the day it was released, and raved about it.

4. When I opened the book on the Kindle and skimmed through the acknowledgments, imagine my GLEE (hate the show, love the word) when I saw, right next to each other, the names. "Teresa" (as in, uh...ME!) and "Hailee" (as in my daughter!) I would have thought it coincidental, but they were right next to each other and I've never seen anyone spell Hailee like that...so what do you know? We got an acknowledgement from a real live ROCK STAR YA author!

OK, I guess I should stop pontificating on the magnificent jumble of awesome that is Lisa Schroeder, and get on with what I thought of this book:

This is Amber's story--or rather, one day of her story. Amber wants one day at the beach--just one--for herself, with no obligations, no family, not even her best friend, with whom she shares everything. She wants one perfect day. Just one. After this one day, she knows that her life is going to unequivocally change, and she's resigned to, and even accepted that fact. She just doesn't want to think about anything but this one day: the day before. (The day before what, you may be thinking--but I'm not gonna give that away, because it's Lisa's privilege to determine when that is, which she does, in the book--but you'll have to read it to find out!)

Amber meets Cade at the aquarium. Cade is also on a mission to get away--for one day--from his own situation. They have an instant connection, and both understand immediately that the other needs this day. They make a promise to not ask any questions about the other's life. Then they set out to escape from the world--for just one day.

That's all I'm going to tell you about this particular book. What, you thought this would be any different than my others? I never give away a book in a blog post! That's the author's right and privilege to do, not mine! Of course, you can probably surmise that Amber and Cade don't end up keeping that promise, they bond, and...ack, there I go again.

My favorite part of this book was Amber. I loved her personality--and her taste in music. P!nk is one of my own personal favorites, so I felt an instant connection to Amber because of her love of the artist and her music. I will never hear "Glitter in the Air" in quite the same way again.

I have no doubt that I will have to order multiple copies of this book, as I had to do with all her others.

Thirty Books, by Mrs. Schauer

So I had one of my former second grade students, Kathy Mireles, from Skidmore, post a link to the "Thirty Day Book Challenge" on my Facebook wall this morning. I loved the concept, but knew I would not follow through with posting a single book each day. Then I had a great idea--post my answers on the high school blog!

Anyway, I'm here in the library, and I have a gazillion things to do, which is par for a librarian in the summer. The main thing I never fail to miss getting around to doing is procrastinating. :) At first, I thought completing this book list was yet another effort in procrastination, but now that I'm incorporating it into my high school blog, and not JUST on Facebook, it's part of my job duties!

My hope is that a few people will add their own thirty books to the comments section...hint, hint! I doubt anyone will though; I'm so bad about not keeping up with the blog, that I don't think many people check it anymore. Anyway, here are my answers....

1-Your favorite Book: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

2-Least Favorite Book: Anything by Charles Dickens. Blech!

3-A Book that completely surprised you: (bad/good) The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I didn’t know anything about the premise and the title made it sound like a self-help Book

4. - A Book that made you laugh out loud: Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christoper Moore

5- A Non-fiction book that you actually enjoyed: It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, by Robie Harris

6- A Book that makes you cry: Far From You, by Lisa Schroeder

7- A Book that’s hard to read: The Host, by Stephenie Meyer

8- A Book you want to read, but never have: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

9- A Book you’ve read more than once: The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

10- The first novel you remember reading: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

11- The Book that made you fall in love with reading: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

12- A book so emotionally draining you couldn’t complete it or had to set aside for a bit: Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott

13- Favorite childhood Book: Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

14- Book that should be on hs/college required reading list: Crank, by Ellen Hopkins

15- Favorite book dealing with foreign culture: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

16- Favorite book turned movie: Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

17- Book turned movie and completely desecrated: My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Piccolt

18- A Book You can’t find on shelves anymore that you love: Little Dream, by Cynthia Leonetti

19- A Book that changed your mind about a particular subject: Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Piccolt

20-A Book you would recommend to an ignorant/racist/closed minded person: Dinner With a Perfect Stranger, by David Greggory

21-A guilty pleasure book: Does the Noise In My Head Bother You? By Stephen Tyler

22-Favorite Series: Left Behind by LaHaye, Jenkins

23- Favorite Romance Novel: Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

24 - A Book you later found out the Author lied about: Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous

25-Favorite Autobiographical/Biographical Book: Three Little Words: A Memoir, by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

26-A Book you wish would be written: The Gospel According to Mary Magdelene

27- A Book you would write if you had all the resources: Teresa Schauer: A Memoir J

28- A Book you wish you never read: I can’t think of one

29- An Author that you completely avoid/hate wont read: I don’t have one of these…

30 - An Author that you will read whatever they put out: Patricia Polacco