Jess Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

I got quite caught up in this book; I almost read the whole thing in one sitting. 

I have not read a book from the pov of someone transitioning from one gender to the other. I liked that, while that was a very important part of the book, it wasn't the entire focus of it. 

Jess, the narrator, is transitioning from male to female. She has been taking hormones for the past 7 months, ever since she turned 18. Her estranged father had refused to give consent for her to do it before that. Now her father is getting married and she has decided, even after RSVPing no, that she was going to go. As herself. She had some vague plans to make him look at her and see her for who she really is. 

The road trip was the idea of her best friend, Chunk. Not surprisingly, given the nickname, Chunk (real name Chuck) is overweight. There is never an explicit mention of how overweight he is, but it was enough to get him picked on all through school. He is also brilliant, like over genius level. When he proposes the trip, Jess decides that it might be a good idea. And it would allow her to really start living as a female. Up to this point she had only come out to her mother and Chunk. 

There is a lot to this book. Some of the other reviews I read mentioned that they felt the author did a really poor job of representing fat people. I think that it could have been gone into more deeply, but that would have made this a different book. Jess has to confront her issues with physicality be it hers to other's. I believe that was what the author was aiming for. At least that's the way I saw it. 

Bottom line, I would recommend the book for older students.

I received a free electronic ARC of this book in return for an honest review. 

Batman and The Signal by Scott Snyder and Tony Patrick

The newest addition to the Bat Family is Duke Thomas, who chooses the name The Signal as his nom de guerre. Like many trainees before him his parents have come to harm, this time poisoned into insanity by Joker venom. But Duke is different. He doesn't want to work in the shadows, but in the light of day. And he gets that okay from Batman to do so. He takes on the dayshift in Gotham. The writing was good. I really liked the character development. This volume of Batman was all about the new kid. And he carried it well.

I received a free electronic ARC of this book through Netgalley in return for an honest review. 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

This book reminds me of The Velveteen Rabbit. It has the same kind of gentle sensibility to it.  Edward Tulane is a ceramic rabbit that thinks very, very highly of himself. He goes through a series of adventures that teach him humility and love.  A wonderful, quick read. DiCamillo is an excellent author. She made me get all emotional more than once during the reading of this novel.

The Altered History of Willow Sparks by Tara O'Connor

What would you do if you found a book that was a narrative of your entire life up to the very second? What if you found a pen that let you change things in that book? That is the situation Willow Sparks finds herself in in this thoughtful graphic novel. We see how the changes Willy makes affect not only her, but all those around her, especially her friend Georgia Pratt. Georgia knows what Willy has found and why her life is suddenly changing. Changing and leaving Georgia behind her. Tight plot, interesting and realistic characters, and okay artwork. I'd say give this book a chance. 

Mandela and the General by John Carlin

I knew who Nelson Mandela was. I was alive during the time these events happened. I had no idea all this was going on. The fact that the peaceful change of government that Mandela accomplished was almost thwarted by an armed "white power" movement was new to me. I had never heard of this General Viljoen. But I am glad now that I do. Reading this book gives me some hope for the future. If a country as divided and fractured as South Africa could come together; if a man who started out hating Mandela and thinking he should get the death penalty came to admire and like him; if that is possible, maybe there is some hope for our future as well. Gripping narrative and interesting artwork. I'd say give this book a read.

I received a free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

I enjoyed this. The demon Bartimaeus was a delightfully unreliable narrator.His high opinion of himself and occasional overestimation of his abilities lead to much merriment. I liked the way the narrative was traded between Bartimaeus's first person account and a third person account following his young human master, the apprentice magician Nathaniel. Not only is Nathaniel magically gifted, he is underestimated by Arthur Underwood, the mid-level bureaucrat/magician who was assigned to train the boy, whom he mainly ignores. This leaves Nathaniel with the tools and talent to get in a lot of trouble because if there is anything full grown about Nathaniel, it is his own arrogance and need to prove himself. In that respect he and Bartimeaus are perfectly matched.

The magic system devised by the author is similar in trappings to others I have read, but with a new twist to make it just different enough to work for me. Lots of twists and turns and just enough loose threads left to lead to the next book in the trilogy. It was a fun read. I am happy to recommend this book.

Big Nate Goes Bananas! by Lincoln Peirce

I taught middle school for the better part of 31 years and I see so much in Big Nate that is true to the middle school experience. Although in reality he is kind of dorky and prone to get put in detention, in his own mind he is the hero and the focus of all good things. While he's generally well-intentioned, he has a knack for trying hard (and not to subtly) to always get his own way. The fact that this rarely works for him never seems to slow him down. I laughed out loud more than once reading this. It was a fun time and a quick read. But one I would read again just for the laughs.

I received a free electronic ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Posted by John David Anderson

Find your people. Make them your tribe and stick with them. I could have used a book like this when I was in middle school. It has realistic characters. The four boys in the group: Bench, Wolf, DeeDee, and Frost, are well written. They come across as real people not just cardboard cutouts. They are the oddballs who have found each other to form their own group. Then she walked into their lives. Rose is the new kid in school and decides to sit at their table at lunch. This forces the group out of their comfort zones and is the catalyst for much change. On top of this the school has just totally banned all cellphones. So the boys come up with a different way to communicate: they start leaving Postit notes on each other's lockers. This catches on and does not always go well.  It has a plot that the author keeps moving with hints of foreshadowing which pulled me along, making me think and predict where the story was going. The author was never completely predictable, though. He provided several twists and turns that I did not see coming. I like that in a book. Even better, this book has heart. I recommend it.

Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner

This book was written in the form of (mainly) unsent emails to Rachel Maddow. Brynn,the main character, writes to Rachel about the way her life has gone to hell. Once an honor student, now she is all remedial classes. She is no less intelligent, but after her brother's death and her breakup with her first serious girlfriend, what's the point? It's not like her mother or stepfather care whether she does well or not. Then there is the class election coming up. And there's a new girl she's interested in. And maybe there is a point to things after all?

The narrator's voice is strong and clear. I felt myself cheering for Brynn as she navigates all the pitfalls of her life. The characters mainly ring true The "villain" is a little too stereotypical, but no one likes him anyway. This was a fun book to read and I recommend it.

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

If you ever need a little inspiration on your educational journey, I heartily recommend this book to you. Westover's journey is nothing short of breathtaking in its length and breadth. She grew up, unschooled in any meaningful way, in the back country of Idaho. Her father was a religious fanatic and an anti-government zealot. At 17, through the example of her older brother Tyler, she studied on her own for the ACT and on her second attempt scored a 28, which was enough to get her into Brigham Young University.

At BYU she discovered the real holes in her knowledge. Historical items that are background cultural knowledge for most of us were meaningless to her. This was not due to a lack of intelligence, but to a lack of being taught these things. I don't want to ruin the story by enumerating some of the shocking lapses.

She was also ignorant about medicine. Her family was against the use of medicine. They believed in being healed by faith. This included the lack of knowledge about the importance of proper hygiene.

It is a story of struggle and triumph. A struggle against physical, mental, and emotional abuse. A struggle against ignorance and stubbornness. A struggle against shame.

I believe that this book is important for educators and anyone who believes in the power of education. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.