I'm thrilled to link up with Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers each Monday and share our reading lives. Check out their sites for more information.
This was our first week back from Spring Break. I didn't have a ton of reading time, but did find some amazing books:
Starting from the bottom, I read four picture books at Barnes & Noble the other day. Meet the Dullards, Stick and Stone, and Home are all beautiful books.
I Wish You More I read and had to buy three copies of, it is that beautiful. This is the book you will want to read on the last day of school, the book to give out at baby showers and high school graduations. The book to give someone just because. I bought one copy for my class, two for my sons. For both, I plan on writing my own poem following the format of the book (I wish you more _____). For Luke and Liam, I will write my poem right into their copies. For my class, I typically write them a letter at the end of the year, this year it will be in poem format thanks to this beautiful book. Love it.
Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story was so amazing. I absolutely loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Leviathan and John Green. When I read it, one of the lasting impressions was the character of Tiny Cooper. He was funny, comfortable in his own skin, and a loyal friend. This book follows the musical Tiny created in Will Grayson, Will Grayson and is written as a script for the musical, complete with Tiny's stage notes. I was worried, at first, that I wouldn't be as connected to the characters in a play format, but Tiny's voice is so strong that I didn't find that to be an issue. So much fun.
Finally, Bone Gap. Holy crap. This book, words fail me. If I was teaching older kids, I would beg them to read this so we could discuss it. As it is, maybe I'll have to flag down some former students and hand it off. Even to describe it is difficult, I know I cannot do it justice. You see, there are two brothers, Finn and Sean, who live in a tiny town in Illinois - Bone Gap. Their parents are gone, Sean has stayed in town to see his brother through high school. One day a girl appears at their farm, beaten and scared. Her name is Roza. They allow Roza to stay in the apartment over their barn and both, in their own ways, love her. Before the book even begins, Roza runs away, and the town who loved her isn't surprised. She was just visiting, after all. But, and you knew there had to be a but, Finn is certain that she did not run away - he saw her and believes she was abducted. No one believes him, and there is where our story begins.
To say that Bone Gap is one of the best young adult books I have read this year would be an understatement. It is joining my "top books I've ever read" list. The writing is beautiful. The book is captivating. I finished on Friday and struggle to begin another book, nothing can compare right now. I've reread passages over this weekend because I don't want to be done, it's that good.
And that was my reading week! Hope yours has been wonderful as well.
Happy Reading!
