The first time I met Melody Brooks in Out of My Mind, I was so taken with this loquacious, caring 10-year-old girl who struggles to communicate with her family and her teachers, to let them know how smart she is, to express her wishes. She has no friends, but she has lots and lots of hope.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel about surfing before Samira Surfs. I was fascinated by the setting in Bangladesh, the sport, and the Rohingya culture, different than my own.
A bright bauble … you don’t need it and it’s not worth a great deal, but you take it, hiding it. Impulse control disorder, under which kleptomania is categorized, is rare but it affects people deeply.
Taking a road trip this summer? Traveling with the youngest among us? Be sure to pack this book.
When I finished, I immediately looked to see what else this author has written … thankfully, quite a lot. I know what I’m reading next.
Ellen Oh’s story is firmly rooted in the present-day United States where Junie Kim is waging her own battle against middle school bullies and racism and depression. She doesn’t know how to fight back and so she isolates herself from her friends.
It’s quite a feat to portray the future US Representative’s life in a step-by-step manner, recounting each setback and each way Patsy overcame the barriers she faced, all the while keeping the prose energetic and compelling. Several times I found myself gasping.
Reading this verse novel awoke all of my tendencies for activism. In her characterization of a young activist, Elaine Dimopoulos does so many things right.
When I began this book, I was furious with the author. That’s a terrible way to start a recommendation. I think the author chose a terrible way to start his book!
This book will make you feel, many different feelings. It is filled with poetry and a short essay about the poem on the facing page. There are two or three questions at the bottom of each essay that encourage digging deeper … into your own experience.