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My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
For Throwback Thursday, I discovered this GEM only a few weeks ago (even though it was published in 2003?)
I am completely in love with everything about this book. Seriously. In. Love.
The story of three teens and the year they learn about friendship, love, family...and Mary Poppins...and the Red Sox.
Honest, it'll all make sense!
Best for: This book is perfect for so many readers looking for "NOT dystopian," grades 7+, girls or guys. Or adults. Even a mother-daughter book club read.
This week's Throwback Thursday has been making the round with our 8th grade girls who are looking for something to read after "The Fault in our Stars."
If I Stay by Gayle Forman.
Seventeen year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make.
This isa beautifully written novel that will haunt you long after you finish it. I hope that Mia's journey will move you to think about what is important in your life: family, friends, love.
I am a little apprehensive to see the movie adaptation when it comes out in August of this year. I LOVED this book. It literally moved me to tears. I truly hope that the movie can live up to how I feel about this book.
Please, please, please make sure you have read this book (and everything by Gayle Forman for that matter)!
Title: Pay it Forward
Author: Hyde
Genre: Fiction, School, Kindness, Conduct, Family, Friends
Pages: 311
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
Ages: 7th grade and up (adults, too!)
I picked this week's "Throwback" title because I was watching the movie based on this book over the weekend. And it doesn't matter how many times I watch the movie, I still love it. Probably because I have always been in love with this title.
From the Publisher:
Catherine Ryan Hyde's international sensation, Pay It Forward, is the moving story of Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy who accepts his social studies teacher's challenge to come up with a plan to change the world.
Trevor's idea is simple: Do a good deed for three people and ask them to "pay it forward" to three others who need help. He envisions a vast movement of kindness and goodwill spreading beyond his small California town and across the world. However, when Jerry, a bum to whom Trevor gave his allowance, returns to a life of dissolution, the project seems valuable only as a lesson on the dark side of human nature. But ultimately Trevor is vindicated. At first people don't know how to explain the odd dip in crime rates across the nation, but a journalist with a story of his own tracks down the source of the epidemic of random acts of kindness and makes Trevor a celebrity.
Yet Trevor has problems closer to home: he wants his pretty, hardworking mother to see the softer side of his beloved teacher, Reuben St. Clair, a scarred Vietnam veteran who seems to come alive only when he's in front of his class.
Anyone who has ever despaired of one person's ability to effect change will rejoice in Trevor's courage and his determination to see the good in everyone.
This book came out when my now-16-year-old was just a little guy, so it is possible that you have come across it. And the author has written many other titles since then (all of which I LOVE, BTW. Seriously, just check out every book you can find by her and you won't be disappointed). In fact, you have probably even seen this movie (starring Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey...and Jim Caviezel...bonus!). If not, you must rent it. No, wait! read the book first and then go rent the movie.
Did this book spark the "Pay it Forward" movement or did she simply make it popular? I'm not sure, but I do know that this book is so powerful that it's impact has stayed with me all these years later.
Title: Notes From the Midnight Driver
Author: Sonnenblick
Genre: Fiction, Music, High School, Getting in Trouble, Coming of Age
Pages: 265
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Ages: High School
Okay, it should not be a surprise to readers of this blog that I am a big fan of this author. Much like "if you build it, he will come," if he writes it, I will read it. For this Throwback Thursday, I thought that I would review one of the author's first titles (because I don't want to review his upcoming novel until closer to when it's published).
From the Publisher:
“Alex Peter Gregory, you are a moron!” Laurie slammed her palms down on my desk and stomped her foot. I get a lot of that. One car crash. One measly little car crash. And suddenly, I’m some kind of convicted felon. My parents are getting divorced, my dad is shacking up with my third-grade teacher. I might be in love with a girl who could kill me with one finger, and now I’m sentenced to baby-sit some insane old guy.What else could possibly go wrong? This is the story of Alex Gregory, his guitar, his best gal pal Laurie, and the friendship of a lifetime that he never would have expected.
When this book was published in 2006, it received many starred reviews and it is easy to see why. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love Alex Gregory. (He reminds me a little of my own teenage Alex). He is the perfect narrator and has a terrific sense of humor, which borders on witty sarcasm, my favorite kind. But he also seems like a typical teen with actual problems and emotions, who makes decisions that seem like a good idea to his teen brain at the time, but don't always turn out in his favor. His actions feel authentic, and readers root for him to figure it all out in the end.
What puts this book over the top is that the supporting cast is just as strong. Sonnenblick has created memorable characters who contribute to the story and keep readers engaged.
Alex's tale of transformation and redemption is one that will definitely resonate with teen readers, male and female alike. I believe that this is a must read book for the high school crowd.
Title: The Alchemist
Author: Coelho
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Parable, Journey, Adventure, Dreams
Pages: 177
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars (audio version: 4 out of 5 stars)
Ages: High School, Adult, some Middle School students also (I'm going to buy a copy for my library for the fall)
Jumping on the "Throwback Thursday" theme, I thought that I would review a book that has been in print for quite some time, having first been published in Brazil in 1988. So, it's quite likely that you have heard about this title, and might have already read it.
Funny thing, though, I had never read it until just this last week. It was actually recommended to me by my son who beat me to it. So, of course I had to read it (since the teen boy is not a normally a reader and I find myself inclined to devour anything he suggests). I decided to listen to it on audio since I love my Audible subscription.
From the Publisher:
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky." Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."
The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.
This was a short book, but I am quite glad that I listened to it on audio as it is narrated by the impeccable Jeremy Irons. Wonderful reading by an incredible actor!
I can see why this book has resonated with readers around the world for decades. Part fantasy, part fable, part self-help book all wrapped up into one. I think that the storytelling and scene-setting were very strong and you are almost immediately swept up into Santiago's world and rooting for him along his journey.
In the end, I admire a book where the message is to dream big, listen to your heart, and find your life's mission. Amen to following your dreams!
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