Day 25: 45 Days of Summer

Breathe, Annie Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Okay, I do gush over a lot of books. But I am not lying when I say that this is one of the most beautiful books I've read this year.  I've been waiting for it to finally be published so I could recommend it!

Grief and hope, love and healing. How do you honor the memory of someone you loved?

I can think of so many high school (and adult) readers who will devour this!

Throwback Thursday

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)!

Review: Fall for Anything (Summers)

Title: Fall for Anything
Author: Summers
Genre: Fiction, Realistic, Grief, Family, Suicide
Pages: 230
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death.

Eddie is dealing with her father's suicide and is so desperate to find out "WHY?!" She is drawn to his photographs and the warehouse where he killed himself. Her anger and emotions are believable. When she finds Culler, she finds someone who understands her quest for answers and it makes sense that she would abandon her friends to spend time with the mysterious Culler.

Eddie is a flawed and not very likeable character sometimes. But she is also so consumed by an atmosphere of grief that you can forgive her. There is suspense and mystery as we as readers know something is not quite right with Culler, but we cannot pinpoint what that is any more than Eddie can. When you reach the part in the story where the mystery surrounding Culler is revealed, I promise you that it will be heart-wrenching.

Eddie's experience is a raw, emotional struggle to move on with her life. This is an honest and sometimes painful examination of grief, family dynamics, and Eddie's intense journey toward healing.

Review: Moonglass (Kirby)

Title: Moonglass
Author: Kirby
Genre: Fiction, Beach, Moving, Father/Daughter, Relationships, Love, Death
Pages: 232
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love. But Anna's mother drowned when Anna was a young girl, and she wonders if this is really the best place for her and her dad to be.

I was lucky enough to meet this debut author at a Simon & Schuster event in June (I promise there will be a post on this event SOON. There were so many terrific debut authors in attendance...so many good books coming). At the time, I had not read the book. However, it was a slim hardback that packed well, took place on the beach, and since I was heading to North Carolina to spend some time on the beach, it seemed like the perfect book to pack along.

I enjoyed this book and I definitely think that my junior high readers will also. The setting is well-written, giving a terrific sense of place to the novel. (I imagine that this is due to the fact that the author lives in the location that she wrote about...I envy her life by the way. More on that in a subsequent post). This is a novel begging to be read during the summer! I wish that I had read it in time to add to my summer reading list.

Anna is conflicted over wanting to know more about her mother but leary of the memories that are starting to return. She loves her dad, but doesn't appreciate his meddling in her love life (what teen girl does). Anna finds new friends in surprising places and a hunky lifeguard boyfriend (of course...it's a book that takes place on the beach). I think that many teen girls will appreciate this story and the full-circle ending.

Review: The Last Little Blue Envelope (Johnson)

Title: The Last Little Blue Envelope

Author: Johnson

Genre: Fiction, Travel, Letters, Grief

Pages: 304

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

First of all, if you have not read "13 Little Blue Envelopes," I must ask you to stop reading this review, get to your nearest library/bookstore and get a copy (should be in paperback), and READ it! When I read it years ago, it completely moved me! I still want to be Ginny, or at least have someone in my life that will send me on such a journey. I continue to plot how I will do this for my kids some day. I cannot say enough about how much I LOVE this book and continue to recommend it to my students, and my grown-up friends as well. Any friend of mine that has read "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (Brashares), is required to read "13 Little Blue Envelopes" in order to continue being my friend (just kidding...or am I?).

And now Maureen Johnson has written the sequel and we finally get to find out what happened to the last blue envelope that Ginny received from her aunt. When envelope #13 was stolen at the end of the first book, Ginny was left wondering how the journey was supposed to end. Now, a mysterious stranger in the UK contacts Ginny claiming to have found the missing letter. What adventure will it lead her on this time?

This sequel did not disappoint. The writing was distinctive and on the mark. Whether we are hearing the story from Ginny, or reading her aunt's letter, we feel as if we are there and are immediately drawn into Ginny's quest. The setting is well drawn, and the imagery evoked is memorable (at one point Ginny and her friends are staying in a youth hostel/cat shelter. Completely crazy, but you can totally picture what it looks like).

The characters are unique, the dialog between them is perfect, and everyone feels just like friends you would want to meet on such a journey. Even though Aunt Peg exists only in letters, she is a fully developed character and her letter/asides add so much to the story. You will continue to root for Ginny to complete her mission and find love, happiness, and closure.

Without a doubt, this is a MUST read!

Review: Where She Went (Forman)

Title: Where She Went
Author: Forman
Genre: Fiction, Music, Romance, Relationships. Grief
Pages: 258
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

This is the long-awaited sequel to "If I Stay," where a tragic car accident forced Mia to weigh whether to follow her family in death, or remain and deal with her grief at losing them. This was one of the best books that I read in 2009 and I highly recommend reading it. In fact, if you have not read it yet, stop reading this review right now, get your hands on a copy, and come back when you have read it!

That being said, I don't think that it is 100% necessary for you to have read the first book in order to understand this sequel. (I think that it just makes this second book more meaningful).

"Where She Went" takes place three years after the devastating accident that destroyed Mia's family, and is told from the point of view of Adam, the boyfriend who's love saved Mia. It has been three years since Mia came back to him...and three years since she walked out of his life.

Now, Adam is a rock-n-roll star with every tabloid wanting to tell his story, while Mia is a rising classical music star at Juilliard. One evening, a chance encounter offers the opportunity for the two to catch up before life takes them in opposite directions. Will they make the most of this opportunity? Will they ask the questions that need to be answered?

Readers learn right away where both Mia and Adam went after the conclusion of "If I Stay," so this book is really more about how they got there, and why. Forman delivers the narrative using the same style as in the first book...a flashback sequence alternating with present day/time. The characters have grown up, they have flaws, and their lives are complicated. And both are still dealing with their grief over the accident that killed Mia's family. This is such an honest and emotional look into their lives that it will resonate with readers long after they have finished it. All I can say is...WOW!

By the way, the book will be released in April. I read an advance copy. It has already been nominated for BFYA this year! I can't wait to hear what you think...