Hi there will be more book reviews coming soon! Sorry for the delay! Upcoming reviews will be on: Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Giver by Lois Lowry Tangerine by Edward Bloor The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Other news: I had a chance to look through Phillip Lopate's The Contemporary American Essay anthology a couple weeks ago. I didn't read all of the essays, and I don't know many of the authors so I didn't write a post about it. I was happy I had the chance to skim throug

Hello! I know I keep writing this, but I’ve been working a lot right now. I don’t have much time to read- however I have two YA books that I’m going to be reviewing today: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle . Both books were good reads. I’m happy that I was able to read Huck Finn - it’s a classic and it’s difficult to read because of the use of deep southern dialogue. I’m also happy I was able to read A Wrinkle In Ti

Today I’m going to be discussing the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain . Mark Twain is considered an author of the American Realism time period in American Literature. Realist literature focuses on everyday people with themes of social issues and the realities of society. Mark Twain went to Yale for a part of his undergraduate degree. Mark Twain also wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (which is a book I’ll probably end up reading for the next blog post.)

Hello! Happy early Holidays 2025! Today I'm going to be reviewing the books My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult , The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti , and Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo . While My Sister's Keeper is primarily read in high schools, The Good Thief can be read with the middle grades. Poet X is also primarily a high school YA read, but there are a few inappropriate parts in the book for a classroom read. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult While the themes of family,

Hello! This week I am reviewing Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech and Monster by Walter Dean Myers . I had a librarian recommend the first book, while the second is one the 8th graders are reading in class at Massillon. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech Walk Two Moons is a novel about a young adolescent girl who goes on a road trip adventure with her quirky grandparents. The novel itself is a braided story between the road trip and Salamanca’s (the main character) normal lif

This week I will be reviewing two YA books: The Science Of Breakable Things by Tae Keller and The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I read both of these books while subbing. I had never heard of The Science Of Breakable Things until last year when it was a class novel for the 5th graders at Massillon. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is one of my younger brother’s favorite books, and it was a class novel I read back in 7th grade. Although I remembered parts of the b

Hello! Books this week are "Everything is Tuberculosis" by John green and "All American Girl" by Megan Cabot. Both of them were good...

Hello! It’s been a minute since I’ve reviewed some books. Sorry for the delay, I’m working two part time jobs right now, and I’ve been applying for teaching positions. Hopefully I land my own classroom this fall. Here are my three picks for right now with a Part 1 and a Part 2 of the blog post: “Everything is Tuberculosis” by John Green , “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel , and “Mothertrucker” by Amy Butcher . The first book I haven’t finished reading yet, but the second two boo

Hello! Sorry it’s been a couple weeks since I wrote a review. It was the end of classes for subbing, and I’ve been busy. The books that I am reviewing are “Wild" by Cheryl Strayed and "Cobble Hill" by Ceicly vonZeigesar . “Wild" is a nonfiction, memoir about Cheryl’s personal hike through the Pacific Crest Trail in California. She walks 1,100 miles from Southern California to Oregon, Washington by herself with her hiking bag and little cash or real food. “Cobble Hill” is a

Hello! Books that I am reviewing this week are “Challenger Deep” by Neal Shusterman and “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian” by Sherman Alexie . Both books are YA Books, told from a high school boy’s perspective, and are National Book Award Winners. Both of these reviews are a bit longer than my usual posts. “Challenger Deep” is more of a difficult read with its narratives, different characters, and Caden’s mental illness. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-

On a side note: Because both of these books had detailed plot developments I had to use sticky notes while reading them. “The Midnight Library” had a lot of minor characters. I wasn’t sure if they were going to reappear in later chapters, and there were a lot of different settings and scenarios for Nora’s life. In the book “In Five Years” there were some romantic scenes that happened early on that kept a suspenseful tone for the reader for most of the novel. There are also a

In “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes there are elements of the book that I liked and I disliked. I liked the writing style the author used because the book was direct; there was no purple, flowery language used within the book, no fancy metaphors and literary elements that can confuse the reader. From a teaching standpoint, there is strong ability to use this book in a classroom to show emotions from the main character Jermone. It details his afterlife after the accident

The next book book reviews are going to be longer in length because they have psychology based information, and they are a bit more interesting than the others. The book “Never Enough” by Jennifer Breheny Wallace is an informative educational psychology book on Wallace’s findings as a journalist. She details the concerns about the achievement culture in the United States, specifically that of affluent neighborhoods with both parents that are college educated in high paying,

Hello it’s been awhile since I have written a post, but I have some new book reviews to share. Book List: Well this is exhausting by Sophia Benoit The Happy Place by Emily Henry The Life of Pi by Yann Martel Never Enough by Jennifer Breheny Wallace The Courage to be Disliked by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi Comments: Some of these books I enjoyed more than others, and some of these books I had difficulty reading while subbing. There were also some books I didn’t enjoy r

Subbing has been difficult. And therefore I sleep more than I thought I would. So I'm hoping that things get better, and I should only be sleeping 7hrs. Still haven't heard back from Windows Catering Company for an event sales position- not sure if it's worth it and still confused why I haven't had the chance to talk to them. Applied to both OSU and UT of Austin- didn't get into either one of them. I think it might not be the year for it- my gre score was low and I wasn't com

Wishing I was back in a city today, hopefully the job situation will be different by the fall. Wishing I had the guts to take back control of my life, rather than listening to everyone around me. Wishing I had the courage to trust my writing and assume at some point it will get published. Wishing I could see the beauty of progress, rather than getting caught up in the unresolved details. Wishing I could take myself a little more seriously when it comes to finances. Wishing I

Current situation: How do I have two careers, write, eat healthy, dance, save money, and get out of my parent's house? Okay I might have found the answer. Probably not. But I think I have arranged and over thought life choices enough to feel slightly more confident about the nearing future. I want to be able to teach grades 7-9 language arts, go to a state graduate school, work part time in events/ food and beverage, save until I can buy a home, and also probably start my ow

During the fall, I read both Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls and When you are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. Where the Red Fern Grows is a scenic and action based novel, demonstrating a relationship between a boy and his two dogs. This book details the importance of emotions, interpersonal relationships, and uses dialog to carry the story. When you are Engulfed in Flames is a novel that is a compilation of creative nonfiction essays told in first person that en

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: My first thoughts on reading this book during COVID back in March was that it was adequately fitting. Throughout the novel, the reader sees the character's one track mind, creating the plot as it unfolds. Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of boarding school, and then spends the majority of the book wandering around through New York, asserting himself as an adolescent and young adult and making personal commentary about society. Holden's tho

1st few months teaching: All I can say is that there were so many lessons learned, relearned, and a ton of struggles. Lessons about teaching: Behavioral management Standards Organization Engage student learning Personal Lessons: Have additional income Never take out pay day loans Take breaks Don't compare yourself to other teachers/ don't be a perfectionist about small details Have a strong connection with family and friends, have hobbies outside of your job, cultivate a life