Pumpkinheads

 

My Thoughts:

This graphic novel  by Author Rainbow Rowell and illustrator Faith Erin Hicks is so darn cute and funny. Deja and Josiah are pumpkin season best friends who have been working side by side throughout high school in the succotash booth  of the "best pumpkin patch in the whole world" through Halloween. On this last day of their jobs before they both go off to college, Deja is determined to support Josiah in finally talking to the girl he has been pining for every pumpkin season but has never talked to. They ditch their duties to search for Fudge girl and while Deja coaches the very nervous Josiah, she also cannot help but stand in line at every snack booth to end this last night with a bang. Their whirlwind night is a comedy of errors as the girl he is pining for seems to also be moving booths. Throw in a very fast, very cheeky kid who steals Deja's snacks from her (multiple times - caramel apple, kettle corn, Freetoh pie) as well as an escaped goat and lots of exes (male and female) who Deja seems to have dated throughout the three years working at the farm, and you have a story that just makes you want to find this mythical pumpkin patch. The illustrations by Hicks really do add the right amount of pumpkin spice to this story. This one is a must buy to add to my graphic novel collection. 

From the Publisher:

In Pumpkinheads, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell and Eisner Award–winning artist Faith Erin Hicks have teamed up to create this tender and hilarious story about two irresistible teens discovering what it means to leave behind a place―and a person―with no regrets.

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.

Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.

But this Halloween is different―Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if―instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut―they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .

What if their last shift was an adventure?

Long Way Down

My Thoughts:

This novel in verse is about 15-year-old Will who decides that he must follow the rules and avenge the shooting death of his brother. As he rides down the elevator of his housing complex to L (for loser), he encounters A Christmas Carol like menagerie of ghosts who enter and stay as the elevator stops on each floor.

This is a must share for reluctant readers. The poetry style and the ample white space as well as the generational story of each ghost and his/her connection to Will is a perfect "not boring" way to keep middle level readers engaged. 

I also really love this cover, the way the inside panel of the elevator on the cover shows a fuzzy distorted view of Will is both simple and very metaphoric. As long as teachers don't harp on it and try to analyze the cover to death, I think it can speak for itself. I just really like how haunting it is.

Finally, I appreciate authors like Mr. Reynolds who come at writing as a reluctant reader. I just read an article in The Guardian about Reynolds and how amazing it is that he is a writer considering that he was 17 before he read a book from start to finish. YA needs more writers who are aliterate or reluctant readers writing for their younger selves. Like Reynolds says, to reach readers, do not write boring books. Amen and thank you for this not boring book. 

Update: (08/18/21)

Simon and Schuster Publishing shares their teacher discussion guide

Excerpt:

Long Way Down DON’T NOBODY
believe nothing

these days

which is why I haven’t

told nobody the story

I’m about to tell you.

And truth is,

you probably ain’t

gon’ believe it either

gon’ think I’m lying

or I’m losing it,

but I’m telling you,

this story is true.

It happened to me.

Really.

It did.

It so did.

The Missing by Melanie Florence

As a middle level reading specialist, I am often on the lookout for Hi/Lo YA (high interest/low reading level young adult) books that will appeal to the students and not be childish or look like something that is embarrassing for them to carry around.

This is by Lorimer Books out of Canada and they focus on books for reluctant readers. What caught my interest was the title. Right away I know it is going to be about someone that is missing, so a mystery, and the picture is the missing girl. The potential reader has to make inferences, that is what makes it mysterious. The other reason I want to read this is because this is an Indigenous or First Nation or Aboriginal girl that is missing. I am gathering that from the inset picture, but also the girl looking for her is named Feather. A little heavy handed, but it's a beautiful name.  Right there in just the cover, the publishers provide enough information for even the reluctant reader to "read" enough to make a decision on the book. Reluctant readers do not read the synopsis on the back, but they do "read" the cover, so they did a good job on just the cover. I'm hooked.

Description from the Publisher

Will Feather find Mia . . . alive?After a girl she knows from school goes missing and is found dead in the Red River, Feather is shocked when the police write it off as a suicide. Then, it’s Feather’s best friend, Mia, who vanishes — but Mia’s mom and abusive stepfather paint Mia as a frequent runaway, so the authorities won’t investigate her disappearance either. Everyone knows that Native girls are disappearing and being killed, but no one is connecting the dots.
When Feather’s brother Kiowa is arrested under suspicion of Mia’s abduction, Feather knows she has to clear his name. What Feather doesn’t know is that the young serial killer who has taken Mia has become obsessed with Feather, and her investigation is leading her into terrible danger. 

My thoughts:

This book delivers on the promise without reverting to unrealistic sap. It is definitely a "stay up all night even if you have to wake up early the next morning" kind of read. Mia as the main character is brave, but not heroic. She is still scared and unsure. She is still a teenager, and that makes this story even more compelling. As a teacher, what I like is how easily this book can transition to an I-search project on Indigenous issues with young people. 

Publication date: September 1, 2016

NetGalley and the publisher provided an ePub copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Cirque du Freak #1: A Living Nightmare

A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan Reading level: Ages 9-12 Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers (April 1, 2004) My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lead:

I was in the bathroom at school, sitting down on the toilet, humming a song. I had my pants on. I'd come in near the end of English class, feeling sick. My teacher, Mr. Dalton, is great about things like that. He's smart and knows when you're faking and when you're being serious. He took one look at me when I raised my hand and said I was ill, then nodded his head and told me to go to the bathroom.

Back cover:

In the tradition of Stephen King's Salem's Lot, the bestselling Cirque du Freak is the frightening saga of a boy whose visit to a mysterious freak show leads him on a journey into a dark world of vampires. Author Darren Shan's vivid detail and original voice will have readers glued to their seats in terror.

Thoughts: Since the movie, The Vampire's Assistant, is coming out this month, I decided to reread this book. I read it when it first came out in 2000 and over the years have added the other books in this series.

Reading it again has reaffirmed my belief that this is an EXCELLENT book for reluctant readers. This is not high brow literature. Shan's ability to word smith is not on display here, but the character of Darren is immediately likeable. The descriptions of the freak show are vivid and horrific without being over-the-top gross, the action is fast-paced, and the ending still makes me cry. As far as books for reluctant readers goes, this series flies out of my classroom library and I've had to replace the books several times because they've been "well loved."

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