Weekly Wrap Up (2)

Here is my Weekly Wrap Up for this week!

Anna.

Weekly Wrap Up (2)

Here's my Weekly Wrap Up vlog for this week. :)

What I Read This Week:

I read and completed So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti.

What I Am Currently Reading:

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (for AP English)

What I Hope to Finish by Next Friday:

Between Here and Forever

Bee Season by Myla Goldberg (for my Outside Reading Novel for AP English)

Anna.

I Know It's Not Tuesday...

Hi Everyone! I know it's not Tuesday, but I was just checking to see if anyone stops in here anymore or reads these posts! It's been over a year...

So here's a little plug...head on over to Larkin's Book Bloggers! We're currently doing a book giveaway and some swag giveaway for the new novel Clarity by Kim Harrington. Haven't heard about it? Check out the review on our blog as well! One winner will receive an autographed copy of the novel, a sticker, and an autographed bookmark! Two other winners will get an autographed bookplate, autographed bookmark and a sticker!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin


Come check us out and restore my faith that people still hang out at Teen Tuesday!

J. Larkin

HELLOOOOOO Teen Tuesday!

I just finished an excellent book - The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. It's her debut novel and it is fantastic.

Violet can find the dead bodies of people who have been murdered. She senses their "echoes" and the imprints they leave behind on their killers. Only her family knows her secret. Entering her junior year in high school, Violet has enough to worry about - including a hard core crush on her best friend since forever, Jay. But a serial killer is now on the loose, and Violet becomes tied to the case when she discovers the dead body of one of his victims. Searching for echoes and imprints leads her deeper and deeper into the investigation. Can Violet stop him?

Seriously - this book had me reading non-stop. Violet was a great character and the plot was fast-paced and suspenseful. There were some great twists and turns, and of course the romantic twist with Violet and Jay provided some funny moments! I also liked how the author mixed in some chapters that were told from the perspective of the killer - especially at the part in the novel where Violet is at the party. The echoes and imprints was also interesting and added a lot of drama at different parts - especially when Violet didn't know what she was sensing.

Definitely read this - if mystery/suspense/drama is your genre, you won't want to miss this one.

It Is Teen Tuesday, Right?

Well, we've been reading too many books to write about here...head on over Larkin's Book Bloggers to read more about Creepers, The Clearing, Once, and MORE!

http://http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

Lucky Enough to Read the ARC of Linger!

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Boston with our school's libarian/media specialist and attended the ALA's midwinter conference. I was in HEAVEN! We received tons of ARCs and copies of newly released books. However, it was when we went by the Scholastic booth that we really got excited...there on the table was the ARC for Linger! Yes, Linger - the highly anticipated next book of the Shiver series. I devoured it in one day - and all I'll say is...awesome. A little predictable in some areas, but I loved the new male wolf character, and the love story is still what drives the heart of the story. I also loved the ending - the drama of the hospital, conflict with the parents, and the cliffhanger which means - another book!

Check out our blog...Larkin's Book Bloggers -

blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin

My middle school students will be posting a review soon - of Linger and many other new novels! And watch for a new contest soon...we'll be giving away an ARC of Linger!

Checking in on Teen Tuesday...

So I just finished reading My Most Excellent Year - A Story of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park. And I LOVED it. Growing up in New England and a huge fan of the Sox myself, the setting of Brookline, Boston, and other parts of MA appealed to me - as did all of the Red Sox references! I loved reading about TC - dealing with his mother's death, finding Augie, falling for Ale, finding Hucky - his whole journey was amazing. Augie was hysterical and having a gay main character was great - not something you commonly find in today's YA lit. Hucky and Mary Poppins - what a sweet storyline - and the ending wrapped that up so nicely. A definite read if you haven't done so already!

Next up is Bloom - recommended by one of my students! Thanks Gabby! Has anyone out there read it yet?

Blog updates and such

So, you all know about the BIG FAT NERD JOURNAL:



but a friend and I have started another blog called THE CRAZIES, in which we basically post little half-written stories, poems, etc. We're also working on an interactive story, so check that out:

http://thecraziesdotcome.blogspot.com/

Happy Tuesday,
Danielle

Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Have you ever dealt with addiction? Has it had an impact on your family or someone close to you? I just finished Last Night I Sang to the Monster and I really enjoyed it. Zach, the main character, tells us a fragmented story as he attempts to put his life back together. We meet Zach inside a treatment center as he battles alcohol addiction. We also meet many other interesting addicts - especially Rafael and Sharkey. But Zach's story is different, as he doesn't remember how he got to the treatment center - what happened that finally set him over the edge?

The beginning of the story was slow going - I had a hard time connecting with Zach. The story was very choppy and his expressions just became repetitive and boring. But as each character told their story during therapy ("Storytime"), and as we learned more about Zach, I really became attached and cared about what happened to each of them. Like Zach, I was upset when Sharkey left and cried along with him at certain key points in this story. And it is very powerful when he finally reveals his story and what caused him to end up where he is. I loved the character of Adam and how he was such a positive character in the story. Definite 4 out of 5 - thanks to Benjamin Alire Saenz for a great story about addiction, battling addiction, and survival.

Check out our blog as we're currently giving away THREE novels!

http://blogs.ellingtonschools.org/larkin/

The Big Fat Nerd Journal--Sign Up TODAY!

Hello, all. For anyone who's been reading le blog, this is old news. But, since I'm pretty sure that's none of you, I'll explain anyway.

The Big Fat Nerd Journal is just that--a journal. A plain, marble one that you can get for fifty cents at a Stop and Shop (though, depending on the economy crisis, things might be getting a tad steeper). It looks like this:



The lowdown is that I will send this journal out to one person across the Americas. They will carry it around for as long as TWO WEEKS, scribbling and doodling and just generally writing whatever happens to be on their mind (limited to three pages, please). Then, when they are done, they will take a picture with the journal. It can be anything--the journal with their cat, their house, their bed, computer, stack of books, on a bench, on a rock, in the kitchen...etc etc etc. They will then email this picture to me, along with a few words on their "experience" with the journal (which I will post on the Offical Blog). I will in turn give them the address of someone else, and they will send it to that person. Rinse, wash and repeat. The goal is to get this journal to as many people, places and countries as physically possible. I think it will be a fun way to connect to other folk around the world. It's also a way to plug your blog/website, or any other buisness endeavers. I would really appreciate if you were to check out the site to sign up, and I look forward to seeing what you scamps have to say!

(international participants welcome)

Danielle