Blue Bloods Book 4: The Van Alen Legacy

This book is a close follow-up to Revelations, so a re-read is in order. Despite the book's setting of 1 year post-Cordova, the book feels like it takes place the next day. The characters haven't changed since the last page of Revelations, even though a year has gone by. The relationships quickly change in book 4, and I have a fear this series is going the length of the magic number 7. There are 7 houses, 7 gates, etc. I think we're in the middle of this series. This book isn't long, but major plot developments and character details come forth. The themes explored in the book: Is anyone ever really dead? Is history fated to repeat itself? Are we bound by destiny or by our own choices? Is there ever a point where we are unable to forgive the past and pay the piper for our misdeeds? Does love last forever?  
I recommend this book as the best of the Blue Bloods books. It's too short... and the next one is hard to wait for. Fast plot, good developments, good romantic evolution, and good future set-up. We even got somewhere with Charles and Allegra, Schyler & Allegra, and Bliss & Allegra! Finally!!

The Hunger Games--It's SOOO Popular (with good reason!)

Sweeping the nation, on the NY Times Bestselling List (Children's books) The Hunger Games has spent 54 weeks topping the charts, eclipsed only by Catching Fire, it's sequel. 

Any review at this point is virtually superfluous. The books really are good reading; the violence, concept, and other science fiction are very current. There's a focus that feels very real-world oriented (global warming replaced by hunger, famine, and then localized gluttony. Much like obesity in America today.)

The novel is dystopian, so there's a futuristic slant, but like good science fiction, the idea of the "Hunger Games" is a combination of Survior meets The Olympic Games meets Big Brother. It feels entirely current though the plot is as old as the Roman Colosseum. 

I recommend The Hunger Games. I was compelled to read both books back-to-back far into the night. I'll be one of the first readers when book 3 comes out. I'm on Team Peeta...

Parents should be warned, all of the hallmarks of war are in this book: death, dying, and kill or be killed, and the stakes are incredibly high, and the government conspiracy and collusion will hit its zenith in the last book in the trilogy... coming to a book store near you next fall.


From the New York Times Bestselling List this week:

This  Week		Weeks on List
1	CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of "The Hunger Games" returns. (Ages 12 and up)	3
2	THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)	54

Ranger's Apprentice, Book 6

We have enjoyed these books by Jonn Flanagan. Book six starts where book 5 left off. We have a more-adult Will Treaty, Alyss and Horace besieging the castle at Mackindaw where Alyss is held captive.

The plot moves along well, and the characters are likeable. It took me 2 chapters to remember all that had happened before in book 5, so I suggest a quick review of that book before reading this one.

Will and Horace do quite a bit of needling each other and they have brief arguments, very indicative of a long-term best-friendship, especially one under pressure. I enjoyed Will and Alyss as they were apart the entire book, but their relationship still moved forward. This book is on a grades 4-8 level, and the book is not "mushy-mushy" at all. It does deal with saying "I love you"--and how that might complicate things between friends (especially Will/Horace/Evanlyn). The book has a great resolution, and does not set-up events in Book 7. Book 7, Erak's Ransom, is going to take place in the years before books 5 & 6.

Ranger's Apprentice has already been released in Australia, and books 7-10 will come out in the United States within the next year. They are being released at a pace of about 4 months apart. They are in hardback in the US, where in Australia, their original print was in paperback. Happy reading!

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles

This weekend, I read Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles an interesting follow-up to the original Spiderwick Chronicles.

The books were fast paced, dealt with giants, hydras, and combined families, and they were a very quick read. The characters were all likeable--no villans in the bunch--and all were important. There weren't any extraneous characters, and the plot kept moving along in creative paths.

The Grace kids make their appearance, and the previous Spiderwick books and plot are part of this book. It's assumed by the writers that you've read the other series.

I finished these 3 in about an hour and 15 minutes. They were a light snack on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

A Run of Bad Fiction?

The good news is that this book isn't in stores near you, right now. However, because it's James Patterson, and his Maximum Ride series is now at book 5, this series will also sell.

I disliked this book to an enormous degree, probably out of perspective for the sheer pique I felt having wasted my time reading this book. Following on the heels of Anthony Horowitz and the Alex Rider books, Daniel X is not a spy; he's an alien hunter. In a story equal parts Men in Black meets James Bond meets Spiderman, Daniel X is just too much of everything and not enough believability.

James Patterson and partner stretch the "willing suspension of disbelief" in so many ways, with so many short, choppy chapters and numerous cliches, easy to guess plot twists, and enough puking and bodily fluid references to truly emphasize that this is a book written for late elementary school boys, that the book is virtually unenjoyable for a normal read. The last 3 of Patterson's books for 'tweens have been so "global warming"-"Earth's in Peril"-mongering that there's little plot and a whole lot of scare tactic. Even in this book, about aliens, a world JUST like Earth has been destroyed and left behind as metal, all life gone. It's just too much.

I won't be reading about Daniel X again. If you want a GOOD book, with a similarly special 'tween who's out to save the world, read Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz series. That's a world worth saving, a hero worth knowing, and a plot worth laughing about. Definitely skip Daniel X, unless you need a guilt trip and time spent with Al Gore. In fact, skip Daniel X, and just go looking for Gore on DVD. You'll have saved time and effort.

Catherine Coulter, Knockout

This is the 13th book in this series with Dillon Savich and Lacy Sherlock, and Amazon.com readers give it a measley 3 stars. If I hadn't been loaned this book, I definitely wouldn't have picked it up. I remember the last time I read this series (TailSpin) that I had been disappointed with the cookie-cutter characters and numerous repetitive cliches. I also tire of the same-old references to MAX, Sean, and their dog. What once was amusing, has stopped amusing me after 13 times.

I really enjoyed The Maze and I thought that several others in this series had good plot, romance, and action. This book fell ridiculously flat, and the characters were static. Even the "romance" between the sheriff and mother of the adorable Autumn (who was the only round character in the book), wasn't a romance. It was an emotional attachment that was hardly romance. Absolutely no sparks or chemistry. Even Savich and Sherlock were simply partners.

What was truly bad about this story is that we were back to woo-woo-voo-doo and mind-games. It felt more X-Files than FBI. At book 13, I've also stopped feeling the FBI focus now that the stories are taking place in small towns. I often question, "Why is the FBI involved here?"

This was not Catherine Coulter at her finest. Her funniest, most romantic book was definitely The Sherbrooke Bride. It also had a bit of fantasy/ghosts, but The Bride series had true laugh-out-loud characters. However: stretching that series to 13 would also have made the characters cliche and campy.

This is a "meh" for me. It's light, adult level reading, and the characters are flat. There's a lot of action, adventure, and movement in the plot, and it does feel a bit like Numb3rs in the rotation of the story. If you choose to read, do so from the library. Don't waste your funds on the $20 hardback.

The Warrior/Wizard Heir

Yesterday, I read The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I had previously read The Wizard Heir before I realized it was book 2 in the series.

The Warrior Heir is young adult reading, in the middle school grades, and is interesting and creative fantasy. While the plot is not terribly original, the characters and plot unfold in a readable, accessible way.

I enjoyed The Warrior Heir more than The Wizard Heir, but both books combined make me want to read The Dragon Heir, the last book in the series.

These books are highly rated on Amazon.com and I recommend them for light, enjoyable reading. You can buy a boxed set at Amazon, and that's what I'll be getting my nephew for his birthday.

Since School Started...

I haven't had much time to read since school started, and the two books I have read were history books (not much in the way of average, casual reading).

The first was called The Freemasons. I enjoyed the book, and it did give me more insight into people who became masons, why, and when, but it was often more a book of lists and political machinations verses a good, solid history. It was an OK book for me... not a "pick this book up immediately."

It was not what I expected. No big insights or references to what happens, even when they "detailed" the Scottish Rite, it was who invented it, n

ot what it means.

The second book I read was hugely interesting. It was Lost Christianities. Ehrman took a look at many, many different things, and he made all of it interesting. There were quotes, and there were really good notes (and they made for excellent reading).

Ehrman also looked at motivation and orthodoxy vs. heretics. I felt like I had made the 400 year journey of Christianity, texts, and modern discovery. I really enjoyed hearing about how the Biblical canon came to be, and what drove it. Definitely recommend for those who like the idea of multiple texts creating multiple meanings on the same topic.

Wicked... Not Recommending!

Not to be confused with Wicked, now a popular Broadway musical, this series is a collection of dark magic, sacrifice, goddess, and Wicca worship. I found parts of these books to be disturbing and gruesome.

Not even the love story of tormented lovers separated by hundreds of years redeemed these books for me. I found the characters exceptionally hard to like, the plot blundered on, and it wallowed in witches, warlocks, and a mish-mash of voudon, Native American Shamanism, and any conceivable type of magic.

There seemed to be no redeeming characters, and the books always ended unresolved.

I definitely do NOT recommend these books. Read them at your waste of time...

Summer Reading

This summer I read The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, picking them up at Costco. The recommendation on the front was from Stephenie Meyers, and with the run-away success of Twilight at both the Teen Choice and MTV awards, I knew her endorsement would be key.

This series is very much a hero journey. We have Jace and Clary, who are divided by circumstance despite their love for one another. The book brings forth all sorts of characters, settings, and situations, including war and some violence.

In typical fashion, there are twists and turns along the way, but the world is saved, and through a delightful plot twist, it ends happily ever after. I definitely recommend these books to those who read and enjoyed The Twilight Saga. These books are very much in the same vein, and are better written.

Happy reading!

I haven't QUIT reading...

I haven't stopped reading entirely. I did read Ranger's Apprentice, Book 5, that my 9 year old son, Jack, got for his birthday. Unlike the Harry Potter books, Ranger's Apprentice reading level doesn't grow with the age of the main character. It's perfectly suited to a 9 year old, the entire series.

This book is set the year after Will becomes a "real" Ranger (not an apprentice). There are two drawbacks with this book:

first, it is not a complete story. It concludes in book 6 (to be released in August 2009, although it has been previously released in paperback in Australia). The second drawback is that book 7 actually occurs before books 5 and 6. It is out of chronological order. 

Here's the description on the Ranger's Apprentice site http://www.rangersapprentice.com/the-series.htm

I recommend the entire series, and I've even considered spending the $80 to import the next 3 from Australia. I think I can wait... for $80.

The Graveyard Book

I borrowed this book from our school library, as I was intrigued by the premise of "it takes a graveyard to raise a child." Loosely based on the concepts of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (not Disney's version), "Bod" Owens escapes death at only 18 months old, the same age as my own Max. I have a very, very hard time with this believability, but reading requires a strong suspension of disbelief.

Bod Owens' life is detailed in the book, and it is often lonely and macabre. Neil Gaiman is the author of Coraline, and like Coraline, The Graveyard Book is dark, even in it's child-like story. Bod is no older than 15 when he leaves the safety of the graveyard, and he leaves a hero. However, he's still an orphan, he still has no name, and he loses the only family he's ever known the second he leaves the graveyard for the last time.

What I was left with was a sadness. There was no triumph. There was no heroic victory. There was simply life: and life was the end of the beginning, but the point of the entire book. All in all, I recommend it. It's a nice, quick read, but it's thoughtful, and it's not a warm-fuzzy book. Emotionally, it's quite detatched, and perhaps it's better that way. After all, life doesn't begin in a graveyard.

I'd recommend this book for students in middle school. It's not hard reading, but it's not a comfortable subject.

Nefertiti

In preparation for my unit on historical fiction and researching history, I bought 4 novels at Barnes & Noble. Actually, I was at Barnes & Nobel as a Den Mother for my new 8 year old scout's field trip. While waiting for our tour to begin, the pack stood next to a table with "buy one get one half off" books on it. I saw 4 books that were historical fiction, and we'd discussed (the day before) doing and using historical fiction as part of research which is required in the state core.

I bought 4 books that day. The first book I've read of the 4 is called Nefertiti by Nick Drake. Had I bought it from Amazon.com (as I usually do), I would have noticed it only had a 3 star rating. It's a "meh" as far as mysteries go. It's a bit "history light" and I didn't really care much for the narrator, the missing Nefertiti, nor the whole Ra/Rahotep religion issue. I didn't care, one single bit, for the way the mystery played out, and although I'll use the book again as an example next year, it will be my "don't choose this book because of the cover" book.

Book Review: Larklight by Philip Reeve

Larklight is a science fiction novel written for a younger audience, a darling chapter book that would be great for kids in 5-7th grades.

Philip Reeve is a British author, and he has set this novel in an "alternate" reality in Victorian England: however, these plucky Englishmen have discovered how to travel the cosmos based on principles learned (or given) to Sir Isaac Newton.

The young man, Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle are hurtled into an adventure that eventually circles back to their home, Larklight, which is a space ship that is orbiting the moon.

It's a very British book; All the spelling, punctuation, and issues are distinctively British. There's a sense of social class, racial intolerance, and yet, Reeve has people from all planets co-mingling and enjoying what they can from others.

This is a fast moving adventure, and I enjoyed it very much!

Ironside by Holly Black

Ironside, a Modern Fairy's Tale is book 3 in a very older, young adult book series. While the books are interesting reading, I would definitely not recommend these books to the same readership as the Spiderwick Chronicles.

Ironside is definitely written for a teen girl audience. It pushes the boundaries having a homosexual male "side-kick" to our tough-as-nails pixie main character. It has an honorable knight unwillingly crowned as king of the underworld (very Persephone/Hades, and indeed makes the connection so the reader doesn't have to.)

While I enjoyed it, Ironside is not for everyone. If you are a teen aged girl, into fantasy, and not bothered by what may be in the "dark" side of faerie, then this is the book for you. It's much in the style of the current sensations of The Luxe, Libba Bray's series A Great & Terrible Beauty and Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz. They are modern tales, presumably for a more "modern" girl, in the sense that modern means "shocking."

I guess this is the new trend: Darker, edgier, bloodier, and more fantastical than ever before. With Twilight's opening weekend raking in 70+  million dollars, I guess this is the answer to Stephanie Meyer's almost clinically "clean" vampire novel.

Research--You mean there's more than just google?

My students have been in the labs researching in a "Tom Romano" fashion; they are doing an iSearch paper. Each of them chose an issue that needs to be addressed in Orem. Then, they were required to get 2 newspaper articles and 1 magazine article; 2 other sources could be anything they liked. Many of them told me "I couldn't find anything..." They had done the "broad sweep" of google-ing their topic.

Once we started to narrow the search, adding key words like Utah, Orem, Utah Valley, 2008, etc. to their topics, they watched the millions of sites dwindle. We would try to get the most relevent sources--where we had only 100-200 articles to search. It was very eye-opening for the students to watch the Internet, which seems so large, become microscopic and detailed. In a very real way, it's like the google maps zoom feature.

By and large, I had to work with every student to narrow the field. Most of them were exultant when they found their sources, and they played with their own searches to see "what else [they] could find."

Good research is a good reward, it turns out!

Dare You to Move

1. Choose a current event or issue.

 

2. Research the issue.

You will need at least

two newspaper articles

one magazine article

you may choose to include Internet search items, interviews, newsletters, etc. but you are required to have copies of your research.

 

3. You will need to write a 3 page paper.

Double Spaced

It should have a standard sized font (Lucida, Garamond, Times, Chicago, Trebuchet, etc.) No "fancy" or handwritten fonts except for as titles.

Type your name on the paper.

 

4. Your paper will explain the issue in at least 1 paragraph.

You could use other paragraphs to explain what is being done by other people, or what should be done about the issue.

You should have a conclusion that outlines what YOU intend to do about the issue. What can you, as one person, do about the issue? How do you make a difference? How can you have power as just one person?

 

5. Your paper will be due the day before Thanksgiving.

 

6. Your project will be due, and you will talk about what the issue is and what you did to make a difference, after Christmas break, January 5th or January 6th.

 

7. This fulfills several elements of the English core curricula: speaking, listening, research, evaluation and analysis, and inquiry. I hope you choose something that is fun that gives you a sense of "warm fuzzy" from making a difference.

Welcome to the planet 

Welcome to existence 

Everyone's here 

Everyone's here 

Everybody's watching you now 

Everybody waits for you now 

What happens next? 

What happens next? 

I dare you to move 

I dare you to move 

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor 

I dare you to move 

I dare you to move 

Like today never happened 

Today never happened before 

Welcome to the fallout 

Welcome to resistance 

The tension is here 

The tension is here 

Between who you are and who you could be 

Between how it is and how it should be 

I dare you to move 

I dare you to move 

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor 

I dare you to move 

I dare you to move 

Like today never happened 

Today never happened 

Maybe redemption has stories to tell 

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell 

Where can you run to escape from yourself? 

Where you gonna go? 

Where you gonna go? 

Salvation is here...

Student Portfolios & Student Led Conferences

I am sure some parents are very surprised and displeased with the way I have graded this quarter. I apologize for the lengthy process. What I have done is compile every paper your student has completed this quarter to put into a portfolio. I have done this, plus put notes into the computer for EVERY assignment (when possible) so that the comments are viewable to you, their parents. I think that the more feedback you have on your student, the more you can help him/her to become a better writer, thinker, speaker, and listener.

I have collected this information for you to discuss with your student in a "Student Led Conference." You will have specific directions for my class to specifically address your student's needs and strengths. Student Led Conferences are important for the student to identify areas that need to be better to do well on both standardized testing and in life. English, the spoken and written word, is life. People live and love through communication. All forms of communication are an art that has to be practiced to become better.

Hopefully, as we get to the end of the term you will feel this has been an important practice for you. Along the way, I have tried to put in scores so that you know I have received the assignment and am still trying to get all the comments into the computer. This "note bank" allows you to immediately access the good qualities and items that need to be addressed by your student, and they let you access ways you can help your student from any computer at any time that you have Internet access.

Please send me feedback on anything about this process. This is the first time I have done any kind of data collection in this format. It's been extremely time-consuming, but I hope it has been helpful.

Thanks for allowing me to spend time solving mysteries of things unknown and learning and growing with the amazing people in my classes.

Music Recommendations

I feel a really, really important part of my job is to be "up" on pop culture. One of the focuses I try to make is to bring pictures, books, and lots and lots of music to my class. However, I had a student tell me that I wasn't bringing "their" music. It was all "too old" or "too country" or "over-played."

So, I am asking you to send me great songs. What should I use in my classroom? Please reply in comments or to jillian.phippen@gmail.com with "music recommendation" in the subject line.

Thanks for your help in making ME a better teacher!

The Vampire Diaries

A student gave me The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith as an alternative to the Twilight Saga, and I must say, I have been pleasantly surprised. Originally, each was a young adult book about 255 pages long. Now, there are 2 books published together in 2 books.

These vampires are brothers, they are dangerous, but, of course, they are not all bad. In fact, they turn out to be daring, heroic, and they save the world... as mere mortals know it.

I enjoyed all 4, found nothing (besides blood---and you knew that when you picked up a vampire book) that would be offensive. Interestingly, I also found a werewolf. It got me thinking. The original copyright in the book was 1991. I wonder when Stephenie Meyers read them? Certainly Anne Rice didn't add werewolves and vampires together, so... is it really logical to do that?

I'm giving The Vampire Diaries 3 stars. They are a fun read. The characters are good, solid, dynamic, and enjoyable. The scary is scary. The twists are enjoyable, and the books are not romance with a bit of fantasy. They are action-fantasy with a bit of romance. A nice change from the Twilight world, if you asked me!