Video Game Meets Fairy Tale I would recommend this book for middle-grade readers just getting started in the fantasy genre, video game fans, and fans of plot-driven works. The book also contains lots of elements of video games—potions, quests, professions, etc.—that would resonate with video game fans. The plot of this book moves along quickly, […]
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Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft I had read this book—or at least parts of it—years ago, but I thought I’d re-read it from the perspective of a much more serious author than the kid who dreamed of one day being Stephen King. I learned a lot from reading this book—including the […]
Glimmers begins when Paige tries on a pair of vintage boots and experiences a “glimmer” into the life of the boots’ former owner. As the story progresses, Paige experiences similar glimmers when she touches objects of sentimental value to others. When I first started reading, I thought the people whose stories she experienced were going […]
This fast-paced novel is the first book in the Juniper Grove Chronicles. I enjoyed the premise of the story: a young woman has moved to a new town after the death of her family. She has always thought herself to be a bit strange, but that was nothing compared to the strange people she meets […]
This book was loaned to me by a beta reader who is in middle school. She told me she really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the second one, so I was eager to read it. My reaction in short is that I probably would have loved the book in middle school, but as […]
I picked up this book because it had earned a Newbery Honor, and was written by the same author who wrote From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a Newbery winner. The book was written in the 1960s, so there are some elements that are outdated, but a good story is a good […]
Dead on Town Line by Leslie Connor This is a quick read—131 pages written in verse with lots of white space on the page. The story itself is haunting, told from the point of view of Cassie, a ghost lingering around the site of her murder and awaiting the day she will find closure for […]
This is one of my favorite (long) short stories to teach in high school. Though my Monday book reviews normally focus on full-length books, this short story is a great work to study as a horror writer. Gilman wrote the story as a result of her own mental breakdown. It was written in the late […]
As the last few weeks of school are winding down, I thought I would review some of the books I teach or have taught. In high school I read (or attempted to read) Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, and I swore off Thomas Hardy forever. But then life happened, and I found myself teaching Tess […]
Shattering Glass is a YA book following the transformation of Simon Glass, an unpopular, fat, clumsy student. When a new kid named Rob comes to the school, he decides to make it his big project to turn Glass into someone popular. Rob’s plan works more than well, and soon Glass displays an independent (and dark) […]
