February 24, 2020

On My Bookshelf: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

In The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, Holling Hoodhood's narration is full of humor and while sometimes he is as young and foolish as one would expect a seventh grade boy to be, other times he is wise beyond his years. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
The basic plot from Amazon: Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.

In The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, Holling Hoodhood's narration is full of humor and while sometimes he is as young and foolish as one would expect a seventh grade boy to be, other times he is wise beyond his years. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
Why I liked it: I read Okay for Now, a companion to the The Wednesday Wars, ages ago and loved how relatable the characters were (despite the book being set in the past) as well as the strong male protagonist. And I loved Orbiting Jupiter even more for similar reasons, so I think it is safe to say that anything Gary Schmidt writes is a winner.

The Wednesday Wars was particularly heartwarming for me because of the central role Holling's teacher, Mrs. Baker, plays in the novel, which spans one school year. She arranges meetings with famous baseball players, coaches Holling to help him make the varsity track team, pushes him academically with Shakespeare, helps him in his romantic relationship, and leads an end of year camping trip for his entire seventh grade class. 

That isn't to say that Holling, the main character, isn't pretty great himself. His narration is full of humor and while sometimes he is as young and foolish as one would expect a seventh grade boy to be, other times he is wise beyond his years. Like Doug in Okay for Now, Holling flourishes despite his family situation. Holling's father is self-centered and pushy and his mother always defers to him, but Holling stands up for himself and even his older sister Heather.

Classroom application: Similar to Okay for Now, I would recommend this book to 5th through 9th grade students. There isn't any inappropriate or mature content to be concerned about, and likely many students can relate to feeling like a teacher dislikes them.

The book is set in the late 1960s and touches on the assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy, the Vietnam War and the protests against it, flower children and The Beatles, so a number of historical connections could be made.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Wednesday Wars for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


In The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, Holling Hoodhood's narration is full of humor and while sometimes he is as young and foolish as one would expect a seventh grade boy to be, other times he is wise beyond his years. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.

February 17, 2020

On My Bookshelf: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

In Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Caitlin's parents are wrapped up in the disappearance of her sister. Caitlin's desire to be needed is satisfied when she meets Rogerson, who she thinks she can save from the effects of his abusive father. But Caitlin can't change him, and soon she becomes a victim of Rogerson's abuse. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
The basic plot from Amazon: Love can be a very dangerous thing.

After her sister left, Caitlin felt lost.

Then she met Rogerson.

When she’s with him, nothing seems real.

But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

Why I liked it: As a teenager, I was a huge fam of Sarah Dessen and was happy to find that her books stand the test of time when I recently read one of her newer releases, Once and For AllDreamland isn't new (it was published in 2004), but it was one I hadn't read as a teen. I'm sure I would have liked it them, but as an adult I couldn't tear myself away from it.
In Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Caitlin's parents are wrapped up in the disappearance of her sister. Caitlin's desire to be needed is satisfied when she meets Rogerson, who she thinks she can save from the effects of his abusive father. But Caitlin can't change him, and soon she becomes a victim of Rogerson's abuse. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.

After Caitlin's perfect sister Cass runs away just before she is set to begin college, Caitlin, an otherwise "good" girl and student, feels the need to push back and be something different. With her parents wrapped up in the disappearance of her sister, Caitlin's desire to be needed is satisfied when she meets Rogerson, who she thinks she can change and save from the effects of his abusive father. But Caitlin can't change him or save him, and soon she becomes a victim of Rogerson's abuse.

As a mother of three girls, an abusive partner is one of my worst fears for them. It was frightening to think about how easy it was for Caitlin to get stuck in this terrible relationship. And she isn't the only one in the book. Corrine, a supporting character, isn't in a physically abusive relationship, but she allows her husband to tie her down and drain her financially. Sadly, I could see myself doing the same as either girl at their age. Despite having wonderful parents and grandparents as models of healthy relationships, an unhealthy relationship had an inexplicable appeal for me as a young adult and I would imagine many other girls felt or feel the same.

Classroom application: Because of the disturbing content and drug use, I would recommend this one for high school and up. Discussions about healthy teen relationships is SO important and I highly recommend having at least one with your students. You can read a little more about the author's intentions and the evolution of this story here.

Dreamland could also be used to study the idea of character foils. Caitlin and her best friend Rina, and Caitlin's parents and their neighbors, Boo and Stewart, are perfect pairings.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Dreamland for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

In Dreamland by Sarah Dessen, Caitlin's parents are wrapped up in the disappearance of her sister. Caitlin's desire to be needed is satisfied when she meets Rogerson, who she thinks she can save from the effects of his abusive father. But Caitlin can't change him, and soon she becomes a victim of Rogerson's abuse. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.

February 10, 2020

On My Bookshelf: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is an amazing story of survival. The voices of the male and female protagonists, Salva and Nya, are equally strong and both young people possess determination and demonstrate physical endurance as they seek out a safe place to call home and access to clean water. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
The basic plot from Amazon: A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

Why I liked it: A Long Walk to Water is an amazing story of survival, but what I liked most is that the voices of the male and female protagonists are equally strong. Both young people possess determination and demonstrate physical endurance.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is an amazing story of survival. The voices of the male and female protagonists, Salva and Nya, are equally strong and both young people possess determination and demonstrate physical endurance as they seek out a safe place to call home and access to clean water. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
Classroom application: A Long Walk to Water is appropriate for middle school and up. The book would be perfect to use as a read aloud because the chapters are short and many end with cliffhangers that will leave students wanting to hear more. Creating a timeline of the events in the book and mapping out Salva's trek would be activities to support struggling readers.

After reading, there are number of research opportunities or connections to be made to current events. Students could learn more about the continuing conflict in Sudan, the global water crisis, the Lost Boys of Sudan, immigration quotas in the United States and other countries, tribes in Sudan, access to education is other countries, and the ability of technology to change lives.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of A Long Walk to Water for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park is an amazing story of survival. The voices of the male and female protagonists, Salva and Nya, are equally strong and both young people possess determination and demonstrate physical endurance as they seek out a safe place to call home and access to clean water. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.

February 3, 2020

On My Bookshelf: Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

If you loved The Hate U Give, All American Boys, or Dear Martin, but don't feel that they would be appropriate for your middle school classroom, you'll want to check out Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, which also focuses on the shooting of a young black boy by a police officer. The relationship between the 12 year old narrator and Sarah, the 12 year old daughter of the police officer who kills him, humanizes the story. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
The basic plot from Amazon: Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that's been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.

Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father's actions.

Once again Jewell Parker Rhodes deftly weaves historical and socio-political layers into a gripping and poignant story about how children and families face the complexities of today's world, and how one boy grows to understand American blackness in the aftermath of his own death.

If you loved The Hate U Give, All American Boys, or Dear Martin, but don't feel that they would be appropriate for your middle school classroom, you'll want to check out Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, which also focuses on the shooting of a young black boy by a police officer. The relationship between the 12 year old narrator and Sarah, the 12 year old daughter of the police officer who kills him, humanizes the story. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
Why I liked it: A copy of Ghost Boys has been in my classroom all year, but I just finished listening to it on audiobook and it brought tears to my eyes more than once. I appreciated the many references to real young black men who have been killed by police officers and the author's note at the end. The relationship between the 12 year old narrator and Sarah, the 12 year old daughter of the police officer who kills him, humanizes the story.

I think that this relationship may help make the novel more relatable for young people who are not regularly exposed to gun violence. The details about the difficulties in Sarah's relationship with her father as well as between her mother and father also helped to round out these characters.

Classroom application: If you loved The Hate U Give, All American Boys, or Dear Martin, but don't feel that they would be appropriate for your middle school classroom, you'll want to check out this novel, which also focuses on the shooting of a young black boy by a police officer. Ghost Boys could be paired with Long Way Down, also middle school appropriate, to have a rich discussion about gin violence.

After reading, students could research Emmett Till and the other real young men mentioned in the book. Students could also learn more about different cultural and religious beliefs about the dead and ghosts.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Ghost Boys for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

If you loved The Hate U Give, All American Boys, or Dear Martin, but don't feel that they would be appropriate for your middle school classroom, you'll want to check out Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, which also focuses on the shooting of a young black boy by a police officer. The relationship between the 12 year old narrator and Sarah, the 12 year old daughter of the police officer who kills him, humanizes the story. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.