Buena High School Library Staff Recommendations
Mr. Levin's Book Recommendation for March:
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van Draanen's 2001 YA novel, Flipped , is an absolutely adorable he-said/she-said coming-of-age story. In alternating chapters, we view the same events from the eyes of two very different characters: the precocious Juli and the cynical Bryce. For seven-year-old Juli, it's love at first sight when Bryce's family moves in across the street; her new neighbor, however, takes a lot longer to appreciate Juli's quirky habits and behavior.
Though Bryce initially views the atypical girl in the run-down house across the street as a freak, he slowly (very slowly, mind you) begins to appreciate her unique sensibilities and vivacious spirit. Keep in mind that Juli is the kind of girl who incubates eggs for a science fair project and continues to raise the baby chicks after they hatch; Bryce, on the other hand, is completely grossed-out by hen poop and dirty chicken coops. By the time that the two narrators wind up their eighth-grade year, everything goes topsy-turvy in a variety of delightful ways. The fact that the novel ends without a tidy, wrapped-up-in-a-bow conclusion only reinforces the unique sensibilities of this quirky, fun YA offering.
Though the target demographic for Flipped is the middle-school crowd, I was impressed by the wide variety of topics that Van Draanen incorporates into her novel. This isn't just a tween-age love story; rather, Flipped examines social pressure, domestic strife, shame, poverty, grief, developmental disabilities, and a variety of other sophisticated themes that go beyond the tropes of a simple star-crossed romance. In the end, you'll find yourself rooting for Juli and Bryce as they learn to navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence.
First love might be a tale as old as time, but it's never been told before with quite so many chickens.
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Wendelin Van Draanen's 2001 YA novel, Flipped , is an absolutely adorable he-said/she-said coming-of-age story. In alternating chapters, we view the same events from the eyes of two very different characters: the precocious Juli and the cynical Bryce. For seven-year-old Juli, it's love at first sight when Bryce's family moves in across the street; her new neighbor, however, takes a lot longer to appreciate Juli's quirky habits and behavior.
Though Bryce initially views the atypical girl in the run-down house across the street as a freak, he slowly (very slowly, mind you) begins to appreciate her unique sensibilities and vivacious spirit. Keep in mind that Juli is the kind of girl who incubates eggs for a science fair project and continues to raise the baby chicks after they hatch; Bryce, on the other hand, is completely grossed-out by hen poop and dirty chicken coops. By the time that the two narrators wind up their eighth-grade year, everything goes topsy-turvy in a variety of delightful ways. The fact that the novel ends without a tidy, wrapped-up-in-a-bow conclusion only reinforces the unique sensibilities of this quirky, fun YA offering.
Though the target demographic for Flipped is the middle-school crowd, I was impressed by the wide variety of topics that Van Draanen incorporates into her novel. This isn't just a tween-age love story; rather, Flipped examines social pressure, domestic strife, shame, poverty, grief, developmental disabilities, and a variety of other sophisticated themes that go beyond the tropes of a simple star-crossed romance. In the end, you'll find yourself rooting for Juli and Bryce as they learn to navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence.
First love might be a tale as old as time, but it's never been told before with quite so many chickens.
Mr. Levin's Book Recommendation for February:
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Tara Westover's compelling memoir, Educated , is a heartbreaking examination of one family's erratic behavior and off-the-grid living. Westover's father, a manic but charismatic leader who suffers from paranoid delusions of grandeur, has fallen prey to conspiracy theories about government takeovers; as a result, he refuses to trust public schools, doctors, hospitals, and every imaginable form of government intervention. Even the Church of Latter Day Saints is considered "not holy enough" in his fundamentalist eyes. Subsequently, his children - including the brilliant but scarred Tara - never attend public school, never see doctors, and never receive treatment at hospitals. Instead, they are forced to teach themselves - not only the tacit, sterile verbiage of textbooks, but also how to navigate through the wildness and wilderness of their homelife.
As Tara and her siblings grow up, however, they must come to grips with the brainwashing they've received their entire lives. For Tara and two of her brothers, that means deciding to break with family tradition and attend school, despite their father's admonitions that they'll come back "brainwashed by socialist teachers." Watching Tara grow up and learn to think for herself - to construct her own ideas, opinions, and beliefs - is simultaneously gut-wrenching and liberating.
Educated, with its brilliant writing and painful reflections of a life lived off-the-grid, reminds us that we ultimately determine our own fates. Our experiences may not define us, but they allow us to define ourselves. For Tara Westover, that act of self-definition is absolutely heroic and life-changing: an education beyond the hallowed halls of school and into the deeper, darker recesses of the human soul.
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Tara Westover's compelling memoir, Educated , is a heartbreaking examination of one family's erratic behavior and off-the-grid living. Westover's father, a manic but charismatic leader who suffers from paranoid delusions of grandeur, has fallen prey to conspiracy theories about government takeovers; as a result, he refuses to trust public schools, doctors, hospitals, and every imaginable form of government intervention. Even the Church of Latter Day Saints is considered "not holy enough" in his fundamentalist eyes. Subsequently, his children - including the brilliant but scarred Tara - never attend public school, never see doctors, and never receive treatment at hospitals. Instead, they are forced to teach themselves - not only the tacit, sterile verbiage of textbooks, but also how to navigate through the wildness and wilderness of their homelife.
As Tara and her siblings grow up, however, they must come to grips with the brainwashing they've received their entire lives. For Tara and two of her brothers, that means deciding to break with family tradition and attend school, despite their father's admonitions that they'll come back "brainwashed by socialist teachers." Watching Tara grow up and learn to think for herself - to construct her own ideas, opinions, and beliefs - is simultaneously gut-wrenching and liberating.
Educated, with its brilliant writing and painful reflections of a life lived off-the-grid, reminds us that we ultimately determine our own fates. Our experiences may not define us, but they allow us to define ourselves. For Tara Westover, that act of self-definition is absolutely heroic and life-changing: an education beyond the hallowed halls of school and into the deeper, darker recesses of the human soul.
Mr. Levin's Book Recommendation for January:
Misery: A Novel by Stephen King
After watching the second season of Hulu’s Castle Rock, I felt compelled to finally read Stephen King’s bloody (and brilliant) novel that inspired the Annie Wilkes story arc, Misery. Though the novel lacks the supernatural elements that usually define King’s novels (there are no telekinetic children, shapeshifting clowns, or ethereal ghosts of any sort), we have something much more frightening instead: a cruel and psychotic nurse who has trapped and overmedicated her favorite author in a makeshift hospital bed.
I’ll take Pennywise the Clown or Carrie White over Annie Wilkes any day.
What I enjoyed most about Misery was not the brutal bloodshed or the psychological terror or the suspenseful cat-and-mouse games between characters; rather, it was Stephen King’s creative and clever discussions about the craft of writing. As the author Paul Sheldon does his Scheherazade routine, telling stories to his captor in order to remain alive as long as possible, King delves into the artistry and inspiration for writing novels. King’s descriptions of journeying “through the hole in the paper” and “playing fair” with your audience (amongst other qualities) provide valuable insight into the writing process for one of our era’s most prolific and prodigious authors.
Fortunately for us, King isn’t handcuffed to a hospital bed, forced to watch his appendages being cut off. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Stephen King novel without a few missing limbs, now would it?
Misery: A Novel by Stephen King
After watching the second season of Hulu’s Castle Rock, I felt compelled to finally read Stephen King’s bloody (and brilliant) novel that inspired the Annie Wilkes story arc, Misery. Though the novel lacks the supernatural elements that usually define King’s novels (there are no telekinetic children, shapeshifting clowns, or ethereal ghosts of any sort), we have something much more frightening instead: a cruel and psychotic nurse who has trapped and overmedicated her favorite author in a makeshift hospital bed.
I’ll take Pennywise the Clown or Carrie White over Annie Wilkes any day.
What I enjoyed most about Misery was not the brutal bloodshed or the psychological terror or the suspenseful cat-and-mouse games between characters; rather, it was Stephen King’s creative and clever discussions about the craft of writing. As the author Paul Sheldon does his Scheherazade routine, telling stories to his captor in order to remain alive as long as possible, King delves into the artistry and inspiration for writing novels. King’s descriptions of journeying “through the hole in the paper” and “playing fair” with your audience (amongst other qualities) provide valuable insight into the writing process for one of our era’s most prolific and prodigious authors.
Fortunately for us, King isn’t handcuffed to a hospital bed, forced to watch his appendages being cut off. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Stephen King novel without a few missing limbs, now would it?
