Not as Great as His Other Books

Layover by David Bell

It's no secret that I have loved Bell's work since I first discovered him a few years ago, but this one was not quite as good as all of his others.

It starts out in the Atlanta airport (which is where my own traveling debacle started while I was reading this). Joshua travels a lot for work, despite the anxiety that traveling by air gives him. While waiting in line to buy a book, he runs into Morgan, who intrigues him from the start. They end up going to a bar before their flights, and hit it off. Morgan gives him the kiss of his life before telling him he'll never see her again. This prompts him to change flights so that he can be with her and get to know her better. But, when he sees her on the plane, she denies knowing him.

Josh doesn't know what to make of this, but when he lands, he sees a news report for a missing person, and that missing person is Morgan. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse that involves theft and murder.

I don't know if this didn't hold my attention because the story was lacking something, or if it is because I read the first half during a series of flights to Europe and the last half on flights home a week later or what, but this just didn't grab me and hold on like all of his other books did.

Pretty Bois

Pretty Bois Have Sad Lives by Nicolas Serrano

As a teacher, I have to fulfill 30 hours of professional development every calendar year. Twelve of those hours I tend to get during the summer so that I can get all of my school holidays off. This past Monday, I went to PD, and the author of this book, who is a teacher in my district, was one of the presenters. He was told he should plug his book, and I am all about supporting people in my community, so I bought the book.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed by how short it is--only 38 pages--but I enjoyed the book, so I can't complain too much. Since I am still in a reading slump (and my impending divorce isn't helping with that either), it was nice to read something short to feel like I completed something.

Like most of the popular books of "poetry" these days, this is reminiscent of the author's life experiences. The poetry is relatable and deep, but my favorite part of the book was the introduction. What I got from this is: 1. I hope Serrano writes more of this and 2. I hope to get to see more of his work inside the classroom.

***This didn't get published when it was supposed to. This is from June 2019.***

Two Decades Later, A Companion

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

When I was in grad school getting my MLS, I had to read Speak. I liked it. Earlier this year, I read the graphic novel of Speak. I like both. When I heard that Ms. Anderson was publishing a follow up to that book, I knew I would read it. It's rare, in my experience, for an author to write a memoir about their own sexual assault experiences after writing a hugely successful fictional book over the same topic. In fact, the only other author I can think of who has done so (and that I read both the fiction book and the memoir) was Alice Sebold. Being a victim myself, I find myself drawn to these books to see if the way I handled things is "normal." There is no "normal," by the way.

This book is in three parts. The first part is Anderson's background, her history. The second, is her response to sexual assault in general, rather than her specific experience. It also deals with people's response to her books, and people who have come to her with their own stories. The last is a way to tie up some loose ends. It's all written in free verse, which makes this a fairly quick read. I loved how open and honest Anderson was in these pages.

I liked this enough that I will likely buy a physical copy for the shelves of my classroom, and encourage students to read it.