Monster Poetry

to make monsters out of girls by amanda lovelace

Once again, this poetess has written something that speaks to my soul. She writes from the heart about the hurts she has endured and how she has overcome them. I just love her work.

And one of the things I love most about her work is that you don't have to have experienced the same things she did to understand the hurt and pain that she writes about, nor have you had to experience the same good things she did to feel all the good she writes about. All you need is some empathy to understand her words.

A Thriller by an Author I Enjoy

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

I had been waiting for about a year for this to finally come out in paperback. I was so excited to read this, and the very first chapter assured me that I would enjoy this book a great deal. Sadly, not all the chapters were as exciting as the first one. This purports itself to be a mystery or thriller novel, but that is not the main point. the point, I am sorry to say, is more a love story than anything else. It's not bad, but it's not the reason I wanted to read this.

In Osborne, Nebraska, several of Makani's classmates are being murdered one at a time. Makani thinks it could somehow be linked to her past. By the way, her past is not as scandalous as the build-up would have you believe. Also, we find out who the murderer is about halfway through the book, which doesn't do much for the suspense factor.

I don't know, this just wasn't what I was hoping for, and I am finding it difficult to be excited about it.

A Sequel as Unremarkable as the First Book

That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton

I read this because someone told me this was better than The Outsiders. Someone who, like me, didn't understand what all the fuss about The Outsiders is all about. I wish I could agree that this was better, but it wasn't. It wasn't worse either, for what its worth.

This, apparently, happens after the events of The Outsiders, but the only character from that book that makes an appearance at all is Ponyboy. Seems that every girl Bryon dates ends up with Ponyboy.  Bryon is an only child, but his best friend, Mark, lives with him and his mother. They get into trouble from time to time, but have each other's backs on everything, until Bryon betrays Mark.

Most of this was blah, blah, blah to me. Most likely won't be reading anymore by this author because her work just doesn't resonate with me. I understand that these books were groundbreaking at the time of their publication, but YA lit has come a long way and there are better things, in my opinion, to read. That said, if you're one of those people who think that The Outsiders is the be all end all of YA lit, then you should read this.

Before She Was What She Became

Becoming Bonnie by Jenni Walsh

This is a fictional work about Bonnie Parker, the Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde. It picks up when she is about fifteen years old, still in high school, and still in love with a boy she's grown up with. This chronicles her life in how she became involved in illicit and illegal activities, which, in this case, was working at a speakeasy.

While working at the speakeasy, she volunteers herself to go on a bootlegging run with Clyde's brother, Buck. This is when she meets Clyde for the first time, but she is not that interested in him because she is engaged to Roy. Roy is everything she wants until he starts drinking and gambling. He ends up losing all their money and cheating on her.

Since I don't know too much about Bonnie's actual history, I can't say whether this book is out of the realm of possibility or not, but I did like it. Highly recommend this one.

A Modern Interpretation

The Picture of Dulce Garcia by Alana Albertson

This came in one of my Lit-Cubes, but I don't remember which one anymore. This is a modern retelling of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, which I have never read. I actually started this earlier in the summer, then got caught up in other things. No harm, no foul. This was a quick read.

Dulce is a sixteen-year-old actress in Marin, California. She plays a witch on a tv show. While shooting an episode, Dulce somehow manages to curse herself. She becomes flawlessly beautiful. At the same time, she meets Dorian Grey, who claims to be the real-life inspiration for Wilde's book. Dulce falls for him, but is also in love with her co-star, Sebastian.

This curse has changed aspects of Dulce's personality, and people are noticing. It all causes her to run off with Dorian. Then she discovers that he is sketchy as hell. She ultimately has to determine to live as she is now, or risk her life to break the curse.

I only finished this because I started it. And I paid for it. This was not the best thing I have read. In fact, it's kind of shallow. The characters are blah, and I feel so much more could have been done with it. Nevertheless, I will put it in my classroom, where someone will probably love it. 

Summer Book 25

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

I barely made it, but I met my summer reading goal. I wasn't sure I was going to get to read this book this summer. I put it on hold a few weeks before school was out, and it finally became available the day I went in for in-service. It was definitely worth the wait.

This is Mary's story. She allegedly killed a three-month-old baby when she was nine years old. She served time for it and is now in a group home. She finds out that she's pregnant, and once the person running the group home finds out, it becomes clear that everyone is going to try to take Mary's baby. She contacts a lawyer, and they appeal her case. Through her story, the reader can see the holes, and how it is possible that Mary didn't commit the crime.

So many times while reading this, my heart breaks for this girl. She's sixteen, and her mom sold her down the river to save herself. She's treated abominably in this group home, both by the people running it and the other girls living there. At one point, one of the girls pushes her down the stairs. It's a miracle that she doesn't lose her baby or die herself.

This was a good read. If nothing else, it has opened my eyes to what some group homes are like. The past couple of years, I've had students from a local group home, and it is hard to imagine what these girls go through. Honestly, I pray that none of the girls I have in my classes have experienced the horrors I read about in this book.

Summer Book 24

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

When I heard this was coming out, I couldn't wait to read it. Then I forgot about it. So, a few weeks ago, when I was up insanely late and saw this on my public library's Overdrive page, I put it on hold. I've enjoyed a couple of this author's other books, one being Dumplin', which this is a "sequel" of.

Told in two perspectives, Millie and Callie. Millie is overweight. Her mother is also overweight, and seems to think dieting is a way of life, even though they don't work. She sends Millie to fat camp every summer, but Millie vows she won't go this year because she plans to go to UT journalism camp, if she can get in. In her spare time, Millie works at her uncle's gym.

Callie is on her high school drill team, which happens to be the only team at that high school worth a darn, but all the money goes to football. When Callie and her friends discover that one of their sponsors pulled their funding, they decide to vandalize the company. This goes too far, and Millie is who recognizes Callie in the surveillance video causing the damage.

Callie is kicked off the drill team, which just about kills her, and thinks it was one of her fellow dancers who turns her in. To make restitution to the gym, Callie works there for free. It is at the gym that Callie and Millie become friends. They are unlikely friends: the fat girl and the popular girl. This book is about their ups and downs.

This was a pretty good read, and a quick read. Highly recommended, particularly if you like this author's other works.