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.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Monday, August 13, 2018
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.
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.
Friday, August 10, 2018
Summer Book 23
Out of Orange by Cleary Wolters
This is the story of Alex, supposedly, from the Netflix series, Orange is the New Black. Ms. Wolters wrote this in response to the show because Hollywood, surprise surprise, overexaggerated who she was in the show.
The book is quite good, but the majority of it focuses on what led Cleary to the federal institution. Only about a quarter of the book is about her time in jail. I was correct in my assessment of Cleary's character in Piper's book, by the way, but Piper showed up more in this book than Cleary did in hers, if that makes any kind of sense.
In reading both Piper and Cleary's books, I was hoping to find some of the things that make the show so enjoyable, but, as I said, the show is an overexaggerated depiction of what really happened. For crying out loud, Piper and Cleary weren't even in the same facility except when they went to Chicago to testify in the trial of one of their co-conspirators.
If you're looking to read a true story about how easy it is for someone who is seemingly normal/average to break the law, then this is for you. If you're a fan of the show, you'll like this, but for different reasons than the show.
This is the story of Alex, supposedly, from the Netflix series, Orange is the New Black. Ms. Wolters wrote this in response to the show because Hollywood, surprise surprise, overexaggerated who she was in the show.
The book is quite good, but the majority of it focuses on what led Cleary to the federal institution. Only about a quarter of the book is about her time in jail. I was correct in my assessment of Cleary's character in Piper's book, by the way, but Piper showed up more in this book than Cleary did in hers, if that makes any kind of sense.
In reading both Piper and Cleary's books, I was hoping to find some of the things that make the show so enjoyable, but, as I said, the show is an overexaggerated depiction of what really happened. For crying out loud, Piper and Cleary weren't even in the same facility except when they went to Chicago to testify in the trial of one of their co-conspirators.
If you're looking to read a true story about how easy it is for someone who is seemingly normal/average to break the law, then this is for you. If you're a fan of the show, you'll like this, but for different reasons than the show.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Summer Book 22
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
I have seen several episodes of the NetFlix series of the same name when my husband watched the first six seasons, but he watched a lot when I was at work or asleep, so I missed a good deal of the show. Still, I planned to go back and watch from the beginning myself, but I haven't done so yet. So, one day last week when I was up absurdly late at night, I came across this while puttering around on my public library's Overdrive site. I thought it would give me more insight on the show before I started it. In this regard, I was wrong. Very little of what is in this book translates to the show. It seems the show is an over exaggeration of what Ms. Kerman relates in this book.
Piper Kerman made some mistakes in her early to mid-twenties. Mistakes that involved drug trafficking at the behest of the woman she was dating. After they broke up, Piper sought a "normal" life. This was going well for a while until she received notice that she was being indicted. She obtained counsel, plead guilty, and was sentenced to fifteen months in a federal penitentiary. This book is her recounting of this time in prison. Honestly, it is tame compared to what is shown on screen.
Having said that, I am about to start the memoir written by the woman who inspired the character of Alex on the show. The woman who claims to have had a relationship with Piper. The woman, unless it is the one who enticed her into this mess, is NEVER mentioned in this book. It will be interesting to read her take on this.
I have seen several episodes of the NetFlix series of the same name when my husband watched the first six seasons, but he watched a lot when I was at work or asleep, so I missed a good deal of the show. Still, I planned to go back and watch from the beginning myself, but I haven't done so yet. So, one day last week when I was up absurdly late at night, I came across this while puttering around on my public library's Overdrive site. I thought it would give me more insight on the show before I started it. In this regard, I was wrong. Very little of what is in this book translates to the show. It seems the show is an over exaggeration of what Ms. Kerman relates in this book.
Piper Kerman made some mistakes in her early to mid-twenties. Mistakes that involved drug trafficking at the behest of the woman she was dating. After they broke up, Piper sought a "normal" life. This was going well for a while until she received notice that she was being indicted. She obtained counsel, plead guilty, and was sentenced to fifteen months in a federal penitentiary. This book is her recounting of this time in prison. Honestly, it is tame compared to what is shown on screen.
Having said that, I am about to start the memoir written by the woman who inspired the character of Alex on the show. The woman who claims to have had a relationship with Piper. The woman, unless it is the one who enticed her into this mess, is NEVER mentioned in this book. It will be interesting to read her take on this.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Summer Book 21
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffler and Annie Barrows
I have seen this on shelves at stores many times over, but my interest was never piqued. Then I saw a preview for a movie or series based on this book and I became a little bit interested. Not much later, a new friend on Facebook indicated that she had bought this book and was planning to read it before the movie came out. I figured, at the very least, I would have someone to discuss this with, so I ordered it myself.
If you've been following me for any length of time, you know I read fairly quickly and move onto the next one. This is not an especially long book, less than 300 pages, and it held my interest quite well, so why did it take me several days to read? The only answer I have is that I wanted to savor this one. Admittedly, a part of me wants to go back to the beginning and read it again. That almost never happens to me. Even better, I want to buy a copy and give it to my grandmother! I'm still trying to make up for the snafu that was my recommendation of The Lovely Bones a decade ago, and this just might be the one to do it.
I absolutely LOVED this book. LOVED IT!! There was just something about it that made me want more, and the ending absolutely left it open for more.
Maybe it was the way this was written that made me love it so. It's an epistolary novel--one that is told through letters-- and as such, the reader is on more intimate terms with the characters. At least that was the case for me. You're not necessarily told every little detail, and there are things that the reader has to figure out on their own in a way that a "regular" novel doesn't provide that makes the reader more invested. Whatever it was, this was probably my favorite book to read this summer, maybe even this year.
Ok, so the story itself...
Juliet is an authoress in London just after the end of World War II. She is on a book tour for something she wrote during the war. Her letters at the beginning are to her best friend, Sophie, her editor and best friend's brother, Sidney, and her friend, Susan. Then she receives a letter from a man named Dawsey from Guernsey, who ended up with a book that used to belong to her. This letter is the beginning of their friendship, and they start to correspond. Then so do Dawsey's friends on Guernsey. These letters give Juliet and idea for a new book, about the Occupation on Guernsey during the war. The residents of this Channel Island would very much like to meet Juliet, so she comes for an extended stay. Juliet becomes one of them, and a beautiful story continues to unfold.
Please, rush out and get this book! I promise you won't regret it.
I have seen this on shelves at stores many times over, but my interest was never piqued. Then I saw a preview for a movie or series based on this book and I became a little bit interested. Not much later, a new friend on Facebook indicated that she had bought this book and was planning to read it before the movie came out. I figured, at the very least, I would have someone to discuss this with, so I ordered it myself.
If you've been following me for any length of time, you know I read fairly quickly and move onto the next one. This is not an especially long book, less than 300 pages, and it held my interest quite well, so why did it take me several days to read? The only answer I have is that I wanted to savor this one. Admittedly, a part of me wants to go back to the beginning and read it again. That almost never happens to me. Even better, I want to buy a copy and give it to my grandmother! I'm still trying to make up for the snafu that was my recommendation of The Lovely Bones a decade ago, and this just might be the one to do it.
I absolutely LOVED this book. LOVED IT!! There was just something about it that made me want more, and the ending absolutely left it open for more.
Maybe it was the way this was written that made me love it so. It's an epistolary novel--one that is told through letters-- and as such, the reader is on more intimate terms with the characters. At least that was the case for me. You're not necessarily told every little detail, and there are things that the reader has to figure out on their own in a way that a "regular" novel doesn't provide that makes the reader more invested. Whatever it was, this was probably my favorite book to read this summer, maybe even this year.
Ok, so the story itself...
Juliet is an authoress in London just after the end of World War II. She is on a book tour for something she wrote during the war. Her letters at the beginning are to her best friend, Sophie, her editor and best friend's brother, Sidney, and her friend, Susan. Then she receives a letter from a man named Dawsey from Guernsey, who ended up with a book that used to belong to her. This letter is the beginning of their friendship, and they start to correspond. Then so do Dawsey's friends on Guernsey. These letters give Juliet and idea for a new book, about the Occupation on Guernsey during the war. The residents of this Channel Island would very much like to meet Juliet, so she comes for an extended stay. Juliet becomes one of them, and a beautiful story continues to unfold.
Please, rush out and get this book! I promise you won't regret it.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Summer Book 20
A Prom to Remember by Sandy Hall
Because I loved her book A Little Something Different, I had to read this one. I had a hard time finding it in places other than Amazon too. Usually, Hall's books are fairly easy to find at Target, but I have been to no less than five of those and couldn't find it anywhere. No worries, as I sucked it up and got it at Barnes and Noble.
What I like about Hall's books is her use of multiple perspectives. In this case, there were seven, and none of them was a squirrel. Ha. As the title suggests, this is about a bunch of seniors getting ready for their prom. I also love that none of the characters we hear from are the popular kids. I think it would've been a whole different book if they had been. For example, we have a guy who likes to fly under the radar nominated for prom king, and he has to deal with all the anxiety that entails.
As someone who wasn't exactly popular and whose prom experience didn't live up to the hype/expectations, I could relate to most of these characters. High school is rough if you're not in the upper echelon, and this book is for those kids.
Because I loved her book A Little Something Different, I had to read this one. I had a hard time finding it in places other than Amazon too. Usually, Hall's books are fairly easy to find at Target, but I have been to no less than five of those and couldn't find it anywhere. No worries, as I sucked it up and got it at Barnes and Noble.
What I like about Hall's books is her use of multiple perspectives. In this case, there were seven, and none of them was a squirrel. Ha. As the title suggests, this is about a bunch of seniors getting ready for their prom. I also love that none of the characters we hear from are the popular kids. I think it would've been a whole different book if they had been. For example, we have a guy who likes to fly under the radar nominated for prom king, and he has to deal with all the anxiety that entails.
As someone who wasn't exactly popular and whose prom experience didn't live up to the hype/expectations, I could relate to most of these characters. High school is rough if you're not in the upper echelon, and this book is for those kids.
Friday, July 20, 2018
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