edh's reviews
352 reviews

I snagged this one while I was working a desk shift because the chair on the cover looked soooo comfortable... turns out, this slim little memoir was really engaging and engrossing! Caroline's transition from crack smoking, abused girlfriend to 911 dispatcher is bittersweet: just as she gains mastery over the hectic, oppressive atmosphere of the call center (just when DO you think they get time to vacuum a place that's occupied 24/7?) she's beginning to doubt whether she can do this job for 30 years like Kristen, Queen of the Main Line. She becomes jaded because of the constant exposure to crisis & misfortune, but also discovers that her detachment has given her an inner strength she didn't know was possible. The push/pull of "life in the hot seat" will keep readers glued to the page for more than just voyeuristic thrills. Give this one to high schoolers thinking about possible careers, or anyone who wants a glimpse into the inner workings of an extreme job.

A great mystery/thriller! Intrigue abounds as journalist Mikael Blomkvist is convicted of libel, yet is tempted by a long-unsolved murder mystery on a remote island in northern Sweden. While trying to keep his magazine afloat and clear his name, he crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander - the girl with the dragon tattoo - who is much more than she seems to be on the surface. It's no wonder everybody's reading this one - there's the family drama angle, the mystery angle, the big business angle, the violence against women angle - you name it!

Ok, so I am a fan of Madeleine L'Engle and this book was a nostalgia trip - Miranda is in 6th grade during the school year of 1978/1979 when something weird happens. Amid the conflicting and capricious friendships of her school and her mother's aspirations to win the $20,000 Pyramid game show, Miranda starts finding cryptic notes. The notes refer to saving someone's life, and correctly predicts events that haven't yet come to pass. Miranda is now wary, keeping her eyes peeled for a sign as to WHO this note-writer could be and WHY they are sending her these little missives from the future.

As a nostalgia piece, this was perfect. Rainbow-patterned sweatshirts evoke the late 70s as do the notes folded into careful triangles - the novel was pitch-perfect in this regard. So too, was the evolution of Miranda into an inwardly-focused child to an outwardly-focused proto-adult. Her slow awakening to the different selves we present to the world was lovely and unfurled slowly to the reader over the year.

While I know this will likely be a Newbery contender, I only gave it 3 stars at this point because it just didn't knock my socks off. I feel I will have to reread it several times in order to really understand it, and know its depths so I may have to revisit my rating at a later date. But this is a book with legs for sure, one I can see many teachers assigning for class reading and sitting on many awards lists. It's one of those quiet cerebral books about growing up that we adults seem to like, and many kids come to see themselves within their pages.

This is a must-read, and one to pass on to administrators, decision-makers, etc. Willingham establishes that prior knowledge is essential to the learning & critical thinking processes taught in school today, so I saw a lot of evidence backing up early childhood literacy programs here. If kids aren't exposed to lots of information early on, then they can hardly be expected to manipulate information when they're busy soaking it all in for the first time.

And this is in large part creating that 4th grade slump we see in readers. "By the time 4th grade rolls around, most students are good decoders, so reading tests start to emphasize comprehension. As described here, comprehension depends on background knowledge, and that's where kids from privileged homes have an edge. They come to school with a bigger vocabulary and more knowledge about the world than underprivileged kids. And because knowing things makes it easier to learn new things, the gap between privileged and underprivileged kids widens." (p. 28)

And, of course, you've gotta get kids reading:
"Books expose children to more facts and to a broader vocabularly than virtually any other activity, and persuasive data indicate that people who read for pleasure enjoy cognitive benefits throughout their lifetime." Now that's preaching to the (library) choir, but hopefully others will see the importance of connecting kids with fun, interesting books that can capture their imagination and expand their worlds.

Much like The Beef Princess of Practical County, this is a rural-girl story with heart. I gave this one four stars because of its outstanding treatment of the socioeconomic dynamics of rural America, as well as a solid sub-plot dealing with race. To this reader, the issues didn't submerge the story as much as they helped keep it afloat - the complications rang true as the real tension that exists in lives of today's teens - no matter where they live.

King already imagined the apocalypse once in The Stand... and this post 9-11 version of The Bell Jar is a worthy follow-up. After a literal dome descends over Chester's Mill, Maine, the townspeople are variously resigned to their fate or utterly freaked out. Others end up stumbling around in a haze of migraine pain and murder a couple of ex-lovers (hey, it IS Stephen King). Most frightening of all isn't the expectation that the townspeople will turn on each other, but the taut tension created between the town's freethinkers (an ex-Army man, the editor of the local newspaper, and a trio of teenagers) and the establishment (town selectmen gorging on a pure power trip). Who will win out in the end? It could all go bad Under the Dome.

Although I've given King's longer novels a pass in recent years, choosing instead to stick to his well-shaped short stories, this was a pleasant surprise. Teens who love King will find appeal aplenty here, and adults who appreciate psychological horror are a natural audience. The science fiction angle may attract new readers to King - purchase in bulk (if you can lift them) for the holidays as the perfect gift for readers tired of sparkly vampires, zombies or werewolves.