Sketching Rebellion by Felicia Ketcheson

Genre:  Young Adult, Dystopian

Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

  

Wow! As I read this book I was thinking, this has an undercurrent of "The Hunger Games." then I thought about the society in the book "The Giver."  There were so many things going on that you have to keep reading. Think about a society where everyone works for the good of all. That is everyone except the President. His biggest job is being present and pumping people up for an execution that everyone is required to attend. While he stands in front of them he tears down the person for their crime which can range from saying something against the government, or drawing a picture, which is illegal. All creativity is illegal. He claims it benefits the individual and not the society so they are being selfish. He pumps up the crowd the way cheerleaders would before a game. All the while he stands safely behind a wall of glass. He even has the are you watch from broken into sections; bronze, silver, and platinum.  All relatives of the crimanal and those who have higher positions in the society stand in the platinum section. Age is no issue. You can be executed even if you are a child as young as seven.  But the president's plans don't go as expected. A rebellion has formed. It is made up of people who have just disappeared. They have been waiting for just the right moment and for two teens who are the key to their plan working. As I read about Creel, one of the main characters, I felt sorry for her. She is smart, intelligent and loves to draw. Unfortunately, people are asked to turn those in who break the law, such as drawing. Creel has had her second warning and promises not to draw anymore because if she is caught the consequence will be mortae (death).  

As I read this book I could not help but see the Stasi who were responsible for getting people to spy on each other, including family members, in East Germany during the Cold War.  I didn't expect the ending that I read. It did tie things up nicely and left you hungering for a sequel. I have learned one is expected in the Spring of 2024.  I can't wait.  

Every year I challenge my students to read from eleven different genres. They are to attempt to read a minimum of eleven books. They must write their goal down and give it to me to chart. In turn my students set my reading goal.  This was the first book out of 83 they have set for me to read.  Definitley a great book to start my challenge.

 

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

 

Genre: Poetry
Source: I own a copy

 I love Nikki Grimes' poetry.  In this book, she starts out giving us a bit of history about the impact African American women have made on the world of poetry.  It has just been in the last couple of years that we have started seeing some of their poetry in our Language Arts books in school. We read poetry by Langston Hughes all the time, and have for years. Nikki's book is divided into three sections: Heritage, Earth Mother, and Taking Notice.  Each section has twelve to fifteen poems. If you are not familiar with this author's writing style she writes something called golden shovel poems. This is not something she invented. A golden shovel poem as she explains in her book goes something like this.

Find a poem that speaks to you. Copy it down.  Then choose a line that speaks to you or the whole poem. Write it one word at a time down the right had side of the paper. Create your poem in front of it so that the last word of the line is the word from the other poem.  When I first introduce my students to these they moan and groan because they are difficult. At the end of the unit when they write about the book of poetry they have written the majority tell me their favorite style to write was the Golden Shovel poem.  One of the reasons is because the punctuation can often end up in the middle of a line.  When I exaplained that to my students one spoke up and said, "It seems that with poetry, we should have the right to do it the way we want and put punctuation where we want, so this just makes sense."  Yes it does.  This was a child who told me up front they would create the book of poetry for the grade, but they hated poetry. When they wrote their final page of their book reflecting on their poetry they deicded they liked it because they could write what they wanted and express themselves.  Mission accomplished.  

Here is my quick and crude example of a golden shovel poem.

Fog by Carl Sandburg

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on

Memories by Sandra Stiles

Memories I have tucked away become lost in my mind. The

time has robbed me of all that is precious, forming a fog

that slips in at the most inopportune times. It comes

when am with you trying to remember who you are. Come on

this journey down memory lane with me when you were little

and snuggled next to me purring words of love like a cat

who has found comfort sitting quietly wrapped around your feet.

One Last Word, is another book of poetry about the Harlem Renaissance that Nikki Grimes has written.  I love her work. She has inspired many other writers.  I would not have known about Nikki's work had it not been for me reading the novel-in-verse book Hidden by Helen Frost. She explained her writing style for one of her characters as golden shovel poems and pointed me toward Nikki Grimes. Had it not been for her, it might have taken me longer to discover this wonderful author and her wonderful writing style.

Awakening Avery - Laurie Lewis

 

Genre:  Adult, Romance

Source: I received a copy from Bookfunnel. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Grief is different for everyone. For the main character in this book, it is obvious that she is stuck.  She is a famous author who can’t seem to move forward because she is still grieving the loss of her husband a year before.  Her grown children are worried for her. As she tries to move forward she finds herself swapping houses with a gentleman who knows all too well what grief is like. He had to raise his daughters on his own after he lost his wife. I loved this for many reasons. I live in Sarasota, Florida and was familiar with many of the places in the book.  This was not a mushy, gushy romance. I hate those. Instead we find two people dealing with the loss of their spouses. They are also dealing with grown children who always think they know best. I loved how Gabriel changed. He realized that all he had done by raising his daughters on his own was spoil them. When he decides to swap houses with Avery it means kicking his daughters out of the house as well, where they will need to learn to stand on their own two feet. This is a great book, with a great message and one I recommend.