The Impossible Knife of Memory, Week #1

Hayley Kincain may seem normal, but she has a lot more going on than any normal high school senior. She spends all her time out of school caring for her father, who is suffering from PTSD. Hayley has never stayed in one place for too long, but she realizes that Belmont High School might be different. She becomes really close with a girl named Gracie, and her friend Finn. Eventually Hayley has to choose between Finn and her Dad. This was my first week reading this book, and I really liked it. It was a little slow, but the main character was really interesting. It was really realistic, and I liked that a lot. I would recommend this book, but a heads up that it is pretty long.

Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again is about a girl named Ha, who grows up in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. But as the war gets worse she has to leave the only place she has ever known. She travels by boat with her mother and her brothers (her father left to go to war, and never returned). She stays in tents in Guam for a while, but then she moves to Alabama. She has a lot of good memories of Saigon in Vietnam, especially her Papaya tree. But she has to adjust, because she knows that with the war, she can not go back. This book was written in verse, which I actually really liked. I would definitely recommend this if you like books in verse.

For a book group I think it would be cool to do a nonfiction book.

Rhyming Poem

Closed windows

Dim lights

If you open the door

It will be too bright

A little desk

A wooden chair

Your all alone

No one else there

You hear footsteps

Look left and right

Then not a sound

And not a sight

When you wake up

When you open your eyes

It was all just a dream

A scary surprise

Skinny by Donna Cooner

Skinny is about a girl named Ever Davies who is insecure because she is really overweight. She started to gain weight when her mom died when she was young. Since then she always hears a voice in her ear that she calls Skinny. Skinny says a lot of horrible and self-demeaning things. So to try to get rid of Skinny, Ever gets a surgery that will make her lose weight and be skinny. But Skinny stays through the surgery. Still, Ever wants to be normal. She wants to be normal, and especially to try out for the musical at her school, but she doesn't know how to overcome her fears. This book isn't really inappropriate, and I would definitely recommend it.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Saving Francesca is about a girl in high school who goes to St. Sebastians a former boy's school that has only a few other girls in it. All of her other friends go to Pius Senior College, but her mother wouldn't let her go there.  There are no girls who she is similar to or is friends with. And other than one boy named Will, none of the boys are interesting to her. And in her home life her mother is depressed. Francesca doesn't feel like she has anyone to relate to and she feels really alone. The book is set in Australia so the general culture is sort of different. I thought that the plot was really good and you really like the main character. If the story sounds interesting than I would recommend this book.
Over winter break I may read Looking for Alibrandi, another book by the same author. I also wanted to read See You At Harrys so those are the books I may read.

Slice of Life

My backpack feels like it is full of bricks. I carry a bag, my lunchbox, a jacket and shoes. I fumble my way in to the seat, and drop it all beneath me, sighing. I buckle my seatbelt as the car starts to roll along. The roads are icy, but not dangerous. Music from the radio quietly plays as we turn on to Colfax. We speed up, and I know that I will not be late. When I do show up, I am not late. I gather my things and walk in to the school. The classroom is quiet and empty when I walk in. I grab my binder and head to the Spanish classroom.

Eight Keys by Suzanne La Fleur

Eight Keys is about a 12 year old girl named Elise who lives with her Aunt and Uncle. But one year  everything in her life started to fall apart. That year she finds a key with her name on it in her uncle's workshop. After finding the first key, she finds more that lead her on an adventure that shows her more about her family and her past. Some parts of this book were somewhat interesting, but I did not like it overall. I thought it was kind of boring, so I would not recommend it.