Reality?

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline transported me into another world. The setting is a bleak future in which the majority of the population prefers spending time in the virtual reality world named Oasis. This video game is free to users and is wildly popular, even giving its users the opportunity to shop, dress their avatars, socialize with other players in personally designed chat rooms, AND go to school! Players can either acquire special powers or accessories through experience points. They can teleport to locations within the Oasis universe.

There is SO much to this story. The central plot deals with the main character, Wade, who lives in a towering trailer home with an aunt and other random family members. He uses the Oasis to escape his miserable life. When one of the Oasis’s founders dies, he leaves behind a massive treasure hunt to discover his multi-billion dollar fortune by following clues in his game. Wade and a couple of his on-line friends are eager to win, but less savory characters are also after the prize. These people will stop at nothing, including murder and cheating, to get the money. Enmeshed with this is an unbelievable amount of 80s throwback references, including music, movies and TONS of video games.

Cline’s attention to detail in representing this world was amazing

All American

A colleague recently shared Trevor Noah’s interview with author Jason Reynolds. His closing lines of the interview, in which he talks about how to make reading matter for teens, resounded with me, “they [students] then build relationships not just with literature but with literacy. Then we start fixing violence, we start fixing gangs, all of that, once you realize that your life is dependent on your relationship with words.” Coincidentally, the timing of watching this interview was the same as I was starting to read All American Boys by Reynolds and co-author Brendan Kiely. This is my first Reynolds novel, but it most definitely won’t be the last.

I can’t help but make the initial comparison to The Hate U Give based on the primary conflict of police brutality and racism. For me, this book added a different element to the table. Point of view and empathy are critical pieces to this novel. The narrative switches back and forth between Rashad and Quinn’s voices. Both are regular high school guys from the same school getting ready to start their weekend with a party. They attend the same high school and have acquaintances in common, but don’t personally know each other.

The Friday night takes a terrible turn for Rashad. He stops at a convenience store for some snacks, and he’s thought to be stealing because of a silly accident by someone near him. An officer is in the store, and he is pulled out and horribly beaten while handcuffed. Quinn (and other bystanders – there’s a tape made) witnesses this event, and it turns out that the officer is the older brother of Quinn’s good friend. It turns out that this officer is also the same man who has been a stand-in father figure for Quinn. The intense internal and external conflict that this creates for the main characters and their families, friends, and the school community as a whole is compelling.

I was caught up in even the most minor character and the emotions of everyone involved from the very beginning. Even the ways that different teachers tried to handle the aftermath was representative of how people deal with the reality of harsh situations. From the basketball coach who wants the team to “leave it at the door,” to the teacher who breaks down in tears in front of her class, to the teacher who helps organize their march. So many lines stood out to me, including this one on page 296, “Had our hearts really become so numb that we needed dead bodies in order to feel the beat of compassion in our chests?”

Every word of this book matters.

Body or Mind?

My next selection was oddly disturbing, but in a good way. Unwind by Neal Shusterman tells the tale of the strange compromise reached from a futuristic war between pro-life and pro-choice factions. The agreement states that parents must raise kids until age 13, at which time if things aren’t working out for various reasons, they can decide to have them unwound. Unwound kids are basically disassembled and all their body parts go on to help others in need. The premise is that they aren’t being killed because their entire body is being recycled. Readers are in the mind of one unwound character toward the end of the book, and it really creeped me out as he was mentally aware through the whole procedure!

The book focuses on a few runaway Unwinds whose paths intersect. The story centers on their travels to escape being sent to harvest camp. They eventually find a refuge for kids like themselves. In the process of reading, I couldn’t help but connect to story lines like The Walking Dead (tv series) or books such as Lord of the Flies as a commentary about human nature and how people might deal with lack of order/civilization. Natural leaders arise, some with evil intentions, and they shape and twist what happens throughout the story.

The story kept my interest but was a bit slow going in parts. There was an entire section about one of the character’s rescuing a storked baby (“Storked” refers to undesired babies left on someone’s doorstep. The law is that if you get storked, then you must raise the baby until at least 13). This part was an entire early subsection of the book which I’m guessing was to build some character background.

I felt the author had a lot of thoughts about this surreal idea, and it brought up many existential points to grapple with.

Thug Life

The blog title refers to my latest read- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. My library social media feeds have been bringing up this book repeatedly, so I had to check it out.

Verdict is- the hype is well-deserved. After finishing, I couldn’t help but imagine how incredible it would be to read with a class if I was still teaching English. The conversations among students would be amazing because there is SO much to discuss. The story includes the main plots of police brutality, gang life (including the various reasons someone may become involved in it), family, friendship, depth of character and conversations, pop culture (the shoes, the TV references, music). Themes such as standing up and speaking out for what is right, coping through life’s tragedies, self-identity, and so much more!

These characters jumped off the page for me with the writer’s attention to detail. One example is Starr’s cute superstitions while watching LeBron play basketball. I found myself laughing at so many of her family’s exchanges. Yet, while being able to laugh, there is the plot of Starr as witness to her friend’s brutal murder at the hands of a police officer. She must figure out how willing she is to become a visible and vocal witness of this murder, and how it will affect her friendships at the mostly white school that she attends. The main story is hope for justice and equality.

This book will make you think and feel on so many levels. It’s a conversation starter and it’s a conversation that I would enjoy having with students, adults or anyone interested.

Getting Started

Why do this? Who really wants to read my opinion about books I’ve read? These thoughts are a running record in my mind.

Actually, I wish I started a long time ago. I read nonstop, and I’ve been at it since I was a young girl. This will be a way of keeping track of my reading, but also a way to practice my writing. Anyone who happens to find my posts entertaining along the way is a bonus.

The first book I want to review was finished two weeks ago (yes, I procrastinated a bit). Time is always a factor, and the annoying doubts that I previously mentioned. Anyway, the first book I want to review is John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down. As a former high school English teacher, I am a definite John Green fan. I’ve used his videos, and of course, his books with my classes. In my current role as an elementary librarian, my audience isn’t age appropriate for Green’s books. But, several reviews in library social media groups sparked my interest to push Green’s new book to the top of my reading list.

I admit, I spent the first twenty pages or so thinking the main character was male. I had it in my mind that the book was Green’s memoir, so just assumed a male character. Once I figured out Aza’s gender, I sailed through the book, at times connecting with some of Aza’s obsessive traits, while at other times feeling annoyed by them. Green’s writing is strong as ever, but the characters didn’t have the normal spark for me as they do in his other novels. While the subplots of romance/mystery were entertaining, they just didn’t keep me captivated. I think it felt unrealistic to me.

Maybe someone like Aza needs a break from her sense of reality.