aka YA Literature

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Recently read

I have finally gotten to the point in my new teaching career where I have time to do other things besides grade papers and plan lessons. So, last Saturday I made a trip to my old library and picked up a few YA books recommended by Sheryl. Sheryl has reviewed most of them on here, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin - I really enjoyed this book. It is a quick read about a girl named Naomi who falls down some stairs and gets amnesia. She can't figure out why she loves her boyfriend, what the deal is with her best friend (who is a guy), and why she has the hots for this bad-buy type who rescued her. This book actually reminded me a lot of Christina Applegate's new show, Samantha, Who.

The Off Season by Catherine Murdock - This sequel to Dairy Queen is just as enjoyable as its predecessor. I listened to Dairy Queen on audio where the narrator had a heavy Midwest accent so the whole time I was reading, I kept hearing D.J.'s Wisconsin accent in my head. D.J. gets a little more romantic action in this book, but don't hold out for happily ever after.

King Dork by Frank Portman - This book is very different from my normal YA reads. The narrator is a hugely dorky guy whose whole face spasms when he is nervous. And yet he still gets some hot and heavy makeout action. King Dork isn't as quick of a read because it is more detailed and has lot of references to literature and music. I liked it. And, like Sheryl, I want a shirt. But I want mine to say "The Chi-Mos."

1 comment:

Sheryl said...

I feel like a King Dork evangelist. I'm always mentioning it at work and trying to get students to read it. Yesterday, we were doing this online career planning thing with my advisory students, and after taking a personality test, one of the kids was saying that his outcome suggested he become a clergyman. Naturally, I thought of KD and just thought this was so amusing. "Oh," I said, "you should totally read King Dork." "Why?" they asked. "Well, not only is it hilarious, but the main character takes a career personality test and it tells him he should be a clergyman too, and it plays a big role in the book." Surprisingly, no one jumped at the suggestion. But they're about to start Catcher in the Rye in junior English, so I'm hopeful of more opportunities to entice students.