Animoto.com

This is a quick example of Animoto – a video I created just to give you a bit of background on my experience.

Here is a longer biography:

I graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1991 with a degree in Literature.

I received a teaching credential in 1994 from Sonoma State.

I taught 7th grade English at Golden West Middle School for four years – where I met a fabulous school librarian and realized he had the job I wanted.

I was the teacher librarian at Bohannon Middle School while I finished my MLIS.

I received my MLIS from SJSU in 1999.

I was the teacher librarian at Arcata High School until 2008.

I served on Quick Picks for Young Adults (among other YALSA activities)

I served on AASL’s Board of Directors (Among other AASL activities)

I served as CSLA Northern Section President (among other CSLA activities)

I entered the SJSU/QUT Gateway to a PhD program in 2008.

Living Dead Girl and Recent News

I was as surprised as anybody when the news broke that Jaycee Lee Dugard was alive.  I vaguely remembered the kidnapping since I have lived in Northern California almost all of my life (except for soemthing like  four months).  I immediately thought of Elizabeth Scott’s Living Dead Girl – a book so disturbing I couldn’t bring myself to finish it no matter how well I thought it had been written, and not sensationalized.  The protagonist in LDG had been kidnapped when she was young on a field trip, threatened and abused, and at 15 (I think) still was living with her captor and praying that she would one day grow up enough he would kill her.  Now how is that for a wish???

Anyways – another pairing of real life and fiction is Catherine Atkins When Jeff Comes Home.  The Steven Stayner story had always stayed with me since I was old enough to remember when he walked into the police station, not save himself but to save another little boy.  And yes it happened in No. Cal. and we had a friend that worked for the court in that county.  When I read Atkin’s book I immediately wondered if that was her inspiration.

There is a commentary in the Monitor about how young kidnap victims find ways to survive, and after a time escape is not on their mind.  It yet again reminded me of LDG because I think from the 2/3rds of the book I read that this is what Scott does well, explaining why.  A lot of people loved the book, and I can see why.  I don’t usually write about books that I haven’t finished but this has just been brewing in my head and the monitor article prompted me to get it all out.

I also hesitated because I sort of feel that Jaycee should be left alone, but I thought some more and the best fiction helps us understand the complex, and helps us empathize.  It isn’t hard to feel for the victims of kidnapping but Scott can take you beyond that.

Banned Books Map

Here is an interesting mash-up.

The Secret Life Of Prince Charming

If Sarah Dessen’s books make me wonder about her mother issues (which she says she doesn’t have, and I believe her so maybe I should have said her character’s mother issues), Deb Caletti’s books makes me wonder about her father issues.

In The Secret Life of Prince Charming Quinn (my step daughter’s name btw – which she hates, says its a boy’s name but I’m thrilled a fictional girl has it) lives with her mother, grandmother, aunt, and sister after their father abandon them.  After a long absence he has become a part of their life, but all is not perfect.  When Quinn realizes some of her father’s prize objects belong to women he has dated, married, etc. (and some other traumatic events happen) this good girl contacts her half sister, and a trip to restore the items to their rightful owners, and maybe learn who their father really is materializes.

I have to admit I read this through adult woman eyes.  Which is to say I related to the older women’s stories of their loves more than Quinn’s journey.  I’ve had my share of the bad boys, the relationships that consume you even though you know they just aren’t right, and I have the “right one” now, and it isn’t what I thought it would be – its better.  And the stories and lessons the women left behind by Quinn’s father resonated with me.  At one point I thought – this isn’t really for teens, its for women my age.  But that isn’t entirely true because there is self discovery, what it means to be the child of divorce (which may be why I didn’t truly connect with Quinn, I have my own issues with that as a step mom), and a (predictable) romance.

One note – Sprout, the younger sister, while fun may have been a bit too precocious.  But I liked the other secondary characters.

Also the best “secret” being kept was Ivar, the dogs.  Laughted out loud.

My favorite Deb Caletti remains The Nature of Jade.

Also reviewed on my blog The Fortunes of Indigo Skye

What Others Thought:

A Patchwork of Books

Miss Print

Bookworm 4 Life

Ooops …. Wrong Cookie

and many, many more.

Nerds Heart YA

Judging one thing against another is always interesting, particularly when you don’t have a particular set of criteria.  It is inevitable that the personal enters into it.  I read both books (the shape of water and cracked up to be) a while ago, and blogged my original thoughts.  And then I began the process of deciding which one I thought should move on.  Truth be told I like Cracked Up to Be better, I liked the plot, it had a great hook, the character, Parker Fadley, was both at once likeable and unlikable – which is exactly how she should have been.  However I had a deep appreciation for the structure of the language of The Shape of Water. It was metaphorical, and lush with the description.  It was what I call a quiet book, a character study about grief and loss, and moving on.  I wondered if perhaps my affinity for Cracked had to do with the fact that I read it first, or a preference for the genre, and if I shouldn’t put that aside and deal with the structure and quality of the writing, but essentially when I broke it down – Cracked was in some cases tighter, maybe a little less obvious, and the strands followed through – whereas Shape lost some things – or maybe more accurately wrapped them up and headed into a new experience.  But isn’t that what grief is – so maybe in structure it does hold up.  See what I mean – this was a close call, and I have been back and forth a dozen times.  In the end I am going with what I liked more so Cracked Up to Be, congratulations – you are moving on!

if I stay

I’ve been drawn to if I stay since I first saw it on the shelf.  I loved the cover, it is simple and graphic, sad and hopeful.  It turns out the cover is totally reflective of the story.  

If I stay is the story of Mia whose family has been involved in a deadly car crash, and now as her body in an ICU, she must decide to stay or go.  That is the plot . . .  but it is more than that.   It is a love story.  Love for her family, her friends, her music, and finally for Adam, her boyfriend.  It travels between her memories, and the moment.

At one point Mia hopes that her memories travel with her if she dies, that they will always be a part of her.  She knows that being dead is like what it must be like before your born, nothingness.  But she values her memories, even the ones she has of the moments before she was born.  I like that.  It is her memories, both of what has become before, and what the future memories may be that save her.  Memories of love, really.

This is a sad story; Mia has lost something that cannot be found.  She may not live, and the rest of her family hasn’t.  But there is hope, because for all she has lost, she still has – family, friends, music, a future.

This book has gotten some attention as of late.  But it wasn’t until I had mentally added it to my TBR that I noticed that attention.

It was, like, all dark and stormy. (Issue with that headline btw)

From The Daily Beast- Is Gayle Forman’s If I Stay the Next Twilight? Answer: No,  and it doesn’t have to be.   And why is it label tween??????  It isn’t a tween novel.   And as for Twilight being tween – ummmmm, I know many, many teen girls (and boys) who read, and re-read this series.  Wait, I’m not supposed to be getting annoyed at media posts about YA that don’t get it just pointing out that they exist for this book.  HuffPo picked this up too.

From 17 mag (who she writes for)

And from people who read and review YA and you know, like it.

Abby the Librarian

Zoe’s Book Reviews

Confessions of a Bibliovore

and many, many, many more.

// Your request is being processed…Gayle Forman’s If I Stay: Is This The Next Twilight?

Love you, hate you, miss you

I am turning 40 this year.  I am surprised by this.  I do not feel like I thought 40 would feel back when I thought 40 was old.  While I can’t say that I am issue-y about this, I am surprised by the fact that I am almost 40.

I bring this up because if there is one thing about being old, well older, and reading YA is that sometimes the hindsight I read with makes the issues that protagonists have seem like less of a deal to me, than to them.  For sure I felt this way about Hannah Baker.  I have this sort of adult voice in my head that says you will get over this, sure it’ll be with you but you’ll live and someday it won’t even be so awful.  And sometimes I have a hard time with all the ANGST.

So in terms of this book – yes Amy it sucks to see your best friend die after you set her up for a heartbreaking moment.  The kind of moment she would have gotten over.  And someday you’ll be ok.  And some day you won’t spend your every waking moment thinking you are a murderer.  (There are some similarities between this and Cracked Up to Be, well a lot.)  And I know this is about getting there, to that day.  And I am worried and concerned for you.  However as a reader I could not leave this  perspective behind, that really all this melodrama is just a bit too, too much for me.

But don’t get me wrong.  This is MY response to a book that is well written.  Elizabeth Scott is a bit all over the map.  I mean there is this, this, this, and this.  AND then there is this.  But I really like her.  I will continue to read her books in hardback because of that – which is a great compliment.  I like the serious romance, and I respect Living Dead Girl (made me ill reading this book, but in a good emotional response way, I think)

the shape of water

The difficulty with reading the shape of water is that I read it second – so it is hard to write about with out the comparison in my head.

In the shape of water Magda is adjusting to the loss of her mother who has died.  Life is moving on around her – her best friend has switched schools, her father is dating, and something she cannot quite name is happening with her aunt.  Magda is trying to find her place in the world, which she perceives as having been divided by a four lane boulevard, and she lives on the dark side where life is messy, and imperfect, and not forever.

Thoughts:

It was hard at first to classify this book, what with the fish in her head talking to her.  There is an element of magical realism, but in truth the reader and Magda are always aware that the fish among other things are happening in her head.  It also becomes fairly apparent that there is a larger metaphor at work, her brain trying to adjust to and work out the truth about her mother’s “accident”.

The woman her father starts dating is frankly some kinds of awful.  I think she is trying, and she may have a good heart, but her denial is a mile wide and deep, and her handling of getting to know Magda is god awful.  And her son?????   Holy bejeezus!  And that is all I have to say about that!

This is a “quiet” book.  Magda is trying to deal with loss and grief in family that has no vocabulary for what that loss is.  Anne Spollen is a beautifully descriptive writer.  Magda’s ability to live in her head gives Spollen an opportunity to exercise that talent.

In a few days I will past a decision between this and Cracked Up to Be.

48Hr Challenge

For the past two years I have set aside the weekend and read to participate in this challenge. Earlier this week my husband asked when it was assuming I would be unavailable for that weekend.  But . . .  I have decided no to participate this year.  This is all about the guilt of staying in bed for 48 hrs surrounded by boks when my windows needs washing, my house needs dusting, my book needs writing/editing, research needs to be completed, etc.  I could of course scale back but somehow I know that just wouldn’t happen.  Anyways I hope the challenge readers enjoy their weekends and you should check out their blogs and follow their progress.

1. Liyana Land! 2. Shannan 3. Charlotte 4. Cindy’s love of books 5. Susan 6. Kristin 7. Military76brat: celebrate life w/bargains up and going 8. Rasco from RIF 9. Katy 10. Amanda (A Patchwork of Books) 11. Laura 12. Pippi’s Postings 13. Rebekah 14. Susan B. Evans 15. Sarah- Green Bean Teen Queen 16. Rebecca 17. Courtney 18. Sherry at Semicolon 19. Lawral 20. Scott: HPL YA 21. Tasses 22. Denise von Minden 23. Sandra 24. Jules (Bookworm Jules) 25. Shannon Bailey 26. Ami 27. Kristin 28. Eva M 29. Anna 30. Becca 31. Melissa 32. Ms. Yingling 33. Jess 34. Bibliovore 35. misskate 36. Lady Schrapnell 37. Crystal F.

38. Cindy Deatsman 39. Saints and Spinners 40. lakereader 41. Becky 42. Andromeda Jazmon 43. Jen Robinson 44. Sarah (The Reading Zone) 45. Jessica Leigh 46. Paulina 47. Julie Johnson 48. Sandra (Fresh Ink Books) 49. Mary Schwander 50. Emily’s Reading Room 51. Blog from the Windowsill 52. Lori 53. Julie 54. Shonda 55. Kristi (The Story Siren) 56. Dreadful Penny 57. Briana (What Bri Reads) 58. Muttix 59. Paige Y. 60. Milly Marie 61. Tricia (Miss Rumphius) 62. Jen 63. Amber (Nerd Girl Talking) 64. Mother Reader 65. i Alessa 66. Jennie (Biblio File) 67. The Brain Lair 68. SBBO 69. Kimberly @ lectitans 70. Jess (Active Voice) 71. Imelda 72. Amanda Blau 73. Bill at Literate Lives 74. Sharon Hrycewicz

75. tmdahle@ centurytel. net 76. Natasha @ Maw Books 77. Darcy 78. Kerri 79. Monique @ The Little Reading Nook 80. Juli 81. Sondra Eklund 82. Mandy 83. Karen at Literate Lives 84. Becky (One Literature Nut) 85. Kay @ Infinite Shelf 86. Megan 87. Beth 88. Reyna 89. Diane ~ The Book Resort 90. Heather 91. Elisabeth Reads 92. Erica (The Book Cellar) 93. Mary Ann (Great Kid Books) 94. Amy Planchak Graves 95. Trisha 96. M 97. Lazygal 98. Leila 99. Bethany (Lessons From the Head) 100. Liz Burns 101. Steph 102. Steph (Reviewer X) 103. Camille@ Book Moot 104. Rebecca @ Lost in Books 105. Kathrin 106. Leah 107. Jessi (casual dread) 108. Vasilly

Cracked Up to Be

Initial impressions – Sooo glad for this tournament.  This is the kind of book I would have read if I found it on my own.

Great hook: Imagine four years.  Four years, two suicides, one death, one rape, two pregnancies (one abortion), three overdoses, countless drunken antics, pantsings, spilled food, theft, fights, broken limbs, turf wars – every day, a turf war – six months until graduation and no one gets a medal when they get out.  But everything you do here counts.

Plot:  Good girl, queen of the school, perfect Parker Fadley has gone off the deep end.  Coming to school drunk is only one of her recent crimes.  Now she must show up to classes sober, pass them all, and meet with her counselor once a week to avoid getting kicked out of school.  That is much easier said than done since all Parker wants is to be alone – of course that is also easier said than done.  Especially with the new kid Jake so obviously interested in her.

Thoughts:

• I was worried that whatever the precipitating event that led to Parker’s change in behavior wouldn’t hold up to the extremes of her isolation.  The good news is – it did.  The bad news – it became apparent what it was probably before it should have.
• Parker is predictably difficult to like, to give her credit she knows that and embraces it.
• The novel was compelling, I wanted to read, didn’t want to put it down.  In some ways it is plot driven – what is Parker’s secret?  What really happened?  It moves you through the novel.