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Showing posts from 2019

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

LOL "For real." It comes out breathless. It's weird-- now I want to prove it. I want some gay ID card to whip out like a cop badge. Or I could demonstrate in other ways. God. I would happily demonstrate. p13 "All history should be taught through rap by Lin-Manuel Miranda." p230 I don't know what comes next. Because Broadway tells me one thing, but Reddit tells me something very different. And no one's advice sees to fit how I feel. p272   Love it Here's my question: If a piece of trash never makes it into the trash can, can you even call it trash? Because let's just imagine-- and this is totally hypothetical-- let's say there's a crumpled shipping label on the floor. Is that trash? What if it's a glass slipper? p18 Description I don't know how people make friends in the summer. There are a million and a half people in Manhattan, but none of them make eye contact unless you already know them. And I don't know

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Love it the scene where the stylists learn to braid from Mom p38 Foreshadowing "You'll probably have to pass a new law," I say with a giggle. "If that's what it takes," says the president with conspiratorial good humor. p76 Perspective "Safe to do what?" he says in a gentler tone. "Starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the reaping? You haven't hurt people-- you've given them an opportunity." p99 Because, deep down, I must know it isn't enough to keep myself, or my family, or my friends alive by running away. Even if I could. It wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't stop people from being hurt the way Gale was today. p118

You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

Description That's when their faces morphed into something far more concerning: fake nonchalance. p11 They had once been simple, single individuals. Then they got married and became a complex unit. Now they were regressing to their simpler form. No longer a family. Three single units. p23 Middle School Middle school seemed like an endless aching game where everyone knew the rules but her. p140 Someday, I'll be digging for specimens in Egyptian pyramids and none of this will matter. p182 Love It Studies also show that most people don't pursue their dreams. There are many reasons why, but one of them is lack of support and encouragement. Researchers at Ohio State University said any one person can often make a difference in another person's life, giving them the boost they need. p228 (Personal aside-- A few years ago, I was corresponding with someone in our state library system. I was inquiring about a grant opportunity and gave some information about my p

Harriet Tubman: Freedom Leader by Tanya Savory

Freedom passage regarding crossing into the north- p48-49 "There are two things I've got a right to, and these are death or liberty. One of the other, I mean to have." p69 "I can't trust Uncle Sam with my people any longer." p72 "The Fourth of July is yours, not mine!" Douglass boomed, raising his fist into the air. For how could even one black person of the millions of black people in the United States celebrate Independence Day when not one black person was truly free? p78 discussion of why some people believed slavery was acceptable -79 capture of a black man in the North- p82 "You see," the general explained, "there will still be hundreds of slaves who won't even know they're free. The Rebels certainly won't let them know about the new law. Part of your job will be letting them know they're free." p97 Gender "Now look here. I done worked as hard as any man for twenty-four years. I made

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Struggle What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment." p65 Everything is about them, not the dying boys and girls in the arena. p354 Prejudice  "How you've both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district." p74 Government/ Control "But I don't want them to! They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!" p117 We stand for the anthem. I have to raise my head out of the required respect..." p134 "No, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else. I can't go down without a fight. Only I keep

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Who we are "It's hard on Sandy and Dennys, too. I don't know if they're really like everybody else, or if they're just able to pretend they are. I try to pretend, but it isn't any help." p19 "I do face facts," Meg said. "They're a lot easier to face than people, I can tell you." p31 "Because I care. Nobody else does. You don't know how lucky you are to be loved." p42 "But of course we can't take credit for any of our talents. It's how we use them that counts." p80 Time and Loss "Maybe if Father were here he could help you, but I don't think I can do anything till you've managed to plow through some more time. Then things will be easier for you. But that isn't much help right now, is it?" p19 #truth "I don't understand it any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be ." p29 "

Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke

Descriptions Because she wished so badly for protection, maybe her mother mistook his bloodlust for power and his brutality for strength. p8 Then he left with Mercedes, and Ofelia was alone for the first time with her mother in this old house smelling of cold winters and the sadness of people from ages past.p 7 But the darkness in the house was far more frightening, and the girl knew that it was fed by the man who'd brought them here. p22-23 She was one of those women who looked for strength in men instead of finding it in her own heart. p48 Ferreira drew comfort from his profession in these dark times: he liked being a healer when most others embraced destruction, but even healing had become a deadly task. p118 Sometimes we need to see what we feel so we can know about it. p142 Libraries don't keep secrets; they reveal them. p165 Adults/ Kids Learning about adults' secrets means learning to understand their world-- and how to survive it. p18 Children do

Broken Throne by Victoria Aveyard

Note- Since this is part of a series, there may be spoilers for the SERIES, even if they are not spoilers for this BOOK. World-building There are lands across the ocean that no longer exist, now either frozen over or sand swept, flattened by the wrath of a few and the ignorance of the many. p8 bombs discussion- note on p 8 weather/ catastrophe p9 I am particularly concerned by man-made climate change, an easy trap to fall into, especially for advancing societies. p11 How could servants create such beauty and still be considered inferior? They are capable of wonders different from our own. p64 Because the war is not a war at all. It is an extermination. p108-109 Silvers aren't used to being denied anything, and they don't react well to hardship. p225 Shade Some texts vary in quality of preservation, and to my surprise and chagrin, many seem to disagree on the severity or magnitude of events, particularly those regarding climate.  p10 "And fewer Silve

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Description I only see the top of her Sisterlocks. The rest of her is hidden behind her Nikki Giovanni book. Occasionally she goes "Mmm" at some line the same way my grandma does during a sermon. Poetry's Mrs. Murray's religion. p4 Compliments like that are part of the parental responsibilities she took on when she evicted me from her womb. p9 Ever since that boy got killed, my heart races whenever I see a cop. I could've been him, he could've been me. Luck's the only thing that separated us. p237 Society and Expectations   Every single time I get sent to her, she asks me questions that sound like they cam from some "How to Talk to Statistical Black Children Who Come to Your Office Often" handbook. p7 ______________________ "Carrying the torch for Law, huh?" Not really. More like making my own torch and carrying it. I say, "Yeah," though, because that's what I'm supposed to say. It's part of being ro

Love Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Description Now I'm obsessing. And guilty. She has this uncanny gift for delivering guilt tied up in a bow, and without fail, I accept it. p85 I drive through town and the houses that sprouted up overnight where once there were only cornfields. p185 LOL "You know, we're always hearing stories of our girls who live far from their parents and go with thse boys and ... get... into... trouble. Some of them even eat pork." p129 Parents and Kids and Expectations p130 Beautiful "Because it's important. Because a marriage certificate doesn't bestow maturity. And even you have to admit that Maya is much savvier than you were at her age. Let her find her new world, too, as you did all those years ago." p131 mother-daughter relationship p244 (Not including text since it's potentially a spoiler.) That you are here-- that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse . Walt Whitman, Leaves of Gr

Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess

Advice Quit thinking negatively. Don't build more walls to block what's possible. Crash through, Noah. Crash the heck through. p23 Everything's not political. Actually, everything is. You either uphold the status quo, or you see what's wrong and try to change it. p40 I want to be a full human. I love new ideas. And new people. I want her to know I respect and honor her culture. Real diversity begins at the dinner table. Our humanity, Noah, will rise with out breaking of daily bread. You  must-- p403 Funny HE KNOWS EVERYTHING. He's the one who hipped me to the podcast. Hipped? Who are you, Shaft now? p28 (Did they know Shaft was having another movie come out when they wrote this?) 10:04 pm I WAS DRIVING A SCHOOL BUS AT YOUR AGE. YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH TO START TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF. P136 Noah, the struggle is real out here in these mean streets. Walt, you live in a gated community. p203 Interesting Facts What do you think I

What Were the Twin Towers by Jim O'Connor

It is good that this books makes sure, a few times, to mention that people got sick from the aftermath and trying to help. p4 and later (I guess I didn't mark the other places.) Whoa! The final plan for each tower called for twenty-three express elevators, seventy-two locals, and nine freight elevators. p32 One of the judges [for the memorial design competition] was a famous architect named Maya Lin. She said Arad "made something positive out of the void." p93

The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser with Bridget Cook

Education man landing on the moon-- considered fake My dad was selling stuff to Morton Thiokol for their solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle! There was such a thing as men landing on the moon! p24 "library" at their school p24-25 While educators had worked diligently to put these packets together, their own knowledge of the outside world was dangerously limited. Kristin was two weeks shy of eighteen, but I could tell it would take at least another two years of study to get her GED. p237 Family It was often the case that when a father's life became too packed full of the demands of multiple wives and many children, the sons took his place in labors of love and emotional support. After all, a man can have countless wives, but he will only ever have one blood mother. p31 Beliefs "Like Brigham Young, I don't like whiny women! Just like him, I tell 'em, 'Leave! I'll replace you in an instant with another wife, and she will serve m

Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez

Immigration great simple explanation for kids- p29 being called an alien- kid perspective-- p32 Language accent/ speech instruction- p36 Some of them are not that great, but I love that she talks to me as if I'm a good writer. p136 Sadness dad and paying for things- p155 Love it Like usual, Jessica doesn't seem nervous at all, but I realize that's not always good. Maybe it's good sometimes to be nervous about things because you'll work harder at them. p194

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson, and John Jennings

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I think it would be interesting to discuss how students feel seeing this-- have they ever thought about all of the people who learn the "breaking news" about someone they know, someone they care about, this way. I think these panels would be good to discuss the effects (from the pages before) of people and events on our lives. And also the medical issues on this page in light of articles like the one about Serena Williams and her birth story. This one is good for the "All Lives Matter" thing. The way the media draws conclusions and the information they choose to share is always a good discussion.

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Description But then that podcast came around, re-examining all that happened, poking holes in a burnt cake to make sure it's done. p1 Parenting But she always says, "You only get one shot at your kids, so you need to hit the bull's-eye." p8

Louisiana's Way Home- Kate DiCamillo

If you are the kind of person who lies about something as small as bologna, what would stop you from lying about bigger, more important things? p102

Finale by Stephanie Garber

Description If there had been a clock in the room, it would have stopped. Occasionally, there are minutes that get extra seconds. Moments so precious the universe stretches to make additional room for them, and this was one of them. People don't get pauses like these very often. Some people never receive them at all. p3 He looked the way she would have imagined a vigilante who had a secret identity as a gentleman botanist. p56 "But I don't want to feel differently. I want to feel love in its every form. I used to be so scared of it, but now I think love is another type of magic. It makes everything brighter, it makes people who have it stronger, it breaks rules that aren't supposed to exist, it's infinitely valuable. I can't imagine my life without it. And if you felt any love in your heart, you would understand." p187 Love it "Just because I don't like you doesn't mean you're not pretty." p17 And by proper, Tella imagined

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

World-Building He'd destroyed cultures, destroyed invaluable knowledge, destroyed so much of what had once been bright and good. His people should revolt. p69 Find the evil in the castle... But the only evil thing in this world is the man ruling it. p219 "Marriage is a legal contract-- it's not a sacred thing. As Crown Prince, you should have given up such fanciful notions. What if you're ordered to marry for the sake of an alliance? Would you start a war because of your romantic ideals?" p231 The week surrounding Yulemas was a time of relaxation, a time to celebrate the carnal pleasures that kept one warm on a winter's night. Women wore their hair down; some even refused to don a corset. It was a holiday to feast on the fruits of the harvest and those of the flesh. p259 Gender She glared. "I hate women like that. They're so desperate for the attention of men that they'd willingly betray and harm members of their own sex. And we claim

Queer, There and Everywhere by Sarah Prager

#LouderForThePeopleInTheBack But when we make assumptions about any historical figure, we rewrite the past without even knowing it.p1 The version of history we learn in school puts a straight cisgender mask on almost everyone. p1 Recognizing the world's rich history of queerness helps reduce homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, and helps welcome queer identities to the mainstream with love and acceptance. p2 Why homosexuals were one of the colonists' most popular scapegoats remains unclear. It wasn't just a bad interpretation of the Bible, since colonial states didn't outlaw greediness and other things Christianity forbids. p8 It matters that we say and demonstrate how queerness itself is as old as time, because people still find it counterintuitive to their conceptions of history. p213 Thinking about the amount of progress yet to be accomplished can be overwhelming, but when we put it in the context of all of time , we see that we've been going in the

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Gender But Adele's fear of the road was no match for her fear of being lost. Swallowed into the Fuhrer's breeding systems to mother a whole nation of blonds. Doomed to years of swollen ankles, a body run down, and breasts sucked dry. p27 Power The Fuhrer was known for his speeches. His voice turned words into living, breathing things that snaked under skins, lit fires inside even the dullest minds. p40 Hypocrisy An Italian face: olive skin, dark hair, shaded eyes. (Non-Aryan by strict standards, though Hitler's racial system was built just as much on politics as it was on weak pseudoscience. Like the Japanese, Italians were "honorary Aryan," because of their pro-National Socialist war efforts.) p95 "But think of the implications! If a Jewish urchin can appear Aryan, then why not the rest of us? What would take generations with eugenics could be accomplished with just a few injections! Those of us with flawless pedigrees who want more desirable tra

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Gender You must try to be kind to your brother even when he is older but not wiser . p5 Even if that farm boy told everyone in Ivets what he'd seen, the townspeople would chalk it up to Adezku, the rascal wind that drove women into their neighbors' beds and made mad thoughts skitter in men's heads like whorls of dead leaves. p15 Nina snorted. If men were ashamed when they should be, they'd have no time for anything else. p32 He'd come to recognize the bizarre phenomenon of Zoya's beauty, the way men loved to create stories around it. They said she was cruel because she'd been harmed in the past. They claimed she was cold because she just hadn't met the right fellow to warm her. Anything to soften her edges and sweeten her disposition-- and what was the fun in that? Zoya's company was like strong drink. Bracing-- and best to abstain if you couldn't handle the kick. p57 "He thinks a woman wanting to fight or hunt or fend for herself

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

Advice Steve went on, "If you only expose yourself to whatever everybody else does, you'll never create anything new." p14 Explaining Something Hard to Explain It was funny because it wasn't something that I would'a thought to ask for, but sitting there then in my room, it seemed like something I had been wanting. I just hadn't known that I had wanted it. p15 Description Sunnshyne Dixon-Knight, or Sunny, wasn't bad-looking, but her attitude made her ugly. p37 Respecting A Person's Name p45

The Constitution: The Story Behind American's Governing Document by Kerry A. Graves

Interesting Facts: Benjamin Franklin and the sedan chair p11

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

Good explanation Look, you can be angry, but you can't be disrespectful . p21 Poems to share "Today" p 24-26 "Thought" p36 "Resolve" p337-339 The system Nah! Got caught bouncing my ball in the hallway. In-school suspension. p78

The Pledge of Allegiance: The Story Behind Our Patriotic Promise by Liz Sonneborn

Discussion of careful wording-- good for high school classrooms "In classrooms, teachers taught children from many backgrounds about U.S. History and how the government works." p6-- Note, not ALL backgrounds. Discussion of the adding of "under God" to the pledge p15 original text of pledge- p11 court case p16 considering using the word "equality" in the pledge- p21

The Declaration of Independence: The Story Behind America's Founding Document by Kerry A. Graves

"If life is so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!" I know now what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" p13 I feel like it would be really interesting to have students think about this more complete quote-- especially in light of the historical context. A good starting point for an irony discussion, I think.

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Gender How typical of this Court for everyone else to act mad and then, when I've behaved in a perfectly reasonable manner, compel me to feel as if I were the mad one. p13 Villains He hadn't been a person who cackled and leered and rubbed his hands together villainously like the storyteller said. He'd been simpler than that. He'd spoken simply, reacted simply, and performed acts of violence with a simple, expressionless precision. He'd calmly done whatever he'd needed to do to make things the way he wanted them. p30 Love it The more I see and hear, the more I realize how much I don't know. I want to know everything. p58 "I always trusted you, Lady Queen," said Teddy, "even before I knew who you were. You're a person of generosity and feeling. It warms my heart to know that such a person is our queen." p287 Giddon took her small, clenched fist in his hand, raised it to his mouth, and kissed it. And Bitterblue was lit up

Geniune Fraud by E. Lockhart

Dedication For anyone who has been taught that good equals small and silent, here is my heart in all its ugly tangles and splendid fury. Love "I'm scared I'm gonna lose him and I hate being with him, both at the same time. And when he's dead and I'm an orphan, I know I'm going to be sorry I took this trip away from him, d'you know?" p3 Gender Jule watched a shit-ton of movies. She knew that women were rarely the centers of such stories. Instead, they were eye candy, arm candy, victims, or love interests. Mostly, they existed to help the great white hetero her on his fucking epic journey. Where there was a heroine, she weighed very little, wore very little, and had had her teeth fixed. p22 Eff you, Mr. Isaac. I'm not so very ignorant. I just know stuff about stuff that you dismiss as unimportant and useless. p68 American Dream discussion p34 Descriptions Imogen Sokoloff was the type of girl teachers never thought worked to her

Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

Descriptions The fact that Ivy wasn't conventionally beautiful made it worse. Power you get from being beautiful is cheap. But Ivy's appeal just came from the her of her. p19 "Being in love is a painful nightmare," he'd told me once. p31 She's been the only one of her siblings to visit regularly. I knew she resented it, but she also seemed to secretly like it, too, because it confirmed her belief about how selfish they were. My mother likes to be right, even about bad things. Maybe about bad things especially. p43-44  It felt like he was playing the role of boyfriend on a TV show. Xavier remembered how to do all the things he was supposed to do, but he wasn't sure how to feel. p120 All Xavier could think was that, yes, he is incredibly handsome and good-looking and seemingly full of energy and love for life, but he was missing something, some spark. His view of the world was exactly what deodorant ads and car-insurance commercials said it sho

Unbound by Anne E. Burg

Beautiful Pieces The good Lord's sure weepin at the way His children is bein treated, she says. But for now, there's nothin we can do. p29 The things what we love, we keep buried in our hearts. p53 Aunt Tempie shakes her head. You can't blame the good Lord for what people do. p90 Even if fear steals my soul, I'm never goin to coddle grown people what's got no sense of kindness. p112 _________________ There's a whole beautiful world out there, Grace-- the good Lord made it for everybody. Then why, I wonder, do you work so hard jus to please Master Allen? Why does Jordon have a baby girl he's never goin to see again? p115 ___________________________ Judgin folks by the color of they skin is wrong-- no matter who's doin the judgin. p130 Anyway, I say, jus cause a folk says somethin don't make it true. Skin's got nothin to do with smartness. We both got just as many smart thoughts as Master Al

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

This is an ADULT book written by an author who also writes YA. The quotes definitely reflect the adultness of this book. It's also a sequel, so although I have attempted to avoid spoilers for this book, I cannot guarantee there are no spoilers for Nevernight. Humor "You don't find any irony in earning your place in a cult of assassins by saving half a dozen lives?" p67 The old man hooked his thumbs into his waistcoat. "Problem with being a librarian is there's some lessons you just can't learn from books. And the problem with being an assassin is there's some mysteries you just can't solve by stabbing fuck out of them." p67-68 "... And I'll be damned," she said, pointing her practice sword at Mia's face," if the last my blades sing is because you and Furian can't agree on the color of shit. Fuck him. Stab him. Stab him while you fuck him, I don't give a damn. But get it sorted out before you get us all

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

What a book! It's harrowing. I don't want to believe it's real, but I know that it is. I don't know that any of these quotes will be helpful in a classroom setting, but I had to collect some of them. They just.. mostly defy reason. But the girls were paid by piece-work, not salary, so the impact of using the pens made a huge difference financially. p173 His theory was this: the girls could not possibly have brought a lawsuit until they knew that the company was to blame. As the firm had actively conducted a campaign to mislead the girls, it should not be allowed to rely upon the delay, which it had caused, as a defense. p178 "James McDonald lost the services of his wife and will in the future be deprived of the comfort and aid of her society and will be compelled to expend large sums of money in an endeavor to treat and cure his wife." p179 its own vice-president had attended the girls' medical tests. p213 "My body means nothing but pain to

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Gender and Expectations It was part of that disorienting feeling she'd had for yeas, that feeling that everyone except her had been issued a handbook. Samantha knew it was important to be pretty and cute, but she had no idea how to be those things, or even why she was supposed to want to be. p23 But now being a girl was like being stuffed into a heavy, constricting costume. She could barely breathe in it. The rules of the universe were fixed: You look a certain way and so you have to act a certain way and people are going to treat you a certain way. There was no way to alter it. p24-25 "You're the only one who knows what you feel," Sasha said. "If that's the word for what you feel, then stick with that." p26 p33-35 has a great glossary for gender/ sexuality terms "For how vehemently I felt like I wasn't a girl, I have to say, being a boy isn't super great either," he admitted. "Both sides have such bullshit baggage atta

Someday by David Levithan

Perception/ Descriptions The young handsome white guys are always fun They're the ones who are naturally given things, who find that gates swing open before they touch them. These guys take advantage. Sometimes they don't know they're doing it. Most of the time they do. They are harder to erase because they like their lives. but I stay in there anyway, because I like their lives, too. p28-29 It takes me about two periods in school to realize she's one of the only black girls in class-- a point brought home in third-period history, when both the teacher and other students keep looking at her when they're talking about Selma, as if her skin colors makes her an expert on something that happened decades before she was born. I would guess they don't even realize they're doing it-- when people are thinking about a difference, their eyes will usually wander to someone they think embodies the difference. p42 Gwen's parents are there, as well a

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Gender Well, and Cansrel had loved attention, Fire thought to herself dryly. More to the point, he had been a man. Cansrel had not had her problems. p181 Expectations It seemed to Fire it was rarely enough one knew a person one wished to marry. how unjust then to meet that person, and be kept from it because one's bed was made of hay and not feathers. p197-198 "Among the wealthy it's the rare skins and furs sold on the black market. With everyone else it's whatever they find clogging the gutters or killed in the housetraps. It all amounts to the same thing, of course, but the rich people feel better knowing they paid a fortune." p205 "It's thanks to them we know the uses for all the strange herbs that grow in the crevices and caves at the edges of the kingdom. Our medicines to stop bleeding and keep wounds from festering and kill tumors and bind bones together and do just about everything else came from their experiments. Of course, they also di

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig

How can you bear to see tragedy coming and not try to stop it? p47 I've always tried to resemble a brave man. p51 And I was still trying to find the words for what I wanted. Pettite amie, doost dokgthoram, girlfriend... that work fell flat in any language I knew, and "wife" was too weighty for this effervescent feeling-- like Coca-Cola, like champagne. But when I'd fallen, she had jumped, and inshallah, I had a chance to now say the things I should have said long ago. All I had to do was be brave. p52 I love everything about Bee and Ayen's relationship (except that Ayen was murdered.) "But I want one of these." He plucked something at random from the shelf-- a plush doll of a white cat in a red dress-- and his expression turned from credible to puzzled. "What the devil?" p61 Although she did not speak, this was not the silence of still waters, but that of a gathering storm. p63 "Paradises are generally god-given. Utopias are ma

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King

Power of Kindness She was a legend not only in the school and the community, but in my house, because Bernadette had her the same year as Mr. Mustache bullied her, and Ms. G saved her by being nice, because Ms. G is always nice. p32 Bad dad jokes "Your generation ruined the planet," Bernadette said to Dad as she landed on St. James Place. "I didn't personally ruin the planet," Dad said. "I don't know who told you I did, but whoever it is, is lying." p32 Irony Now there were so many houses I couldn't count them all. During Phase One , they erected a huge sign with a map of numbered building lots and the name of the development, THE ORCHARDS. Of course they had to tear down the actual orchards to build the houses. p48 100 years ago-- p51 prejudice Dreams Discussing what he wants to be when he grows up Something where I could help nature and be cool and nerdy at the same time. Something Ms. G would approve of. Something wher

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

****If you have not read the first two books, this will likely contain spoilers for them. I will try and not reveal spoilers for THIS BOOK.**** Expectations When they first arrived, both she and Mirabella had tried to charm Mrs. Chatworth. Arsinoe especially, had been prepared to like or even love her. She was Billy's mother, after all. She had raised a boy who would stand by his friends. So when they met, she expected to find someone like Cait Malone: with a stern face and a stout heart, and strong arms for holding her children. p 41 Not even Mirabella will be accepted as one of them, and Mirabella follows all their rules. p42 ________________________________________ "They would be beside themselves if they knew you had taken off your dress in public." "It wasn't in public. It was in the graveyard, behind a tree. And besides, I had all these clothes on underneath!" p61 __________________________________________ "You will do what all wom

American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Suddenly, I feel so alone in this house. I am surrounded by family, but none of them really knows me or understands what happened to me today. p20 "Ma thinks that anything free is just bullshit. Especially in this city. You don't want a bullshit education." p50 We were all shades of brown and not-brown. This is what tuition paid for-- to be with other students who were examples of the world. p51 Emotional description of going to another country p54 "No, no, no. I understand. There are guys like Dray in Haiti, too. We call them vagabon , drug dealers. Maybe some of them like to study, but they love money more." p102

I'm Just No Good at Rhyming by Chris Harris

I'm Shy on the Outside p116 (seeing how someone else is!) The Ice Cream Mondae p199 (amazing description and how Mondays feel) L-O-V-E p200-201 (acceptance)

Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson

I just wanted to share a couple of her poems that I hadn't even seen/ read before. "From all the jails the boys and girls" p18 "Faith is a fine invention" p 20

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

Toby took another, bigger bite of cake, and began to settle into himself. Somehow, in this place, he felt happier, calmer, than he had in quite some time. As though perhaps the pebble in his shoe had managed to work its own way out. p 55 "All a parent really wants from his child is her happiness. So if you're happy, Toby will be happy, too." p66 "Just remember this," he said. "It's the way we deal with what Fate hands us that defines who we are." p67