Potter Mania

I am absolutely pumped about next week! Why do you ask? Besides the fact that it will be my one month of anniversary of being married, I will be going to see the new Harry Potter flick.

Now, if you ask my college friends, they know how much I love these series. I believe my sophomore year in college they actually gave me some Harry Potter memorabilia (some pillowcases, book ends, etc.) and I absolutely loved it. When the novels first came out, I loved reading them because they were so different from any of the other novels that I read. It had its own terminology, incredible imaginary lands, and was just so much fun to read.

Now, seven years later (has it been that long!), I love the books and movies for an entirely different reason. This series has caused tons of kids to read for hours at a time. Whenever I have free reading time in my classroom, I always see a kid or two pull out one of these books and just stay glued to it the entire time. Watching them read, it reminds me of how I spent my own personal time reading these books (usually late into the night) and how my imagination would just take off with the text.

I wish that I had these Harry Potter books when I was in elementary/middle school because I definitely would have read them at least 3 times or more. Nowadays, Adolescent Literature has changed from the Doctor Doolittle, the Amelia Bedelia's, and the Ramona Quimby's(I actually named my cat Socks after a Beverly Clearly Book!) that I used to read about to Vampires, Wizards, and tons of other things.

Now, since my profession introduces me to a ton of teen literature, I have had the privilege of reading some great books that I never would have read. I will give you a few reviews of my favorites...

The Giver
By Lois Lowery

Ok, I know the cover looks a little creepy, but one must remember the saying to never judge a book by its cover! This book is about a utopia where everything is controlled for the protection of its people. Hence the role of the giver who "gives" the main character Jonas (a 12 year old boy), all of the memories that his people had experienced in the past. Once Jonas realizes how precious all of these memories are; he devises a plan in order for the rest of his people to experience them just as he did. Now, the problem that he encounters is that releasing these memories will not be an easy task as well as, not everybody would like these memories back.

I mean, when one thinks of the word utopia, its a "perfect" world right? Well, in his world, there is no color, everyone looks the same, everyone receives their job at the age of 12 based off of aptitude tests, the elderly are euthanized at a certain age...basically, think about Fahrenheit 451 or A Brave New World. What I love about this story is how Jonas discovers the beauty in the worst and best moments of life. Also, how he has to fight to pass on to others what they should rightly have, like a David and Goliath story. Definitely some good stuff.

Speak
By Laurie Halse Anderson

Another book that I absolutely love is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Now this book is about a high school student who has a terrible, traumatic experience at a party and she is unable to tell anyone about it. Her grades drop, she loses friends, and eventually turns to art in order to cope with what has happened to her. I compare this book to The Bell Jar except that Speak has a happier ending. Warning: This books is very mainstream so beware of scenarios or words that might make somebody uncomfortable.

The House of the Scorpian
By Nancy Farmer

Now this is my action, sci-fi pick that I guarentee that you will not be able to put down. Set in Mexico, it deals with cloning, awful villians, and escaping to a better world. I mean listen to how it starts,

"Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a cow, where he continued the miraculous journey from embryo to fetus to baby. He is a boy now, but most consider him a monster -- except for El Patrón. El Patrón loves Matt as he loves himself, because Matt is himself."

If you want something that is full of adventure, then this book will not disappoint.

Now that is all for my books reviews, but as one can see, books have come very far since I was 12 year old. I mean, if I had these around, I might not have ever left the library. Well, I am not being fair, I still had some books that I couldn't get enough of. :)