I’ve been away from the #imwayr community for far too long. The transition across the country and from the classroom back into the library has been a crazy ride. I’m glad to see this meme is still going. It’s time to jump back in while I have a moment to share what I’m currently reading. My most recent reads have come from Gordon Korman. I was able to order Snoop, Faker, and The Fort for our school library and read them before putting them out on the shelf.
Snoop is a timely message considering just how easy it is to find streaming flock cameras and to hack into private systems and security cameras. Additionally, so many families have drones with cameras. While there are some crazy twists and turns and a huge mystery to solve, at the heart of the story we see how easy it is to become addicted to looking into the world of others while failing to focus on our own lives and needs. Given the last two decades of social media, does this really change once we grow into adulthood? The story was both entertaining and meaningful. I just added it to our catalog and it immediately was put on hold twice!
Faker was quite a bit harder because it dealt with a child attempting to justify his father’s poor moral choices. There were many internal questions and a struggle to find connection outside of family. Throughout the story, I felt mildly uncomfortable knowing that many children face similar situations, feeling the need to justify parental decisions that often have a negative impact others. I’m not sure how realistic this story would be in our modern world, where it’s easier to locate people – especially children unenrolling and enrolling in schools where records carry over from place to place. But having personally witnessed my loved ones being scammed out of thousands of dollars in recent months, I know there are far too many “fakers” out there taking what isn’t theirs. While the ending felt a bit rushed and I had feelings of unresolved consequences, this story showcases multiple viewpoints, offering philosophical arguments and empathy for both sides of the unfortunate situation.
The Fort was my favorite of the three new Korman books. And did you know this book is Gordon Korman’s 100th published book?! There’s so much going on in this story and some of it is honestly pretty heavy. It begins with the aftermath of a hurricane. We follow four middle school boys who’ve grown up together and one new friend who has transferred to their school. They find a fully furnished underground bomb shelter, the fort, and manage to keep it secret for a long time. Korman, ever the master of middle grade literature, gives us such a realistic peek into each boy’s life where we see their hopes, hardships, joys, and fears. While the fort is a fun hangout, it’s also a refuge in times of danger. There are some very tense scenes as well as some hilarious ones. I already feel like this one will be a re-read for me! The age range is 10-12, so I anticipate it being a hit with my 5th graders.
The Thing About Giants was published this past summer and it’s been my audiobook listen in October as I did chores around the house. This story explores a world where humans and giants no longer get along (they once did). The chapters go back and forth between the human story (a young blue-haired girl named Jacq) and the giant story (Corman, a young giant who loses his father) until the two worlds collide, unexpectedly. I found two publisher taglines that ring true throughout this story. First, “True heroes stand tall, no matter their size.” And second, “What if everything you’ve been taught about your greatest enemy is a lie?” Both are central to the stories of Jaq and Corman as they navigate their dangerous world.
I loved this story and don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling the adventure for anyone else. Also, the audiobook voices were absolutely delightful! This author is brand new to me, so I tried to find out a few details about him. So far I’ve only learned that Christopher Galvin is from Ireland and his website is down. 🙁However, if he writes more middle grade novels, I’m in!
Currently reading:
My youngest asked me to start reading the Warrior Cats series, starting with Into the Wild. I initially found this series intimidating because of how many characters there seemed to be, but it starts out slow and easy and I’ve had no problem keeping track of everyone. It’s been very engaging and I absolutely love to be reading what my daughter has loved so much!
To Be Read:
I checked out The Second Life of Snap by Erin Entrada Kelly before I even realized what it was about. So it’s coming up very soon!
Today is Monday, and I am participating in a weekly #IMWAYR meme. Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers and Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give Kathryn’s (at Book Date) “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?” meme a kidlit focus, reviewing books in children’s literature (picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in the world of kidlit). If you enjoy this type of reading, join us every Monday to share what you’ve been reading.
