Memorial Day is our nation’s special holiday to honor those who have served in our military as well as those honored soldiers who gave their lives for our freedoms. Here are some of the novels about war, sacrifice, and growing up that made a mark on me from my high school readings lists. In fact, this is… Continue reading Memorial Day: Young Adult Reads to Remember
Category: Newbery
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Al Capone Does My Shirts Goodreads says: A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister. Today I moved to a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd… Continue reading Al Capone Does My Shirts
Three Times Lucky
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage Newbery honor winner, New York Times bestseller, and Edgar Award Nominee Goodreads summary: A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime. Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone’s business is fair game and no secret… Continue reading Three Times Lucky
A Long Way to Chicago
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck Goodreads says: And there’s more, as Joey and Mary Alice make seven summer trips to Grandma’s — each one funnier than the year before — in self-contained chapters that readers can enjoy as short stories or take together for a rollicking good novel. In the tradition of American… Continue reading A Long Way to Chicago
Breaking Stalin’s Nose
Initially, I was drawn to the title of Yelchin’s Newbery winning novel; then, I read it in a fast paced breath because the tension heightened the speed of the story in which Sasha quickly becomes aware the reality of communism in the USSR. The story is well written and quick, just like the action in… Continue reading Breaking Stalin’s Nose