The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

All Mr. Kermit wants to do is wind his teaching career until he can take early retirement. His "career" has long fizzled out after a scandal in his early days sucked all the joy out of him. His nemesis in the district office is not letting him go gently into the night however and orders his principal to give him the worst class out there- The Unteachables.


Mr. Kermit is a veteran however and he spends his days drinking coffee from a humongous mug and doling out worksheets. Then between the dogged persistence of his younger colleague and his students, Mr. Kermit finds the old spark being reignited but will it be too late?

Korman tells the tale from various viewpoints so the reader gets to see the perspective from various characters in the novel and their motivations.  Any student can learn as long as their are caring, willing adults in their school.

As I myself make my return to the school environment this school year I intend to not view any student as an "unteachable" and instead do all in my power to reach them where they are. Some read alikes to this book are Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher and The Losers Club by Andrew Clements.

A Librarian's Summer of Reading pep talk

Here in the city of Denver the Summer of Reading program gets underway today and I wanted to pause for a moment before the craziness starts (besides the increased numbers of folks at the branch and the adjustments made to schedules, one of our prizes is a ticket to Elitch Gardens and this can cause people to line up outside the library on the day we start distributing them).

With all that going on it's easy to lose sight of the reason for a summer reading program in the first place- to help combat the summer slide, to foster a love of reading etc etc so I have been searching for some vids, blogs and so forth that can be a source of hope and encouragement for librarians young and old for the inevitable low points this summer.

I love TED talks and I keep telling myself that I need to watch one of them a day and in some cases watch some every day in order to fully gleam what the talker is trying to convey. Check out these talks that accurately convey the importance of libraries- one of them talks about why books are like secret doors.

I love feel good stories about the library helping people. I follow this blog on tumblr and this story made me swell with pride. Sometimes it takes someone from a different country to help us see what we have here in North America.

A library without books?!?!  Yes! It has 3-d printers and powerful pcs and free access!  This is the future of libraries right here. The Denver Public Library's idealab already provides a space space for kids and teens.

Libraries are fun places to work most of the time but this town takes it a step further. I have always wanted a red car but I guess I may have to settle for a red library cart.  It sure beats the dull beige all our carts are painted.

Have a great summer!!

 

Show and Prove by Sofia Quintero

If you're like me you read the inside of the front and back covers of a book that looks interesting. This particular book, Show and Prove's  back cover says that the author, Sofia Quintero is an "Ivy League homegirl". That for me was more motivation for me to pick this book up.

Set in the South Bronx of the 1980s the book traces the events in one hot summer of two friends, Smiles and Nike. Both have family who came to the city from somewhere else and both share a love of hip-hop.  Like any good coming of age story their relationship morphs over the course of the book and there are some bumps along the way.

Though the two are best friends Smiles has been doing a lot of introspection and finds that his life should be more purposeful. What this purpose is he doesn't know. As for Nike, he has all the purpose he needs with his Nike sneakers, fresh clothes and boom box. During the summer they work together at a neighborhood center and the interactions they have with each other, with the kids and with two other counselors will forever impact their lives.

As a fan of break dancing I especially liked the battle scenes in the book but the political awakening of the characters is to me even more important. Often times I hear people say that Americans aren't aware of what's going on (or at least not as aware as they should be) and that to me is disheartening.  Quintero does a masterful job however of not being too preachy but still presenting her views in an accessible way. This book could be a good primer into a variety of urban issues such as race relations, urban decay, immigration, the working poor and neighborhood uplift. I highly recommend it for ages 13+.










As an added bonus, here is an interview with the author in which she talks a little about the creative process involved in writing this book.

Losers Take All by David Glass

Wow, wow wow is what I kept saying to myself after reading this novel. Mr Glass has put his finger on something that has been brewing in the American psyche for years.

Jack Logan's dad used to be called the Logan Express back in his day as a student at Fremont High. Fremont, also known as Muscles High is a place where jocks rule and have ruled for decades. Jack's two older brothers were also football stars at the school and his dad has always tried to encourage his sons. Jack, like most sons, desperately wants his father's approval.

When a drill sergeant principal is appointed principal things get weird for Jack and his athletically challenged friends as they are forced to join a sports team. They choose soccer and soon are the talk of the town. There are some at the school who don't take kindly to the lovable losers however and that is when things get really exciting.

I for one like football and cheer my beloved Denver Broncos (Super Bowl 50 champs!) on weekly but I would never allow my sons to play the game and many of the parents I know feel the same. Though soccer is portrayed in the book as a sport that is manly than football those who play it know that this is not necessarily true (Google Football's wildest tackles and fouls if you don't believe me).

 This book is a not so veiled commentary on American sports culture and I can see it being discussed in many schools across this country. People on both sides of the spectrum will of course have differing views but no one deny that sports, important as they are just games at the end of the day. Producing students with big character should be the focus of high school sports programs because as has been mentioned time and time again only a small portion of these athletes will go on to play in college and an aeven smaller amount will make the pros. Good food for thought. I recommend this novel for ages 13+.

An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes:In Real Life You Need Real Friends by Randy Ribay

So a black kid, a white kid and a nerdy kid walk into a park. No that's not a joke but it is one of the turning points of this great new novel by Randy Ribay in which he brings together a diverse group of friends who are entering senior year in high school and life chooses just this moment to throw some curve balls at them all.

Feelings for the opposite sex are perhaps the most difficult obstacles to navigate since teens are just coming into their own as individuals and have so much other pressures (schoolwork, family etc.)  In this novel, Archie's parents have just divorced and he suddenly finds himself attracted to Mari, a girl with whom he plays a board game with every Monday (and has done so since middle school). Mari for her part has her own issues bubbling up as do the rest of the group, gentle giant Dante and the odd couple Sam and Sarah.

It is the latter two persons who propel the narrative forward and the book turns into a road trip of epic proportions. Some of the supporting characters are unforgettable to say the least.  As the old saw goes, travel broadens one's horizons and I would add that travel with friends does this even more and can either make or break a friendship.

Ribay doesn't sermonize or come off as preachy but he makes his point. Life is hard but turning away from those who genuinely love us and care for us makes no sense and may very well ends up hurting us.  Adolescence is fraught with many dangers and kids, for some reason try to move away from the very people who most want to help them (their parents) and move closer to the people they think can empathize and help them. While I don't think that many parents would be as permissive as the ones in this novel I do think that as parents we learn when to step away and let kids learn lessons for themselves. This is a good read for older tweens and teens due to some of the topics covered and the language used.

The Bubble Wrap Boy by Phil Earle

By day, Charlie Han is a regular kid who despite his best efforts is rather clumsy. By night he is a delivery boy for his parents' Chinese takeout restaurant. He does have one secret however; and considering that his mom is a helicopter parent like no other (he's fourteen years old and there's still a baby gate at the top of his stairs) this secret could land him in big trouble- Charlie Han loves to skateboard and is actually quite good at it.

There is something else going on however. Charlie's mom is getting increasingly tired and Charlie suspects that it may be because those night classes that she signs up for may not be classes after all. What he finds out however may be more than he can handle.

Every family has secrets and skeletons in the closet but of course some are more serious than others. Secrets in and of themselves aren't bad but usually people are more annoyed that they haven't been told things. Charlie falls into this category and he must learn how to cope.

Coming of age novels can sometimes be very dark and heavy reading. Earle gets around this by starting off the book very lightly. I almost thought it would be one of the books with lots of shenanigans and cheap guffaws throughout and yes there are light moments but Charlies life definitely changes irrevocably by the novels end.

This book was written in England and has two covers, one for overseas and one for North America. I was amused when I saw the blue cover as it actually had a boy wrapped in bubble wrap. This book would be appropriate for ages 11+ as I think children of that age would be able to make sense of the many complicated emotions Charlie experiences and his evolving relationship with his parents and in particular with his mother.

All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kelly

Recent events in our country have shown that despite the election of the country's first African-American President, the spectre of race still has not disappeared. The police are an important and necessary public institution but perhaps some of the methods used to police poor and minority communities need to be reexamined. One wonders also how many instances of police brutality would go unpunished if there were no such thing as camera phones. It is no wonder that police departments nationwide are adopting body cameras.

 All-American Boys is co-written by two authors, one African-American, one White and I think this lends some authenticity to the narrative. Cover images are so very important in attracting readers and this book does a good job in that regard with the novel's title in red and blue and a young man standing with his hands raised.

Told from two viewpoints, the young African-American youth Rashad is for all intents and purposes an All-American teen. He is active in sports, is gregarious and is enrolled in ROTC. His dad was both a former soldier and police officer and firmly believes in both institutions. The young white teen Quinn could also be described as an All-American kid as he also plays sports (on the same team as Rashad), is a dutiful older brother to his pesky brother Will and is a good son to his widowed mom.  Those similarities are the only things they have in common however.

In many senses this is a coming of age story because Rashad is forever changed (physically and mentally) and Quinn's relationship with his own friends and with Rashad is altered dramatically. The authors give a very accurate portrayal of the inner torment both characters experience as they begin to change their world view and alter their beliefs.

Some of the language and situations described are a tad graphic and for this reason I would recommend this novel for ages 13+. Some read alikes are How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon and Tyrell by Coe Booth. One quote from the novel resonated very deeply with me "If you are neutral in times of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." Very true indeed.

Galgorithm by Aaron Karo

    Imagine that there was a formula that you could use whenever you had a crush on someone that was almost guaranteed to work. Imagine if there was a list of techniques that, if followed faithfully would eventually make the cutie you were eyeing start to like you back. Now imagine if a high school senior was the one who had devised such a strategy. What do you think he would do with it? Galgorithm by Aaron Karo explores what could happen if such a scenario were to occur.


 Shane is a high school senior in a cushy middle class  suburb in California. He makes good grades, stays out of trouble and is generally well-liked. He hangs out with his best friend Jak (Jennifer Annabelle Kalkland) mostly but he has a secret that even she doesn't know- he is a dating consultant sought out by lovelorn students throughout the school.

   Shane's methods seem to be very effective however- he has hooked up the most unlikely couples. Balloon and Hedgehog, Reed and Marisol to name a few. But soon things start getting weird. A staff member at school seeks Shane out desperate for help with a colleague and Shane must decide if he wants to help a grown up.Then one of the most attractive girls at school falls for Shane but he can't shake the nagging feeling that he likes someone else. He will have to make some hard decisions.

If you are looking for a book that analyzes teen problems and tries to find a cause for their angst then this book isn't for you. This was a breezy read filled with beautiful, high-achieving kids. Although I don't usually read books like this I admit that I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend this book for readers aged 13+.