pick⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Written in prose, home is not a country is a poignant & moving book about finding yourself & loving yourself. It's about making your life, despite the imperfections, 100% your own. And therein living it without dismay over what could have been & instead simply being proud of who you are & grateful for what is.
Can NOT recommend this book highly enough! (Even the acknowledgement section at the end made me cry. This book was just THAT good.)
This got me in the feels because my name is not Aisha and it doesn't mean "she who lives", but the rest sums me up to a tee since I lost my Jon 18 months and 2 weeks ago. ???
pickThis novel is aimed at middle grade readers, but held me captive for sure. Jake charts his challenges with anorexia and OCD in this heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful novel in verse. Jake and his grandmother share a love of musical theatre and reading. But he struggles to connect with friends his own age and fights off a very controlling voice in his head that is causing him great suffering. This beautiful book shares Jake's journey to healing.
My June pick for #12booksof2024 with @Andrew65 I actually listened to the audiobook with a friend. Her class was reading it and she wanted to read it ahead of time. Long car ride from Florida to SC meant we listened to most of it, and I finished it at home. So so good!
pickThis was a novel in verse about a girl who is struggling more with her neurodivergence as she gets into middle school. She comes to realize that she‘s on the autism spectrum and other members of her family probably are as well. She becomes an advocate for herself as she learns there are others who feel the same and more about accommodations that can be helpful.
#TRS2024 #NovelInVerse #MiddleGrade
pickIt was a strange feeling to read this story about German POWs in lower Michigan during WWII. I never knew POW camps existed in Michigan until I was an adult, and to discover this story has a connection to the teeny (teeny) tiny town I spent my early childhood in was just bizarre. I enjoyed the verse and the POVs of these two characters. I did not enjoy the very abrupt ending, though it's certainly fitting in any book on WWII.
“ trench foot, as it eats away at my feet. We are now all barefoot as our feet don't fit in our shoes.“
This book can connect students to events of the past because it shows and allows you to feel everything the children are experiencing throughout this book. It is filled with adventure so it would be engaging, but tells of an important part of history and an event that changed the world. This would be a great read-aloud or a part of a history or English lesson. I remember reading a similar story and it stuck with me a great memory.
pickLifeboat 12 by Susan Hood 2018 is a Historical fiction. This book is about a boy from England during WW2. His parents signed him up to travel to Canada to escape the war, but on their way across the ocean, the ship was struck by a missile. they have to figure out to survive in a lifeboat in the hope they will be rescued. This book is based on a true story. The description of everything was great and you feel you are in the story. A must read.
