Among the Hidden

     My class just finished reading Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix. 
     Luke is one of the Shadow Children; the 3rd child born in a family.  In this futuristic world, overpopulation has caused mass starvation and famines.  To alleviate these issues, the government has forbidden many things: pets, junk food, and more than two children per family. 
     Luke is forced to hide day after day in the attic looking out vents at the world he can't be a part of in any form.  Life changes for Luke when he discovers another third child hiding in the house behind his house.    
     After breaking into her house and a few minutes of danger, Luke and Jen become best friends.  Like the best friendships, the two are opposites.  Where Luke is fearful and timid, Jen is defiant and strong-willed. 
     Jen is planning a rally where thousands of shadow children will walk in front of the president's house to free the children. Luke must decide if he is willing to risk his life for his freedom. 

     Since this was our last book of the year, I let my students vote on the book they wanted to read.  The kids loved it!  They couldn't wait to read everyday.  They got very attached to the characters, so much so that one chapter brought many of the girls to tears.  It also led us to great discussions about food shortages, world population, and the One Child Policy in China.  

     It is a great book for reluctant readers, but they will need some scaffolding on the underlying issues in the book about Totalitarianism, government control, overpopulation and what people will do for their freedom. 

     I loved this book and plan to read the sequel because I need to know what happens to Luke.  I love this kid! 

The Help

     A friend of mine recommended this book to me.  It took me a while to read it because I had so many other books and projects going on at the same time.  I think that was a good thing because the slow pace seemed to fit the south where the book takes place.
     I learned a lot about the Civil Rights Movement that I didn't know before.  I knew that there were different public bathrooms, but I didn't know that black maids were not allowed to use the same bathrooms in the houses they cleaned.  The scene with Mae Mobley being toilet trained and her mother's reaction shocked me.
   I enjoyed seeing the different points-of-view of the women in the book, but it also made the book less personal for me.  Just as I got attached to one character, we switched to a new character.  It made me feel like an observer, rather than one of the characters. 
     I read the miscarriage scene when I was very sick and unable to leave the bathroom myself.  I felt as if the scene was happening around me.  This scene horrified me and I will never forget it. 
     One of the things I didn't like about the book was that we hear about how dangerous life is during this time.  We hear of people being blinded, beaten, and even killed.  However, we hear about it second hand, so it loses its emotional impact on the reader.  The women in the novel are taking a huge risk and nothing bad happens to them, only to other people.  This seemed contrived to me.  It also seemed to take away from their bravery because it made it seem like it wasn't that big of a risk, when they were truly risking their lives. 
      I was horrified by the prejudice in the book.  Unfortunately, I don't think we have come very far still today.  This book made me think about racism and the ways we treat people. 

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

     I love this book by Tom Angleberger.  I love Yoda anyway, but this book was hilarious.  I laughed out loud through the entire book.  It is an easy read and has lots of cartoon illustrations to go with the story.
     Dwight is a nerdy sixth-grader that wears a Yoda finger puppet on his finger.  Yoda gives amazing advice, and like the real Yoda, the advice doesn't make sense at the time but is totally on the mark. 
     I loved reading about the sixth graders and found myself remembering similar things that happened to me when I was a sixth grader just starting middle school. 
     I loved the chapter with the dueling Yodas.  Another fun part of the book is that it contains the directions to create your own origami Yoda in the back of the book. 
     This book is great for any Star Wars fans, 3rd-6th graders or reluctant middle school readers.  It is easy to read, funny, and has interesting characters.

Daniel X Demons and Druids

     I am a huge fan of Daniel X, but Demons and Druids Daniel X was a big disappointment.  James Patterson seemed to forget what we loved about Daniel X - the humor, the quirky characters, and the original storylines.
     Nick and I hardly laughed at all in this sequel and that was one of the things we loved best about Daniel in the earlier books. 
     Daniel wasn't his usual quirky self.  He was extremely boring.    
     The storyline had us travel back in time to battle an alien in King Arthur's time with Arthur and Merlin.  When the alien comes forward in time, Daniel defeats him with Stonehenge.  I bet you didn't see that coming, right? 
      The other stories were fun and original and made us fall in love with Daniel.  If you already love Daniel, don't read this book.  If you don't already love Daniel, there isn't really a point to read this book at all. 

I Am Number Four

    

     I am Number Four is written by Pittacus Lore - a pseudonym for James Frey and Jobie Hughes. 
     When Mogadorians attack the peaceful world of Lorien, the guardians take eight small children into a ship and leave for Earth.  The Mogadorians follow them to Earth to  kill the children.  Besides their guardians, the children only have one small protection - they can only be killed in order unless they are together in one location. 
     The first three children are dead when the book begins, and John is number four.  John is now 15 and beginning to develop special legacies that will make him harder to be killed. 
     In the meantime, he needs to stay in hiding from the Mogadorians.  John's guardian, Henri, warns John to fly under the radar, but John falls madly in love with Sarah.  Mark, her old boyfriend, bullies John, trying to break up John and Sarah.
     Stange things are happening that alert the Mogadorians to John's location.  Who will win the epic battle?  Will Sarah be able to handle John's past?  Will John's legacies develop in time to protect him from the Mogadorians' wrath?
     I am Number Four is a great book for reluctant readers.  The first half of the book was a bit slow for me, but my students loved the whole thing.  They enjoyed the love triangle between John, Sarah, and Mark.  They also enjoyed the bullying at the beginning that led to John's first legacy. 
     Once Henri leaves town to find news about the Mogadorians, the book had one thrill after another.  I did not want to put this book down. 
     My favorite character was John's dog Bernie Kosar because he was so original and endearing.  My favorite part of the book was finding out about Sam.  He is a shy teen who is obsessed with alien abductions.  He is certain his dad was abducted by aliens and misses him terribly.  Sam even wears his dad's Coke-bottle prescription glasses so he can see the world through his dad's eyes. 
     I really enjoyed this book and can hardly wait for the sequel.  It is a great book for teenagers who don't like to read, as well as teens and adults who do like to read.

The Wave

      The Wave by Todd Strasser is an awesome book for reluctant adolescent readers, if they have enough background knowledge on The Holocaust and Germany in WWII. 
      This book is based on a true story of a high school history teacher in California in 1969.  He is teaching his class about WWII and the Holocaust.  His students have mixed reactions to the lesson.  Some students are horrified at what they saw in the video.  Other students felt it was a sad event, but it had no bearing on life today.   Still others question how the German people could allow this to happen.
      Their teacher decides to set up a simulation to show his students how people could fall into this type of thinking.  His simulation is a shocking success and is soon spreading around the school.  The teacher and the students begin to lose themselves in The Wave.  The Wave gets out of control fast and shocking parallels to Nazi Germany occur.
     My students love this book and it has led to amazing discussions and connections in class.  We have learned about WWII, the Holocaust, and Hitler's Youth.  We have looked at the editorial cartoons from Dr. Seuss during WWII and learned to evaluate propaganda posters from all the countries involved in the war.  They have made intriguing connections with current events in the middle east and with bullying in our school.
     I highly recommend this book to all teachers.  It is scary to see the power we weild in our students' lives.  I also recommend this book to anyone with an interest in WWII or for teachers teaching a unit on The Holocaust.     

Daniel X Watch the Skies

      Daniel X Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust is the second book in the Daniel X series.  My son Nick and I read it together because we both loved Daniel X so much in the first book.
      This time Daniel X is fighting a new alien from The List, Number 5.  This alien is filming a reality tv show on Earth to entertain his home planet.  His minions are torturing humans by making them do silly stunts and then killing them for the tv show.  The aliens in the audience love the tv show, and Alien 5 is sure they will get incredible ratings back home.  The aliens are spreading the love by impregnating the women of the town who ate the free sardine samples they found in their mailboxes.  Daniel X has to figure out how to help the pregnant women in his town and stop Alien #5 before he becomes the headline act of the new reality show.   
      I liked this book almost as much as the first one, but Nick was disappointed in the new alien.  He felt that Alien Number 5 wasn't as developed as Seth was in the first book.  He also felt that Daniel wasn't as funny as he had been in the original novel.  Although he didn't like it as much as the original book, he still liked it a lot. 
     This book has short chapters which added to the excitement of the book.  You feel like you are rushing headlong into every experience Daniel experiences.  Daniel has a sarcastic sense of humor that had both of us giggling nearly every night we read.  It is a quick read and one that you don't want to stop reading.  I recommend this book for reluctant readers, especially boys.