Clues for Real Life

     Clues for Real Life:  The Classic Wit and Wisdom of Nancy Drew is another quick read.  It is a compilation of facts, quizzes, pictures, and quotes from the Nancy Drew books.  I only read a couple of the original Nancy Drew books, but it was still fun to read this compilation.
     My favorite part was the comparison between the original books from the 1930s and the 1959 revision.  I recommend this book for anyone who already loves Nancy Drew or is interested in women's rights.
     The beginning section talks about Nancy Drew's impact on the Suffragette Movement and being a role model for the equal rights movement.

The World According to Mister Rogers

     The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember by Fred Rogers is a quick read.  Each page has a thought or quote from Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers.  Here are a few of his thoughts that resonated with me.
     "The thing I remember best about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing...and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success.  They just love what they're doing, and they love it in front of others."
     "It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life."
     "One of the strongest things we have to wrestle with in our lives is the significance of the longing for perfection in ourselves and in the people bound to us by friendship or parenthood or childhood."
     "I hope you are proud of yourself for the times you've said 'yes,' when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to somebody else."
     "If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of.  There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."
     This book is a fast read and can be read all at once or a page a day for inspiration.  

Your Psychic Child

     Your Psychic Child by Sara Wiseman is an incredible book.  I learned something new on nearly every page I read.
     Sara writes with humor and understanding.  Her stories and examples were insightful.
     I really liked the way she included exercises at the end of each chapter to help you practice what you had read about.  I used several of the exercises with Nick and they really seemed to help.
     I also learned a lot about myself by reading this book.  It is a must read for anyone who suspects their children are psychics or spiritually gifted.

We'll Always Have Paris

     Ray Bradbury is one of favorite authors, so I was very excited to buy a copy of We'll Always Have Paris.  It is a collection of short stories.  I wish I could say that it was as amazing as The Illustrated Man or Dandelion Wine, but the stories weren't very good.  There were lines I liked a lot and some parts of stories I liked, but the stories as a whole seemed old and tired.
     If you haven't read this literary master before, pick up one of his earlier works.  If you love him like I do, it's better to remember him the way he used to be rather than from these stories.

Invasion

      I just finished reading Invasion: A C.H.A.O.S. Novel by Jon S. Lewis.  It was the worst book I have ever read.  The plot is ridiculously contrived.  Fiction requires us to suspend our disbelief, but this book was so improbable, it almost seemed like a farce.  The characters were not developed.  It should have had plenty of action and suspense based on the plot synopsis, but with such improbable events and undeveloped characters, it was incredibly boring.  The author seemed to just throw in as many things as he could to add interest, but he wasn't skilled enough to pull the disjointed events together.  It is NOT a book for reluctant readers, or anyone for that matter.

Psychic Children

     I just finished Psychic Children by Sylvia Browne.  I have been a fan of Sylvia for many years and have read many of her books, but this one was new to me. 

     Each chapter focuses on a different type of psychic child.  After explaining the ability, she gives lots of examples of children experiencing it in their lives.  Then she offers advice to help kids dealing with these abilities.  

     This book helped me understand lots of things that my son is experiencing, as well as something that I struggle with.  If you are interested in this topic or know a child that might be psychic, I definitely recommend this book.  It is written very clearly.  The examples are relevant and not sensationalized.  I finished the book feeling hopeful, rather than fearful.

By the Time you Read this, I'll be Dead

     By the Time you Read this, I'll be Dead by Julie Anne Peters is a very heart-wrenching, but important book to read, especially if you love a child or care about bullying.  The book was well-written and is a realistic portrayal of bullying and suicide.  
     Daelyn has been bullied her entire life.  Her parents try to help with advice like, "Sticks and stones...."  They feel helpless and struggle to help her, but it alienates Daelyn. 
     After being assaulted in the boy's bathroom, she becomes suicidal.  She has tried several times to kill herself, but always "fails."  This time will be different.  Daelyn finds a website called Through-the-Light.  It promises to help you kill yourself, but you must agree to wait for a minimum of 23 days.  Daelyn anxiously counts down days to her death.  In those 23 days we see how daily bullying can lead to a self-hatred so deep, death seems the only way out.  Daelyn cannot stop the bullies, but she can stop the hurt.  It is her way of taking back her own power. 
    I loved Santana.  He seemed very real and I liked him instantly.  Santana was totally different than the other kids in the book, which was interesting because he was also the only kid to be home schooled in the book.  By putting all of the kids together and ignoring their behavior, do they revert to savagery?  Do we as teachers and administrators subconciously (or otherwise) allow bullying to go on because it prepares them for real life?  Do we think they become harder and ready to deal with the cruel world of business?  Hmmmm...
     Although I liked Santana's mom, I felt she was an undeveloped character that just served as a foil for Daelyn's relationship to her parents.  I would have liked to see her develop more on her own merits. 
    The thing I didn't like was the ending.  I have been Daelyn in different times in my life and the ending was not believable.   Daelyn could make the decision she made in time, but it is unrealistic to come to that decision in the last two pages of the book.  I think the author should have spent more time leading her to that decision or have cut out the last chapter and left us to wonder what she would choose.
     This book is more appropriate for high school students because of the graphic details of the assault and the pros and cons of various methods of suicide.  It is a good book for teens dealing with suicide or bullying.  It is also a good book for the adults in their lives that have forgotten how horrible bullying is when you are in school.  Daelyn's parents have forgotten what it is like, so they are unable to help their daughter effectively.