The Boy Who Dared

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel.  Although, I have to admit my resignations against this book were based not on the subject area, title or cover art, but because this woman I met at a Holocaust conference years ago recommended it.  I realize this sounds crazy, but this woman was so, so clueless about the most basic of Holocaust facts, I doubted the value of this novel.  I mean if someone truly didn't understand the events of the Holocaust, could this book be worth reading?  The turning point for me was when a student was totally engaged while reading this novel.  This particular young man is NOT a reader.  He's not much of a student, but he was engrossed with this story.  How could I not give it a chance?

I learned a bit of new information about the Hitler Youth and one young man in particular, Helmuth Huebener.  A boy who was executed because he dared to speak the truth.  As a Mormon, Helmuth felt a particular duty to God and country, but he just did not agree with Nazi politics.  He chose to speak out against the Nazi policies through the publications of pamphlets speaking out against the actions toward the Jews.  

Bartoletti takes great care with the historical facts and elements of this novel.  She want so far as to interview Helmuth's brother and one of the boys that was also involved in Helmuth's resistance efforts.  The end result of this extensive research is a well-written, engaging book about a German boy who does the unexpected.

Boom!

Mark Haddon is the author of The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime.  I loved this book.  I thoroughly enjoyed the insight into the mind of an autistic teenager.  The quirkiness of the main character coupled with the ensuing mystery of the novel made for a fabulous read.

I found Boom! at the Scholastic Book Fair.  The catchy title and bright orange cover is what first caught my eye, but upon seeing the author's name, I knew it was a must read!  However, I was deeply disappointed.  The author's many, many references to items in British vernacular became overbearing.  I've read a great many books sent to England, and consider myself to be a budding Anglophile, but I had to look up so many of the words, that reading this book became a chore.  I cannot imagine many of my students taking the same care I took, thus leaving many of them misunderstanding the jokes or the point of a particular passage.


Another frustration is that there is truly no indication what the book is to be about.  About mid way through the book you learn that you're dealing with teachers who are actually aliens.  Novel idea ;o).  The book is basically two boys' quest to prove the truth, a typical good versus evil story.  However, it took so long for me to get to the point where I understood what was going on, I wasn't interested any longer.

While Boom! is not the original title of the novel, it is certainly a better selling point than Gridzbi Spudvetch was.  I know that I'll have a hard time selling this book to my students... which is unfortunate, because if anything it shows just how varied the English language is!

Holocaust by Bullets

While many of us have knowledge of the Death Camps and Work Camps of World War II where millions of Jews, Gypsies, Prisoners of War and others were brutally treated and murdered, the fate of nearly 1.5 million Soviet Jews at the hands of the Einsatzgruppen is not nearly as well known or documented.

Haunted by his grandfather Claudius's stories, Roman Catholic priest Father Patrick Debois began an effort to document the killing grounds of the men, women and children who died at the hands of murderous gun-toting men.  Debois wanted to make known the graves of the victims to provide some sanctity for their senseless deaths.

Using previously unreleased documents from the former Soviet Republics, metal detectors and survivor and witness testimonies, Desbois and his team were able to determine the final resting places of many.  This book is a haunting reminder of the mass destruction of lives, communities and a people.

Mockingjay

The Hunger Games.  A post apocalyptic world that has been created by The District needs to be saved.  Katniss and friends have been enlisted by the rebels to help free the districts and bring about peace.

Instead of being the final installment of an intensely exciting duo of novels, what follows is a diatribe of war.  Not only did this novel feel far above the interest and knowledge level of the teens it was intended, but also strayed from the originally characterizations Collins created.  Katniss became a parody of herself.  No longer the strong-willed young lady, but more a pawn of the rebels.  Ironic, considering she fought so hard to not be a pawn of The District.

I found the love triangle to be tiresome.  I don't mind teenage romance.  I survived all 4 novels in the Twilight Saga.  But, the triangle here just did not work.

All in all, I was very disappointed with Suzanne Collins final novel in The Hunger Games trilogy.

September 2010

3 words... Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Autumn can be summed up in 3 beautiful Starbucks laced words... Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Nothing goes better with a latte than a good book.  September also brings the exciting release of the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay.  So many of my students are excited about the release of this novel that I can't help but catch their enthusiasm.

94.  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
95.  Holocaust by Bullets by Patrick Desbois
96.  Boom!  by Mark Haddon
97.  The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti