I Am Nujood

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui

Where do I even begin? This was a book I couldn't put down. It was a difficult read, however, but knowing that Nujood managed to come through things ok makes it easier to read.

I don't want to give away any plot details because I WANT YOU TO READ THIS BOOK. You can already guess a lot just from the title. That "divorced" part is key. It's amazing to me that she had the guts and the fortitude to get the help she needed, against all odds, at such a young age. I look at my students who are her age and I cringe thinking of them in her shoes, yet I wonder if they'd be able to do what she did. It's a scenario I pray never plays out.

That's the mind-boggling part, though. She was 10. I know 10-year-olds. That anyone ever should have to suffer what Nujood did is beyond awful, but that one so young did is sickening. She wasn't the only one--in reading about what happens to Nujood, you read about what happens to countless women all over the world.

This is a fantastic read. I would love to use this in a classroom someday. I want more and more people to read Nujood's story, to marvel at her strength, and hopefully make the world a safer place for young girls.
--Mikie

I wanted to hug my girls while reading this book. I wanted to gather up all my students and hold them close and let them know just how special they are, and how lucky that they live in a country where this will never happen to them. 

This book was so eye-opening. It's one thing to know that this happens objectively, and another thing altogether to read a first hand account. Nujood is the author of this book. These are her words, her experiences, and that makes it harder to take. She is a beautifully positive young girl, who doesn't dwell on the horrible dark past that she lived through, but instead uses it to empower herself, and to motivate herself. I

Mikie and I read this book in about a day and a half (on working days, nonetheless). It's the kind of book you can't put down - you have to know what happens next. And it's not just Nujood. The rest of her family has different (and also awful) troubles that they are living through, and there's constantly something to push you onwards. 

Like Mikie, this is a book I think everyone should read (we're saying that a lot...but really. READ THIS ONE.) If you only ever pick up one book off our list, let this be the one.
-Cat

The Outsiders

The Outsiders

by S.E. Hinton

I first read this book in an airport, waiting for a delayed flight home. I was enjoying being in a bookstore with a selection of books that were in English, and I remembered my university roommate and best friend insisting that I should read this book. I picked up The Outsiders, fumbled my way through American money (much harder than I was expecting it to be, considering I grew up using it), and then sat down to read it. I finished it before I even boarded the flight. 

This book is one of my favourites. The writing is simple - the narrator dedicates the first chapter to giving a detailed physical and personal description of each of the characters - but as you continue reading, it just works. Ponyboy Curtis, and yes, that's his real name, thank you very much, is the kind of character that appeals to his audience, no matter who he's addressing (even if you're not a greaser!). The story becomes unexpectedly deep and emotional, and even on this rereading, I found myself crying as I reached the end of the book. 

I could reread this over and over again and still enjoy it, and this is one of the books that is on my "recommend to literally everyone you meet" list. I thought about ending my part of this blog with a "Stay gold, Ponyboy," but to me that line deserves more than to be used as a tag to the novel - it's so much bigger than that. So instead, I'll just say, do yourself a favor and pick up this book if you haven't. It's beautiful.

-Cat

This is a book I had never read until now. It's not a title that I was ever introduced to, and honestly, I have only been vaguely aware of its existence. When I taught in Alaska I was forced to use Scholastic's "READ 180" program with my 8th-grade students. It was a hot mess, let me tell you, but I had several copies of The Outsiders on hand as a result. Most of my students read far below grade level (2nd or 3rd grade was the norm), but one girl asked to borrow The Outsiders. I was thrilled that anyone would want to borrow from the classroom library, so I sent her off with one of the books. She not only finished it, she enjoyed it! That got me thinking I should probably read it at some point.

As a huge fan of the movie Stand By Me, I don't know how I managed to stay in the dark about this one for so freaking long. This is an excellent story that I would have loved when I was younger! That phrase is almost a recurring theme for me this year, isn't it? I'm glad I finally read it. Ponyboy's story is troubled, heartwarming, and bittersweet. I was moved by several scenes in the story. Next time I hand this book to a student, I'll be able to share her enjoyment! Next time I read this (and there will be a next time), I'll be moved again. Until then, I just hope I can "stay gold."
--Mikie

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

by Douglas Adams

Oh my gosh, you guys, it's been so long. We've just (this week) finished Dirk Gently - this book took us (well, me, really) almost a whole month to read. This book was fabulous, but it takes a lot of patience. I genuinely had no idea what was going on for the first three quarters of the book. No joke - my kindle was at 75% by the time I got fully sucked into this book. Once it gets to that point, though, it's SO GOOD. I got to 75% on Tuesday, and finished the book on Thursday, after spending three weeks reading the first bit.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is one of the most bizarre books I've ever read - knowing that it's by Douglas Adams, is anyone really surprised? Even when everything started coming together there was no logical progression - I couldn't predict any part of that book. Now that I've finished, and enjoyed it, next up may be the TV show!
-Cat

I haven't read this book in many many suns. I think I enjoyed it just as much on this reading as I did on the first. Douglas Adams weaves a wonderfully weird tale full of interesting characters and extraordinary situations, all wrapped up in his signature writing style. Now that we've read this we can start watching the series on Netflix! Huzzah!
--Mikie

P.S. Next book on our list is The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton!

March/April books!

For the (like, 2) of you who are interested in seeing where we're going from here, I'll continue to post these little updates every now and then of what our next four books will be. We're kind of off-track of the monthly posts, simply because we've taken time from our list to read sequels of novels. Technically this should be the March post, but we're simultaneously ahead and behind because of our detours.

(Ahead of our total book count, but behind when it comes to our original list. )

So without further ado, the next books are:

14. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
Mikie added this to the list - I've never read it, so I'm excited to see where it goes! - Cat
I haven't read this in a long time. Totes excited! -Mikie

15. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Another one of Mikie's choices, but one of my favourite books. I'm excited to read it again! -Cat
I haven't ever read this :( -Mikie

16. I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali, Delphine Minoui, Linda Coverdale
One of my choices, this book looks like it'll be a tough read, but I'm also super excited about it. -Cat
Yeah, definitely looks emotional. Should be interesting. -Mikie

17. Redwall by Brian Jacques
Who of our generation didn't read these books as a kid? I used to devour them! Mikie brought this one to the list, and I'm so excited for the nostalgia. -Cat
I loved this book in middle school. Never read the whole series. Excited to revisit this. -Mikie

The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star

by Maureen Johnson

I bought this book back in 2011 when it first came out, cause I was SO EXCITED about it. I read a chapter, then got distracted by school reading and never went back to it (despite having had a chance to actually 'meet' Maureen Johnson that same year...). So this year, I decided it needed to be on our list.

The Name of the Star is about a girl who moves from New Orleans to London, and right as she arrives, a Jack the Ripper-style murder occurs, right in the area of town she'll be living in. She, of course, gets swept up in the Ripper-mania that spreads through London, as well as her own new-school, new-life drama.

On top of that, she suddenly has a lot more to worry about when one of the Ripper murders happens on her campus, and she becomes a witness, of sorts.

 I don't want to say too much, so that I don't spoil the novel, but it was a fun read, and it created a whole new world within our own world that we got to explore with Rory!
-Cat

I must say that I'm glad I'm reading this one AFTER completing NaNoWriMo 2K16, because around about that time I also started working on Danielle Was Dead, my ongoing novel about a ghost. It was interesting to me to draw some parallels between the two stories as I read The Name of the Star.

This was one of the books Cat put on the list, and I knew hardly anything about it when I sat down to read it. I wasn't expecting what happened to Rory at all, so that was a pleasant surprise. The book wraps everything up nicely at the end, and though I know there are more in the series, they aren't absolutely necessary in the way that other series are written. Anyway, go read this book, then come back here and leave us a few comments.
--Mikie

Two Boys Kissing

Two Boys Kissing

by David Levithan

I'm just gonna dive right into this book. The title comes from two friends (and former boyfriends) who decide to break the world record for the longest kiss. There are other characters, other plots, but the two boys kissing forms the framework for the rest of the story. Oh, and there are no chapter breaks--if Harry and Craig don't get a break, neither do you!

I found the narrator to be the most striking aspect of this story. The narrator is the collective souls (?) of LGBTQ people who came before the characters in this book. The last generation watches on as the new generation tries to maneuver through life. They watch Harry and Craig's kiss and understand its greater significance. They watch Ryan and Avery, a relationship just forming. They watch the troubled Cooper reach the end of his rope. And though the narrator(s) see so much ugliness, pain, and hatred, their message is a positive one. They don't lose hope, they don't give up, even though they can't affect the living world any longer.
--Mikie


You. Guys. This book has been an emotional rollercoaster. Seriously rough, in the BEST way possible. Like Mikie said, the narration is done by those who have come before, and who have passed on - mostly the AIDS generation from the 80s/90s. They follow this new generation of boys living in the internet age, rooting for them and quietly providing their support, watching over them as best they can. They marvel at the openness that exists around these boys now, even with the prejudices that still exist, and reminisce about their own stories. They cheer the boys on, and the stories told are incredibly well juxtaposed, and they show that there isn't a collective "narrative", even as it's being told BY a collective.

This book brought me to tears several times, and it's well, WELL worth the read. I super super strongly recommend Two Boys Kissing. It's really hard to do it justice without giving away the whole story - just do yourself a favour and READ THIS BOOK.
-Cat

Song of the Lioness

Song of the Lioness Quartet: 

Alanna: The First Adventure

In the Hand of the Goddess

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

Lioness Rampant

It's been a while since we last posted an update to our reading challenge - and that's because we've been reading a series of four books. The Alanna books are a series that I read as a child, that I absolutely adored. Alanna was my hero, and I wanted to be her. We only had the first book on our list, but Mikie enjoyed them (and I will NEVER say no to reading these books), so we ended up reading all of them. 

At the start of this quartet, Alanna is a young girl who is being sent to a convent to learn to be a lady. She - surprise, surprise - doesn't want to go. Instead, she wants to learn how to be a knight. The books follow Alanna's adventures as she trains (disguised as a boy, of course), and works to get her shield and become a knight. On this read through, I found that I still enjoy it just as much as I always have, and I'm super glad to have been back in Tortall (Alanna's city), and reliving all the adventures once again. 

Well, we certainly got sidetracked...but in a good way. Cat introduced me to The Song of the Lioness Quartet, and I'm sad I never read this series when I was a little girl (spoiler alert: I was never a little girl). Anyway, these were fantastic books!

Tamora Pierce created an interesting world that feels very real, even though magic is a thing in her books. I grew up reading various fantasy novels (mostly Dungeons & Dragons novels), and it's always interesting to me to see how each world works. Magic in this world is a Gift, and while training isn't necessary to use it, you need to be gifted in the first place. Alanna is a noble, so we get to experience her life at the palace--BUT she's a knight-in-training, so we see the world of the nobles through that lens.

I enjoyed the four-novel story thoroughly. I have a few quibbles with decisions Pierce made in the telling, but overall, I would recommend The Song of the Lioness Quartet. I'm already planning to give the set as a gift.

--Mikie


PS. Next up: Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan! I'm SUPER excited for this one - fingers crossed it's as good as I hope it is!