I had every intention of re-reading The Giver (I read it a million years ago when I first started teaching) and then seeing the movie when it hit the theaters this summer. Neither happened. But, I was able to finally re-read the novel over the weekend. Now, I just need to wait for the movie to hit Red Box.
The Giver is a very powerful story that, I feel, every American student should be required to read prior to graduating High School. It's going to be required reading in my house even if it's not read for school. If you have ever wondered what life with zero individuality and zero emotions would be like, then you should read The Giver. And, if you ever need a reminder about how lucky we are to be granted the freedoms given to us as citizens of the USA, you should read The Giver.
The Giver is the story of Jonas and his family unit during the year he turns 12 in a community far, far, far (I hope) in the future. Jonas' community is free of pain, war, hunger, and poverty. And while this sounds lovely to some, the lack of emotion and love did me in. For example, families are created--adults apply for mates (who they never have a physical or emotional relationship with) and when they want children, they apply for those. Birth Mothers have the children. 50 children are born each year, no more, no less. Each family gets one girl and one boy. And, they are named when they are given to the families. "Parents" do not get to choose names. "New children" (babies) are cared for by Nurturers until they are placed with a family. There are various milestones children reach each year in this community, from wearing jackets, to hair ribbons, to getting bikes, and to finally being assigned a job for life at age 12. It is this ceremony that we get to read about in The Giver. Jonas is turning 12 and is "selected" to be the receiver of memories for his community. This is a job that requires much pain and anguish for the person who takes on this role. So, much, in fact, that the current Receiver is in too much pain and must pass the memories on to Jonas in order to ease his burden.
I won't divulge anymore of the story, because it's too good to spoil (and a very quick read at about 180 pages), but I will comment on how sad this story made me. Everything that I love about my life doesn't exist in Jonas' community. They feel no love, they see no colors, there are no seasons, people are "released" when they are too old or can't conform (and released does not mean that they are sent out to another neighboring community...you will have to read the book to find out what happens when people are released). It makes me sad. But, at the same time, it makes me so grateful for the life I have. I chose my husband, we made our girls together, we get to vacation, and to chose the jobs we have. I feel lucky to be able to make choices about every aspect of my life. I can't imagine living in Jonas' world and pray that I never have to.
Happy reading, everyone!
:) Dodie
Monday, September 29, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
#42: Kiss and Make Up by Katie D. Anderson
Kiss and Make Up is an ideal novel for teenage girls (12-16 maybe). I read it because a friend of a friend wrote it and I thought perhaps my 13 year old daughter might enjoy reading it. After this post is done, I am going to leave the book in her room. It's a good one for girls to read.
Kiss and Make Up is the story of Emerson Taylor, a 16 year old girl with a unique gift--she can see into people's minds when she kisses them. With declining grades and the possibility of being forced to leave her private school because she's not doing well, Emerson decides to use her gift as a short cut to studying and begins kissing boys, and a lot of them, to improve her grades. Oh my!
About half-way through the book I really began to wonder if the story was ever going to make kissing boys for personal gain seem like the wrong thing to do and I was happy when Emerson's plans began to go awry. My fear, as a mother of two girls, is that I don't want my girls ever to think that it's OK to kiss a million boys. Emerson eventually learns very important lessons about both kissing and studying hard in school, which made the mom in me stand up and cheer!
On a side note, I absolutely loved the make-up tie in. Emerson's aunt (Arch, who is raising Emerson and her sister Piper) is a Stellar Rep (akin to a Mary Kay consultant) and as a result Emerson is very into make-up, particularly lip gloss (which works with her desire to kiss). By the end of the novel, Emerson has become a Stellar rep and is helping her friends reach their beauty potential. It's a cute side story and helps to round out Emerson's character.
I loved this adorable story and hope that Katie writes more!
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
Kiss and Make Up is the story of Emerson Taylor, a 16 year old girl with a unique gift--she can see into people's minds when she kisses them. With declining grades and the possibility of being forced to leave her private school because she's not doing well, Emerson decides to use her gift as a short cut to studying and begins kissing boys, and a lot of them, to improve her grades. Oh my!
About half-way through the book I really began to wonder if the story was ever going to make kissing boys for personal gain seem like the wrong thing to do and I was happy when Emerson's plans began to go awry. My fear, as a mother of two girls, is that I don't want my girls ever to think that it's OK to kiss a million boys. Emerson eventually learns very important lessons about both kissing and studying hard in school, which made the mom in me stand up and cheer!
On a side note, I absolutely loved the make-up tie in. Emerson's aunt (Arch, who is raising Emerson and her sister Piper) is a Stellar Rep (akin to a Mary Kay consultant) and as a result Emerson is very into make-up, particularly lip gloss (which works with her desire to kiss). By the end of the novel, Emerson has become a Stellar rep and is helping her friends reach their beauty potential. It's a cute side story and helps to round out Emerson's character.
I loved this adorable story and hope that Katie writes more!
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
Monday, September 22, 2014
#41: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Unbroken is one of those books that you see everywhere. I saw it first in stores and was slightly intimidated. It looked like one of those books I was not smart enough to read. Then, I saw my mother-in-law reading it and heard her raving about it. I saw it on my vacation to Hawaii, where I finally bookmarked it in my mind as a book I needed to read. Then, I saw a preview for the movie version of Unbroken that is coming in December so the book soared to the top of my must-read list. It has taken me weeks to finish this book, but tonight I have the satisfaction of saying that I finished it and am now well-versed in the amazing story of Loius Zamperini.
As a student, I never really learned about WW2. For whatever reason, each and every year, my social studies/history teachers always returned to the dawn of man and moved forward, stopping pretty much at the same place every year: WW1. I can't say that I even know that much about WW1 because any information taught about it was crammed in at the last minute when my brain had already checked out for the summer and was already sitting by a pool somewhere. I couldn't tell you anything about the Korean War, I know a little more about Vietnam (but not much), but WW2 I know next to nothing about. So, I have tried to teach myself by reading about this war (and visiting Pearl Harbor twice now in my lifetime) and learning as much as I can. Helping my girls study for their History classes have helped, too.
The funny thing is, reading Unbroken felt, at times, as though I was reading a book for a class. It is a slow read (which I read recently that reading slowly is good for your brain and your body, so hooray for that!) and you really do need to read every word (although I will admit that in some of the battle scenes, I did not read every word. I couldn't. Same for the parts in the camps. It was too hard to read every word). I found that the last 100 pages were turned very quickly. It was exciting to read how Louis' story turned out in the end. Read the epilogue. It is SO worth your time.
Unbroken is the true story of Louis Zamperini from his boyhood days to his final days, and everything in-between, with particular emphasis on his time as an Olympic runner and a WW2 Air Force Pilot. This memoir is written by Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, and it is superbly done.
However, it wasn't an easy story to read. Aside from the length of the story and the detail packed story that made for a slow read, the details are often so horrifying it's hard to read them. It's hard to believe that men were forced to live as Louie lived and forced to endure all that he did. My heart felt pain for these brave men and I felt grateful for their service and their sacrifices.
As I read, I only marked one section--a section dedicated to dignity:
Men subjected to dehumanizing treatment experience profound wretchedness and loneliness and find that hope is almost impossible to retain. Without dignity, identity is erased. In it's absence, men are defined not by themselves but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live. (pgs 188-189)
The idea of preserving one's dignity stuck with me as I read Unbroken and it seems to be true of any terrifying situation as well as being true of our daily lives: all we really want is to preserve our dignity. To move through life knowing who we are and to be proud to hold our heads high. When these brave men were forced into situations where their dignity was compromised, that's when the enemy began to win the fight. I will never again take lightly the privilege of walking through life on my own, making my own choices, and answering only to myself and my conscience. What an amazing privilege it is to be a free American.
Thank you, Louie, for sharing your story. It is a powerful one.
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
As a student, I never really learned about WW2. For whatever reason, each and every year, my social studies/history teachers always returned to the dawn of man and moved forward, stopping pretty much at the same place every year: WW1. I can't say that I even know that much about WW1 because any information taught about it was crammed in at the last minute when my brain had already checked out for the summer and was already sitting by a pool somewhere. I couldn't tell you anything about the Korean War, I know a little more about Vietnam (but not much), but WW2 I know next to nothing about. So, I have tried to teach myself by reading about this war (and visiting Pearl Harbor twice now in my lifetime) and learning as much as I can. Helping my girls study for their History classes have helped, too.
The funny thing is, reading Unbroken felt, at times, as though I was reading a book for a class. It is a slow read (which I read recently that reading slowly is good for your brain and your body, so hooray for that!) and you really do need to read every word (although I will admit that in some of the battle scenes, I did not read every word. I couldn't. Same for the parts in the camps. It was too hard to read every word). I found that the last 100 pages were turned very quickly. It was exciting to read how Louis' story turned out in the end. Read the epilogue. It is SO worth your time.
Unbroken is the true story of Louis Zamperini from his boyhood days to his final days, and everything in-between, with particular emphasis on his time as an Olympic runner and a WW2 Air Force Pilot. This memoir is written by Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, and it is superbly done.
However, it wasn't an easy story to read. Aside from the length of the story and the detail packed story that made for a slow read, the details are often so horrifying it's hard to read them. It's hard to believe that men were forced to live as Louie lived and forced to endure all that he did. My heart felt pain for these brave men and I felt grateful for their service and their sacrifices.
As I read, I only marked one section--a section dedicated to dignity:
Men subjected to dehumanizing treatment experience profound wretchedness and loneliness and find that hope is almost impossible to retain. Without dignity, identity is erased. In it's absence, men are defined not by themselves but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live. (pgs 188-189)
The idea of preserving one's dignity stuck with me as I read Unbroken and it seems to be true of any terrifying situation as well as being true of our daily lives: all we really want is to preserve our dignity. To move through life knowing who we are and to be proud to hold our heads high. When these brave men were forced into situations where their dignity was compromised, that's when the enemy began to win the fight. I will never again take lightly the privilege of walking through life on my own, making my own choices, and answering only to myself and my conscience. What an amazing privilege it is to be a free American.
Thank you, Louie, for sharing your story. It is a powerful one.
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
#40: Anything He Wants by Sara Fawkes
Reading this Fifty Shades of Grey want-to-be novel was a total and complete waste of my time.
Don't waste yours.
Happy reading, of something other than this book.
:) Dodie
Don't waste yours.
Happy reading, of something other than this book.
:) Dodie
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