Malala, Liars, and the Chamber of Secrets
11) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling: This series is more fun with each successive reading. This time around, I'm reading it with my twelve year old daughter as we try to read through the entire series. The story isn't much of a surprise; she's seen the movie more times than we can remember. But it's fun to notice the nuances in the novel that aren't in the movie, and it's just such a great escape for a bed time (or cold afternoon in front of the fireplace) book. We're pairing this with the enormous coffee table book Harry Potter Page to Screen, which is full of behind-the-scenes shots and minutia for fans. For instance, Emma Watson apparently broke her arm during the filming of the movie and in some shots you can make out the cast beneath her robes. Or so they say-- we're not sure if we've actually seen that or not. As an added bonus, we just happened to watch the movie Boyhood this weekend, and early in the movie the mom was reading Chamber of Secrets to her kids at bedtime (and later, of course, there is a release party for the Half-Blood Prince). More than anything, this is a book and series that helps us both hold on my daughter's childhood as we both see it slipping away all too quickly. And that makes me love Harry Potter that much more.
12) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Cadence Sinclair Eastman is old money, the kind of old money and enormous wealth to which most teens can't relate. But rather than show the family as powerful, blonde haired elitists, Lockhart humanizes the family through Cadence. Throughout the novel, Cady tells fairy tale-like versions of a thinly disguised family history: there once was a king with three daughters. Through these, we glimpse the history and politics of a very old, very powerful family. Students who've read Shakespeare will recognize a King Lear-like struggle between Cady's mom and aunts. Cady's grandfather, the family's patriarch, owns an island off the coast of Massachusetts and brings the family together every summer. During Summer 15, the 15th summer on the island for Cady and her cousins Johnny and Mirren, Cady suffers some sort of accident. Cady suffers migraines and memory loss-- the specifics of what happened are just beyond her memory's reach, and family members are secretive about what really transpired. Cady falls for Gat, a local boy, and they don't reconnect until Summer 17 after the mysterious accident. Lockhart foreshadows the ending throughout, but it is well disguised and many readers might find the ending a shock. Recommended for middle and high school.
13) I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai: Malala spoke out about her right to an education after the Taliban shut out girls from local schools in her part of Pakistan. The book tells her story of how she gave interviews, wrote periodic journal entries for the world press under a pen name, and even spoke to the U.S. Ambassador about the need for girls to get an education. The Taliban responded with death threats, and when Malala was 15, the Taliban attempted to assassinate her while Malala was riding home on the school van. The bullet went through her skull, but she survived. Despite her earlier efforts to promote education for all, it was the shooting that garnered her worldwide attention. The rest of the story is fairly well known; she recovered in England and went on to speak to the United Nations general assembly. After the book's publication, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting education. I listened to the audio book, which includes Malala reading the introduction and the full audio of her speech to the U.N. The book is written simply, in such a way as to be accessible to younger readers who might be awed by the story of someone their age making a difference in the world. The message she delivers, and her strength in continuing to deliver despite the odds and threats against her, make this an essential book for students to read at any age, from elementary through adulthood. Highly recommended.
12) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Cadence Sinclair Eastman is old money, the kind of old money and enormous wealth to which most teens can't relate. But rather than show the family as powerful, blonde haired elitists, Lockhart humanizes the family through Cadence. Throughout the novel, Cady tells fairy tale-like versions of a thinly disguised family history: there once was a king with three daughters. Through these, we glimpse the history and politics of a very old, very powerful family. Students who've read Shakespeare will recognize a King Lear-like struggle between Cady's mom and aunts. Cady's grandfather, the family's patriarch, owns an island off the coast of Massachusetts and brings the family together every summer. During Summer 15, the 15th summer on the island for Cady and her cousins Johnny and Mirren, Cady suffers some sort of accident. Cady suffers migraines and memory loss-- the specifics of what happened are just beyond her memory's reach, and family members are secretive about what really transpired. Cady falls for Gat, a local boy, and they don't reconnect until Summer 17 after the mysterious accident. Lockhart foreshadows the ending throughout, but it is well disguised and many readers might find the ending a shock. Recommended for middle and high school.
13) I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai: Malala spoke out about her right to an education after the Taliban shut out girls from local schools in her part of Pakistan. The book tells her story of how she gave interviews, wrote periodic journal entries for the world press under a pen name, and even spoke to the U.S. Ambassador about the need for girls to get an education. The Taliban responded with death threats, and when Malala was 15, the Taliban attempted to assassinate her while Malala was riding home on the school van. The bullet went through her skull, but she survived. Despite her earlier efforts to promote education for all, it was the shooting that garnered her worldwide attention. The rest of the story is fairly well known; she recovered in England and went on to speak to the United Nations general assembly. After the book's publication, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting education. I listened to the audio book, which includes Malala reading the introduction and the full audio of her speech to the U.N. The book is written simply, in such a way as to be accessible to younger readers who might be awed by the story of someone their age making a difference in the world. The message she delivers, and her strength in continuing to deliver despite the odds and threats against her, make this an essential book for students to read at any age, from elementary through adulthood. Highly recommended.
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