Teens read for many reasons: escape, connectedness, self-growth, and entertainment.
Today’s Saturday morning recommendation is a Cybils nominee I finished last night.
I am serving as a first round panelist in poetry for middle grades and YA. I get to read all the nominated books, both anthologies and novels in verse.What if everyone is evacuated because of an “impending threat,” and you are left behind?
This novel in verse is set in a strange situation. The protagonist finds herself left behind after an equally strange evacuation. Dealing with many questions and what ifs, she spends over three years totally alone, learning survival skills as she goes. Her father thinks she is with her mother, and vice versa, and three quarters through the story, she realizes that her parents aren’t coming back for her–the reverse of the thought that kept her going.
Facing martialist looters, wild dogs, and other scary things, the main character deals with the scariest disaster of all: being completely alone. It is a page-turner from the first poem, and one your middle-schooler or teen will not be able to put down.
This year (2019) finds me with 50 plus years of teaching "under my belt." I have taught all levels from pre-K "(library lady" or "book lady"--volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 30 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the "difficult years." I had some of the "funnest" experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the "young, fun teacher," I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a "dream-fit" for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching.
Just as teaching is "in my blood," so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish.
This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to "come out and play."
View all posts by Rae Longest
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What an interesting story. Happy reading!
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This is a compelling read. I’m glad to see that you enjoyed it and recommend it.
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Wow, this sounds like a very thought provoking book. I think it might freak my grandson out, so I won’t get it for him right now.
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