Finally!

     Great news! I have finished not only one book...but TWO. Woohoo! I'll begin with talking about Al Capone Does my Shirts. This book was very enjoyable to read. It was neat to see how Moose changed his perspective throughout the book. He matured in his relationship with his sister, Natalie. The reader could see, also, his act of courage to help Natalie and his family. It was a surprising ending when Moose received the piece of paper through his shirt that was from Al Capone. All of his effort was worth it in the end. This book would be great to teach in the middle school because these students could relate to Moose's feelings and thoughts. The language is simple and this age group could find humor and hope in Moose's adventures. To take this novel even further, a teacher could have the students research autism, Alcatraz, or any of the prisoners mentioned in the book and write an essay over what they found. There could also be numerous discussions over doing the right thing and chaning one's perspective. Overall, I am so happy to have reread this book. It will definitely be one that I will consider incorporating into my classroom one day.
     Secondly, the novel Impossible by Nancy Werlin found its way into my hands. I read this book in less than 2 days! I could not put it down. I highly reccomend this book for high school ages and up. This book deals with issues of rape, teen pregnancy, and death. These are pretty heavy topics that Werlin is able to write about in a very compelling way. The novel's protagonist is a 17 year old girl named Lucy. The author combines a very modern society with magical, fairy tale elements. The battle between good and evil is evident in this novel, as well. This novel is very mysterious and keeps the reader guessing. It was nothing what I expected, but I was very pleased, regardless!


Now onto the new pile of books...