Mark Twain said,
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug."I've read hundreds of wonderful stories and fallen in love with thousands of characters, but when it comes down to the writing, down to the words, those stories and characters were so many lightening bugs in comparison with
Laurie Halse Anderson's lightening.
For the past week, I've been reading Anderson's
Wintergirls. Now size-wise, this is not a large book. It could probably be read in just a day or two. But the words are so electrically magic that reading this book actually takes something out of me every time I pick it up. I want to savor it, to make it last, because writing like this does not come along very often.
Below are just a few glimpses of lightening. To find yourself in the middle of the storm, you need to read
Wintergirls for yourself.
"The snow drifts into our zombie mouths crawling with grease and curses and tobacco flakes and cavities and boyfriend/girlfriend juice, the stain of lies. For one moment we are not failed tests and broken condoms and cheating on essays; we are crayons and lunch boxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds. For one breath everything feels better. Then it melts."
"We held hands when we walked down the gingerbread path into the forest, blood dripping from our fingers. We danced with witches and kissed monsters. We turned us into wintergirls, and when she tried to leave, I pulled her back into the snow because I was afraid to be alone."
"My hands read a braille map hewn from bone, starting with my hollow breasts threaded with blue-vein rivers thick with ice. I count my ribs like rosary beads, muttering incantations, fingers curling under the bony cage. They can almost touch what's hiding inside."
Please tell me, Book Lovers. Are you a lover of Laurie Halse Anderson? When was the last time that an author's words touched you like lightening?
If you have been hanging around Book Love for a while, you are probably aware of my undying love for
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
Imagine my absolute joy and delight when I learned this morning that Junior's story is on the
short list for 2011's
One Maryland, One Book.
Please let Sherman Alexie and Junior win!!!This situation calls for me to re-post one of my favorite
"Absolutely True..." quotes:
"I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That's right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent."
...is Sherman Alexie. I just started
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and I am a little obsessed. Today I've pulled it out of my book bag four different times and recommended it to the people I was with.
In the words of Junior/Mr. Alexie...
"I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That's right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent."
As an educator, there is nothing that I want more than to help every single one of my students to fall in love with reading. I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that reading opens doors to the future. If you are a reader, you will be able to acquire the words, tools, and skills to accomplish anything you want in life.
However, I also know that gettings kids to love reading can be far easier said than done.
Maybe all of their "required reading" has been boring, maybe reading is "uncool," maybe reading has just always been a personal struggle... there are so many reasons why some kids just do not like to read.
I am on a mission to combat all of those reasons. And author
Paul Volponi is my newest ally.
Volponi spent six years teaching incarcerated teens on Rikers Island. He spent another six years teaching teens in drug day-treatment centers. When it comes to writing about kids in trouble, this man knows what he is talking about.
All of his young adult novels focus on high-interest topics: race, relationships, addiction, family, gangs, drugs, and tough choices. Without ever becoming overly preachy, each book has a clear message that is expressed through a difficult choice faced by the protagonist. Readers of Volponi's novels are forced to put themselves in the shoes of the main character and really question what choice they would make in that same situation. There is some adult language, but it is never used gratuitously. One of my favorite things about Volponi's writing is that it is accessible to
struggling readers. The vocabulary is very simple, so I would feel comfortable putting these books in the hands of high schoolers (or upper middle!) at
any reading level.
Side-Note: Up till now, my go-to books for male, struggling readers have been the
Bluford High series. Again, these books focus on very high-interest topics and have clear messages about making good choices. Even better, Bluford books are a series (that can be read out of order!) so kids love seeing the same characters pop up again and again.
They are perfect for middle school readers and my kids eat them up like candy. They constantly go missing from my classroom library so I've had to re-purchase the series at least 3 or 4 times. But, I do not mind for two reasons. #1:
Blufords make kids love to read! I would buy 50 more sets just for that reason. #2: Their publisher, Townsend Press, is freaking amazing and will sell the series for a dollar a book. Who can beat that?
PS: Girls get obsessed with these books just as quickly, but in my experience boys are harder to hook so I always point them toward the Blufords first.But we are really here to talk about Paul Volponi! I'm hoping that Volponi's books will do for my high school kids what the Bluford
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I really loved Fever 1793, so immediately afterward, I picked up Chains. I couldn't get into it. I don't know if I just bottomed out on her writing after one book, or if it was the book itself. Maybe I'll try some of her YA stuff!
I loved Speak and Wintergirls. Wintergirls was especially impressive b/c she captured the anorexic mind so well. It's exactly the mindset I had for years and I was impressed on how well she described it. I did wonder whether people w/o eating disorders could really "get it" in the same way I could.
I have never read her, and not big on zombies so probably wouldn't read this.
Laurie Halse Anderson is *BY FAR* my favorite author! Her writing is intense and beautiful. So glad you've been enjoying her work!
To Kathleen - I haven't actually read any of her historical fiction, but for YA, Speak and Wintergirls are both PHENOMENAL!
To Alison - Thank you for sharing that! You just made Wintergirls even more amazing for me. I haven't struggled with an eating disorder myself, but the incredible narration in this book is just so, so gripping, I feel like I can put myself in Lia's place.
To Ladystorm - This is NOT a zombie book at all. It's an incredibly realistic piece of contemporary fiction about two girls with eating disorders. Give it a try! You might love it.
To Jessica - What else would you recommend from her?? I LOVED Speak and was not a big fan of Twisted. I'm thinking about reading Fever 1793 next?
I want to read this book.
I love how a lot of her books are about real life and real things people go through. It just makes the books so powerful and I love how she does that. Speak was an amazing book and it left me speechless. I read some of wintergirls on amazon and had to spot reading so i wouldn't ruin the book for myself haha.
I love the 3 quotes you gave us! [:
I haven't read this one but loved Chains. I think she is an amazing writer of words!
I love Laurie Halse Anderson. Have you ever had the chance to go to a signing and hear her speak? She is amazing.
To The Book Pages - Oh, I hope you read it! If you're a fan of Speak, you'll love Wintergirls.
To Peaceful Reader - I forgot that I had read Chains! I enjoyed it as well. Did you read Forge, the sequel?
To Madigan - No, but I would LOVE to have that opportunity! I'm envious that you have :)
I've had Wintergirls in my TBR stack forever -- more than a year, I'm sure -- and I don't know what's taking me so long to read it! I absolutely loved Anderson's Catalyst, and Twisted left me unable to sleep after finishing. Amazing works.