New Idea...New Blog!

As I was beginning to prepare my next post i realized that i felt conflicted...as much as i wanted to write about the two great books I just finished, I actually want this space to be more about my teaching life than about my reading life. Not wanting to leave my reading self out in the cold snow that seems to have turned 116th steet a bit grey, I have created another space to write about great YA books that I'm reading, while also giving some of my students as space to write about their reading. Go ahead, check out this link: http://coolteenshotbooks.blogspot.com/
You'll see a repeat post, but then you'll also see some new titles that have made it in!

Blood and Chocolate

I recently got to attend a fantastic workshop at Teacher's College that was hosted by Terri Lesene, aka "The Goddess of YA Literature". Terri has an amazing blog that EVERY teacher should check out, simply to stay abreast of new YA titles. I dream of a time when I can read as many books as Terri can, so until then, I will post my own YA lit picks. Starting......now.

Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate, certainly falls into the current hot topics of YA lit. Vivian, a HOT seventeen year old werewolf, searches for her identity in this teenage love-drama. Klause thoughtfully challenges her reader's to contemplate the divide between instinct and intellect as Vivian struggles to determine her future within her familial "pack". Friendship, family dynamics, sex, relationships, love, desire, death, and violence weave together this hot and fast read all about what it really means to become an adult and to fall in love.

Greetings!

It is about the time of year when New Year's Resolutions become obsolete. One of my resolutions, at the prompting of many, has been to begin writing about my experiences as a 7th grade teacher in East Harlem. So here it is, what it means to ride a roller coaster through a washing machine, or teaching 7th grade English in one of the city's most struggling schools.