Waiting on Wednesday: The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to feature upcoming titles you're looking forward to reading.

This week's title I'm awaiting is:

The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
Publish Date: May 10, 2011 by Egmont
Pages: 352
Genre: Realistic fiction
Audience: YA

From Goodreads:
In the world of Sheridan Wells, life is perfect when she's decorating a cake. Unfortunately everything else is a complete mess: her mom ran off years ago, her dad is more interested in his restaurant, and the idea of a boyfriend is laughable.

But Sheridan is convinced finding her mom will solve all her problems - only her dad's about to get a cooking show in New York, which means her dream of a perfect family will be dashed.

Using just the right amount of romance, family drama, and cute boys, The Sweetest Thing will entice fans with its perfect mixture of girl-friendly ingredients.

Why I'm eagerly awaiting this book's publication:
Most people seem to swoon over paranormal romance and dystopia lately.  My first love is and always has been realistic fiction.  I just love reading stories about things that could actually happen in real life because that way I don't pine for something that can't ever happen (ever being able to go to Hogwart's or fall in love with a sparkly vampire for instance).


This book's synopsis sounds like it's right up my alley.  It seems like there will be quite a bit of food-related plot lines, which is totally appealing to me - I am the Foodie Bibliophile afterall! :o)  Plus, I'm one who likes a good chick-lit story.  I mean, food and chick-lit?  Sounds like the perfect lazy-day read to me!

In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  The books you share do not have to be ones you actually received in the mail.  They can be ones you bought at the book store, checked out at the library, or downloaded to your e-reader.  The idea is just to share what's on your TBR pile for the upcoming week.

The most exciting thing that came in my mailbox this week actually isn't for me.  I've been pushing and fighting to get e-readers back into our school because of the success that so many students have had with them since I started allowing them in my classroom back in January.  They were allowed for a while, and then they were banned because some people were concerned they were creating a "haves" and "have-nots" situation.  I argued my case that most of the students in my class who don't have their own e-readers don't really want them anyway because they like regular books better and my classroom coupled with our school library has tons of books from which to choose, so it's not like the kids who don't have e-readers are being denied reading material.

I personally could live without an e-reader.  I love the geography of a real book.  Flipping through the pages, being able to visually see how much farther I have until I'm finished.

But, I'm also someone who will push for a kid to read a book in any way that motivates them to read.  So if I have a handful of kids in my class who prefer to read on a Kindle, then I'm going to let them read on a Kindle.

So a compromise was made to let e-readers back in the building.  Our school purchased 5 Nooks:

And I am in charge of keeping track of them and checking them out to students.  Even though I have never been a huge fan of e-readers myself, I'm excited about the possibilities for motivating more students with these.  And I'm also excited to try one out for myself.  I mean, I can't expect to be in charge of the Nooks if I don't know how to use them myself! :o)

Library Loot:
Picture books:

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long
House of Dolls by Francesca Lia Block, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Audiobooks:
 
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

 
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Won:

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

For Review:
 
Ghellow Road by T.H. Waters

How 'bout we thank teachers rather than bashing them?

 I have been quietly watching what's been going on in Wisconsin with the teachers' unions and have not been able to put in words my seething rage at how much the news media (FOX NEWS) has taken every opportunity possible to bash teachers, calling us greedy and lazy and undeserving of any sort of financial benefit for the job that we do.  My favorite (NOT!) soundbite was from someone (I don't even remember who he was I was so blinded with rage) who said that teachers only work part-time because we're done at 2:30.

I have never wanted to throw the remote at my TV as I did at that moment.  

So let me enlighten you Fox News and all you other teacher-haters.  Let me show you just how "part-time" my job is:

These are all the bags I brought home from work with me this weekend.  That's right.  I have four bags worth of work to do on my "weekends off." The brown bag in the back is full of 40 journals that I have to read through and grade.  The two Pearson bags flanking the navy bag are full of books that I will be using to plan my lessons for next week.  The navy bag in the middle is my school bag for the class I'm currently taking that I have to do my homework for - because teachers aren't allowed to just go to school, get a bachelor's degree and then sit on their rear-ends for the rest of their careers.  We actually have to continue our education for the rest of our working lives or the state will take our teaching certificates away. 

I admit that four bags is an excessive amount, even for me.  But I will tell you that on any given day, I am most often bringing two of those bags home on weeknights AND weekends.

My day does not end at 2:30 people.  No, if anything, I get home and it's only just begun.



An Open Letter to Anyone Who Ever Insulted the Teaching Profession
I am someone who tailors each child's learning experience to accommodate their needs.
I am not a glorified babysitter.

I am constantly planning lessons, grading papers, taking classes, meeting with parents, adjusting curriculum for special needs students and doing professional development in order to keep my certificate current.
I am not sitting on my behind during evenings, weekends, holidays, and summers eating bon bons. 

I am frequently buying supplies and books for my classroom to make sure my students have what they need to succeed.
I am not hoarding that "cushy" salary on cars, jewelry, and a second home in the Hamptons. 

I am only asking that you treat me with the respect, dignity, and compensation I deserve for having to go above and beyond to make sure my students succeed.
I am not a professional athlete or television actor asking for $10 million a season.

I am one in a room full of twenty to thirty (or more!) children and am expected to meet the needs of each one of those unique individuals. 
I am not an omnipresent being, able to see everything and be everywhere at once (yet people expect me to be).

I am at my job by 7:00 and I leave my job by 3:30.
I am not done with my day when I get home.  I still have papers to grade, lessons to plan, and emails to answer.

I am working a life-consuming career, dedicated to giving the best for her students.
I am not working a part-time job.

I am so sorry if it offends you that my only time off all year is the three months during the summer.
I am not sorry for basking in that time off given the inhuman amount of work I do from September to June.

Yet with all that I am, and all that I'm not, you still seem to think that my job is a breeze.
Reducing it down to mere soundbites and fodder for pundits. 
Saying that teachers are greedy.
That our job is easy.
That we don't deserve all the lavish benefits we are given.

If a teacher's job is treated with such disgust and abhorrence
Just how are our children ever going to benefit from being in school at all?
How are we going to lure worthwhile individuals to the field
If all the media and politicians do is tear us down treat us like the lowest caste of society?

If teaching is such an easy job, let me ask you this:
Why do half of all new teachers leave within the first five years?
It's sure not because we're overwhelmed with all the money we're raking in. 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano: ARC review

From Goodreads:

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

This book stayed off my radar for quite some time.  I noticed lots of book blogs talking about it, but it didn't seem like a story that would interest me.  And truth be told, I judged the book by its cover and felt like it would be a dystopia that was all fluff and no substance.   

Oh how wrong I was.

I was wrong about so much when it came to my initial judgment of this book.  

In addition to making incorrect assumptions about the quality of the writing, I also assumed as I began to read that most of the characters in this book would be antagonistic toward Rhine.  I guessed that Linden would be a jerk of a husband and that the sister wives would be unbearable to live with.  

So I guess what I'm saying is that Lauren DeStafano does an amazing job at subverting assumptions.  You look at the cover of this book with the fluffy dress and the fluffy hair and assume that the book is going to be less about the writing and more about the swoon-worthiness of the story.  You assume that the characters will be simple rather than complex.  You assume, you assume, you assume.  

But then just about every assumption gets completely crushed to bits.  

And you know what?  I LOVED that!  I loved that I had no idea what was going to happen next and that I was always guessing.  I loved that all of the characters (except for Vaughn) had something redeeming about them, because your initial reaction at the beginning is that the conflict will be Rhine vs. everyone else.  

This story is so much more complex than that.  And the complexity is what keeps you reading.  

And let me just say how much I love the name Rhine for a female protagonist.  I never would have thought of Rhine as being a female name but now that I've heard it, if I ever have a daughter, I might consider that for a baby name.  Just like the name Isabella exploded after Twilight came out, I wonder if the same thing will happen with Rhine.   

Cover comments: Though I think the cover is stunning and I personally love this new trend of beautiful girls in pretty dresses, I think some of these books with glamorous covers are preventing guys from becoming interested in possibly reading them.  Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of pretty dress covers are books that most guys wouldn't pick up anyway, but Wither is a book that I think guys would enjoy if it had been marketed differently.  This does not strike me as a "girly" story,  and yet the cover has lumped it into the category of chick lit with one sweeping move of a beautiful model in a frilly dress. 

I look at The Hunger Games series which has a female protagonist and could have easily been targeted only toward females, but the simple black and gold cover prevented gender stereotyping, and now you have boys as well as girls reading the books in droves. I'm thinking Wither could have been a book that was of interest to both genders had they created a more gender neutral cover.  
 

What are your thoughts?  Do you agree?  Disagree?
   
Regardless of the cover, I thought this was an amazing debut for this brilliant new YA author.  I hope to be reading her books for years to come!


Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Publish Date: March 22, 2011 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 356
Genre: Dystopia
Audience: YA

Lucky Leprechaun Blog Hop

Thank you to Books Complete Me and I Am A Reader, Not a Writer for hosting this great blog hop!

This is my offering for this blog hop:

The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson
Published: August 2010 by Harmony
Pages: 288
Genre:Nonfiction
Audience: Adult grammar lovers


Description from Goodreads:
The world needed a hero, but how would an editor with no off-switch answer the call? For Jeff Deck, the writing was literally on the wall: “NO TRESSPASSING.” In that moment, his greater purpose became clear.  Dark hordes of typos had descended upon civilization… and only he could wield the marker to defeat them.

Recruiting his friend Benjamin and other valiant companions, he created the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL). Armed with markers, chalk, and correction fluid, they circumnavigated America, righting the glaring errors displayed in grocery stores, museums, malls, restaurants, mini-golf courses, beaches, and even a national park. Jeff and Benjamin championed the cause of clear communication, blogging about their adventures transforming horor into horror, it’s into its, and coconunut into coconut.

But at the Grand Canyon, they took one correction too far: fixing the bad grammar in a fake Native American watchtower.  The government charged them with defacing federal property  and summoned them to court—with a typo-ridden complaint that claimed that they had violated “criminal statues.” Now the press turned these paragons of punctuation into “grammar vigilantes,” airing errors about their errant errand..

The radiant dream of TEAL would not fade, though.   Beneath all those misspelled words and mislaid apostrophes, Jeff and Benjamin unearthed deeper dilemmas about education, race, history, and how we communicate. Ultimately their typo-hunting journey tells a larger story not just of proper punctuation but of the power of language and literacy—and the importance of always taking a second look.

Contest Rules:

• Must be 13 years or older to enter
• Open to U.S. residents only
• You are not required to be a follower to enter but it is greatly appreciated
• Starts March 17th, ends March 20th at 11:59 PM EST

How to enter:
Leave a comment explaining your biggest grammar pet peeve (don't forget to leave me your email so I can contact you if you win!)


In addition to the standard using the wrong version of there, their, they're or your and you're, my biggest grammar pet peeve is when grown adults write "would of" instead of would've or use possessives when they're supposed to use plurals. Drives me absolutely bonkers! :o)


Don't forget to visit all the other participating blogs:

Book Trailer: Shimmer by Alyson Noel

The latest book in the Riley Bloom series is out today:

Shimmer by Alyson Noël

Publish Date:  March 15, 2011 by Square Fish

Pages: 192

Genre: Fantasy

Audience: Middle grade

From Goodreads:

Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a vicious black dog, against Bodhi’s advice, she decides to cross him over. While following the dog, she runs into a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca’s sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she’s not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is lashing out by keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca forgive and forget without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?

 Check out the trailer here:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Character's You'd Want as Family Members

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's  Top Ten List: The Top 10 Characters You Wish Were Members of Your Family

1. The Boatwright sisters from The Secret Life of Bees 

More specifically August Boatwright.  Talk about a lovely, nurturing motherly type.  I wouldn't mind her being in my family one bit.

2. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird 
Is there anyone more good and just in all of literature?  I think not.  I'd certainly want him to be my dad. 

3. The Weasleys from Harry Potter
They are delightfully eccentric.  Who cares if they're poor?  They're fun to be around. 

4. India Opal Buloni from Because of Winn-Dixie 
 Anyone who rescues a dog from being carted away to animal control and then names that dog after the grocery store she found him in is one sweet, fun-loving kid.  I think I'd like to hang out with her!

5. Moose Flanigan from Al Capone Does My Shirts 
Moose is a good kid and I always felt really bad for him the way his mom always made him be a third parent to his autistic sister Natalie.  If I were related to him I'd tell his mom to back off!

6. Julian Singh from The View from Saturday 
I loved how Julian embraced his weirdness and didn't care what others thought of him.  He marched to the beat of his own drum and encouraged others to follow along to his rhythm.

7. Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson
C'mon!  Who wouldn't love having this kid as their fun, flamboyant gay cousin?  He'd be so entertaining on holidays.

8. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
Let's see... she took the place of her sister in the Capitol's gruesome fight to the death... and she won. (I'm assuming that you've probably already read the book so sorry for the spoiler) Yeah, I think I'd want her to be my sister!

9. Anna Oliphant from Anna and the French Kiss 
Clever, witty, and full of stories from Paris.  I'd definitely want to sit with her at the Thanksgiving dinner table - just tell her to bring St. Clair with her!

10. Mia Hall's entire family in If I Stay
OK, so I know that Mia's entire family dies in the first few pages of the book, but the entire time I was reading this book, all I could think about was how absolutely cool her family was and how much I wished I had parents like hers.