April Slice #5

A Poem for Poetry Month

Poetry month was here

Soon it will be gone

Although I may be sad

Alas I must move on 

My Mother The Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow

In the turbulent and violent atmosphere of 1960 thirteen year old Louise lives and works at her mothers boarding house.  Louise has been pulled out of her school that has recently been integrated.  That means that black people are now allowed to attend her white school.  Louise's mother is part of a group that has assumed the name "The Cheerleaders" although they are far from cheery.  They are among the several people that go down to Louise's school to protest integration.  They go to whisper death threats and curse and say hateful things to a tiny black
girl every morning as she walks into school.  However Louise and her mother's lives are uprooted when a stranger from the north comes to their boarding house.  They begin to question whether what they're doing is right.  This tale is thrilling and educational.  While following the life of Louise you experience many twists and surprises with an ending you will not see coming.  This book contains violence, hateful language, racism, and talks of sexual abuse.  For these reasons I would recommend this book to grades 6 and up.  

April Slice #4

Running through
The woods
Freezing cold
Scared and alone
Trees taunt me
With shadows
I scream
Suddenly
Snow falls

We Were Liars By E. Lockhart

After her accident Cadence returns to the island to spend another summer with her liars but something seems amiss this time.  Cadence's previously sane grandfather seems to have gone insane and her aunts have become very close after fighting for years.  Whats more her aunts seem sad and the littles have nightmares about fires and think Cadence is a drug addict.  But her liars seem the same - exactly the same.  When Cadence finally remembers the truth about what happened on summer fifteen the book takes a shocking twist that will surprise you, upset you, and leave you desperate for more.  This book comes to an extremely sad ending and contains crude language.  For these reasons I would recommend this book to grades six and up.   

April Slice #2

The Last Of Those Who Didn't Exist

I am the last of the people 

Who no one knows exists

Some have escaped 

Or been taken away 

Or worse 

 I am the last of the people 

Who no one knows exist

I may have been hurt 

lots of times 

But here I stand 

still alive

I was the last of the people 

Who no one knows exist

Until one day 

I was dragged away

Desperately trying 

to hold on 

I leapt and I hollered

But they didn't seem bothered 

I was the last of the people 

Who no one cares exist

So now I feel the kiss of death

Gently touch my lips

I am the last of the people

Who no one knows exist

but lying here on the grass

I know I won't be missed

We Were Liars By E. Lockhart

Cadence Sinclair spends her summers with her wealthy family on a private island just off the coast of Cape Cod.  They spend their summers in the various houses on the island.  Cadence and her cousins, Johnny and Mirren and their friend Gat have been spending their summers on the island since their age eight.  They live together in luxury taking care of "the Littles" or their younger cousins and enjoying the beautiful beaches, until on their fifteenth summer on the island Cadence has a mysterious accident at night spinning her perfect life around.  Cadence becomes sickly and spends the next few years in a haze of amnesia, horrible headaches, and drugs.  She can't seem to remember anything about her accident.  Why was she swimming alone at night.  Why was she in nothing but her underwear.  Cadence just can't remember.  This is addictive with twisting suspense and gut wrenching truths.  I would recommend this book to grades 6 and up.

April Slice #1

The Perfect Place

Breathe in, Breath out,

Kind gentle breeze

She wades through a sea of flowers

Finally she finds what she's looking for

And realizes she had it all along

The tiny girl twirls in her little white dress

She closes her eyes

Rests for a moment 

And walks away

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

In this dystopian novel Lena Haloway lives in a world where love has been declared a dangerous disease and serious crime.  In her society Lena's emotions are her enemy.  The government has declared that everyone must take a procedure when they turn 18 so that they may be cured of love and emotion and the government can assign their life to them.  Lena is in her evaluation with the government so they can decide her life when the people who have escaped Lena's society and remain uncured or the "Invalids" pull a prank.  Lena sees a boy on the balcony watching the whole thing unfold when he does the unthinkable.  Just days away from her cure Lena begins to fall for the boy and struggles to decide between the life she wants and the life her society wants for her.  This book has a great story but I was not impressed with the writing or execution of this story.