Literature in Teaching: Getting Away With Murder by Chris Crowe

The week that Parent Teacher Conferences falls on always seems to be a busy one.  This one was no different.  It's been a great week, but I'm now home sick with one of the worst sore throats I can recall.  I'm glad that I asked for a sub yesterday while I was at school, regardless of the second guessing I did once my voice warmed up by mid-day.  Today I can barely whisper, and even that has me wincing a little.  After sucking down an entire pack of Halls cough drops yesterday, I doubt that would have gotten me through to teach today.

Thankfully, my mind is clear and my fingers can still fly across the keyboard.  This is good, as I can share more about our first meeting for our district's book club "Teaching Through Literature Discussions."  I had the chance to meet Megan from Po(sey) Sessions and Allison from So Many Books So Little Time, who are both book bloggers.  If I missed others, my apologies!  I was rushing in right as it started, having been held up by last minute lesson plans I was writing up for my substitute teacher for today.  Once I left work, I really didn't want to have to return, so that put me in a little bit of a time crunch.

For our first discussion, we read Chris Crowe's non-fiction publication about the murder of young Emmett Till, Getting Away With Murder.  I actually had the chance to take a Young Adult Literature course from Chris Crowe when I was an undergraduate.  His class was rigorous, but exciting, and his teaching style was uniquely straight-forward and engaging.  I remember that we had to read stacks of books over the course of the term, which still adorn my bookshelves.  Thankfully, that class gave me a great foundation for teaching and recommending books to my own students.  At the time, Crowe was most likely just finishing his research on the murder of Emmett Till and finishing up with his first book.  I do recall Crowe sharing Emmett's story with us, as well as more information about his research and trip to Missisippi to learn more about the story.  He has gone on to write both his non-fiction account of Till's story, as well as Mississippi Trial, 1955.

For anyone who might be unfamiliar with the story, young Emmett Till was dragged from his uncle's home in Money, Mississippi on the night of August 28, 1955 and brutally lynched for whistling at a white woman at a local store.  Emmett was only 14 years old at the time and unfamiliar with the racial mores of the deep south, having come from Chicago, where Emmett had experienced much more freedom.  Both men accused of killing Emmett were later acquitted in court by an all-white jury in Greenwood, Mississippi.  They later went on in January of 1956 to admit to Look magazine in an article, "The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi" to the murder of Emmett.

Roy Bryant & J. W. Milam in court.

The story is appalling and hard to imagine being a reality.  The details, information, and pictures in Crowe's book are telling, and his writing throughout the book is very engaging and easy to read.  Although the story is hard to take, the emotions it stirs and the impact it had in flaming the Civil Right's Movement into action are undeniable.  I highly recommend this small, yet informative book for all readers as a reminder of the direction that fears can take any person, community, or society.

For more information on Emmett Till, see:

• Emmett Till Murder .com
• The PBS documentary "The Murder of Emmett Till" on American Experience
• This Early Civil Right's Struggles Site
• A rap made by Vigalantee about Emmett Till  (Some disturbing images in the video included.)
• The Emmett Till Memorial Commission
• The Emmett Till Legacy Foundation

Review: The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

We're off to another busy week ahead, and all I want to do is sit down with a good book.  There is a great Read-a-thon going on over at The True Book Addict this week.  I wanted to join in with all the fun, but have parent-teacher conferences this week, along with two other night activities I have to attend.  That limits just about anything I do outside of work to nothing!  If you're interested, you should stop by to sign up to get a nice chunk of reading done this week. 

Regardless of the busy schedule I'm now facing, I did get swept away by a pile of books this past weekend.  I have about twelve books I'm rotating through, which I don't recommend, but is about where my head is at right now.  On Saturday evening, I stayed home and spent a good 5-6 hours reading.  It was the best Saturday night date I've had in awhile!  Although my review isn't one of the books that I finished on Saturday, I wanted to share a quick review of The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler.  It's a quick, fun read.

Synopsis:  Penny and her mother uproot from NYC to move to Hog's Hollow, where Penny's mother opens a cupcake bakery.  Rather than get to know kids her own age over her long summer break, Penny waits until the first day of school.  Once there, her reception isn't good, and she finds herself as a virtual outsider and picked on by some of the more popular kids.  Along the way, Penny makes friends with a Tally and Blake, who take her under their wing.  There's also Marcus, the kid she sees walking his dog on the beach, who she can't help but feel drawn to be around.  If social pressure and making friends isn't enough, Penny has to deal with her parent's separation and whether Hog's Hollow is really the place she wants to end up.

Review:  Tackling issues of separation, divorce, being the new kid at school, and teen love, Heather Hepler's novel seems to have a little bit of everything.  We see the mean girl scenario play out in Penny's experiences at school, but on the other hand, we also see young love blossom before our eyes.  This small little young adult novel seems to have a little bit of everything in a teen's life.

Although the cover is what initially drew me to pick up this small book, the cupcakes and bakery make up a very small part of the story.  Hepler draws on real-life situations that teens face to flesh out the story in the book.  For instance, the first day of school scene and encounter with the school secretary are really well done. (In fact, I shared that chapter with the students in my Popular Fiction course.)  The way the author depicts how Penny feels, and what she sees, are really smart.  To say that Penny is uncomfortable and feeling out of place on that first day, is an understatement. 

Not all the scenes in the book pop out as much as that first day of school, but there are many other memorable moments that feel close to what teenagers feel and consider important.  Penny worries about her family, about her position at school, and about the boy she finds herself crushing over.  She isn't one of those characters that gushes, ad nauseum about how she feels about her crush, but you can sense how much she wants to be noticed.  In short, you really feel for her and want her to be happy.

While simple in its themes and ideas, The Cupcake Queen was a sweet, simple read.  The issues hit on in the book are familiar, yet vital to most teens, and I can see many readers connecting to Penny.  Overall, I found the story to be an easy read, but one I would recommend to many of my own students.

*FTC Disclosure:  Review is based on a library copy of the book.

Although the title is The Cupcake Queen, very little in the book references cupcakes at all.  Are you all right when a title only vaguely mirrors the story, or do you feel that the title should hit on the most important themes of the book?  What say you?

Review: I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne

Pardon my reminiscing this morning, but this post has a lot of meaning for me, and needs a little explaining.  Twelve years ago today my dad passed away from breast cancer.  I'm shocked it has been that long, yet still feel like it was just yesterday. 

When my father passed away, I was still in college, and life was moving at Mach 20.  After I graduated, I moved home to be with my mother, and although that was three years after his death, we had both hit a strange depression.  I was home though, and hoped that we could both pull out of this funk we found ourselves.  That fall the Osbournes reality series "The Osbournes" aired on MTV and my mother and I found a hearty laugh and a safe haven in their show. 

Who would think that a foul-mouthed, crazy Rock & Roll first family would help pull us out of a serious funk, but they did.  Now, if you know my mother at all, you know she is seriously straight-laced.  Yet somehow, this crazy family's heart, love, and humor was enough to reach out through the screen to my mother and I.  I know it sounds strange, but I have a real soft spot for the Osbournes and how their crazy antics could bring a smile back to our faces.  They had this "I will stick by you because I love you, no matter what" kind of attitude that reminded us how powerful love is in a family.  That regardless of our imperfections, our families can be our safety net.

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "Has there ever been a more extraordinary rock-star story than Ozzy Osbourne's? Born into a life so poor that the whole family slept in one room, Ozzy endured a tough upbringing. Music was his salvation and his band Black Sabbath went on to change the music scene forever. But along with the rock and roll came the inevitable sex and drugs and Ozzy fell into a long relationship with addictive substances. The stories of Ozzy's days on the road are legendary - biting the head off a live bat, losing his best friend and writing partner Randy Rhoades in a tragic plane crash - but few know of the real heartbreak he suffered during those days of excess. In the end it was love that saved him: the love of his wife Sharon and kids Kelly, Jack and Aimee. In his highly anticipated autobiography, Ozzy comes clean: in all senses."

Review:  The show, "The Osbournes" was one of the shows that I credit for pulling me out of a serious depression after my father passed away from cancer.  The thing that really struck me about that show was how much they genuinely loved each other.  Yes, their lives were crazy, but the love they had for one another came pouring out of them.  It made me smile.

Ozzy Osbourne's life was filled with crazy ups and downs; some he created and some came from left field.  Ozzy worked in slaughterhouses, sang for Black Sabbath, and starred in his own reality show.  Regardless of what he was doing, it was easy to see from his autobiography that Ozzy was always honest about where he came from and who he was.  

I think the thing that struck me the most about Ozzy Osbourne's life was that although he admits to and acknowledges his many weaknesses, that his drug and alcohol abuse also helped to serve as a cover for his weaknesses.  I realize that addiction is a disease, but no matter how honest one claims to be, addiction overrides that honesty and allows one to hide behind its gruesome coat tails.  From all the drugs and alcohol that Ozzy took in his lifetime, it's hard to say why he's still alive.  Beyond that, his escapades with other women and larger than life rocker lifestyle should have driven any semblance of family far from the picture, but he has managed to hold on to his family.  This success at home has to be due to his wife Sharon, who put up with her fair share of abuse over the years.

As a fan of Ozzy's, I am hard pressed to really fault his own life story too much.  The one thing I do wish he would have included more was his relationships with his children.  Very little is mentioned about his kids, and I found myself curious about how he has maintained a strong, loving relationship with his children, regardless of his drug and alcohol abuse. 

 Right or wrong, the Osbournes are a family with heart.  They want to be honest about their actions and feelings, which is strangely why they seem endearing.  Ozzy's autobiography was interesting, and I enjoyed reading more about his life.  I do have to give a huge disclaimer that there is a lot of profanity throughout the book, reminiscent of Ozzy's way of speaking.  Honestly though, the book was trying to show this larger than life character for who he was, madness and all.  

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based off of a library copy of the book.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Future Treasures

Here we are at the end of Book Blogger Appreciation Week.  I didn't quite get in on everything this time around, as I missed signing up for a few things here or there, but I did get a chance to vote this year and wanted to give a Congrats to all the winners!

For the final meme for this week, we were asked to reflect on and consider a few things:

What you enjoyed about BBAW?  As many others have said, it's always fun to learn about new blogs that have started up recently, or been around and I just missed them!  In the end, we all really love books and want to share that with others.  What could be better? 

What are your blogging goals?  One of the things I've really tried to focus on this past year was to not get so caught up in self-imposed deadlines and posts that I forget why I started blogging in the first place!  In the end, it always comes back to good stories, and I want to continue to read and share great stories.  I'd love to feature a few more authors this next year and even help feature some of our great local authors.  Before I began blogging about books, I was pretty unaware of authors.  That is sad to say, but really quite true.  Today authors have blogs of their own and they reach out their readers in so many ways that I really can learn more about the artists who keep my life filled with great reading material. 

I know.  My goals are not all that exciting.  They are simple, but they spell out a pleasant year ahead of great reading and great friends with which to mix and mingle.

Local Author Book Club Opportunity

Alpine School District, in Utah County, is offering a course called "Teaching Through Literature Discussions"  that is essentially a book club centered on how to share books with students.  While this is geared towards educators, I contacted the district to see if it is open to the community, and the answer is yes!

The course will cost $50, but includes all six books, which will mainly be directed by the authors!  Yes, it looks like the authors will be the ones involved with sharing their books in these discussions.

So far, the schedule and presentations are:

1. September 23rd:  Chris Crowe, Getting Away With Murder
2. November 11th:  Lisa Mangum, The Hourglass Door
3. January 20th:  Ally Condie, Matched
4. February 17th:  Not announced
5. March 17th:  Not announced
6. April 7th:  Not announced

Whether you are looking to work on recertification, getting a college credit, or simply reading some great books, this sounds like an amazing opportunity!  If you're interested, you can sign up with Alpine School District on their Professional Development  main page.  Also, you can email me and I can send you a copy of the flyer that was distributed.

We discussed the best way to distribute the books (since they will be sent to the individual schools) and determined that you can either have them sent to me and we can arrange something, or they can be picked up directly from the School District in American Fork.

This should be a great opportunity to read some of our local authors.  If you're interested, and you think it might fit into your schedule, check it out!  You can contact me if you have any questions.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: First & Unexpected Treasures

It's that wonderful time of year again when book bloggers get a chance to celebrate what we do!  Yes, we all love books, and in that process we meet some wonderful bloggers and add to those mountain high "To Be Read" piles from all of their recommendations.  I'm a little bit behind, but wanted to catch up by posting about two of the BBAW memes up this week.

The first topic for Monday was about new book blogs we've found in the last year.  I actually have to copycat for a second.  My good friend Colette, over at A Buckeye Girl Reads, listed me as a new find this year and I was shocked that we haven't known each other for longer!  Honestly, I have loved following Colette and chatting with her on Twitter.  We both have matched up on some fun "Chick-Lit" we both like, and have found a friend when it comes time for our favorite TV shows and sporting events.  Half of my family live in Ohio, so it's fun to have a fellow Ohio State Buckeye fan online.  I love Colette's willingness to try challenges (which I chicken out of) and her love for romance and paranormal reads.  Although I feel like I've known her forever, I'm happy to point her out as one of MY treasure finds from this last year!

Another blogger I met earlier this year was Iris, from Iris on Books.  I love the range of books that Iris reads and her instant dedication and enthusiasm for blogging.  I know Iris has a busy schedule as a student, and yet I have to say that her blog doesn't seem to suffer for her academic pursuits.  I highly recommend you check out her blog!

Also, I have to give a shout out to a couple of my friends. My friend Gretchen was my graduate school compadre and blogs from time to time about books.  She might just disown me for doing this, but I wanted to share Gretchen's Bookshelf with everyone!  She is one amazingly smart chica, who wowed me in graduate school, and continues to wow me today.  I know she doesn't like to post very often, but I always love to see what she has to say!

Also, I recently found out that one of my best friends in high school is working on getting a novel published.  I shouldn't be surprised though, since Jenni was always super talented. Jenni blogs at Wolf Tales, as well as having her own author page.  I wish her lots of luck!

For Wednesday, we are supposed to post on Unexpected Treasures.  These are books or a genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. 

One big influence I had this last year was my interest in books about Hawaii or books written by Hawaiian authors.  I started following Hawaii Book Blog over a year ago, but have to say that I'm constantly inspired to seek out more great books through the reviews and news they post.   I actually first contacted Hawaii Book Blog when I noticed a post about our local library in Kahuku on the island of Oahu.  Now I know I didn't grow up there, but have grown to feel a sense of community and home in that area, so seeing that post made me a little homesick for my mom and my home there. 

On a consistent basis, Hawaii Book Blog posts library information as well as book signings and other great events going on.  Their dedication to keeping book news and information up to date and in reviewing local authors and books about Hawaii is amazing.  For me, this was a very unexpected treasure to find them and want to say a big Mahalo for all of their great work!

Tune in for more about Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and take a look at some of the great book blogs that are out there writing about a world of amazing reads!

Bookmark Winners!

Congrats to the following five people.  You have won a lovely bookmark made from a Samoan art tapestry! 

1. Stacie
2. Felicia
3. Don
4. Michelle
5. Hannah

I wish I had enough for everyone who entered, but congrats to those who won!  I'll be popping them in the mail later this week. 

Mahalo!