January is flying! I can not believe that we are already in the middle of the month. Sometimes 3rd quarter can drag as it is cold, it gets dark early, and there is still a whole quarter and whatever is left in 3rd quarter before summer break. Methinks a snow day should fall upon us just one more time. Last school year- no snow days. It was wonderful to get out 5 days earlier for the summer; however, it is really nice to have that unplanned day to sleep in, catch up on grading, clean the house, read a book (uninterrupted). With that being said, yes we did have one snow day on the 2nd to last day of the semester in December, and it was magnificent. I could still use one more. During the last week of January would be fine. We could still get out 3 days early. Make it happen. Thanks.
This week my life has been composed of syncing iPads. Normally, it is a one day process for me to sync one cart with all the new apps we've downloaded. I am still not sure of the reasoning but this sync is on day 2 1/2. I blame the new iTunes. It wasn't as easy to see that some of my new apps weren't making it on the iPads even though "automatically sync new apps" is checked. Sorry to go on a "techie" rant, it was just much more user friendly previous to the new facade. oh well, I suppose I just need to get out of my comfort zone.
On to a new review!
I did just finish Life of Pi and it was wonderful. Reads like journal entries. I enjoyed the way he combined religious viewpoints and utilized rich descriptions. Definitely worth reading.
The review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd, illustrations by Jim Kay
I ordered this book back in Oct/Nov but hadn't picked it up until this week. The cover is black/grey image of a monster in the distance and with the title, didn't look like my kind of read. While doing some book review research to find new books to order, I read a review about A Monster Calls and found that my perception and the story itself were quite different.
A note before I start my review. The author, Siobhan Dowd, had the idea and some plot elements in notes before she passed away. Ness uses her ideas to convey this beautiful story.
The story follows a young boy (middle school age I am guessing) named Conor. Conor starts having a recurring nightmare after finding out his mother is diagnosed with cancer. One night, at 12: 07 AM Conor finds the yew tree from his backyard coming into his bedroom. Another nightmare, right? This is what Conor thinks until he finds leaves from the Yew tree all over his room. He tells the monster he is not scared of him "I have seen worse" which surprises the monster. The monster puts forth a deal, he will tell Conor 3 stories, but then Conor must tell him a story. The truth about the recurring nightmare Conor has.
During the day, Conor goes to school where he is greatly bullied by three boys and grows more distant from a good friend named Lily, who is the daughter of one of his mother's friends and he has been friends with forever. His grandma doesn't really understand him or any children for that matter. She hints at the idea of him going to live with her, which he definitely doesn't want to do. His dad lives in America and has a new family there, and doesn't think it would be good for Conor to live with them.
As the monster comes to tell his stories, Conor's relationships fall apart. His anger shows in his actions. His classmates begin to ignore him and he is afraid to let go.He doesn't seem to be able to really talk with his mom about what is going on. The monster's tales do have a point, but it all comes together in the end as well as what is Conor's nightmare.
I do not know how to accurately sum up this book. It was beautiful and symbolic. The illustrations are magnificent. Have a tissue handy and give it a try.
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