A good writer is, first, a great reader. Here's what I've been reading lately, if you have any recommended books please email me.
YA Fiction
Nancy Farmer
The House of the Scorpion -- A clone struggles to understand his existence and purpose. Original and engaging.
Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid -- If you want to LOL read these. Great humour in this series.
Stephanie Meyer
Twilight Series -- Great characters -- it'll hook you for sure.
Host -- an interesting premise, not as engaging as Twilight.
Free verse novels
Egghead presents Will's thoughts in free verse poems. Check out these titles, the whole novel is in free verse. Reading these books gave me great insight into the power of poetry.
Lorie Ann Grover
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Loose Threads -- first free verse novel I ever read.. powerful!
Pamela Porter
- The Crazy Man (winner of Governer General's Literary Award) -- great characters
Sharon Creech
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Love That Dog (ages 7-9) -- a neat way of exploring poetry with the narrator
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Heartbeat
Karen Hesse
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Witness uses free verse, multiple voices, and historical fiction
- Out of the Dust (Newbery Award Winner)
Alma Fullerton
- Libertad-- A Governor General Nominee and winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award
Bully Prevention Resources
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The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander
by Barbara Coloroso
Egghead is about a boy that is bullied in grade 9. The story was inspired by my memories of seeing someone get picked on back in the day -- but Barbara Coloroso's book really gave me insights into how bullying affects all involved. I highly recommend it to parents and teachers.Historical Fiction for Teens
Here are some authors I've been studying to help me write historical fiction for teens:
- The Book Thief -- Set in Germany during WWII. Narrated by Death. Beautiful images and writing. Wow! Just... wow!
- Elijah of Buxton-- Fantastic character and voice.
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True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle -- great story about a young girl accused on murder aboard a ship. (winner of Newbery Medal)
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Beyond the Western Sea books I and II -- I just found these.. haven't read them yet, but they are set in a few years after Greener Grass and the characters are emigrating to America.
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The Crusades Series There Will Be Wolves, Shadows on a Sword, Lionheart's Scribe, The Scarlett Cross, and Angeline
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Nine Days Queen
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With Nothing But Our Courage, from the Dear Canada Series
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The Staircase
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Or Give Me Death
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The Color of Fire
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she has a TON of historical fiction YA books .. I want to read them all
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The Convicts -- I read this to see how he handled ship description as a setting and WOW what a story. It's the first in the series.
- Loved her four Marie-Claire books in the Our Canadian Girl Series
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Nory Ryan's Song -- set in the famine, it follows Nory's journey from Ireland to America (grades 3+)
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Maggie's Door -- sequel to Nory Ryan.
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Pictures of Hollis Woods
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any of her books are inspiring
Outlander -- Diana Gabaldon
My book club picked this one for our next meeting. I've read most of the series, but I'm looking forward to going back and starting over. I really enjoyed Gabaldon's style and her characters are so real, I missed them when I finished the book. [adult fiction]
