The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

This heart wrenching memoir of Jeannette Walls was probably my favorite of all the books we experienced during this blogging journey. I actually listened to the cd version on my way to and from CT over break. The up side of this was that the narrator was excellent and the story unfolded in a truly captivating way; the down side, I couldn't skip to the last page to see how it all turned out in the end!

I'm not sure where to begin. There were times I found my self shouting at the dashboard, "Don't you dare give him any money...are you crazy!??" and then other times I needed to wipe a tear or two from my eye. I think what surprises me the most about Walls's work is her lack of sentimentality. She tells her story with much objectivity and honesty. She does not blame or excuse her parents, as one reviewer said, "The author's tell-it-like-it-was memoir is moving...she neither demonizes nor idealizes her parents..." I, however, found it easy to demonize them!

To be honest, at times her parents impressed me. In the beginning I thought, They're a bit odd, but not so bad,and they were raising bright, creative, unconventional thinkers, but as Rex spiralled downward and her mother went from flighty to unstable, their unconventional ways became a curse.

For me there were a couple of very poignant parts of the book. The first was the section where Jeannette talks about how much she loved the bookA Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and how much she was like Francine- both having alcoholic fathers and tough childhoods. I too loved this book as a young girl when I read it. I didn't have an alcoholic father, but we certainly had some rough spots and struggled as a family. I believe that it was my immersion in books, especially those like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, that gave me the incentive to do better and be more.

The second situation that gave me pause and made me think was the section where Jeanette's mother and older sister are gone for the summer and Jeannette is "in charge." She started the summer thinking she was going to be in control and then realized how hard it is to stand up to her father. This was the section in which I yelled at the CD player. And it broke my heart when Rex lets her go up to the apartment with the pool player.

Would students read this book? I think it definitely has an audience in the high school, especially for older students. I could almost see this as a good lit. circle book, paired with Angela's Ashes or even A Child Called It (which students love to read!) I wonder if any of the upper level ELA classes do a unit or circle on the memoir? Anyone know?

I am anxious to see what everyone thought!

Hole in My Life - by Jack Gantos

"Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos was a quick read, however I am not sure I would recommend this book to students. Gantos tells his story in a journal form about his teenage years and his "adventures". The story starts in Fort Lauderdale, travels to St. Croix after finishing high school on his own. In St. Croix, Gantos meets up with a shady character who hire him to help smuggle hash to NYC. I feel students will read this book and think that smuggling drugs is glamorous and the punishment will be light. Being that this story takes place in 1971 when convictions may have been easier.

Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb

This memoir may be a quick read for students. Written in a journal format was a refreshing style since it was easier to follow along with than "Lucky Man". As an eleven year old, Lori gets a lesson early in life about what women feel about eating. Her mother skips desserts, tastes from her husbands plate and mentions how important her appearance repeatedly. Definitely a problem in society during the 70's and perhaps still an issue today in 2010.

I was amazed at how young Lori was when she wrote this journal as well as how quickly she deteriorated. I was very surprised at the awareness of eating habits that an eleven year old girl noticed. The relationships in this memoir between Lori and her friends, her parents, andf her doctor all played a role ub her eating disorder. The one relationship that played an important factor in her getting better was with the terminally ill, Nora. I think this story will appeal to students because they can maker connections to Lori about appearance and how peers relate to them.

Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox

A memoir in which actor Michael J. Fox shares the story of his life, discussing his childhood in Canada, his career in show business, his marriage and family, and his struggle with Parkinson's disease. The fact that Fox wrote this memoir himself was enough to hook me! I thought it was very well done. I was taken in by the conversational tone of the book, and how he interweaves the past and present. I found this book, on one level, easy to read and, as a fan of Family Ties and Back to the Future, satisfying.

As we were looking for titles intended to inspire and motivate students could this book work? How many students would know who Alex P. Keaton was? Did they ever see Back to the Future or Doc Hollywood? Would they pick up this book? I'm not sure. It might take some selling, but for students, either with parents suffering from an illness, or if they are battling an illness themselves, I thought this book could be extremely inspiring. I am amazed that, after reading this book, Michael J. Fox had me convinced that he was indeed a better man because of his struggles with Parkinson's disease. No easy feat. I appreciated his optimism and honesty in talking about his early Hollywood years (did not gloss over too much) and with his struggles.

I am anxious to see what you all thought, I wonder if my opinion is clouded by my age and television viewing habits!

Welcome

According to our district's keynote speaker, Allison Zmuada, a good way to help at-risk students is through reading inspirational biographies of people who have overcome great odds. We will explore biographies that model the ability to overcome great adversity, to survive, persevere and succeed in life. In addition, the genre of non-fiction can provide our students with more opportunities to develop essential reading and critical thinking skills. We look forward to working with you this year. Our first blog is Michael J. Fox's bio, Lucky Man. Blogging for this book will start on December 1st.

Kathy and Chris