Darius The Great Is Not Okay Conquers Train I Ride

Train I Ride by Paul Mosier is a captivating novel.  Rydr, a feisty, resistant and creative 12 year old heroine is on a very long ride towards a new life.  Up to this point her life has been a series of tragic events that have happened "to her".  You can't help but love Rydr because she so accurately captures the students we silently root for in all they do.  She doesn't follow rules, thank goodness, because she has to create opportunities to survive.  The accuracy of how teens manifest trauma broke my heart but also reminded me of how ingenious so many youth are.  Rydr is brilliant and meets characters that recognize the gem she is.  For me one of the most entrancing aspects of the story was the everyday person that stepped forward in small ways to make a difference.  Although we loved this easy to read and charming ride, our criticism was the neat ending that did not seem plausible.

Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram was a novel that took a while to warm to, but the wait was worth it.  The characters did not make an initial impression and the plot seemed quick and rushed.  The beginning was just to pace the engagement and excitement the reader would experience.  Darius, the grade 10 Persian American, who is bullied, works at a tea shop and has difficulty connecting to his all American good looking father, nervously awaits what the family trip to Iran holds. During this trip, Darius world expands as does all he holds to be true.  The journey provides Darius with a new best friend, new feelings for his best friend, and healing for Darius and his family.  The readers gets drawn into accounts of every day activities so thoroughly that it is hard to stop reading.  The plot and setting weave an incredible backdrop for Darius's evolution.  Darius starts to believe maybe his is great after all.

The 57 bus rolls on...

Smackdown the 9th - Third Round

Debbie Piasetsky - Alberta Ed

Norma Johnson - Sweet Grass

Vanessa LeCaine - Sweet Grass

The 57 Bus                 Far From the Tree

vs

   

Vanessa : Ok folks - it’s round three.  This is where the best of the best move forward. t’s funny though how the random draw at the beginning can really mess with that.  In Round 2, I really struggled to pick a “better book”. This round, not so much.

Although Far From the Tree was an interesting book, I had to go back to when I’d read it earlier this year and remind myself exactly what is was about.  Was it good? Yes. Was it so awesome I am recommending it to others, no.  And then came The 57 Bus. The true telling of an event that happened on a bus in Oakland - a possible hate crime.  The book explores the justice system, sheds some light on gender identity and looks at how empathy can come out of something so horrible.  For me, these books are light years apart - I’m on the 57 bus.

Norma.  The 57 Bus  Loved this book.  I enjoy reading true stories.  This one though was well balanced and well written.  The characters were developed well and the story stayed with me.  I had a hard time putting down the book because I couldn’t wait to see how everything turned out.  Far From the Tree has a hard act to follow.

Finished reading Far From the Tree. It was a good book, an o.k. read, but when put up against The 57 Bus it falls short.  I thought that the book tried to cover a number of issues and resolved them too quickly to wrap up the story.

The winner by a landslide for me is The 57 Bus .

Debbie

This one isn’t even close for me. I loved “The 57 Bus”. Have recommended it to many people of all ages already. Vanessa and Norma pretty much summed it up perfectly.

Verse battles Dystopia

Two books, two great reads.  I enjoyed Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves.  In this dystopian novel, the reader is left to mourn the destruction of the environment and an essence of human nature - the ability to dream.  The undercurrents of racial tension add the uneasiness felt throughout the book.  The Poet X written in verse draws the reader in with an intensity that was quite surprising.  Family tensions, secrets and the strength to believe in oneself fill the pages of this book.  I could not easily put this book down and was quick to recommend it to others as it left such an impression with me.  My vote to continue is The Poet X.

Maureen

Lillian is Poet X

Children of Blood and Bone vs.  Poet X
LOHS

Last round was beyond easy to vote.   A remake of Arnold movie vs. Far From the Tree.  Too easy.  But this round was altogether different.

We had two new authors, both with such voice and compelling stories to tell.  Tomi Adeyemi even commented on Elizabeth Acevedo's book saying that the book will touch so many lives and make people who feel hidden away, feel seen.  This is what made us vote for Poet X.

Children of Blood and Bone was such an adventure.  We all loved reading it...maybe a zombie pick?  We were able to get into the head of each character because of how Adeyemi set up each character's story separately.  So we could get to know each character and understanding their motivations before plunging them into chaos where their paths would intersect.  This book has all the qualities you want from a YA fantasy.  It has your villain, heroes and heroines.  The alternating perspectives is a risky move, but Adeyemi pulls it off.  Nothing negative to say here.

Poet X is just different.  Yes, there have been stories before about coming of age. But X's voice is unlike anyone we’ve heard before.   She is compelling.  What she spoke of resonates.   She reminded us of what it's like to be a young woman in a world crowded with complicated rules.  This poem is just heartbreaking.  There is no cliche ending here.

Train I Ride vs Long Way Down

Train I Ride by Paul Mosier
OH this book!  I laughed, I cried, I cried again.  What a beautifully written story!  I appreciated the way the secondary characters were developed over the story and how it is the small moments in life that have the biggest impact.
This was a great book and I would highly recommend it for my grade 5 class.  It was a touching story that many kids could relate to.  Ryder’s courage was inspiring and her story brought me to tears.  It was an easy read and kids would enjoy it.  The ending left the reader wanting more and wondering what her life would be like after the train ride.   The endless possibilities of what her life will be like could lead to great open discussions or further writing assignments. After I finished reading the book, I was hoping that a sequel would be made.
 The book would appeal to both Division 2 and Division 3 students. 


Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
How can these books be paired together?  I love the way Jason Reynolds writes about tough issues accessibly and will appeal to all types of readers.  What happened at the end??  Did he finish what he started to do? 
We all enjoyed this book, however all felt it is aimed for Div 3 and higher.  The hidden messages may be a little advanced for most readers in Div 2 and possibly Div 3.  I feel students would miss some of the important parts in the story.  That being said it was a great book, with a great message.  The unanswered ending was also a very engaging way to end the story.  This would be a great book for advanced readers.  The circle of life and consequences of death was an excellent message in the book.  I also enjoyed the skillful way the book took place in an  elevator ride which happened within a couple minutes of time passing.

Such a hard decision, but Ellerslie votes for Train I Ride

2 Votes Long Way Down, 1 Vote Train I Ride

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Train I Ride by Paul Mosier

Cristina and Jeff:
I feel very glad that I picked up Long Way Down to read without having any prior information about the book beforehand. It was a surprise to find the unique and blunt format, and found myself re-reading pages aloud to my unsuspecting husband, and even in those short lines, he was very intrigued and read it cover to cover once I was finished. Kids need something to make them stop in their tracks every so often. It is not an ambitious read, so it is accessible to any of my students, which I appreciate. Jeff and I spoke at length about Train I Ride, and came to the conclusion that although it is an excellent book, and I’d be up for reviving it later as a Zombie Pick, Long Way Down deserves to be pushed forward as an important and engaging text and a must-have in any middle school classroom.

DLFS Picks Long Way Down by a long, long mile.


Stacie: I enjoyed reading both of these books this round. Long Way Down made me stop and think afterwards. It took me a few minutes to fully understand the ending and its significance. I really liked the message the author was trying to get across to the reader. It was a very quick read due to the format the book was written in. I would recommend this book to adults and high school students but likely not to junior high students. My vote this round goes to Train I Ride. I would recommend this book to junior high students. I think grade 8 girls would especially enjoy this read. This book introduces us to Rydr, a 13 year old girl who is traveling from California to Chicago to live with a new relative. We slowly learn more about Rydr and the difficult experiences she has endured. I think she is a very relatable character for many teenagers.

The Poet X

I have to admit that I’ve never read a book of poetry other than what I’ve used with my Grade Fives. For this reason I was a little hesitant about the book and wasn’t sure if I’d like it. I actually loved The Poet X and read it within the day. After a “heavy” read with Children of Blood and Bone I was hoping for something a bit lighter. I wouldn’t say this was a light read (it addresses some important issues such as gender stereotypes, questioning one’s faith, homophobia and finding your voice) but it was an engaging read. It took a bit of time, and some page skimming, but The Poet X captivated my interest in a way that I was not expecting. I loved reading how Xiomara found her voice by writing and then eventually performing her own poetry. I found myself connecting with the main character and actually cried at the end (I won’t say why for those who haven’t read it). I was not a fan of the romance between Xiomara and Aman but I enjoyed that X had someone in her corner other than Twin. Our team votes for The Poet X.

At first I did not enjoy the format of this book, but soon realized how this could be used with some of my struggling readers. I have found it difficult to find low-vocab/high-interest books for my jr high students, and feel this novel is something my struggling readers might enjoy. Even though some text was written in a foreign language (Spanish?), the story was interesting and kept my attention. Coming from a family of immigrants, I found I could relate to the overly-restrictive nature of the main character's upbringing. (Karen)

Children of Blood and Bone

Feeling rather embarrassed that I didn’t love this!

After various raves and reviews about this novel, I was excited to read it. The title, the novel cover and the reviews all appeal to the excitement that one would hope for in the plot. The summary leads you to think it’ll be a great read, but yet, I only made it to page 30. I’m relieved I didn’t make it any further after hearing my team and their reviews!

Nellie Carlson voted against this one and quoting the email I received “ Blood and Bone was dark and generally not a genre that we enjoyed.”

I agree as does Rachel, as the length is the first deterrent, although I’d teach students not to judge a book this way, I found very little in the first few pages that made me want to persevere. The main character (can’t even recall her name) might have won me over by her rebellious ways but it just didn’t hook me. I’m going to put it down to the genre, I have a hard time with the fantasy genre!

This book was not at all what I thought it would be. The main character's over use of sarcasm left me feeling less than sympathetic. I found the whole book to be dark and not enjoyable to read. (Karen)