Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is phenomenal! It was fabulous the first time I read it when I was in my 20's; however as a mom and a professional school counselor my current reading of it as much more personal and darker! While I still identified with Melinda, I found myself increasingly angry with the adults in this book! I kept having WTF moments (truly there is no problem nicer way to say it)! The adults in this novel are so self involved and while not privy to their struggles, I cannot fathom why they did not at least try and assist her or push her parent any more than they did.

The other lesson I learned from this book was deeply professional. I found myself reviewing my students, past and present and hoping that I have not missed something this obvious. Yes it is obvious, a child whose grades drops, has no problem fiends, stops speaking and skips class, as well as looks awful, there is a problem. A serious one! As a counselor it is my job to watch kids, and pick up these things, now while I may be limited in my ability to solve it or even get the student to tell me the problem, I do have resources, and this is what bothers me the most! I refer kids out call parents and continually push them! I watch out for the kids even if they do not know and I try to be trusted and helping adult not disciplinarian, that is the teacher and administrations role! Also, it is my job to tell parents they need to do more, I am the child's advocate!

Finally, on a personal noteI would like to say I recommend and read this book with my 11 year old /6th grader. I did get flack about this choice, again making me crazy. Kids talk about a lot of things but if we put information in their hand encourage them to read this and talk about it, we give them power over their lives! Also, as an adult I see it with a darker more experienced view than my daughter does, but she too, hopes she never has a friend so depressed and one that no one realizes is so depressed. It is a great read but very emotional. I cannot reccomend it highly enough!, I It is dark and some parts were hard for my Katie but in the end she loved it!

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After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman

Triggered: A memoir of OCD Review- Condescending, Prentious and adolescent all at the same time.....

Triggered: A Memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Fletcher Wortmann
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

First let me say that his descriptions of OCD disorder are spot on for anyone who has suffered with it or lived with someone who suffers from it. I really saw a lot of points in this book for those who suffer from OCD or even other serious and life interfering mental health issues. However the draw back for me was his tone. I could not connect with him as a person, I felt a lot of narccism seeping through and found his tone to be both pretentious and elitest at times. This is not to say that he did not bare his soul, I just really felt like he was talking down to the reader. Perhaps it was the fact of his youth when writing this a proviliged upbringing? I am not sure whatever it was I did not feel sympathetic to him but I did to his illness and struggles, if this makes sense?

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Critical Mass by Sara Paretsky

Critical Mass by Sara Paretsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book! I had not realized the beauty that lies in physics and math until a few years ago! Like the author, I am not a physics major but the book and ideas are written for the lay person! Additionally, the book, is at its essence a beautifully written mystery filled with a realistic and at times somber portrayal of the weaknesses of humans. This is a mystery with well developed characters and intriguing plot points. For those who enjoy mysteries, history (especially world war 2), have an interest in keeping alive the knowledge iof the horror of that was/ is the Holocaust, or those who just want to read an extremely well written novel; you cannot go wrong with "Critical Mass".


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