My reading habits have definitely changed in the last few years! College kind of killed off my love of reading for a while, but now that I'm teaching high school English, I've started reading more, and more often for pleasure. I'm going through the books I've read so far this year and posting some reviews of books.
First on my list is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read it for the first time with my students last December.
This classic novel follows Ebeneezer Scrooge through one insane night filled with ghosts. Mr. Scrooge is a stalwart Christmas hater. The descriptions of him at the beginning of the novel describe him as cold and almost uncaring. His partner, Jacob Marley, died before the events of the novel, but they are also a key to understanding what's happening. Marley was possibly more cold than Scrooge. Scrooge goes home on Christmas Eve after sending his assistant home and reluctantly giving him the next day off. After climbing into bed that night, the ghost of Jacob Marley visits Scrooge and explains that this is Scrooge's only chance to redeem himself. Scrooge then sees three ghosts who come and show him memories of Christmas in the past, in the present, and what will happen in the future if he doesn't change. Will these ghostly visits be enough to change a miserly old man's heart?
I loved A Christmas Carol. I loved Dickens' descriptions of the characters and how Scrooge was developed. Scrooge was carefully changed over the course of the novel, each more ghostly visit more impactful to him than the last. There's a reason this book was so popular when it was first published, but it hasn't faded from popularity. Even though it can be a little preachy, the message of this book is clear: Be the good in the world! Don't let your cruelty and selfishness follow you out of this life.
As I require of my students, I'm going to give a content rating and a star rating:
First on my list is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read it for the first time with my students last December.
This classic novel follows Ebeneezer Scrooge through one insane night filled with ghosts. Mr. Scrooge is a stalwart Christmas hater. The descriptions of him at the beginning of the novel describe him as cold and almost uncaring. His partner, Jacob Marley, died before the events of the novel, but they are also a key to understanding what's happening. Marley was possibly more cold than Scrooge. Scrooge goes home on Christmas Eve after sending his assistant home and reluctantly giving him the next day off. After climbing into bed that night, the ghost of Jacob Marley visits Scrooge and explains that this is Scrooge's only chance to redeem himself. Scrooge then sees three ghosts who come and show him memories of Christmas in the past, in the present, and what will happen in the future if he doesn't change. Will these ghostly visits be enough to change a miserly old man's heart?
I loved A Christmas Carol. I loved Dickens' descriptions of the characters and how Scrooge was developed. Scrooge was carefully changed over the course of the novel, each more ghostly visit more impactful to him than the last. There's a reason this book was so popular when it was first published, but it hasn't faded from popularity. Even though it can be a little preachy, the message of this book is clear: Be the good in the world! Don't let your cruelty and selfishness follow you out of this life.
As I require of my students, I'm going to give a content rating and a star rating:
- PG: Ghosts and supernatural events. No violence, no foul language, just some things that might spook some people.
- Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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