Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

This is another book that I use in my classroom. My 10th-grade students enjoy this story. I've read this book a few times, and I enjoy it more every time I read it. Warriors Don't Cry  by Melba Patillo Beals tells the true story of her experience integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Melba was a normal teenage girl. She had friends, went to class, got good grades. She had a tight-knit family at home. Her life was forever changed when she put her name down on a list of students to possibly integrate Central High School. Melba went from a normal school to what she describes as a battlefield. She had to be escorted to every class by a soldier from the U.S. military, she had to watch every corner and staircase, she was beaten, spit upon, and yelled at, and even had segregationists calling her home to try and scare her out of going to school. This book is another narrative that is particularly sensitive in the current climate of racial tensions. I also think this

 I love Elizabeth Wein and Code Name Verity (see my post here ). Since reading Verity , I discovered that there are more books in the series, and while not completely related (you can read them in any order), I've been excited to read them all. Rose Under Fire has been on my tbr list for AGES, and I finally got around to it. Rose Under Fire  by Elizabeth Wein shines a light on the darkness of Ravensbruck, the Nazi prison camp for political prisoners (at least at first). Rose Justice was an American who went to Britain to help with the war effort. While there, she met Maddie (one of the perspectives of Code Name Verity ), a pilot for the civilian ATA. After a ferry trip over France, Rose is intercepted by Nazi fighters and is forced to fly deep into Germany. Once there, she's sent to Ravensbruck, the infamous work camp for political prisoners. Wein spares no details in showing the horrific conditions of prisoners in the camp. What will happen to Rose and her friends, the Rabbits

 This was yet another book club read. This is not usually my first choice in books to pick up. The Husband's Secret  is a gripping tale of lies and intrigue. Cecilia is an extremely successful woman. She has the absolute perfect life: three girls who light her life, an adoring if forgetful husband, she's amazing at selling Tupperware, and she even is the PTA president at her school. Tess thought she was happily married to Will, before Will tells her that he's in love with her cousin and basically best friend Felicity. Tess uproots her son and moves back to Sydney to live with her mother at the revelation. Rachel works at the same school Cecilia's girls (and now Tess's son) go to: St. Angela's. Rachel is the secretary and basically keeps the place afloat. Rachel's daughter was murdered twenty years ago, and she has no idea who did it, but she certainly suspects Connor Whitby the school's P.E. teacher. These women's lives are intricately linked by one

 This is a book that I read for the first time around four years ago when I first started teaching. This novel is one that I have loved ever since then. The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak takes place in World War II in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger is not quite an orphan, but she is placed in foster care because her mother can't provide for her. Liesel goes to live with Rosa and Hans Hubermann, and they completely change Liesel's life. On her way to the Hubermann's, Liesel's younger brother dies on the train. In the graveyard where he was buried is where Liesel steals her first book: The Grave Digger's Handbook. Hans teaches her to read it, and inspires her love of the written word. The Hubermann's will then hide a Jew in their basement for a time. What will become of that hidden Jew? What will become of Liesel? What will become of Himmel Street, her friends, and her family in the wake of a violent and terrible war? This book is probably one of my all-time favorite

 I saw the limited series on Netflix. I was intimidated at first, because I don't know anything about chess except the very basic rules. But the show was extremely well done, and even though I didn't know the moves or anything about the matches, the show did an excellent job of explaining what was going on. My brother then gave me the novel the show is based off of for Christmas. I was excited to read it! Netflix's decision to make it into a miniseries was wise, in my opinion. It allowed them to adequately adapt the book to film, and it was fun to compare the two. The creators of the series definitely took some license with the novel, but in the end, I was really impressed with both works. The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis follows the orphan Elizabeth Harmon. Elizabeth starts out at an orphanage upon the death of her mother. While there, she is taught to play chess by the janitor while she's supposed to be in class. Around the time Beth turns thirteen, she is adopt