false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255800004m/3432943.jpg 3432943 1 Ms. Beatrice Hempel, teacher of seventh grade, is new&#8212;new to teaching, new to the school, newly engaged, and newly bereft of her idiosyncratic father. Grappling awkwardly with her newness, she struggles to figure out what is expected of her in life and at work. Is it acceptable to introduce swear words into the English curriculum, enlist students to write their own report cards, or bring up personal experiences while teaching a sex-education class? </DIV><DIV> </DIV><DIV>Sarah Shun-lien Bynum finds characters at their most vulnerable, then explores those precarious moments in sharp, graceful prose. From this most innovative of young writers comes another journey down the rabbit hole to the wonderland of middle school, memory, daydreaming, and the extraordinary business of growing up. 3473940 8 9 2008 Ms. Hempel Chronicles total:386|5:61|4:112|3:154|2:41|1:18| 386 1315 728 157 2 3 false false Thu Jan 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 03:26:26 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 21:42:27 -0800 2009

Is it some kind of chick-lit thing? I mean, this book shows up on various "best of" lists for last year, so I figured it must be worthwhile. Righ...more...]]> 1 1 false false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 09:48:57 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 11:10:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Dec 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 06:03:10 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 06:25:36 -0800 2008
Ms. Hempel appears to us in a series of short stories from different parts of her life, mostly as a young 7th grade teacher full of contradictions - poised to enrich the lives of hundr...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 09:28:42 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 09:31:11 -0800 2009 5 1 false false Wed Feb 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 10:06:08 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 11:04:11 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 12:49:00 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 12:55:56 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Dec 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 18 13:21:07 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 13:21:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 22:38:05 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 22:07:33 -0700 2009
Overall, this book captured the beauty and melancholy of middle school kids and their young, rookie teacher. I highly recommend the collecti...more...]]> 4 0 false true Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 06:11:58 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 14:09:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jan 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 13:45:28 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 07:13:42 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Nov 11 17:17:42 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 17:19:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jul 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:01:20 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 06:51:30 -0700 2009
That may be due to the fact that I read 3/4 of the book without realizing these were individual short stories and not chapters. In fact, I only discovered my error when I went back online to...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 30 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 07:26:26 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 10:41:39 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 10:52:38 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 24 15:26:28 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 12:55:10 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 13:26:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 18:56:28 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 06:49:55 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 12:54:42 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 13:05:43 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 01 13:41:40 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 12:15:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 19:15:42 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 19:25:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Dec 28 14:43:25 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 07 07:02:20 -0800 2009
I read a part of ...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3432943