Stephenie’s Comments (group member since May 17, 2014)

Stephenie’s comments from the Mrs. Eriksson's Summer Reading Challenge 2015 group.

Every time I opened that book, I heard a calliope ---- doot doot do do do do doot doot doo doo ---- glad you enjoyed it! :)

OK! You are convincing me that I need to make the rest of the series a priority. ;) I have a few more books to read this summer, but maybe these will be some of the first I read when we head back to school.

Sounds like an important read. Have you ever read any of Patricia McCormick's books? Your review made me think of Cut by her. http://patriciamccormick.com/

This was required reading for the summer between my 8th grade year and freshman year. I hated it! LOL! I need to read it again because I'm sure I will have a new experience at this point in my life, and I may love it. I did love The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde by RLS when I read it my sophomore year.

Did you enjoy this book? Did you know Alan Eckert is an Ohio author and wrote the script for Tecumseh? I have some friends who love his Frontiersman books.

I keep seeing this title pop up. I need to check it out.

I agree with your review. I thought it was a decent book, but not one of my top favorites. I haven't read the sequel, and I'm not certain I have a burning desire to. If you haven't read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, I recommend it. It's similar in theme to If I Stay, but I liked it much better. It challenged me a bit. I did not like the main character in Before I Fall at first, and I don't think Lauren Oliver wants you to. There is a bit of 13 Reasons Why in Before I Fall as well. Enjoy your reading! :)

Jay Asher is a great guy. I heard him speak at a conference, and he shared that the book was inspired by his cousin who had attempted suicide years before. He wanted to write a book to address something that affected his family so profoundly. It is a powerful book.

So glad you enjoyed it! Our classics book club just had a great discussion about this one and another Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Afffair at Styles, which I have not yet read. Mysteries are such great summer reads! Do you think you'll read another by her?

I think I have now read all of the novels John Green has written on his own. I think I have one left on my list that he wrote with Maureen Johnson.

I liked An Abundance of Katherines, but I liked Papertowns better. Sometimes when I read too many books in a row by the same author, I get a bit disappointed. I'm too used to their style, and they get a bit predictable. I thought Colin in an Abundance of Katherines seemed a lot like Miles in Looking for Alaska and a lot like Quentin in Papertowns and a lot like straight Will Grayson in Will Grayson Will Grayson. Bottom line, I always imagine that the male main characters are actually John Green himself. This often cracks me up. I love his characters, and I'd be disappointed if they did not live up to my John Green expectations.

I do recommend An Abundance of Katherines. It was a great read. I found the female character, Lindsay to present the polar opposite perspective to Margo Roth Spiegelman in Papertowns. If you've read both Papertowns and An Abundance of Katherines, I'd love to hear what you think about these books. :)

I am ashamed to admit that this was the first time I have ever read Charlotte's Web. It was definitely a book I thought I knew because I had seen the animated movie so many times when I was a child. My son was a bit impatient with the book at times, especially the descriptive sections that I found so beautiful. Despite his impatience, he asked for me to read a chapter to him at a time. E.B. White is such an important figure in writing. He and William Strunk wrote The Elements of Style, which has been called one of the most influential books written in English since 1923. In the Elements of Style, Strunk and White explain how to use language effectively, and the book has been a staple in English classrooms since then. Charlotte's Web is a living testament to White's craft. We may look at passages as examples of style and craft in class. It is such a beautiful book!

I'm a bit behind in my updates here in the community, so today, I'm catching up. I mentioned earlier that I was taking classes at Miami University this summer. I am in my final week of the second class, and I'm surprised at how much I was able to read even while taking these classes.

I'm not a great audiobook listener.I prefer to listen to non-fiction over fiction, and I need a really great reader to hold my attention. I really enjoy listening to books when the author reads them, so I enjoyed both Bossypants by Tina Fey and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kahling


Both of these women share their experience in the world of comedy and television. Tina Fey and I are close to the same age, so it was really interesting to hear her talk about growing up, struggling to make it in show business, and how she gained the respect of so many famous male comedians. Her life story is funny and fascinating. I also really related to her as a working mother. I also must include a warning here. Tina Fey's intended audience is adults. She talks about issues of sex and sexuality and her language is not censored. Just a warning before you would pick it up and find it offensive.

I didn't enjoy Mindy Kaling's book as much as I enjoyed Tina Fey's, but I did appreciate Mindy's story. She tells her story of being an overweight, Indian-American and the personal struggles she faced. She does this with her trademark humor. Mindy was also a writer on The Office and is currently writing and starring in her own TV series The Mindy Project. Like Tina Fey, she shares a lot of insight into the world of television production and what it takes to for the underdog to make it. Also like Tina, Mindy Kaling's intended audience is adults, so she discusses issues and uses language some may find offensive.

Eleanor & Park is my favorite. :)

I loved Attachments. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorites at the moment. Have you read Eleanor & Park? Or Fan Girl? I have also just read Papertowns and An Abundance of Katherine's by John Green. You might like these too!

I'm taking two classes at Miami University in Oxford, and I am driving about three hours total each day, so I am listening to books on my drive. I just finished listening to The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It was a free audiobook; it was interesting; and I learned a lot, but I don't know if I would have finished it if I had it on my bedside table. If I would have read it, it would have been the kind of book that I would have dipped in and out of over the course of a few weeks or months. In the book, Gladwell explores how illnesses become epidemics and how other popularity surges, trends, etc. occur. He explains how the marketplace actually identifies people called mavens who are so connected with other people that they can cause a product's popularity to spike. It is a fascinating book, but a bit heady and deep for a summer read. :) We make look at a few passages from it in class this year because it really is well-written and interesting when taken in small doses. :)

I need to put this on my list. I've been fascinated by the Shakers since our visit to Shakertown. :)

I've just come home from vacation, and now I'm sitting in a classroom at Miami University to take a two week class on teaching research. Woo Hoo! I took a stack of books to the beach with me, and finished two and LOVED them both. I read Winger by Andrew Smith and Paper Towns by John Green. I do need to warn you that each of them contain quite a bit of language that some may find offensive, but the situations and characters are REAL and so relevant to high school students.

I think that Paper Towns is especially relevant to high school seniors. The main character Quentin and his friends are experiencing the exact types of emotions I see so many seniors experience as the year comes to a close. I hope none of you make the decisions they make, but I do think the book is very relevant.

Winger was also GREAT! My favorite novel of all time is The Catcher in the Rye, and Winger is so clearly a Catcher-type of novel - private prep school, student who is a bit of an outsider, guy who is desperate for a girl-friend. The language is a bit in your face if that is offensive to you, but the story and situations are once again so spot on the experiences of teens.

Enjoy your reading! :)

I love that this book meant so much to you! I agree with Mrs. Lovin. I think you would enjoy any books by John Green or Rainbow Rowell. I just finished Papertowns by John Green and LOVED it! I think it is the perfect book for senior year. :) Do you think you will go see the movie? I'm not sure when I will make it out to the theater, but I would love to see it.

I thought you would love it! :)

Fan girls is really good if you can find a copy! ;)