Without giving away too much, Where She Went by Gayle Forman is the follow up to If I Stay, the last book I talked about in my summer reading adventures. After staying up late and reading If I Stay in one night, I downloaded Where She Went to my Kindle the next morning and finished it in a few hours. The story picks up a few years after where its prequel left off. I don't want to spoil the ending of If I Stay, but just know that this book is told from the perspective of Adam. It further explores the story of Mia and Adam, adding new layers to their tale following Mia's accident, and exploring what it means to pursue your dreams when your dreams are inevitably changed forever. I definitely recommend this story. It's a fairly easy read that stays true to the love you develop for the characters in the first book.
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If I Stay by Gayle Forman was such an incredible book. I actually read it in one night, and then downloaded the sequel, Where She Went, and read it the next morning. In If I Stay, Gayle Forman tells the story of Mia, a talented cellist teenager who is in a horrific car accident that leaves her an orphan left in a coma. The entire story is told with Mia's soul (I guess?) floating around and seeing everyone she loves try to encourage her to either stay alive or join her family. I really loved this book and the characters Gayle Forman created. I felt like I was interacting with them as I read the story. This is definitely something you'll start reading and be unable to put down. Oh, and the movie adaptation of the first book comes out August 22nd. I'm probably going to go see it and bawl my eyes out. I totally cried while I was reading this book. The first book I read this summer off of my summer reading list was It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. (Trigger warning: this story-- and my review-- deal with depression and thoughts of suicide.)
The story is told through the perspective of Craig, a 15 year old boy who experiences depression and suicidal ideations. It discusses his stay in a psych ward in a matter-of-fact, almost hilarious way. I really enjoyed this book. I think you will too-- just be warned that it has a lot of emotional triggers, especially if you've interacted with depression or suicide before. I've gotten a few emails asking how to access the FHS summer reading lists. Here ya go! To access the Franklin summer reading:
1. Go to franklinboe.org 2. Click the "Students" page. 3. Click "Summer Reading/ English Supply List." 4. Click the appropriate summer reading list. (i.e. if you are going into 12th grade Honors, click Grade 12 Honors) To access my reading suggestions: Click the "Reading Suggestions" link at the top of this page! Happy reading, Warriors! If you know, or at the very least vaguely remember, the texts we've read this year, you'll be golden on the Final Exam. Here are some video summaries to help jog your memory! The Epic of Gilgamesh Oedipus A Doll's House Othello The Things They Carried In The Time of the Butterflies (Standard) No Exit (Honors) |
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April 2015
AuthorMs. Barbour is an 11th grade English and poetry teacher at Franklin High School in Somerset, New Jersey. Categories |