Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Circle Game

Today is my son's last day of middle school (sigh).  While he's more than ready for high school, I'm certainly not ready for him to be a high-school student.  Truth be told, I never really got over him starting nursery school.  Anyway, this summer (like all summers) he has a list of books to read, which he will have to write about when he gets into ninth-grade English:

Chasing Lincoln's Killer
Stuck on Earth
The Rock and the River
Swim the Fly
Watership Down: A Novel

Stuck on Earth, and The Rock and the River, both of which I've reviewed for my blog, and Chasing Lincoln's Killer are all good transitional books, but Swim the Fly and Watership Down are definitely high-school level.  Watership Down, which I'm currently reading, is a classic that has been taught in high school English classes since its publication in 1972.  (I don't know how it is that I have never read it until now, but better late.)  Although I will continue to review books for middle school readers, now that my son is entering high school and will be reading young adult books, I will occasionally make forays into young adult literature and review some of those books as well.

3 comments:

  1. I remember loving Watership Down in high school - so much so, that I probably wouldn't pick it up again now. I find it tragic when something I loved when I was young doesn't hold up with the passage of time. I'm not willing to risk it on this one. Are you enjoying it? -T

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  2. I'm not very far into it yet; I had a couple of "adult" books that I had to finish and send back to the library, but I'll let you know as soon as I get it read. In fact, I'll probably review it for the fruitcake files, unless I'm one of the rare people who doesn't like it.

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  3. I've noticed mid-year Newbery buzz for Okay for Now. Just FYI. -T

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