2014 HUB Reading Challenge – Day One

I was hoping the post  for the 2014 HUB Reading Challenge would be ready this morning. But it is not.  If you want details, for now, you can get them here.

I get to spend most of the next three days doing ELPA testing. That’s the English Language Proficiency  Assessment for kids who qualify for ESL services. We now call them ELLs (English Language Learners) or ELD (English Language Development) students because education loves acronyms.

It is a funny test because there is a speaking component, so the room is mostly quiet, until they get to the speaking parts. They are hesitant at first because they worry others can hear them.

There is quite a bit of downtime as I proctor the test, so I’m bringing along my first HUB book.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children  by Kirstin Cronin-Wills.

Here’s the Booklist  summary:

Gabe has a secret. He is really Liz. Born a female, he is cautiously beginning his transition to male. Only his parents and his lifelong best friend, Paige, know. But when a girl at school, where he is callously called “that lesbo chick,” discovers the truth and outs Gabe, things become difficult, if not downright dangerous. In the meantime, Gabe is a part-time DJ on the local community radio station, where his show, “Beautiful Music for Ugly Children,” is fast becoming an underground hit. Will his fans reject him when they, too, discover the truth? What, as Gabe thinks in difficult circumstances, would Elvis do? Obviously, there are nuggets of humor in an otherwise serious story. Cronn-Mills’ thoughtful book joins a small but growing body of literature that gives faces to this traditionally invisible minority. Despite a few incidents that require a willing suspension of disbelief, the story is a model of integrity, and Gabe is an always appealing character. Grades 9-12.

I chose this one for today because it is a small paperback that I can easily carry with me to & from the computer lab.  I’m excited to read it and hoe I get a little time to do so.

UPDATE:  The post is up now. You can join in the fun at THIS LINK.