2015 Hub Reading Challenge Check-in #1

It was a busy week that saw me out almost every evening. UGH. So, I only finished one book for the Challenge. My goal during the 2015 Hub Reading Challenge is to read all the Alex Award winners, ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. Since I can count the books I read for the Morris/Nonfiction Challenge towards this challenge,reading the Alex list will get me to the 25 required to “complete” the challenge. Everything else after that is icing on the cake.

Confessions,  by Kanae Minato, is a book I really wouldn’t have read if not for the challenge. It is dark and shows the worst side of human nature. The prose seems simple and unadorned, but the story os very dark and twisted. It opens on the last day of school with a teacher proving a last lecture to her class, a class in which sit the two students responsible for her daughter’s murder. From there is spins out, explaining what happened, how the teacher takes her revenge, and the consequences of everyone’s actions. The story is narrated in different voices, each shedding more light on the events, adding new perspectives and horrifying the reader. It is not a horror story, just horrific to think people could treat each other so.

I am not a big reader of crime fiction, but if you enjoy it, this one is worth picking up.

Law & Order, Platypus Style

A really big struggle at my school, as at many, is finding good, age-approriate reading material for  8-11 year old boys. They are a fun, but challenging, demographic. When I find something I think they’ll really enjoy, I can’t help celebrating. And I am celebrating Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.

 

This is a super fun read. Written like an episode of Dragnet  or  Law & Order,  we meet new detective Rick Zengo. he is parked with the crusty veteran, Corey O’Malley. They are confronted by a series of mysteries, that seem to be connected: a missing professor, illegal fish, a community member who seems to be too good to be true. The book is fast paced and full of black & white illustrations.

Although they solve the crimes by the end, the book is left open for sequels. This is a nice transition book for kids who are ready for something a little more substantial, but are still too young for a lot at their reading level.