texts, chats, and blog posts

I love epistolary fiction.

I love letter writing and bemoan its extinction. I still have all the letters I sent to my parents when I was an exchange student in Denmark, They were wise enough to save them.

Epistolary fiction has evolved into  novels told entirely in texts, chats, and blog posts, like the book I just read:  Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson.

Goodreads Summary: Gena (short for Genevieve) and Finn (short for Stephanie) have little in common. Book-smart Gena is preparing to leave her posh boarding school for college; down-to-earth Finn is a twenty-something struggling to make ends meet in the big city. Gena’s romantic life is a series of reluctant one-night-stands; Finn is making a go of it with long-term boyfriend Charlie. But they share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a cult fan following. Gena is a darling of the fangirl scene, keeping a popular blog and writing fan fiction. Finn’s online life is a secret, even from Charlie. The pair spark an unlikely online friendship that deepens quickly (so quickly it scares them both), and as their individual “real” lives begin to fall apart, they increasingly seek shelter online, and with each other.

The format allows for a quick read and there is a twist I wasn’t expecting. I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.

They’re not gonna take it any more

Sometimes, things get too be too much and you just have to stop and say “no more”. Duncan’s crayons feel that way in  The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.

They are tired of being abused and want to stick it to the man. That man happens to be Duncan, who, according to the crayons, has unrealistic expectations of them.

Each page features a letter to Duncan from a particular color, outlining that color’s grievances, and an illustration proving their point. Here’s a sample from the green crayon:

I will admit that the copy I have on hold at the library has not yet arrived, so I read this, standing up in Powell’s. I laughed out loud and worried people noticed me.

This book has me thinking about all the ways you can use it n the classroom: letter writing, persuasive writing, humor, imagining  what another inanimate object might write…..OOOO imagine what a chair might say! Scandalous.

Definitely a must have. I think this is one I will add to my teacher read aloud book club for this year. It looks like it will be a “go” for 2013-14.