Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye and Ricki Ginsburg at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What are You Reading? weekly on their blogs. To see what others are reading and recommending each Monday, or to participate, be sure to head over to these blogs.
Tara Smith put The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin on my radar a few months ago, but I didn't get around to picking it up until last week. I'm so glad I did. (Warning: you will want to have time on your hands when you start this one because it's a little addicting.) Ali Benjamin does a fascinating job of moving between the past and present, as well as intertwining an almost informational component to the story, as the main character deals with grief by immersing herself in a study of jellyfish. There are so many important conversations that could come out of this book, as it tackles bullying, stereotyping, divorce, and perhaps most importantly, grieving. This book would be wonderful read aloud because of the engaging plot, but also because of the incredibly powerful scenes contained throughout the entire book. 
Pax by Sara Pennypacker has been a title that has come up over and over from other bloggers, as well as on my Amazon If you liked this, then you'll like this list. (How does Amazon always seem to know the books I want to read?) Like The Thing About Jellyfish, there are two stories to keep track of in Pax, a writing style that fascinates me as a writer. The stories of the fox and the boy alternate, and Sara Pennypacker is masterful at leaving readers with a critical situation. What important messages about peace and war exist in this text! At first I thought the depth of the story would have to do with the relationships between the main character and his father, as well as with the fox. However, as I continued to read, I realized that there were so many messages and themes around the complexities and damaging effects of war. It's an incredible book with hard-hitting, memorable scenes and interactions.
Happy Reading,
You have reviewed two of my favorite books!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about The Thing About Jellyfish. I read that one in one sitting! I was fascinated! Pax sounds amazing too. I will have to find it.
ReplyDeleteI have Pax, & need to read it soon. So many of you have fallen in love with it! I did enjoy The Thing About Jellyfish very much, & hope it keeps getting some notice this year, too. Thanks, Melanie.
ReplyDeleteOh, I think I have Jellyfish on my Kindle. From Edelweiss or Netgalley, maybe? I need to get to it if they gave me an EARC. Sounds so good! And Pax. <3 Sara Pennypacker so I need to read it, too.
ReplyDeleteTwo great reads, both powerful in their different ways.
ReplyDeleteTwo reads that sound amazing that I hope to get to soon! They are both in Scholastic book orders, so I am going to order them :)
ReplyDeleteHappy reading this week!