Nanowrimo Frenzy!

I am so excited about nanowrimo this year and the novel just waiting to come out of me.

I will have this post at the top of the page throughout the month and will update each day with a running total of my word count, hopefully leading to the end goal of 50,000 words! (or more)

Underneath this post will be a chronicle of the path of my story as often as I get a chance to update. Lord willing, I will try and post each day. This will help get my juices flowing and perhaps help me work out all of the nasty kinks that keep me from flowing as fast as they should be in order to reach my goal.

So... the count begins...

Day One: 1676 words 8:59PM goal met
Day Two: 3789 words 9:00PM goal met
Day Three: 6195 words 8:56PM goal met and a little extra
Day Four: nothing... election day
Day Five: 8368 words 8:45PM goal met for days four and five
Day Six: 10109 words 9:21PM goal met with extreme difficulty
Day Seven: 11857 words 9:15PM goal met
Day Eight: 13758 words 9:28PM goal met
Day Nine: 15547 words 9:32PM goal met
Day Ten: 17362 words 8:54PM goal met
Day Eleven: 19177 words 8:43PM goal met
Day Twelve: 21207 words 8:22PM goal met
Day Thirteen: 23043 words 8:17PM goal met
Day Fourteen: 24732 words 9:44PM goal met even though I left my plot at home :D
Day Fifteen: 26492 words 8:24PM goal met
Day Sixteen: 28171 words 8:05PM goal met
Day Seventeen: 30139 words 7:50PM goal met
Day Eighteen: 32171 words 7:05PM goal met
Day Nineteen: 34010 words 4:48PM goal met
Day Twenty: 36029 words 5:18PM goal met
Day Twenty-one: 38038 words 6:20PM goal met
Day Twenty-two: 40102 words 3:27PM goal met
Day Twenty-three: 42171 words 4:30PM goal met
Day Twenty-four: 44565 words 5:20PM goal met

On Backwater by Joan Bauer

I think I have found a new favorite author.

Bauer enchants with this novel. I have to admit though that I felt an extra affinity for the main character, Ivy, because of her ardent love of history. Ivy loves history even more than I do and with a dedication that I would love to have.

Ivy Breedlove, a lover of history in a family of lawyers, attempts to create a family history for the birthday of a beloved aunt. She battles the expectations of her entire family that all Breedloves should become lawyers as well as an aunt who hold much for being efficient at the sake of preserving history. In addition Ivy is determined to find out what happened to her father's sister, Josephine, another "misfit" in the Breedlove family.

This is an amazing book. I love Bauer's clever wit and all of her beautiful imagery and definitely recommend this book!

On... Hope was Here by Joan Bauer

What a beautiful book!

Hope, the main character, lives with her aunt after having been given up by her mother. Hope's aunt, Addie, works as a short order cook and often moves around to help struggling businesses.

Every time Addie and Hope leave a place Hope writes the three words "Hope was here" in a place where it would last for a long time. Hope also keeps a scrapbook of her life divided into sections for each city that she has lived in with the hope of showing her father when she finds him.

While Hope thinks that Addie has made a major mistake when she moves the duo to a small town in Wisconsin it is here that Hope truly finds a home and her father, the one she had really been creating that scrapbook for all of those years.

When Hope writes "Hope was here" at the end of the book she writes the phrase with the knowledge that she will be coming back and that she has a home.

I absolutely love this book!

On... Hitch by Jeanette Ingold

I absolutely loved this book.

In Hitch Ingold describes the journey of Moss Trawnley in becoming a man during the middle of the Great Depression. Moss deals with a father who struggles with alcoholism and commitment issues of his own before joining up with the CCC Civilian Conservation Corps one of the alphabet soup organizations created during the New Deal.

Though as a fiscal conservative sometimes I cringe at how Roosevelt drastically increased the size and scope of government in order to pull the country out of the Great Depression (think Social Security for one) I actually admire efforts like the CCC which put men to work, thus decreasing unemployment, and at the same time helped hardworking Americans like farmers to conserve and protect land devastated by drought.

Though Moss at 17 is a bit older than my future middle school students and thus struggles with issues that might not affect my students I definitely recommend this book. Applications definitely could be extracted for the current financial crisis among other things.

On... Traitor: The case of Benedict Arnold

I had to double check on this book when I started reading because I assumed, rightly as it turned out, that this book is a children's book. This book does not read like any children's history book that I have ever read.

I enjoyed the book, do not get me wrong. I actually learned a lot about the man known as probably the greatest traitor in American history, though technically I do not think he actually was such.

The book is well written and most probably aimed at an upper middle school age child or underclassman student in high school. The average student though would not pick up this book unless extremely motivated or simply a history buff like myself.

I recommend the book although the cover disturbed me just a bit when I realized what it depicted.

On... The Living Stone by Jane Orcutt

I approached this book with bittersweet anticipation. For many years Jane Orcutt has been one of my favorite authors specifically because of two of her books The Fugitive Heart and The Hidden Heart which I have read many times. Just a few months ago Orcutt lost her battle to cancer.

I enjoyed this book and have a hard time criticizing it for the above reason. At the same time I do not agree completely with how Orcutt dealt with some serious issues. I guess that on different theological points I differ with Orcutt but not on the fundamentals of the faith.

Both Leah and Jacobo are complex and believable characters. I felt for Leah as she struggled with the death of her husband and son and all of the different ways that suffering can affect a family. Because of circumstances going on in my own family I understand how suffering can be perceived in different ways and how just because one person's loss may look on the surface to be more traumatic than the other that does not diminish either suffering.

I definitely recommend the book.

On... Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher by Jim Arnosky

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have no idea how this book made it on my to be read list but I'm glad it did.

Arnosky, a wildlife watcher, wrote a simple guide to wildlife for children complete with cute illustrations. I guess the text appealed to the nerd in me, the science lover in me but at the same time Arnosky wrote in a very "cute" style (for lack of a better word).

I definitely recommend this book!

On... The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm

I sit down to write this review not knowing whether I think positively about this book or hesitantly (notice that I did not say negatively).

Having spent two months with beautiful little seventh graders I think that Wilhelm did an admirable job at portraying life in middle school from a kid's point of view. I do think that all of the adult characters seemed out of touch or downright authoritarian but perhaps that was because Wilhelm did such a good job at writing from the kid's point of view.

Wilhelm's style made me want to keep reading even when I was thrown out by some pretty blatant profanity thrown in. To be perfectly honest I find such profanity offensive especially when used, albeit like it is in a middle school, so casually. Growing up none of the authors of the books I read resorted to sprinkling in and occasional curse word or two. Even one of my favorite secular authors, Mary Higgens Clark, rarely uses profanity in her novels and those are written for adults.

Although the profanity (around 10 words but 10 too many in my opinion) is the only negative I have about the book its use makes me hesitate to recommend the book. I would not assign this book to my students. There are better books out there.

On... The Washing of the Spears by Donald Morris

I give a warning at the beginning. This is a book for history nerds only. :D

While this book took me quite some time to read (because of the enormous length--614 pages--and because of Election Day interruptions) I enjoyed the book.

At the same time it was quite a chore to read. The only reason that the book seemed to make sense to me was because I took a class on the history of Africa and watched a video of the battle that took nearly three hundred pages to recount... or at least I think it took that length.

I found myself confused as the chapters progressed and Morris sort of backtracked when he switched to a new chapter to tell about another flank or division of the British army. I apologize if I confuse anyone. I myself found myself confused by this.

In addition, the small print and large paragraphs also made the book more difficult to read through my normal method. (I tend to in depth skim :D)

I do recommend the book for anyone interested in African history, specifically South African history. I find it intriguing to consider that the province with the highest AIDS infection rate in South Africa (or pretty close to the top) is KwaZuluNatal... or the Zululand of this book.
Unless you have a history fascination or the above mentioned fascination I do not recommend the book unless you need material to fall asleep to.

On... The Great Bridge by David McCullough

I love every book that I read of David McCullough. He crafts history in such a way that makes me want to read about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge or the Panama Canal. This book focused on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

McCullough's language creates such vivid pictures that I could easily imagine how it felt and what it looked like when I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge six years ago.

Even though I did not completely understand the technical details of the sinking of the caissons and other engineering details I found myself completely fascinated by the details and taking a deep gasp of breath as McCullough described a fire underwater in the caisson that nearly derailed the entire project.

At the same time I must warn that this book is not for the faint of heart. At 562 pages it makes for a formidable challenge for even the avid reader.

I definitely recommend this book for the lover of history and good reading, with the above caveat.

On... Shattered Justice by Karen Ball

I have to admit that I accidentally read the second book in the series first so I knew the outcome of the story at the outset.

While Ball creates a compelling story with moving characters I think that the time span of the story makes it a bit unbelievable. For instance, Ball starts the story when Dan was married to his first wife Sarah and sets up the "perfect family" situation. That in itself necessitates an added two years to the time line.

Other than that I loved the book and felt for the characters. I almost didn't want the story to end and know that I would have felt that way had I not known the ultimate outcome for the characters.

I definitely recommend this book and this series.

On... Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

I added this book to my list over a year ago after hearing good reviews of the book from girls I worked with at camp. Every girl that read the book raved about it.

I have to say that I will not rave about the book. The book is not bad. Don't get me wrong. Miller creates amazing word pictures as he describes his memories of the past in relation to his relationship to God.

I guess what threw me off the most was his seeming lack of passion about his relationship to God. In my own relationship with God I cannot imagine a lack of passion. I believe that any Christian should be passionate about that.

Blue Like Jazz is a good book on artistic/literary measures but I would not recommend it based on devotional merit.

On... The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney

I found this book intriguing but at the same time came away from the book a bit dissatisfied.

I'll discuss some of the negatives first. I don't think that this book is appropriate for most children at the middle school level. There is nothing inappropriate or gratuitous in the book but Cooney describes with a coolness almost the dispatching of various prisoners on the march. Of course I realize that such actions actually occurred on that march/capture. I don't want students to be unaware of what happened but I think that some aspects of history should be discussed at later ages.

Now for the positives. Cooney deals with a lot of serious issues with admirable ease. In Mercy Carter she creates a believable and likeable character that struggles with very real issues.

The book is an excellent book, a pretty good read.

On... Randall's Wall by Carol Fenner

This book made it onto my list when I added all of the recommended summer reading books for middle school students in my district. I knew nothing about the book before I started reading.

Fenner's style appealed to me in an unusual way. She tells the story from several different points of view, most from Randall of course. Normally a technique like that turns me off of the book. In this case, Fenner made it work. It's almost as if Fenner holds the plot like a rope and lets out necessary information only at crucial points.

Randall's wall, figurative though it may be, struck me in such a profound way. As a teacher in training I have to be willing to look past what might not be appealing in the first place (or at all for that matter) in order to reach the student.

I can't tell much more than that without giving away the book but I do strongly recommend this book.

On... Bachelor's Puzzle by Judith Pella

Each new book by Judith Pella that I read disappoints me even more. Pella used to be one of my favorite authors. To this day I adore the Stonewyke books, the Russians series and a more recent series (the name of which escapes me).

In the past couple years I have read three of her other books, including this one, and found myself questioning why I like the above mentioned series so much.

From the beginning of the book I could predict the final outcome. Of course, a few of the details I wouldn't have been able to predict but the final outcome, yes. This decreases my motivation to read the book and my overall interest in the book. In addition, Pella succumbs to the all too prevalent tactic usesd by many Christian authors, preaching through the character's mouth.

In my own opinion I do not think that sermons from a pulpit should be included either complete or in parts. When one of the main characters, Zack, in this story impersonates a pastor I knew that I would be subjected to at least one or two. Pella did not disappoint in that respect.

In addition, the change in the main character, Zack, did not convince me at all. Simply because he stopped living the "profligate" life he had before and started impersonating a preacher he discovered the wrong doing of his previous life. Also, the evil things were clearly evil. For instance, "shut up" was a heinous swear word.

I do not recommend this book.

On... Familiy and Found by Karen Kingsbury

Part of me wishes that I could respect Karen Kingsbury more than I do. At one point I collected her books avidly because I enjoyed them so much. Kingsbury writes with great skill and creates very believable, sympathetic characters.

However, a few years ago I read an article where she was interviewed about a recent book that did not mention God at all. Now, I do not believe that Christians are limited to writing only for the Christian market. I do believe, though, that a person cannot write from any perspective or world view other than that of a Christian. In the article, and I wish I could remember her exact words, Kingsbury basicly stated that it did not matter if she did not mention God because as long as she included some sort of love that would be alright because God is a God of love.

I agree. God definitely is a God of love and a Christian is not forced to mention God or preach a sermon in his or her books but at the same time I disagree with Kingsbury's mindset behind her writing.

For that reason I sold all of my Kingsbury books and will not buy any more.

On the other hand, I still enjoy reading the books and returned to Kingsbury with Forgiven, the second in her Firstborn series. Family and Found are the third and fourth books in the series.

I really enjoyed the book. Kingsbury crafted fully believeable characters that make me want to read both the first series that chronicled the Baxter family and the series that comes after the Firstborn series.

For the above stated reasons I cannot recommend these books but on the basis of writing alone I can recommend the books. If you disagree with me about the above than I can give you a strong recommendation for these books.

On... Fall into Reading

I'm doing it again, although this time with a smaller list than normal.

Without further ado... here is my list

Found by Karen Kingsbury (09/26/08)
Family by Karen Kingsbury (09/27/08)
Bachelor's Puzzle by Judith Pella (09/30/08)
Death's Door by Betsy Byars (10/05/08)
Disappearing Acts by Betsy Byars (10/10/08)
Randall's Wall by Carol Fenner (10/04/08)
The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney (10/11/08)
Shattered Justice by Karen Ball (10/25/08)
The Great Bridge by David McCullough (10/28/08)
Blue Like Jazz by Donald R. Morris (10/18/08)
The Washing of the Spears by Donald R. Morris (11/06/08)
The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm (11/07/08)
Ice Story: Shackleton's Lost Expedition by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (11/19/08)
The Living Stone by Jane Orcutt (11/08/08)
Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold by Jean Fritz (11/14/08)
Hitch by Jeanette Ingold (11/17/08)
Secrets of a Wildlife Watcher by Jim Arnosky (11/07/08)
My Face to the Wind by Jim Murphy (11/02/08)
Hope was Here by Joan Bauer (11/18/08)
Backwater by Joan Bauer (11/21/08)
The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon (12/04/08)
A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon (11/25/08)
A Place to Belong by Joan Lowery Nixon (11/24/08)
Circle of Love by Joan Lowery Nixon (12/03/08)
A Dangerous Promise by Joan Lowery Nixon (11/29/08)
In the Face of Danger by Joan Lowery Nixon (12/01/08)
David's Search by Joan Lowery Nixon (12/02/08)
Nobody's There by Joan Lowery Nixon (12/05/08)
Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (12/11/08)
Last Shot by John Feinstein (12/10/08)
A Separate Peace by John Knowles (12/09/08)

Books added after the contest started
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (12/09/08)
What Jesus Demands from the World by John Piper (12/09/08)
Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal by J. K. Rowling (12/10/08)
Social Studies in the 21st Century by Jack Zevin (12/12/08)
My Heart is on the Ground by Ann Rinaldi (12/12/08)
Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler (12/15/08)
A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann (12/16/08)
We Are Patriots by Kristiana Gregory (12/20/08)
The Edge of Recall by Kristen Heitzmann (12/20/08)
Little Wizard Stories of Oz by Frank L. Baum (12/20/08)

Summer Reading Thing Wrap up

Posted below is my updated list for the books that I read as part of this challenge. I definitely read more than I thought I would be able to during the majority of the challenge although I had to slow down once my practicum started in August.

I have to say that the author I discovered and loved the most is Cornelia Funke. I absolutely fell in love with her Inkheart trilogy and cannot wait for the third book to come out.

The most disappointing find out of all the books I read was David Almond. All of his books were so focused on death and darkness that they depressed me. I cannot imagine assigning any of those books to young adults.



Chicken Boy by Frances O'Roark Dowell (06/20/08)
Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen (06/21/08)
Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen (06/22/08)
Tucket's Ride by Gary Paulsen (06/22/08)
Call Me Francis Tucket by Gary Paulsen (06/22/08)
Tucket's Gold by Gary Paulsen (06/22/08)
Tucket's Home by Gary Paulsen (06/22/08)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (06/24/08)
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (06/26/08)
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood (06/26/08)
Shakespeare's Spy by Gary Blackwood (06/27/08)
Shakespeare's Scribe by Gary Blackwood (06/29/08)
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (06/29/08)
It's My Life by Melody Carlson (06/25/08)
Who I Am by Melody Carlson (07/04/08)
On My Own by Melody Carlson (07/10/08)
I Do by Melody Carlson (07/26/08)
My Name is Chloe by Melody Carlson (07/15/08)
Sold Out by Melody Carlson (07/21/08)
Road Trip by Melody Carlson (07/25/08)
Face the Music by Melody Carlson (07/26/08)
Just Ask by Melody Carlson (07/27/08)
Meant to Be by Melody Carlson (07/28/08)
Falling Up by Melody Carlson (07/28/08)
That was Then... by Melody Carlson (07/29/08)
Middlemarch by George Eliot (08/07/08)
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury (06/29/08)
What-the-Dickens by Gregory Maguire (07/06/08)
Fair Warning by Hannah Alexander (06/30/08)
Grave Risk by Hannah Alexander (06/30/08)
Note of Peril by Hannah Alexander (07/01/08)
Necessary Measures by Hannah Alexander (07/01/08)
A Boy at War by Harry Mazer (06/29/08)
Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau (07/06/08)
J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter (06/30/08)
The Smugglers by Iain Lawrence (07/11/08)
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (07/09/08)
The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce by Ann Rinaldi (07/08/08)
King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild (07/19/08)
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson (07/15/08)
Lady of Palenque by Anna Kirwan (07/24/08)
Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia by Anna Kirwan (07/25/08)
A Corner of the Universe by Ann Martin (07/10/08)
Lord Kirkle's Money by Avi (07/15/08)
Mick Harte was here by Barbara Park (07/07/08)
Elisabeth: The Princess Bride by Barry Denenberg (07/12/08)
The Journal of William Thomas Emerson by Barry Denenberg (07/20/08)
So Far from Home by Barry Denenberg (07/16/08)
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen (07/12/08)
A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner (07/20/08)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (07/20/08)
A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary (07/21/08)
Voyage of Slaves by Brian Jacques (07/22/08)
Night Hoops by Carl Deuker (07/22/08)
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (07/06/08)
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke (07/13/08)
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (07/23/08)


Books Added after the Beginning of the Challenge
The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung by Laurence Yep (07/01/08)
Survival in the Storm by Katelyn Janke (07/05/08)
The Journal of Douglas Allan Deeds by Rodman Philbrick (07/05/08)
Standing in the Light by Mary Pope Osborne (07/05/08)
The Escape From Home by Avi (07/14/08)
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (07/24/08)
Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis (07/27/08)
Perelandra by C. S. Lewis (07/29/08)
That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis (07/31/08)
Five Smooth Stones by Kristiana Gregory (07/31/08)
The Journal of Sean Sullivan by William Durbin (08/01/08)
Westward to Home by Patricia Hermes (08/01/08)
A Perfect Place by Patricia Hermes (08/02/08)
Valley of the Moon by Sherry Garland (08/02/08)
The Journal of Otto PeItonen by William Durbin (08/02/08)
The Dark Stairs by Betsy Byars (08/03/08)
Dead Letter by Betsy Byars (08/03/08)
King of Murder by Betsy Byars (08/04/08)
The Black Tower by Betsy Byars (08/04/08)
Skellig by David Almond (08/05/08)
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli (08/05/08)
Kit's Wilderness by David Almond (08/06/08)
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (08/06/08)
Silent to the Bone by E. L. Konisburg (08/07/08)
The Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare (08/07/08)
The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander (08/08/08)
Airman by Eoin Colfer (08/08/08)
The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker by Cynthia DeFelice (08/09/08)
Shen of the Sea by Arther Bowie Chrisman (08/10/08)
Dreamers by Angela Hunt (08/10/08)
Brothers by Angela Hunt (08/11/08)
The Immortal by Angela Hunt (08/11/08)
Roanoke by Angela Hunt (08/12/08)
Jamestown by Angela Hunt (08/12/08)
Hartford by Angela Hunt (08/13/08)
Rehoboth by Angela Hunt (08/14/08)
Punished! by David Lubar (08/15/08)
From Rage to Hope by Crystal Kuykendall (08/15/08)
Freedom Train by Dorothy Sterling (08/16/08)
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (08/16/08)
The Hollow by Agatha Christie (08/17/08)
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (08/19/08)
On the Far Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (08/20/08)
Heaven Eyes by David Almond (08/23/08)
Secret Heart by David Almond (08/24/08)
Kaiulani: The People's Princess by Ellen Emerson White (08/24/08)
Meet Me in the Middle by Rick Wormeli (08/24/08)
The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges (08/24/08)
Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper (08/26/08)
In Darkness, Death by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (08/28/08)
Kaleidoscope Eyes by Karen Ball (08/31/08)
Silent Star by Tracie Peterson (09/06/08)
Beloved Stranger by Judith Pella (09/06/08)
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper (09/06/08)
When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper (09/10/08)
Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones (09/13/08)
The Innocent Libertine by T. Davis and Isabella Bunn (09/13/08)
The Night Angel by T. Davis and Isabella Bunn (09/18/08)
A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson (09/20/08)

On... Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

I approached this book with great enthusiasm. Something about the cover definitely appealed to me and I had had a decent exposure to Levine the first time around with Ella Enchanted even though I do like the movie better than the book.

Thankfully, even though this is placed in the same world as Ella Enchanted the book does not have a movie to compete with. I would have liked to see the "ugly" version of the main character, Aza, because the cover image does not portray what Levine's words describe.

Fairest is yet another book written for young girls about beauty being internal, not external. As much as this topic has been trumpeted and touted Levine creates a story that does not seem trite or cliche. The topic is important, so finding another new way to tell the story is an admirable goal.

I recommend the book, good reading.

On... Punished! by David Lubar

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book after a disappointing initial exposure to Lubar through Hidden Talents. I'm actually quite thankful for the disappointing exposure because it lowered my expectations and made it much easier for Punished! to easily surpass them.

Lubar creates a witty little tale full of fun literary devices. The main character, Logan, after running in the library and getting a face full of magical dust, must complete three missions, all of them missions to "capture" in various methods things such as anagrams and palindromes, a fun way to teach children about those literary devices.

I definitely recommend this book.