broken families – KZ Rochelle

Vlog Review: Biggie

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The Best Thing About this Book is Biggie’s little brother, Maddux. The eleven-year-old displays the best character. He’s helpful and reliable if naive. However, his role is minor so not enough to win me over to the book itself.

Premise: Biggie is fat. It’s why no one calls him by his given name anymore. It’s also what propelled him to want to disappear from everyone else’s radar so they don’t make fun of him. For two years of high school, he got out of PE without his mom knowing it. Not anymore. And in his first PE class, he pitches a perfect game of wiffle ball. The girl of his dreams makes a comment that he should play for the school team, so he sets out to pitch a perfect game for the school. First, of course, he has to make the team in his ploy to win the girl.

Rating: 2/5
Target: 8th-12th grade

Title: It’s his name and arguably his identity. The book begins with the story of how he got his nickname, so it’s fitting — and it is about him when you break it all down.

Main Character(s): Biggie aka Henry, 17 y/o (he/him)

Motifs (not exhaustive): obesity, dating, goals, high school relationships, cliques, bullying, teasing, baseball, perfection, anxiety, identity, athletics, broken families, step fathers, family dynamics, social media

Great for…* (readers): N/A

Great for…* (teachers): N/A

Parental Warning(s): Some cursing, crude reference to female body, sexual reference/innuendo

Interact: Does a negative review make you want to read a book more than a positive one?

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^{*The “Great for” category is not exhaustive and does not intend to neglect the multitude of readers/teachers who could learn from this book in any number of ways.}

RATINGS GUIDE

٭ = DNF, would not recommend
٭٭ = would not recommend
٭٭٭ = enjoyable, would recommend
٭٭٭٭ = very good, would recommend
٭٭٭٭٭ = amazing, would definitely recommend

Vlog Review: Bea is for Blended

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The Best Thing about this Book is the daily practice of sharing three things you’re grateful for in the morning (“three things”). _{Close second: M&Ms for breakfast}

Premise: Until her mother’s marriage changed Bea’s life, it was just her mom and her, the Embers girls (with fist bump). Marrying Wendell means a step-dad, step-brothers, step-pets, and, the reason for it all, a half-sibling. Now Bea is part of a blended family and all the chaos that comes with it.

Rating: 4/5
Target: 3-7

Title: I’ll say it. As a Lindsey Stoddard fan, I’ve been less than impressed with the titles of her books. “B” is for blended. It sounds lower grades elementary though the book is not (and, yes, it does relate to a moment in school referenced below in the interact section). Bea is her name. And the primary conflict is the adjustment into a blended family, so there you have it. I’ll see if I can wiggle my way into the Stoddard camp to amplify these titles.

Main Character(s): Bea, 6th grade (she/her)

Motifs (not exhaustive): family, teamwork, girl power, unity, change, friendship, communication, reading, bullying, strength/confidence, doing what’s right, gratitude, soccer, sports, blended families, broken families, equity

Great for…* (readers): who are part of blended families or moving to a new location, girls in general (though it’s not a girls-only book), athletes.

Great for…* (teachers): I’d love to do a character study on this one — where you work with shadow traits (the negative side of a positive trait) and then analyze shadow traits for yourself. OF COURSE, there is the concept of equity in sports and double standards of gender which could branch into many levels of inconsistencies in culture.

Parental Warning(s): Bea and her mom have their own versions of swear words.

Interact: At one point in Bea’s class, the students introduce themselves with the name game we’ve all played at one point: the first letter of your name turns into a trait you possess. EX: K is for keen or B is for blended. What’s yours?

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Add on Goodreads.}

^{*The “Great for” category is not exhaustive and does not intend to neglect the multitude of readers/teachers who could learn from this book in any number of ways.}

RATINGS GUIDE

٭ = DNF, would not recommend
٭٭ = would not recommend
٭٭٭ = enjoyable, would recommend
٭٭٭٭ = very good, would recommend
٭٭٭٭٭ = amazing, would definitely recommend

Vlog Review: The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily

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Premise: Lily has ADHD and failing grades. No matter what she tries, she can’t seem to stay in class, do her homework, quiet the monster inside her, or not break things. When she breaks something on campus, she comes across Abelard, a young man with autism whom she’s known at least since she was seven. The two feel broken until Lily’s impulsiveness (ADHD) propel her to kiss Abelard and the two start dating. But can they stay together or they fated to failure, like the real-life people Abelard and Heloise alluded to in the book’s title?

Rating: 3/5
Target: 9th-12th grade

Title: Allusion: Abelard was a 12th century French philosopher who exchanged love letters with Heloise, a woman of esteemed intelligence but little purpose. Their letters are recorded in The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise. (The general narrative is provided in the text of The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily.)

Main Character(s): Lily, 16 y/o (she/her)

Motifs (not exhaustive): neurodivergence, adhd, autism, dyslexia, drug therapy, experimental procedures, family conflict, fate, college, intelligence, hope, comparison to others, literature, film, drama, broken families, romance

Great for…* (readers): strong readers who don’t shy away from SAT words or allusions and quotes to/from medieval literature. (a similar plot structure and work with allusions as Once Upon a Quinceañera which might be better for less confident readers)

Great for…* (teachers): ALLUSIONS AND VOCABULARY! Hello, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, stacks of medieval literature, and old Hollywood films. So fun.

Parental Warning(s): None.

Interact: I loved the spelling of words when Lily’s not paying attention to what’s said around her (“Your mother will have to sign the kerblig and return it to the main office before you can be burn to clabs…”). How would you describe what you hear when you’re only half-paying attention?

^{Shop local bookstores.
Shop Amazon.
Add on Goodreads.}

^{*The “Great for” category is not exhaustive and does not intend to neglect the multitude of readers/teachers who could learn from this book in any number of ways.}

RATINGS GUIDE

٭ = DNF, would not recommend
٭٭ = would not recommend
٭٭٭ = enjoyable, would recommend
٭٭٭٭ = very good, would recommend
٭٭٭٭٭ = amazing, would definitely recommend