Top Fourteen (or more) of 2014

Okay, so. I read a lot. I buy a lot of books, I forget I have them, I go to the library, I subscribe to free book newsletters...look, I really love books. This year my Reading Challenge on Goodread was to read one hundred books. I challenged myself to that same number before but didn't make it, so I wasn't very hopeful that I'd make it this year.

I've read one hundred and fifty-four books.

Yeah, I read a lot.

In celebration of the end of 2014 I've decided to dedicate this post to my fourteen favorite books of the year. These books are in no particular order except in the order of which I read them.

Graffiti Moon 

Cath Crowley

This book is told in the alternating points of view (POV) Ed and Lucy. Lucy is in love with Shadow, a graffiti artist she's never met and Ed spends his time admiring Lucy from afar. This book is full of fun and crazy teenage antics. Oh, and of course a precious romance and the "WHEN WILL SHE FIGURE IT OUT" thing. Totally cute and worth it. Also by Cath Crowley: A Little Wanting Song. 

Me Before You

Jojo Moyes

I pride myself on not being really super-duper emotional, (it's a control thing, I'm working on it), but this book seriously killed me. I remember melting into the couch after I finished it because I was so emotionally spent. (All your fault, Steph.) It's such a crazy journey with Louisa and Will: to watch how Louisa brings Will back to the land of the living and how he, in turn, makes her crazy and allows her to be herself, no matter what. Jojo knows how to pull just the right strings to leave you face down on the sofa. If you give this one a try, give me a call. I'll hold your hand. 

Anna and the French Kiss

Stephanie Perkins

I just want to pinch this book's cheeks, it's so damn cute. Anna is an American teenager at a French high school in Paris, the city of love. She becomes fast friends with a crazy group of kids that include St. Clair (or Etienne) and the rest is history. Okay, not really, but I don't want to spoil it for you! This book is totally full of cuteness and Etienne (probably my favorite book boy of the year, even though my sister hates him). Guaranteed to make you smile. Also try: Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After.

The Distance Between Us

Kasie West

Again, the cuteness is off the charts here. (You'll find that's a pattern in some of the books I read.) Caymen (really) works at a family owned creepy doll store selling creepy dolls to old ladies when enters Xander. The only problem is Caymen's mom, who doesn't like "people with money" and had a REALLY BIG SECRET. Xander is basically perfect and doesn't care if he and Caymen are different and swoons ensue. 

The Giver

Lois Lowry

I never read this as a kid so I took a few days this summer and read the whole series. I've read many dystopian novels and I feel like this is probably the most tame of them all. The people live in sameness, have no feelings, no sense of...anything. When Jonas becomes The Receiver he begins to learn about the past as well as things that are happening around him that he doesn't approve of. The movie version has Jonas as a sixteen year old, but in the book he is twelve, so it's really interesting to see that a young person like him can tell the difference between right and wrong and want to do something about it. The follow ups are a little lacking, but everything ties up nicely in the end. 

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn's mind terrifies me. Meaning: I'd really like to be inside of it, just for a day. Most people know about her because of Gone Girl but, in my opinion, this book is the most messed up of what she's has out. Camille ends up back in her hometown to do a story on two murders and uncovers some really, really creepy stuff. Also, she's got serious issues with drugs and self-harm and still manages to be the only normal character in this book. 

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

Rob Thomas

A Veronica Mars book?! YES, PLEASE. Mystery! Murder! Snark! Long lost mothers! (Needs more Logan Echolls, that's all.)

Wonder

RJ Palacio

I spent a lot of this summer on middle-grade books, but Wonder was by far the best of them. In the story Auggie is headed to a real school for the first time in his life. He's going into fifth grade and his whole family is freaking out. The summary of the book is that Auggie is an "ordinary kid with an extraordinary face", but Auggie's face is really what the problem is. Some of the students are asked to show Auggie around but once school starts, they seem to scatter. This is a great story about bullying and being yourself no matter what you look like. I think adults could learn a lesson from this book just as much as kids can. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

2014 was kind of the year of the classics for me. This was a reread from high school, and I really feel like some things are better read when you're older. The language takes some getting used to, but it's also like you have to step back in time to fully accept what this book is. It's a great example of what racism can do to a town, how children are more brave than we realize, and how we should never judge a book by its cover. This book goes on my Top List for Life, to be honest. 

We Were Liars

E. Lockhart

So, I went into this book thinking it was a cute little Young Adult story about rich kids causing trouble on their own island. I was thinking shenanigans and eye-rolling would happen. That is most definitely not what happened with this book. This book is laced with loss, illness, and regret. The kicker? You obviously have to wait until the end to figure it all out! 

I am the Messenger

Markus Zusak

Ed's a slacker and doesn't really care about improving his life. His mom hates him because he's just like his dad, his best friend Aubrey doesn't give him the time of day, and he drives cab for a living. One day he gets a strange package of cards with clues on them that change his life. I love Zusak's words (hello, The Book Thief, anyone?) and this story is great for character development and making something out of your life when no one though you would. 

Love in the Present Tense

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Bachelor Mitch gets stuck with five-year-old Leonard after his mom runs off and is never heard from again. I love the dynamic Mitch and Leonard's relationship, even though we don't get a lot of early glances. Eventually Leonard is adopted into a family that still allow Mitch to see him, but Leonard (a child prodigy) wants nothing more than to find his mother who has been missing for over ten years. Mitch, of course, does everything in his power to help Leonard and, of course, uncovers some pretty dark secrets while he's at it. 

Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Carol Rifka Brunt

This book is told from the POV of fourteen-year-old June who loses her uncle to AIDS. They never say what exactly the illness is, but you can inference enough to figure it out. June is devastated, her uncle was her best friend, so when she spies a stranger as his funeral she does what she can to figure out who he is. This is an excellent depiction of the way people deal with loss, grow friendships, and learn forgiveness. There's also some funny business with a famous painting, but you'll have to read to find out. 

My Life Next Door 

Huntley Fitzpatrick

I L-O-V-E forbidden love and swoony boys. That is this story. Jase's family is wild and multiplying while Samantha's mother is a politician and very snooty. Naturally, they fall in love, but Samantha can't bring herself to tell her mother about her new guy. It isn't until something tragic happens and everything seems to implode around her, that she faces the truth. And, like I said, swoony boys. 

This Sky

Autumn Doughton

Okay, this is a bonus one because I couldn't leave this author off my list. There's something about broken people making the most of their flaws that get me. Gemma is coming out of a very bad, very public break up and Landon, he's got some skeletons in his closet too. Really, though, what I love about books like this is character development. I love to see how they change from the beginning to the end and how they help each other to become a better version of themselves. Also by Autumn (a Florida native!): In this Moment and I'll Be Here - guaranteed to make you stay up past your bedtime. 

Wow. That was really hard to narrow down. I could have added plenty more to this list but I felt like fourteen, okay fifteen, would do for now. Books are great fun, even when they're super depressing and leave you face-down on the sofa waiting for the ending to change. I hope you pick up some in the new year, and then share them with me because I'm never done reading. If you want to check out other books click on the Goodreads box on the right, or just click here. 

Happy reading!

They're Just Kids

I love my job. It's a good job and, like I've said a bajillion times before, it's a hard job. I know there are jobs more difficult and I know there are jobs more rewarding. I know that know matter what you do, you always have a chance to make and impact in someone else's life. I get all of that and I never want to degrade what anyone else does, this is just how I feel about my job.

Kids are important. Kids are the future. As teachers we literally see the future every single day. Let me tell you, folks, it's scary. Okay, that might be going a little overboard, but it's hard to be serious when, in a classroom of second graders, someone farts and it takes ten minutes to get everyone back under control. (This happens more than once a week, okay.)

Bodily functions aside, there are so many other things I sometimes forget about kids. Sometimes I think we are so focused on what we need them to do and what our expectations are, that I think we forget they're just kids.

But really, it's not the fact that they're just kids that bothering me these days. I know that kids are loud and impulsive. I know they need to express their feelings in weird ways and can't always control their emotions. Kids are my business, even though I don't have any of my own. In my eight (short) years of teaching I've seen a lot. I've seen kids of all different, shapes, sizes, and colors. I've had students from broken homes, perfect homes, and no homes at all. There's kids with mental and emotional problems that I can't even begin to comprehend.

That's what is killing me right now. The fact that these kids are dealing with things that we don't even know about. I've been really frustrated with my students this week (okay, this year) and I think that this is my main problem. I focus so much on what's happening in my classroom: how they are behaving, what they are doing or not doing, how they are interacting with others. When my focus is on all of those things, I lose sight of what's really important: the kid.

The need to reprimand a behavior is a common reaction, but it isn't always the reaction they kid needs. It's really, really hard to take a step back from the situation and just think about it. Which is kind of funny to write, because I just attended a training that said "IT'S OKAY TO TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK". (Which probably means that I need to pay more attention.)

It's easy to jump to a punishment, write a note, or make a phone call. The hard part is working it out with the kid. Asking the hard questions and figuring out what in the world is going on with them, instead of just punishing them for something they may not have any control over.

Seeking first to understand is hard. When I talk about the Seven Habits of Happy Kids with my students that one is the most difficult to explain, because sometimes I struggle with it. By sometimes I mean EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I love my jobs. I love these kids. I might complain about them a lot, but it's because I want more from them and for them. I want them to succeed no matter what their circumstances Even though I know that some of their circumstances are not the greatest, I know they can overcome them. They are the future and, yes, sometimes the future is a little shaky and often times it farts in the middle of class, but that's okay. (Everybody farts, y'all.)

So, this week...okay, next week I'm going to remember that they're just kids. I going to think before I react and ask the hard questions. And, if all goes to crap, I'll just get up the next day and do it all over again.

XOXO,
Ash