What's Mrs. U Reading Now?

Yay! Rick Riordan (author of the Lightning Thief) has come up with a new book series about the Egyptian mythology. I am very excited to read it, as I am sure most of my students are. It's called the Red Pyramid.

Bull Rider

Really great story! It's very topical in that the main character's older brother is injured in Iraq. He then decides to try to win his family money by entering in bull riding contests (behind his mother's back). The characters are very real, with lots of faults, and very relatable. You don't need to know anything of the ranching/bull riding culture to enjoy this story. Try it!

What's Mrs. U reading now?

I am reading "Bull Rider" by Suzanne Morgan Williams. The cover reads "Eight seconds of danger...a lifetime of honor". It's a great teaser. All I know so far is it's about a boy who's a skateboarder whose family is full of bull riders. Not sure if this is my taste, but I always read with my students in mind, thinking about who would like it.

"Shine On Coconut Moon" was a fantastic! It hits on so many topics that I'm surprised the author does each one well. The main theme is the reaction by Americans to anyone of the Muslim (or perceived Muslim) faith after 9/11. It is told from a teenage girl's point of view. While she's dealing with her own typical teenage dramas - mom, friends, boyfriend, peer pressure - she now is hypersensitive to how people treat anyone of the Indian culture. It taught ME a lot, which is the best type of reading - a great story that informs me without being didactic or preachy. I highly recommend this book to 7th and 8th graders and adults.

What is Mrs. U Reading Now?

I began "Shine On, Coconut Moon" by Neesha Meminger yesterday. It is a very unusual and topical fiction novel...a Sikh teenager post 9/11 who becomes hyper-aware of the new prejudices and yet considers herself very American with typical American teenager problems. I'm interested to see how she reconciles all these conflicting emotions and influences.

I finished "Tomorrow When the War Began". I really enjoyed it! For those of you around my age, it reminds me of the 80's movie "Red Dawn" about the US being invaded and a group of teenagers fighting back. This book's setting is Australia, and except for some vocabulary that's native to that nation, it is not distracting at all. The book is written from one of the main character's point of view. This group of teenagers are away camping when some rival nation invades their town and country. Since most of the natives were at their festival ( like a state fair), the enemy captures the town on the fairgrounds. When the main characters return home, their farm animals are dead, no one is left in their homes, and they start encountering the invading soldiers. There are many sequels to this which I look forward to reading this summer because I have too many other new books to read right now!

What's Mrs. U Reading Now?

I tore through the first half of "Tomorrow When the War Began" by John Marsden from yesterday through this morning. I was asked to purchase the quizzes for this series by a student and put it on my list of new purchases. I should finish it soon and will then give my full review...

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Finished Shiver...I really enjoyed it. A love story with the werewolf twist. A girl is dragged off her swing by wolves, but is not eaten. She continues to be fascinated by the wolves who live in the woods near her home, always watching the one with the yellow eyes who also seems to be watching her. As a teenager she finds a boy with the same eyes on her doorstop grazed by a bullet. Who is he? How did he become what he is? Why can't he be in the cold? Why did she not turn as a child? All answered in this tale. I'll be happy to talk it up in my library.

What Is Mrs. Ullrich Reading Right Now?

I am in the process of reading lots of new books right now before I put them out for students. . I'm almost done with "Shiver". It's a new take on the werewolf myth. I'm enjoying it so far and will let you know what I think.