Better Off: Flipping the switch on technology

I forget when I first purchased Better Off by Eric Brende, but I recently thanked myself for doing so.  I originally bought the book figuring that it might work well for some of my students for the unit I have based around a biography/autobiography.  Because I'm an enviro-nerd and I know a few of my students are also enviro-nerds, I figured the book might be a refreshing change of pace from the usual my-life-is-awesome-/ my-life-used-to-suck-biography.

The premise is that Eric Brende documents his research of what it's like for a recent college grad to live without electricity on a small farm in a community full of others who have vowed to stay off the grid. Brende and his wife spend 18 months learning the ropes of the community and of existing without being dependent on electricity and for the most part without any reliance on fossil fuels.

Eric, an MIT grad, joins with Mary and they are set up on a small farm in a community of Amish farmers.  Eric and Mary soon realize that in order to learn the ways of their community, that socializing takes place during work sessions in the garden, at barn raisings and in the kitchen canning and cooking. Rather than most people setting time aside for socializing, this community uses communal tasks to get to know one another.  Eric also realizes that the work no longer feels like work when there are others involved.  He compares it to Tom Sawyer and white washing.

While learning about farming and beginning to rely on their bikes, Eric and Mary shed numerous pounds and realize that they're more fit than before.  They also start to realize that they aren't the only ones in the community who have chosen to move in to take advantage of the community closeness and to liberate themselves from the shackles of energy consumption.

As the story progresses, Mary becomes pregnant and the two prepare for the pregnancy while farming pumpkins and they even purchase a horse and buggy.  There were a couple things that struck me about the story: 1. Eric worked largely with the men and Mary worked largely with the women so it seemed to me that in some ways both were missing out on the knowledge of the work the other genders were participating in.  I realized that I'd be bummed if I wouldn't be involved in the field and barn tasks because of the division of labor based on sex (though Eric gets into a debate about this exact topic with some scholars and he refutes it by stating that it's not patriarchial, but instead that often the women shoo off the men because the men haven't completed to cooking, cleaning, etc. to the ladies' standards). 2. I appreciated the Eric admitted that he and Mary sometimes used the car for get-a-ways even though he knew that it was wasteful.  I appreciate that he didn't keep that from his readers and I think it shows how ingrained travel is with our cultural expectations.  I'm glad he showed this restlessness and the emotional side of consuming energy, which I feel like rarely gets addressed.  3. I would have liked to see some of Mary's thoughts incorporated into the book to give her perspective as well.  It would have been very interesting to see one chapter by him and then a chapter by her based during the same time frame in order to get a variety of perspectives on the experiment.  I fee like the diversity of perspective based on her gender could be another great layer to the topic.

Next up:  Deep Economy by Bill McKibben (another enviro-read!)

The Haven (Suzanne Woods Fisher)

The Haven consumed my thoughts for three days-- until I finished it.  Then, I was swept along and began reading a book about living in an Amish community (Better Off by Eric Brende-- which will be blogged about next) immediately after finishing The Haven. That said, Fisher should teach Nicholas Sparks a few things about writing love stories and I may decide to pick up more of his books.

I love Fisher's writing because it deals with serious issues, she has complex characters and at the same time there's a sense of peace within the turmoil because she always manages to neatly wrap up her stories by the end of the book.

I ended up with my mother's copy of The Haven, which had been sent to her by the publisher as a thank you for some of the answers she'd helped provide regarding some of the aspects of birding.  Along these lines, I'm just a newbie birder, but it seemed that there were a couple of places where I found myself questioning either myself or the author because of how some of the birding facts were woven in. They sometimes distracted me from the main focus of the story and I couldn't help but wonder if some of them could have been left out because they weren't necessary for the plot (i.e. hearing a Whippoorwill during the mid-day struck me as peculiar while two of the characters were out in a row boat since they're usually associated with evening sounds) or if there may have been a less obvious way to work in the details.  It just felt a little contrived with these details at times.  

The plot(s) I really enjoyed.  The main story launches off when a teenage Amish girl named Sadie Lapp returns home to her family and she has a baby who'd been left in a basket at her feet.  The community is aghast and her main suitor tries to help her out by claiming the baby as his and he offers to marry her to help deflect the shame- which totally backfires on him and creates some comical scenes because of his pitiful nature and her heightened annoyance at him.

In the meantime, a young man named Will shows up to help supervise some rare birds that'd taken up residence on Sadie's family's property.  This college student is taking some time off because of some of his poor choices and it quickly becomes apparent that he's sweet on Sadie and he's going to make her life even more difficult because of this.  Will and Sadie's relationship is intriguing because it highlights the cultural differences between the Amish and the English-- particularly when it comes to dating and friendship.  As Sadie tries to sort out her feelings, her mischievous little sister helps her tackle the mystery of the orphaned baby's parents.  I can't bare the thought of spoiling the ending, but I can easily say that the book had me ready to take up with the Amish-- particularly for the excuse to work hard and eat well.

Right On: A Long Way Gone (Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) by Ishmael Beah

Peer pressure got to me again.  I kept seeing A Long Way Gone on friends' desks and counterspaces until I ran across the book at a book sale in Athens at the local library.  The author, Ishmael Beah, had recently spoken at Ohio University and a vaguely remembered seeing flyers posted for the discussion, but I was unable to attend.  A year after letting the book ferment in my classroom (a couple of students did pick it up and check it out from my little library), I brought it home with my crate of library books and put it on my summer reading list.   

After reading I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior (I blogged about this a few weeks back), I was interested in reading more about some of the chaos in Africa (insert TIA song by K'Naan here (unedited)) since I knew very little about what actually led up to the issues in such places as Liberia, Sierra Leone, & Somalia.  Beah, a Sierra Leonean, begins his story with the first day he remembered the rumors about rebel fighting and the rebels dispersing people within his village--essentially leaving him without family.  It seemed that every time Beah thought he could get back to a normal state, then suddenly rebels would show up, hack some people up, give themselves high-fives and brag about the slaughterings.  Beah, who is only 12 at the beginning of the story, becomes a refugee wandering and at times running through the wilderness with a handful of his buddies and his older brother.  He stumbles across small groups of refugees and some embrace the boys and others view them with disdain.  Many are afraid that the boys are really just rebels waiting to take advantage of them.  One town even takes away their shoes and chases them away across sand that burns their feet and leaves them incapacitated for more than a week. 

Eventually, the boys get taken in by a village and they are cared for and help out accordingly.  The rebels begin to attack the village and the village assembles a guerrilla force to take on the rebels, which is led by a general of some sort (his origins are pretty vague and downright questionable).  The boys, seeing little to lose, are conscripted into the makeshift army. Within the army, the boys take the rebels on with the aid of AK47s, G3s, machetes, marijuana and "brown brown" (a gunpowder & cocaine mixture).  The drugs keep the boys dependent on the army for the adrenaline high, the violence and then they aren't worried about what's to eat-- since food is so scarce. 

The boys continue to kill and be killed by the rebels and are fueled by their personal losses of family and friends.  After a considerable amount of time on drugs and ransacking rebel forces, a handful of men from the UN show up at the camp and talk the with the general.  The boys are shuttled of with the strangers and have their guns taken away.  Only after the boys are in the city at a rehabilitation clinic for a  while does Ishmael realize that he's being forced to undergo treatment for being a childhood soldier.  He does a nice job expressing his naivete through describing his thoughts and frustrations at being left out of the loop, after being forced into an adult role of taking lives and caring for himself. While it would seem that the violence would end with Beah's rehabilitation, it's really just becomes the beginning of the war within the city-- which had previously been confided to the outlying areas.  With Beah's rehabilitation and his realization of his lost youth, Beah is again forced into an adult role in that he takes on living with his uncle's family and he also becomes a representative to the UN for the needs of the war-torn children, particularly the child-soldiers.

Beah's lot does improve, but only after a few more twists and turns as he tries to evacuate the country, realizing the risk at which he was putting his uncle's family if he remained in their home.  His willingness to speak honestly and to reflect on his previous immaturity and selfishness create bonds which later come to his aid and while make his story so compelling.  This book would be a fabulous book for anyone who considers him or herself an advocate for social change-- particularly if it involves working with disenfranchised youth.  

Just Another Teen Dystopia? (The Giver by Lois Lowry)

I'd heard of the book The Giver for years.  And for years I just couldn't quite hype myself up to read it, so I put it on my reading to-do list for this summer and I finally did it.  I've had several people recommend it to me, but of course, now I can't remember who-- which is probably for the better because I may just give him/her a hard time about it.

I thought there were some interesting ideas going on within the book, which I did appreciate.  The main concept is that all hazards of life have basically been eradicated, leaving the citizens with practically no choice.  I guess I immediately saw it as the age old debate from Judeo-Christians regarding free-will and whether or not free-will exists (or if God has taken away free-will--- particularly when looking at stories like that of Judas Iscariot and his betrayal of Christ). I liked this aspect of the book, but because the book seemed geared for an 8th grade reading level (and thus audience?), I felt that I may have been pulling a bit more out of it than the average reader would have pulled from it. The society within the book determines how many children will be birthed and kept, who is eligible to raise these children, who each person may marry (if anyone), the occupation of each person and finally, everything is viewed only in shades of the black/white scale (unless a character does something to overcome this-- which a few do).

The main character is Jonas and his story begins with him preparing for the ceremony during which he'll receive his occupation.  He has a few friends, a male and a female, with which the audience is able to see what a "normal" occupational selection would look like, because Jonas's is anything but.  Instead of having his occupation selected and being recognized, Jonas is "passed over" and then he is recognized specially at the end of the ceremony by being chosen as the "Receiver of Memory."  This means that Jonas will begin to report to the "Giver of Memory" in order to receive the collective memories of the society-- i.e. war, pain, love, etc.  

As Jonas begins his new job, he receives new rules by which he must live-- and some of these go directly against how he's been raised.  For instance, he's now encouraged to lie if necessary and to ask anyone any question.  These rules and the new job brings about a new awareness for Jonas, which is classic of coming of age stories like this.  Jonas is also increasingly drawn to the baby which his father has brought home since Jonas's father is in charge of the newborns.  This new awareness and the realization that the baby, which the family has taken to calling Gabriel (even though the baby shouldn't have a name yet because it's against policy), means that Jonas builds a particularly strong bond with Gabriel and Jonas ends up kidnapping Gabriel because Jonas realizes that his father will be putting him to death in the morning. 

I liked the action and the ease of the language, but I couldn't help but be put off by the ending.  I was just left with too many questions and an overwhelming feeling of incompleteness.  While I liked the book in that it would probably be a great book to use for a discussion group-- especially one that may connect with philosophy or religion-- I haven't found myself recommending it to anyone.

About face: I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior (Wasdin & Templin)

After Nicholas Sparks, I promised myself to get back to the grit I usually like to read, so I dug "I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior" out of my borrowed crate of books.  I needed some kick-ass inspiration that would tell me to quit being a sissy and get out there for my distance runs and to bust out some push-ups just for fun. I found it with "Seal Team Six Warrior."

Usually I get annoyed with authors and their frilly, unnecessary language, so I was refreshed and even a bit taken aback when I realized there were no spare words in this book. It was so stripped down that it almost felt naked.  I was almost embarrassed for the author at times because it just stated the facts so plainly that at times I actually wondered if I was reading it right and I even wondered if there was some hidden metaphor and I'd realize later that it was EXACTLY as Wasdin had intended it. 

Wasdin told about being raised in an abusive household and how he felt it helped mentally prepare him for his training as a SEAL.  He also used such a matter-of-fact tone that at times it would have seemed that he was bragging, but then there were so many flashes of humility through naivete that I realized he was just writing as he saw it without trying to make himself look cooler (or conversely, less-cool) that he really was.

Wasdin told about the multiple phases of training and supervised torture that was considered preparation for missions. With this, I particularly enjoyed the pictures he provided, even though some of them had his fellow-soldiers' faces blacked out-- no doubt to protect their identities.  Other pictures, provided by the Department of Defense and the State Department were very revelatory-- they showed the training conditions, some of the weapons and some of the terrain.

I particularly enjoyed Wasdin's anecdotes of fellow SEALs and snipers-- including a water rescue in which he returned in merely his underwear and how to create the best ghillie suits.  The key:  don't use too many grasses because they dry out quickly and then become a giveaway. Wasdin also does a nice job telling about their co-operations (or challenges) with Delta Force, the CIA and other government agencies; he tells of their egos getting in the way in such a way that he's remorseful and still pride-filled. 

As the book progresses Wasdin tells a lot about the key players his team was after while dealing with Desert Shield (Iraq, Iran & Kuwait) and later with in Somalia. There were lots of names of key players thrown out, but I felt like few stuck with me, and at the same time I was reminded of the large similarities of Wasdin's team's challenges and what I hear about daily regarding insurgents in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rebels and dictator within Syria (and last year-- with Egypt).  His story, while almost twenty years old, is still timely and a great tool for connecting our previous conflicts with today's conflicts. 

While I was reading this book with my high school students in mind, and I do feel that they'd be interested in this book, I feel this book would best connect with a freshmen military science class or even a political science class studying the Middle East and Somalia because of some of the deeper connections that could easily loose readers without some of this background knowledge (I was once a poli. sci & military science student so I feel that I may be a little exceptional in my connection).  Once I settled into the style of the book, I flew through it in just a couple of days and I noticed earlier this evening that Wasdin & Templin have another book out about Seal Team Six and it's about the outcasts, but it may need to wait until I finish a few other books I have waiting to be read and returned to their owners. 

ALMOST eating my words about Nicholas Sparks (Safe Haven)

I confess: I have written haikus about Nicholas Sparks and all terrible-ness that he represents. I love to hate the idea of Nicholas Sparks. I must admit I forced myself to watch both Dear John and The Notebook-- knowing that I'd probably be mad afterward, but I was sick of being out of the cultural loop.  So, I pulled the trigger.   Why did I dislike him without being familiar with his work? He represents much of what I find terrible about women:  hopeless romanticism, the inability to move on (is there a word for this?), and strong men rescuing feeble women. I actually wondered if Nicholas Sparks was a woman secretly writing with an alias so that women would swoon at the idea of a man being so sensitive to write such sap... but instead, I'm pretty sure it really is just a sappy (or secretly macho?)  man who has alienated some strong women (my little sister also has a strong distaste for his work). With this disclaimer out there about my prejudices, here's what I actually thought about his reading (since I decided it was time to quite talking smack without having actually read his work).

Safe Haven is predominantly set in North Carolina, like Dear John and The Notebook also seemed to be (Sparks lives in NC).  The protagonist is a late twenty-something named Katie.  Katie is starting a life in North Carolina because her husband, who she's run away from, beat the hell out of her on multiple occasions.   She waitresses to support herself and pay for a small cottage off a back road.  Katie meets the local grocer, who is a widower with two children and they slowly build a relationship.  In the meantime a woman moves into the cottage next to Katie's and the two women become friends and the friend, Jo, counsels/gossips with Katie regarding the relationship.

The relationship progresses slowly since the two are both trying to get over their spouses-- one who was an abuser and the other, a victim of cancer. As Katie and the grocer, Alex, become increasingly acquainted, the readers find out more about how Katie escaped from her estranged husband and we find out he's most likely looking for her.  We also find out that the estranged husband is a police detective, which lends to the credibility of the story as to why Katie is so terrified that her husband will come to find her.

The reader is also able to get more about the estranged husband, Kevin, through sections told from his perspective. It works for a few reasons:  It helps build the suspense as he finally picks up her trail and comes after her and it shows that Sparks can effectively switch the storytelling perspective and he can execute this switch well.

While I flew through the story because it had some edgy-ness to it (dealing with issues of abuse), I liked the resolution of the main conflict (no, I won't spoil it for you), but I can't say I liked the final twist (which I am going to spoil).  The final twist?  Her friend, Jo, is the ghost of Alex's deceased wife.... That's right. A GHOST.   Booo....  (and not in the ghost-sort-of-way).  I couldn't help but felt like I'd been slapped for reading the whole book and then getting something so cheesy.  I guess I got what I was looking for-- cheese.  It was just such a shame because it was such easy reading and mostly believable story (although then when I looked back Kevin's word choice seemed over the top) and I was just getting to the point where I could defend Sparks... and then, I couldn't.  

I don't know either: What My Mother Doesn't Know (Sonya Sones)

 Since I finished On Writing, I've started burning through a few books over the past week.  I took two evenings to read What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones-- which was really more like 2 1/2 hours of reading. It was a particularly fast read because it was written in lyric poetry (which is almost so common now that it's a slacker's version of story telling).  I enjoyed having something light-hearted and easy to read, but I'm ambivalent about whether or not to recommend it.

The story follows a teenage girl (almost 15) named Sophie who is boy crazy and has two equally boy-crazy girlfriends.  Sophie's parents are on the verge of a divorce and Sophie is trying out what it means to be an attractive young woman.  She seems to feed on the attention and is desperately in love with her new boyfriend Dylan. The only problem is that Dylan and Sophie don't really seem to have anything in common and we later find out that Dylan's mom has some issues with anti-Semitism, which doesn't bode well for Sophie since she's Jewish.

Sophie also begins to entertain the acquaintaince of a fellow chatroom-goer... but then she starts to feel guilty and luckily finds out he's a bit more pervy than what she's looking for.  Sophie particularly kicks herself for spending so much time with the pervert because she was toying with the idea of meeting him in person. 

Meanwhile, Sophie secretly entertains the idea of getting affectionate with a nerd named Murphy that she often spends time feeling sorry for.  Her thoughts keep creeping up on her and she stifles them when possible.

Overall, the book was compelling because Sophie has some rebellious moments and I kept hoping she'd have some more-- since I was curious about the book title.  I was hoping for something really juicy that would put her in a bad situation that she'd need to deal with.  I was a bit disappointed in this way in that I never really felt like there was a climax.  Sophie mainly has a series of small rebellions that we can only assume come from being a teen and/or come from her misdirected angst regarding her parents' impending divorce. 

I'm torn in that I liked that there wasn't MAJOR drama, but I also didn't feel like I could take away any lessons either. 

Well, well, well... (On Writing Well by William Zinsser)

I just finished On Writing Well.  It took me nearly two months.  With that said, I'm ambivalent about the book.  I'm not sure if my hopes were too lofty for it or if I was just getting tripped up by the long excerpts from other texts.

I picked up the book a few months back when I was at a second hand book store looking for some basic herb gardening books for one of my students.  I found the herb books and couldn't pass up On Writing Well because I kept seeing the name pop up in other writers' books about writing. As a teacher and wanna-be editor I figured that the book would give some insight to the writing trade.

I liked Zinsser's basic philosophies on writing: keep it simple, but fresh, trust your gut, and be concerned about quality and the rest will follow.

On the otherhand, while I'm a nerd for the topic, I felt that the book was 50-100 pages longer than it should have been.  I'm a stickler for concise writing and for the book being on its 6th edition, I felt that the quality suffered because of his desire to let the reader sample so much of other authors' writing.  I felt that the "samples" became gluttonous and often overwhelmed the message.  I enjoyed Zinsser's essays within the book, particularly one about Timbuktu, but I felt that using such long excerpts was destracting and tip-toed the line of self promotion. 

I did highlight and bookmark several segments to share with my students and I even toyed with the idea of requiring parts of the book for reading, but then as I caught myself drifting and becoming disengaged at times, I couldn't rationalize requiring the book, or even whole chapters, as required reading.   

Purgatory? or studying for GRE Math?

(Photo from http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-New-GRE-19th-Edition/dp/0764146165)

I'm exasperated.  I've been studying for GRE (Graduate Record Examination) the past hour and a half.  And just so everyone knows, I'm definitely a writer and not a math-champ, though I do have a strong appreciation for math and I always appreciate a bit of mental gymnastics.  I'm hoping that if I score well on the test I might have a better idea what options I have for returning to school for additional graduate level classes including the possibility of a Ph.D.(?!).  Even with my lofty goals in mind, I had to give it a rest for the night because I'm too spent and a little too frustrated to make much more progress for the night.  I was hoping to score several more points on the GRE this time around, compared with my hap-hazard GRE score from seven years ago, so I even went to the point of pre-reading a few study guides from the library and then I broke down and bought a used study guide-- Barron's New GRE (19th edition by Green & Wolf).  While I feel it must be helping me, I've got mixed feelings about the book. 

The first big thing I had to consider when choosing a book was the fact that the GRE has changed a bit since I took it last.  I'm not sure what all has changed on the exam except for the fact that there will be a new experimental section and it sound like there may even be experimental questions mixed in with the other questions. I mainly bought the book for a few potential writing prompts, a quick review of what to expect for the reading section, and ESPECIALLY for the math review.  I know math is not my forte, despite my dedication to my math classes in high school.  It was one area that just never came naturally for me, but I always appreciated it for the challenge.  As is, I've been trying to remind myself that I do ENJOY the challenge.  I know: I'm a little sick like that.  Nonetheless, the book has been helping for the most part.

I have become stumped a few times though when the authors jumped ahead on some steps without explaining the seemingly self-explanatory reason for jumping ahead.  I often find myself writing the steps out in the book to see just where the author came up with the next numbers in the sequence.  Even then, I've still found myself stumped enough that I've made notes on Post-Its to remind myself to address these questions with one of my buddies who happens to be a math guru.  And while I am a bit at a loss with some math, I am still a pretty strong reader and a pretty logical person, so it seems that there may be some lacking explanations on some of the concepts.

As well, the organization of the book is interesting and I can understand why the editors/ authors choose to organize it accordingly, but as far as actual usability, there should be some serious reorganization.  The book starts off with a diagnostic test, but there's no rubric for the written portion, so even if I wanted to grade my own written portion (or have a colleague do it for me), I could only guess as to the breakdown of the points.  Even I try to give my students some sort of rubric, so I was a bit surprised there would even be a writing area (with lines provided) rather than just listing numerous prompts.  This seemed a bit contradictory. The math section, which has been my main focus, was also a bit daunting in that there are tactics broken down in a logical and progressive order, but then key aspects (such as formula and other easily forgotten math facts) are listed in a separate area named Key Facts toward the end of the book.  What ended up happening as I was trying to learn these tactics is that I then became so stumped on some of these missing elements that I just jumped straight back to the key facts section to review all aspects, figuring that I could skim the areas I knew really well and then systematically focus on my weak areas.

With T-10 days to go until the test I'm feeling pretty intimidated, but I know I must be in a mildly better spot than I was two weeks ago.  Either way... I'm hoping I know something, since I'm recognizing how little I really know. 

Blogging readings

Blog picture from: http://studenthacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/blogging.jpg

With a few of my senior classes we've begun to learn about blogging and blogging best practices and they're starting their own blogs.  While I usually recommend books, I'm going to recommend a couple of online articles and just give my readers a quick heads-up that if there are some peculiar posts on my blog that they may just be example blogs to demonstrate a point to my students (which means they'll be deleted soon thereafter).  Thanks for bearing with me!  To join in the spirit of blogging,  feel free to check out the following sites to learn more about good blogging:

Twenty Usability Tip for Your Blog

10 Tips on Writing on the Living Web


As well, here are a couple of blogs I check out on a regular basis:

http://www.cakewrecks.com/ (baking humor)

http://noobtubetv.wordpress.com/ (video gaming & humor)

www.flora-quest.com/blogpage.html (all things environmental in Ohio)

http://thecoolship.com/ (movies, media, current events)

Mockingjay... or should I say Mocking-joy?

I finished reading Mockingjay just a few hours after watching The Hunger Games at the theater. It wasn't that I was feeling inspired to pick up the book and begin reading the third in the Hunger Games series just because I'd seen the movie, because frankly, I'm not THAT fast of a reader. Instead, the movie just happened to coincide with the free time I had leftover from my Spring Break. Before giving the run-down of the third book, I can say that yes, the movie did do the first book justice. There were only two issues I really noticed with the movie: 1. Madge was cut out, so the mockingjay pin was located at the black market and 2. Peeta wasn't so severely wounded to the point where it'd be believable for him to need a prosthetic. With these thoughts out of the way, just how was the Mockingjay? Awesome.

I'd heard from some students and my colleagues that the third book was a different style from the Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I'd been told that it was slower and not at good as the other two. I can firmly say this is simply not true. Was the third book fast paced? Yes. Was there still the love triangle? Yes. Were the characters developed and interesting? Yes. Heck, I even feel like Katniss might have been battling some drug issues (strange, but true!). I love that Collins continues to show character flaws because it creates the depth necessary to connect and like the characters. They aren't perfect or fake feeling because they also have feelings and do irrational things just to prove they aren't robots. Unless the robots are programmed for irrationality..?

Nonetheless, this book does justice to the series. What's the basic gist? Katniss has decided to become the "Mockingjay," which is basically the rebellion's posterchild and media-face. She's dressed to impress and it thrown into seemingly inane situations to "get some good footage" in order to inspire the rebellion further, but she longs for more. Katniss creates drama and can't let others be. She's compelled to get involved and the people love her for it. She walks the fine line of media-sweetheart and uncontrollable brat. She refuses to be controlled by the rebellion's leaders, even though she knows she needs to work with them to get her revenge, so she works with them just enough.

Finnick, Gale, Peeta, and Prim all reappear in this novel and we're able to see their characters evolve as well. Finnick becomes a doting husband. Gale seems to be emerging as the rebellion's male leader from District 12. Peeta becomes a pseudo-spokesperson for the Capitol, in that his sound bites support the Capitol's agenda but they are also seemingly coerced-- which makes for an interesting dynamic in that many rebels aren't sure what to do with Peeta's media force. Lastly, Prim seems to come into womanhood by caring for the sick and she even mentions to Katniss that she's planning to train as a doctor.

Katniss, on the other hand, seems as confused as ever, and while she continues to narrate the story, plays up her diagnosis as mentally confused as needed. She's erratic and seems to enjoy hiding in storage closets, but she's still a very logical force for the most part. It's an interesting juxtaposition because the reader is forced into the role of "feeling crazy" for wanting justice. Katniss becomes a modern day Joan of Arc and it's hard not to miss the parallels. I was convinced her life may have even been threatened by being burnt as a witch, but Collins choose not to go this route. I was relieved for the sake of creativity.

Counting Down with Catching Fire

There's just a little more than a week until the first installment of the Hunger Games comes out as a movie. In the meantime, I'll be finishing off the series in preparation to view the beginning of the trilogy on the big screen. I read Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) during my winter break and was pleasantly surprised. With the second novel, I was captivated and even downright obsessed. This second novel is Catching Fire.

Catching Fire follows Katniss as she's been dealing with the life style of a Hunger Games' winner. The only problem is that everyone else must slowly starve and Katniss filters her goods to her friends and family, knowing that she'll be taken care of because of her fame. Katniss begins hearing and seeing flashes of rebellions going on within other districts and because this year is one of the "quarter quells" (an anniversary celebrated every 25 years), there will be a special celebration Hunger Games. While Katniss is concerned about who may be picked from her district to participate in the quarter quell, the Capitol shocks everyone and goes back on its promise of exempting Hunger Games winners from future games. Instead, it demands that one surviving male and female from each district's winners be picked to fight to the death in the quarter quell. Even more unbelievably, Katniss and Haymitch (Katniss's mentor) are chosen to participate on behalf of district 12, but Peeta volunteers to take Haymitch's place.

In the meantime, Katniss debates her options and become resolute on running away before the games so that she can be with her long time male friend, Gale. Gale reveals the weaknesses in her in that Katniss can't take everyone that she cares about, which makes Katniss realize she must take the government head-on to save those dearest to her. At first Katniss is depressed in this realization and then she channels it into motivation. She sees suffering and starvation surrounding her, but she knows she must do what she can to keep Peeta and Gale as safe is possible. In order to do this, Katniss prepares to sacrifice herself at the quarter quell. I loved how Collins built the tensions within the districts and she described how out of touch the citizens of the Capitol are. She describes scenes ripe for revolution with huge discrepancies between the ruling power and the workers in the oppressed districts. This book has substance. It's not just another teen fluff novel. It shows the sacrifices involve in standing up against injustice.

I don't have the heart to spoil the second book for you. However, I can tell you this much: the love triangle between Katniss and her two suitors grows more passionate and no, she doesn't choose one in this book. Also, yes, there is a building rebellion in this book and there are also some great new characters with real depth-- Finnick, Annie, Beetee, Joanna, etc.

*This post was originally written 1 week before the premier of Hunger Games, but because of time constraints, it was unable to be finished and posted until after the premier of the movie.*

All about Leadership: No Excuses

Sometimes I get a little too motivated for no particular reason. I'd even say I get down-right compelled at times. I've had several of these instances lately, particularly when it's come down to my reading. When I visited the library recently in order to pick up a GRE study guide, I ran across some educational leadership books, one of which was No Excuses: Lessons from 21 High Performing, High-Poverty Schools by Samuel Casey Carter.

The book told of some of the leadership techniques found at 21 well-performing, but low-income, school districts. It particularly focused on what the principals at these school districts did to foster learning and effective teachers. The schools were private, public, religious and secular.

The first chunk of the book was comprised of common tactics within these schools. It seemed one of the largest themes was getting rid of bad/resistant teachers and hand-picking teachers willing to work with the administrators, their co-workers and the parents & students. Another common theme was promoting the parent-student-teacher connection. This meant that communication and participation. Another theme was pushing reading and math above all because these to areas tend to influence all of the other areas. There were also special programs that seemed to help these school districts turn their test scores around. Some of these included direct instruction only methods.

The second and largest portion of this book was dedicated to the principals who were carrying out these plans. It basically read as a who's-who of school principals with a little about the schools mingled in.

While I was feeling strangely compelled to finish the book, the second section of the book was not nearly as beneficial as the first small chunk. If you choose to read it, skip all of the bios and instead spend your time on the latest Hunger Games book.

A birding favorite: The Big Year

Last spring, I had the privilege to meet a local legend Greg Miller at Flora-quest (a weekend-long outdoor adventure involving some of Ohio's best birders, botanists and all-around nature enthusiasts). I'd heard stories about Greg from my mother and from some of her birding friends, but to read about the feat that made him famous made me blush a little. I'd met one of the nation's top birders and was able to hang out with him during several meals over the course of the weekend. I was also able to hear about the 'real-live' Big Year from the man himself. The biggest thing that struck me about all of it was how funny and unassuming Greg was. It just made his stories that much more priceless. He was so good-natured that it was hard not to just find him fun and lovable and he was telling about tumbling down snow-banks and getting stuck in Florida mud. That said, I also knew that sometimes he could get so excited that he'd forget to do basic things like: plan ahead. After meeting Greg and then seeing the movie based on his Big Year (Jack Black plays him-- but Greg's name is changed) and two other birders' Big Years, I was ready to read the book to get the real deal. Particularly after finding out how little of the royalties on the movie he received (i.e. none), I wanted to support him by reading a book purchased to help benefit him. (Greg sells the book & signs it at many of his speaking engagements--- that is, if he doesn't get too excited and then forget the books!).

That being said, how was the book? Solid. I enjoyed that it covered the three competing birders: Greg Miller, Sandy Komito and Al Levantin. I also really enjoyed that the author (Mark Obmascik) interwove birding history about the founding fathers of birding & birding guides. There was also a bit about the characters' personal lives, but I noticed a drastic difference between the book and the movie on this: Sandy Komito's personal life. In the book, the reader finds out that Sandy is a self made man and in the movie there's a whole subplot with not-"Sandy" and his wife having conception problems and her leaving him. In the book, none of this happens-- which makes me wonder if this was fabricated for the movie, or if this was left out of the book for respect of Komito. Also, in the movie not-"Greg" and his lady friend seem to get together after she breaks up with her boyfriend and in the book it explicitly states that she lets him know that they'd just be friends. I also felt that the book delved more into Greg's personal life than the personal lives of the other two characters-- at least their adult personal lives. I found this interesting in that I feel like it made the reader want to relate more with Greg than with the other two and it also made Greg look the most vulnerable and like the biggest risk-taker because of the amount of investment-- monetarily and health-wise that he sacrificed (in proportion with Sandy and Al).

The book also seemed to show more of the caution that the characters had for one another and in comparison, the movie had "Al's" character deciding to help "Greg's" character by bank rolling several trips that "Greg" wouldn't have been able to afford. In the book, there seems to be only one trip at most that "Al" might have made possible for "Greg" in order to see snowcocks. The book also focused much more on the actual money spent and mileage accrued and the author explains that the three birders allowed him to review their journals and receipts in order to make sure that he was as accurate as possible.

I think any one who enjoys competition can appreciate the story of the three men and I found myself intrigued at the fact that the author put himself in each of the men's shoes to explain feelings and the surroundings. I felt torn about this. I enjoyed the textures, but then I also found myself thinking, "well, how would he know what the waitress's smile was like?" So there were a few times where the believability was lost for me. However, I found myself sucked into the last 100 pages as the rivalry heated up and the underdogs kept facing taunting greetings like "Sandy Komito says hi." Would I teach this to my high-school students? Probably not, but I might recommend it to a few of them. Would I send it to my non-fiction loving grandfather? Definitely.

Welcome to education: I Won't Read and You Can't Make Me

Many teachers tell their students: "don't write in the book!" but I am definitely NOT one of those teachers. I write in my books. And it's easy to tell which books I've really connected with because I'll write A LOT in these books. I even encourage my students to write in their books, that is, if they own them and sometimes I just encourage them to write in my books, but with pencil. I think this interaction with the text is crucial for really digesting the material and it helps me remember which parts I particularly connected with or would like to come back to later on. At other times, I simply jot a word or two in the margins just so that I can remember that paragraph's main point (because sometimes it's a little difficult to figure out exactly what the person WAS trying to say).

Recently, I was supervising my 5th period class as they began their weekly DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time and a handful of students meandered around the room, trying to locate some new reading material. I have some old magazines I brought from home (Rolling Stone, Details, Vogue, Vanity Fair, etc.) and I also have several bookshelves of romance, classics, field guides, mysteries, etc. I watched each of the meandering students, one-by one, locate something to read and I was reminded of a book I'd borrowed for my school's library: "I won't read and you can't make me" by Marilyn Reynolds. While I had several students in the class who were readers before we began to observe DEAR, there were many more that were reluctant readers. I located the book, opened it up and promptly got ready to make some notes in the margins, when I realized it wasn't my book. Instead, I grabbed some of my trusty scrap paper, and began to jot down some of Ms. Reynolds' main points. I was sucked back into the book... and I realized I'd had the book for quite sometime (as in, over a year) without having recieved an overdue notice. I knew I was "special," but I didn't think I was that special. Realizing that I must have accidentally stolen the book from my school's library, I took it back and formally checked it out with the vow to read it in a timely manner and actually return the book to the library BEFORE it was due.

What reminded me the book was on the shelf was my desire to find some solutions to the students being reluctant to read. I was pleasantly surprised that Ms. Reynolds and I agreed about many of the tactics that will work and have worked as well as the tactics that are definitely losers. First and forement, DEAR was a winner. I could agree with that, with the caveat that each teacher had to lead by example and demand reading for enjoyment. DEAR is NOT and should NOT be used as a study hall, otherwise it undermines the fundamentals of allowing students to connect with reading. It gives them the excuse to do something else. This is a gross injustice to the students, whether the students realize it or not. That's what teachers are for: to guide and mold students to be responsible, healthy adults.

Ms. Reynolds covered a myriad of issues facing reluctant reader. She lets the reader know about her student population, which included students from diverse backgrounds and especially students with learning disabilities, histories of abuse (sexual, psychological, substance, etc.) among other extenuating circumstances. The approach is the same: find a book that the student can connect with. Once this connection is formed, continue to encourage more connections with books by suggesting more books and talking with the student about what he or she is reading. Feed the student's soul through reading and the desire to learn and the reading skills will also develop with this student's desire to read more.

Why do I love this book? 1. It supports students reading ALL types of books-- even the ones with foul language, sex, violence and other controversial issues. The goal is for a student to connect with a book and sometimes this is only done through a student being able to relate to the book-- which often will mean that the language and experiences should be reflective of what the students has/ is encountering. 2. It gives ways teachers go right and go wrong with encouraging reading. There are lists and explanations. This should be mandatory reading for administrators and all teachers-- particularly in the field of language arts. 3. This book encourages teachers to become the writers teens are seeking out & it encourages teachers by showing that there a several authors who got their starts in this way. 4. Lastly, Ms. Reynolds gives a nice list of tried and true books for teens and she breaks them down by topics too.

What would I change about this book? The organization struck me as peculiar in that I felt that it popped around enough that it didn't always flow logically. Also, I would have like to see more about her process for publishing and more about how she assesses students' reading gains. I realize the goal is to encourage a lifelong habit of reading, so there may only be qualitative analysis for this, but it seems like there should be some research out there that she could have brought in to really back up her claims. In this way, I felt that her argument was not nearly as influential as it could have been (remember, I'm already a DEAR supporter). Lastly, (p. 119) there were a couple of errors: Zlata Filipovic is NOT the author for "Freedom Writer's Diary." Filipovic wrote "Zlata's Diary". Erin Gruwell is the author to "Freedom Writer's Diary." On the same page later on, it says that "No One Here Gets Out Alive" is about John Morrison, when it's actually about Jim Morrison (lead singer for The Doors). I caught both of these because I'd read "Zlata's Diary" and "No One Here Gets Out Alive" and thought they were captivating. "The Freedom Writer's Diary" was adapted into the movie "Freedom Writers," which I would also highly recommend. Overall, it was an informative read and it reminded me a bit of Natalie Goldberg's Long Quiet Highway, which is also about writing and teaching, but in a less "professional development" sort of style.

Educational Nugget: Literacy with an Attitude

I love thrift shopping and yard sales-- particularly for the great books I manage to find. Literacy with an Attitude by Patrick J. Finn, was one such find. Over the past few years I'd been doing a bit of research in order to complete my Master's degree and I found myself doing A LOT of reading about grammar teaching and reading teaching. I'm always fascinated at how little we actually DO know about teaching students, even though it seems like education has been going on forever. It's really just amazing how hard it is to quantify education. With that said, I wondered if I could pick up some educational nuggets to use in my classroom.

Six months later, I finally finished the book. This isn't a slight for the writer or the topic. Both were relevant; it's just that the book was definitely academic style writing. The book followed a variety of British schools, with some that were dominated by the social elite and then others that were school with working class. The results were typical: schools with elite parents did well and the working class schools struggled. There were also differences in the demands of the parents of the children as well as freedoms for the children at the schools. Elite parents demanded more of the children and of the schools while also encouraging the students to do more problem solving and these schools also allowed the students more freedoms. These school encouraged flourishing leaders and treated the students as such.

To make a long story short, Finn (building off Paulo Freire's ideas) encourages educators to become agents of social change. He pushes for educators to "make reading dangerous again" by fostering students to question and become politically involved and therefore seeing the need to become educated to change the issues around the community. Along these lines Finn & Freire push for the socially oppressed to rise and create their own stories and to embrace literacy as a means for sharing their culture and beliefs-- rather than seeing literacy as being taken over by the oppressors. The result: literacy with an attitude or a literacy pushing for change.

With this push for change in mind, there were a handful of suggestions for educators, most of which simply included getting students politically involved. One of the last small segments was a list of attributes for "domesticating education" (bad) and "liberating education" (good). I found this list probably the single most beneficial piece in the book. For instance, a domesticating attribute would be "work is easy" while liberating would be "work is challenging" or "teachers...focus on correctness before expression" versus "teachers focus on expression before correctness" (respectively).

I must admit with some of these awesome teaching tools snugly tucked into the final chapter of the book, I felt a bit cheated that the author didn't sandwich more of these teaching tools in the text much earlier on. I felt they would have been more easily digestible if they'd shown up and brief forms earlier and then expanded upon later in the book. As it was, while there were some nice nuggets at the end, it seemed that the research was so Freire-heavy that Freire should have been credited as a co-author. Nonetheless, it made me excited to go learn more about Freire's works and life, all while reminding me that while I may struggle with my classes, my struggle is felt by others and the ends justify the means.

opposites and yet bizarrely connected: Freakonomics & Savage Girl

I don't usually combine two reviews in one blog, but I'm doing it this week and I think some explanation is due: I was recommended the book Savage Girl by Alex Shakar by one of my former student teachers. I just... could... not... do it. I tried. I even tried more than twice. Finally, I listened to my gut and gave up and I'll explain why later. After finishing the second book, Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, I realized that the two were connected in some weird, fate-twisting sort of way. The two books followed trends no one anticipated other than these trendspotters-- some being fictional characters in Savage Girl and the others were very real, live and had written Freakonomics.

It always strikes me as amusing when I realize that even books I detested still manage to mold and shape my view of the world, so even though I am sometimes exposed to images I'd like to remove (I prefer the image of Dumbledore pulling single thoughts out to view and discard), I'm stuck with them, for better or worse. Thus, I sometimes consciously choose to avoid certain movies & books with violent content (I like to argue that I have enough disturbing thoughts of my own that I don't need new negative images-- but I'm always open to new positive images).

With this said, Savage Girl hurt my soul and I had to stop the insanity. First off, when I first started Savage Girl, I hadn't expected to read an absurdity and in all fairness, I hate absurdity in writing. Don't waste my time. (Ahem, Kafka.) I already know life is absurd and the only thing I hate more in writing is an author who uses obscure vocabulary a lot. I love words, so I consider it abuse when I find myself saying, "wtf is that? I've never seen that word before" on every page. It's just annoying. I don't think I'm a master of vocabulary, but come on, I teach English and have a Master's and I'M saying THIS about the book? What does that mean for everyone else who reads it? Who in the hell IS enjoying it if I'm not willing to give it a try?

What's the story about in a nutshell? An aspiring trendspotter is learning the ropes from her pretentious trendspotting colleagues in a open-air work area. They're sitting on a dolphin sculpture and a volcano erupts in the urban center's background. Yes, there really is a volcano. I thought it was a metaphor at first, but my student teacher confirmed, "yes, it really is there and no, it's not a metaphor". This newbie trendspotter flashes back to conversations with her mentally disturbed sister and then she proposes to her colleagues that a new trend is a homeless girl who creates art in public places. The homeless girl looks essentially like a Neanderthal and the fellow trendspotter decides this girl-- the savage girl-- is something to be embraced and marketed. At this point I stopped reading. Why? The language was just not worth it. I didn't find the story compelling enough to continue. I'd spent over 20 pages and I was just annoyed on every page, so I finally let my logic get the better of me and decided to invest my time in something I did want to read...

I was at a loss at first because of the bitter taste in my mouth from Savage Girl, so I began to frantically look over my book shelves for something, anything, to cleanse my palate. Between my husband and I, we have at least 1000 books at home covering the range of Shakespeare to zombies (not counting the books I've bought and since taken to school to share with my students-- which is probably another 600+). I picked up a few different books and then remembered a conversation I'd had with a student earlier in the day about there not being a retirement plan for drug dealers... and I found my husband's copy of Freakonomics (sent to us by our good friend Sean). I wanted to be able to back up my argument about drug dealing with some text to solidify my argument (my husband Mark & my mother had told me about this particular chapter in the book). I'd had enough about hearing about the book secondhand, so again, I gave in to peer pressure.

I finished the book earlier today and then began to read the "extended edition" supplemental articles. Don't bother. After reading one and a half of these articles I realized they were just a regurgitation of the book and basically were just articles to praise Levitt's genius and his style. I did appreciate the bit of insight into Levitt's personal life, but then it seemed that the supplementals were just a way for Dubner to put his fingerprint on the process and to lend a bit of credibility to Levitt's methodology. Maybe I was being naive, but I didn't feel that these supplemental changed my opinion about Levitt's writings, but I could see where these articles might have been a nice introduction into Levitt's work. However, with these article following the main work I felt like I'd been served a nice steak and then been served a steak salad afterward (which I ditched because I was already full, thank you.)... it just felt unnecessary after the fact and it felt like cheap afterthought.

Ok, with all of the negative out of the way, Freakonomics (the steak portion that is), was fabulous. It was totally eclectic and recognized this-- which I appreciate. However, there was a common theme: facts to support strange happenings. This is where I was struck with the realization that the trendspotters written about as if they were futuristic, were actually alive and well in Freakonomics. Steven Levitt and his minions ARE those trendspotters. I say minions, because he does have what can best be described as a bit of a geeky, cult-following, who would be more than willing (based on descriptions within the supplementals and within his explanations) to help him come by more head-scratching data.

Within this installation of Freakonomics he proves that there IS incentive for teachers to cheat on standardized testing (which many educators keep citing as one reason why merit based pay involving testing is a TERRIBLE idea) and that sumo wrestlers had been cheating as well so that they could make bank. The next chapter told the history of the KKK and their downfall (which I thought was brilliant) and then he connected this group with real estate tactics. Third up was the chapter I was seeking out: drug dealers and why they live with their mommas. The next big topic was the U.S. crime drop of the 1990s (and since then) how it had to do with the Roe v. Wade's effects. On the flip side of the spectrum, in Romania, an abortion ban actually resulted in the children from this ban overthrowing the leader who instituted the ban (Ceausescu), resulting in some ridiculous irony. The book then finished up with parenting issues and how little (or much) parents affect their children's lives and prospect.

I particularly enjoyed how Levitt used a spiral method of teaching about his topics. He'd teach a bit, seemingly go off-track, and then he'd tie the topics back together. He also used a lot of non-fictional foreshadowing, which I can appreciate. I always like it when someone give me a heads-up about the direction the data will be going, but then that person lets the data prove itself so that I'm not posed for a fight by the time the conclusion comes because the data was all neatly laid out and already anticipated the areas of concern. Levitt also lets readers know where there may have been anticipated weaknesses in the argument and this allows the reader to feel more comfortable because this vulnerability builds the sense of trust between the author and the reader. I knew I was hooked when I asked my husband if it was ok to write in the book. Would I recommend this? Yes, to all parties except someone who might like Savage Girl. (Ok, I would even recommend it to this person in order to try to convert him or her.) I also found myself thinking that Freakonomics might even lend well for teaching because of the controversy about each of the topics. I think there could be some great class discussions and paper topics to come out of the randomness and methodology Levitt presented.

Jarhead lite: Purple Heart (Patricia McCormick)

I'm a sucker for a good war story-- whether it's a movie or a book-- if there's guts and glory, I'm there. Some of my past favorite war stories have included: Fallen Angels (book), "We Were Soldiers" (movie based on the book named: "When we were soldiers once and young"), Platoon (movie), Apocalypse Now (movie), Rambo I, II & III, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers (book & tv movie series), Black Hawk Down (book & movie), All Quiet on the Western Front (book is best, but there's an old version of the movie too), The Hurt Locker (movie) and of course, Jarhead (movie & book). There are lots of other good ones out there, but these are probably the most heavily quoted (whether from the book or the movie), particularly among those within the services as well as those military nuts. I'd say I'm just a mild military buff, since I actually planned to be in the military until an unexpected injury disqualified me partially through my college ROTC experience, so I don't want to be known as one of those weird-hangers-on, but have always had that genuine interest in the physical fitness, tactics and the "toys". Also, with many college friends and several family members associated with the military (Army, Navy & Air Force), I take my war literature very seriously and read it skeptically. Thus, when I saw the title "Purple Heart" by Patricia McCormick, I was curious because I hadn't hear of the book, but I knew McCormick was reputable because I'd read a few of her other novels ("Sold" and "Cut").

I picked up "Purple Heart" hoping for some excitement and to be reminded of my friends and family and the commaraderie that comes along with the experiences of the service. While my time and experiences were limited with the military, the commaradie is what is missed the most, so I was curious if McCormick could get this feeling just right without being cliched. And? I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't feel like the book was a glorification of war and yet I didn't feel that she was being preachy against it either. This is one aspect I've really respected her previous novels as well-- she merely presents the story and lets the reader decided one way or another about the situation-- and I think this is a valuable skill to have as a writer. McCormick creates interest in the main characters through the common experiences of being hurt, caring about others, feeling isolated from others, and by desiring the truth to better understand oneself.

I really enjoyed this story the more I think about it because it didn't throw in a bunch of unnecessary conflicts. Instead, the conflict was simple: Matt, the protagonist, wakes up in a hospital in the Green Zone (also a war flick featuring Matt Damon) and he can't remember exactly how he got there, but he's been told he has a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He begins to do some therapy to try to bring back the memories, but mostly the therapy is to get him back in shape to go back out with his unit. While the doctors obviously want him to recover, it becomes more obvious that the military also realizes they need to get soldiers back out into the field to get the most of their investments. McCormick describes the mundane conversations-- and the comical ones too- that make up Matt's recovery time. She also describes Matt's inability to navigate the halls himself and how he demonstrates the type of prideful displays so many of us use, by not asking for help and by trying to cover our weaknesses. I found myself thinking, "Why doesn't someone just stop to help him or even escort him to and from the therapist appointments?! Come on, he's got a TBI! They should know better! If the therapist knows he can't remember basic words at times, why wouldn't she think to have him escorted?"

The longer Matt works on gaining all of his function back, the more of the situation he remembers. He is also told what happened (according to his battle buddy) by one of his commanding officers. Matt also realizes there are pieces of this story that don't add up, but he's a bit scared to know what the truth is and he realizes that the CO probably doesn't want to dig any further into the story because then he'd have to file paperwork and/or do something about it. While this may sound like the CO wants Matt to lie, instead it becomes apparent that sometimes authority uses this "blind eye" tactic to give subordinates the benefit of the doubt as well as avoid doling out punishments. I thought this was an interesting insight and it was very reflective of how such relationships sometimes work and they can work to benefit both parties (the employer and the employee).

Matt does get the chance to face his old battle buddy and he does find out the truth-- but while in a tricky situation. (I don't have the heart to ruin it for you!). I appreciated how satisfying the ending of the story was in that it dealt with heavy topics, but McCormick made sure to keep it light by including lots of typical military humor (and/or humor typical of soldiers) such as Chuck Norris jokes and jokes questioning masculinity and machismo. I also enjoyed that the story was just a snippet of the war experience too. It didn't try to cover everything-- which is something that many war stories try and then they run the risk of losing the audience because of the length and cumbersome seriousness. Overall, this read would be perfect for young adults exploring some of the options that the military can offer-- including the moral dilemmas encompassing "fighting for peace."