#IMWAYR October 30, 2017

Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. 

This week I continued to read middle grade novels for the Cybils, and to share with my class. I also had a chance to squeeze in another Young Adult fantasy.

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

Before, Ethan was a happy, healthy kid with a best friend named Kacey. Now he needs to learn how to go on without her. A heartwarming story about finding a way to move forward after tragedy 

Sophie is one of the only black kids in a white neighborhood in 1967. She faces racism, explores friendship, and learns about love and family in this coming of age novel.

Flora and her brother Julian may have found a forever family, but until the mystery of their past is solved, they have a hard time believing in forever.

Young Adult

In this land of kings, queens, and hidden magic, a war is brewing between two kingdoms. Told from multiple points of view.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

It's Monday, what are you reading?

#IMWAYR Oct. 23, 2017

Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. 

This week I continued to read middle grade novels for the Cybils, and to share with my class. I also had a chance to squeeze in one Young Adult fantasy over the weekend.

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

Told from multiple points of view, this book addresses the too real issue of over-testing in schools while introducing us to a number of wonderful characters who grow and change throughout the book. I hope it will be a series.

The Unbreakable Code is book 2 in the Book Scavenger series. Emily and James are two young code breaking book hunters who are trying to break a historical Unbreakable Code to solve the mystery of why their history teacher has been acting suspicious. Little do they know that their own search for answers is making them a target of an arsonist.

Clayton Byrd's grandfather is the coolest person he knows. A Blues Man, Cool Papa Byrd is loved by many and he has shared his love of the Blues and music with his only grandson. Unfortunately the one person who does not love Cool Papa's music is his daughter, Clayton's mother. When Cool Papa suddenly dies, Clayton's mother seeks to rid her life and Clayton's life, of her father's memory. No willing to give his grandfather's memory away, Clayton sets off by himself to find his grandfather's blues.

Young Adult

One Dark Throne is the second in the Three Dark Crown series. Unfortunately my library only has book two, but it didn't take long for me to get wrapped up in this world. In this kingdom, female triplets are born to every queen but only one of the three is allowed to take the throne. During this book, their ascension year, the three must battle to the death in order to see who has been blessed by the goddess and can rule the kingdom. Told in multiple points of view, this book is Game of Thrones for teens.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

It's Monday, what are you reading?

#IMWAYR October 16, 2017

Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. 

This week I was honored to see my novel, The Perfect Trip, on the nomination list for the Cybils. Since I already have the honor of being named a Cybil judge, I asked for the book to be made ineligible due to a conflict of interest. There are so many amazing books in the category that I continued to read this week. I'm also still reading books for school. 

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

I reread this book this week since I have a student reading it for my character change unit. I loved this book when I first read it and loved it even more the second time around. I love the development of the relationships between Ivan, Stella, Ruby, Julie, and Bob. It is a new classic.

Stef Soto always loved her father's taco truck, but this year she is tired of being the taco queen. But when his father's business is at risk, Stef realizes that sometimes you need to step up and support your family.

Charlie views the world through his knowledge of birds. An autistic boy with OCD tendencies, he has always relied on his father's support and the list they made of the birds they would see someday. When his father is injured and needs brain surgery, he takes a difficult road trip across the country to see him and his someday birds help him hold things together and face the challenges the trip has in store.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

It's Monday, what are you reading?

#IMWAYR October 9, 2017

Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. 

As a first-round panelist for the middle grade Cybils category, I have a ton of books that jumped to the top of my TBR list. I'm also still reading books for school. 

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

This historical fiction novel takes place at the end of segregation. At the end of the summer Charlie learns that his local friends have all changed schools because his local school "is going downhill." Turns out downhill means the school is being desegregated. Armstrong is one of the boys who will be bused in. Told from alternating points of view, you may want tissues for this one. I would recommend this for an older middle grade reader because of the descriptions of first kisses.

Four lives come together in this book about fate and friendship. When Virgil gets trapped at the bottom of the well trying to rescue his pet guinea pig, he thinks hope is lost. Fortunately the universe is sending some new friends to find him.

This book felt familiar - girl starts middle school and her best friend is becomes friends with someone else and is acting older, which leaves the main character behind. In this friendship story, the new friend is a bully who targets Karma's food and the hairs growing on her face in order to widen the gap between Karma and her former best friend. I thought the mustache was an interesting element in this story. I would have liked to see Karma struggle a little more with the issue of being half Sikh and wanting to cut her hair. 

I'm so glad I included this book in my 4th grade character study because it forced me to read it again and it's a book I have loved since I was in middle school. Bradley Chalkers is the school bully and the bad behavior kid. Nobody likes him, and he doesn't like them. That is until a new school counselor and a new student named Jeff challenge Bradley's reality and make him wonder whether he could be the kid in the class with the gold stars. If you loved Wonder, Fish in a Tree, and Finding Perfect, you will love this book.

This book is also part of my 4th grade character study. Edward Tulane is a fine porcelain rabbit who thinks very highly of himself, his clothing, and his pocket watch. He thinks very little about anything else. When he is accidentally thrown overboard and is found and owned by a series of adults and children, he starts to learn what it truly means to love and to be loved.

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

It's Monday, what are you reading?

#IMWAYR October 2, 2017

Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. 

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

I love this series by Jason Reynolds. Like Ghost, Patina uses running to make sense of her life and the challenges of school, family, and growing up.

Nicki is a foster kid whose father is in prison and whose grandmother taught her to pick pockets before she died. Nicki's quick hands and quick wit make her a perfect candidate for a new family program started by the US Marshals. Nicki is placed with a family in hiding, becoming their additional daughter to help keep the bad guys off their tail. Now known as Charlotte, Nicki will face her biggest challenge - getting along with a younger brother. This book releases on Tuesday, but I was fortunate to read an early copy from NetGalley. I love the family relationship in this book and Nicki is a fantastic main character. I hope she comes back in a second book. 

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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

It's Monday, what are you reading?