bjneary’s Comments (group member since Feb 09, 2014)

bjneary’s comments from the 2014 Hub Reading Challenge group.

Loved how they mixed the everyday superhero and the magic and folklore of superheroes. I loved her voice!
She cracked me up and loved her determination and grit.

I love graphic novels and enjoyed the 3rd one the best but I did like the dogs and stories from the first 2 stories as well. Thanks for a great read.

First time doing the Challenge and I loved the selections of books- I will definitely be involved next year!

Wow, this book really got to me. I loved Miles and Hector and hated The Motherland and all the evil and lies that went with it. The illustrations of the rats, maggots and flies was totally creepy but I understood that they were highlighting important parts of the story. Such a raw, sad book and as I read about the author's dyslexia, I really sympathized with Miles and understood what Miles and Sally Gardner felt as "different" individuals in their world.

I liked this graphic novel and the illustrations (especially the shadows). The friendships of the teens were believable and the way the storm and no power brought them together was nice. I liked that Will confronts her turmoil as a result of the blackout.

I re-read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge and it was always one of my favorite books, but the second time around, I really loved every single word on the page whether Zusak was depicting a scene, a character, Hitler, hiding Max, Liesel's book learning and stealing and loving and so much more. This book is so important on so many levels. It is definitely one everyone should read.

I was blown away by this book! I loved it but was so unprepared for the ending. Before the ending I would have said Ryan Dean was very humorous, morose, a fighter, a loser (which he mentions every other line)and a good friend. I kept reading the back cover of my book and AS King said it was "heart wrenching" and I wondered where that was coming from and Matt de la Pena said it was "raw" and once I got to the ending I totally knew where that was coming from but I had no idea that some of the boys from that school would be so homophobic!!! It made me very very sad to see how Ryan Dean was affected by it and hopefully every other person who read this book will be haunted by their inhumanity. But I loved learning about the game of rugby, Ryan Dean's feelings, Annie's feelings and before the end of the novel, Ryan's insecurities which were very funny for a 14 yr old in 11th grade!

I LOVED this book! I can't believe how much Chip Kidd has designed, illustrated, and been such a force in graphic design. I thought this book was easy to read, so interesting and informative, anyone would enjoy this guide to graphic design!!!

I really liked Bao and Vibiana and I especially enjoyed Red Lantern:)and also many of the minor characters. I think this was an especially difficult time in China and Gene Luen Yang does a great job in this graphic novel illustrating the peasants, the warriors, the gods and the villages. I liked his use of B&W and color in the illustrations.

I can't stop reading Kraus' books, but I am totally unnerved while reading and after!!! I still think about Rotters and last night, my mind was racing with Scowler, Marvin, Ry, his mom and Sarah--so no sleep there!!!I would have a tough time recommending this title to just any teen, too.

Sarah wrote: "Allison wrote: "I'm re-experiencing this book through the audio version, and am falling in love all over again. Maybe even harder this time, because I can enjoy the brilliance of the prose without ..." I totally agree with you Sarah, I love the book and I loved the audio, a win win all around:)

I read the whole series (3 books) and loved it. It is great to read and laugh out loud, a lot!!!

Devera wrote: "bjneary wrote: "Devera wrote: "Boy, did this book bring me back to my high school and college days. Being a girl with frizzy curly hair and kinda feeling like the odd girl out, it really struck a ..." Do you mean Eleanor's mom? I think Rowell wanted us to see how insignificant her mom was (as compared to Park's mom) and by insignificant I mean that her mother had no one to go to for help- so she sided with her abusive husband always and to hell with all of her children (so sad). I wanted her mom to be stronger and fight for her kids but she was fighting for her own life, minute by minute in that tiny suffocating house of theirs.

Devera wrote: "Boy, did this book bring me back to my high school and college days. Being a girl with frizzy curly hair and kinda feeling like the odd girl out, it really struck a chord with me. The profanity i..."
In school, you never know what kind of life students have...Eleanor's family dysfunction was sooo sad but so believable. To stand up to someone as awful as Richie and then be sent away from your family for one year was traumatizing for Eleanor and her brothers and sisters--it broke my heart that Eleanor felt she could not stand up to Richie (help her mother) and his abusive yelling ever again for fear of being sent away again.

Melissa wrote: "On one hand, I was surprised to see to see so many negative feelings towards this book after all the buzz I had heard, but on the other hand I was glad to be reminded that although a book may get a..." Meliisa, this is definitely a high school book and I think you made the right choice to eliminate it from your 6th grade activity. I enjoyed like you, the feeling of excitement involved with young love and hate, hate, hated her stepfather!!! I am in the process of listening to it (so far, so good) but last year I read and reviewed it for PSLA and as I said above- when I took it back to my school, everyone whose hands I put it in, love, love, loved it!!!

Amy wrote: "Well, I finished. I gave it two stars, which, according to Goodreads, is "okay." The language didn't put me off (well, except for the part where Ricky was yelling at her before throwing her out of ..."
Amy, I am so sorry you didn't love this book. I am going to listen to it next week but I read and reviewed this book for PSLA last year and loved the way Rainbow Rowell depicted Eleanor and Park and their families, friends, etc. When I returned to school, I gave this book to students and teachers and it was a winner for them too. Not everyone likes all books, that is why there are so many different YA books and the many genres WITHIN and that is okay too. But for myself, Eleanor and Park is still with me and I would love to see a sequel:)

I re-read it and many of my high school students (gr. 10-12)who had read Between Shades of Gray (it was a Reading Olympic book in our school) absolutely loved this 2nd book. They loved Josie and Cokie and hated her mom and Cincinnati and the historical setting.

Debbie wrote: "I reread this one for the challenge this year and enjoyed it even more than I did on the first read. It's one of those books that is very much influenced by the reader's personal experiences. I sup..." Debbie, I totally agree with you! I re-read this book and was still in love with Ed's story, the Doorman, Audrey---such a great character driven novel.

Leah, I totally agree with your assessment of this truly well researched and written book that everyone should read about this dark period in history. This month, we have a discussion of this book on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
if you would like to participate.