3.5 stars. A Study in Charlotte is a pretty genius take on the Sherlock Holmes stories. It’s a modern-day retelling which we’ve seen before, but Cavallaro sets her characters in high school and makes them descendants of the real life Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Making them descendants is such a smart move because Jamie and Charlotte can share traits with their predecessors, but they aren’t glued to them. They can have their own adventures and personalities. Also, three cheers for a female Sherlock. She’s […]
A new look at The Girl on Fire
By now, I’ve read The Hunger Games several times, but this time, I got to teach it. When I was assigned to teach the same English Composition II course that I’ve taught the last four years in a row, I was initially disappointed. I had been hoping to test out a new survey course. I consoled myself by deciding to teach a new book, and with a theme of social justice and storytelling, I landed on The Hunger Games. Most of my students were pretty […]
Thank you faintingviolet!!
How freaking short was this book? I’ll tell you — too freaking short! It’s quintessential Rainbow Rowell, but so sadly little of it. Covering three days in line to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kindred Spirits is a lovely meditation on geekdom, “nerd culture,” and the unfortunately antagonistic relationship that can arise between men and women in “nerd culture” when people feel ostracized by the mainstream and/or the opposite sex and wrap themselves in the protective cloaks of their interests and similar people with […]
Destined To Be A Modern-Day YA Classic
The town I grew up in was just this side of rural by the time I hit high school: they put up the first full stoplight (not just a blinking red or yellow) when I was in eighth grade. Our first McDonald’s came that year too, or the year after. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if we’d had the internet in high school. The internet was around when I was in high school, of course (I graduated in 2003). Everyone […]