Greenwood Public Library Blogs

Review: When We Were Young

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When We Were Young
by Karen Kingsbury
5 stars

Another amazing book by Karen Kingsbury! Kingsbury tells a wonderful story of second chances; tackling the subjects of divorce and social media. What if we could truly see our future if we chose to walk out? What if we could remember all the reasons we said I do in a single night? This story is a continuation of the beloved Baxters, but can be read as a standalone. The book centers on Noah and Emily, who from their first meeting to their amazing wedding, it is clear they are meant to be together. They have a special love they want the whole world to know about. Millions of fans follow their daily lives on Instagram since their engagement. But behind closed doors, their fairy tale is dissolving because Noah has become obsessed with sharing their lives on social media. So much so, that the greatly loved and admired couple has decided to call it quits. Kingsbury takes one of my favorite stories and weaves it into her own to create something that will inspire so many people. Highly recommend!

Read-alikes

A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate

Mulberry Park by Judy Duarte

Review: The Women in the Castle

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The Women in the Castle
by Jessica Shattuck
4 stars

Shattuck expertly weaves together a story set at the end of World War II in Germany that shares the tragedies and the secrets of three widows who barely know each other. After Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the crumbling castle called Burg Lingenfels that was once her home. Her husband was a resister and was hanged for trying to assassinate Hitler. Marianne promised her husband and the other co-conspirators that she would find their widows and help them. As Marianne, finds them (Ania, Benita and their children) and tries to create a home she discovers that each have secrets and repercussions that will make their lives complicated. The story does go back and forth in time and ends in 1991 with everyone reuniting back at the castle and allowing the reader to discover where everyone ended up. I liked the way the author examined the aftermath of Germany’s loss on the citizens and that the story was told from the Germans’ prospective, some who really thought Hitler was insane while the others were just trying to survive. Each woman reacted to the moral dilemmas that impacted each of their lives and the stories showed how they came to terms and how each moved on. The story starts out slow but picks up the second half. Recommend!

 

Read-alikes

The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Franck

The Good at Heart by Ursula Werner

The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook

 

Review: Ten

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Ten
by Gretchen McNeil
4 stars

Based loosely on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, YA novel Ten by Gretchen McNeil is like a slasher movie in print. I felt like I was in the middle of a 90s teen horror movie like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer. Meg and her best friend Minnie head off for a weekend of partying at their friend’s house on Henry Island. They soon find themselves without a way to communicate with the mainland and trapped on the island due to a storm…then people start dying in increasingly gruesome ways. The killer is obviously among them, but who is it?!

Ten is a fast-paced thriller with plenty of whodunit drama, best friend drama, and boy drama. It was a fun bit of escapism that kept me entertained!

 

Recommendations:

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

 

Review: Vox

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Vox
by Christina Dalcher
3 stars

This book had been getting some buzz as the “next Handmaid’s Tale.” I liked The Handmaid’s Tale so I was excited to read this book. Vox is a dystopian novel set in a future America where half of the population has been silenced. The book centers on Dr. Jean McClellan, a wife and mother, and also a linguistic scientist. The signs were all there. Jean saw that things were changing—women were losing representation in government and losing their jobs. The Pure movement was moving forward—women were to serve their families and husbands; to be seen and not heard. Jean thought “surely not in America.” Then her worst nightmare come true. Women and girls now have to wear a metal bracelet on their wrists. The bracelet functions as a counter that keeps track of how many words they are permitted to say each day—only 100 words are allowed. If they go over 100, serious consequences occur. To put this into perspective, the average woman speaks around 20,000 words per day. Jean is approached by the government who needs her specific skill set. The president’s brother has suffered a brain injury that impacts his ability to speak correctly. Jean is able to make a deal with the government and sets off with two of her former colleagues to make a serum. Will they help the government or find a way to put a stop to this evil?

This book started out well for me. The first half was excellent and I couldn’t put it down. The second half of the book moved into a more techno thriller genre. I didn’t really understand all the language and it moved very quickly. Everything was wrapped up at the end of the book, but I was still a bit confused. Some plot points that I was interested in really didn’t get resolved. The last third of the book made my rating drop by 1-2 stars. The premise had a lot of promise; I just didn’t enjoy the turn that the book made

Read-alikes

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Jennie Melamed by Jennie Melamed

The Quest to Read

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By Anne Guthrie and Cheryl Clemens

As a parents one of our most common concerns is that our children are taught to read proficiently. October is Dyslexia Awareness Month so we have prepared a display of the plethora of resources we have accumulated to help parents and teachers with this momentous task. Research (NIH and Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity) shows that to some degree, nearly 20% of the population are affected by dyslexia.

What is Dyslexia?

It is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.  These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.  Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge

Few children are identified.
Less than one-third of the children reading below their age, ability or grade level receive appropriate services for their specific reading difficulty. (Connecticut Longitudinal Study)

Or dyslexics are identified too late.
When dyslexia is identified, it often occurs past the optimal age for remediation. (Shaywitz, Gaab)

Reading failure is preventable.
Research shows that 95% of reading failure is preventable by using appropriate reading systems and well-trained teachers. (Shaywitz)

Warning Signs:

  • May have a family history of dyslexia: Between one quarter and one half of children born to dyslexic parents will also be dyslexic. If one child in a family is dyslexic, almost half of his siblings are also likely to be dyslexic.
  • Delayed speech: The child may not speak words until 15 months and phrases until after 2 years
  • Mispronounces familiar words; Persistent baby talk
  • Difficulty learning colors
  • Trouble Learning Common Nursery Rhymes
  • A lack of appreciation of rhymes

Early Intervention is Critical

When intervention is delayed, it takes four times as long to intervene in fourth grade as it does in late kindergarten because of brain development and because of the increase in content for students to learn as they grow older. (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

 

Please stop in and check out the wonderful resources we have about this important topic!

Dyslexia Books and Resources @ GPL

Books for Parents:

The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child’s Confidence and Love of Learning by Ben Foss

The Everything Parent’s Guide to Children with Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall

When Your Child has Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall

The Dyslexia Checklist: A Practical Reference for Parents and Teachers by Sandra F. Rief and Judith M. Stern

Dyslexia Advocate! How to Advocate for a Child with Dyslexia within the Public Education System by Kelli Sandman-Hurley

Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at any Level by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.

 

Instructional Books:

Recipe for Reading: Intervention Strategies for Struggling Readers by Frances Bloom and Nina Traub

Toe by Toe: A Highly Structured Multi-Sensory Reading Manual for Teachers & Parents by Keda Cowling and Harry Cowling

The Gillingham Manual: Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship by Anna Gillingham and Bessie W. Stillman

Get Ready for the Code: A Primer for the Explode the Code Series by Nancy Hall

Explode the Code: Essential Lessons for Phonics Mastery 1 and 2 by Nancy Hall

Blast Off to Reading! A Complete Reading Program: 50 Orton Gillingham Based Lessons for Struggling Readers and those with Dyslexia by Cheryl Orlassino

I Can Read: Reading & Writing Lessons with Worksheets by Cheryl Orlassino

A Workbook for Dyslexics: Systematically Walk Your Child Through the Process of Learning to Read and Write by Cheryl Orlassino

Dyslexia: A Practitioner’s Handbook by Gavin Reid

 

Books on Dyscalculia:

The Dyscalculia Resource Book: Games and Puzzles for ages 7 to 14 by Ronit Bird

The Dyscalculia Tool Kit by Ronit Bird

 

Controlled Vocabulary Phonics Readers:

Abrams Learning Trends Phonics Readers

EPS School Specialty Primary Phonics

Scholastic Phonics Ready Readers

SRA Open Court Reading Decodable Books

 

Movie:

The Big Picture Rethinking Dyslexia: The Myths, the Stigmas, the Truths, Revealed