Ms Rush Reads

copyright date: 2012 primarily marketed for: young readers (3 rd -5 th grades) “In cheering for Ivan and his friends, we cheer for our own humanity, and our own possibilities.   Read this.” -Gary D. Schmidt “This beautiful, life-affirming story will soar directly from Ivan’s heart into your own.” -Kathi Appelt “A Beautifully written, intelligent, and brave book.   Quite simply, this story is life changing.” -Patricia MacLachlan These are the quotes found on the back of this book.   Enough said, right? Nope. Even these powerful words don’t begin to explain how special this book is.   I want to purchase this book for everyone I know.   I believe this book is the new Charlotte’s Web.   It is that good. The One and Only Ivan is the story of a gorilla who is kept in captivity at a highway-side mall/zoo.   His cage consists of glass walls, a jungle mural, and a cement floor.   Ivan’s story is based on the story of an actual gorilla, which just makes it all the more heart-w

copyright date:   February 2012 primarily marketed for: high school readers (14 and up) Chopsticks is a story told through images.   The images include pictures, postcards, newspaper clippings, notes jotted on photos, scrapbooks, and text messages.   All of which have an ageless vintage sort of quality to them.   It is a very aesthetically pleasing book that tells the story of a piano prodigy named Glory who has disappeared. Her story unfolds as readers are taken back in time to the months that led up to her disappearance.   In those months, Glory seemingly met and fell in love with the boy who moved in next door.   This love affair with Francisco coincides with an apparent breakdown Glory is experiencing, causing her to break into an energetic rendition of Chopsticks mid-concert.   As details of their story unfold the love affair grows more intense.   While Glory is becoming less and less stable, Francisco seems to get in more and more trouble over aggression at school.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio copyright date: February 2012 primarily marketed for: young readers (3 rd grade and up) From the moment this book was released, it seems it was all I heard about.  Every blog I read, every tweet I followed announced another reader had fallen in love. And that is just what will happen to you. August, Auggie, Pullman is not your average 5 th grade boy.  Although, according to Auggie the only reason he is not ordinary is because no one else sees him that way .  Auggie was born with a cleft palette amongst other medical anomalies that interfered with the development of his facial features.  At the start of the book he says, “I won’t describe what I look like.  Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.” 5 th grade marks the first year he will attend school after having been homeschooled through years of surgery.  This book is about all the challenges he faces and the affect that his story has on others. Which brings me to the best feature of

copyright date: November 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up) This book was a gift to me from Mrs. Wisniewski.  If you know Mrs. Wisniewski, you know that means it is going to be Good (notice the capital ‘G’).   When the story opens, Juliette is imprisoned.  She has not touched or spoken to anyone in 264 days.  The story starts inside of this isolation.  She has been locked up because she touched someone.  And her touch is lethal.  The story picks up when someone is thrown into the cell with her (and her deadly touch).  She remembers him from her life before.  Before she used her touch to kill someone.  She knew Adam when they were kids, before the world destroyed itself, but he doesn’t seem to remember her. Soon, Juliette is released from the darkness of her prison only to be imprisoned by a dangerous leader who wants to use her touch as if it is his own power to advance himself politically. While Juliette is there, she encounters the same person with wh