Ms Rush Reads

 copyright date: February 2, 2021 primarily marketed for: Middle Grades I devoured this one in a single sitting. The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother)  by David Levithan is the book I did not know I needed.  The story opens when Aidan S. has gone missing. His parents are distraught. His brother, Lucas, is beside himself. The town is pitching in to help search. As the days pass, the outcome looks more and more grim.  And then Aidan shows up in the attic, wearing the same pajamas he had on when he left, and everyone wants answers. Is he alright? Where was he? What made him disappear?  Although Aidan's story is the driving force behind this novel, it is really Lucas's story readers enter. When Aidan returns with an explanation beyond belief, Lucas is left to decide what really matters. Levithan hints at classic tales, but his perspective is uniquely fresh and inventive. Readers will be left thinking about what really makes a story true....

copyright date: August 3, 2021 primarily marketed for: middle grades I have been a fan of Jerry Spinelli's work for a long time, and  Dead Wednesday  did not disappoint. The narrative style in this one struck as me being similar to Loser, but not just because of the third-person point of view. The protagonist of Dead Wednesday , Worm Tarnauer, will tug at your heartstrings the same Zinkoff did in Loser. Dead Wednesday is a tradition the whole town gets behind in an attempt to help 8th graders avoid potentially fatal decisions as they head into their high school years. Each 8th grader is assigned the name of a local teen who passed away due to avoidable reasons (mostly accidents involving risky behavior). Students were black t-shirts and are ignored by others for the day to encourage quiet reflection. However, for most 8th graders being ignored by adults is more of an invitation to act out than to turn inward.  Worm approaches the day expecting to celebrate his freedom in ...

copyright date: 1991 primarily marketed for: young adults (7 th grade up) In preparation for our author re-visit, I tried to read every Neal Shusterman book that has been sitting in my pile of books to read.   Every time I read his work I am blown away. Speeding Bullet is typical of Shusterman’s work in the sense that there is a supernatural element in the story, but it is so realistically told that as a reader, I completely suspend my disbelief.     Nick Herrera is an average teenager with below average intelligence.   He is constantly told by teachers he sees as completely unreliable that if he simply believed in himself more, he would achieve greater success in school.   It is not until a chance encounter with fate at a New York subway stop that Nick’s self-image begins to change.   After saving a young girl’s life and defying death himself in the face of a speeding train, Nick notices that luck is consis...

copyright date: October 2011 primarily marketed for: young adults (high school) The books I love the most are the ones I find myself most compelled to write about.   I am woefully behind on posting about the books I’ve read this school year, yet here I am making time to share another incredible story. I find it is most difficult to share the books I love.   Something about my connection with a story like this makes it seem almost as if nobody else could possibly enjoy it as deeply as I have—surely it was tailor-made to fit my heart and stick to my ribs—how could anyone else find it as perfect a fit?   I don’t know the answer to that, but I sure hope you try this one on because part of me suspects it might fit you just right, too. Since I closed the covers of Maggie Stiefvater ’s The Scorpio Races early this morning, I have been haunted by the rhythm of the story.   The magic of sea still beats in my chest.   Puck’s connectio...

copyright date: August 2012 primarily marketed for: young adults (8 th grade and up) Every once in a while I read a book so amazing that I am torn between the urge to keep the wonder of its story all to myself and the desire to share its goodness with all the world.   Every Day by David Levithan is just such a book.   Becky Anderson, an owner of Anderson’s Bookshops said this is a book everyone should read.   She is right.   Every Day is the story of ‘A.’   ‘A’ wakes up each morning in a different person’s body.   ‘A’ has no gender, no race, no sexual orientation.   ‘A’ takes on the unique qualities of whatever body ‘A’ is inhabiting for the day.   Being that ‘A’ shifts from body to body, it is nearly impossible to make connections.   Any connections made have the potential to create difficulties for the owner of the body in which the connection was made.   As a result, ‘A’ seems desti...