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Counting by 7's

What matters in your life?
What is the substance of your life?
Friends, video games, television, sports, religion?

Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan had me asking the questions: What would happen, if what matters most to me in this life was gone in an earth shattering moment? How would I cope? How would I heal? How would I live?

If you are looking for a book that is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time, this is the book for you.  Warm thoughts and memories flood my heart as I recall the feelings and thoughts I had while reading this book.  It is a book loss and of finding renewal.

Download the first chapter of this book by clicking here!  
Counting by 7's is a 2014-2015 Bluebonnet Nominee!

Check out the book review below: (spoiler alert - the review does give away some of the story :)
- Mrs. Clark

School Library Journal:
Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s

★Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Willow Chase lived with her adoptive parents in Bakersfield, California. There in the midst of the high desert, she grew a garden in her backyard, her sanctuary. She was excited about starting a new school, hoping this time she might fit in, might find a friend. Willow had been identified in preschool as highly gifted, most of the time causing confusion and feelings of ineptness in her teachers. Now at her new school she is accused of cheating because no one has ever finished the state proficiency test in just 17 minutes, let alone gotten a perfect score. Her reward is behavioral counseling with Dell Duke, an ineffectual counselor with organizational and social issues of his own. She does make a friend when Mai Nguyen brings her brother, Quang-ha, to his appointment, and their lives begin to intertwine when Willow’s parents are killed in an auto accident. For the second time in her life she is an orphan, forced to find a “new normal.” She is taken in temporarily by Mai’s mother, who must stay ahead of Social Services. While Willow sees herself as just an observer, trying to figure out the social norms of regular family life, she is actually a catalyst for change, bringing together unsuspecting people and changing their lives forever. The narration cleverly shifts among characters as the story evolves. Willow’s philosophical and intellectual observations contrast with Quang-ha’s typical teenage boy obsessions and the struggles of a Vietnamese family fighting to live above the poverty level. Willow’s story is one of renewal, and her journey of rebuilding the ties that unite people as a family will stay in readers’ hearts long after the last page.—Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library

Book graphic and downloadable chapter provided by:  http://texasbluebonnetaward2015.wordpress.com/counting-by-7s/ 

The Neptune Project

The Neptune Project is dystopian novel and has been selected as one of the 2014-2015 Bluebonnet Nominees. Dystopian novels are set in a "futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control." (www.readwritethink.org) This is one of my favorite literary genres, so I am super excited one has been selected as a Bluebonnet Nominee for 2014-2015! 

In The Neptune Project, Nere, is given a future selected by her parents.  It is a life she never imagined and feels betrayed due to her lack of choice.  This story is exciting, fast paced, and action packed!  Oh and there are Dolphins!  If you are interested in the ocean or action/adventure stories - This Is The Book For You!! 

-Mrs. Clark

Check out the book review below:

Book Review by Booklist:

The Neptune Project. Gr. 4–7. 

Here is a dystopian novel with a neat underwater twist. Nere and her mother, Gillian, live in a world almost destroyed by global warming and under the thumb of a totalitarian government, the Western Collective. Still, Nere can concentrate on her passion for dolphins (with whom she can telepathically communicate) until the ax falls. First, the government decides to move the residents of her area away from the sea. Then, Nere learns that she has been part of the Neptune Project. Gillian has altered Nere’s genes so that she can be one of the first humans to live entirely underwater. With relocation imminent, Nere is given an injection that finishes her transformation. But no one has taken into account Nere’s wishes. Feeling betrayed, Nere isn’t sure that she wants to participate, nor does she want to swim across the sea to join the rest of the colony. Although the writing is pedestrian, the adventure element is a real draw. That Nere can experience regular kid situations throughout all of this—friend issues, parental problems—makes the story relatable, even if her best pals are (totally terrific) dolphins.— Ilene Cooper

Book graphic and review from http://texasbluebonnetaward2015.wordpress.com/neptune-project/   

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Hello and Welcome to the 

Castleberry Elementary School Library Blog!

Here you will find  book reviews and information regarding technology, upcoming library events and education.  I look forward to sharing my knowledge and thoughts with you. Enjoy!