Archive for the ‘Female protagonist’ Category
Saturday, April 1st, 2006
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| Author: | Lisa Yee |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
A must-read for gifted girls, especially those in middle school or grade-skipped into high school.
Eleven-year old Millicent Min will be a senior in high school in the fall, but at the beginning of the summer we read about, she is teacher's pet in a community college poetry class and students ranging in age from high school age through college take advantage of her as a tutor but don't treat her as a friend. "Sooo sad!", my 10 year old sighs, empathetically.
Lisa Yee claims to not have skipped five grades in school, but she certainly understands what many of the issues that might confront a sensitive, gifted, 11-year old high school senior might be. |
The plot is NOT what makes this book so good. Even my daughter, who is usually not keen to guess plot twists, figured out early on what many would be. (And said, "foreshadowing".) No matter -- the characters are spot-on.
My daughter rated this a 4 out of 5, but that was because, "it ended".
An interesting thread of questions it raised for her started with "Is there such a thing as an average IQ?", proceeded to "And how do you know what someone's IQ is?", to "Do you know MY IQ?", to "What IS my IQ?".... |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Millicent Min, Girl Genius |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
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| Author: | Jerry Spinelli |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
An amazing fiction book that confronts the issue of a gifted child trying to fit in. My 10 yo and I loved this
VERY sad but VERY funny and VERY true novel. We read it to each other this summer, alternating chapters, and every time
my older daughter caught us, she'd hang out and listen.
Stargirl is a brilliant and highly eccentric high school girl.
The novel is written in the narrative voice of the boy who loves Stargirl with and for all her eccentricities and yet despite himself wants her to fit in at school so he can fit in too. |
As this book points out, to a great extent, being eccentric is a choice and it does have a profound
influence on how other students treat one. OTOH, NOT being eccentric can really isolate a person from herself.
Other books about gifted children |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Stargirl |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
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| Author: | Stephanie S. Tolan |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2002 |
Joyous, involving story about a family of stereotypically gifted but stereotypically self-involved Artistes and the stereotypically Troubled Youth who benefits by becoming swept up in their passionate pursuit of Art.
Stephanie Tolan takes wonderful advantage of the fact that we all know the Sound of Music so well we can hear
the music in our heads, and those stereotypical personality types move the story along
efficiently and with great humor. The characters themselves know they are stereotypical; and their self-awareness is one of the things that saves them and the story.
Not a great book, but one we are very glad to have read.
We particularly LOVED the way butterflies weave the various plot elements together.
Excellent portrayal of the joys of homeschooling.
-- Emily Berk |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Surviving the Applewhites |
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: 8 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Homeschool, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
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| Author: | Kate Chopin |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1899 |
Hard to believe that these stories were written more than a century ago. Although they are firmly rooted in the bayous of Lousisiana just before the turn of the 20th century, the women in these stories face choices heartrendingly similar to those of women today. |
My favorites this week are Regret, in which a childless woman, set in her ways, is obliged to care for a some of her neighbors' children for a while. And, The Awakening itself, a novella about a woman who seems to have it all, but does not. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Awakening and Selected Stories, The |
Posted in Conceptual: for grown ups, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, History, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
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| Author: | Lois Lowry |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1979 |
"Mom," my daughter said to me, in response to a very bad joke I told her. "Anastasia Krupnik is funny. Anastasia Again is funny too. That joke was not."
Life and loves of a ten year old aspiring poetess. |
Slighter than later Lois Lowry, but interesting to our nine year old. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Anastasia Krupnik |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
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| Author: | Lois Lowry |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1979 |
Anastasia is now 12, has a 2 year old, precocious brother, and has moved to the suburbs. |
"Mom," my daughter said to me, in response to a very bad joke I told her. "Anastasia Krupnik is funny. Anastasia Again is funny too. That joke was not."
Slighter than later Lois Lowry, but hilarious to our nine year old.
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Anastasia Again |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, March 13th, 2006
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| Author: | Dick King-Smith |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, magic |
| Year of publication: | 1983 |
Involving contemporary account of a girl who is granted seven! wishes, more or less. |
Don't you always wonder why the person who gets the wishes doesn't just wish for extra wishes as the FIRST wish? Yes, Robin William's genii did rule that out in his statement of pre-conditions as announced to Aladin, but most other wish-granters don't bother. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Queen's Nose |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: 8 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Monday, March 13th, 2006
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| Author: | Anne McCaffrey |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, dragons |
| Year of publication: | 1976 |
I was not sure whether to be shocked or amazed at the outrage my daughter expressed when she realized that Menolly was forbidden to sing just because she was not a male. Guess gender bias has not held my daughter back as of yet. On the other hand, she LOVES this book. |
My daughter also loved Dragonsinger. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dragonsong |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Music, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
