Monday, December 30, 2013

It's Monday What Are You Reading: Southern YA Writers

What have I been reading? The works of young adult writers from the South.  I was excited this past fall when I was asked to chair a panel for ALAN 2013, especially when I saw Beth Revis as a featured author, but imagine my delight when I was introduced to 3 other amazing YA authors who are of the South, Myra McEntire, Alan Gratz, and newcomer, Shannon Hitchcock. Aside from their background, time, the intersection of past, present, and future connects these authors' works. It is especially fitting to share these works as I look over the Appalachian mountains that inspired or are part of the setting for these books during my winter break.

Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, has penned a trilogy about two teens and their journey across space.  Though it is not set in the South it draws from her experience in the South especially the walls that confine.  You might integrate this series as part of a STEM program.  You also might pair it with Julius Caesar.  We used it as summer reading for our juniors this past year.  I can't wait to see what else this author writes.
 
The Ballad of Jesse Pearl by Shannon Hitchcock spins a tale of the past.  If you were 14 and handed your sister's son to take care of, would you rise to the occasion?  Shannon Hitchcock paints a vivid picture of life as a teenager during the age of tuberculosis.  How do you let someone go?  You might use this book during a study of the twenties. 

The English teacher in me was immediately in love with Horatio, the main character in Alan Gratz's mystery series that interweaves the tales of the world's most famous bard.  Something Rotten set in the foothills of Tennessee.  I am eagerly awaiting the release of The League of Seven in August 2014.

The web of time with the backdrop of Nashville creates an air of mystery around Emerson Cole, an orphan.  Myra McEntire weaves scenes from the past, modern time and time travel and to reveal Emerson's talent of seeing people n Hourglass.  Emerson finds, however, that she is not alone in her skills.  This story is the first in the trilogy, which I am still working my way through.






My view of the Smoky mountains, the backdrop of these books.
Happy Reading

3 comments:

  1. I just finished reading Boot Camp by Todd Strasser. I had several copies of it on my shelf in my intensive reading classes last year, but never got a chance to read because my students really enjoyed it. Its a suspenseful tale that keeps you on your feet. I can't wait to recommend to others :)

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  2. Love your view of our mountains! I usually read more for the younger grades, but I'm going to have to read Hourglass. Is it too much for my middle schoolers? I have to watch what I purchase in rural East Tennessee.....
    Mrs. Brown Loves Bookworms

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  3. Oh, I want to reading Across the Universe! I'm reading The Mysterious Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. I do not recommend it to you, Beth. It's gross and depressing and realistic... all the things you dislike in a book. But I'm also reading Longbourn by Jo Baker, a Christmas gift from Paul. It's the story of the servants who work in Longbourn, the Bennets' house in Pride and Prejudice. Any Jane Austen fan would be delighted with it. :)

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