A few students have asked me if I have read every book in the library, and the answer is an overwhelming "no". With that being said, I am trying to work my way through as many of the school's library books as I can, so this weekend I read The Possibility of Now by Kim Culbertson. I go back and forth about how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I relate to Mara, the main character, because of the never ending lists that she makes, and her anxiety and struggles to do well. If you are a list maker with crazy challenging goals that you aren't even sure are your own, you, too, will relate to Mara. In the middle of a calculus exam, Mara snaps; she feels that in the grand scheme of things (compared to global warming, world hunger, terrorism, insert whatever big unsolvable problem you can think of here), that the score on a test is meaningless. Here she is, overachiever extraordinaire, ripping up her test paper and causing a huge scene. And because we live in the digital age, someone caught it on camera and posted it on Youtube, thoroughly embarrassing Mara and opening up a forum for discussion on her actions. She wanted to put it behind her, but Mara realizes that calculus wasn't her problem. So what is? She leaves town (part of what I don't like about the book: that she has to run away to solve her problems, though she does learn a lot about herself and her family, so I guess it is okay) to go to Lake Tahoe and stay with her biological father. He might as well be a stranger, and his life is one without deadlines and expectations, the total opposite of what Mara is used to. This causes her lists and priorities to change: now she wants to learn to ski, learn about her dad, and learn about these kids whose priorities aren't school related. So to break down my opinion, I like it because most of the characters are relatable and/or recognizable. I also like it because Mara, and other characters, often demonstrates sarcasm. My criticisms include the fact that its premise is very much like John Green's Paper Towns in that it encourages people to actually live their lives, but it isn't as clever as Paper Towns. Also, it was predictable in a lot of ways. Overall, though, it was a good read that all might enjoy, and it is in our library.
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Note From Ms. PIt will probably come as no surprise that I am an avid reader. I have also been spending a lot of time in the Dawn Hodges Library here at WAAS evaluating what books we can add to have students really READING. Some of you already read on your own, which is great because reading opens your mind to new ideas and possibilities you might not otherwise think of. It helps you to imagine and live in a new world for a little while, which is something we all need sometimes. Archives
February 2019
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