Until it Gets Its Talons in You

Adolescence should be a time for freedom, rebellion, and learning about who you are, but if you are part of Talon, your life is never yours. In the first book of Julie Kagawa's new series, Talon, a unique young woman fights rules and restrictions like every young teen, except she is the furthest from a normal teenager as one could be. 

Ember Hill is unique. She has a brother. It is very rare for a dragon to have a sibling hatched alongside them. Dante is her best friend, but not only because they have been hidden away by a secret dragon society for most of their hatchling years. She trusts Dante completely. Now she and Dante are being moved to California to learn to assimilate with the humans so they can eventually live among them without detection once they are trained for their careers in Talon. Talon understands that if humans knew about the dragons, they would hunt them to extinction, so they protect their hatchlings and their way of life. Although they haven't been able to keep their existence a secret from everyone. An equally secret order of humans called St. George lives and dies by hunting dragons. They know they have to do away with female dragons and hatchlings to keep the next generation from taking over the world. All this is important to Ember, obviously, but what she really wants is one summer of freedom and "normalcy" for a girl her age at the beach. Unfortunately, her summer, like her life, is anything but normal. 

Ember and Dante's human guardians have strict rules, but it doesn't mean they aren't allowed to have some fun. Ember loves her freedom as much as she loves the beach and surfing. Since she isn't allowed to fly under any circumstances while she is off Talon controlled property, surfing is the closest she can come to that feeling of exhilaration. When she meets a boy named Garrett, she can't help but be drawn to him, even if her inner dragon is screaming at her to run away. But Garrett has a secret, too. As an elite member of St. George, he has been sent to California to find the new hatchling their sources say has been infiltrating the town. He suspects Ember, but he has always known dragons don't have siblings. That, among other St. George facts, might be completely wrong. For Ember, everything she knew about Talon might be wrong as well. This is a story about two young adults who come from opposite ends of an ancient war who really know nothing about the sides they have been born into fighting for. 

I really love Julie Kagawa's books. I still haven't read her lengthy Fae series, but her vampire series was a breath of fresh air in a genre that is stuffed with "same ole, same ole." Now she takes a dragon story and makes it fresh, new, and exciting! I loved how Ember was going through the same kinds of struggles as any teenager: boys, friends, parties, feeling stifled by rules and restrictions, etc., yet she was as different as different can be. It made her relatable yet completely interesting, and I absolutely loved it. She was even stubborn and petulant at times, just like every teen we know and love. I also loved Garrett for the same reasons. The only character who was really flat for me was Dante. I just couldn't get over how unwilling he was to even consider there might be other answers out there that contradict what Talon always told him. He was naive and unimaginative, and therefore, I found Ember's devotion to him difficult to tolerate. 

The story itself never had a dull moment, and you will find yourself questioning everything right alongside Ember. She is inquisitive and skeptical, and I think a lot of teens will really relate to her, even if she is a mythical flying reptile! Kagawa has done it again with this story, giving readers an exciting and thrilling story that when it ends, you will find yourself screaming, "NOOOO!" because you just want MORE! Loved it!

5 Waves of Pure Genius

There are good authors and then there are authors who have made some kind of Faustian deal. Everything they write is brilliant. For me, Rick Yancey is one of those authors. Having followed the Monstrumologist series from its beginning, I couldn't wait to see what Yancey did with The 5th Wave, an entirely different kind of story. All I have to say is, Rick Yancey, you didn't fail me brother!

No one can predict what would happen if an alien race decided to invade earth, but we can pretty much bet they wouldn't travel all that way to just make friends and coexist. The 1st Wave began when they took out all the power. The 2nd Wave took advantage of our tumultuous planet and its fragile fault lines. The 3rd Wave used our own viruses and spread them through a innocuous and beautiful species, our birds, turning them into the carriers of the plague. After the 4th Wave, no one could be trusted. They looked like us, they talked like us, and the Others had fully infiltrated our kind. But the 5th Wave. That was pure genius. Evil genius, of course, but genius nonetheless. 

Cassie has lost everything, but only her brother could still be alive. After failing the one truth about this new world (Trust No One), she lost her brother to the Others. Now, she will do anything to get him back, but she has no idea where they took him. She misses the days when her biggest worry was whether or not Ben Parrish, the boy she had a crush on, even noticed her. She never anticipated a world where she would be skulking through the countryside with an M-16 strapped to her back. When she is shot by a Silencer, she assumes her promise to find her brother will be broken, but Evan Walker's miraculous appearance could change the tides for Cassie. But will she break the cardinal rule? Can she trust him?

Meanwhile Zombie is at Camp Haven training to fight the Others with the rest of the kids. The training is brutal, but when you have the fate of the human species riding on your shoulders, you do anything you can. When he is saddled with a really young boy named Nugget, he should think of self-preservation and leave the kid to fend for himself, but there is something about Nugget that makes Zombie want to protect him. He can't fully explain it, but there is also something strange about the camp. Of course, digging too deep might reveal information Zombie wasn't ready to learn. 

If I was a lesser person, I would have called into work just to read this book in one sitting. It was that amazing. Despite the length of the book, it read like it was 20 pages. Now, I have read Yancey's Monstrumologist series and loved every minute of it. It was witty and sharp. But this series takes Yancey to a whole new level. I don't throw the word genius around often, but Yancey truly earns that title. He knows how to write dialogue, suspense, human emotion, and everything in between. If you haven't read Yancey's work before, this is the place to start. You won't be sorry.

This world Yancey built is so twisted and so frightening, I couldn't stop reading but was simultaneously terrified to keep going. The Waves of destruction the Others washed down upon the world were so brilliant and horrendous at the same time, you will find yourself praying we never make that first encounter! But the tricky part is that the aliens, while the premise for the story, are really more of a background to the true story: the humans. The people on earth, fighting for their planet and their species, are the true meat to this story. The unflappable nature of people when all hope seems lost to pick themselves up and march on makes for a truly inspiring story. I loved this book, and I know you will too. It would be great for a variety of readers, adult and young adult. It is so exciting and enthralling, and no one's attention would wan from start to finish. So, my dearest Yancey, you are either a brilliant Other, or you are one tricky genius! Keep the stories coming, because brilliance needs to step out into the world!

Days of Resurrection and War

In The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Karou lived a strange life only to realize her origins were even more strange: she was a chimera who was secretly resurrected into a human body (instead of the cropped together bodies the Resurrectionist usually created) after her execution for loving a member of the chimeras only enemy: the angels. In Days of Blood and Starlight, Karou's guilt and pain make her become the one who can recreate bodies for captured souls: she is the resurrectionist.

As Karou takes over for the Resurrectionist, a chimera she loved dearly, she realizes her job is pressured by the needs of a war she feels responsible for creating. Chimera souls are trapped on the battlefield and brought back to her to create bodies for them to be perfect soldiers. Even still alive chimera are killed and their souls trapped so Karou can build them better bodies to fight the angels with. While hiding in Morocco, they build an army, but Karou is always singled out as the one who started the war with her relationship with Akiva, an angel and the chimera's sworn enemy. Only Thiago, the very person who executed her in her past life when she was originally caught with Akiva, will talk to her, but Karou doubts his good intentions. Still, she carries the weight of her fallen people whose souls they couldn't save upon her shoulders, and if she must work for Thiago, it is the least she can do.

Akiva watches the brutal chimera slaughters in their world at the orders of the angel emperor. Innocent, harmless chimera are slaughtered for no other reason than to eradicate the entire species. Now that the angels know the chimera secret of resurrection, they know how to prevent the soldiers' souls from being collected. But a new enemy has cropped up- an unforeseen group of guerillas who swoop in, kill angels, and mutilate their corpses as a message. Now the emperor doubles his efforts in the field, but Akiva has started a new campaign of his own: he is going to save as many chimera as he can in the name of Karou. When the angels learn there is a new Resurrectionist practicing, Akiva is afraid to get his hopes up that it might be Karou. But who else could be restoring the bodies of fallen chimera soldiers? Together, they are the star-crossed lovers doomed to love each other and fight for each other in a world that doesn't want them to love one another. But the world is bigger than the two of them, and no one knows that fact better than Karou and Akiva.

Laini Taylor wrote a stunning first novel in this trilogy, and her second novel is just as mind-blowing. This was a phenomenal follow-up that will keep you glued to it, so if you pick it up, make sure you have time to read it cover to cover! I couldn't put this book down for so many reasons, but in particular, for the many twists and turns Taylor creates that I never saw coming. In fact, the ending is so shocking I am dying to get my hands on the last book! Another reason is the chimera. They are such an interesting and varied species and the resurrectionist's job creating these amalgamations of different animals and humans is fascinating. Death just doesn't seem permanent when someone can easily make you a new body, but when it does become permanent to a species that hasn't had to deal with that before, it is devastating. This was so sad and fascinating to read about, I couldn't stop myself!

These books are very complex, and so I would suggest saving them for an older, stronger reader. If a student is a serious fantasy reader, they will probably already have the skills to unravel a new, unfamiliar world and truly enjoy this book. However, this is not a series for a younger or weaker reader, as it really is complex and difficult to piece together at times. For me, that complexity was brilliantly executed, so I wouldn't give this to a younger reader before they are ready for it and ruin the story with a series that they aren't ready for. Because when they ARE ready for it? They will be just as enamored as I am!

Deep and Horrifying Graphic History

There is something about a graphic novel depiction of a horrible situation, war, genocide, etc, that stays with you for a long time. I think it might be the fact that "comics" are assumed to be fun and light-hearted, but graphic novels and even comics have take a whole new approach. They don't limit themselves to fun, slight stories. They can be dark, serious, and very, very real. Jean-Philippe Strassen's graphic depiction of the Rwandan genocide will stay with you long after you have read the last frame. Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda is a powerful book.

The story is told in two parts. It shows the life of Deogratias, a young Hutu man who has been driven mad by the genocide, and it shows his life before the genocide in constant flashbacks. Deogratias was in love with with Appollinaria, but when she turned him down, he started dating her younger sister Benina. He loved both girls. It didn't matter to him that they were Tutsi and he was Hutu, or how their mother made her money to support them. When the President's plane is shot down and the genocide begins, Deogratias hides Benina in his house, but she cannot stay there without knowing what happened to her mother and her sister.

The present time show Deogratias, or what is left of him. He is still a young boy, but he has been driven mad by the things he has seen and the things he has done during the genocide. The people in the village treat him like a pet, a dirty stray dog. At night is when his demons haunt him and he drowns them with local banana beer. It isn't until the very end of the book, after witnessing Deogratias' flashbacks and loss into madness, that you see the return of a foreign priest who fled before the genocide got really bad. With his return, you learn the truth of what happened during the genocide to cause Deogratias' madness.

The illustrations in this book are dark and scary. There are times at the beginning where it is hard to tell what is happening, especially when you see Deogratias start to transform under the stars into a dog. The flashbacks give you part of the story bit by bit, and you have to puzzle everything together. Because you have grown to care and worry about Deogratias, learning the truth about his time in the genocide is very painful. Unfortunately, this is a very true depiction of what happened in Rwanda in 1994. Hutus who lived and worked with Tutsis for their entire lives were forced to kill their family and neighbors to avoid being killed themselves. It is hard to digest, but not because it is a graphic story (although it is), but rather because it is a true story.

I think this story is an incredibly important story for any young adult to read. Because of the horrifying nature of the genocide itself, it would need to be handled with background knowledge and sensitivity for the reader. The introduction by the translator gives a wonderful summary of what was happening in Rwanda during the time before, during and after the genocide. It is perfect for any student who isn't familiar with the events in Rwanda in 1994. The story can be violent and sexually explicit, but that is simply the nature of a genocide where rape was a tool for torture and murder was committed on a scale that is unheard of- 800,000 people in a few short months. So while you might be worried about giving this to a younger student, I understand your concerns, but think the benefits far outweigh the possible concerns, especially if it is taught well and with a strong purpose. I plan to use this graphic novel in my Rwanda unit this year, and am interested to see how my students handle it.

5th Annual Girl Bullying Conference

I had the privilege of attending this year's bullying conference last week. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but when I got there, it was clear these people had some great information and ideas. There are a number of different aspects for bullying, especially girl bullying, or relational aggression as it is called now (I just remember it as torture for most of 6th and 7th grade). You have to consider who is doing the bullying. These days, it isn't a big, scary-looking, mean boy with tattoos who smokes cigarettes as the John Hughes movies would have us believe. Instead, it is the popular girl, the smart girl, the girl who charms adults and knows how to torture her victims without ever raising suspicions. Who is the target? Could be anyone. Anyone who crosses the bully, has something she wants, or just has the pure dumb luck to be in the right place at the right time. The important thing to remember is the victim has done absolutely nothing to deserve this behavior. All too often we here "well, she is a weird girl. No wonder the other girls don't want to sit with her". This is called blaming the victim and is reprehensible on so many levels.

Another problem many schools face is where does the bullying occur? Well, as we all remember, it takes place int he hallways, the locker rooms, the school bus, etc. Barbara Coloroso said at the conference the bathrooms in a school were the single most dangerous place for a victim to enter. They are completely unsupervised space where the bully has total control. But the scarier and even less controlled than the bathrooms is the great land of cyber infinity. With all the social media we have at our fingertips, girls have taken bullying to a level we cannot fathom. If a girl moves because the bullying in her school is so bad, the rumors, lies, and torment only take a few keystrokes to follow her. Kids create Facebook pages about the perceived sexual activities of their targets. They text them. They video the target getting pushed, threatened, attacked, and then post it for everyone to see. This inescapable nature of cyberbullying has created a situation so dire kids are killing themselves. So what can we, as parents, adults, and educators, do about it?

Well, Barbara Coloroso will tell you conflict resolution isn't going to accomplish anything. Bullying isn't a fight, it isn't a conflict, so sitting down the bully and the target won't change a blessed thing. In fact, in this scenario, very often the bully will seem sincere, sorry, and beg forgiveness, while the victim will be angry and confrontational. The moderator may seem perplexed by this aggression and start to blame the victim, but would you want to agree to be friends with your torturer?! She went on to say people like Dr. Phil, who think the bully wouldn't hurt their victim if only they knew the pain they were causing, are so wrong they have left the reservation. Can we really think the bullies don't know the pain they are causing? Not only do they know how much they are hurting their victim, they enjoy it. They get pleasure from the pain. So telling them about the pain they inflict won't help the situation. It might make it worse, but it certainly isn't going to stop it. So what the heck can we do?

Well, first we have to recognize what the bullying has done to separate themselves from the victim enough to cause this pain with complete disregard. They have stopped seeing the victim as a person, and instead they see them as an "it". The victim is subhuman to them. So we must start early to create empathy among our students. They must feel for the people around them, including their victim. Now, I don't pretend to know how to do this, but if you have any suggestions, I am all ears. I have some ideas, of course, but I don't think there is any one formula or tactic that will work for every scenario. This is like a puzzle that can't be done the same way twice.

But the one thing so many presenters at the conference said is we can't be reactionary with bullying... we have to be preventative. How do we make our students care about each other so much they wouldn't bully? How do we create a sense of community where students protect one another instead of hurt one another? Once presenter created a year-long calender that focused on bringing girls together with various projects and community service efforts. They called it Chick Chat. It included some fun chick movies (and some serious ones), bake sales, clothing drives for battered women, and so much more. Each month was a theme like Breast Cancer for October, Family, Friendships, Relationships, etc. Each week there was an activity or meeting and they tried to include outside speakers for every theme. The presenter explained their girls weren't required to come, but bit by bit they trickled in until a community was born.

Punishment is important when bullying occurs, but there needs to be more than just punishment. I remember a student who damaged space in her dorm once, nothing too damaging, but enough to make a lot more work for the women in charge of housekeeping. Why did she do this? She didn't have empathy for them. She assumed it was their job to clean up after her, and their hard work didn't matter to her. The perfect "punishment"/exercise in empathy? Make her work with them for a couple of days, doing the same work they do. I personally think this made more of a difference with that young woman than any detention or suspension ever would have. Perspective is powerful tool.


Barbara Coloroso also write a book called Extraordinary Evil: A Short Walk to Genocide, a book that explains bullying behavior we see so often in schools across the world is very similar to the behavior and aggression the perpetrators of genocide display. They make their victim an "it", thereby negating any need for empathy or caring of their victim's pain. In Rwanda, the Tutsi were called cockroaches. In Germany, the Jews were called rats. Make your victim into something inhuman, and you can justify your actions and absolve your guilt. I have taught a unit about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide to students for a few years now, and the hardest thing I find is to make them truly understand the fear and pain these people experienced. It is so foreign and distant form their own lives, they have trouble imagining it. Sure, they understand genocide is awful, but they don't understand how awful. But every kid understands the reaction they felt to being bullied- the stomach clenching, sweat producing fear of seeing your attacker from a distance knowing what is about to happen. By connecting those emotions to the worst product of human nature, genocide, we can create empathy in our students. I have found this book to be an invaluable tool, and think any history teacher would count this as a valuable tool in their classrooms.

So we have a seemingly insurmountable problem that plagues our children. We have tried everything, and no solution is flawless. But if this conference has taught me anything, it is that our kids are too important to lose to bullying. We need to find a way to create empathy in our children. We need to never blame the victim and be savvy to the ways of the bully, including the charm, manipulation, and deceit they use when the adults are around. And most importantly, we need to create a community where they want to protect one another, not harm one another. It is a tough mountain to scale, but not impossible.