Stephanie+F.




 * Book Title:** __Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception__


 * Genre:** Contemporary Realistic Fiction


 * Author:** Gary Paulsen


 * Date of Publication:** 2011


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

Kevin Spencer is a fourteen-year-old boy in middle school who finds himself becoming increasingly more trapped in the lies he tells. __Liar, Liar__ tells the story of Kevin’s ability to stretch the truth with anyone and everyone around him. However, Kevin’s lies soon catch up with him and he’ll have to make some amends before it’s too late.


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?**

I liked that this book had humorous tidbits thrown into a story with a positive message. I found myself caring about the characters and wanting the best for them in the end. The main character is a major liar, but I found myself hoping that he could get a handle on his lies as they started to unravel. I didn’t like that the book was so short because I wanted to know more about the characters and their lives. It was a good book, but just as soon as I was drawn into the characters’ lives, I was nearing the end.


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers. One of the three can be a higher level thinking project or activity.**

1. In Liar, Liar, there are several situations where Kevin tells lies to others, but there are also lies that Kevin and different characters tell themselves. Explain which form of lying you perceive to be the most detrimental to a person: the lies we tell others or the lies we tell ourselves. Explain why you chose your answer.

2. Kevin seems to feel very justified in telling lies to those around him. Compare how he feels about his lies and how those being lied to feel.

3. Near the end of the book, JonPaul tells Kevin that he’s selfish. Evaluate Kevin’s behavior throughout the book and describe whether or not you truly believe that he’s a selfish person. Explain why you chose your answer.

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 * Fakebook URL:**




 * Book Title:** __Payback Time__


 * Genre:** Mystery


 * Author:** Carl Deuker


 * Date of Publication:** 2010


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

Mitch True is a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School in Seattle. Mitch has dreamed of being a reporter all his life and is upset at being named sportswriter for his school paper until a major story begins to unfold in front of him. Mitch and the sports photographer, Kimi Yon begin to unravel the mystery of the new football player, Angel Marichal. Angel has something to hide and Mitch and Kimi soon find themselves swept up in the drama and danger surrounding him. They must decide what they stand for and how far they’ll go to uncover the truth.


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? **

I really liked __Payback Time__ and wish I would have read it sooner. I had seen the book displayed at the library on numerous occasions, but never picked it up because I assumed by looking at the cover that it would be primarily about football, which is not one of my top interests. While the book indeed has football as it’s backdrop, it is about much more than that. __Payback Time__ examines what makes up a person’s true identity as well as to what lengths people will go to in order to hide or reveal what lies beneath. I liked that the characters were relatable and multi-dimensional. I cared about what was happening to them in the story and as more details were unearthed, I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. The book was a good length, but it seemed that while there was an appropriate lead-up to the ending, I didn’t like that things were resolved quickly at the very end. I had questions about how certain issues were resolved and wanted a little more information to clear things up.


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers. One of the three can be a higher level thinking project or activity.**

1. Mitch undergoes some big changes throughout the book and as he is investigating someone else’s life, it seems that he finally starts to enjoy his own. Summarize the ways that Mitch transforms himself throughout the book. Make sure to use specific examples and include non-weight related transformations.

2. Toward the end of the book, Mitch has to decide how he will react to knowing the truth about Angel. He ultimately decides to keep the story quiet to protect Angel. Imagine that Mitch instead decides to break the story about Angel and submit it to the Seattle Times. Pretend that you are Mitch and compose an article for the Seattle Times exposing the real story of Angel Marichal.

3. Throughout the book, there are different people that casually say hurtful things to Mitch that make him question his own self worth. List at least three examples of this from the book and evaluate the actions of those making the comments. Do you feel they are purposely trying to hurt Mitch? Why or why not?


 * Comprehension Activity:**
 * The main character (or one of the main characters in your novel) and provide an explanation for choosing each. Avoid making all obvious choices, but instead, get creative and think outside the box! **


 * Artifact #1: A copy of the 1st issue of the Lincoln Light newspaper from Mitch’s senior year listing his name as the sportswriter. **

I chose this because even though Mitch got paid for articles he submitted to the Seattle Times, his high school paper means more. Mitch wouldn’t even have written any articles for the Seattle Times had he not been named as the sportswriter for his high school newspaper. Once he starts writing sports articles, he realizes how much he loves it and how proud he is of his articles. In addition, his articles for the Seattle Times keep getting revised by the sports editor for the Seattle Times while the articles he writes for Lincoln Light are all his own.

**Artifact #2: A napkin with the name Peet’s embossed on it.**

I chose this because Peet’s is the coffee shop that Mitch and Kimi go to when they first decide to investigate the Angel Marichal story. When Kimi asks Mitch if he wants to go with her, he is astounded that she actually wants to go and be seen in public with him. At this point in the story, Mitch doesn’t have much self-confidence or self-worth. This is somewhat of a turning point for Mitch as he becomes determined to try and slim down and feel comfortable in his own skin after he visits the coffee shop with Kimi.


 * Artifact #3: A scrap of paper with the quote “It’s never too late to become what you might have been” by George Eliot. **

I chose this because all his life Mitch has been overweight and tends to see himself only in this way. At one point in the story, he thinks, “To him (McNulty), I’d always be a fat loser and nothing more” (22). Mitch feels that people only see the of him and that it overshadows anything else about him. During the story, Mitch struggles to keep on track to become healthier and to lose weight. I think that he would have had this quote around to remind himself that it’s never to late to become the person you feel you truly want to be.

**Artifact #4 : A copy of the picture that Kimi took of Angel from the Mater Dei vs. Lincoln football game. The picture shows, “Angel, arms fully extended, making his interception, controlling the football with the very tips of his fingers” (92).**

I chose this because it shows Angel as Mitch saw him from the very beginning of the book: a talented football player who excels on the field. Mitch never stopped searching for the answer to Angel’s mystery and the picture represents the hope Mitch has for Angel to have a bright and promising future, wherever he may be.


 * Artifact #5: A nightlight for Mitch’s bathroom. **

I chose this because Mitch has always made sure to turn off the light off before he steps out of the shower for fear of catching a glimpse of his overweight body. I chose to include a nightlight because as Mitch begins to lose weight, he becomes more and more comfortable with who he is. He still sees himself as overweight, so he hasn’t progressed to turning the lights on, but he is making a start with a nightlight.




 * Book Title:** __Bruiser__


 * Genre:** Fantasy


 * Author:** Neal Shusterman


 * Date of Publication:** 2010


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

Brewster Rawlins, known as Bruiser to his classmates, is a social outcast at his school. A quiet, loner who keeps to himself, Brewster was once voted Most Likely to Receive the Death Penalty by some at his school. Brewster doesn’t have any friends and seems to prefer it that way until Bronte, a girl at his school, befriends him and draws him into her world. Bronte, along with her twin brother Tennyson, soon finds that Brewster isn’t as awful as everyone thinks he is and she sets out to convince her classmates to accept Brewster. However, the closer Bronte and Tennyson grow to Brewster, the more they realize that he has a reason for keeping people at a distance. The more that Brewster starts to care about them, the more he’s at risk of being hurt himself. As the friendship between Bronte, Tennyson and Brewster grows, Brewster has to decide if his newfound feelings of love, acceptance and family are worth the price of his very existence.


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?**

I really liked this book, which surprised me because I usually don’t like fantasy books. I guess I always thought that fantasy books had to include magical kingdoms, wizards and mythical creatures. After reading __Bruiser__, I realize that fantasy fiction can have many of the same elements as other types of books, while at the same time containing some kind of supernatural element. I liked that this book had mysterious elements and the reader is compelled to keep turning the pages to figure out why Brewster keeps people at a distance and later, how he will survive once other characters start to figure out his mystery. One thing that I didn’t like was the fact that the author only gave a brief back story of Brewster’s healing powers and what his life was like before he went to live with his uncle. I wanted to know more about what his life was like before he met Bronte and Tennyson.


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers. One of the three can be a higher level thinking project or activity.**

1. On page 84, Bronte says that she couldn’t see her parents’ problems in their marriage because she kept her blinders on to keep from fully seeing the whole picture of their relationship. The idea of blinders also seems to apply to Brewster. Until Bronte and Tennyson befriend him, all of his classmates seem to keep their blinders on around him, keeping them unable to see the real Brewster. Analyze the ways that Brewster’s classmates keep their blinders on around him. Make sure to use examples from the book. Why do you think they refuse to see the whole picture when it comes to Brewster?

2. Brewster’s ability to take on the pain of others saves them from hurt but also prevents them from completely living their life. Choose a character from the book that has been healed by Brewster (Bronte, Tennyson, Cody) and describe how Brewster healed them (there may be more than one example of healing). Then, explain how the example of Brewster's healing that you chose can also be seen as a negative thing. How is Brewster's healing ultimately detrimental to the character that was helped?

3. On page 247, Cody asks Tennyson if he’s going to get like Uncle Hoyt and pleads with Tennyson to not become like him. Analyze what Cody means by his questions to Tennyson and answer the following: Why does Cody think Tennyson might become like Uncle Hoyt? Why doesn't he want him to get like Uncle Hoyt? What would happen if Tennyson did become like Uncle Hoyt? Be sure to fully explain your answers.


 * Comprehension Activity:**
 * Write a newspaper article about someone or something that happened in the story. NOTE: this is NOT a book report! Review a few newspaper articles to get the "feel" of the format. What would the headline say? Was anyone interviewed for the story? Who are the sources of information? Are there quotes from characters? Be creative! **

** Local Man Found Dead in Home **

On Friday, a local man was found dead inside his home. Police are investigating the death of Hoyt Rawlins, 54, who is believed to have died in his home at 6233 Evansdale Dr. When police arrived on the scene, the house was in disarray with several broken and destroyed items inside**.** Police believe Mr. Rawlins died of natural causes, but have not yet ruled out foul play. Witnesses near the scene said they heard loud noises coming from the house, but didn’t immediately have concerns. Darci Tillens, a nail technician at Happi Nails located across the alley from the Rawlins’ home had this to say: “I don’t know, I just didn’t think nothing of it when I heard all the noise and screaming coming from the house. We hear it pretty often, so I just didn’t think nothing of it.” Another neighbor, Joe Hoff, stated, “They all pretty much keep to themselves over there, so I’ve never really seen much of them. It gets kind of loud at times, but I just stay out of it because they seem to want to keep away from everyone else in the neighborhood."

Mr. Rawlins had worked for the Transportation Authority as a steamroller operator until recently. Randy Ross, a coworker, described Hoyt Rawlins as a steady worker who was proud of the work he did constructing new roads. “I’ve never seen a guy who was as proud as Hoyt was of driving his steamroller. You’d think he was flying a space shuttle for NASA as much as he took care of his steamroller.”

Hoyt Rawlins is survived by his children, Hoyt Jr., Hank and Holly all of Atlanta and his nephews, Brewster and Cody who were living with him at the residence when he died. His nephews have been temporarily taken in by Fred and Eleanor Gorton, neighbors of the Rawlins until further arrangements can be made. “I was Cody’s kindergarten teacher and it just breaks my heart knowing that those kids have nowhere to go. Besides, it is just the Christian thing to do,” said Eleanor Gorton. Mr. Rawlins’ nephews refused to comment.

Investigators hope to have autopsy results in by Monday and are continuing to investigate the scene and interview witnesses.




 * Book Title:** __The Always War__


 * Genre:** Science Fiction


 * Author:** Margaret Peterson Haddix


 * Date of Publication:** 2011


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

__The Always War__ tells the story of a country whose residents have only ever known war. Any and all resources are used in the war effort, leaving the country a bleak and desolate place. A teenage girl, Tessa, is excited when the local war hero, Gideon Thrall is named the recipient of a medal of honor for courage, as it will bring a sense of pride to their downtrodden hometown, Waterford City. However, when Gideon runs away from the awards ceremony claiming he’s a coward, Tessa is compelled to follow him. What Tessa discovers is more than she could have ever imagined. In her quest for the truth about Gideon, she finds herself on a mission to unearth the truth about her whole country and the decades long war that has caused so much devastation and pain. Tessa begins questioning everything she’s ever known and must decide how much she’s willing to risk to bring the reality about her country and the war into light.


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?**

I liked that this novel is a mystery and the twists and turns of the plot kept me engaged and wanting to know more. I don’t usually choose science fiction books to read and I was pleased that I liked this as much as I did. There were science fiction elements present (computer intelligence, futuristic aspects, etc) but the story was essentially about the bravery of a young girl who questions life around her, rather than complacently letting life pass her by, as it did so many other residents of her country. The only minor dislike I had was I thought there was a lack of information about the military. The military is supposedly the most important thing in the country in the story, but very few details were given about it. I wanted to know more, but maybe that was the author’s point: because the military was so secretive and somewhat of an authority figure, no one ever questioned it, even though doing so would have changed everyone’s future.


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers. One of the three can be a higher level thinking project or activity.**

​1. The military/ government seems to be in control of a lot of things in this book. Name three things in Tessa’s country that are controlled by the military/government. Then evaluate why you think Tessa is the only one to question the military/government’s authority. Explain your answer and use information from the book to support your answer.

2. Gideon Thrall is presented at the beginning of the book as a war hero and Tessa feels inferior to him. As the book continues, their roles become somewhat reversed. Analyze and describe the ways that by the end of the book, Tessa becomes more heroic than Gideon. Make sure to explain your answer.

3. On page 192, Tessa thinks, “What if humans are just going to be at war, no matter what? What if it’s better if we can all just believe the war is going on, and nobody gets killed for real?” Put yourself in Tessa’s place: a young adult faced with the task of telling your country about a fake war and trying to convince them that peace is the best answer. Decide what you would do if you were Tessa—tell everyone about the fake war or let them continue believing there’s a war. Explain why your answer is the best solution and use examples from the book to support your answer.


 * Comprehension Activity:**
 * Write a description of one character from the story. Then find four quotes from the story that support your description of the character. Make sure to cite the page numbers for each quote.**

Tessa is a teenage girl who lives in Waterford City, a bleak city that has been reduced to dilapidated streets, businesses and homes due to the country’s war that has lasted over seventy-five years. The city’s residents have been affected by a life of war and are either mean and spiteful or depressed and without hope. Tessa seems to be one of the few people in the city who has some ambition and hope for life left even after living in such a desolate environment. While many of the residents seem to complacently go about their mundane lives, Tessa dares to ask questions and is determined to figure out the mystery behind Giedeon Thrall, the town war hero. Tessa isn’t afraid to follow Gideon and decides that she has to be the one to warn him of a mysterious follower. When she follows Gideon, she ends up following him into enemy territory and she uses her determination and inner strength to help figure out the secret behind the war. All throughout her journey with Gideon and Dek, she never falters and keeps questioning and digging until she realizes what is behind the never-ending war. Tessa is determined to not end up like her parents and all the rest of the despondent townspeople and this decision ultimately ends up saving her life as well as all the rest of the people involved in the war.

“She rushed into her own apartment, into her own room, feeling glad that her parents weren’t anywhere in sight. They were probably still sleeping off the disappointments of last night, of every night of their lives. They might not awaken all day. //Not me//, Tessa thought. //I won’t be like them//.” (pg. 23)

“By the time she’d caught up to them, her brain had reexamined the sight of the stampeding men—and the sight of the blessedly empty hall she was in right now—and she had a completely different question to ask than she’d originally intended.” “What does it mean,” she began, stopping to draw in air that stabbed at her aching, exhausted lungs. She tried again. “What does it mean that they seem to be //letting// us get away?” (pg. 148)

“Nobody knew,” the computer said. “No //humans.// Even General Kantoff doesn’t know. Even the enemy’s top general. The three of you—you’re the only people on the entire planet who know the truth.” (pg. 175)

“Gideon! Dek!” Tessa exclaimed, sitting fully upright now. “I figured it out! The computer system //wanted// us to know the secret! It was helping us all along! Because…because that’s the way to win the war!” (pg. 186)




 * Book Title:** __Woods Runner__


 * Genre:** Historical Fiction


 * Author:** Gary Paulsen


 * Date of Publication:** 2010


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

__Woods Runner__ tells the story of Samuel, a thirteen-year-old boy living in frontier Pennsylvania in 1776. Samuel lives in a small cabin with his mother and father and despite his young age, has become a skilled hunter and provides food for his family and neighbors. He has become skilled at tracking animals and is very adept in finding his way through the woods, something that serves him well throughout the novel. One day, Samuel returns from hunting to find his home and those of his neighbors burned and everyone dead except for his parents. As Samuel sets off to track the people that took his parents, he becomes caught in the middle of the Revolutionary War as he realizes that his parents were taken by British soldiers and Iroquois Indians. Samuel relies on his woodsman skills to secretly travel through the forest as he follows his parents’ captors to a British prison in New York, but will his skills be enough to save them?


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?**

This novel includes descriptions about different aspects of the Revolutionary War before each chapter that aren’t always discussed in other books (frontier life, the Hessians, war orphans, British prisoners, etc). I liked the fact that this is included and I think that it enhances the story by giving the reader background information about topics that aren’t always included in other readings. I also liked that this novel tells the story of the Revolutionary War story from a civilian point of view and shows what life was like for those caught in the middle of the war. While I liked the book as a whole, it is relatively short and I didn’t feel a real attachment to Samuel’s parents, whom he spends the entire novel searching for. There isn’t much of a story about them before they are taken, so I found it hard to have any strong feelings for them as Samuel is searching. I also didn’t like the way that the story ended. After a long search, as soon as Samuel enters into New York, he bumps into his mother, a fact that seems somewhat improbable.


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers. One of the three can be a higher level thinking project or activity.**

1. Samuel is shown throughout the book completing tasks that seem beyond his age of thirteen years. List three examples in the book of Samuel performing something difficult. Then, compare and contrast his behavior with that of a typical thirteen-year-old found in today’s society. What is different about the way that he lived? What do you think Samuel would think of teenagers today? Why?

2. There are several strangers who help Samuel on his journey to find his parents (John Cooper, the Clarks, Abner, Matthew). Choose one of these characters and describe the ways in which they help Samuel. Then, explain why you think they put their own lives in danger to help Samuel. Would you have done the same thing for Samuel? Why or why not?

3. After searching so hard for and finally finding his parents, Samuel decides that he can’t stay with them and heads back to the war and eventually the forest. Evaluate Samuel’s decision and explain why you think he feels compelled to leave his parents and go back to the horrors of war and the isolating forest. Make sure to fully explain your answer and use evidence from the book.


 * Comprehension Activity:**
 * Create a diary for your character using Power Point. I do not have Keynote on my computer; so if you use Keynote, make sure to save your project as a pdf so I can view it. Your diary must have a minimum of 8 entries (one entry per slide) and each entry should be a minimum of 6 sentences in length. You may add pictures, etc. to your diary. Make sure you also include a cover slide (your diary cover). Attach your power point to the wiki.**




 * Book Talk: __Liar, Liar__ by Gary Paulsen**
 * Page numbers for reading: 23-24**
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1deHSCYSH-4**
 * The audio on the video isn't great and somewhat changed the way my voice sounds, but I couldn't change it**




 * Book Title:** __How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous__


 * Genre:** Non-Fiction


 * Author:** Georgia Bragg


 * Date of Publication:** 2011


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

__How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous__ by Georgia Bragg describes how various famous people from different time periods died. Some of the famous people in the book include: Christopher Columbus, Galileo, Pocahontas, Cleopatra, King Tut, Edgar Allan Poe, Beethoven, Marie Curie and Napoleon. The author also includes information about each person’s life, which gives the reader a summarized version of why the person is important in history.


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?**
 * I really liked this book and I thought the reading was interesting. I liked how the author interlaced humor within the text and I think the book could be very useful in getting students more interested in people from history and could also be used for supplemental information in a history class. I also like the fact that at the end of the book, the author includes other books to read and websites for each person in the book, which students could use to find additional information about a person that they were interested in. **
 * There wasn’t really anything that I disliked about this book. I thought it was well-written, interesting and funny, and at the end, I wished that there were more people to read about. Maybe there will be a volume two in the future. **


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers. One of the three can be a higher level thinking project or activity.****

1. On page 131, the author states that President Garfield would have lived if it weren’t for his doctors, who ultimately killed him. “The bullet never touched any vital organs. Garfield would have lived if the doctors had kept their dirty hands off him.” List four things that President Garfield’s doctors did that jeopardized his life. Then, defend their actions and explain why you think they did what they did to try and save him.

2. Edgar Allan Poe didn’t seem to have a happy life. In his story, it says, “Misery, loneliness, and death are the grim themes of his work…and of his life. Lots of bad stuff happened to him, and then he died.” List four things that happened in Poe’s life that fall into the theme of misery. Then, analyze how these things affected his work. Do you think Poe would have written the same types of stories if his life had been more positive? Why or why not? Make sure to explain your answer.

3. Marie Curie made an important discovery when she discovered the element radium and the book describes this by saying, “Marie Curie gave life to a new element, but that element drained the life out of her.” How did the radium kill her? What else did she lose in her life by devoting all her time to studying radium? Evaluate Curie’s actions and decide if her discovery was worth the cost of her life. Make sure and explain why you chose the answer that you did.




 * Book Title:** __Same Sun Here__


 * Genre:** Alternative Format (Novel in Letters)


 * Author:** Silas House and Neela Vaswani


 * Date of Publication:** 2011


 * Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending!**

__The Same Sun Here__ by Silas House and Neela Vaswani is a novel that consists of letters between two middle school pen pals, River Dean Justice and Meena Joshi. River is a boy living in the mountains of Kentucky while Meena is an immigrant from India living in Chinatown in New York. While they come from very different backgrounds, they are able to become close friends through their writing. They each face their own kind of prejudice in their lives (River for being from the Kentucky hills and Meena for being an immigrant in a new country) and they realize that they may not be so different after all. This novel shows the hardships in each of their lives: River faces his beloved mountains and way of life being destroyed by mountain top removal and Meena and her family struggle with impending eviction from their apartment and immigration issues. However, they are able to face their problems with courage and realize that everyone sees the same sun no matter where they are.


 * What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?**

I really liked this book and I liked how the story was told from the point of view of both River and Meena. I also liked how the letters made up the story, rather than just being supplemental as in other novels that include a letter or two with the text of a story. I also thought that the authors made River and Meena very authentic and looking at the back cover, realized that the authors themselves are closely related to the character they were writing (House is from Kentucky and Vaswani is in New York). As with many of the novels that I have read, I disliked the fact that it had to end. I wanted to see what would happen when the two pen pals finally met, but the story stopped right as they are planning to meet in the near future.


 * Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. These should be questions that require students to dig into the reading to support their answers.**

1. Both River and Meena are very close to their grandmothers. Give a brief description of River’s Mawmaw and Meena’s Dadi. Then, analyze the grandmothers’ importance and explain why they are more important than anyone else to River and Meena. Make sure to use examples from the book when you explain your answer. 2. Meena’s family hides their identity in order to live in their apartment in Chinatown. Describe at least three things that they have to do to avoid eviction from their landlord. Then, examine their actions. Do you think they are justified in what they are doing? Why or why not? What would you do if you and your family were in Meena’s position? Why? 3. Meena’s mother struggles with Meena wanting to be like her American friends and says to her, “Meena. Don’t forget yourself. You are my Indian daughter, not my American daughter”(220). Give three examples of things that Meena’s mother says or does to show that she wants her to be more Indian, rather than American. Then, analyze her actions. Why do you think Meena’s mother acts the way she does? How would you feel if you were Meena? Make sure to fully explain your answers.

**How can you see this book being used in the curriculum? For what grade level would it be most appropriate? Give a specific example of how you as a teacher might use the book as part of the taught curriculum. What specifically would you use it to teach and what would you have students do with it?**

The main characters in this book are in middle school, so I think it would work well at the middle school level, but the themes and writing could also work in high school as well. This novel tells a compelling story and could be used alone in a language arts classroom as well as in a history, government or social studies class as a supplement to discussions of such issues as immigration, fair housing laws and mountain top removal and it’s implications. Because it is made up of letters, the book could be used in its entirety or in small sections, depending on the topic being discussed. If I were teaching this novel as part of the taught curriculum, I would show students pictures of the different settings in the story (Kentucky mountains, Chinatown in New York and the area in India where Meena lived before coming to America). I would have students discuss the similarities and differences among the settings. After reading the book, I would use the questions above in class discussions. I would then incorporate persuasive letter writing into the lesson and introduce the concept of writing a persuasive letter to lobby for a change. Students would choose between writing a persuasive letter to the governor of Kentucky about stopping mountain top removal in Kentucky or a persuasive letter to the governor of New York about deplorable living conditions in rent controlled apartments in New York. As a culminating activity for the novel, I would have students write an additional section of the book, describing what happens when Meena and River finally meet in New York. Students could write Meena and River’s side by themselves or work with a partner and each take a role to complete the additional section of the book.