Newbery

Jewell Parker Rhodes should have won the Newbery for Towers Falling.  She should win it next year for Ghost Boys.  This book is incredible.  JPR is one of the most talented writers to which I have ever been exposed.  Incredible.  Moving, honest, sadly "ripped from the headlines."  Creative, sad, hopeful.  Real. 

The Greatest

When I Was the Greatest is by Jason Reynolds, who is for sure, one of the greatest writers out there.  I loved this book and I loved the father who has faults but wow, what love.  I loved the main character and the love that he has for his friends and family.  I loved the reason why the boxing coach taught him how to fight.  Pay careful attention to the conversation that the coach has with Ali that causes him to decide to teach him how to box.  It is pretty beautiful, but so quick that you might miss it.  Great book. 

A Million Holds

There are a million holds on Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, so I just bought the audio and wow, wow, it was so worth it!  What a book.  I just couldn't wait any longer after hearing him talk about his book on Mashreads this morning.  (this is where I want David "I Hate Fat People" Levithan to know that I was running (albeit slowly) while listening.  Oh yeah, also, Mr. Levithan, I am 123lbs now.  Down 215lbs.  Do you like me now?  
Oh my gosh, I digress!
So sorry.  Anyway...
Long Way Down really, really is Printz worthy.  It has bumped The Hate U Give, maybe.  Or maybe it has tied with it.  (But still, Auma's Long Run is my favorite for both Printz and Newbery.)

Get Me Some Kellerman

I have read a lot of Kellermans and written about them a lot, too.  Savage Spawn:  Reflections on Violent Children is an old nonfiction book.  Written in 1999, there are so many more horror stories that it would include today.  This was published just before the Columbine shooting, for example, I assume.  Although folks on goodreads remarked their surprise at it not being included, the book was published in 1999 and the massacre took place in 1999, and it takes a long process to write and publish a book, regardless of the exact date, this one was done before April 20.
In addition to being an author, Kellerman is has a PhD in Psychology and has done a great deal of work with children.  He is very informed on the topic.  This work seems like a very balanced read.  The pros and cons of nature vs. nurture, an examination of what begets violence, is it the media?  Maybe, maybe not.  Is it oppression?  Poverty?  Education?  Maybe, maybe not.  There is discussion of psychopathology as well.  A lot to think about and Kellerman doesn't claim that he or anyone has the answers. But one thing he definitely takes a stand on is children's access to guns.  He admits he has gotten a lot of criticism about this but it makes sense.  I know I always repeat the story that there was a knife attack in China in a school on the same day that the Sandy Hook nightmare occurred.  No fatalities.  Dude to strict gun laws.  Could anyone have stopped the nut who stabbed the Chinese children?  Could anyone have stopped the nut who shot the children of Sandy Hook?  Who knows?  But if the Sandy Hook nut had not had a gun....

17 Years Later...

Columbine.
What a horrible, horrible hell.
It is seventeen years later and we still have school shootings.
We still have people with guns right next door.
On Friday a girl I knew since she was 3 was shot and killed.
This was the first time when someone I loved and knew well was killed by a gun.
I have always abhorred guns.
My father had a lot of violent tendencies and was a smart man.  He always said that he was so glad we didn't have a gun in the house.  He hated guns too, and was smart enough to know that a gun would have made it all too easy.
Read the article and pay attention to what the "hero" who subdued the shooter said about the shooter:
“He was yelling 10 times, ‘Get out!’ and they wouldn’t leave. Then I heard a scuffle and stuff breaking. Then,” Mr. Cox said, “he did what I would’ve done.”
Really?
Really.
Yes.
A few weeks ago we were trained at work for an active shooter.
ALICE training.
The training was very good.  During a portion of the training we were played a 911 call from the library at Columbine High School to hear what happened when students and staff were trained only to "lock down."  The same thing happened at Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook.  We don't want kids to be sitting ducks.
If you haven't had or heard of ALICE training, just know this:  don't let your kids or anyone just sit there in lock down.  Get out.  Barricade.  Run in a zig zag.  Throw things.  Scream.  Do what you must do to make a great, noisy, fuss and get them out.
For me, I don't work in a situation where I am alone with minors or other at-risk individuals alone. But I understand how the temptation for accountability would make the order to RUN confusing.  If the kids run, they will be scattered, they will be lost.
But the officer doing our training said something that will haunt me forever.
"We would much rather say to a parent, 'We don't know where your child is right now, but she is out there somewhere and we will find her.,' instead of 'We know right where your child is.,'" and have to point to the ground."
Last week I was in Denver and I drove to the suburb of Littleton to see the city's library.  It has a wonderful reputation and my visit there was just excellent.  Everyone I met was lovely and excited about their service to the community.
I guess it was because of the ALICE training.  And also because of my fear that a gun nut will be elected president and appoint a gun nut to the Supreme Court.  And also because I had just seen Bowling for Columbine again.  I drove by Columbine High School and it was hard.  It was hard and sad and just so sad.
And today is April 17 and Melissa is dead.  And I am listening to Columbine.
And I am sad.
I think about the fact that on the same day as the Sandy Hook hell, a guy with a knife attacked children in China and no one died.  They were injured yes.  But no one died.
So what is the gun argument again?

The Monster of Abuse

Scowler was a tough read.  I wanted to read it because I loved Kraus' Rotters.  I did enjoy it, but I read it while my father was dying and well, he was an abuser.  Not nearly as horrible as the father in this story!  But still, it was just doubly hard to read at that particular time in my life.  This is told from the POV of Ry, a recent high school graduate who is pretty much wrecked by his father's abuse.  When the book begins, his father is in prison, but he breaks out and comes back to finish his business with Ry.  Scowler is a about a monster in human form.  It is a tough book to recommend because of the harsh violence and really difficult themes.  I can't say I enjoyed the book.  It's not the kind of book you enjoy.   But it is very good.