I Almost Didn't Post This

I almost didn’t post about this book. I was SO excited to read it because I was going to add it to my "Written in Verse" Book Talk Bundle, and the plot seemed really compelling. BUT, on page 190, about halfway through, I abandoned the story. I honestly thought to myself, shoot, now I can’t share this book like I planned to!  And then I remembered: Living a reading life is about falling in love with stories, but it’s ALSO about learning what you like and don’t like. 

It’s as much about being shocked and pleasantly surprised by a novel as it is being disappointed by one.  So, I’m still going to hang this picture on my classroom bulletin board. I’m still going to talk about this book with my kids, and I’m going to be honest with them and tell them that the book didn’t work for me. I was bored. It was hard for me to keep reading, and I didn’t feel like I was getting much from the storyline or the characters. So, rather than force myself to read something I didn’t have to, I moved on to something BETTER for me. Real reading means abandoning books. And maybe I won’t bond with my students about how much we love a book every time. But I bet I will connect with them over the feeling that some books just stink or aren’t right for us. Do you make sure to tell your kids about books you’ve abandoned?