Book

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder, by R J Palacio

I have had R.J. Palacio’s novel on my ipad a while. I just never found the time to start reading it. Other books on my short list kept seeming more interesting, until a student of mine said she had chosen it to read this term! I know we like the same type of books, so I decided I should read it too, and blog about it as the reading progressed.

Maybe this is a book I can read, and put away a bit, to digest, and continue reading – and blogging about? We’ll see. 🙂

I found an article from the Times, in which the journalist wondered whether “Wonder” was the best novel from 2012. I know that “Code Name Verity” was my favourite novel in 2012, so I’m interested to see if this one can live up to Elizabeth Wein‘s great novel.

After reading the first 15% of the novel, (funny this; how reading e-books has changed how we talk about reading) I find that the author describes really well how the main character, August, perceives other people’s reaction to him, and the ways they try to hide it too.

The main character’s name immediately brings to mind another massive favourite novel of mine from this year: John Green’s “The Fault In Our Stars“! Sigh! I think this is my favourite novel so far this year! 

Well, “August” has found a place in my heart. Even though it is a week since I read the first part of the novel, I still think about him!

 

Sources:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/education/schoolgate/article3344668.ece

http://www.amazon.com/Code-Name-Verity-Elizabeth-Wein/dp/1423152883

http://www.elizabethwein.com/

http://johngreenbooks.com/the-fault-in-our-stars/

The Saturday Boy by David Fleming

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In this blog I wanted to share my experience of reading David Fleming’s novel “The Saturday Boy”. I planned to read a chapter or so at a time, and to add to this blog along the way.

I teach English as a second language at Ramstad school in Bærum, and my students are also blogging about a novel this term. This way we can share our reading with friends and family, and hopefully get some ideas for our future reading, and some feedback on our blogs too. This is the first time I ask students to blog about a novel, so many of us are “greenhorns” regarding blogging ! 🙂

I first came across “The Saturday Boy” on Amazon, and fell for the blurb and description of the novel:

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from comic books, it’s that everybody has a weakness—something that can totally ruin their day without fail.

For the wolfman it’s a silver bullet.
For Superman it’s Kryptonite.
For me it was a letter.

With one letter, my dad was sent back to Afghanistan to fly Apache helicopters for the U.S. army.”

It turned out that this was a novel I read very quickly. Once I started reading it was no holding back, neither the number of pages nor the tears… So, you know; it’s that kind of book!

I feel a lot for all the characters in this novel. Well, almost all the characters; Budgie’s parents didn’t impress me much, to borrow a phrase from Shania Twain 🙂

For me it was an additional pleasure that the main character, Derek, participates in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. This made for an even richer reading experience. I do love “A Christmas Carol”! 🙂

I can recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys reading, and who has experienced loss at some point in their lives, and who knows that life goes on after all! 🙂

Sources:

http://www.amazon.com/Saturday-Boy-David-Fleming/dp/0670785512/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378770420&sr=8-1&keywords=the+saturday+boy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_a_second_or_foreign_language

http://www.ramstadskole.no/

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/greenhorn

Image: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16101174-the-saturday-boy

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