Quick Check: The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne

 

FINALLY!  I've been staring at this book on my TBR pile for over a year but have just never had a chance to read it.  There has always been something---another book for review, a book for Virginia Reader's Choice, a book that I just had to read RIGHT THEN.  

Summary and image from Amazon:

All Hamlet Kennedy wants is to be a normal eighth grader. But with parents like hers - Shakespearean scholars who actually dress in Elizabethan regalia . . . in public! - it's not that easy. As if they weren't strange enough, her genius seven-year-old sister will be attending her middle school, and is named the new math tutor. Then, when the Shakespeare Project is announced, Hamlet reveals herself to be an amazing actress. Even though she wants to be average, Hamlet can no longer hide from the fact that she- like her family - is anything but ordinary.

This was a really quick and cute read.  It took me a solid evening and then about an hour of the next night.   

I really loved Desdemona.  I pictured her as a mini Sheldon or Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory.  Just super smart, but totally clueless in how to actually interact with people.

You could look at this and think, "Well that's just another book about a middle schooler being embarrassed by life."  And you'd be wrong.  Well, you'd be right, because she is embarrassed by her life, but its just one thing on top of another for this poor gal that makes it different and instantly likeable.  I mean, its bad enough she's in 8th grade (barf), but she has that name, her little sister is a super-genius and starting to go to school with her, her parents dress (and act) like they belong at medieval times, she's failing math, and then boys.  Poor kid just can't catch a break!  

I liked how everything came together in the end.  Yes, Desdemona might outshine Hamlet academically, but Hamlet finally learns that she has something special, and something worth standing out over.  

All in all, a good book.  If I taught middle school, I'd have no problem with this in my classroom.  Even though Hamlet is in 8th grade, the situations and feelings are universal and many kids could sympathize.  

Quick Check: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

 

 I don't know why I didn't pick up INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows earlier.  I had planned on it, but just never seemed to get around to it.  (BAD AMANDA!)  I'm so glad I finally did, though!  

I liked the story, and thought that Ana was sweet.  Though my favorite character was Sam; Sam is a heartthrob, and I loved how they interacted--he was so gentle and caring, and Ana was just so new!    

The only time I was unsure of what was going on was in the temple.  I had to reread that part, but I think I got it now!  

All in all, its a great book. 

Oh---And Jodi Meadows is a local gal!  We go to the same Books a Million!  HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?!

Here is the summary from amazon:

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.  

NOSOUL 

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?  

HEART 

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?  

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Trying a new thing...Quick Checks

I'm a bad blogger.  I don't always write a review for every book I've read.  Or, (I hate to admit), I start another book right away, and kind of forget what happened in the first book, which makes writing a review really really hard! 

So, I decided to do "Quick Checks" on some books. 

In my classroom, a quick check is just that, I'm checking in on a student, whether on fluency, comprehension or math, just to see where they are, and what we need to work on.  I need to quickly know what to work on next. 

Well, I figured that a Quick Check review on my blog would just be a short, simple review.  If I liked it or not, maybe some reasons why, but mainly just what I felt about it. 

This way, even though I'm not writing these huge long reviews on every book, every book I read is getting a mention.  So, from here on out, if a post is labeled "Review", it'll be more in depth; if it's labeled "Quick Check", its short and sweet.