Read this at my campsite this week- and smiled to myself when I realized my fruit matched the book!

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

"You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that won't change its nature."

"For nothing could be better than when two love in one house, their minds in harmony, husband and wife. Their enamora are jealous, their friends delighted, and they have great honor."

"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."

More school reading- I haven't read this book since I chugged through it all in one day in high school in order to write my summer essay the day before school started. Reading it through an appreciative adult lens is already so much more enjoyable. Oh- and I have a puppy this time, too :-)

"Love is greater than force."

Reading the book for the first time and teaching it in a couple of weeks- excited to see what's in store for me this afternoon!

“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

"The past is the past and it's dangerous to go back."

"The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know."

Finished this book with my favorite guinea pig! Like always, Louise Erdrich truly impressed me. Her story telling abilities are incredible, especially the way she weaves together many lives and families.

“He was upset when pious land-grabbers declared that the Will of God was somehow involved in so effectively destroying Indians who squatted in the path of progress. Funny how often the Will of God puts a dollar in a pocket.”

“Bad luck rarely stops with one occurrence.”

“The worst kind of loneliness gripped him. The kind you feel alongside another person.”

“When a person speaks calmly and exudes peace, even a wolf may listen”

“There are no half sisters”

“There was a salty skin-dirt smell, overlaid with sour weed and clumped hair, that still closed his throat. The smell was on some people, some kids, and he‘d back away from it. He took a shower now every day. He washed his clothes. He liked the smell of ironing. The girls teased him, but they liked it too. Being clean wasn‘t something he took for granted, or having his own bed.”

“Most adults are hollowed out. You watch them try to fill themselves up with booze or money or God or fame or whatever they worship, and it all rots them from the inside until nothing is left but the money or booze or God they thought would save them . . . Adults think they‘re wielding power, but really power is wielding them.”

“Your now is not your forever.”

“The way people talked about fathers could almost make you glad not to have one.”

Although I had to take notes to keep all the characters straight, this was an incredible read! I love to try and solve mysteries before the author reveals the answers, but I was nowhere close on this one. I imagine the rest of her books are just as good- which ones should I be sure to read?

“Anybody can look at you. It‘s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.”

Before starting this book, I was warned it would hurt my heart, and it did- but in the best way. Maya Angelou writes so beautifully and poetically about the experiences she had growing up, many of which weren‘t beautiful themselves. I found this book to be an important eye opener.

“Hadn‘t I, always, but ever and ever, thought that life was just one great risk for the living?”

“Children‘s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.”

“She says that you must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors.”

“I knew they were too hypnotized by this beautiful lady who talked with her whole body and snapped her fingers louder than anyone in the whole world.”

“My pretty Black brother was my Kingdom Come.”

Once I got into the story, I couldn‘t put this book down! But I have to admit, it took me longer than I wanted to get hooked. The world building in this book is good but fast, which I think makes it so difficult to just dive into, especially for the YA audience it is written for. I definitely plan to read the second book!

“It‘s frightening to have a choice like this in front of me, a choice that changes all future choices.”

Some of my students are reading this right now, so I had to make sure I read it too- and I‘m so glad I did! Such a fun book. I think all high school students can relate to Emoni on some level because although her struggles are personal, all teenagers in high school are juggling a million responsibilities. Adults don‘t always understand the stress of being a teenager, but this book acknowledges that stress in a beautiful, uplifting way.

“And so at the age of four, I learned someone could cry from a happy memory.”

Residents of Southern California suddenly find themselves without any water and without any assistance. I love a dystopian book like this that tweaks one seemingly small, taken-for-granted aspect of society, and shows you how quickly and immensely the world can change without it.

“Things pass. Even big things. And when they‘re far behind us, they don‘t look big anymore.”

Absolutely CONSUMED this book! I love the characters, the setting, and the continued thriller/mystery. It‘s so fun to try and beat the characters to solving the mystery!

We are HOOKED

Aimee weaves her knowledge of the natural world with her own experiences- making this book perfect for readers who love to read about nature, people, or both. As someone who has long found solace and identity in nature, Aimee‘s way of relating to the natural world made my own personal relation with nature feel seen and valid.

“It was a grand adventure, and mysterious, and so it hit him where he lived.”

“It might take two to tango, but it only takes one to strut their stuff and shake their tail feathers, even a little bit.”

“What a wonder to have sons who unabashedly love to dance! Who aren‘t afraid to sway and shake to music whenever they encounter it- and to dance to music no one else hears but them. And so, I ask: when is the last time you danced like a superb bird of paradise?”

Absolutely loving this so far!

WOW this book was good. I‘m finally making a dent in the books I got for Christmas, and I can‘t believe I waited so long to read this one. The art was beautiful, the story is told so well, and for many reasons including Ha‘s talent, I believe going with the graphic novel format was perfect. This book made me feel SO MANY THINGS. An eye opening heart-wrencher.

“It‘s lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.”

I have read and loved 8 of Erdrich‘s books, and this was definitely one of my favorites. I love the incredibly interesting stories and family lines that she interweaves.

I really didn‘t know what to think of this book when I bought it for $1 at a thrift store. I‘ll admit that at times the author struck me as misogynistic, but the stories and feelings he winds together in this book were well worth the eye rolls. I had such strong emotions towards every character and every plot point. And I was especially satisfied that I was often surprised by the direction the story took- nothing cliche or expected.

Louise Erdrich is my favorite author and I think that beautiful Native American literature is best read in nature. As Erdrich painted a breathtaking scene of doves with her words, I looked up just as a gaggle of geese flew from the pond in this picture. If I remember right, the last Erdrich book I read was last winter camping in the mountains of Texas.

“I saw that the loss of their land was lodged inside of them forever. This loss would enter me, too.”

This book is absolute gold. So many important themes discussed but in such an accessible way. I have a tendency to love books that talk about tough topics through a child‘s voice because I feel that I can learn about the topics without being incredibly sad. The humor and wit of Isaiah were successful in informing me without completely depressing me- and I totally giggled at half of his thoughts/dialogue.