The Chronicles of Mrs. Major

  One of Us is Lying 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY McManus, K. (2017). One of us is lying . Delacorte Press. ISBN: 978-1-52471-475-8 2.  PLOT SUMMARY 5 students, Simon, Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper are in afternoon detention together. Simon, the school’s gossip app creator, winds up dead with the other 4 as suspects. Each one has a motive for wanting Simon dead along with their secrets, but who ultimately did it? One of Us is Lying, grips you from the first pages, and remains suspenseful up until the shocking end.    3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS One of us is Lying is a thriller that’s compared to a murderous Breakfast Club. The big difference is that the misfits are suspects in Simon’s murder. The chapters are broken up with Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper being the narrators. We get a glimpse into their deep dark thoughts and also their insecurities. Teenage readers will see themselves in the characters; there are many instances where they are true to life. The theme is you don’t know...

  The Sun is also a Star 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Yoon, N. (2016). The sun is also a star . Ember. ISBN: 978-0-593-81540-3 2.  PLOT SUMMARY The Sun is also a Star is about two strangers who end up falling in love in one day. Natasha is facing deportation back to Jamaica and Daniel is facing a future forced by his Korean parents. Fate brings them together and love carries them through the hardships of the day. From Natasha fighting to stay in America to Daniel realizing that he wants to pave his own path career-wise, they depend on each other in ways they never thought possible.  3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The Sun is also a Star is a contemporary realistic fiction book. The appeal to young adults will be that what-if scenario. The quest for self-identity while also being held back by family expectations is a main theme in this book.  The characters are all identifiable by the audience because they deal with expectations put on you as a young adult and who you want to be. The plot is...

  The Hate U Give 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give . Balzer + Bray. ISBN: 978-0-06-249853-3 2.  PLOT SUMMARY Starr leads somewhat of a dual life. First is her home life which involves who she is culturally. Her second life is lived at a private school where she hides her true self and stuffs down her culture for fear of judgment. After her best friend is shot while unarmed, Starr wrestles with what to or not to say/do when the story goes national.  3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS This contemporary realistic young adult fiction book is the first by Angie Thomas. It falls under the category of darker contemporary fiction. It involves major events that are currently in the headlines. Racism and police brutality are at the forefront of this novel. This novel follows Starr, her family, and neighborhood life, as well as her private school life. The characters are developed in an extremely believable way. They are not stereotyped, but realistic. The theme is being true to...

 I began my ChatGPT journey with the prompt "create a school library newsletter for elementary students about summer reading". This was the initial result I got.  I reran the the query with additional sections to include; here is the result for that newsletter. I found a template on Canva for a summer infographic and copied the sections from ChatGPT. I am  pleased with the entire process. The LinkedIn course helped me to decide how to generate more specific newsletter sections and if it would be appealing to my audience. One of the cons I found was that the book recommendations are dated and the author interview was with Mary Pope Osborne. Another is that it lacked emotion so that would lead to more editing on my part.  When speaking with my group, two of us got very similar newsletters. Our other group member had a very different result with the same prompt. This goes to show that although AI can be beneficial, it's not consistent. When just starting out this can be...

  Meet Cute 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Armentrout et al. . (2018). Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.. ISBN: 9780385754729 2.  PLOT SUMMARY Meet Cute is an anthology of chance encounters between two people of how they met. The stories range from every day encounters to futuristic settings. The stories are about all types of relationships including LGBTQIA+. Couples meet, miss each other, stand up for themselves, realize the love they want, and are destined for. There are contemporary along with sci-fi ad fantasy stories which touch on romances that bloom and break.  3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Meet cute is an anthology of short stories written by 14 authors told in different persons for each one. The appeal to young adults will be that some of the authors are very popular right now. The characters are all identifiable by the audience which is mostly high schoolers. Although not completely developed, the characters are mostly realistic. The plots are mo...

  Mexikid 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Martin, P. (2023). Mexikid . Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-1-51604-196-1 2.  PLOT SUMMARY Pedro (American name is Peter) Martin resides in California with his Mexican born parents and 8 other siblings. Among all the chaos, Pedro is trying to navigate his place in the world as a Happy Days, superhero, and Star Wars lover. His father tells the family they are going on a road trip to Mexico to bring back their Abuelito to live with them. Thus ensues a comical and chaotic 2,000 mile journey to  Pegueros, Mexico. There Pedro is immersed in the culture and his family’s history. Through ups and downs, Pedro is just like any other kid growing up trying to find his “grito”.    3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS This graphic memoir is told from the point of view of Pedro. The main characters are developed thoroughly so that the reader has a sense of connection. Pedro is a kid looking for a sense of purpose and figuring out who he is. Abuelito is port...