Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted for us book blogger types by the Broke and the Bookish. They provide a topic, and all of us participants post our answers on our blogs and we hop around checking out one another’s answers! This week’s topic is: 

Top Ten Books I was Forced to Read

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Not only was Chopin’s novel well known for its reputation by being banned by a number of states when it was first released in 1899 for inappropriate themes.  Not only that but Chopin explored the wonderful awakening of a woman’s sexuality in the strict Creole society at that time. 

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Possible unreliable narrator, tragic love story, ghosts….what more could you want?
3. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
I’m still not necessarily a huge fan of the vignette writing style, but it was impossible to not be intrigued and moved by Cisneros stories. 

4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Ah, the Modern Prometheus.  This book is full of fascinating themes other than biology and the ability of man to play God.  The plethora of Daddy Issues and the author inserting herself  (M.S.) into the text as the recepient of Robert Walton’s letters that tell the story.  

5. Animal Farm by George Orwell
Animals exemplifying Communism? Is there any other way to learn it? 

6. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
This book I just really loved because it scared the crap out of me.  But it was well written and kept me on my toes the whole time! 

7. Atonement by Ian McEwan
As heartbreaking as this text is, it really is a testament to modern storytelling and the use of an unreliable narrator. 

8. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
This is such an excellent novel, nay, Graphic Novel on the subject of modern racism. 

9. King Lear by William Shakespeare
Most definitely my favorite of Shakespeare’s tragedies and the literary home of my favorite Villian, Edmund. 

10. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Middle grade is most definitely not normally an age that I enjoy in fiction, but Selznick really brought tears to my eyes with the phenominal story telling and the excellent graphics. Plus, that train coming out of the building? Crazy, right? 

What were some of your favorite novels that you were “forced” to read?!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted for us book blogger types by the Broke and the Bookish. They provide a topic, and all of us participants post our answers on our blogs and we hop around checking out one another’s answers! This week’s topic is: 

Top Ten Books You Wish Were Taught In Schools

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I think that this novel would be a really great companion to a Holocaust unit that also used Night by Elie Wiesel. It is emotional, clever, and reinforces the importance of Holocaust knowledge. 

2. Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Perhaps for use in a unit exploring point of view because of the wonderful use of Second Person.  

3. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
This novel is extremely well written and deals with extremely hard subject matter.  It reminds me of Speak in the sense that it is important for young adults to read and understand the story. 

4. This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel alongside Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Mostly I think that Oppel’s novel could really boost students interest in Shelley’s classic tale, and it would be fun to teach alongside it. 

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
With the huge boost in Dystopian YA Literature, I really believe that Collins’ trilogy would be an excellent way to teach some of the features of Marxism (Alienation, Rebellion, etc) and students would be receptive to reading such a popular novel. 

6. Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman
This picture book is an excellent way to introduce young children to the story of 9/11 and shows how heroic American citizens were in the form of a Fireboat. 

7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
This is a controversal text, and I know that a lot of schools would choose to not teach it because of some of the subject matter, but its letter based format, use of music, and extremely contemporary text makes it an important story. 

8. Ten by Gretchen McNeil alongside And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
I know that my eighth grade English class required us to read Agatha Christie’s excellent and creepy story.  Ten is a modernized version of the tale with its own specific twists.  I think it would be a fun comparison course for students to enjoy.

9. Fairytale Retellings by Jackson Pearce alongside Corresponding Fairy Tales
Mostly I would really enjoy teaching these novels with the Grimm/Anderson/Perrault originals, because it would be a lot of fun to show how fairy tales can still be applied to modern life and still retain their original intent and purpose. 

10. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
In a world of Bullying and constant criticism and questions concerning body image, I can’t think of a better series to have teenagers read that could really help explain what it would be like if we all looked the same. 

What are some titles you would like to have taught in schools? Why? 

Top Ten Tuesday!

Every week The Broke and the Bookish hosts a weekly meme for book bloggers.  All the participants share their top ten for what the topic is!  This week’s topic is:

Top Ten Books/Authors I’m Thankful For

1. Cassandra Clare

Dear Cassie,

Thank you for giving me the wonderful world of the Shadowhunters, and my book soulmate in Tessa.  Another book nerd who is just trying to find her way in a world that is full of questions and unknowns.

2. The Tudors by G.J. Meyer

Why am I thankful for this book? Because I recently found out that I am related to Anne Boleyn on my mother’s side, and not only was it absolutely cool to find out that England’s greatest monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, is a relative, but that I was able to find more information about Anne’s time in the palace.

3. A.A. Milne

I am thankful for Milne because I absolutely love the original Winnie the Pooh stories and my old stuffed Tigger still sits in my childhood room.

4. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Given my obsession with Alice, is this one a surprise to anyone?

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I love that Zusak took such a horrible part of world history and turned it into a beautiful story about love. 

6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

This book is too hilarious to not be thankful for.

7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

This was one of my favorite children’s books and it makes me cry every time.  Thank you Shel Silverstein for an unforgettable story.

8. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

I am most definitely thankful for the namesake of my blog!

9. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I really didn’t want to be thankful for this book when I was younger because it scared the crap out of me.  Although I definitely am thankful for it now…one of my favorite books!

10. Chelsea Handler

Thank you to the queen of late night for giving me three hilarious books that I can turn to when I am sad and/or just tired of the grind. (I’m pretty sure that she would make a lewd joke with that sentence.)

What are some Authors/Books that you are thankful for?

Book Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine? 

If you haven’t read anything by Gretchen McNeil yet, let me be the first to tell you that you should definitely check out her debut novel Possess (you can find my review HERE) and the Author Spotlight that I had the pleasure of doing with Gretchen HERE.  So if you did check out those links, I’m a huge fan of Gretchen and her writing: Ten is no exception. 
If you followed the past year prior to Ten‘s publication, then you will have heard that the novel was inspired by Agatha Christie’s best selling novel, And Then There Were None.

Inspired by means that there are really similar things at play: like the mysterious reason for collecting ten people on an isolated island, and the fantastic omage to one of Christie’s creepiest scenes, but Ten is most definitely a novel of it’s own. 

Unlike Christie’s classic thriller, Ten is told through the first person point of view of Meg, who is the kind-hearted best friend of a hardcore bipolar diva.  While there is no catchy poem in McNeil’s novel, there is a video that provides the attendees with the terrible possibilities of their weekend.  Instead of little Indian statues that disappear, there are bloody hashmarks drawn on the wall.  Instead of adults with terrible secrets, these are teenagers who have wronged someone.

McNeil keeps readers on the edge of their seats, and perfected updated ways to kill off these teenagers while thinking about the knowledge that an average teenager would have.  Meaning, yes, like Christie’s novel, the killer IS one of the people invited to the island.

Overall, I have to say that McNeil’s writing has just improved and I cannot wait for the release of her next novel 3:19. If you are looking for something that will spark your imagination (and make you think that anyone you were possibly mean to is stalking you and planning your death), scare you a little bit, and keep you guessing then you definitely need to pick up a copy of Ten.

If you really like Ten, then you should join me in the ranks of McNeil’s Army of Ten.  Check it out HERE.

5 Bards.

Comparison: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess, has finally released the cover for her second novel, Ten. Ten is a modern re-interpretation of Agatha Christie’s popular novel And Then There Were None. In honor of the cover release, we decided to compare the synopsis of both novels for you to enjoy!

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off the from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

First, there were ten – a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal – and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

I think I’ll be re-reading And Then There Were None to prepare! What do you think?