Ricki – Page 104 – Unleashing Readers

Now Open the Box by Dorothy Kunhardt

December 27, 2013October 20, 2013 by Ricki

Now Open the Box
Author: Dorothy Kunhardt
Published: August 20th, 2013 by NYR Children’s Collection (First published: 1934)

GoodReads Summary: Peewee’s in the box! Peewee the dog doesn’t know any tricks, “not a single one not even how to roll over not even how to shake hands but never mind he is so teeny weeny that everybody loves him,” the clown, the fat lady, the thin man, the huge tall giant, the strong baby, the acrobats, the elephants, and all the other amazing performers in the wonderful circus of the man with the quite tall red hat. But then something unexpected happens that threatens to bring Peewee’s time under the Big Top to an end.

Now Open the Box is a beautiful example of the art of Dorothy Kunhardt, the author of the timeless classic Pat the Bunny and the pioneering picture book Junket Is Nice. Here Kunhardt speaks with wonderfully reassuring directness to children’s hopes and fears while making magic out of the simplest things.

Ricki’s Review: This picture book made me chuckle. I absolutely adored little Peewee and his circus adventures. I will admit, as an English teacher, the whimsical run-ons make me want to get out a pen, but I have to admit that they do add fantastic, curious element to the story—which remind me of Dr. Seuss’s fun stories. They certainly add to the book’s whimsy. Dorothy Kunhardt doesn’t just tell us about Peewee. She adds great imagery of the various, magical creatures in the circus. These aren’t your average circus animals, either. I loved the vivid illustrations and can’t wait to read this to my baby (who is due in 7 weeks!). I know this will be a favorite.

Kellee’s Review: I will have to second all that Ricki said. Dorothy Kephardt has a way of telling her stories that reminds me of the We’re Going on a Bear Hunt song/story. They are catchy, fun, and will get the kids chorally reading “S/He loved little peewee.” Then underneath all of the fun and whimsy is the essential question of the story: Will I be loved/wanted even after I am not young and little and cute anymore? I think that this question will leave a large impact on the primary students who will get the gift of this story.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Kids will have a lot of fun with this picture book. Teachers can read it aloud and then ask students to envision their own circus animals and draw pictures. There is a lot of great imagery. It would be beneficial for teachers to read a line from the book aloud and then ask students to visualize the animal before they see the picture. There are a lot of great stopping points where teachers could also ask students to make predictions about the box and Peewee’s plight. Finally, as Dorothy Kephardt writes her books in a formulaic fashion, students could use Now Open the Box as a mentor text to make their own story with a surprise ending. This would make for a great teaching tool, and we recommend it for the classroom.

Discussion Questions: What did you think would be in the box? How might your prediction have changed the story?; What makes Peewee unique? What makes us unique? How might being different be exciting and beneficial to us?; What happens after the story ends? Imagine the future for Peewee and add to the tale!

We Flagged: We loved all of the circus animals in this story, so we wanted to share one of the animals who loved Peewee:

“There was a giraffe who can swallow a big rubber ball without sneezing. He loved little Peewee” (p.31).

To see a sneak peak of the book and get an idea for the illustrations, visit the Now Open the Box Amazon page and “Look Inside”

Read This If You Loved: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, Junket is Nice by Dorothy Kephardt, The Napping House by Audrey Wood, That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems, other picture book classics like Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey and The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Media Masters Publicity for providing copies for us to review**

Blog Tour, Review, and Author Interview: Double Vision: Code Name 711 by F.T. Bradley

July 27, 2015October 18, 2013 by Ricki

Double Vision: Code Name 711
Author: F. T. Bradley
Published: October 15th, 2013 by HarperCollins

Summary: Twelve-year-old Lincoln Baker isn’t a great student, and he often gets into trouble, but one thing is for sure—he is a great spy. In his last adventure, Linc went on an undercover mission in Paris and saved the world, but this time, Washington D.C. needs his help. A dark car pulls up to his road, and Pandora tells him they need his help. The president and her family have received a death threat, and they need Linc to help save her life. Worse, George Washington’s coat, which is believed to protect the wearer from harm is missing. Unfortunately for Lincoln, his doppelganger, Ben Green is also asked to help with the mission, and Lincoln wants to solve the crime first.

Review: Readers will enjoy this adventure through Washington D.C. and learn about the different museums and pieces of America’s history. Linc’s journey is action-packed and is sure to engage reluctant readers. I was actually visiting Washington D.C. while I read this book, so it was fun for me to learn more about the museums as I visited them. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet, but I was able to follow along with the details of this second book very easily. I enjoyed the hooks at the end of each chapter and was engaged in this detective story.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Middle school students will have a lot of fun with this book. I’d love to see it in American history classes, where teachers might use the book side-by-side with units about our history. Many schools take field trips to Washington D.C., and this would make for a great read-aloud on the bus ride! Or perhaps, teachers might assign it as required reading for the trip. As another alternative, teachers might make a Webquest for students to learn more about our country’s history as they read this book. The great foreshadowing at the end of chapters would be great to teach students how to make predictions.

Discussion Questions: How do 12-year-olds make for great spies?; Why does Linc’s nemesis, Ben Green, play an important role in the story?; Which characters were suspicious? Cite reasons why you found each of them to be suspicious.; How does the setting add to the color of the story? Pick a different setting and tell how the story might the story be different if it were in this setting.

We Flagged:

“Agent Stark got out of the car and gave me a little nod. And I knew my gut was spot-on: Pandora was back.

I got off my board and carried it as I walked toward her. ‘Hey, Agent Stark. You must be here for my mom’s spaghetti dinner'” (Chapter 1).

Please note: The above quote is from the Advanced Reader Copy. The quote may change when the book is published.

Read This If You Loved: The 39 Clues series published by Scholastic, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowtz, or detective/spy middle grade novels

Recommended For:

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Interview with F.T. Bradley!

Websites: www.ftbradley.com and www.doublevisionbooks.com

Twitter: @FTBradleyAuthor

How did you become interested in writing detective/spy novels?

I’ve always loved mysteries, from when I was young, and was given an Enid Blyton Secret Seven paperback. When I was a kid, there wasn’t a YA section in my library, so I moved on to Agatha Christie novels after that. I love the puzzle in mysteries. My interest in all things spy didn’t come until later, when I watched movies like Sneakers. Spies are cool.

When did this story come to you? When did you realize that you wanted it to be a series?

The Double Vision trilogy really started with Linc: what if a regular kid (and a troublemaker with a sense of humor to boot) had to take the place of a lookalike spy? Linc really drives the story; when I sit down to write, I just let him take a run with it and hope for the best. So far, the story is a hit with kids—but that’s all Linc, I swear.

Some of the stories developed as I worked with my agent and editor, once it was sold to Harper Children’s as a three-book series. For the second book, Double Vision: Code Name 711, we started with the Washington D.C. location, which is the center of the spy world. From there, I began researching George Washington, since Linc would be on the hunt for a mysterious double of Washington’s coat.

Once I found out George Washington was a spy, the pieces just fell into place. The history of Washington as having the code name 711 in the Culper Ring during the Revolutionary War is just so awesome, it fueled Double Vision: Code Name 711 from there.

Tell us a little bit about your writing process.

For each book in the Double Vision trilogy, I usually start with a cool location (like Paris for the first book, Washington D.C. for the second), and then try to think of an interesting historical figure and magical artifact. Next, I’ll think of my bad guy/lady: who is the antagonist, and what is at stake? Since it’s a thriller I’m writing, I try to make the stakes as high as I can. I’m putting Linc’s life on the line on these missions after all.

Once I have those elements nailed down, I plot the book as best as I can, trying to think of the most daring things Linc can do on his quest. Like jumping from an airplane onto the Eiffel Tower’s gardens in the first book.

And once that plot gets the thumbs up from my editor, I start writing, and brace myself for what Linc will do. I never quite know, and that’s the best part. Linc is a cool and funny dude.

How did you settle on Lincoln’s age for your book? Did you always know it would be a middle-grade book?

Linc is twelve, which is a solid age for middle-grade. It’s important that he’s not too old, but not so young that he can’t go on his missions.

From the start, I wanted the Double Vision books to appeal to reluctant readers, especially boys who might give up on reading by the time they hit the double digit birthdays. Although I love award-winning children’s books, mysteries and thrillers kind of get forgotten, or are looked at as less somehow. I want to write MG thrillers that mirror the great books written for adults, those that hit the bestseller list because they’re entertaining, moving, sweep you away on a mysterious quest. I want kids to read for fun, and keep reading into adulthood. It’s important that this type of reading—reading for entertainment, whatever the book is—gets more respect.

What were your favorite books as a child and middle schooler?

I was a huge Roald Dahl fan–the BFG was my favorite book. Pippi Longstocking I loved because she did exactly what she wanted. Once I hit middle-school, I moved to the Agatha Christies. As a kid, I loved going to the library, and devoured books.

During my teens, I became a bit of a reluctant reader. There was so much required reading (I grew up in Europe, where there’s a lot of it in high school), and I stopped reading for fun. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I got back to reading when someone gave me a paperback thriller. That reignited the passion for books in me, and eventually I worked on writing them (for many years…).

You could say I came full circle: I’m now back at my library every week, leaving with a stack of books.

What are your current favorite middle grade or young adult books?

I’m all over the place with my reading… In MG, I recently loved Wonder, and Eion Colfer’s latest The Reluctant Assassin. In YA, I loved Rat Life by Tedd Arnold, Seconds Away by Harlan Coben.

I’m forgetting titles, I’m sure of it. 🙂 There are so many books, I wish I could just read all day sometimes…

Tell us a little bit about your family.

My husband is in the Air Force, which makes us professional nomads. The cool part about this is that I get to meet new people all the time, and that I have friends all over the globe. My two girls are tweens, and they keep me sharp. My family is so amazingly supportive of my crazy writing career, I thank my lucky stars every day.

Also, I have four cats, so there’s always one to keep me company as I write. The secret to my success is cats, honest.

Is there any reason you chose to use F.T. Bradley instead of Fleur Bradley as the specified author name for your books?

Because the Double Vision books are meant to appeal to boys, we decided to play it safe and go with initials instead of my (sort-of-girly) first name. To be honest, I think I sold today’s boys short. When I do book signings or go on school visits, they couldn’t care less if my hair was green or my name was Bob. We talk about our favorite books, donuts, and what would make a good spy gadget. And the girls join right in.

Kids today are amazing, funny, smart, open-minded, and utterly inspiring in their enthusiasm. They’re why I love to write middle-grade.

Thank you to F.T. Bradley for providing me with a copy of Double Vision: Code Name 711 to review and for this wonderful interview!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Books We Were Forced to Read…and LOVED!

October 15, 2013 by Ricki

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Books We Were Forced to Read…and LOVED!

We’ve decided to focus on books that teachers forced me to read that I ended up loving!

Ricki

1. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

My 10th grade history teacher assigned our class this book, but she didn’t monitor that we were reading it (I think there was one worksheet we had to complete). She gave it to us and said, “Read this within the next two weeks.” As a 15-year-old, I didn’t do it. I think this is the only assigned book I remember not reading in high school. In my second year of college, my professor assigned me this same book, and this time, I read it. The first few chapters were rough, but then I grew to love the family and learned so much about the time period. I will never look at meat or Socialism in the same way. The only element I dislike about this book is the political tirade at the end of the book.

2. Native Son by Richard Wright

This is a stretch because colleagues forced me to read this one, but they are teachers, so I am including it! I introduced a new course a few years ago, and there were very few books left to choose from (all of the others were being taught in other grades, and we had run out of money to purchase new books). I was not looking forward to this 500-page weighty book, but I decided to give it a try. It hooked me from the very beginning, and I knew it was a great one to use for the class. This book is incredibly important to our history, and while it leads to some uncomfortable class discussions, they are important discussions to have. Once again, the political tirade at the end of this book irritates me (like The Jungle), but the rest of the book makes the reading worth it.

3. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

This is one of the best books I read in college. Edward Abbey lived in the desert of Utah for three seasons. He examines and discovers the world in fascinating ways. The book is a mixture of philosophy, humor, and adventure. This nonfiction work reminded me of a modern-day Thoreau or Emerson (two of my favorite classic authors). I give this book to my students who are very contemplative and introspective, and they always seem to enjoy it.

4. Inferno by Dante Alighieri

I never would have made it through this book without the support of my professor. It is certainly a difficult read that is complex in its language. I read it for a class called The Literature of Hell and Sympathy for the Devil. You can only imagine how many neat texts I was exposed to in this class (from Paradise Lost to The Turn of the Screw to The Golden Compass–we had a lot of fun examining the Devil and Hell as they are depicted in literature). It was fascinating for me to learn about the levels of Hell in Dante’s Inferno and read the awesomely grotesque imagery. I love how readers can examine this text from a variety of points of view. I find myself still thinking about this text, ten years after I took the course.

5. Looking for Alaska by John Green

This was the first book I read for my Methods class in college (at least, in my memory it is), and it introduced me to the world of young adult literature. My professor, Wendy Glenn, was well-informed about the wonders of young adult literature, and she opened my world with this book. While I had been reading YAL for years, I hadn’t thought about the field from the perspective of a future educator, and this incredible book showed me that I could transform my students’ reading habits in ways I hadn’t considered before.

Kellee

This one was tougher for me. In middle and high school, everything I was forced to read I did not like. Luckily, this changed a bit in college where at least it was more 50/50.

1. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

I had never read Hemingway until I took 20th century literature during my literature degree and I wish I had been introduced earlier. I love how he writes—just so to the point, no flush, and amazing dialogue. I fell in love with his literature after The Sun Also Rises and I used The Sun Also Rises or other Hemingway books as often as I could during the rest of my literature degree.

2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

I read this one during my women’s lit class. At the time I hadn’t read Jane Eyre and was fascinated with Antoinette. I immediately read Jane Eyre once finishing and it is so interesting how the perception of “the madwoman in the attic” was so different than others.

3. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Everyone should read this one. Period. Though a bit didactical, it makes you look at the world just a little bit differently.

4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I loved almost all of the books that I read in my adolescent lit class once I started my education degree, but Speak was definitely one of the most memorable. Such a brilliant piece of literature that touched on my soul and I have never stopped sharing with stduetns.

5. Lay that Trumpet in our Hands by Susan Carol McCarthy

Also from my adolscent lit class, this book ignited my love of historical fiction. It was fascinating and I loved researching the event it highlighted after reading.

Where you forced to read a book that you ended up loving? Please share!

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Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron

December 27, 2013October 10, 2013 by Ricki

Man Made Boy
Author: Jon Skovron
Published: October 3rd, 2013 by Viking Penguin

GoodReads Summary: Love can be a real monster.

Sixteen-year-old Boy’s never left home. When you’re the son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride, it’s tough to go out in public, unless you want to draw the attention of a torch-wielding mob. And since Boy and his family live in a secret enclave of monsters hidden under Times Square, it’s important they maintain a low profile.

Boy’s only interactions with the world are through the Internet, where he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can hide his hulking body and stitched-together face behind a layer of code. When conflict erupts at home, Boy runs away and embarks on a cross-country road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to malls and diners, love and heartbreak. But no matter how far Boy runs, he can’t escape his demons—both literal and figurative—until he faces his family once more.

This hilarious, romantic, and wildly imaginative tale redefines what it means to be a monster—and a man.

My Review: I was completely engrossed in this book. My favorite part about it dips into a wide variety of genres. Lovers of fantasy, romance, sci fi, and/or steampunk will find something to enjoy in the text. There are monsters, werewolves, computers, and lovers. Students will have a lot of fun exploring aspects of the book (because who doesn’t love to read about monsters?). Boy takes readers for quite a ride, and I envision this would make for a great literature circle choice. This modern extension of Frankenstein allows readers to place the classic text in a more relevant context. Readers will be able to revisit a few classics that they know and loved (or didn’t love). This is my favorite Jon Skovron book that I have read. It shows how clever he is.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Man Made Boy is an English teacher’s dream. It can be paired quite well with mythology and other classic monsters in history. I would love to pair Medusa’s scenes with a mythology unit. This would also bridge very well with The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The monsters of this book are ubiquitous in the literary canon, and I think students would have a lot of fun picking and researching classic monsters from the text.

Discussion Questions: What is a monster? Can humans be monsters? What kinds of demons do people confront?; Does Boy make the right decision when he decides to leave home?; Choose three monsters in the story. What do each of them teach us? How do their interactions with Boy help us understand him better?

Read This If You Loved: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Series

July 27, 2015October 8, 2013 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Best Series

Today’s topic is supposed to be the Top Ten Best/Worst Series Enders. We didn’t want to be too negative, so we decided to share our favorite series, instead.

Ricki

1. The Boxcar Children Series by Gertrude Chandler Warner

This series helped me learn to love to read when I was a child. Sometimes, series get a bad reputation, but many kids learn to love to read through series books, so I couldn’t exclude this important collection from my top ten list. The kids in this series show incredible strength and are great role models for readers.

2. The Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore

I am sorry I keep bringing this series up in my posts, but it is my all-time favorite series, so it must make this list. The world-building is incredible and the characterization is beautifully written. I don’t usually enjoy the series books that others rave about, but Cashore shows that authors can really do it right. 🙂

3. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

I love this series because it has such widespread appeal. These books were very enjoyable to read, and I loved sharing them with students because they hooked so many of my kids to reading. There are some great themes for teachers to discuss, and my students and I had a lot of fun viewing these books through the lens of 1984.

4. Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene

I am convinced that I am so good at predicting story twists because of this series. Nancy Drew taught me to look for clues in books and make solid predictions. I haven’t read one of these books in about two decades, but I am convinced they developed me as a reader.

5. The Berenstain Bears Series by Stan, Jan, and Mike Berenstain

I bet you weren’t expecting this one! Who doesn’t love the Berenstain Bears? They have been teaching kids moral lessons for decades, so they need to be on this list.

Kellee

I love so many series, so this one was very hard for me. I second Ricki’s Graceling Realm as it is brilliant and these are my favorites.

1. Baby-Sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin

This series, I believe, is why I am such an avid reader. I owned hundreds BSC books and loved them all. As an adult I’ve been collecting them to A) reread & B) for my children. I just love how each girl (and Logan) had a different personality and the books dealt with some really important situations. Such a great series!

2. Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

Brilliant. I remember reading A Knife of Never Letting Go and knowing that the book was so important. Then when Monsters of Men won the Carnegie Medal, I knew that the masses had seen how amazing this series was.

3. Betsy books by Carolyn Haywood

My mom read these books when she was a little girl then she read them to me when I was a little girl and if I have a little girl, I will read them to her. Betsy was a great companion during my early childhood.

4. The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

The Giver has been my favorite book since I read it in 1993. Though I was very satisfied with the ending and loved the ambiguity of deciding what happened to Jonas, when another book came out in 2000 then another in 2004 and finally the series finale in 2012, I had to read them all and I loved them. I think the way Lois Lowry writes is magical and the world of The Giver is brilliant, so I would read anything by her, set there.

5. Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz

This series was my first series that I began reading when I started teaching. During my literature degree, my love of reading faltered (lit degrees are tough! And make reading such a chore!), but when I decided to become a teacher, I started reading middle grade and young adult books. I remember reading Stormbreaker and knowing I had to read the whole series. I have not stopped book talking this series since then.

Honorary. Ramona series by Beverly Cleary, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Doctor Dolittle series by Hugh Lofting, Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, Skinjacker trilogy by Neal Shusterman, (adult) Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz

I had to mention all of these because they are so great as well. I had a hard time picking the top 5, so I wanted to list these other amazing series as well.

Which series do you love?

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Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey

April 22, 2023October 3, 2013 by Ricki

Black Ants and Buddhists
Author: Mary Cowhey
Published: January 1st, 2006 by Stenhouse Publishers

Summary: What would a classroom look like if understanding and respecting differences in race, culture, beliefs, and opinions were at its heart? Welcome to Mary Cowhey’s Peace Class in Northampton, MA, where first and second graders view the entire curriculum through the framework of understanding the world, and trying to do their part to make it a better place.

Woven through the book is Mary’s unflinching and humorous account of her own roots in a struggling large Irish Catholic family and her early career as a community activist. Mary’s teaching is infused with lessons of her heroes: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, and others. Her students learn to make connections between their lives, the books they read, the community leaders they meet, and the larger world.

If you were inspired to become a teacher because you wanted to change the world, and instead find yourself limited by teach-to-the-test pressures, this is the book that will make you think hard about how you spend your time with students. It offers no easy answers, just a wealth of insight into the challenges of helping students think critically about the world, and starting points for conversations about diversity and controversy in your classroom, as well as in the larger community.

Review and Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Mary Cowhey’s book is a phenomenal resource for teachers. It is directed for elementary school educators, but I learned a lot, and I am a high school educator. Her main focus is to promote social justice, action, and independence in the classroom. Cowhey integrates stories from her personal life (she grew up without much money and as an adult, was a single mother on welfare) into her lessons to show how she helps her students feel comfortable and safe when sharing their own experiences. She teaches them that regardless of their social or economic standing, they have the ability to be successful.

Each chapter addresses important issues that teachers face, such as how to: set routines, differentiate, respond to tragedy, teach history so kids care, build trust with families, and go against the grain. When her students were dissatisfied with something, she had them write letters. They became young advocates. Cowhey has an extremely responsive classroom, where she takes the students’ interests and teaches different aspects of history, literature, and life each year. Some may find her ideas to be a bit liberal, but they are certainly adaptable for more conservative classrooms. Her students learn in the field, walking to see the mayor to demand a change in their town or visiting a sanitation company when a student wondered, “Where do the poops go?”

What I loved most about Cowhey’s book is that it showed me how to make my students more in-tune with their surroundings. I would love to have my own child in her classroom, as I know he or she would learn a lot about self-advocacy.

Discussion Questions: How do I teach my students to value social justice?; How do I create a culturally responsive and socially responsive classroom?; How do I make class meaningful for my students?; How do I create a safe and comfortable place for my students?; What do I do when students are distracted while I am trying to teach a concept?

We Flagged: “How we respond to tragedy, as teachers, as parents, as humans, not only provides comfort and security, but also can provide hope and power for children in a world that is often unfair, and sometimes unspeakably violent” (181).

Read This If You Loved: Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching about Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word by Linda Christensen, Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, Teachers as Cultural Workers by Paulo Freire

What is your favorite book for professional development? Have you read this one? What did you think? Please share your thoughts!

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Turn-Offs

October 1, 2013 by Ricki

Today’s Topic: Top Ten Book Turn-Offs

You know when you are reading and something happens, and you think, “Ugh.”

Ricki

1. Point-of-View Shift

There many books that do this well, but overwhelmingly, there are too books that do it quite poorly. I hate when the point-of-view shifts because often, it doesn’t work out. Sometimes, the voices sound too similar, and other times, one voice is much stronger than the others.

2. An Inanimate Object or Animal Starts Talking

There have been many times that I have been enjoying a book, and then an animal or table starts talking. Please don’t. It rarely works out.

3. Marital Problems

This is one of the main reasons I tend to dislike adult books. I hate reading about a person who is cheating on his/her spouse. I am very happy in my marriage, and it really depresses me to read about people who are violate the trust and loyalty of that union.

4. End-of-Chapter Hooks

I loved this technique when I was a kid. It made me want to keep reading. As a more mature reader, it bothers me and makes me wonder if the author isn’t confident enough in his/her own writing and thinks this is the only way to keep his/her readers from putting the book down.

5. Coincidences

Is the main character picking up a hitchhiker? Please don’t let it be his/her long-lost father. Coincidences drive me nuts. They give fiction a bad name.

Kellee

It is so interesting to see what Ricki’s turn-offs are. I actually love her #1 and #2 (as long as they are done well).

1. Lack of resolution at the end of books

I do not mind sequels and series, but I like each book to have a resolution at the end and not a huge cliffhanger ending that makes it so you feel unsatisfied without reading the next book.

2. Poorly done magical/fantastical realism

I generally do not like magical or fantastical realism though there are some I do like. I think I’ve come to realize that it is that I don’t like poorly done magical/fantastical realism. I don’t want to be reading a realistic or historical fiction book and all of a sudden there are ghosts or someone has powers — that really takes away from the original story in my opinion. I do not mind if the fantasy or magic is part of the story from the beginning, it is the throwing it in for plot twists or an explanation I do not like.

3. Character lists in the front of books instead of introducing characters

I actually really like character lists, but there are books that have character lists and then never have an exposition to introduce us to the characters because they listed them in the front. A list should just be a reference not part of the story.

4. Shallow secondary characters

All characters should be thought out thoroughly.

5. Stereotypical characters

Enough said.

What are your book turn-offs?

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