east

it started with self-preservation as i noted with terror that the day after halloween fell on a school day. i declared to my students, in a somewhat flip tone, that november first would be officially known as "national love your teacher day" and informed them that they, not i, would be teaching. a few years of teaching has taught me that in the teacher vs. sugar crash battle i am rarely the victor. their assignment? to bring books they were reading outside of class. "please share the title, author, genre and read a sample paragraph. i'll sit in the back and be your student today" i said, having no idea what a rich dialogue over young adult fiction would ensue. we didn't want to leave. several minutes after it was time to go to lunch, we were still sharing book lists. this only increased as a very gifted highschool reader and author shared with our class this week. she loaned me a copy of "east" by edith pattou that i just finished, as well as "the hunger games" by suzanne collins (which i'm told is addictive). students are bringing me titles of series on notebook paper that they want me to read. and, on a recent trip to powell's, i decided it would be fun to reread madeleine l'engle's series starting with "a wrinkle in time." technically, you're never supposed to begin with "it was a dark and stormy night", but l'engle does and it's had me captivated since third grade. what are some of your favorite young adult fiction novels?