Watertown Middle School Reading Club

Our first “read and discuss” book is Loser by Jerry Spinelli. Stop by room 22 to check out the book. Please have the book finished by our next meeting on Nov. 13.

Here is the schedule of meetings for the year. Each meeting will be held at 8:00 a.m. in room 22.

Friday, Oct. 9
Friday, Nov. 13
Friday, Dec. 11
Friday, Jan. 15
Friday, Feb. 12
Friday, March 12
Friday, April 16
Friday, May 14

We will also have an after-school meeting in May for our pizza and movie party.

Happy Reading!

Note from Mrs. M.:
I am a huge fan of the Twilight saga, so I was very excited to read The Host. I will warn you Twilight fanatics–The Host is nothing like the saga! But do not let that discourage you from reading this wonderful novel. I found the writing to be very engaging, and I had a hard time putting it down! Although the book is categorized as an adult novel, I think it is very accessible for young adults.

From Teen Reads
The Earth, in the not-too-distant future, has been taken over by alien “souls,” parasitic worm-like beings that wish to experience life as humans. Some years after the occupation, only a few scattered human resistors remain. A young human survivor, Melanie Stryder, is captured during an unsuccessful attempt to rescue a family member. Her last-ditch attempt to kill herself rather than be taken fails, and the souls heal her battered body through their advanced healing techniques. Wanderer, an ancient soul and intrepid explorer of galaxies, is then transplanted into Melanie’s body.

Wanderer expects to experience the lingering traces of Melanie’s memories and emotions after the transfer but is taken aback to find Melanie’s mind still active and fighting for control over the now-shared body. As Wanderer probes Melanie’s unwilling mind to learn the whereabouts of other humans, she comes to know of the existence of Jared, the man Melanie desperately loves, and her young brother Jamie, who are still in hiding. Under the influence of Melanie’s love for Jared, Wanderer finds herself irresistibly drawn to seek him out. The two women thus set off on a journey across the desert that puts them in deadly peril from humans and aliens alike.

The events that unfold when the Wanderer/Stryder pair meets a band of human resistors and is taken to their underground hideout form the crux of this story. The humans initially are repulsed by the presence of an alien amongst them. Will Wanderer and Melanie be able to convince them that Melanie still lives? Can the humans find a way to destroy Wanderer without losing Melanie as well?

There will be an informational meeting for all students interested in Reading Club on Friday, Oct. 2 at 8:05 in room 22. If you cannot attend the meeting, please see Mrs. Mittelstedt in room 22 for more information.

Welcome back to another school year! We have two weeks under our belts, and we are starting to get into the routines of school life. Reading Club will be getting underway in the next few weeks. Stay tuned . . .

Okay, okay . . . I know I am slow getting on the Twilight bandwagon, but I just today finished the final book in the saga. So many of you students, both gals AND guys, have read the books that I just had to see what all the fuss was about.

I must admit that I loved book one, Twilight. I was hooked from the first moment I started it. New Moon and Eclipse are kind of muddled together in my brain, but Breaking Dawn was another page-turner for me. I know there is a lot of debate in the Twilight community about this last book–some love it, some hate it. I can see both sides, but I will tell you that I could not put it down. I was even reading it while waiting in line at the car wash! I am very disappointed that Stephenie Meyer is undecided about continuing with the writing of Midnight Sun, the story from Edward’s perspective, due to a draft being leaked online. She has posted that draft here if you have not had a chance to see it yet:

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_partial_draft4.pdf

I also have seen the movie version of Twilight and did enjoy that as well. I watched it with two of my favorite 7th grade girls, so there was much sighing and giggling from all of us! I am anxiously awaiting the movie release of New Moon in November. I am curious to see how they will handle Breaking Dawn if they continue with the movies all the way through the saga–there will be some incredible special effects.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer and are taking time to relax and READ. Next on my list: Ghost of Spirit Bear, the sequel to the amazing Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.

What do you think of what this student is doing? (Thanks to Brian S. for the link!) Banned books are always a hot topic for debate . . .

Is it OK to run an illegal library from my locker at school?
Let me explain.

As for getting the press involved, reporters are not allowed on campus. Besides, my parents would be so mad if they found out I was doing this.
3 months ago

Original post: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoCt3NHGwM8BxD2H1669H3_ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090305151758AA7dWwd

Thanks so much to everyone who attended the movie and pizza party. We had a lot of fun and ate a lot of pizza!

A big thank you to all of you who read our club books, attended the discussions, wrote book reviews, posted comments on the blog, visited the blog, or participated in the club in other ways this year. It was great to have so many of you be involved!

Make sure you keep reading, reading, reading over the summer. And keep checking the blog–I will try and post a few times over the summer months.

For those of you moving on to the senior high, I invite you to keep using the blog! Read along with us, post comments, and stay involved with us. We will miss you!

Have a wonderful summer!

We will have our final meeting of the year on THURSDAY, MAY 21 from 3:45 – 5:45 p.m. in room 22. We will be watching the movie version of Freak the Mighty and having pizza. You do NOT need to have read the book in order to come to the party, but there is still time if you want to check a book out!

The only thing you need to bring to the meeting/party is something to drink. You must sign up in room 22 by TUESDAY, MAY 19TH if you plan to attend the party so I know how much pizza to order.

Please arrange for your ride to pick you up right at 5:45 p.m. at the middle school.

Thanks, and see you soon!

Our final book for the year is Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. Please stop by room 22 to check out a book. Our normal meeting date would be April 10, but we do not have school that day. Instead, we will pick a date in late April or early May to meet after school. During that meeting, we will discuss the book, watch the movie version, and have a pizza party! More details on that will come later.

Have a great spring break; take some time to READ!

If you could meet ANY author, living or dead, who would it be? Post your response in the comments below. You can also include your reasons why you chose that particular author.