Month: May 2021

Taking Up Space Book Review

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Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Speaking from my own experiences as a middle school teacher, these are without a doubt some of the most difficult years for kids. It’s the in-between stage where puberty is happening, friendships are changing, and kids start to pull away from their parents. Every child reacts to these situations in different ways as he/she tries to grapple for control of some aspect of life.

Taking Up Space, by Alyson Gerber, is an honest middle school novel about friendship, family and disordered eating.

This is the second book I’ve read and reviewed by the author (check out my thoughts on Braced), and I LOVE the writing style!

In Taking Up Space,Sarah is an eighth grade basketball player who dominates on the court, until puberty hits and she suddenly doesn’t know how to use her body the same way. She’s trying to fit in with the rest of the team, learning to cook for a YouTube competition with her crush, and dealing with her family insecurities. Using information from health class and her mom, Sarah tries to take control back by participating in disordered eating.

First, the writing style of this book is absolutely spot on for a middle school student. The vocabulary and sentence structure are grade level appropriate and don’t feel overwhelming. The descriptions are effective and easy to follow, making this ideal for younger YA readers.

Characterization of Sarah

Sarah is an extremely relatable character for middle school girls. She’s learning to navigate the waters of liking a boy and dating, trying to juggle being a good friend and needing a friend, and learning about herself as she starts puberty. Gerber has a gift of getting inside a middle schoolers head and putting their thoughts on paper.

Sarah shows readers true vulnerability through her challenges as she dives into the world of disordered eating. Her raw emotions will resonate with readers because every kid experiences them at one point. Her lack of self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-love are authentic and remind students that they are not alone with their feelings.

Themes

YA novels focus on themes that middle and high school students encounter in real life. Taking Up Space does a phenomenal job on hitting some really difficult themes for this age group.

Theme of family. From the beginning, we know that Sarah’s mom has a very different relationship with food than other parents. She only buys what she wants on a daily basis, and never cooks anything with lots of carbs. Sarah feels self-conscious about her mom, especially when her friends come over and they want to eat lots of junk food. She is unable to have open conversations with her mom about every day situations, let alone big challenges she’s facing. Sarah’s dad is a pillar of strength by taking Sarah out to eat, asking her for a grocery list, and listening to her problems. Without giving too much away, both of Sarah’s parents provide her incredible support and love that make a huge difference as she tackles her problems.

Theme of friendship. Sarah has two best friends, Ryan and Emilia, that she relies on throughout the book. As is typical for middle school girls, there is some drama between Sarah and Emilia over a boy. Emilia also turns into a mean girl towards Sarah by saying cruel comments to other girls on the basketball team. However, Sarah’s friendship with Ryan is truly a saving grace with her disordered eating. These situations reinforce the importance of friendship, and reminds readers that trust and honesty are vital to lasting friendships.

Disordered Eating

Middle school years are anything but easy. From raging hormones and worrying about friendship problems, surviving these years can be extremely challenging for many students. For the first time, teenagers are experiencing physical, emotional and mental changes all at once.

Sarah is one of these adolescents. She is looking for answers to problems she has never had before, and using information that she has easy access to. She really doesn’t realize that disordered eating can be harmful, showing her innocence that is typical of girls this age.

Usually, YA books focus on anorexia and bulimia, but this novel introduces readers to a different type of condition. For me, I had honestly never heard of disordered eating until reading this novel. Like other readers, we only really hear about anorexia and bulimia, so I found it extremely eye-opening to gain insight into the point of view of a student experiencing disordered eating.

Gerber approaches this subject with grace, honesty and clarity. The explanations are clear and can easily be comprehended by middle schoolers (which is not an easy task). Through Sarah’s voice, we feel her struggles and emotions, and can see how and why individuals turn to disordered eating as a solution. Readers will naturally feel sympathy towards Sarah and will accept her without judgement.

I recommend this book to parents, teachers, and counselors of middle and high school parents, along with students in grades 5-8.

To purchase the book click here.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information head to my website.

Caviar Dreams Tuna Fish Budget Book Review

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I LOVE The Real Housewives franchise. I can honestly say I’ve spent an insane amount of hours binging these shows over the last ten years. As a Jersey girl, I’m automatically drawn to the NJ housewives, and as a small business owner I was really excited to see how these women tackle business in the Garden State.

Caviar Dreams Tuna Fish Budget: How to Survive in Business and Life, by Margaret Josephs, is spunky, authentic and inspirational to all women.

On the RHONJ, Josephs comes out with an incredible sense of humor, a ton of honesty and an over-the-top personality. As I was reading her autobiography, I could seriously hear her voice in my head the whole time, and I truly loved it! She has a way of being blunt with humor that I have yet to encounter in any other work, and nothing is off limits. She owns her actions and decisions while keeping a smile on her face.

Childhood

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized how much our childhood shapes us. Josephs did not have a typical past, as she has expressed for years on the show, but reading about her experiences with her mother, Marge Sr., left me with an incredible amount of respect for this woman. I don’t want to go into too much detail because a lot of the stories build on previous events, and honestly you need to read them through Josephs’ words and not mine. Many times people will spend time blaming their parents and holding grudges, but the author loves her mother unconditionally, and her maturity and acceptance are to be admired.

Women in Business

I come from a family deeply rooted in family business on both sides. My paternal grandmother owned a pool business for fifty years, that she started with my grandpa from nothing. My mom has started multiple small businesses since I was five years old, so I have seen women in business first hand.

Josephs’ business journey was eye-opening for me. She openly and honestly recounts situations she was placed in from her first job until present day because she was a woman in the business world. There was no Me Too Movement in the ’80s, and it’s clear that women were treated differently than men. When she stepped out of the business world to be a mother, I could personally relate because of my own life choices.

Her drive and ambition to be a good mom and have a career are inspirational. She literally started a multi-million dollar business from her kitchen table. I had no idea she was the one behind the monogramed colorful clipboards during the 2000s (I worked in retail at the time and totally sold those products), and I didn’t realize how truly intelligent she is at spotting “the next big thing”. Her natural business abilities are to be admired. Yes, she has made mistakes, but many of those came from not being treated as an equal in the business world because she’s a woman.

I also LOVED how she gave kudos to her team throughout the book. She is extremely humble and acknowledges those who have helped her along the way. It was really interesting to see how she operates her business since the show doesn’t go into as many details as her book. As a business owner, Josephs taught me a few things and has given me more confidence in myself.

Life Lessons

My absolute favorite part of this book were the life lessons at the end of every chapter. The teacher in me LOVED that Josephs included main idea statements about the chapter, but the reader in me appreciated the wording of each one. The lessons are meant to be straightforward reminders for readers about life. I really wish she would create a calendar with her life lessons :).

Personal Takeaways

Josephs leaves on impact on readers that can’t be ignored. Even though there is lots of humor and f-bombs, the messages she’s getting across are extremely important.

Don’t judge. It’s easy for viewers to judge someone on TV. It’s easy for a friend to judge another friend’s actions. However, unless you walk in that person’s shoes, you have no idea the reasons behind the decisions. Josephs had an affair, but as she says, people don’t leave a happy marriages.

Love yourself. It is possible for a woman to be a good mom and a business woman. It is possible for women to be strong in the business world. Trusting our instincts and following our hearts to what makes us as women happy needs to be a priority in our lives.

Who cares what people think. This one is a biggie. Too many times women stay in situations, or avoid confrontations because we are afraid what other people think. Once we realize that other people’s opinions shouldn’t (and don’t) matter, the world is full of even more possibilities. Don’t let someone else’s opinion keep you from doing you.

I recommend this book for moms, women in business, fans of the show and those who read Open Book by Jessica Simpson. Yes, there are some additional tidbits from the show, but that is not the focus on the book.

To purchase the book click here.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information head to my website.

Fadeaway Book Review

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As a teacher, I always try to read a variety of book so I can make recommendations to my students. With the end of the year on the horizon, I have more time to read, so I made a fantastic Amazon book purchase. I’ve been a little out of the reading loop over the last year, so I really focused on new(er) releases. I usually have my tutoring students read a novel during our summer sessions and I wanted to find the perfect book for middle and high school boys. Not only did I read this perfect book, it just came out in March!

Fadeaway, by E.B. Vickers, is a realistic young adult novel about basketball, love and addiction.

Summary

Jake is a senior in high school who is the star of the basketball team with his fadeaway move. He has just won the state championship for his team, but instead of celebrating at his coach’s house he disappears without a trace. His little brother Luke, best friend Kolt, teammate Seth and ex-girlfriend Daphne play roles in trying to find Jake.

The majority of the story revolves around basketball. During summer ball in sixth grade, Coach Cooper tells Jake, Kolt and Seth that he plans for them to win state championships their senior year. He gives them an intense pep talk that ends with, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”This lays the ground work for Jake’s life on and off the court as he dedicates his life to football, basketball and baseball. Jake’s world is turned upside down when he suffers an injury and he starts taking prescription pain killers.

First, I have to say that I am in love with the cover! Just like the title states, some of the letters pop and others fade. I just think it’s super creative and eye-catching.

The structure of this story is similar to Wonder, in that it’s told from multiple perspectives, but almost every chapter alternates between the characters. Usually, I’m not a fan of this constant switching, but in this case it really helps build the suspense in the story and I couldn’t imagine it being written any other way.

Themes

My favorite aspect of this book is the portrayal of realistic relationships.

Friendship is one of the most prevalent themes in this story. That day in sixth grade, Kolt and Jake become best friends because they have connections. Kolt’s older brother is an addict and Jake’s father was an alcoholic. Kolt and Jake are the typical best guy friends we usually read about in YA novels, always looking out for one another and making teenage boy comments.

The romantic relationship between Daphne and Jake is the definition of teenage love: pure, honest and supportive. While we don’t see a lot of this relationship, the little glimpse that we get shows a realistic teenage love complete with binge watching Netflix, helping each other with basketball and homework, and being together as much as possible. They don’t have drama, but they do tackle some serious real life issues that lead to Jake breaking up with Daphne out of nowhere. Personally, I love that their relationship isn’t based on physical acts, but rather being there for one another.

Sibling love is an incredibly powerful theme throughout this book. Luke idolizes Jake, and Jake wants to be a great role model for his younger brother. The two of them keep the lines of communication open by writing back and forth in a notebook (which I LOVED). Luke is actively involved in the search for Jake, and gives information that helps spark a development in the case that Daphne and Kolt investigate along with the twelve year old.

While there are lots of different types of love in this book, there is one major concept that is deeply explored: addiction.

Vickers does an incredible job in describing many aspects of addiction. Readers learn how it starts, how Jake realizes he needed help, and the direction that Jake’s life will take in the future. Through Jake’s character, readers see that addiction can be hidden from those closest to a person and anyone can struggle with this disease (teenager or adult). The pressures Jake feels of not being enough will resonant with young adults who can relate to the stress of athletics or academics.

I recommend this book for young adult readers (especially boys) in grades 7 and up, and for parents of high school students.

To purchase the book click here.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information head to my website.