Learning | 5, 6, 7, Nate!

I spent my evenings this week listening to an audiobook for tweens. You know, tweens, those people who are no longer small children, but not quite teenagers yet (never mind not quite being adult yet.)  

The main characters in Five, Six, Seven, Nate! are thirteen years old.  The narrator of this story is Nathan (Nate) Foster, a theater geek who is leaving home to appear in his first Broadway musical. Okay, so he'll be playing Alien Number Seven, not actually starring in ET: The Musical, but, still! This could be his big break.

After Nate says goodbye to his best friend (and fellow theater nerd) Libby, he arrives on the first day of rehearsals to find that practically everybody else in the production has professional experience.

Five, Six, Seven, Nate gives us a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes production of a Broadway musical, and the large number of (often interesting) people involved in making a show happen.

I listened to the audio version of this book, because it was honored by the 2015 Odyssey Award committee. This award is given to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults available in English in the United States. The author of the book, Tim Federle, reads the book out loud in the audio version. He makes the character of Nate come alive.

I see that Five, Six, Seven, Nate! is the sequel to a book called Better Nate than Never. I'll be looking for that one and reading it soon. I hope there will be more books about Nate. He's such a likable character.

Book Bucket List | The Outsiders and Looking for Alaska

When I was thinking of types of books that should make anyone's book bucket list, one of the first things that came to mind was a coming of age story.  I really can't decide between two of my favorites, so I am going to write about S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and John Green's Looking for Alaska.

In The Outsiders, Ponyboy is a fourteen year old boy that belongs to a local gang that call themselves the Greasers.  Even within his group of friends, Ponyboy feels like an outsider as he feels his interests in books and movies can't be shared with anyone.  But once things flair up with a rival gang and Ponyboy's friend accidentally kills a member of that rival gang, Ponyboy is forced to grow up very quickly. 

The Outsiders was written by Hinton when she was only sixteen years old.  Even at that young age she told a story that many generations have been able to relate to.  Any reader would be able to see some part of themselves in her vast cast of characters.  If you're looking for a classic coming of age story, this would be it.

In 1983, The Outsiders movie was released featuring huge names like Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Matt Dillon.  So once you finish the book, you can go and watch the movie! Check out the trailer below.

One of my favorite books that I have read this year is John Green's Looking for Alaska.  When Miles Halter gets bored with public school and convinces his parents to ship him off to his father's former boarding school in Alabama to seek what he calls "the great perhaps".  Once there, he befriends the non-popular group including the beautiful and quirky Alaska Young.  For awhile, Miles is content with his interesting classes and pranks on the popular kids at his school, but after a drastic accident, everything in his life changes.

In 2006, Looking for Alaska won the Michael L. Printz award from the American Library Association for "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit."   It really is a great book that completely blindsides you from where you think the story is headed!