I have been teaching 8th grade for a while and I understand, perhaps better than people might think, that for even our brightest most mature students, 7th and 8th grade are transitional years.
Good kids do crazy things and get suspended. And everyone else seems like Rose and Jack, holding on desperately to the Titanic railing as it gets sucked into the very cold Atlantic.
It will get better, we try and tell parents. We have enough lifeboats; it's just getting the kids into them. Teen Essays on Life and Literature from Tolkien to Twilight" is a book that every middle school and high school teacher should buy. It's not available on Kindle, so I had to buy an actual book off of amazon and even though it was paperback, I was struck by how heavy it was. I'm such a wimp now. If I have any complaints about the book is that it is focuses maybe too much on books from the high school canon so lots of quotes from "Hamlet" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Great Gatsby", and not that there's anything wrong with those, but I wish that more of the books that had moved these students were books they had discovered on their own.
But there were those too. The project assigned to the students was to pick a quote from a book that had moved them and tie it into their own lives. What you get are page mini memoirs motivated by these quotes. What I enjoyed most is that these students came from a wide variety of backgrounds and that each piece ended with where the student is today and each one of them had found success in some manner. It did not shy away from controversial issues, from religion to sexuality.
Sometimes the memoir addressed both. Ann Camacho, the editor and teacher, says this about reading: The stories are moving and so are the quotes: From Gandalf in "The Fellowship of the Ring: After reading the introduction of Bookmarked, I was hooked--captivated by the challenge issued to present and former high school students to share their stories of self-reflection and life-lessons learned. I plunged deep into Part I and immersed myself in the courage and boldness of each essay. I could not part with the book.
I carried it faithfully with me to work and simply could not wait for my morning and afternoon breaks or my commute home to read the next essay. What I absolutely loved about Bookmarked was the opportunity it allowed for me to find solace and comfort in my own reflections. The "Questions for Reflection, Discussion, and Writing" sections succeed as an outlet for the reader to further connect, not only to the essays, but to their own triumphs and tribulations.
I am an adult in my late thirties, but I must admit I carried Bookmarked with me for days after I finished reading the book. I shared the book and my feedback with those close to me: The essays sparked a dialogue between my teenage son and me--conversations I will forever cherish. Every high school student would greatly benefit from reading Bookmarked, especially eleventh and twelfth graders. Just knowing that they are not alone, that other students share the same fears, doubts, family issues, cultural norms, hopes, dreams, and aspirations, is sheer motivation to keep moving forward no matter what obstacles may come along.
Bookmarked has left an indelible mark on my soul. Well done to the editor and to the young people who shared a glimpse into their own lives so that our lives may be more enriched and empowered. Bookmarked continues to pay it forward, one student at a time! Keep reading and keep sharing. I pre-ordered this book as my granddaughters essay is in it. When I went to the book launch, I met the author and other teens that were featured in the book. I came away in awe of these young people and their teacher. You read about the "bad" teens, but rarely about the ones that excel in spite of horrndous barriers.
These young men and women didn't get in trouble, they are attending college or some have gone to a few, and have several degrees. Excellent book and I'm proud of all the authors, Ms. Camacho, I salute you. It was mandatory reading for 8 graders summer vacation. A series of essays from young writers with different backgrounds.
A great book for inspiration and perspective. This book gives insight on the authors and shows how we can learn how to write essays like this whether it be for a college application or a school or university essay. The guided questions and discussion make it great to use in class or independent study. I recommend this book to anyone. See all 12 reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.
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English Choose a language for shopping. Explore the Home Gift Guide. Amazon Music Stream millions of songs. Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers. Return to Book Page. Preview — Bookmarked by Ann Camacho. In more than 50 essays, young people from a wide range of backgrounds reflect on how words from literature connect with and influence their lives, goals, and personal philosophies. The essays explore topics including suffering the death of a parent, facing a life-threatening illness, letting go of perfectionism, making friends, realizing goals, and grappling with questions In more than 50 essays, young people from a wide range of backgrounds reflect on how words from literature connect with and influence their lives, goals, and personal philosophies.
The essays explore topics including suffering the death of a parent, facing a life-threatening illness, letting go of perfectionism, making friends, realizing goals, and grappling with questions of faith and sexuality. Each essay includes a brief biographical sketch letting the reader know where the essay writer is today. Teachers, guidance counselors, and parents working with teens on personal essays— including for college applications—will find that the book presents a varied, intriguing group of essays to use as samples, models, and inspiration. Teachers of literature, writing, and language arts classes can also use these essays as a way to help teens explore literature—and their own responses to it—through writing.
Following each essay are questions to prompt conversation, writing, and deeper consideration of the issues raised. The back matter includes tips and ideas for teachers and teens on how to use the book, including ways to use it as a jumping-off point for creating personal essays. Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Bookmarked , please sign up.
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- Bookmarked.
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Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Oct 08, Heather rated it liked it. All of the essays in this book deal with the lessons people learn from their favorite stories that have left an impact on their lives. Each person had a transforming experience to share, which reminds us that we are connected to each other.
It's a reminder that every person has a story to share with others who are willing to listen to what they have learned along the way to becoming a mature adult. This book is for anyone who would like to appreciate the deeper meanings of life while embracing t All of the essays in this book deal with the lessons people learn from their favorite stories that have left an impact on their lives.
This book is for anyone who would like to appreciate the deeper meanings of life while embracing that we are not alone after all. Mar 09, Hannah Comfybookchats rated it did not like it. Sep 09, Brandi rated it liked it. I found this book's description to be misleading, or perhaps I just misunderstood.
I can't say I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book, though it could be quite useful in a classroom setting. Actually, it perfectly fits a request I received from a teacher last year for her creative I found this book's description to be misleading, or perhaps I just misunderstood. Actually, it perfectly fits a request I received from a teacher last year for her creative writing class, but I wasn't familiar enough with the collection at the time to identify it.
Some essays do deal with tough issues parental drug use, death, etc. Aug 08, Emma-Kate Schaake rated it liked it Shelves: A collection of teen essays musing on life questions and finding answers in books. I liked the prompt and hope to use some as examples for my own students' writing. Jul 17, Ilib4kids rated it it was ok Shelves: The reason I pick this book 1 I want to find out what kind of book teens read 2 how teens' reflection.
This book has 5 parts. I did female vs. Essays on beliefs and ideas. Essays on family, friends, and love.
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Essays on hard times and hope. Essays on identity and self. Essays on goals, dreams, and the futures. I like essay "Before I met the monster", what kind of monster do you have? I only write down Books I did not know: Apr 02, Amy rated it it was ok Shelves: First I should say I am not the target audience for this book. I don't usually like reading several essays in a row and I'm well out of my teens. But I signed up for the Goodreads Giveaway because books have changed my life and I wanted to see how they've changed others' lives as well.
I won the Giveaway and was excited to try something new. The essays were interesting and I like how there was a little blurb about each of the writers after their essay. Some were a bit self absorbed and self impo First I should say I am not the target audience for this book. Some were a bit self absorbed and self important but I guess that's what an essay about oneself is supposed to be, right?
Overall I would recommend this to people who generally like reading personal essays Jan 06, Alicia added it.
