It's that time of year.

Tomorrow is the first day of May. That means two things: 1. We're one step closer to the end of the school year. 2. If I'm going to continue my once-a-month posting pattern, I have to figure out something to write about. Well, other than getting really sick on Saturday and still feeling like I'm in a fog Thursday night, I haven't been up to too much. "School" just about sums it up, and school, as noted in number 1 above, is rapidly wrapping up (yeah!). This also means summer reading assignments. *sigh*

I don't remember having summer reading assignments in school, but then again, it has never taken too much to get me to read. The hundreds of books in our house attest to this. However, I know that won't be the case with all my ninth graders next year. This led me on a great hunt to find the perfect book for them.

In years past the rising freshmen have read Chaim Potok's The Chosen. The student reviews were not stellar, and this year's teacher was none too happy with it, either. I read it, thought it was really good but not thrilling for students (there are NO female characters, for one), and kept looking. Between this quest and the independent reading books the sophomores could choose this semester, I've done a lot of reading: over 5,000 pages since the beginning of January. This has included 15 full novels and the first chapters of multiple other books. I've found some great books...

Unfortunately for me, I haven't found anything that fits as well into the freshman curriculum that fits thematically and is an appropriate reading level. The time for searching is over, so my students will be jumping into The Chosen--about two days before they come back to school in the fall. Again, *sigh*. I'll have to go bury my sorrows in a good book.