Why Did I Read This Book? **THIS BOOK REVIEW IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION** I felt like I needed a bit of an intellectual challenge heading into my third year as a teacher, so I enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching and Curriculum program at Michigan State University. I read this book for my graduate course TE 808: Inquiry into Classroom Teaching and Learning. It was the guiding text for our Action Research Projects that we conducted over the course of the semester. When I shared with my students the title of this book during a Reading Roll Call in September, they were not that intrigued. Usually a student will ask me what the book I'm reading is about. I will provide the class with a short book talk with me either reading from the back of the book or a quick update on where I'm at in the book. I was met with silence and some laughs about this one. "Reading this for my grad class," was the response I gave the silence. No one cared to hear anything else, so I moved on to the first student and carried on with Reading Roll Call. Oh well ... I am also able to count The Power of Questions for the following reading challenges:
Strengths As stated on the back of the book, this book provides the reader with the process of action research in an illustrated and step-by-step process. My course followed this set up exactly, so it was interesting to read about the research process and then enact it with my own research question about my practice in my classroom. This was very helpful to see how the book's directions and the process of research was to be conducted. The authors also provided a wide variety of excellent examples of how action research could be done in a classroom. I enjoyed reading the secondary examples the most, as I am a secondary teacher. The examples used connected from chapter to chapter as well, so you could trace both the writing and research process from the same teacher throughout the book. WeaknessesWhile the text does an excellent job of scaffolding the reader into understanding the many ways research can be conducted, I felt like most of the chapters were dry and not compelling. I know I wasn't reading a thrilling novel or nonfiction account of an event, but, man, this book was easy to put down and walk away from. This is a minor weakness to the book, but some of the sentences were very close together meaning there did not seem to be a space in between the period of the previous sentence and the capital letter of the next. Again, minor detail, but it became distracting after a while, so much so that I am writing about it here. Recommendation The book is great for teachers of all levels whether they are a preservice teacher, a new teacher looking for a way to be proactive in their new setting, a graduate student in education, or a veteran teacher looking to investigate problems or issues that have been plaguing their practice. I would recommend it to any of my colleagues at my school or within my various networks. It is a quality text that I will keep close by as I continue to rewrite, revisit, and reflect on the teaching and curriculum decisions in my classroom.
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From the Back of the Book "For Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams. The night his wife was taken. The last night he saw her alive. Everyone tells him it's time to move on, to forget the past once and for all. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. A message has appeared on his computer, a phrase only he and his dead wife know. Suddenly Beck is taunted with the impossible - that somewhere, somehow, his wife is alive ... and he's been warned to tell no one." Strengths I found David, the protagonist, to be a likeable character that I could trust throughout the book. I did feel sorry for him and his roller coaster of a situation regarding his wife. The initial story of he and his wife celebrating their anniversary with an annual tradition and having that venture take a horrible, deadly spin was extremely realistic. We live in a world full of crazies and Coben's detail and realistic depiction of the scene was both good and bad in that I wanted to keep reading despite the sick details put into the killing. Throughout the Tell No One, I felt like I was in David's mind and along for the emotional ride he encountered. At the beginning of the novel, Dr. Beck receives an email from an unknown sender yet he is drawn in and opens it because of the subject line: "E.P. + D.B. /////////////////////" (19). The subject line recreated a tree carving that David and his deceased wife had done. It was made up of their initials and a "/" for each of their years together. In David's mind, no one else could have possibly known about the tree carving except for his wife, so he is dragged into a series of emails with specific information that lead him on a long journey to solve a mystery very close to his heart. Various characters and plot lines are created to thicken story. As the book progresses, mobsters and criminals become involved, along with family members from David's and Elizabeth's families. Initially, I would question how and why a character or set of characters would be introduced, but would find the answer out later as David uncovered clues mostly on his own. The strengths in this book outweigh the weaknesses. Weaknesses The title of the book Tell No One is a tad contradictory. While I feel a guilty about the little spoiler, I think it deserves to be mentioned. David does confide in a character close to him about his wife potentially being back in the picture. When he did this, I flipped the book over to reread the cover and make sure I had the title right. David does not retell the specifics, like the codes or communication tactics, but the fact that he did tell someone and there were not any repercussions bothered me. Recommendation I would recommend this to someone looking to read a detailed, quick read. The language Coben writes with is accessible and easy to navigate. Readers who enjoy John Grisham or David Baldacci would catch a break with this book, as it is not heavy in court- or police-related jargon and references. Tell No One centers around a murder mystery, too, so readers who enjoy books full of mystery and/or murders would enjoy this book. I often felt like I was reading a Criminal Minds episode as David used tactics shown on that show to get the answers he wanted to know surrounding his wife's murder. Why Did I Read This Book? This book was recommended to me by one of my students. Right off the bat, she said, "I think you would like this book." It just so happened that she was able to put the book in my hands as well, so it left no excuse for me to get started.
I took my student at her word and read the book quickly. I did have multiple long sitting arrangements throughout the fall with responsibilities associated with standardized testing and flights to conferences. My student was correct; I really liked Tell No One. It was a shelf worthy book with memorable characters and a complicated yet provoking plot line. I am also able to count Tell No One for the following reading challenges:
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The Avalanche of Books
As an educator and avid reader, I am constantly hearing about books. I feel like I am being chased by a giant, rolling avalanche of titles and authors. Rating System
5 books - New fave! Read it now!
4 books - Shelf worthy 3 books - Quality read, but ... 2 books - Borrow it 1 book - Skip it Archives
December 2017
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