Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

Set in Harlem in modern times, Scorpions tells the story of Jamal Hicks struggling through life. His brother, Randy, is in jail, convicted of killing someone. His sister Sassy is always telling on him. His Mom works too hard and gets paid too little. When their lawyer tells the Hicks family that he needs $2000 to take Randy's case back to court Jamal is faced with a decision that will change his life.

He decides to hook up with the gang his brother used to be in charge of, the Scorpions, and try to get the money from them. When Randy's second in command, Mack, wants Jamal to run the gang, a power play ensues with Angel and Indian fighting Jamal over control of the gang.

Throughout this ordeal, Jamal has to deal with a bully at school, his family's poverty, and his personal struggles with school. There is a hope for him though. His best friend Tito.

Myers writes in the "language of the street," which can be engaging at times, but at others it becomes down right bothersome.

This is a great book, but I thought the ending was a bit of a disappointment. I had to use a lot of predicting, inferencing and envisionment for this book. I highly recommend it.

The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs writes a hilarious memoir in which he sets out to attempt to read the entire encyclopedia, from cover to cover. Throughout the book, which is set up like an encyclopedia, we can see Jacobs struggling with feeling inferior to his father, trying to start a family, his obnoxious brother-in-law, his precocious nephew, and his continually annoying his friends and family.

Jacobs presents many of the topics from the encyclopedia with humor, relating his experiences while reading that section. In one hilarious passage, Jacobs describes dinner with his nephew during his reading of the grammar section. His nephew was just made a part of the grammar police at school and corrects him every chance he gets.

Smart, funny, and warm, you will actually remember some of Jacob's entries long after you finish the book.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

In this amazing book by Angela Johnson, we meet Bobby Morris and his infant daughter Feather. Throughout this book, we follow Bobby as he tries to balance the struggles of raising a daughter and the struggles of being a teen in high school. Each chapter bounces between the "now," and "then." Powerful emotions are felt as Bobby, and his girlfriend Nia, tell their parents and deal with the concerns of getting ready to have a baby.

During the "now" sections, Johnson introduces us to Bobby's support system which includes his divorced parents, and his boys, K-Boy and J.L. In some rather emotional scenes, the reader can see Bobby struggling with his child while raising it on his own, despite the objections and concerns of his parents, and Nia's parents.

I cried when I finished this book. Honestly, my wife was wondering why I was crying. Then she read it, and she started to cry too. Not only is this book great, it has an amazinly shocking ending. This is one of the best books I have ever read!

Reading Strategies Used:

Inference: Throughout the reading of this book, I had to infer why Nia was not in the "now" parts.

Prediction: I found myself trying to predict how the book was going to end. Also, when Bobby had his breakdowns, I found myself trying to predict what will happen to Feather.

Envisionment: Johnson did a great job painting a vivid picture of city life. I could see Bobby's apartment in my head, and well as see myself in the scenes when bobby is hanging out with his boys.