Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I loved this book! It perfectly captures the complexity of race and class issues. Nelly and Angela, the two main characters are friends from the first day of kindergarten. As the grow older they learn truths about their fathers, and how facts don't always tell the whole story.
I won’t lie i thought this book was a little slow at times but it was worth it!
Truth be told, I should have read this one from start to finish; but life got in the way. Moving and school beginning blocked my memory about the beginning of this one. I rated it a four star but later changed it to five. With that being said, this is a challenging book for its intended audience due to the time shifts, the true-to-life events and the faith-infused beliefs planted subtly and not-so-subtly within its pages. These are all reasons why middle grade readers must read it. Stripped from today's headlines of young black men being shot down, Every Single Second reminds us to make every second count-even the extra one that is given to us every so often. This is the story of family, sometimes broken but always what makes us who we are. It's the story about bigotry and acceptance. It's the story of growing up and trying out burgeoning wings. It's the story of acceptance and friendship and remembering what is truly important. Highly recommended!
*Just because you did one right thing, did it mean you were good?
And if that was true, did doing one wrong thing mean you were bad?
Third grade was when Nella started asking questions like that. At school, her teachers still knew all the answers. But at night, in bed, Nella got confused. It was like another girl had come to live inside her.
*The past was the past. Except maybe not.
*Too late. Those were the ugliest words. The cruelest words. Time's worst trick of all.
*Just because you do something good doesn't mean you get a reward...Yes it does! Good people win and bad people lose. Not always.
*Sister Rosa told me the reason God made so many people is so we can help each other.
*Maybe that was why, she thought suddenly. Maybe her parents had so many kids because they knew, knew so well, how fragile life could be.
*People only become more themselves as they age.
*Too late. Years later, Nella would decide these were life's cruelest words.
*Death is the flip side of life...it's a natural part of the cycle.
*For the living to be haunted, all that is required is a memory.
*Sometimes the Lord tests us. He wants to see what we're made of...His will be done.
*They've proven it's true-people really can die of a broken heart.
*One afternoon that spring, Nella sat at the kitchen table watching Mom cut up apples. One second they were whole, and the next they were pieces that could never be put back together.
That spring, the whole world felt like that.
*...the true test is not what we choose for ourselves. It is how we deal with what life chooses for us.
*Sometimes I'm glad I'm old...being young is so much work.
*Nella remembered what he said about Vinny. Words don't matter. But he was wrong. Without words, you were only partly connected. Too much had to stay locked inside.
*Remember, Nella. We need one another almost as much as we need God. Why else do you think He made so many of us?
*Just because you did one right thing, did it mean you were good?
And if that was true, did doing one wrong thing mean you were bad?
Third grade was when Nella started asking questions like that. At school, her teachers still knew all the answers. But at night, in bed, Nella got confused. It was like another girl had come to live inside her.
*The past was the past. Except maybe not.
*Too late. Those were the ugliest words. The cruelest words. Time's worst trick of all.
*Just because you do something good doesn't mean you get a reward...Yes it does! Good people win and bad people lose. Not always.
*Sister Rosa told me the reason God made so many people is so we can help each other.
*Maybe that was why, she thought suddenly. Maybe her parents had so many kids because they knew, knew so well, how fragile life could be.
*People only become more themselves as they age.
*Too late. Years later, Nella would decide these were life's cruelest words.
*Death is the flip side of life...it's a natural part of the cycle.
*For the living to be haunted, all that is required is a memory.
*Sometimes the Lord tests us. He wants to see what we're made of...His will be done.
*They've proven it's true-people really can die of a broken heart.
*One afternoon that spring, Nella sat at the kitchen table watching Mom cut up apples. One second they were whole, and the next they were pieces that could never be put back together.
That spring, the whole world felt like that.
*...the true test is not what we choose for ourselves. It is how we deal with what life chooses for us.
*Sometimes I'm glad I'm old...being young is so much work.
*Nella remembered what he said about Vinny. Words don't matter. But he was wrong. Without words, you were only partly connected. Too much had to stay locked inside.
*Remember, Nella. We need one another almost as much as we need God. Why else do you think He made so many of us?
Nell is a thoughtful first-person narrator who openly confesses her faults, mistakes, and sins. Observing the changes & tensions in her neighborhood & community as it shifts from a mostly-Italian, working class suburb to a more mixed, more cosmopolitan place, Nell provides details about the lives of the old-time residents and how they talk about the new folks.
The focus is on Nell's personal development and social awareness.
The focus is on Nell's personal development and social awareness.
Starring (in alphabetical order):
Birds, Brothers, Budding Romance
Cemeteries, Family Secrets, and Guns
Friendship, Mean Girls, Nice Nuns
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Prejudice
Racial Tensions, Racist Elders, and Racism,
Seconds, Statues, Stereotypes, and Strokes.
File under: Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Friendship
Birds, Brothers, Budding Romance
Cemeteries, Family Secrets, and Guns
Friendship, Mean Girls, Nice Nuns
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Prejudice
Racial Tensions, Racist Elders, and Racism,
Seconds, Statues, Stereotypes, and Strokes.
File under: Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Friendship
Booktalking notes: local author (Cleveland Heights), set in Little Italy/Lakeview Cemetary/Cleveland Heights, veterans, post-traumatic stress disorder, white police figure shooting black civilian, death, forgiveness, hope.
Hand to those who want some fiction to help form conversations with their kids about all the violent police on civilian death (and vice versa).
Hand to those who want some fiction to help form conversations with their kids about all the violent police on civilian death (and vice versa).
This one was kind of hard for me to get into....just when it would get slow and I'd want to abandon, a really good part came up! Deals with some tough issues though and some very real issues!
Well-written middle grade book about a girl growing up in the Little Italy area of Cleveland, trying to navigate friendship, family relationships, and a neighborhood tragedy. Addresses important issues like PTSD, race, and class. Could have done without the chapters told from the statue's perspective though.