Book Reviews from a Teacher's Perspective

Author:  Charles Dickens Themes:  Coming of Age; Individual vs Society Genres:  Classic Literature Recommended Age for Reading:  The Lexile level for this book is 1230, which according to this chart  Lexile Level Chart  is in the high school range.  However, there's nothing in the content that would be inappropriate for a student in a grade below high school, although the student would need to have a strong reading ability.  I think this would be a great read for children who are gifted readers and looking for a challenge.  For struggling readers, the audio version is a great alternative:  Great Expectations Audio Version on Audible . Plot:  This story is told in first person from the main character, Pip.  Pip is an orphaned boy who is raised by his adult sister and her husband.  He dreams of rising from his social status to become a gentleman.  He doesn't have much hope in this happ...

Author: Marissa Meyer  Themes: Love and Sacrifice; Tragedy Genre: Fantasy Recommended Age for Reading:  The reading level is 5.0, and I would say most of the content is appropriate for students in that age range, but there is an intimate scene between the protagonist and the male lead that is implied.  There's also a violent scene in which one of the characters gets decapitated.  In my opinion, it may be very difficult for kids to comprehend much of the book since the setting is actually in Wonderland.  If readers don't have a lot of background knowledge of "Alice in Wonderland" many aspects of this story will be difficult to understand.  I suggest reading "Alice in Wonderland" or watching one of the movies before reading this book. Plot: Every villain has a backstory, and this one tells the reader how the Queen of Hearts became so, well, "heartless."   The setting is actually in the same world Alice found herself in from the s...