Book Reviews: Restart and OCDaniel

I have read more this year during the school year than any other school year. I love being able to talk to students about books they would like and recommend books to them. I'm enjoying the middle grade fiction stories. I have been a fan of mysteries in the past and still am, however Realistic Fiction is a genre that has become one of my favorites this year.

Let's start with Restart by Gordon Korman. My students have been recommending Gordon Korman books to me for a few years, mainly the Swindle Series, and I finally decided to give him a try. Restart is about a boy in middle school who falls off the roof of his house, for some reason that is unknown to us in the beginning, and gets amnesia. When he wakes up he doesn't know who he or anyone else is. All he has is what everyone tells him. The reactions from the students at school are mixed as are the reactions of the people in his family. He doesn't understand why some people don't want to be around him while others think he's amazing. He tries to help people but they are skeptical of him. The story is his journey to figure out if who you are is set in stone or if you can change who you are.

I love how this this book deals with a difficult situation in a light way. I enjoyed the fact that I was kept guessing throughout the book until the very end. After reading this book I am definitely going to check out some of Gordon Korman's other novels.

OCDaniel by Wesley King is a book that I was unsure of at the beginning, not because I didn't think I would like the book, but because I wasn't sure if it was a book that would be appropriate for my students. Well, they loved it. It is a great book about a kid with OCD. He doesn't know that he has OCD, he just knows that he has routines that he has to go through each night. The detailing of the routines definitely made me a little uneasy, but was very well written. It is supposed to make you a little uncomfortable. The book has a bit of a mystery to figure out which fit it right into my wheelhouse. I enjoyed reading about the friendships throughout the book and getting into the mind of kids that have to overcome obstacles.

Some of my students were not sure if they wanted to read this book because of the low AR level, however no one turned it down and no one, after reading it, regretted spending time reading the book even though they couldn't test on it. I am proud of them for seeing the value in the book.

Both of these books are great for many reasons, one of which is that they have male protagonists but mass appeal. Both books have main characters that are part of the school football team. I have had a diverse group of students read both of these books and I will continue to recommend them to any students that have not read them.