Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Another one of my favorite genres of books is the young adult book. I started reading the YA genre when my daughter was about twelve years old, just to read what she was reading, and I enjoyed it so much that I began reading it for my own pleasure. Today's book is a book that I picked up from the teen section of the library the other day, drawn to it for some reason. The book flaps hooked me and I just loved the concept of the book. It's written for early high school level, probably.

Tell Me Three Things  by Julie Buxbaum is a book about two teens at the same school getting to know one another across social media, one of the teens initiating the friendship online and the other not knowing who their online friend actually is, but needing a friend and confidant. 

Jessie, our protag, has just lost her mother when her father, within a year and a half, marries someone he met online and he moves himself and Jessie to LA, to the VALLEY, of all places, and puts Jessie in the position of being a kid from Chicago now going to a prep school the Valley. What a freakin' nightmare. She's in desperate need for connection, so when she receives an anonymous message from someone calling themselves Someone/No one, or SN for short, she is just desperate enough to get past her fears that she is being punked and, slowly, she begins to trust SN.

As Jessie moves into her life at her high school, she experiences conflict both at home, at work, and at school and her friendship with SN becomes essential to her day with their wisdom and knowledge of the high school drama. Through work and school and life, Jessie now has three different guys in her life, any of whom, or none of them, who could be SN. She wonders and frets and lives with the unknown for most of the book. Sometimes angry that SN won't reveal themselves, sometimes going with the flow.

While one might be uncomfortable with books that rely heavily on texts, emails, and social media (I've seen it handled ham-handedly in other books), Buxbaum weaves these exchanges beautifully into the story. We begin to appreciate the supportive, humorous, affectionate SN and we begin to see the "real SN" in the daily messages. The witty banter is quite engaging and the supportive messages are meaningful and touching.

I enjoyed this quick and easy read.
I'm sure I could be critical of some aspects of the book, the standard trope characters for one, Jessie's almost complete inability to have compassion or insight about other people in her life for another, but instead I choose to enjoy it and to read it as the feel good  book it is intended to be.

One of my favorite passages from the book comes near the very end when Jessie and her father are having a reconnect moment after a fairly long period of disconnect. 

Beats making smoothies, I hope?" My dad's wearing his plastic name tag, his name printed under the words How may I help you? The way it dangles on a steel clip makes me feel tender toward him, as if he came in here with a milk mustache.

Here are three things I liked about this book: 1) the adorable and meaningful email exchanges between Jessie and SN, 2) guessing who SN would be, and 3) thinking about who I would cast as each character...as you do. Overall, I give this book seven stars for the feel-good quality of it as well as for the authentic voice of Jessie and SN.

KPOP, EXO, and Kai

Kai,
Need I say more?

SO, I have a child who is freaky obsessed with Korea. Elizabeth has generally taught herself Hangul, the language spoken by most Koreans; she can read, write, and speak it. She listens almost exclusively to KPOP, Korean pop music, and she is a huge fan of Korean dramas and film. At some point she plans on moving to Korea and teaching English as a Second Language. Naturally this Korea Love carries over into her writing life.

She has been an author as long as she could pick up a pencil, pen, or laptop. Long into the night she would either be reading or typing on her laptop, couldn't stop her. As she has moved into her teen years she and her friends discovered some Korean boy bands and became huge fans of them. Super Junior in all of its various iterations, Shinee, BTS, Infinite, and now EXO, these songs and bands have been the soundtrack of her life. Ask her to listen to American pop and she would decline.

For several years she has written tons of fan fiction from her various biases: Sherlock Holmes, Super Junior, Korean actors, and KPOP. I usually get to read her fan fic, but not always. Some of her stories are, according to Elizabeth, for mature audiences only and she doesn't like me to read those because it embarrasses her. But my experience with those stories have been good. Great, even.

But, Happy Day, today Elizabeth has given me the green light to share one of her fan fics with you, My Friends and Readers. This story is called Ruining Our Childhood and is a fantasy story about growing up with one of today's hottest Korean pop singers, someone in the Korean boy band called EXO, a singer named Kai. I read the story the other night and, although some errors stand out to me (I'm an editor at heart) the overall story was so good! She writes really great dialogue and can turn a phrase.

I hope you enjoy it and I welcome you to share the story with your friends' daughters who also love KPOP or romantic fiction. But be warned, those girls will become KPOP obsessed too.

Ruining Our Childhood

by Doctorholmes221

Is Teaching Creationism to a Kid Child Abuse?

atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent atheist parent

Are you on social media at all?
If so you have skipped at least a hundred articles and posts this month that are exploring and debating this question.

While I haven’t read a single one of those pieces I’m still thrilled at their existence. The fact that so many authors are addressing the question tells us something exciting, something worth celebrating.

Secular voices are rising! Secular and atheist authors and speakers and bloggers and youtubers and people are finally getting a say. We are at the table. For the first time in my life, atheist people are in the spotlight in very real and lasting ways, putting reason and critical thinking and secular points of view on display, normalizing it! I can’t help the exclamation points; it’s an amazing time to be alive.

I went and read “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism” from 2012, see Gallop-interanational.com for more information, and learned that, of the respondants, 37% of people claim to be nonreligious or atheists. 37%! That number, according to the same study, is a ten percent rise from a previous study from five years before. That number means alot because is shows us, in part, that people are naming it, claiming it, and identifying as nonbelievers far more openly than at any time in centuries. I think that is exciting!

I know, I know. I know that you are thinking, yeah, but atheists are also still the least trusted demographic, according to that one Pew study. Yeah… I don’t know what to say about that. That’s one of those WTF moments. But I have hope.

I have hope because there is a groundswell going on; more and more people who are in the social and public spheres calling themselves atheists, seeking like-minded associates, and putting their voices on the line. More and more people are using secular terms to describe themselves, to explore social issues, and to guide their lives...openly. More internet resources, more published material to read (most of it still self published, sadly), more atheist conventions and events. More.

Rayven

I hope the question is asked at least a million more times: Is teaching creationism to a child child abuse? Because it is finally considered a plausible question. Because people are answering yes to the question. Because public time and space is given to a question that has bothered many of us for years. PUBLIC. TIME. and SPACE.

I feel it, the change. I intend to be a part of it.  

Also, as my friend Rayven would have me say, Of Course, anytime you teach a child to forgo reason and logic for mythology you are handicapping them...for life, as well as ensuring another generation of adults who are incapable of making healthy and innovative solutions on this planet. Anytime you burden a potentially thinking mind with impediments to clear thought, you might as well be putting concrete blocks on feet that are learning how to run. 

In fact, isn't raising a child in religion child abuse? 


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You might also like:
My Children are being Raised in a Religion-Free Home
Relax...It's Just God
Heart Outside of my Body

Total Inoculation: Fables, Folk Tales, Mythology

secular tv, atheist parents

JOIN US on this week on The Secular Parents this Sunday night at 8PM CST as we explore how reading and discussing fables, folk tales, and mythology with our children is an excellent tool to inoculate them against believing in stories of magic. 

Total Inoculation: 

Fables, Folk Tales, Mythology

 

Charlie and Kiwi: An Evolutionary Adventure

evolution, secular homeschooling, atheist
Recently a reader suggested some books for freethinking parents. One of the titles was Charlie and Kiwi: An Evolutionary Adventure written by Eileen Campbell and presented by Peter H. Reynolds and New York Hall of Science, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Somon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.

When Charlie starts to do a report at school about his favorite bird the kiwi, the other students have many questions about how this odd creature can be a bird when it doesn't fly and it has whiskers.  That evening Charlie goes home and, with the help of his stuffed friend Kiwi, a gift from his parents after their trip to New Zealand, Charlie learns exactly how the kiwi birds of New Zealand became perfectly evolved for the island of New Zealand!

Thanks to Charlie's curiosity, he takes a trip back in time, where Charlie and some friendly travelers learn some interesting facts about how birds evolved from dinosaurs, how evolution works, and how the kiwi, specifically, grew whiskers, became nocturnal, and became flightless, among other characteristics by learning about natural selection and adaptation.

.

The story is dynamic and interesting! I love the illustrations as well. Although my kids are teens, I would DEFINITELY have read this book a time or two to them when they were growing up.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
If you are wanting to introduce this advanced concept to your young ones, this 48-page book will keep their attention and explain evolutionary terms in ways that are very understandable and very clear.
It is probably for ages 4-10.

While looking online for a useful image for this post I came across the website for the New York Hall of Science...NICE!!!!  The page has some video and lots of downloads for use with the book.
Even NICER!

Thanks again, Frau B!

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Other posts you might enjoy:
Book Review by John John
Frau B Suggestions for Freethinker Titles
Ex-Believers Come Hither!
Books for Your Skeptical Children
Secular Homeschool Materials
 

Book Review by John John

atheist parenting books for freethinkers secular reading materials for kids

The other day a reader named Frau M. suggested that we try the book Why Don't We Go To Church by Gail Miller and Rosalind Eagle, illustrations by Angela Seear. The mini-paperback costs about $15 from Amazon.com, slightly over-priced but about average for micro-published books.

I ordered the book off of Amazon.com and John read it for me. Here is his review of the book:


I thought the book was rather well-written with educated language, simple concepts, interesting and clever drawings, and you could tell that the author has knowledge on the subject. While the illustrations aren't overwhelmingly important to the story, they do illustrate some concepts in the book. I thought it was well-tuned for children rather than for adults. I would recommend it for kids of all ages, it is probably written for kids under the age of ten.

This fifty-page book is about an atheist kid named Dan who moves to a new town and starts school with some anxiety. He worries about making friends and fitting in to his new school.  

Dan makes friends with Alex, who identifies himself as a creationist. The boys have conflicting beliefs so when Dan decides to make primordial soup for his science fair project Dan fears that his friendship with Alex is in danger because of Alex's beliefs. He is right, there is quite a bit of conflict from Alex and Dan is frequently put on the spot at school among the other students.

It was an interesting scene when Alex invites Dan to go to church with him and Dan is put on the spot for his primordial soup project.

Dan is very confused as to why the idea that life came from soup was comical to the people at the church but he eventually learns that the science of life idea is one that the church tends to fumble on. As a result, Dan becomes better informed of the conflict between scientific knowledge and religious belief.

I would recommend this book to atheist and non-religious parents who have younger children because it has some complicated ideas that have been simplified enough to explain to children.

Frau M. Suggestions for Freethinker Titles

 atheist parenting books secular
One of my past posts that bring a good number of readers to my blog is a post entitled Books for Your Skeptical Children. Parents are always looking for more and better way to move beyond religion in raising their children and this post lists a dozen or so titles for freethinking families;  
I think it's time we had more books!

Who will write some more?!!!!!??

In the meantime, a reader suggested a few more freethinker titles for your library. I have ordered these from Amazon.com just this evening and I'll let you know what I think when I get them!

• Charlie and Kiwi:  An Evolutionary Adventure by The New York Hall of Science, intended for ages 4-8
• Why Don't We Go To Church? by Gail Miller, intended age is not listed but the main character is a nine year old boy.

Do you have any more titles of tried freethought books for kids or teens or adults?

Please share your library titles below!

Thanks Frau B!

A Little Teen Reading

teen reading groups, homeschool teens
Do you have teens who are readers?
Are you unimpressed with Divergent, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and other post-apocalyptic drivel for teens?  Sorry, but I just don't care for these titles. The unrealistic storylines are blubbering mediocrity to me and I'm a bit tired of the money-making fandom that the books have spawned. Besides, there isn't much to them.
Are you looking for stories with some depth, humor, and insight? 

Read some John Green!

I am a huge reader and have been all of my life. I wish the kids were as much of a reader as I am, but alas. John has been reading quite a bit lately, though! This week he finished one book and began another! All without my asking him to read.  *grin* 

But I'm reading and I'm thinking about those adults who might be considering starting a reading group for and with teens. I think that John Green is the man to be reading right now. His books are so funny and deep that anyone can relate to them...the teen angst is standard-issue, as is the nerdy, struggling, extra-smart protagonist. The girls are generally sparkly, impossibly cool, and highly likable. And the author-cunningly-hidden-as-a-struggling-teenage boy on a personal odyssey brings such depth and humor, it's as though he is describing our own adolescence with the sharpest pen in the can.

His words have the power to change a person. 
At the very least, he will make you think.

John Green is, currently, the coolest guy on the planet for so many reasons. Have you seen his Crash Courses on Youtube?  You will love them!

A few months ago I read my first book by John Green, The Fault in Our Stars. Can I say read the book first? I know that everyone is crying at the movie theater, but the book is so remarkable... Any teen, cancer-free or not, will love the subtle themes and the not-so-subtle themes running through this book. Even the love story is palatable for male readers. I can't say that the dialogue is the greatest in this book; I think homeschoolers might relate to the conversations, but the awkwardness of adolescents is missing for the most part in the conversations of characters. BUT, it's a great read nonetheless. I was honestly drawn to the journey of each and every character in the book. Green has a fabulous way of making every character familiar, interesting, bright.

Next I read Looking for Alaska. This is when I started getting the idea that maybe John Green is trying to replace Holden Caulfield as the gawky and angsty teen-of-choice in teen fiction. Holden, in my opinion, was so numb and flat that I found the entire book by J.D. Salinger A Catcher in the Rye lacking in substance. I think that John Green might be giving the classic a run for its money with Pudge and Alaska. Alaska is that shinier-than-possible star that Pudge can only dream of until their relationship blossoms and forces Pudge to learn a bit about the reality of people who shine brightly.  Green has a magic way with words...he uses them like a paintbrush.

Paper Towns also kept me interested in this author. Again the main character, the relationship between smart, gracelsss, and angsty Q and his super-cool next door neighbor crush was a DELIGHT. I loved Q and how his road trip and super-sleuthing truly brings about a change, a crystal moment, an enriching journey. If a teen reader of this book would follow their interest and move onto some Walt Whitman, I think that John Green's goals would be fulfilled; Leaves of Green features prominently in this book and in Q's quest for the neighbor girl that he hero worships. It's not every day you can honestly see change happen in a major character like this. And it's not every author who can sketch out such interesting secondary characters! 

Now I am immersed in Green's An Abundance of Katherines. Colin, the staple super-nerd depressed dork of John Green's stories, has his unique problems with being a childhood genius and his struggles become a tad obsessive. Can I help it if I love these nerdy guys? Green draws them with some aplomb, one can't help but wonder how much of his writing is autobiographical. Green's road trip theme continues in this book as Colin and his bestie hit the road to relieve some of Colin's fixation on an ex.  So far, this book has the least SEX in it of all of the other Green books I have read and it might be the best fit for a less-liberal group read. But, of course, the books ARE about TEENS who are, in general, quite interested in the S word.

As for the existence of sex and language in these books - you can do it! You can get past the sex and the language because they are real, they are truly what is on the minds of some teens. I promise, no teen will be shocked; they might even be relieved to have all honestly out there. The characters are highly-relatable. I might be fangirling a bit, but I'm so grateful for fresh writing that really sings.

So, there you go. My brief recommendations for an All-John-Green Read Fest! I am enjoying the books tremendously and I think that your mature and interested reading-teens will dig them too.

Will I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson? 
Maybe! As long as the main character is not Holden Caulfield...

Favorite Book Redux

I am still Homeschool Atheist Momma!

Atheist parenting secular, doubting god, secular homeschool

A few weeks ago I asked you for your favorite books and THANK YOU for those new titles! It is not too late to add your favorites either on that post or on this one!

I promised that I would post my favorites. Well, Lucky You, today is the day.

I have been far too busy to read lately, what with life and all, but reading is one of those touchstone things for me. I always get back to it.

Here are the titles that you have been waiting for!

Drum roll please... 

My Favorite Reads of All Time, ime ime ime ime: 

1. parenting book:  The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap by Robert Coles, Alvin Rosenfield, and Nicole Wise.

2. freethinking books:  Nailed: Ten Myths that show that Jesus Never Existed At All by David Fitzgerald and A History of God: the 4,000 Year Old Quest Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong.  TOUGH CALL, though!

3. classic novels:  How did you decide what I meant by "classic novel"? Mine are:  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Candide by Voltaire, Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe, The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope, Civil Disobedience and other Essays by Henry David Thoreau, Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Age of Reason by Thomas Paine, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.

4. fiction: All of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy, oh gosh...too many.

5. kids' books: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by  Avi, The Candy Shop Wars and Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Isabel of the Whales by Hester Velmans, Holes by Louis Sachar, Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards, Thirteen Reasons Why by somebody....

6. sci/fi or other genre: Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr., Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris,

7. all time reads

· Prodigal Summer by Barbra Kingsolver

· This Side of Brightness: A Novel by Colum McCann, everything by CM

· Timeline by Michael Crichton

· The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

· The Source by James Michener

· Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

· The Count of Monte Christo by Victor Hugo

· Harry Potter, ALL by J.K. Rowling

 ·Galileo's Daughter and Longitude by Dava Sobel

Do you know what?

This is a fool’s errand and my memory is failing me.
Just go and read!

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You may also like this post:

Books for Your Skeptical Children

Reading the Classics

GREAT READS for Teens and Tweens:  For the Love of a Good Book