Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

“Go in to Two Can Keep a Secret with an open mind; don’t compare it to McManus’s debut novel. Instead, let it stand as itself and enjoy!”

The Promise by Eva Schloss and Barbara Powers

“If you have young children, prepare yourself to talk to them about the world — its darkness as well as its light.”

Why?: Explaining the Holocaust by Peter Hayes

I agree with Hayes when he says that this is a natural response but that if we don’t dig into the “why” of the Holocaust “that stance blocks the possibility of learning from the subject” (xiii).

The Legacy of Anne Frank by Gillian Walnes Perry

“I can’t wait for funds, convenience, or the opportune moment because everything I need to do my part is already at my disposal and it’s there for you, too. Anne had a notebook and a pen. I have a classroom and a love for the written word.”

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

“I challenge readers of this book to sit in discomfort when they realize all the little areas in their own lives where casual prejudice and bias filter through. Then, like Izzy, they can set fire to the prairies of their own biases; the ashes will fertilize what grows anew. “

Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism by Bob Edwards

This style is on the news all the time, now; but before Murrow and his peers, the news probably sounded very dry and perpetuated the isolation Americans felt from the rest of the world at this time.

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander Series #2) by Diana Gabaldon

The problems Claire tries to parse out in the novel invite us to think about the essence of things.

An Indigenous People’s History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese

“even if we think we know the whole story … we don’t. There’s always more. There’s always another perspective. We owe it to those long-marginalized to listen to their story. What’s more, we owe it to ourselves to take in diverse perspectives so that we can better understand the truth.”

Welcome to Bago Book Talk Blog

Book Talk = a ritual in Ms. G.’s English class where either she or a student talks briefly about a book they recently finished or are currently reading. This blog exists so that we can share our book talks with the world outside Room 207. Enjoy!