My Summer Reading Funk

I have been on summer vacation for 2 weeks and I must admit that it has been hard to get back into reading for fun.  I was struggling to find the motivation to just sit down and read.  Yes, teachers also don't always like reading ;)   I started thinking about all of my students and what I would say to them if they came to me with this problem.  I think I would say, "Just sit down and start reading!"  Sometimes you just need to dive right into a book and you will be right back to that reading loving person you always were.  I brought home a tub of student favorites to read over the summer.  So I finally picked one up and started reading.  Once I began, I remembered how much I love reading.  The characters you meet in these wonderful novels truly become lifelong friends.

I decided to start with The Alchemyst, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. I was introduced to this book by my 5th grader, Redwan.  He had a great passion for the story and characters, which I can now understand why.  The novel introduces the reader to twin brother and sister, Sophie and Josh Newman.  They are in San Fransico for the summer working down the street from each other.  Sophie works at a coffee shop and notices some strange looking men down the street walking into the bookstore where her brother works.  The novel is written in Third-Person Omniscient and jumps back and forth between Sophie's point of view and Josh's.  Josh is searching for books when he realizes that his boss, Nick Fleming is having a disagreement with the strange men that Sophie noticed.  There is a big fight in the book store, but not with fists.  Nick Flemming and the leader of the strange men, Dee, began using magic against each other.   Sophie and Nick's wife, Perry, run down the street to help when the men take Perry and an old book.  After the fight is over, Sophie and Josh are confused and looking to Nick for answers. They learn that Nick's true identity is Nicholas Flamel and he was born in the year 1330!  He and his wife Perenelle, Perry's real name, have managed to stay alive with the magic found in the book that Dee and the men stole.  Nicholas and the twins begin to plan a way to save Perenelle and get the book back from the powerful wizard, Dee.  My favorite detail so far is the odor of magic.  So if you smell peppermint with a mix of rotten eggs, there is sure to be some magic happening near you ;)

This book has hooked me right in and I cannot wait to finish it.  It is the first in a four book series, so I will have plenty of reading material to keep me motivated this summer.  I encourage you to buy or check out a copy and read it along with me!  If you have already read this book, make a comment with your thoughts.  I love reading with other people.  Until next time, happy summer reading!