Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion

I'm currently re-reading Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements. I discovered this last year and was thrilled that there are two sequels - which I also read last year. Things Not Seen is the best of the three, the second, Things Hoped For is also very good. The third, Things That Are is my least favorite but certainly worth reading :-) Hope there isn't a discussion already started on this series - I'm new here so please forgive me if the "Things" series is already discussed in another topic.

Dustin wrote: "I'm currently re-reading Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements. I discovered this last year and was thrilled that there are two sequels - which I also read last year. Things Not Seen is the best of th..."

Oh wonderful - didn't know there was a 3rd. Loved the 1st two books. Thanks Dustin, don't think there's been much discussion on this while Ive been around. Love Clements generally.

Love the "Things" series and hope he writes more of them. The only other Clements book I've read (besides childrens picture books) is Frindle. Which others would you recommend.

I've written reviews of all three Things books - I can post them (or at least the review of the 3rd book - Things That Are) in the discussion if you're interested.

Andrew Clements is the "author of the month" in my library right now - which means I feature him in my library lessons. We talk a little bit about his life, go through his book list, and are listening to the first chapter of The School Story. He's a great author with some great books! Some of my favorites are: Frindle, No Talking, Lunch Money, and The School Story. I've read Things Not Seen, but haven't read the other two in the series yet.

Thanks Luann :-)

I loved his "The School Story" as well as "The Report Card" and really enjoyed "The Last Holiday Concert". Frindle is ever his classic of course. I'll look at your reviews of the Things books. I agree that I loved the first best. As a musician I really enjoyed the second as well, though it came at such an odd angle for a sequel.

Thanks Tlc :-) I've been busy with other books but I've got both Things Not Seen and Things Hoped For from the library to re-read. I want to see what I think of them on second reading.

Thanks for the info. I think after the new year my son and I will try this series.

I didn't know Things Not Seen had a sequel. I really enjoyed that book, now I need to get a copy of the second book.

Dustin wrote: "Thanks Tlc :-) I've been busy with other books but I've got both Things Not Seen and Things Hoped For from the library to re-read. I want to see what I think of them on second reading."

I know this isn't part of discussing The Things series by Clements - but does anyone have more "boy type books" like this series? It's the one thing I'm always asked about at work in the public library and need more recommendations other than Peter and the Starcatchers and Andrew Clements to steer kids toward! Thanks.

I really enjoyed the Far Flung Adventures by Stewart and Riddell. There are 3 books in the series.

Dustin wrote: "I really enjoyed the Far Flung Adventures by Stewart and Riddell. There are 3 books in the series.

[bookcover:Far-Flung Adventures Corby Flood..."

Thanks - I'll check into these. Diary of a wimpy kid series is another series but always out. Percy Jackson and the Olympians comes to mind as well.

I've read all the Wimpy Kid books but honestly, I think they're really smart-alecky and while they make me laugh, I wouldn't want my child getting ideas from them - just my two cents :-) I'm gonna start reading The Lightning Thief soon ... well, one of these days :-) Re-reading the "Things" series is my next YA priority.

So I'm finally re-reading Things Not Seen. I'm a slow reader which is why I often will read YA Fiction rather than Novels because they have fewer pages :-) Here are some short quotes that have stood out to me so far on this reading:

"Watch TV or something." That's what the note says. So I say to myself, Fine. But I think I'll do the "or something" part. -Chapter 2

Before I leave the washroom, I look in the mirror above the sinks. I have to make sure I don't look like I feel. Because I feel the way I am - which is totally naked. -Chapter 3

Everything is different. Except it's not. It's me. I'm what's different. -Chapter 3

Naked invisible boys are not allowed to gasp and wheeze. -Chapter 6

But fear doesn't need doors and windows. It works from the inside. -Chapter 7
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Are the second two in the "Things" series a little meatier? I loved the first one, but I really wanted to see him delve into what being an invisible teenage boy would really be like. I kind of felt like he maybe played it a tad bit safe.

Not really. The first one is actually the best. The other two are shorter. Invisibility doesn't play as big of a role in the two sequels. I just finished re-reading Things Hoped For - I like it but it's a completely different story - Bobby isn't even the main character. Readers get introduced to Gwen who is the main character of Things Hoped For. Alicia is the main character of the third book.

Tlc wrote: "I know this isn't part of discussing The Things series by Clements - but does anyone have more "boy type books" like this series? It's the one thing I'm always asked about at work in the public library and need more recommendations other than Peter and the Starcatchers and Andrew Clements to steer kids toward! Thanks."

* Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. The first book in the series is The Ruins of Gorlan.

* Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. The first book in the series is Gregor the Overlander. She also wrote The Hunger Games.

* The Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo. The first book in the series is Midnight for Charlie Bone.

Another author to look at is Jerry Spinelli - his stories, like Clements teach some great principles - cause readers to thing about the way we see each other & interact. I recommend Eggs, Stargirl and Maniac McGee. Here's a link to the Jerry Spinelli discussion in this group:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

"Mrs. Trent doesn't get a good look at Aunt Ethel for three reasons. First, the collar on the pink robe is turned up; second, there's a bath towel wrapped around her head, and third, the real Aunt Ethel is about twelve hundred miles southwest of here."
-Things Not Seen, by Andrew Clements

"I glance into the faces of all these people out for a Sunday stroll, but I'm not seeing eyes and noses and mouths. I'm seeing stories. Every person has a story. All the hopes and dreams. And fears. And secrets."
-Things Hoped For, by Andrew Clements

Thanks for all the quotes, Dustin. I'm going to restart my quote journal - but with a section for YA. Just starting Clement's 3rd book for the 1st time. Thanks for all the boys books recommendations too, everyone!

I'll be re-reading Things That Are (book 3) soon :-) My library didn't have a copy so I suggested it for a purchase and purchase they did - I just got it last week :-)

I'm now reading Things That Are:

"Four and a half years ago, me wasn't much of a word. I was an eighth-grader then - kind of popular, kind of pretty, kind of interesting, kind of smart, kind of aimless and friendly and snotty and carefree and anxious and shallow and deep and wistful and perky and moody and . . . kind of ordinary."
- Things That Are, Chapter Two

"...a moment came when I had to choose whether I was going to be blind of not, and I chose. And now I'm not blind. I still can't see, but I'm not blind. And I keep making that choice. Every day."
-Things That Are, Chapter Two

"Gertie jumps off the bed and goes into guide-dog mode, even though she's not wearing her harness. She's completely unselfish, so focused on my needs, always so close - like I'm the president and she's my Secret Service agent."
-Things That Are, Chapter Two

Brain fairy quote (Things that Are, end of book, my page 165) "Because you seem to think that there really is an actual future out there somewhere. And there's not. It's all 'now'. No future, no past, only now. Yes, you will get to another time, because that's what seems to keep happening. But when you get there, guess what? It's still going to be 'now'. Forget about some perfect future. That's not happening. Work on now. Because 'now' is all you're ever going to have." "Because you have to deal with things as they are, remember?"

I just finished the book - quite excellent. More of a girl's perspective on life, me thinks. Now I'm going to reread the first one - just to see how they fit.

I'm gonna finish things that are (notice the author or publisher chose a lower case title - don't know why - I don't remember them doing that with the other two) in the next day or so :-)

It's funny how Alicia's voice inside her head (aka brain fairy)keeps ending the conversation by calling Alicia a different name that Alicia said not to call her.

My 14 yo son loves Things Not Seen, Kenneth Oppel's trilogy that starts with Silverwing, and the Percy Jackson series. I love all Clements and Spinelli. Don't forget to recommend anything by Louis Sachar or Daniel Pinkwater, and Jenny Nimmo's Charlie Bone series.