giveaway galore and hazelwood high

Teacher friends! There are so many different giveaways going on right now that I just had to share them with you. First of all, we have a giveaway at Kinder Kraziness. There are 14 teachers participating in this great giveaway for Laura's one year blogiversary! Stop on by and enter for yourself :]

Next, we have a giveaway at 4th Grade Frolics. There are 13 teachers participating in this one for Tara's one year blogiversary (man... all these blogiversaries!!!). Stop on by and enter yourself in her giveaway, too!

Then, we've got the 100 Follower Giveaway at Teaching Maddeness! Amanda reached 100 followers in one short week. Boy, am I jealous! Stop on by her giveaway and enter for yourself! There's a gift card at stake.. who wouldn't want that?!

Finally, there's a giveaway going on at The Teachers Chatterbox for reaching 300 followers! She's giving away a lot of nice things, so make sure you stop on by!

Overall, all of the bloggers giving away these amazing things is incredibly sweet of them. I am jealous of their dedication and hard work they have put into their blogs, and hope that one day, I, too, can be that good of a blogger! Good luck to everyone who enters :]

As for the Hazelwood High development... I'm LOVING these books. I'm not kidding, I'm L-O-V-I-N-G the series. The book started out very dramatically with a car crash. The story develops and it's main character is named Andy. Andy is going through a lot after losing his best friend in the car crash, but that's not what attracts me to the book. What attracts me is the way the book is written. The book is written the way the characters would speak in real life. Examples of the words used are "for real though!" or "naw, man," or "let's raise" which stands for "let's go." She puts REAL people in the story and relates the story to it's intended readers. I truly love the way she writes because it's as if it's a real movie going on in your head. You can see the characters holding a conversation in front of you, or as the beginning of the book started with a car crash, you can see this crash in your mind. You can picture everything about this crash and all that it encompasses. Another character, BJ, describes the crash and the way he describes it is almost as if it is happening right in front of your face. Ahhh, I just love this book so much and will be done with it by tonight. I will start the second book tomorrow, and will let you know how the rest of this first book goes!

Oh, one more thing - Hazelwood High is set in CINCINNATI! That's where I went to school and currently reside. The book talks about I-75, Fountain Square, and Kings Island a few times. It also talks about Boone County, which is just over the border! Such a cool thing.

Have a good night, y'all!

EDIT: Tomorrow I start my volunteering, summer classes to finish up my 4th and 5th grade endorsement so I can be certified to teach from PreK-5 instead of PreK-3, AND I start my SUPER SUMMER SCHEDULE!! Stay tuned to the blog for updates on all three things, plus my readings :] and feel free to join me for the SUPER SUMMER SCHEDULE!!

EDIT TWO: I finished my first book of the Hazelwood High kids and all I can say is OH. MY. GOSH. What a compelling, riveting novel about high school seniors. I absolutely cannot wait to start the next one, Forged by Fire. Book two for the summer.. FINISHED.

what I am reading...

Much like Monique over at UniquelyMonique, I have decided to set a goal of how many books I'll read this summer. I chose to set my goal a little lower though, at 15 books, because I'm also going to be traveling this summer to the Bahamas in mid-July and then moving home a week after we get back! So, I've read one book so far, and it was an absolutely amazing book, I must say. I read it while I was in Florida. The book is called The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The book is written from the dog's perspective on life and the theme of the entire book is race car driving. The dog's owner is a race car driver and the dog fell in love with racing due to this. Many different things happen throughout the book (life changing events, I must add), but the dog sticks by his owner's side throughout the entire story. They say the loyalty of a dog is truer than any person you will ever meet - this book proves it! Anyway, it's a delightful read - sad and happy at the same time. But, if you've ever had a dog, or want a dog for that matter, read this book!! You will not regret it!

Now, I'm on my second book. I started to read What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali, but I couldn't highlight the important parts of the book that I liked and wanted to remember because I borrowed it from the library! So, I went ahead and ordered my own copy from Books-A-Million so I could highlight it! Then I started The Everything New Teacher Book: A Survival Guide for the First Year and Beyond by Melissa Kelly, but I couldn't get into it at the moment. Was just too dull for the mood I'm in. THEN, I started reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. I just started it today at the recommendation of another reader/blogger on here, Sandy at Mrs. Fiorini's Stadium. She said she'd read it for fun, so I decided to step up and read it, too! I couldn't get into it. So, I decided to go back to my teen fiction books. I was at a conference in February and Sharon Draper was one of the keynote speakers. She was so real, fun, and straightforward with her discussion. She talked about her books, and how they represented students, and how it got REAL students to read that had never read a book before, simply because the characters were similar to the students that read the stories. So, I decided I'm going to start out by reading her first series about students at Hazelwood High. The story is called Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper. I have a feeling I'll really love this book and it's an easy read so I should be able to get through the 3 book series by the end of the week! I'll keep ya posted, again :]

Check back in with you all soon! Have a good night, y'all!