"Driven by Data: A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction" by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo

For a book of this type, this one is fairly good.  By "this type" I mean a textbook format one might come across in a university-level education course.  It is very readable, has a streamlined, linear approach I like, and didn't get too repetitive.  For those who mentally wander when reading these kinds of things (I do), there are nice summary boxes to reinforce concepts at the end of each section.  The chapters are short, blissfully light on edu-speak, and have a lot of real-world examples to drive home the point.  The point, for the record, is fairly simple.  Schools can dramatically improve performance by following three simple steps and one slightly challenging step:  1) Employ rigorous interim assessments, 2) Analyze the assessments quickly and thoroughly, 3) Take action and re-teach, 4) Create a culture where this is commonplace.  Guess which one is slightly challenging?  (and that's an understatement).  It is no surprise that my favorite chapter in the book was the one on culture.  In my nearly three decades on the job, I have learned that nothing, absolutely no initiative or goal, trumps culture. 

What I also liked about this book was that it didn't shy away from failure, highlighting the widespread reasons why initiatives like this fail.  The results are impressive.  They take a number of 90/90/90 schools (90% minority, 90% free and reduced lunch and 90% fail rates) and turn them around using this method.  Personally, I can see how it would work.  The challenge is that your school would have to do this, and this alone.  No other initiatives, no other goals, just this.  Not likely in systems that pride themselves on multi-goal programming and have diverse populations that don't fit into the 90/90/90 model.  Which brings another question.  This method was highly successful at specific schools -- most of which seem to be charter schools, independent schools, academies.  Would it work for an entire school system?  A fully public school with open enrollment?  Unclear.  Could we, in our state, de-emphasize the annual high-stakes testing to focus almost entirely on formative assessments?  Unlikely.  Nonetheless, I liked the message of this book, and got a number of good take-aways.  See this as a good option for those willing to be brave.

"My Heart & Other Black Holes" by Jasmine Warga

Interesting.  Very similar to "All the Bright Places" in many ways.  Again, we have an author writing a story about suicide because of a personal experience.  Again, we have an improbable relationship between two people who come across each other at the darkest moments of their lives, and again, we have a school assignment that pushes them to explore the world a bit.  With all the similarities, however, the conclusion is very different.  In many ways, this one had the ending I wanted that I didn't get in "All the Bright Places" -- but did I like it better?  As mentioned, I didn't like the other book's ending, but it did feel real.  In this story, the circumstances feel a tad forced, even if the characters ring painfully and powerfully real.  I particularly liked Aysel's description of her depression as "a black slug" inside her that eats away at everything good.  It is a vivid description, and a very accurate one, IMHO.  I also liked her dead-end job as a telemarketer.  Not only is it the perfect description of a purposeless life, but the snapshots of the people she speaks with communicate volumes about our isolation, and our connections.  Because we only see her point of view, this one is a bit more lovey-dovey than the other book.  There are no male perspectives here to temper her voice as she falls head over heels in love, although, as Aysel begins to see herself through the eyes of Roman, he is able to show her a reflection she doesn't expect.  Finally, I liked the fact that the parents here are complex, and not cut-outs.  They have dimension and don't respond the way you would think they do.  If you read both books, you may feel obligated to do a compare and contrast, but it is a worthwhile read in any case.  And this one won't leave you feeling devastated.

“The Boy in the Black Suit” by Jason Reynolds

For a novel about the death of a parent, this one is both gentle and sweet, rather than overwhelmingly sad.  Matt is suffering – falling asleep each night listening to the same song over and over, eating take-out rather than cook a meal, dealing with his father’s spiral down to a very dark place.  But the story is not dark.  Matt has a spirit which draws you to him.  There is something very uplifting about this young man.  He has strength and determination and a support system in the form of an interesting neighbor and a good friend.  The suit Matt wears for his job at an area funeral home is symbolic.  It is like the structure and formality holding him together when he would rather fall apart – but this is not a young man to let go.  He is seeking something, he doesn’t know what, to align this loss with his life as a whole.  A fast read, the voices here are real and compelling.  And it is not depressing.  This is more of a tale about coming out of the dark than going in.  Definitely worth the read.

“Sway” by Kat Spears

A G-rated cover belies the truly R-rated content of this tongue-in-cheek novel with laugh-out-loud dark humor.  Kat Spears proves that women can write down and dirty, expletive-filled novels about sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll as well as any guy.  Jesse has all the connections and smarts of Veronica Mars without any of the moral compass.  He deals drugs, has little regard for the people he manipulates, and claims not to be a panderer, but is exactly that – over and over.  The problem is, he encounters someone good.  Not good in a goody-two shoes way (okay, a little), but someone who is genuine.  It sets up a conflict within him that puts a spin in his operations and sends him down a path he didn’t see coming.  For a guy who has all the angles figured out, this is a problem.  What kept me coming back to this anti-hero protagonist was the reality that despite his “sway,” this young man is very lost.  Jesse, entrenched in his antics, is a contemplative, intelligent guy, who has some awareness of the world around him, even as he loses control of it.  He is depressed but not depressing, and has a survivor’s core I admire.  The novel touches on themes of concern but the story keeps perspective at a reasonable level.  I enjoyed this book, but then, my sense of humor is not typical.  Others, who share with me my odd sense of what constitutes “funny,” should enjoy it as well.