Conform: Exposing the Truth About Common Core and Public Education

Glenn Beck explores the public education system here in our country and the new reform known as "Common Core".  He takes a deep look into how our education dollars are being spent and how the government is taking control of the education of our children. He backs up all of his in claims with footnotes, so I felt that the information was correct.

If you haven't understood what common core is or how it affects your children, this book is a good place to start.

An Invisible Thread

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff

Walking down the busy New York street just outside her apartment, Laura passes by 11 year old Maurice begging on the street. He is just one of the many homeless and she doesn't even think about him or his request for some change. For some reason, as she reaches the corner, she stops and then walks back to Maurice. This is the beginning of a mismatched friendship that will have a profound impact on both of their futures.

This is a touching story of how one person can make a difference in someone's life. There were a few things that I didn't like about the book, for example, the author keeps going in back in time to her abusive childhood and sometimes the segues were a little abrupt. Overall, I did like the book and would recommend it.

Dangerous

 

 

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Maisie Danger Brown wins a week at a summer astronaut boot camp for teens run by the woman who built the world’s first (and only) space elevator. Maisie, the daughter of two scientists,  has always been homeschooled and she is looking forward to meeting and making new friends, but she is even more excited about the camp itself. She has wanted to be an astronaut for as long as she can remember and now she not only gets to go to space camp, but she gets to meet the scientist behind it all.

When Maisie's team scores the highest in the camp competition, they earn a ride on the space elevator, and Maisie finds that her life will be changed forever and she is not sure she is ready for the change.

Everything happens so fast in this book, I didn't feel like the author was able to really develop the characters, so I had a hard time connecting with them. And some of the scenarios were a little extreme. I did enjoy reading this book despite my frustration with the characters.