The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad is an adult fiction novel by Colson Whitehead. It was Oprah Winfrey's book club selection for 2016 and also a National Book Award winner. I picked this book up to read after it was recommended by one of my favorite adult authors, Jodi Picoult.

Sex: Women are raped. There is one explicit sex scene at the very end of the book. It caught me off guard. It's two or three lines, so a reader can easily skip over it.

Language: Mild to moderate. Lots of racial slurs.

Drug/Alcohol Use: A few mentions and scenes of drunkeness.

Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: The violence is the kicker in this book. It's very detailed and extremely disturbing. Unfortunately, it's also historically accurate. There are many deaths and scenes of torture. The entire book is suspenseful. The main character spends the entire book trying to escape.

Final Note: I personally had to read this book in spurts. The chapters tended to jump around and sometimes they switched perspectives. The Underground Railroad in this novel is an actual underground railroad. I thought the story had a creative twist on history and was well written. Out of 5 stars on Goodreads, I gave it 4!

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The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish

The Ethan I Was Before is a middle grade fiction novel by Ali Standish. Ethan and Kacey were the best of friends. But when a terrible accident rips them apart, Ethan and his family pick up and move from Boston to a small town in Georgia. Now Ethan must figure out what life looks like moving forward. He meets Coralee and is enthralled by her marvelous stories. Can the two of them share secrets and give each other the friendship they both long for? Sex: None. Language: None. Drug/Alcohol Use: None. Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: There are several suspenseful scenes. Death is a big part of the story line as well. Final Note: I loved this book! This is Ali Standish's first novel and she hit it out of the park. It was hauntingly beautiful. My heart ached for Ethan. I think readers grades 6-8 would really like this one.

What is The Rapid Reader?

Hello fellow parents and friends! My name is Danielle. I had the idea for this blog a couple of years ago when I was working in my son's school library. It was a known fact that I was an avid reader of middle school and young adult literature and several parents would ask me about books before checking them out for their kids. (Or buying them at the book fair!) Because I read so much, I've never worried too much about what my kids might be reading. My oldest is only eight years old and anything he's read, I've read already! But what about parents who don't necessarily enjoy reading or have the time? I wanted to offer a resource that gave these parents the chance to make educated decisions about books their kids are reading. That's how this blog was born! Before we go any further, I want to point out that I am strongly opposed to book banning. I believe in freedom of speech and expression of art through literature. But I also feel strongly that kids should ...

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

My Lady Jane is a YA fiction novel by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. Written in three different perspectives by three different authors, this romantic comedy tells readers what really (maybe) happened in history with Lady Jane Grey. This book was on Publishers Weekly's list of top YA books for 2016. (And it was well-deserved!) Sex: During the Edward and Gifford chapters, the boys often comment on the figures of women. People are under the impression that Gifford is a "ladies man." Two of the characters are in an arranged marriage and the book does mention in the last chapter that they "totally consummated." There are sexual innuendos but nothing graphic. Language: Extremely mild, especially for a YA book. Drug/Alcohol Use: A few mentions of drinking. Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: There is a war and plenty of people are threatened with losing their heads, but since this book is a comedy, it's nothing graphic or seriou...

The Rapid Reader

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