Book Review: I am Margaret Moore

 Here is my latest review for School Library Journal:

I Am Margaret Moore

By Hannah Capin

 

Margaret Moore, along with her friends Flor, Nisreen, and Rose, attend the Marshall Summer Naval School every summer. They are inseparable friends until the summer Margaret falls in love with a boy also attending Marshall.  That summer Margaret sneaks out of their dorm after curfew again and again to meet the boy of her dreams.  Towards the end of the summer, right before the Victory Race, an incident occurs that pulls Margaret away from her friends, and she isn’t even allowed to say good-bye.  Margaret is back the following year to tell her friends what happened, and in the meantime, the boy that she loved drowns in the lake near the summer camp.  Then her friends start to disappear one at a time.  What happened to Margaret and her boyfriend?  Where did her friends go?  Could Margaret be a murderer?  To find these answers and gain a deeper understanding of Margaret’s plight, one will need to read I am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin.

 

This story is a complex contemporary thriller with poetic undertones.  The insect motif at a summer camp seems quite normal as many summer camps usually involve pesky insects.  However, Ms. Capin is very deliberate in using the mayfly and the dragonfly over and over in her story and even named the parts of her book after the growth stages of these insects.  Both the mayfly and dragonfly live tragic lives which sets the tone for Margaret’s tragedy.  There are many times through the first half of the book that the author’s purpose is undisclosed.  Once Margaret’s circumstances have been revealed, the readers might find themselves going back to the beginning of Margaret’s story with a new perspective.  Beautifully written and haunting, I Am Margaret Moore will definitely appeal to those who enjoy a good mystery.  Therefore, this book is recommended for students in grades 9-12.  It will be an enjoyable addition to any library’s mystery/thriller collection.

The First Six Weeks

 

And here we go!  It's the end of the first grading period.  Wow!  Not going to lie.  This hasn't been easy.   Teachers are excited about having the students back in person, of course.  However, may of our stay-at-home students are not responding well to the pace & rigor of being back in person.  I keep reminding myself that our incoming Freshman class was in 7th grade when the world shut down.  How can we expect them to just become 9th graders when many of them stayed home for a year and a half?  I am using the Freshman as an example, but the same is happening with all the other grades as well.  Online is much slower than virtual, and it shows.  The teachers are struggling, and so are the students.

However, the library is a different story.  Here, we have had an increase in student involvement.  That might be due to the fact that I visited EVERY English class this first 6 weeks (see August 26th blog entry).  I made that a priority because the students needed to know the library is open for business.  As a direct result, we had a record number of students participate in the Digital Scavenger Hunt, which was the activity for September.  I have a good group who signed up for the 40 Book Pledge too.  It looks like everyone is ready to come back and participate.  That makes me happy.

Here are our library usage statistics for the first six weeks.  Seems like a good start to the year.  Let's hope the enthusiasm continues.