Author Archives: AJ Cattapan

Monday Book Review: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Posted on April 15, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

This is a cute, “innocent” YA romance about a quirky girl who moves to a new high school. It’s a rarity in YA romance because it’s told from the boy’s perspective. Title: Stargirl Author: Jerry Spinelli Genre:  romance Age group: YA Synopsis: Eleventh … Continue reading →

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2013 YA Edgar Award Prediction

Posted on April 8, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

On May 2, the Mystery Writers of America will announce the winners of the 2013 Edgar Awards. Since I’ve read all the nominees for best YA mystery, I thought I’d share my prediction. In case you missed any of my … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: passed vs. past

Posted on April 3, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

While grading a student essay recently, I came across a sentence like this: “My friend past by me.” It’s easy to overlook the spelling mistake in this sentence, so let’s take a moment to figure out the difference between passed … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: Crusher by Niall Leonard

Posted on April 1, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

This is the fifth and final book in my list of YA Edgar nominees to read. Title: Crusher Author: Niall Leonard Genre: Mystery Age group: Young Adult Synopsis: Finn Maguire, a dyslexic seventeen-year-old who works at the local fast food joint, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Mysteries | 3 Comments

Writing Wednesday: How important is the teaching of cursive?

Posted on March 27, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

I just finished filing my federal and state income taxes (Yay for me!). Since I filed both electronically, my “signature” for these documents included things like my social security number and special PINs. When I first started hearing about schools … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: 13 Hangmen by Art Corriveau

Posted on March 25, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

This is the fourth children’s mystery I’ve read of the five nominated for this year’s Edgar Award. When I started reading it, I thought, “Let’s see–baseball, Italian Americans, and a mystery to find a hidden treasure–yep, sounds like my kind … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: Why it’s “Pope Francis” and not “Pope Francis I” (Or, why you can’t have an A without a B)

Posted on March 20, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

If you watched the news right after Pope Francis was elected, you may have heard some people questioning whether we should refer to him as Pope Francis I or simply Pope Francis. Any English teacher worth her weight in salt … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Posted on March 11, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

I’d seen this book mentioned on blogs and via Twitter quite a bit before it was nominated for the Edgars, so I was looking forward to reading it. Quite frankly, I find myself with mixed feelings about it. Title: Code Name … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: Affect vs Effect

Posted on March 6, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

These two words come up during the daily warm-up exercises with my students. Because of their similar spellings and meanings, they can be a tricky pair. Affect is almost always used as a verb. It means “to change or make … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: Emily’s Dress and Other Missing Things by Kathryn Burak

Posted on March 4, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

This is my third of the five nominees for best Young Adult Mystery for the 2013 Edgars. Title: Emily’s Dress and Other Missing Things Author: Kathryn Burak Genre: Mystery Age group: Young Adult Synopsis: After Claire’s mother commits suicide and her best friend goes missing, … Continue reading →

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