Weekend Pick for July 7, 2023

Weekend Pick for July 7, 2023

Looking for something to read? 
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Send them to browse through the picks for this or past years.
 
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Don’t Even Think About It (2014) and Think Twice (2016) by Sarah Mlynowski 

Sarah Mlynowski

Meet the author:  Sarah Mlynowski  

Sarah Mlynowski, a Canadian-born American writer has become a prolific New York Times bestselling author. She writes books for middle and high school readers. Her novels are translated into twenty-nine languages, and some of them are optioned to Hollywood. 
 She is a co-founder of OMG BookFest, a celebration of books for young readers--ages 7 through 12. The book festival connects authors with readers, especially the ones in the underserved local communities with the goal to introduce books, games, and various activities.
Sarah lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.

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Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski is an engaging fast page-turner. This one will seem like a light read.
​Imagine getting a flu shot and… developing telepathy from it.
The main setting of the novel is Homeroom 10B at NY’s Bloomberg High School.
22 students hear everyone’s thoughts. Every. Single. Thought. Students. Have. Throughout. The. Day!
​Can you imagine secrets, gossips, revelations, and consequences? 
However, they get some control of this newfound ability—ESP (extrasensory perceptions) and use it to their advantage.
By the time the adults realize what's happening, the novel protagonists are concerned with a possibility to lose the ESP.
Do they want to return back to “normal” or keep an extraordinary ability?

 Think Twice (2016) by Sarah Mlynowski is a sequel to the first novel. 
Readers witness more secrets, more scandals, and more ESP.
Forget being a regular New York City teenager! 
It’s senior year, and with graduation around the corner, they have plans — big plans — that involve being telepathic.
So when one by one they start to lose ESP, they take action. Fast. With the class brainiac on their side, they should be able to save their telepathy before it’s too late.
Or will they have to learn how to survive without it once again? 

What is interesting that the novels have a collective "we" point of view. Readers may ponder:
 Why? What’s the purpose?
How may it serve characters?
What does it tell to readers?

 Both of these novels are enjoyable reads and both could be used to teach identity struggles. Teachers may also use these novels to explore the adolescent lens and see how adolescents are perceived by their surroundings in this novel. This time, in the spirit of ELATE 2023 main themes of joy of reading, I just want you to read for pleasure. 
​You may check out more of S. Mlynowski's books on her website at https://www.sarahm.com/.

Happy reading,
​Leilya