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Reviewed by: Lisa Rice, Middle School Librarian Title: You: The Story: A Writer's Guide to Craft Through Memory
Author: Ruth Sepetys
Publisher: Viking/Penguin/Random House
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: 8-12, Adult Genre/Type of Book: Non-fiction, writing, reference, how to
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Her personal stories have adult themes.
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I love Ruta Sepetys and don't we all want to write a bestseller?
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
"In a universe of memories, we're all the villain in someone's story." p. 137, Ruta Sepetys
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Review:
I love Ruta Sepetys, I love her fiction books, and I loved this "how-to" book on writing. Because of the personal stories she tells about her own life (some involving drinking and indecent exposure), I think this book leans more to high school students and adults, but I purchased it for my middle school library. Even if my middle school students don't check it out (revision? who needs that? not my middle schoolers!), I think it is a wonderful resource for anyone who teaches writing. For example, Sepetys points out that the word writing can be daunting, but the word story is not (p.184). As a former ELA teacher, I may change the way I approached writ..I mean, storytelling! The contents include a section on plot, character development, voice, perspective, setting, dialogue, research, revision, and input, courage and a conclusion. In the back of the book, there is a list of feelings, in alphabetical order.
Sepetys points out that "life is story in motion," (p.1) and our failures, heartbreaks, and bad decisions are fabulous fodder for writing. Strong writing is rooted in emotion and imagination. In each section, she gives readers some writing prompts and scenarios that would be fun to have students respond to. She even has a section at the end of each chapter called "Stories to Uncover and Discover," which offers ideas to write about and explore, as well as a recap of the highlights of that section.
Not surprisingly, she talks about rewriting and revisions. She states that, "writing is rewriting." She has a lot of great quotes in this book that if I were teaching writing, I would want on a poster hanging on my classroom walls.
I love that this book is filled with practical writing advice. She shares many heartwarming and funny stories from her personal life. I wish her personal stories were geared more to middle school students, but for high school and beyond, this is a solid recommendation.
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For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website