This Is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis

I recently finished a week long conference at BYU. It was amazing! It was the annual Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference and workshop. Ann Dee Ellis, a BYU professor and writer, was there and I have to say, I love that woman. I talked to her a few times. She's very down to earth and I was impressed by her real-ness. So, I bought her book (This Is What I Did), she signed it, and I read it in about 2 days. It's an easy read, obviously considering the audience (young adult), but I found it to be engaging. I was impressed with her voice, a boy who struggles with fitting in. Logan was a very real character to me. I talked to a friend about the book the other day and she felt the book's topics were harsh. They are. It's about a boy, Logan, and his best friend, Zyler. Logan and his family move so Logan can go to a new school and get a new start, but there is a dark secret that he is keeping, and this causes some intense and painful bullying. I personally really liked the book, and if I were still teaching, I would use it to teach different elements of writing as well as focus on certain themes: bullying, forgiveness, expectations, consequences for actions, etc. There is so much stuff that can be pulled from the book. I give it 3 stars (out of 4). Plus, I love the cover.