Kim Firmston

A novel written for teens struggling with reading, Creep Con is regrettably highly topical. Recently arrived in Calgary from Fort McMurray, Mariam feels like a fish out of water until she meets Tya, who understands Mariam's love of comics and SFF. When Tya asks Mariam to attend a fan convention in a revealing cosplay outfit, however, Mariam quickly learns that some friends are not who they appear to be. Mariam is an accessible and appealing young feminist, and I was happy to see a strong female protagonist making self-affirming choices in fiction. This short novel is a solid pick for classroom libraries as well as for in-school and public libraries.

Read my complete review in RESOURCE LINKS 21.3 (February 2016).… (mais)

Stupid was an enjoyable book that helped me understand a little more of the difficulties a student with a disability might face. As I read through this book I would shudder every time Martin’s dad called him stupid or lazy. I thought back on my own experiences in the classroom and I truly hope I never told a student with a learning disorder to simply “try harder”. I liked how much this book explained the disorder and also what Martin was doing to help himself. I would love to have some of my students read this book and even some teachers. It’s not that I think some teachers are unaware of students with disabilities but it is hard to understand something you don’t have and this book described it so well.

I like this book for students in middle school who have a learning disorder(although even those without will enjoy and learn as well). These students might sometimes feel they are losers or too stupid to try anymore and this book might help them when they see someone else struggle and learn to work with their disability. Martin has to work incredibly hard to break even as he put it but he keeps going. He has to keep trying even while his dad continually tells him he is stupid, yelling and punishing him for his bad grades. This book show how stressful a learning disability can be but also how that same disability can spur creativity in people. This book might help some students see that everyone has the ability to learn it’s just that not everyone learns in the same way.… (mais)