Publisher: Atria Books
Published: February 11, 2020
Genre: Fiction
Source: Finished copy
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb:
Roxanna Elden’s satire is a brilliantly entertaining and moving look at our education system.
Each new school year brings familiar challenges to Brae Hill Valley, a struggling high school in one the biggest cities in Texas. But the teachers also face plenty of personal challenges and this year, they may finally spill over into the classroom.
English teacher Lena Wright, a spoken-word poet, can never seem to truly connect with her students. Hernan D. Hernandez is confident in front of his biology classes, but tongue-tied around the woman he most wants to impress. Down the hall, math teacher Maybelline Galang focuses on the numbers as she struggles to parent her daughter, while Coach Ray hustles his troubled football team toward another winning season. Recording it all is idealistic second-year history teacher Kaytee Mahoney, whose anonymous blog gains new readers by the day as it drifts ever further from her in-class reality. And this year, a new superintendent is determined to leave his own mark on the school—even if that means shutting the whole place down.
Review:
Adequate Yearly Progress is not a book I’d normally read. I like my books filled with a whole lot of romance and all it entails. But there are times when I get tired of it and want a normal fictitious book. We follow an array of fellow teachers and school administration as they navigate curriculums dedicated to improving student achievement.
I found it a bit too slow moving for me in the beginning. That’s not to say it wasn’t well-written, I guess I just couldn’t relate. I’m not a teacher and I feel like a lot of the satire in it was meant for those of the profession. If teaching is anything like this, then wow, it makes me a little sad that they have to jump through so many hoops.
This is a very interesting, entertaining, and clever book. I think a lot of people will get so much insight by reading Elden’s words. I enjoyed them as well; but not as much as I thought I originally would. There’s a sad reality in this that I’m glad the author addressed though. She tried to help the bittersweet by writing in the humor and that actually helped so much. The take from this is an important message to all!
*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are subjective but my own.
Buy the book:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
About the author:
Roxanna Elden combines eleven years of experience as a public school teacher with a decade of speaking to audiences around the country about education issues. Her first book, See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers, is a staple in school districts and educator training programs, and her work has been featured on NPR as well as in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, Education Week, and many other outlets. You can learn more about her work at www.roxannaelden.com.
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