Aug 27

EL本棚紹介(3) Coward: A CRIMINAL Edition, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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Do you like crime drama movies, like Heat, The Godfather, or Goodfellas? Or heist movies like Oceans 11 or, well, Heist? Then you might like Coward, the story of Leo, a criminal involved in a plan to steal a big truckload of diamonds. But when they put their complicated plan into action, things go wrong: guns fire, people get hurt, and Leo escapes – not with a briefcase full of diamonds, but one stuffed with cocaine.

Although the first half of the story is about “bad people” committing crimes, the heart of the story is in the second half, when Leo is hiding on a farm with Greta, who was badly hurt in the robbery, and his elderly father, a compulsive thief suffering from dementia.

My two cents: The plot is about crime, but the story of the relationship between Leo, his father, and Greta is at times heartbreaking.

Aug 27

EL本棚紹介(2) Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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What would you do if you met a friendly ghost? What if that ghost started helping you out with your social life and schoolwork? And what if that ghost is carrying a big secret?

Anya’s Ghost is about Anya, a high school student who immigrated to the US from Russia. She has trouble fitting in, struggles with grades, and wants to get a boyfriend. Everything changes, though, when she meets Emily, a 90-year-old ghost and her new best friend. This book is full of humor, and it tells an honest story about the experience of a young immigrant family. On the other hand, the twist in the second half of the book changes everything.

My two cents: This is a light, fun read, and despite the “ghostly” subject matter, it is neither scary nor dark.

Aug 27

EL本棚紹介(1) The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen

[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]

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The Magic Fish is told in a series of fairy tales – different versions of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid – which reflect the lives and emotions of the two main characters, Tien, a 13-year-old boy living in America, and his mother, a refugee from Vietnam.

This book does something special: it takes different themes (LGBTQ, Vietnam refugees, coming of age) set in different locations and different times, and tells a story that is very easy to follow and understand. Each scene is color coded: America is pink, fairy tales are blue, and Vietnam is yellow, so the story is not confusing at all.

My two cents: The characters tell a German version and a Vietnamese version of Cinderella, and you will be surprised by both!

Aug 20

Welcome to the new English Lounge website!

Welcome to the new English Lounge website!
This website is more dynamic than the old one and allows teachers to frequently make updates to the site, including blogs, the schedule for the seminars, information about the exchange students helping in the EL conversation space, and special activities at the EL – so bookmark the page and stay up-to-date with what’s happening at the English Lounge!