Things That Are

My daughter's favorite book is The Report Card by Andrew Clements. It was one of the first books that sparked a passion for reading. She is definitely a book worm now and even though she is getting older, I still purchase Andrew Clements books for her and she reads them to her younger siblings. They are always well written! She has read this one several times now and keeps it on her bookshelf. Other books we trade in at the local book exchange, but this one is a keeper.

This book was okay to me. It was not that great but it wasn't that bad either. I love Andrew Clements, though. I would recommend "Things Not Seen" by Andrew if you want a more exciting book. P.S. this is Caylah, Cindy's daughter!

out of all the books ive read from andrew clements, this has 2 b the best 1. out of the trio (things not seen, things hoped for, and things that are) this is the best. alicia is the main character and i really like that because you learn alot more about her and her family and her lifestyle. i was very interested. i read alot of books too in reading class when my teacher assigns a book to read i usually have it at home, have it on my kindle, or got it from the library. this was one of the books she gave out. everybody who read the first book wanted to read the next. and this one was what everybody liked the most. i love the names of these books. things not seen was really cool cuz bobby was invisible and alicia wuz blind. in things hoped for robert and gwen hoped for things and in things that are well i guess there were things that are i think kids and adults should read it because its sooo good and helps you know more about what its like to be blind and i think it is better than any other andrew clememts books

All the main characters (except Gwen), as well as some characters with smaller roles, return for this third book in the series. Even Shelia, who we met in the first book plays a part in this story. Things Not Seen was Bobby's story, Things Hoped for was Gwen's story and Things That Are is Alicia's story. Alicia, who played a significant role in the first book and brief role in the second, is the voice for this third "things" book. Alicia, who became blind several years before she met Bobby, has been a favorite character in this series. Readers are finally able to experience how Alicia "sees" the world around her. I like that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is mentioned. Things That Are, like Things Not Seen, is set in Chicago and picks up where Things Hoped For left off. Bobby is just returning from his New York auditions and Alicia is a little worried about all the time he spent with Gwen and how it will affect their relationship. Some of the reoccurring words which become themes in this book include: We, Us, Reality, Are, See and Lies. A few surprises involving invisibility are contained in the pages of this book (that's all I'm going to write). Also a few things were a bit hard to believe. Suddenly Alicia has a German shepherd named Gertie who supposedly she's had for six months. I don't remember reading anything about it in Things Hoped For, but perhaps I overlooked it or maybe it just wasn't mentioned since Alicia's role was so small in that book. I won't mention my other two things that were hard to believe, because it would give too much away (but they have something to do with invisibility). While I am going to openly admit that this is my least favorite book of the three, I still loved it and hope that I don't have to wait 2 years for the next installment. A few of my favorite short quotes: "No matter how surreal things get, I'm still me. I know that. Who I am and what I am does not change, does not disappear, does not fade away." "...no one wants to be alone. Including William. And even Shelia. Because alone is not the same as free." "...sooner or later, reality does occur, and when it does, all the lies show up. Like blood on snow."

A new book by Andrew Clements is a book which won't remain long unopened in my house, and this one I snapped up in one short afternoon. THINGS THAT ARE is Clements's third book in his YA series (after Things Not Seen and Things Hoped For) and reintroduces us to a world inhabited by invisible people. It's certainly a cool sci-fi concept, but this series is made even more captivating by the author's sensitive portrayal of his lead characters. Andrew Clements, a school teacher for many years, is mainly a writer of stories targeted for middle grade children, and he's quite wonderful at it. The THINGS... series is his stab at reaching a teen audience and, naturally, he emphatically succeeds. The caveat to all this, of course, is that his readership actually spans from those in childhood to those like me, who are this much closer to dotage. Pretty much anyone, however old, is susceptible to being ensnared by Andrew Clements' warm and perceptive brand of storytelling. THINGS THAT ARE focuses squarely on Alicia Van Dorn, the teenaged blind girl so memorably featured in THINGS NOT SEEN, the first book in the series. In that book, Alicia proved to be as important a character as the main protagonist, Bobby Phillips. Her heartfelt letter to Bobby at the end of THINGS NOT SEEN is one of the best, most moving parts of that book. THINGS THAT ARE tracks two days in the lives of Alicia and Bobby. It begins shortly after the events in THINGS HOPED FOR, as Alicia awaits Bobby's return from his college auditions in New York (Bobby's a musician). Firstly, I admit to Alicia being my favorite character in this bunch of books. I admire her courage and fierce independence, and how she always strives to live life as fully as she can, despite her blindness. THINGS THAT ARE probes her feelings for Bobby and the first brief chapter opens with her determining to talk out their relationship with him, once he arrives. But the mushy stuff is rapidly put on the backburner as William, the invisible fugitive from THINGS HOPED FOR, shows up and has a disturbing conversation with Alicia. Not too long after, Alicia and her parents are visited at home by FBI agents. Then there are Alicia and Bobby's fathers, who are up to their necks in covert lab experiments... At 167 pages, this is yet another excellent read by a guy who knows how to write. Again, the characters come to life. With Alicia narrating in first person, we get to know her even better. Andrew Clements goes into good detail about how Alicia copes with her blindness, the constant battle she wages to remain positive and keep pressing on. She receives invaluable help from her sweet-natured guide dog Gertie. It's awesome, as well, to see Bobby, who again displays his resourcefulness and talent for mimicry. There's not too much that's off-kilter with this book, but I guess if there were something which nagged at me, it's that Alicia's poetry and Bobby's music aren't much in evidence here. This is a bit disappointing because po