Margin Notes

“Charlie was not expecting to spend his summer trying to solve a murder.”  

Murder at the Hotel Hopeless is a captivating mystery that follows Charlie Hope, a teenager spending his summer helping his mother run their family hotel. The routine turns intriguing when Mr. Ignato, an elderly guest, dies under suspicious circumstances. Charlie suspects foul play, but no one believes him except Penny Price, a former child actress known for her role in “Little Miss Murder.” Together, they uncover that Mr. Ignato had a hidden past as a jewel thief, leading them on a quest to solve the mystery surrounding his death.  

The novel is engaging and fast-paced, making it an excellent choice for readers who enjoy quick reads filled with suspense. The dynamic between Charlie and Penny adds depth to the story, blending humor with the seriousness of their investigation.  

I recommend this book to readers aged 12 and up who relatable characters and unexcepted twists.  

Thewjan Wijayasundara is a guest writer from the Writing 110 at Leo Hayes High School. 

Although it is often said, “Do not judge a book by its cover,” I personally believe this saying is purely metaphorical and not intended to be taken in the literal sense. Being an individual easily allured by aesthetic and unique artwork, I was instantly drawn to the old VHS style cover with the title Sunderworld V-01: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry. Upon examining this book, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that its author is non-other then Branson Riggs, an author whom I had enjoyed in middle school through the dark and alluring world he had created through his New York Time’s bestselling novel, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.” Once more, I found myself encapsulated through Riggs’s mastery of worldbuilding.

Leopold Berry is a 17-year-old boy from Las Angeles who never seems to catch a break. When he was only twelve, Leopolds mother died of a terminal illness, forcing him to live with his hot-headed, self-centered, life coach father, Richter Berry. The only material things left connecting him to his mother is her yellow Volvo (Bessie), a 1987 LA tourist map (with a note “just in case” written in her handwriting), and a collection of video tapes of an old low budget kids’ fantasy tv show called “Sunderworld.”

Following the death of his mother, Leopold begins to have hallucinatory episodes, in which he sees creatures and scenes pulled directly from “Sunderworld.” On his 14^th birthday he becomes convinced that Sunderworld is real and that he is to follow the same path as the show’s protagonist. However, after waiting a whole day outside of his childhood home for a robotic Coyote bearing the keys to Sunder, Leopold begins to understand it had all been an episodic delusion triggered by trauma.

Three years pass and Leopold begins to see himself as very ordinary and completely average, and Richter always made a point to tell him how big of a disappointment he is. That is until,  over a span of three weeks, the Sunder hallucinations come back, and he is unsure if he should worry his best friend “Emmett” with this recent development. As the story starts, Leopold is sitting through an interview (arranged by his father of course) and out the window, behind the interviewer is a racoon engulfed in flames sitting a tree. It can’t possibly be real, but what if it is? Does this mean Leopold truly is chosen to save Sunder? Or is he as he is regularly reminded “impressively average.”

As mentioned previously, the strongest element contained within this novel is the world building. The setting of Las Angeles plays heavily into its atmosphere and story. The protagonist’s best friend (Emmett) is an expert on the city’s history, using his studious and passionate personality to add depth and background to settings. The fantasy elements of the novel add an extra dimension to the world and are integrated well into the city scape. The absurd fantasy initially introduced, often boarders on humorous, but as Leopold dives into this world, the magical quickly becomes the mundane. For example, popular fantasy novels such as “Harry Potter” separate the magical from the everyday, giving an otherworldly and alien element to the world. This novel differs in that a magical scene could include a parking attendant who is observed with leathery wings, or a pharmacy that sells magical focusers behind a locked plexiglass display case as if they were electronics. This seemingly average portrayal of the fantastical is a breath of fresh air.

The novel plays heavily on themes of feeling inadequate and fearing being average. The protagonist struggles with his self esteem and doubts his own abilities, often being tested and evaluated by professionals, only to be told he is “extraordinarily average.” Like most teens getting ready to make the jump from high school to the workforce or post-secondary, Leopold is constantly being challenged about his goals. Leopolds father, Richter, practically decides for him what he will do with his life, giving him few options and little agency over the direction of his life. Leopold expresses desire to work in the film industry, but this is quickly crushed by his father.

The constant failing of the protagonist is realistic because everybody fails, but this causes Leopold to slump lower and lower because of how alone he feels. However, by the novels end, Leopold realizes that he has been letting others’ perceptions of him hinder his personal potential, and once this realization occurs, Leopold begins to show his true potential. In conclusion I could not recommend this novel enough and based upon its end, I can not bear to wait for the second book in this series. Young adults will find relatability in the character of Leopold but it should be shared that this book is an emotional roller coaster filled with mystery.

Austin Gillespie is a BEd candidate at the University of New Brunswick. His undergrad was a major in History and a minor in English. Austin lives in Doaktown, New Brunswick and enjoys spending his time in nature, fishing, canoeing hiking, mountain biking, and ATVing. Austin also enjoys writing poetry and short stories while accompanied by his cats, Theo and Cheeto.

Kindness is all that there is.

Eoghan Wells’s debut novel The Gospel of Orla depicts the life of many teenagers around the world. Orla is a 14-year-old Irish girl trying to cope with the recent death of her mother amid her growing adolescence in life and at school. Coping with her, are her alcoholic father and little sister, Lily. Please be aware, there are triggering subjects such as alcoholism and abuse.

Meanwhile, Orla is an ordinary teenager who struggles with asthma, fitting in, and school suspensions. On one of her routine bike rides, a middle-aged man named Jesus crashes into her. Jesus is dressed in a dishevelled blanket and claims to be the biblical figure. He has no knowledge of technology or what is around. What starts as fear of this man transforms into a friendship between Orla and Jesus. Jesus joins Orla on her pilgrimage through rural farmland to Ireland where her dead mother is buried. Together they bike, boat, and walk, getting lost on the way to the burial site of her mother.

I was brought to joy and tears by this book. It showed me that amid the doubt and pain we have humans, there is hope for healing, mending, and solace. On this pilgrimage, Walls communicates to all of us that “kindness is all that there is.” For many of us, it is hard to ignore dark thoughts and fears through these life trials. However, together, Orla and Jesus bear each other’s pains and pasts with a childlike spirit, which is evident between all the humour, laughter, and swearing along their legendary journey.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. You will have a restored faith that the goodness and grace of humanity have and always have been present.

Michael Clubine is always on the run from Southwestern Ontario and is a B.Ed student at UNB. However, one of the few things he enjoys in Ontario is gazing into the summer sunsets at the lake and dreaming about everything under the sun in Muskoka.

Calling all Swiftie teachers! Invisible Strings is a brilliant, engaging poetry anthology that brings together 113 different poets who each respond to the music of Taylor Swift. These poets all allude to the songs they were assigned, without using direct lyrics or titles, making it a fun puzzle that requires close reading to try and solve the mysteries of which poem is related to which song!

Whether you’re a die-hard fan of Taylor Swift or just someone who appreciates powerful writing and musical influence, this collection offers something truly special for your classroom. This book has a plethora of different ways it can support relevant learning & engagement in your literacy classroom. As Frederick-Daugherty states in her introduction, “Swift has taught her fans to read lyrics carefully, attending to syntax, symbol, and sound, just as poets learn to read literature.” (2024). Using these poems, we too, can hone these skills with our students using Taylor Swift’s musical genius, and these insightful poems.

Why you will love it for your classroom:

• Literary Analysis Meets Pop Culture: Use the poems as mentor texts to explore intertextuality, metaphor, tone, and theme. Students can analyze how each poet was inspired by a particular Swift song and then compare it to the original lyrics, making it an instant mentor text goldmine!
• Creative Writing Inspo: Encourage students to write their own response poems to their favorite songs, Taylor’s or otherwise. It’s a fun way to connect music and poetry in a way that feels personal, and relevant.
• Swiftie Scavenger Hunt: Since each song inspiration is not actually revealed in the book, Taylor Swift fans will love the challenge of decoding the easter eggs to figure out the inspiration. Each poem is a puzzle that you can use to challenge your students. This adds a fun and interactive element that builds engagement and encourages close reading and listening skills. If your students aren’t die-hard Swifties, you can pick out which poems correspond with her most popular songs using the cheat sheet linked at the end, to ensure that students will be able to make connections with the easter eggs.
• Discussion-Ready Themes: From heartbreak to empowerment, friendship to fame, this collection covers a wide range of emotions and experiences, perfect for classroom discussion and quickwrite prompts.

Whether you’re teaching middle schoolers looking for creative expression or high school students ready to dive into deeper literary connections, Invisible Strings offers a great entry point. For those of you who need to have the answers (myself included) to see if you got them right, Penguin Random House & Kristie Frederick-Daugherty did publish the list of songs that inspired each poem. You can find that list here. Use it to help you pick poems that correspond with songs that you know your students will have heard before or use it as a scaffold and give them the song right off the bat, so that they can make connections if they aren’t huge Swifties. This collection really is the perfect way to show students that poetry isn’t stuck in the past. It shows them that it’s alive, current, and set to a beat they already know & love.