Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book about a nontraditional education.


What does "nontraditional education" mean to you?


Listopia list is Here: Nontraditional Education

Is boarding school non-traditional? It might be in Canada and the US, but not the UK. (Of course all the boarding school books I can think of are British.)

Home schooling? Unschooling? Gifted or remedial classes?

Is this the year I finally read Educated? I've been avoiding it for so long, if I don't use it for this, I might use it for the book you've been avoiding prompt.

I think I'm going to do Vita Nostra for this. A Deadly Education is another good fantasy option.

Jen W. wrote: "Is this the year I finally read Educated? I've been avoiding it for so long, if I don't use it for this, I might use it for the book you've been avoiding prompt."

Yes - good shout!

There are a lot of fantasy books that work here. Ninth House, The Poppy War, A Deadly Education and two of my favourites, Babel and The Betrayals, all spring to mind. Also the Atlas Six books but I gave up halfway into the second, so not necessarily a recommendation!

For those of us who have already read Educated, some readalikes that sound like they'd fit too are Jesus Land: A Memoir and The Only Girl in the World.

Gina wrote: "For those of us who have already read Educated, some readalikes that sound like they'd fit too are Jesus Land: A Memoir and The Only Girl in the World."

Thanks for the suggestions! I really liked "Educated."

For fantasy lovers, Miss Ellicott's School for the Magically Minded is fun.

I feel like the Scholomance series (starting with A Deadly Education) would work here. Possibly also Ink and Bone, which I put under the "books on the cover" prompt. Both are fantasy. Oh -- and The School for Good and Evil!

Chelsea wrote: "I think I'm going to do Vita Nostra for this. A Deadly Education is another good fantasy option."

I loved A Deadly Education, I'll have to see if I can get my hands on the next book in the series The Last Graduate

Tania wrote: "I loved A Deadly Education, I'll have to see if I ..."

All three of the books in the trilogy are good reads.

Nadine in NY wrote: "What does "nontraditional education" mean to you?"

I wonder if Dark Academia in general would work.

Other than that, I'd say any form of magical education ought to work - from Harry Potter style mage schools to the likes of kitchen witches and healers learning from a mentor.

Can someone recommend something that doesn't have abusive parents or teachers in it? Like a good non-traditional education?

This is my pick I think. But Educated, Harry Potter series (magical boarding school) are just 2 I can think of off the top of my head.

Amy wrote: "There are a lot of fantasy books that work here. Ninth House, The Poppy War, A Deadly Education and two of my favourites, Babel and [..."

I was about to ask if people would count Babel for this category! Oxford is about as traditional as it gets, but the version of education in the book is certainly far from traditional. I'll 100% be choosing this one.

I'm a big fan of the Gallagher Girls series! It's a girl-power series where the top students from across the country are recruited to an elite private school for girls which trains them to be spies and support staff for spies.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Denise wrote: "Can someone recommend something that doesn't have abusive parents or teachers in it? Like a good non-traditional education?"
If you're okay with fiction, Gallagher Girls is a realistic fiction YA series. The teachers care about the students, and I think all the parents are pretty good. Secret spy school for high-achieving girls.

Laura Ruth wrote: "Possibly also Ink and Bone, which I put under the "books on the cover" prompt."
I love series, so I like the idea of Ink and Bone for one prompt and the sequel for a second prompt! Thanks.

Dea wrote: "I'm a big fan of the Gallagher Girls series! It's a girl-power series where the top students from across the country are recruited to an elite private school for girls which trains them to be spies..."




Thank you for this suggestion!!! I had read the first book in that series a long time ago, and enjoyed it, but I never even thought of it for this category - it's a good choice.



Other books that I read at around the same time ( I guess I had a "YA boarding school" phase) were
Hex Hall - a school for the magical (withches, fairies, shape-shifters, etc - kind of like the school in that show Wednesday), and
Rampant - a school for unicorn hunters (because unicorns are aggressive and deadly)

And of course there's Gail Carriger's steampunk school for spies (in a dirigible, of course):
Etiquette & Espionage (Sadly I've already read this entire series, or I would just chose the next book in this series for this category)

Dea wrote: "Denise wrote: "Can someone recommend something that doesn't have abusive parents or teachers in it? Like a good non-traditional education?"
If you're okay with fiction, Gallagher Girls is a realist..."

Thanks for the recommendation! That sounds good.

This is a topic I'm going to have to research. I've heard of 'nontraditional education' but I don't really understand it fully.

Maybe there's some nonfiction books out there that I can look into.

I'm hoping to find a fictional novel in which the child is either raised in the forest or raised in a commune and experiences "child-led education" - there are novels about feral children, but that's not quite it.

So far I've found
Where the Crawdads Sing - which I am not going to read
The Marsh King's Daughter
These Silent Woods
Tarzan of the Apes - already read it, do not recommend
My Absolute Darling - which might be what I read (but I might hate it so I need backup choices)



and various lists and shelves of "feral children" books
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...


Someone mentioned that What Kind of Paradise might fit here, so that's my first choice, and if I feel like it doesn't fill the category, I'll try My Absolute Darling.

Another prompt that Fourth Wing works for.

If My Absolute Darling fits this prompt I’ll use it since I have an ARC of it I never read

What Kind of Paradise doesn't come out until June, but it sounds really good -- perfect for this prompt.

This prompt is a bit tricky. I had to look it up. I think I'm going to go the individual study route for this which leaves it up to so many different interpretations. Even though I'm currently in school to get my teaching degree, at the same time I do a lot of my own independent reading when it comes to learning about various nonfiction topics.

To help me out in this case I'm checking various university degree plans to help me narrow down a subject I want to focus on.

As I was going through my TBR list I am struggling to find a book to fit this prompt.....HELP!!!

Would Circe by Madeline Miller fit this prompt??

Nadine in NY wrote: "I'm hoping to find a fictional novel in which the child is either raised in the forest or raised in a commune and experiences "child-led education" - there are novels about feral children, but that..."

Where the Crawdads Sing is basically a feral story

So I looked at 4 different college websites: University of Montana, Seattle University, Washington State University, and one other one.

I checked out various fields of study that held my attention and looked up books based on that. Then one of the schools had an interesting class for one of their degrees: Borderland History.

That helped me narrow it down. When I think of borderland history I think of states like Texas and California and Arizona. I was interested in Canadian border history too, but given all the negative rhetoric with Mexicans and immigrants, it seemed like it would be interesting to go this route so I found this book:

Remembering Conquest: Mexican Americans, Memory, and Citizenship

Google suggested "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler. Anybody know if this actually works? I can't tell by the description and am afraid to dig too deep in case of spoilers.

Depending on how you define "nontraditional", these should work:

How To Succeed in Witchcraft
Her Royal Highness
The Witchery
Akata Witch

Linda wrote: "Google suggested "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler. Anybody know if this actually works? I can't tell by the description and am afraid to dig too deep in case of spoilers."




I have not read that, so I'm not sure either. I know someone named Karen Fowler so I always think I should read this author, just because, but I never do.

From the blurb:

Rosemary begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons. “Until Fern’s expulsion...,” Rosemary says, “she was my twin, my funhouse mirror, my whirlwind other half and I loved her.” As a child, Rosemary never stopped talking. Then, something happened, and Rosemary wrapped herself in silence.

"Expulsion" implies that they have to do something nontraditional afterward to continue her education, maybe? And "wrapped in silence" implies that this might work for non-verbal character, also!

Yes, that book would work for both non-traditional education and non-verbal character.

The listopia says The Secret Garden which I really want to read. Hope it’s right

Wasn't quite sure what "Non-traditional Education" was.....but I think that an this dark academia will work for this prompt. I will be reading:

The Lilies by Quinn Diacon-Furtado


HAPPY READING!!

There's a new book coming from an author I've enjoyed in the past that MIGHT work here:

Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson

A teen girl travels to an exclusive boarding school located deep within the Scottish moorlands after a deadly incident at her old school, but the wood-paneled halls of Agathion are built over centuries of secrets—including an ancient society which may have ties to demonic magic

A non-fiction memoir possibility: Black Ice: A Memoir by Lorene Cary.

"In 1972 Lorene Cary, a bright, ambitious black teenager from Philadelphia, was transplanted into the formerly all-white, all-male environs of the elite St. Paul's School in New Hampshire, where she became a scholarship student in a "boot camp" for future American leaders. Like any good student, she was determined to succeed. But Cary was also determined to succeed without selling out. This wonderfully frank and perceptive memoir describes the perils and ambiguities of that double role..."

I feel like maybe Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children would work? I have read that one but i was thinking of maybe continuing the series.
I did read Ninth House so maybe the follow up? Anyone knows it that would work?

Also, for fantasy fan, i believe The Zodiac Academy would also fit.

Linda wrote: "Google suggested "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler. Anybody know if this actually works? I can't tell by the description and am afraid to dig too deep in case of spoilers."

I don't remember exactly, but it's really good! It would qualify for nontraditional childhood at the very least. If no one else is sure, you could get it and read a bit, and if it's not you can probably put it in another prompt. It might work for the non-verbal character one since it says that "Then, something happened, and Rosemary wrapped herself in silence." I don't actually remember myself, I read it in 2017. I should see if that author's done anything else...

So I started reading I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You but it is really not for me. I think it's aimed at teenagers, which is fine, but I didn't find the writing to be very good. And she reminds you that she's a spy in every paragraph. Going to either find something else or adjust the prompt.

Denise wrote: "Can someone recommend something that doesn't have abusive parents or teachers in it? Like a good non-traditional education?"

Denise, my husband bought me a book for Christmas, that's going to be perfect for this prompt! The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, by Kate McKinnon. (And it's got a map in it, if, like me, you do one extra favorite prompt for each previous year of Popsugar).

Laura Ruth wrote: "For fantasy lovers, Miss Ellicott's School for the Magically Minded is fun."


Oh you just triggered an idea for me - I have in my TBR Murder Your Employer by the quirky and eccentric Rupert Holmes - it's actually a hardcover first edition! It's a school setting where you learn how to murder your employer. I need to go and identify the TBR Tower it's in -- and look for a couple other books I need to find.

BTW, Educated is quite excellent as is Where the Crawdads Sing which I also think fits.

Excellent there's a new release that I'm looking forward to next week that will work for this prompt.

Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism

I've had to look hard and figure out what 'non-traditional education' means. It can be something as simple as educating yourself on a topic that mainstream education does not cover.

I'm looking forward to this book. While it covers the miseducation of Black and Indigenous people, Latino people are often dismissed in US education as well. I can remember every single book I read in school and only 3 were by Black authors. None were by Latino or Indigenous authors. And don't get me started on history.

As a biracial person (Hispanic/Indigenous) I couldn't connect to the history or our readings because there was nothing for me to learn in terms of what those people brought to society. I often felt excluded simply because of the color of my skin and my name.

This book looks to exploit that information in terms of how race is handled in US education.

I read Before the Swallows Come Back.

Excellent, got my copy of Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism two days early. Barnes had it so I cancelled my Amazon copy which would have gotten here on Thursday.

I'm about to start this one today. If I can tear myself away from looking out my window.

I’m using the monthly read A Deadly Education

I used Lanny. Not sure if most people would count this (I'd love to hear opinions)... For half of the book, the main character (a young boy) is taking art lessons from a famous local artist.

Star Quest Academy: Above and Beyond is a middle grade novel that would work for this one. The author is also dyslexic if you're looking to combine prompts.

I think The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah fits this prompt!

Moving The Words In My Hand to this prompt. The MC, Helena, is a maid in seventeenth century Holland. Her brother teaches her to read, but she learns to write by writing words on her hand (she has no paper). She also gives a fellow maid literacy lessons in the local church. Helena later becomes the lover of the philosopher Descartes, and learns from him (as he does from her.)

Although this is historical fiction, it is based on a true story. I liked the MC and the book showed both her need to learn alongside Descartes, and the ultimate power imbalance that existed between them.