Book recommendations for a middle school girl who loved Riordan's stuff?

Bonus if you can think of a series!

My fellow children of hypochondriacs:

It's not all in your head, and maybe you should see a doctor.

Rereading some kid lit from the 90s.

That is a lot of exclamation points.

Like a timed speed dating experience but with potential writing partners.

Kinda need it.

Habits

Write in head.
Write it down.
Talk it out.
Write it down.
Dialogue in shower.
Write it down.
Brilliant plot twist.
Scroll.
New charact-
ScrollScrollScroll

Everything I want to do and need to do is on the laptop, but I know I have already laptopped a lot, and as a good human, I should go out and do some sort of activity, but what, so I am just hanging around, not laptopping but not activity-ing either.

Today will end with breakfast for dinner.

Come what may, there will be pancakes.

Maybe the goal in the classroom shouldn't be to "train good future workers."

Maybe that's a byproduct, but don't try bringing that in as a goal. I don't teach literacy to please the future CEOs.

Heebies my jeebies.

Applying for full time jobs and
1.) Hoping I get it.
2.) Pre-judging anyone who hires me because we both know there's always already a good adjunct who works there who deserves to be promoted to full time.

Academia hard.

Sat through a meeting without my emotional support chapstick.

Today *must* improve.

My favorite thing about being alive is the whole "We can make amazing things" human wonder.

And people keep telling me "Don't worry, the robot can do it."

NOT THE POINT, MATTHEW

You go ahead and call it Palentine's day and invite your friends over.

And I hope you never outgrow cute names for the stuff you do.

"Let's help our students!"
"Yes!"
"Volunteers for job interview practice?"
"Here!"
"Volunteers for the barber class practice?"
"Here!"
"Volunteers for the phlebotomy class practice?"
"...."
"Guys?"
"...."

How students can imagine I won't know an analysis is A.I...

2 pages of rambling about what a provided picture "may" "possibly" look like. "Probably" a famous piece of art. "Could be" symbolic. "Most likely" has a deeper meaning.

100% written by a furby.

Applied for a job, so I might actually have to start answering the phone when it rings.

Please keep me in your thoughts during this trying time.

I think I'm a pretty modern teacher, but then I'm left staring at an email where I was checking on a struggling student in my class, worried about grades and attendance, and they sent me back--a thumbs up emoji.

So... I don't have... anything to worry about...?

I am from-a-distance proud of the former picky eaters who now love sushi.

That moment must have felt like the scene in Into the Spiderverse where Miles has to take a chance and jump off a building.

But they did it.

Anybody have Kindle Unlimited? I wrote a little novella called "Meet Me at the Castle Library," and it's up there for a few weeks.

It's a modern beauty and the beast story for library fans.

It is hard being a kid because they will tell you that you can't put chocolate milk in your cereal.

But then you grow up, and you can put chocolate milk on whatever you want.

Society has changed so much in the last two decades that, if you suggest not allowing student phones in classrooms, people will act like you're a sadistic madman.

That...didn't use to happen.

Ask your class to make as may words as they can out of another word in 5 minutes (kinda like boggle).

Play the game occasionally through the term and keep reminding them that the more they play with words the better their vocab recall will be. And it's fun.

Making something is always a win.

Controversial take: Grading "a little every day" actually takes significantly longer than grading the full pile in one go.

There might be mental health benefits to small bites (especially if the assignments are rough), but practical scheduling has me avoiding multiple stop/starts. I need flow.

There should be a signed form for students who retake our classes where they have to promise to act surprised when they see my lessons again.

"I promise not to be bored. This class is interesting and not at all like a rerun." (Student Signature)

Community college is the best. I get aalllllll the students. It's a box of experience chocolates every semester.

These people might never have had a chance to talk to each other if not for our class.

Husband and I have a sizable age gap which he jokes makes us look like a sugar daddy situation, and he loves leaning into it.

He just made a show of having me pay for my purchase at checkout with "his" card.

We have the same account.

I think it's time for the good-hearted people who imagine they're not good/smart enough to go into politics to do so.

We have too much of the opposite.

Being 39 is becoming more picky about candy than vegetables.

Just a complete tastebud turnaround from what I started with as a kid.

Teachers: I need a book that's newish and so *out there* that the chatbots won't be able to do the work for my students.

Me: (holds up Piranesi so fast my arm hurts)

Accidentally forgot to change everything about my life over break, and school starts back tomorrow.

Every. Time.