The Things Owen Wrote
English
By (author): Jessica Scott Kerrin
A love letter to the process of research, the experience of writing poetry, and Iceland.School Library Journal
Owen has always done well, even without trying that hard. He gets As in school, is an avid photographer and knows he can count on his familys support. But then Owen makes a mistake. A big one. And now he must face his fear of disappointing his entire family.
A last-minute trip to Iceland, just Owen and his granddad, seems like the perfect way out. For Owens granddad, the trip is about paying tribute to a friend with Icelandic roots. But Owen has a more urgent reason for going: he must get back the notebook his granddad accidentally sent to the Iceland archive. He cant let anyone read the things he wrote in it!
The pair gets on a plane, excited to leave their prairie town for a country of lava fields, glaciers and geysers. However, as they explore Iceland, the plan to recover Owens notebook starts to spiral out of control. Why does Owens granddad seem so confused and forgetful? And can Owen really hide the truth of whats in his notebook?
Key Text Features
authors note
historical context
dialogue
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.