Me ENCANTÓ *El Amor y los Enredos de la Vida*. El inicio fue un poco emotivo para mí, por varias razones, que involucraban un incidente con un arma en una escuela. Como madre de niños en edad escolar, este tema siempre me toca muy de cerca. Además, fui estudiante de educación en la universidad y tuve un alumno que llevó un arma a la escuela. Leer un libro sobre una maestra en una escuela desfavorecida, similar a aquella donde hice mis prácticas, hizo que la historia se volviera muy personal para...

La lectura de *El Amor y los Enredos de la Vida* me ha resultado un poco lenta al principio. Me gustó mucho la premisa de la historia, pero me estaba atascando en algunas partes y me costaba seguir la trama en ciertas áreas. La relación con Jeep es, probablemente, lo que más me estaba frenando; me parecía un poco inverosímil y construida deprisa. Eso sí, me encantaron las partes en las que ella enseñaba en el aula. Acabo de terminarlo y esta novela de Kathleen Shoop cobró mucho sentido para mí ...

Cuando comencé a leer El Amor y los Enredos de la Vida, me preparé para una lectura ligera y sin complicaciones, pero me sorprendió a cada vuelta de página. El diálogo interno era interesante, divertido, ingenioso e irónico. Pero a lo largo del viaje de dudas y autodescubrimiento de Carolyn, uno sabe que está creciendo constantemente, que se acerca cada vez más a comprender quién es realmente. Su amor por la enseñanza y por los niños se hace patente en cada página. Disfruté muchísimo de la lectu...

This is the story of a teacher trying to navigate her first year teaching in an inner city school. She is constantly berated by administration and pressured to forsake her students’ needs in order to provide “check the box” instructional techniques and receiving no support or help. As a former teacher, I can relate.I loved Carolyn’s heart and the teaching storyline. Her personal life, on the other hand, was ridiculous. Her social skills, whether arguing with her best friends, callous breakup wit...

This reminded me of the movie "Lean on Me" with Morgan Freeman. Only Carolyn has to deal with a principal that is determined to make her quit. With so many school shootings this book really shed light on what teachers feel. The way that the author opened the book was dramatic, and she finished it up with a great love story. Carolyn is a character that I could relate to. She constantly had bad luck, and was unsure of her choices. She had great character development and by the end if the book, she...

I just love this book! While it does have romance, it is the first year of teaching that really drew me in. Most teachers go into the profession wanting to make a big difference. It is not as easy as it looks, and there is definitely not enough pay. The first year is the hardest no matter where you are, but to be in a struggling school like Carolyn is even harder. Kathleen Shoop brings this struggle to life, not to mention showing that teaching takes over one's life. Most teachers spend hours an...

“Learning and Love 101…”In this latest work of Ms. Shoop, we are introduced to Carolyn Jenkins, who has taken a position at a school on the D.C/Maryland border, which is world’s apart from her teaching experience in Pittsburgh, Pa. She now has a class comprised of half fifth graders and half sixth graders. Just because their age denotes the class to which they are assigned, does not mean they are academically prepared for its challenges. Carolyn’s class is a wild mix of personalities, from the g...

She's Got Books on Her MindCarolyn has been teaching for two months and her dream of changing lives is crumpling beneath her. Her boss Mr. Klein breathes down her neck while her students constantly fight with one another. She starts wondering if becoming a teacher was a mistake. Compared to her best friends she is failing royally. Not only is her work life in shambles but her personal life too. She realizes that what her longtime boyfriend Alex wants she doesn't. She's known this for a while now...

It's her first year of teaching and things just aren't going well for Carolyn Jenkins. With a class full of kids who can barely read their own name and a principal who is out to get her, Carolyn is struggling. Also stuck in a relationship that should have ended long ago, Carolyn needs to make some changes. Then she meets a mysterious man and things really start to get crazy. Their relationship is filled with ups and downs, and things between her and her friends are becoming strained as well. Car...

From the first, I was attracted to the main character, Carolyn Jenkins. She’s in her mid-20s, smart (and smart-alecky!), hard-working, and as we soon learn, idealistic. All good characteristics for a new teacher. Unfortunately, like many new teachers, she has landed in a tough situation: a challenged school with a ridiculous administration. As Carolyn navigates her new career, new life and new love, we laugh and cry along with her. The book is well-written, with good dramatic tension. I was pull...