Luna

by Julie Ann Peters

Told from Regan’s point of view, this is the story of a girl born in a boy’s body. His name is Liam and he is Regan’s older brother. The girl who is Liam’s real self is named Luna. Weird, right? It is definitely not a normal situation and Regan finds herself protecting Luna from what people see as freakish. Regan tries to protect her brother from friends, family, and the world who will not accept him, and she is worn down by the task, but there is nothing else she can do.

I really don’t think I would have picked up a pick about a transgendered teenager at any time, ever, but I really liked this book.  The characters had depth and the plot moved along well. The best thing about the novel was the relationship between Regan and Liam. They were so close and they loved each other so much but they would still argue like brother and sister and would get angry and frustrated with each other. They wanted each other to be happy and to be able to be themselves as they face the world, and only then was happiness possible for either of them. That’s a good lesson for any one. 

Freak Show

by James St. James

Billy Bloom is Freak Show. Told from his point of view/stream of consciousness, he tells of his wild adventures as a transvestite parading through high school and letting everyone stare. He’s prepared for that. He cares so much more about his color coordinated outfits and accessories than what any one thinks about him. He is so over the top that he seems to belong on some wild sitcom. He’s funny enough for that and would certainly be one of the most loved characters on the show. Unfortunately, Billy is frequently the target of cruel words and actions, and suffers a vicious attack that lands him in the hospital. He recovers in a big way.

The book is about self-acceptance, accepting others as they are, and finding beauty in truth and forgiveness. Billy is a very likeable character with a great message. It seems like a book like this would be challenged regularly in school libraries. I can see how librarians would need to be prepared to justify keeping it on the shelf.

Annie on My Mind

By Nancy Garden

SUMMARY:  Annie on My Mind is about two high school seniors who live in New York City, go to different schools, and have very different backgrounds. They meet, fall in love, and try to sort through the complications that their love presents.  Most of the problems with their relationship develop as a result of these young lovers being two seventeen-year old girls. Liza and Annie’s relationship is intertwined with a subplot involving Liza’s involvement in a hair-brained fundraiser that happened when she was student council president and the relationship of two of Liza’s female teachers who live together and turn out to be lesbians.

PERSONAL REACTION: Written in 1982, the book was big news because of the homosexual content.   I didn’t know what to expect from the book. I’m not homophobic, but I hoped there wouldn’t be a lot of detail about the sexual element of their relationship. There wasn’t.  Even so, I can see how the book would have been hugely controversial in 1982 and I imagine it is still banned from many school libraries.  Both Liza and Annie are very likeable characters. I empathized with Liza’s struggle to accept her sexual orientation. A lot has changed in nearly 30 years but kids still want to be accepted for who they are and I think that’s really what the book is about.

CLASSROOM EXTENSION: Students will write updates on Liza and Annie twenty years in the future, 2002. What will have happened to them? Will they have achieved their goals? Will they still be together?

The DUFF

By Kody Keplinger

PERSONAL REACTION: Bianca is the DUFF, so named by Wesley Rush, a high school hottie/manslut who Bianca despises. But wait. Does she really despise him? Actually, she despises all men except Toby Tucker, her secret crush, and her dad. The DUFF – Designated Ugly Fat Friend – is also smart, sarcastic, cynical, and has a potty mouth and knows for sure that she hates Wesley, but then it turns out she doesn’t and he’s actually into her. Love-hate tension ensues.

I found the book entertaining and I liked the characters, especially Bianca. I liked her friends and liked reading about high school girls who were good to each other, true friends. The dialogue throughout the book sounded authentic and, for the most part, the characters seemed real. The only thing that I found really hard to believe was that the romance between Bianca and Wesley would have happened at all. Bianca was The Duff! Wesley was widely desired by so many girls and he was super cute!   I’ve been there. Seen it. Lived it. Would not have happened.  That plot development really should have launched the book onto the “Fantasy” shelf. 

Aside from that, I would recommend the book to high school students with a warning about profanity and sex.

What Happened to Cass McBride?

by Gail Giles

PERSONAL REACTION:  Cass McBride is a popular, smart, pretty girl who is used to getting what she wants.  Kyle Kirby’s little brother, David, has just hung himself from a tree with a note attached to his body. Ben Gray is a detective investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl who was apparently snatched from her bedroom.  In the novel What Happened to Cass McBride? the paths of these characters cross in a tragic way. Alternating the narrative from these three characters’ points of view, the story moves quickly.

The story is interesting and I would recommend it for a quick read, but I expected more from the book. I think the characters were somewhat flat and some elements of the plot were weak. I would have thought a story about a girl being buried alive would have been much more suspenseful, but it never reached that level of excitement. Even so, I think students would enjoy the book and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, even though I craved more detail, character development, and a tighter plot.

Whale Talk

by Chris Crutcher

PERSONAL REACTION:  I found Whale Talk engaging, funny, and heartbreaking. The characters have depth and substance. The main character, T. J., narrates the story. He brings together a  group of misfits, including a sociopath, a boy with a prosthetic leg, and a very brainy why-use-a-nickel-word-when-you-can-use-a-fifty-cent-word, to form the Cutter High School swim team. Oh, and the high school has no pool, but T.J. has very good reasons for making the team work. He ends up getting so much more from his efforts than he ever expected.

I really enjoyed the book, although I got a little concerned when the seriously damaged psyche of the characters kept surfacing and the tone of the book took a distinct turn toward the preachy. I am usually put-off by an author’s preachiness, but because I liked all the characters so much, I overlooked it easily.

As I was reading the book, I couldn’t imagine what whale talk had to do with anything, but I love the way it was tied into the plot and theme of the book. It’s one of those ideas that I know will stay with me for a long time and pop up on those occasions when whale talk is truly the best form of communication.

Looking for Alaska

By David Green


SUMMARY: Looking for Alaska is a boarding school, coming of age novel that would make parents everywhere think twice about sending kids to boarding school. Young, bright students get caught up in booze, cigarettes, pranks, and sex. Sounds about right. While the kids seem oblivious to potential consequences of their cutting up, they also bond together, work hard, and seem genuinely interested in their education. 


The novel is written in two sections, one before the major event of the story, and the second half after the major event of the story. Written from the point of view of the main character, Pudge, the story flows well, especially the first half. The second half of the plot stalls somewhat, but is still a good read. 


PERSONAL REACTION: When reading the Looking for Alaska, Catcher in the Rye and Holden Caufield came to mind. There are many similarities in the novel: the boarding school setting, the rich kids and poor kids groups of students, the teenage angst, and the writing style of both authors. Even with the similarities, the novels are distinctly different.


I liked Looking for Alaska, but I admit that I liked the first half better than the second half, mostly because I think the characters were much more engaging in the first half of the novel. Even so, I would recommend the book to high school age students. 


CLASSROOM EXTENSION:  Students will read both Looking for Alaska and Catcher in the Rye. They will then develop an in-depth comparison between the novels in one of the following areas: style, setting, characterization, conflict or plot.

Hate List

By Jennifer Brown

            A school shooting is a difficult, even impossible, event to imagine. To be part of it in some way and then return to the scene of the crime is unthinkable. This is what Valerie Leftman does in Hate List.  And even though she didn’t have anything to do with the shooting, she was a victim of bullying and she helped write the hate list that targeted people at her school. Before she could stop him, her boyfriend, Nick, carried out the shooting and then killed himself. She grieves for him while living with the guilt of having any part in it.  I sympathized with Valerie. She faces a huge struggle in moving on with life, forgiving Nick, forgiving herself, and allowing others to forgive her. I’m not sure I would have the courage to do what she did.

Even so, I was torn between judging her and wanting to protect her.  I couldn’t help thinking that if I were a parent of a murdered kid or if I was a classmate of hers, I’m not sure I would have been able to forgive her even though she didn’t pull the trigger and even though she tried to stop Nick.  As with any senseless shooting, the events leading up to it and the motives of the person and how some one could have done something different to prevent it add up to nothing when it’s all done. 

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

By Barry Lyga

PERSONAL REACTION: Overall, the story is good and worthwhile, although it took me a while to get to the point of feeling that way about this book. The horrible, terrible, very bad days that Fanboy had every day got to be somewhat tedious for me too. When Goth Girl befriends him, I was grateful for her intervention. Their relationship seemed true and real and was the best thing about the novel, although they didn’t seem to have many adventures of any kind, especially not “astonishing” ones. However, they both have such a difficult time with life and the circumstances in which they are placed. I felt that meeting Kyra (Goth Girl) was the best thing that could have happened to Fanboy because he finds a friend in her and ends up gaining insight into his own life.

            The novel is a modern day coming of age story. Throughout the book, Fanboy and Goth Girl walk a fine line between being okay and being very not ok and I think adolescents will be able to relate to the story very well. 

Inexcusable

By Chris Lynch

PERSONAL REACTION: I really enjoyed Inexcusable. I liked that the story was told in a non-linear timeframe and that the reader gets bits and pieces of the whole story until the plot’s culminating moment is finally detailed.

The main character, Keir Sarafian is a likable, regular kid. Told from his point of view, the reader hears his thought processes, understands his perceptions, and observes his actions. Even when he made minor errors in judgment, I liked him. And then there were larger errors in judgment and I found it more difficult to approve.  Until finally, I found myself just shaking my head.

I am looking forward to recommending Inexcusable to some of my male students. I think they’ll be able to relate to a lot of what Keir experiences. I also think the book’s message is one that all young men should hear loud and clear.

Speak

By Laurie Halse Anderson

SUMMARY: Ninth-grader Melinda Sordino did something at an end of summer party that made her friends despise and ostracize her. She is an outcast where she once was a popular girl with friends and prospects. Melinda tells her story from the first day of school and gradually lets the reader in on the event that changed every aspect of her life. She had always been a good student, but no longer cares about academics, except for her art class. She has no friends except for the new girl at school and finds solace in the janitor’s closet that she has staked out as her own. Her parents seem concerned but have their own problems and can’t do much to help. Melinda seems resigned to her newfound unpopularity and invisibleness, but gradually finds her voice again, and finally lets everyone know that she has something very important to say.

PERSONAL REACTION: I felt such sympathy for Melinda throughout the book.  As an adult who got through high school and now teaches at the high school level, it made me sympathize with my students and all the crazy things they have to endure: peer pressure, difficult social situations, loneliness, parental expectations. It made me really think about kids and how tough things can be for them. Melinda’s art teacher turns out to be a positive force in her life and it reminded me that kids need to know that people care about their health, safety, and well-being

I think most students will be able to relate to many of the issues Melinda experiences. I think students will like the book because Melinda’s voice comes through clearly and easily.

CLASSROOM EXTENSION: Students will select a character from the novel and write journal entries about the events throughout the school year from the character’s point of view.

Sisters Red

By Jackson Pearce

SUMMARY: The book begins with the Prologue in which Scarlett March, her sister Rosie, and their grandmother are attacked by a werewolf.  Scarlett bears the scars of the attack, but Rosie was unharmed because Scarlett was able to protect her. Seven years later, Scarlett hunts the werewolves, called Fenris, and is driven to protect the young women in her community, especially Rosie. Their friend Silas also hunts Fenris and is Scarlett’s hunting partner, but upon returning from his year-long stay in San Francisco, he begins to see that little Rosie is grown up. Romance sparks between Rosie and Silas amid the hunting of Fenris, moving to Atlanta, and trying to prevent the next werewolf leader, called the “Potential”. 

PERSONAL REACTION: I loved the suspense created in the Prologue and the way Scarlett’s drive to hunt Fenris is established by the scene. By going back to the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, the basic context of Sisters Red is established, only the wolves are so much different from the bedtime-story- “Better to see you with my dear”-wolf.  The action is so much more graphic.

I think adolescents would really like the romance between Silas and Rosie and maybe I’m just too old for it, but that element of the plot seemed predictable and uninteresting.  I found Scarlett and Rosie’s relationship much deeper and engaging.

CLASSROOM EXTENSION: Students will research werewolf legend and create a multi-media presentation from their findings.

Skullduggery Pleasant

by Derek Landy

SUMMARY: In this action-packed story, twelve-year-old Stephanie Edhley inherits her eccentric but wealthy Uncle Gordon’s property and possessions. She also inherits passage into a secret world of magic, danger, suspense, very interesting characters, and save-the-world battles. Stephanie’s partner through the novel’s adventures is Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton detective who protects her and shows her the ropes.

PERSONAL REACTION: What I liked most about Skulduggery Pleasant is the easy interactions and conversations between Stephanie and Skulduggery.  Their dialogue is witty, fun, and relaxed despite the dangerous predicaments in which they find themselves.  It’s a fun read, although at times it seemed a little more suited for young adolescent readers, than older. 

CLASSROOM EXTENSION: Students will create a representation of Gordon’s house and property using descriptions and details from the text.

Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York, NY: Harper Collins.