It's Perfectly Normal

by Robie Harris

This illustrated book is about the human body, how we are all different, how our bodies change and grow, and how to take care of our bodies to keep us healthy.

At first, I was shocked by this book and I thought it was way too graphic for kids at the elementary and even the middle school level. The book is actually recommended for children 10 and up. Drawings of naked bodies and of naked people in bed and of the sex organs, etc. - I really thought it was too much, but once I got over the initial shock of all the nakedness, I found the book well-written and professional without being clinical. It covers a lot of information and addresses questions that a lot of kids have about body changes and where babies come from and all those things that kids wonder about.  I like that the book explains how a person should take care of himself or herself, like personal hygiene. It addresses the meaning of sexual abuse and lets kids know that “your body belongs to you” and not to keep sexual abuse a secret.

You Hear Me?

Poems and writing by teenage boys

Edited by Betsy Franco

This book is a collection of writings (poetry and prose) in the voice of the adolescent male. The topics of the writings include a wide range of topics: school, dads, children, drugs, love, and more.  The writings in this collection are true and honest and they, at times, typify the voice of the young adolescent male. At other times they are the voice of a much wiser, more mature and experienced person, as in the poem “Carabao Dreams” by Timoth Arevalo, “sadness is not the absence of happiness/but your incapacity to witness its presence”. Another example of adolescent wisdom from “I Refuse” by Steven Hill, “When I see the word ‘father’, the first person that comes to mind is myself…I refuse to be a deadbeat dad because no excuse is a good enough excuse to abandon your own creation.” I found most of the writings insightful and valuable.

Twilight The Graphic Novel Volume II

Volume II is the graphic novel for the second half of the Twilight novel. I liked the beautiful artwork in Volume I and the artwork in Volume II is equally beautiful.  I like the cover design of both books and the way that they join together to form one picture. The books are that way too. Both books joined together tell the whole Twilight story. The artwork develops the characterization and setting throughout the novel. The action scenes are especially interesting and the use of color gave scenes a very nice touch. 

Twilight The Graphic Novel Vol I

I was not a big fan of Twilight and only recently have have become a fan of graphic novels, but the combination of the two in Twilight The Graphic Novel really worked well. The drawings in this book are of high quality and the composition is beautiful and detailed. The drawings gave me plenty of information to help develop the setting and the characters throughout the story, with help from the dialogue bubbles of course. I think one of the reasons I liked the graphic novel is because the drawings add to the mystique of the characters and I did not have a particular image in my mind about the characters when I read the novel and I haven’t seen the movie so I the images were fresh for me.  The drawings featured lots of gorgeous, whispy hair, freakishly large, but perfect eyes, sepia coloring, and several extreme close ups. All of it worked for me.

I would recommend the book to students, especially reluctant readers who have not yet read the novel.  Volume I feels like the first half of a novel so the story feels incomplete and I think it would need to be quickly followed by Volume II. 

Tales From Outer Suburbia

by Shaun Tan

This book is written as several different vignettes written in different styles, some of which I liked better than others. I liked “Distant Rain” the poem that appears to be pieced together and goes over several pages. The artwork, drawings, and varied handwriting throughout that poem made it visually interesting and fun to read. I especially liked “Undertow” and “Grandpa’s Story”. In the story “Broken Toys”, there is a beautiful two-page spread drawing of one of the characters but turn the page and there are two pages of solid text with no pictures. I found myself wanting pictures, wanting to find something in those pages other than words.

I don’t know if I would call this book a graphic novel because the stories have a common theme, but the characters and plot are not the same throughout. Even so, the book is interesting and fun to read. 

American Born Chinese

By Gene Luen Yang

In this graphic novel, the Monkey King studies the four major heavenly disciplines to achieve immortality; a young Chinese boy, Jin Wang, starts at a new school and wants to fit in; Chin Kee, Chinese cousin of a boy named Danny, makes it his personal responsibility to humiliate Danny as much as possible. These three seemingly unrelated stories converge to deliver a really important message in a very entertaining way.

I loved the way the stories were brought together in this book. I found the characters very interesting and funny and found myself laughing out loud at several parts of the book. The comic book/super hero component in the Monkey King’s story worked well with the more realistic story of Jin Wang and the outlandish story of Chin Kee. When the stories converge, as I knew they would, it’s a little contrived but still funny with a powerful punch.

     

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By Sherman Alexie

Art by Ellen Forney

Arnold Spirit lives on a reservation but decides to transfer to the white school in town because a teacher tells him he has a future but only if he gets out of the reservation, forever. Though Arnold, also known as Junior, is confused, he looks around at the people on the rez and decides he needs to leave. The novel is Junior telling the story of how it all happened.

One of the most outstanding qualities of the book is the voice of Arnold. He is honest, confused, adolescent, and funny.  He is honest and open about all the beautiful and ugly things about his family and the reservation. The story is peppered with drawings that Arnold is supposed to have drawn and they add to Arnold’s character development and, sometimes, to the books humor. His raw commentary about the tragedies that surround him makes the reader sympathize with his plight without feeling sorry for him. When he recounts events in their ironic truth, it helps the reader understand how Arnold is making decisions and choices that will impact the rest of his life.  I really enjoyed this book and I think adolescents will appreciate its wit and honesty.

Stuck in Neutral

by Terry Trueman

Shawn McDaniel is fourteen years old, has a gift of remembering every conversation he has ever heard, and has what you might call out of body experiences. Unfortunately, Shawn has Cerebral Palsy, has several seizures daily, and has no control over any muscles in his body: not his legs, arms, eyes, tongue, neck…nothing. He can’t speak and share his brilliance with the world.  In fact, most people see him as retarded, or even as a vegetable. Shawn thinks his father is trying to kill him to end his suffering. He seems to be suffering, but Shawn is actually not in pain at all. In fact if he could speak he would tell his father that he doesn’t want to die.

The story is told from Shawn’s point of view and it’s interesting to imagine his world from his eyes and mind and then imagine what he looks like to everyone else in the book.  He sounds like a regular teenage boy, he just can’t move a muscle. The novel got me to think about people who are in Shawn’s position, not able to communicate, even by blinking the eyes but who are lucid and otherwise well.  In the Author’s Note at the end of the book Mr. Trueman explains that his son has Cerebral Palsy, like Shawn. If he is trying to raise awareness of the possibilities of there being much more to people like them than meets the eye, he has definitely done it for me.

Monster

by Walter Dean Myers

Steve is sixteen-years old and on trial for felony murder. He is accused to being an accomplice to a robbery of a drug store in which the store owner was killed, but he says he didn’t do it, that he is not guilty.

Steve says he feels like his life is a movie. The novel is written in screenplay format, with Steve’s journal entries in which he explains his thoughts and fears while in jail are inserted throughout the novel. He faces 20 years minimum jail time if convicted.  The screenplay format of the story works well for the story as it allows the reader to easily visualize the plot. 

I felt great empathy for Steve’s parents and ambiguous about Steve throughout the novel. How much he was actually involved in the crime and his guilt or innocence is really meant to be determined by the reader. I found myself wanting a positive outcome for Steve to save his family heartbreak even though I thought he was probably guilty. I would definitely recommend this book to teens because I think it offers a powerful lesson about how fast life could change with one bad choice.

Mockingbird

by Kathryn Erskine

Caitlin is a 5^th grader with Asperger’s syndrome. She likes things in black and white, has trouble making friends and coping with things in her every day life, like recess and group work, but she is also a very talented artist and an excellent reader. Her brother Devon was killed in a school shooting and Caitlin and her father are forced to move on without him. Caitlin’s mother had died of cancer several years before. Caitlin’s pursuit of closure for her and for her father becomes a love project.

I completely loved this book.  Caitlin’s voice is consistent throughout the story (“I Look At The Person”) and she was funny and sweet and brilliant.  Her family’s loss is completely unfathomable and suffering the loss of a child while continuing to raise a child like Caitlin made her father a special hero to me. I loved the parallels with To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my all-time favorite books. I also loved how the message of empathy was carried throughout the book and how it applied to many characters in many situations throughout the story, not just to Caitlin.

Fallen Angels

By Walter Dean Myers

Seventeen year-old Richie Perry from Harlem joins the United States Army in 1967 because there is not money for him to go to college. He leaves behind his mom and younger brother, Kenny. Richie is sent to fight in Viet Nam and from the first page to the last page of the novel he is connected to PeeWee Gates, the man who becomes his Army brother.  Richie’s first person account of his experience fighting the Viet Cong is told with clear and sometimes brutal detail. In their harrowing experience, the goal is to survive.

I’m not sure I can say that I really liked Fallen Angels because it’s a novel about war. Wartime novels are difficult to read because they are often so graphic and detailed about the horrors of war and the images of the suffering that men inflict upon each other are senseless and depressing. They are often also about men who become like brothers because of their shared experiences.  Fallen Angels does both. At one point in the novel, Richie says, “I had never been in love before. Maybe this was what it was like, the way I felt for Monaco and Peewee and Johnson and the rest of my squad. I hoped this was what it was like.” Fallen Angels reminded me of All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel about World War I, in the way the story tells the drama, chaos, terror, and tragedy of war. 

Chains

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Set from May 1776 to October 1777 in New York City, Chains is the story of Isabel and Ruth, sisters who are still slaves because of a broken promise to free them. Isabel must protect her five-year-old sister, but she has little influence over anything that happens to either one of them. Isabel’s quest for freedom is paralleled by the Patriots’ quest for freedom.  Isabel is strong, smart, and brave as she takes great risks to spy for the Patriots in an attempt to gain freedom for Ruth and herself. Isabel endures brutality and survives so that she really may break the chains of slavery.

Isabel’s story is woven in the historical events of the Revolution. Even though she is a fictitous character, her story helps put a face on slavery and the very real heartbreak and loss the enslaved suffered.  She lost her parents but gains strength from her memories of their strength and the stories of where they came from. She risks losing her sister, having Ruth sold away from her.

In addition to Isabel’s story, I really liked the excerpts from historical documents at the beginning of every chapter.  

The Knife of Never Letting Go

by Patrick Ness


Todd Hewitt is the youngest boy in Prentisstown, in fact he’s the only boy in Prentisstown, where boys become men on their thirteenth birthday. The town is dying. There are no women in Prestisstown. And there are a few other strange things about the place. Men’s thoughts can be heard by others. So can dogs’ and squirrels’ and any other creature. Soon before his thirteenth birthday, Todd finds a hole in the noise and everything about his world will be changed because of it. Fearing for his safety, Todd’s guardians, Ben and Cillian, send Todd and his dog, Manchee, away from Prentisstown and set him on a journey to find safety.  Along the way, Todd discovers that the world is not at all as he had been told and the prospect for the future is grim. 

I liked nearly everything about this book. I loved the characters and their distinctly different voices and how their voices came through loud and clear throughout the book.  The plot moves quickly, mixing suspense with all kinds of conflict throughout the novel. I couldn’t put it down. I felt such a stake in the book that at the end of Part V when something happens in the story that made me really angry, I almost had to walk away from it.  I objected to that. I’m still a little mad about it.  Even so, I highly recommend the book.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by Carrie Ryan

Mary lives in a village where survival is a daily struggle. The only thing separating the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth, where the Unconsecrated zombie-like undead people roam the forest craving human flesh. People from the village can be infected if they get too close to the fence and are attacked by one of the Unconsecrated.  Life is pretty miserable, but Mary remembers stories about the ocean that her mother told her. It’s a far off dream for her to find the ocean and it becomes her driving force in the novel.

There was very little in this book that I liked. I kind of wanted to know how it ended but the characters were just not all that interesting to me. Neither was the plot. I found myself terribly indifferent about the outcome of the book.  The characters’ interactions were confusing to me, especially Mary’s relationship with her brother. Mary’s character lacked depth, intelligence, and compassion.  I don’t think I would recommend this book.

I’m not sure what it was about this book that I had such a hard time with. I wasn’t particularly attached to any of the characters and the singular goal of Mary to find the ocean, even with death surrounding her every moment, made the plot a little tough for me to embrace.  I think the author did a good job of creating a world of darkness and despair, but the romance element of the book fell flat.  

Leviathan

by Scott Westerfield

Leviathan is a historical science fiction novel, an alternate world with fantastic war machines. There are two different groups in the novel; the Clankers, who use very large steam driven machines, and Darwinists, who use livings creatures to power machines. One of the main characters, Alek, is the son of the assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, and Alek has escaped for his own safety.  Deryn is a young girl pretending to be a boy so that she can be eligible to join the British Air Service. They each have their secrets to protect while fighting a war.

I found the story and the world of Leviathan interesting. The secrecy with which Alek and Deryn worked to prevent their secrets from being revealed helped create tension throughout the novel.  I liked that the novel stemmed from actual historical events, although the machines and detailed descriptions of them was not very appealing to me. My favorite thing about the book was the illustrations by Keith Thompson. They brought the machines to life and made the book so much more interesting.  

Bumped

by Megan McCafferty

Bumped is funny, fast-paced, and crazy.   Set in the future, sometime past March 2025, identical twins, Harmony and Melody, separated at birth and raised by different families, come together to discover themselves in a world that has expects certain things from them, things they are not sure they want.  A virus has infected the adult population and teenagers are responsible for procreating the species.  With the right breeding, education, good looks, fertility, and agent, a teenage girl can make enough money to pay for a college education. It sounds so simple and promising if you don’t think about it too much. 

Told in the first person point of view from both sisters’ perspective, I liked the two distinct voices of Melody and Harmony.  When their paths collide, they are side by side, looking identical but sounding so different and acting so different from each other and their interactions are very entertaining.

Even though I found the book very entertaining, I think I would only recommend it to upper level high school students because of its content.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

by Mary E. Pearson

Set in the future at a time when there are many technological advances available, Jenna has been in a coma for a year and, at the start of the novel, she has only been awake for two weeks.  Jenna has no memory of her past. None of it. She does not remember her parents, who adore her, or her grandmother, who is cold towards her. Her parents get her to watch home movies of her life to try to help her remember, but it really does no good. Jenna gradually begins to discover herself and the changes that she’s undergone since the accident that put her in a coma. She must accept the choices her parents made for her and the life that has resulted from those choices.

I thought the novel started off very slowly, but it picked up fairly quickly. I liked the idea that Jenna is a product of modern technology, bred from parents’ desperate love for their daughter. Jenna’s first person narrative voice sounded true and her developing relationship with her parents and her grandmother, Lily, helped establish the underlying conflict in the novel. I wondered about the title throughout the book and didn’t really understand it until near the very end.  I felt empathy for Jenna’s parents and the heartache that resulted from their complete commitment to their daughter.

Unwind

 by Neal Shusterman

As if the teenage years are not stressful enough, if your parents don’t want you they can have you “unwound”. Not killed, really. But taken apart, piece by piece and those parts will be recycled or harvested. Not all the kids in the book are unwanted teens, though; some of them will be unwound for other reasons.

I liked the fast paced plot and the twists it took. I also appreciated that there were a few adults in this crazy society who recognized the madness. I would have liked to see more of them.  I liked the variety of the characters’ backgrounds and empathized with their struggle for survival.  The world that Mr. Shusterman creates is shocking in its coldness, although it was not difficult to accept the premise of the story. The coldness of the world reminded me of Brave New World.  I think adolescents will really enjoy the novel.

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.

Book List - 18 Chapter Books and 11 Picture Books

Pura Belpre Award Books

1.  Chapter Book - The Dreamer

2.  Chapter Book - Return to Sender

Coretta Scott King Award

3.  Chapter Book - One Crazy Summer

4.  Chapter Book - Watsons Go to Birmingham

Bluebonnet Nominees

5.  Picture Book – One Potato ,Two Potato

6.  Chapter Book – Down Girl and Sit: On the Road

7.  Picture Book – Seadogs: an Ocean Operetta

8.  Picture Book – Help Me Mr. Mutt  

Caldecott Award

9.  Picture Book – Interrupting Chicken

10.  Picture Book – Polar Express

11.  Picture Book - House in the Night

12.  Picture Book - All the World 

Newbery Award or Honor Books

13.  Picture Book – Dark Emperor and other poems

14.  Chapter Book – Criss Cross

15.  Chapter Book – After Tupac and D Foster

16.  Chapter Book – Pictures of Hollis Woods  

Notable Books for Children listed on ALA website

17.  Chapter Book – Evolution of Calpurnia Tate        

18.  Chapter Book – The Higher Power of Lucky 

19.  Chapter Book – Holes

NY Times bestseller books

20.  Chapter Book - Dork Diaries 

21.  Picture Book – The Very Hungry Caterpillar  

22.  Picture Book – The Lion and the Mouse

Challenged Books

23. Chapter Book - The Giver

24.  Chapter Book - To Kill a Mockingbird

25.  Chapter Book – Goosebumps

26.  Chapter Book - The Outsiders

27.  Picture Book - Where’s Waldo? 

Other

28.  Chapter Book - Twilight

29.  Chapter Book – The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

I really can’t think of anything I didn’t like about this book. I was hooked from beginning to end and I loved it. The characters were well developed, the plot is action-packed and fast-paced, there are conflicts and sub-conflicts, and, in the end, I wanted to keep reading.

The world of Hunger Games is dreary, difficult, and should be unbelievable, but I believed it. The whole idea of the Games reminded me of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, in which the main event of the story is equally shocking, brutal, and partaken by the whole community.

The idea that the community watches the brutality of the Hunger Games for the purposes of entertainment reminds me of the current fame-induced destruction of celebrities the public craves via all forms of media or any other type of public shows of destruction and brutality. That comparison may be a little extreme, but I think there are similarities.

Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. 

One Crazy Summer

By Rita Williams-Garcia
Coretta Scott King Award

One Crazy Summer is the story of the summer of 1968 when Delphine and her two younger sisters are sent from Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, CA for four weeks so that they can “get to know” their mother who had abandoned them seven years before. Their mother, Cecile, is a poet and a Black Panther. She resents their visit and does not mother the girls at all.

Williams-Garcia does so many things well in this book. Her characters have depth, the plot moves along nicely, the setting creates interest, and the conflict causes the reader to empathize with Delphine, the caretaker of her younger sisters, and at the same time causes the reader to wonder why Cecile walked away from her daughters.

It didn’t seem to me like the girls needed their mother at all. They were well cared for in Brooklyn by their father and grandmother. They were safe. They were smart and talented. As the story unfolds, the truth and meat of the whole story stands clearly: children need their mother, no matter who they are. At first they appear to have nothing in common, but as the story unfolds their connections become clear and undeniable, even to them.

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York, NY: Amistad.    

The Lion and the Mouse

By Jerry Pinkney
NY Times Bestseller

This picture book tells Aesop’s story beautifully and wordlessly. The colorful and textured illustrations are a mixture of extreme close-ups, panoramic views, and full scenes that bring the lion and the mouse to life. The book also gives the main characters context by showing the lion and mouse’s families and how everyone benefits from their merciful encounter. It’s a beautiful book with a powerful lesson.

Pinkney, J. (2009). The lion and the mouse. New York : Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers.

The Higher Power of Lucky

By Susan Patron
2007 ALA Notable Children’s Books

One of the things I found intriguing about this book is the title – The Higher Power of Lucky. The title is explained in the first chapter when the main character, a ten and a half year old girl named Lucky, eavesdrops on an AA meeting and listens to Short Sammy’s story about the day he hit rock bottom and decided he had to quit drinking and find his higher power. Chapter one ends, “..she still had doubts and anxious questions in all the crevices of her brain, especially about how to find her Higher Power.”

The reader learns about Lucky’s story and why she is doubtful and anxious. The setting is described beautifully. The characters are interesting and help the reader understand Lucky’s place in the world.

This book got me wondering about stories that are written about 9 – 11 year old girls who are smart and have been abandoned by people who should love them, such as Pictures of Hollis Woods and One Crazy Summer. These protagonists are forced to grow up too fast and to find their place in the world and who in the world really loves and cares about them. Perhaps it is the nurturing nature of young girls that makes these characters so appealing. Perhaps they can relate to the characters’ conflict.

Patron, S. (2007). The higher power of lucky. New York, NY: Thomson Gale.

Dork Diaries – Tales of a Not-So-Popular Party Girl

By Rachel Renee Russell
NY Times Bestseller

Dork Diaries – Tales of a Not-So-Popular Party Girl was written for tween girls, ages 9 – 13. I think they would find the characters funny and familiar. The plot is wild, wacky, and fun when Nikki commits to being with three different people on the Halloween night, the night of the big middle school dance: at the dance being the clean-up crew with her two best friends (also self-proclaimed dorks), doing face-painting on kids at another event (for which she gets paid $150 in advance!), and being on a date at the dance with her big crush, the gorgeous Brandon.

The book is written as a diary with some illustrations and is an easy, fun read for the target audience.

This is one of those books that I would not call quality literature but would still approve of my children and students reading it for the sake of reading for entertainment.

Russell, R. R. (2010). Dork diaries – Tales of a not-so-popular party girl. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

Challenged Books

While I generally would not consider To Kill a Mockingbird for students younger than high school age, many middle school students read this classic novel. First published in 1960, the book has remained on reading lists across the country despite objections from groups and individuals over the past 50 years. Included in the plot are issues of racism, racial inequality, Jim Crow, rape, and alcohol abuse – not nice issues, but issues  that are part of the American experience. But the voice of Scout is so true that these issues are just there as if to say, “This is what happened and this is how it affected my life and my family.” And her voice is so real that we want to keep reading. I think older children will understand this. Most of them have seen injustice and intolerance in some form, but I agree that the content is not appropriate for most younger-than-high-school-age children.

Lee, H. (1988). To kill a mockingbird. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.