Blogging: Books 9-16 (An assignment for YA Lit)

Disclaimer:  If you have stumbled upon this blog, please be advised that there is profanity in this post as well as SPOILERS for some of these books.  Also, some of these books are profoundly moving, so you may be inclined to read them all immediately.  Please do.

9. 
Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

This story follows Liza as she embarks on her senior year of high school at private school.  It begins in a museum one day when she hears a glorious voice singing and she meets Annie.  The girls bond right away and start an imaginary game of make believe knights and medieval times.  They seem to be the best of friends and meet each other’s families and start to spend all their time together.  Before you know it, you realize that these girls are falling in love.  And it is beautiful.  It reminds me of falling in love and the tenderness and importance of each “first”.  And as the girls start to figure it out, you ache with them because you want them to be together.  You want them to be happy and you know they need each other for it to happen.  And then, on the day they finally make love for the first time and everything is beautiful and perfect, the secretary from school and a classmate burst in and cause a huge, disruptive scene.  The girls are made to feel dirty, like “whores” as they are looked at.  And then this lady searches the house of the two teachers, Ms. Stevenson and Ms. Widmer) and find gay literature.  A “council” is held at school for Liza and separately for the teachers.  Liza is allowed to go back to school, but both teachers are fired for their “influence’ and “immorality” they are apparently forcing on the students at Foster.  The novel opens while Liza and Annie are apart for their first semester of college and Annie has written but Liza hasn’t.  The novel ends when Liza realizes that “the truth will set you free” and that she is gay.  And she loves Annie.  And both teachers who lost their jobs said that the love is the good thing.  Nothing else matters if you have the love and you are you.  And she calls Annie and they are going to see each other!  Happy ending!

This novel broke my heart when I saw how the protagonists were treated.  It filled me with a rage against people who still- so many years later- treat LGBTQ people this way.  And I feel like if I weren’t already an ally, this book would have changed my heart enough to become one.  It also had an interview with the author that was heart-wrenching.  It has been banned and challenged many times.  So I checked and there are no banned books in my district :)  This work of realistic fiction is written and set in 1982, but the topics still resonate with today’s culture, so I feel that it is still contemporary and relevant, even though the reader can place it as being several decades in the past. In looking at Kohlberg’s theory on moral development, the protagonist Liza is struggling between the conventional stage and the post- conventional stage because she is a rule follower and desperately wants to do what is expected and appropriate.  However, she also holds beliefs that don’t allow her to do that.  This novel is an excellent example for our students who are between these two stages to understand how morality works.  Liza’s conflict also shows that she is working through Maslow’s heirarchy.  Although she doesn’t realize it, Liza is torn because in order to reach self-actualization, she must have Annie.  Understanding these two upper level stages of human development will help me as a librarian in helping students select this novel.  This novel also uses literary devices well.  The character development of both Liza and Annie begins in the first scene of the book, and the reader has an understanding of all aspects of these girls that helps to increase the tension of the rising and action and the fear and rage in the climax.  This book has been banned and challenged many times.  There are some fantastic articles that students may be interested to read.  The interview with the author at the end of the audiobook version is a great place to start, as well as this article https://www.hrc.org/blog/nancy-garden-on-my-mind-a-tribute-for-banned-book-week. ANNIE ON MY MIND is the winner of numerous awards, the most awesome (in my mind) is that the School Library Journal included it on a list of the “100 most influential books of the 20th century”. If you haven’t read this book, go read it now.  Seriously.  Go now. 

10. 
Albertalli, B. (2015) Simon vs. the homo sapien agenda. New York, NY:

HarperCollins.

In this work of realistic fiction, the protagonist, Simon, is growing up in an upper middle class white family with an older and younger sister. His older sister has just gone away to college and the family is adjusting to her being gone.  Before the exposition even ends, a boy at school named Marty blackmails Simon about an email he found. You see, Simon has an alternative identity- Jaques- that he uses in an email relationship with Blue- another student from his high school.  They met on the school’s student social media page and realized that they have a lot in common, including that they are both gay.  They have basically fallen in love through email... and then Marty finds outs.  As Marty forces Simon to help Marty get close to Abby (Simon’s good friend who all the boys seem to like), Simon and Blue’s relationship gets serious- but still they don’t know who each other are.  Simon eventually comes out to Leah and Nick and Abby.   And once Marty posts that Simon is gay on school media, Simon tells his family. Everyone is very supportive, as Simon knew they all would be, he just hadn’t felt ready to do it.

Blue finds out who he is because Jaque is Simon Says in French.  Oopsie.  Oh, and Simon is in the play- he is Fagin’s boy and Marty is Fagin.  They have an amazing theater teacher and Simon thinks Blue may be this kid Cal from theater.  But finds out its not.  I was right and it is one of the soccer guys who eats lunch at his table every day.  The story ends with everyone knowing Simon and Bram are gay.  They decide to be a couple and clog fb with their cute anniversary pics and such because they are “all in”.  Happy ending.  Marty apologizes.  Family and friends are all happy. 

This book is absolutely precious.  This story spoke to me because the setting and characters would have been me in high school.  These were my people.  And it was very profound for me to read after reading ANNIE because the reactions were so completely different and the future for these boys is so much more hopeful than with ANNIE.  This book made it just part of normal life. It also does a fantastic job of teaching the themes in a subtle way.   Albertalli teaches that lots of things in life are “coming out” coming out isn’t just if you are gay, which will connect this theme to all readers.  This book is an excellent way to pass on our culture to our students because it teaches diversity and self-acceptance.  This book deals with older issues, but is written in such a way that it could appropriately be both on a high school and middle school campus.  Albertalli touches on some older YA issues, but doesn’t go to a place that our younger YA students couldn’t go.  This novel also touches on Havighurst’s ideas about children developing their own morals and values, and shows what happens when blackmail, bullying, and social media are used for evil instead of good.  In exciting news, since I read this novel, a movie has come out called Love, Simon based on the book.  It looks fantastic, but of course, the book is the book.  Here is the link to the preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0cbWdlQg_8

11.
 Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

This book opens with our protagonist Starr at a party in the neighborhood she has grown up in.  She’s not supposed to be there and hardly knows anybody because she goes to the “white” school that’s 45 minutes away.  When gunshots go off, her friend Khalil grabs her hand and they run away.  They are pulled over and Khalil is shot by a police officer.  He dies in Starr’s arms and the cop- 115- holds a gun on her until backup arrives.  There was no weapon in the car.  Starr is broken.  She already watched her friend Natasha die after a driveby when they were 10, and now her only other forever friend is gone.  And she is the only witness. 

Starr has an amazing family, yet has to be two different people; the Starr who lives in the neighborhood and the Starr who goes to the “white” school.  This incident with Khalil causes these two versions of herself to meet and explode.   She gets into  a fistfight at school, she struggles with the fact that her boyfriend is white, and basically challenges everything she knows and believes.

As far as Khalil goes, Starr has to testify to a grand jury so they can determine if they will press charges against 115.  Starr learns to stand up for herself by standing up for Khalil. 

Eventually, the officer- 115- is not charged.  There is a riot and Starr stands on top of a police car and gives an impassioned speech about Khalil. When the police throw a can of tear gas at them, she picks it up and throws it back.  Starr has let go of her two worlds and merges them together to become Starr- intelligent, brave, and advocate.  She deletes the racist friend, stays with the white boyfriend who protested with her, and stands with her family as they move out of the neighborhood, but plan to rebuild their store that was burned down.

This novel is a current and powerful realistic fiction novel.  My review of this book is intensely personal, but I can’t write it without including what I feel.  I had to stop reading this book after Khalil died.  I still had most of the book to read and it was so hard to pick the book back up.  But I did.  And the weight of this story, of the #Blacklivesmatter movement weighs on my white lady heart.  I teach kids like Starr.  I I need to teach them that their voices matter.  I cried so many times while reading this book, and I am crying now.  Thomas explains why she wrote it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CorQppCdxEI which opens up the option for teachers/ librarians to connect the novel to the cases this book was inspired by and also to the music of Tupac who is referred to throughout the novel.

This book is amazing.  I don’t love the profanity (and the very abundant use of the word “fuck,” but I can live with it).  The story is so well done.  Thomas successfully pulls the reader in and uses wonderful characterization that makes you love Starr, her family, and even the kids like DeVante who do terrible things, but who are people.  Thomas also uses dialogue and dialect in an effective way to create a believable world.  This novel addresses Kohlberg’s moral stage of development because Starr must choose between obeying the law and civil disobedience when faced with the choice of participating in a riot.  One important lesson that Starr learns about Khalil is that “he was more than his mistakes,” which we all need to understand about ourselves and others.  She also learns from her mom that “You have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them” when her mom explains why she took her dad back after he cheated on her and went to prison.  These are lessons our young people desperately need to successfully adult, and they are taught here without guile, without sugar-coating.  Life can suck, but you can rise above. 

Since I read this book, it has received a heap of awards.  This novel is so popular at our high school library, our librarian has ordered 20 more copies.  Our middle school library does not carry it, probably in part because of the language and the death and mayhem.  There are, however, middle school students who could handle this book.  This book is absolutely necessary in our current society.  Every American needs to read and process this novel.

12.
 Ness. P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

This book opens with Todd out in the swamp with his dog, Manchee, who he can hear thinking words.  In this world, men’s and animals’ thoughts are heard by everyone (they call this “noise”).  Then he finds a quiet in the midst of the noise, and he knows something is wrong. Todd goes home, and as he walks through town you get to hear all the men’s depraved thoughts, and makes it home to Ben and Cillian.   When they find out that he has heard the silence, they give him a rucksack with a book from his ma, a map, and a few things they have had packed for him for a long time.  Apparently they had been planning on kicking him out, and that is why they got him a dog he doesn’t want.  They send him away, and as Ben runs back toward the far, Todd hears the guns and the battle that is taking place. As Todd runs, he finds a girl in the swamp and protects her from a man named Aaron.  He takes Viola with him and they run together toward Haven- the only city they believe will be big enough to protect them from the army that is rumored to be growing as it comes. 

Through the course of the novel, Todd and Viola are attacked multiple times.  No matter how faar or fast they run, they are constantly attacked.  Todd watches as his dog is killed, finds Ben, and saves Viola.  They travel across New World and discover that every community handles the “noise” and women differently.  He learns that his community killed all of the women and are banished from the rest of the world because of it. Todd also learns that in order to become a man, he is supposed to kill someone, so that is why the lunatic Aaron has been stalking him (and trying to kill Viola and actually killing his dog).   In the climatic ending, Viola kills Aaron so that Todd remains a good man.  Then, as they walk out into the sunshine and begin the last walk down to Haven, Viola is shot.  Sheesh.  Todd runs with her straight down the mountainside into Haven, calls for help, and nobody is there.

And then… in a moment of sheer terror, the mayor of Prentisstown comes walking out and, by some special hidden road, made it to Haven first and took over the entire planet.  And then the novel ends.

 At first, this novel is maddening because it takes a while to get into the story and figure out the world (this is of course hard science fiction), and then every obstacle is someone getting beat up by the same people over and over and over again.  Every time it seems as though there will be hope, it is destroyed.  And the ending leaves no hope either.  Although it takes a few chapters, Ness does a good job of creating a believable fantastical world through the rules he sets, the vocabulary he gives meaning to, and the descriptions he gives.  He stays true to the rules he has set in New World and does not stray from them. The protagonist, Todd, is being forced to grow up too fast and without all of the information that he needs for survival.  He is torn between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs throughout the novel as he sways from just trying to have safety and food to figuring out where he belongs and who he should be loyal to.  The main reason for students to read this novel will be for enjoyment because it is a creative and interesting story.  This also would be great fodder for writing assignments about what it would be like to live in a world with no secrets or a world with no people of the opposite gender or a world where we can hear our animals talking.  The only part of this book that frustrates me immensely is not the science fiction aspect, but the fact that the 9 lives of Aaron and the ability of the Mayor of Prentisstown to do what they do does not seem realistic, even in the fantastical world the novel is set in.

Students, once they can get their bearings and understand about the noise and the other planet, will like the novel because it is full of action and gore.  This novel will be great for kids who like THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT, and other books in this subgenre.  This novel has won several awards, including The Guardian Award, and is set to have a movie made of it (currently in the works).  It is the first in the CHAOS WALKING series and is followed by THE ASK AND THE ANSWER.

13.
 Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper jungle. New York, NY: Penguin.

 The novel starts out with our narrator Austin, a stinky, horny teenage boy.  Who is kind of in love with his two best friends (Robbie and Shann).  The novel presents as realistic fiction in which Austin has to determine if he is gay, straight, or bisexual.  Austin has lots of self-doubt and self-revulsion. But then… before you realize what is happening, all of a sudden the novel turns sci-fi and there are weird giant preying mantis’ being born out of people’s bodies and eating everyone they encounter- when they aren’t busy having bug sex with the only female bug.  

As the novel goes along, Austin is keeping his history.  He goes back in time to his great grandfather traveling across the Atlantic.  He talks about the marriages and children being born in terms of “strong Polish sperm found a receptive egg.”  All of the history seems to converge at different points throughout the novel (the characters all seem to either be related to or connected to someone who was connected to his ancestors).  He also records what is happening with various characters in the story “at this very moment”. 

Eventually, Robbie and Austin figure out that Robbie is the god to the big bugs and that his blood can kill them.  Right when you believe they are going to defeat the bugs, a new section of the book begins… a section that is four years later because the bugs overtook the world and our cast of characters is all living underground in the magical Eden bunker that the crazy scientist step-uncle created fifty years before.  

This  novel is masterfully done. Smith’s style and voice are beyond unique and that makes this work stand out.  The reader starts out reading a work of realistic fiction, but as it turns out a few chapters in, this is science-fiction.  Smith’s characters are fantastic.  His protagonist is so well-written that the reader can literally smell Austin and his grubby socks and clothes.  The reader can feel his nasty, grimy skin and see him cringing at his own BO.  Through his beyond-words-amazing characterization, Smith creates a completely unlikeable character in  the stinky and horny and jerkish Austin- which is a challenge and not often done.

Through the device of Austin’s history keeping, the flashbacks of past events and the omniscient third-person narrator are given voice. The connections and intersections are amazing- even if totally bizarre.  

For readers who always figure out what is going to happen, this is the challenge.  I am one of those readers, and I was continually surprised until the end that left me completely stunned.  The novel is very interesting and pulls everything together, even though you are totally confused and can’t figure out what is going to happen. There really is no resolution- I mean, there is, they don’t die.  But Austin never decides who he loves, and they are all just in a holding pattern because they can’t leave the bunker.  So I guess this is a denouement moment and not a resolution.

This isn’t my kind of book, but it is a compelling read.  Students will connect with the developmental stages of Maslow with the feelings of self-loathing and thinking everyone around them is better than them.  The protagonist is undergoing physical changes that lead him to the “goldilocks syndrome” that many of our readers will relate to.  The author has a unique style that some people will love. Smith does use very vulgar and crass language, which will be off-putting for some readers.  It is a weird book, but oddly gripping. Readers who enjoy this novel may want to read 100 SIDEWAYS MILES or WINGERS, both by Andrew Smith.

14.

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Penguin.

I read SPEAK many years ago, and was hesitant to pick it up because since then, I someone very close to me was raped and I knew it would be hard to get through because the topic is a trigger for my anxiety.  But I know as a librarian, I will have to read all the books- the ones about trigger topics, the ones about things I disagree with, and everything in between.  So, I picked it up and fell back into the narrator’s world…

Speak tells the story of Melinda, an incoming freshman who has been cut out from her group of friends and made an outcast because she called the police to a party she was at the previous summer.  The novel is divided into sections by “First Marking Period,” et cetera and follows Melinda as her year unfolds.  She is despondent as the novel opens and she has no friends left.  It seems that everyone at school hates her, except the new girl Heather who tries to take her on a journey to become popular with her.  As the novel unfolds, Melinda sees “IT” walking through the halls and you realize this boy, who we learn is named Andy, is the cause of all her fear.  As it turns out, he raped her at the party and she called the police for help, but was too scared to speak, so everyone thought she was just ruining all the fun.  As the novel progresses, Melinda is so damaged that she skips school, hides in an old janitor’s closet she decorates for herself, and only finds solace in art class where her entire year is spent trying to turn the word “tree” into a meaningful art piece.  Eventually Melinda starts making decisions instead of living inside her fear.  Andy, IT, has started putting the moves on her former best friend Rachel, and Melinda is so afraid for Rachel that she starts to become brave. She writes on a bathroom stall about Andy, and is amazed when many, many other girls start writing that he hurt them too.  This gives Melinda strength, and by the climatic ending scene, she has found strength and courage to speak, to be LOUD, and to use her voice.

This work of realistic fiction handles a taboo subject.  The novel is about a very tender subject, but is told with sensitivity and enough support for the reader that even younger YA readers can read it.  Melinda, the protagonist, is able to find her voice only when it is needed to save another person, which shows her development in the Moral stage as explained by Kohlberg.  She is also an excellent example of what happens to a human when they don’t feel safe, and when they don’t get proper care for trauma and the ensuing mental illness.  This novel hits home for me. I can’t even explain why because it is someone else’s story to tell, but my heart breaks when I see victims of crimes silenced by fear and the way they are treated by society.  I think this is a powerful book for anyone who doesn’t feel that their voice is strong enough to be heard, for anyone who has felt like they don’t belong, and especially for anyone who struggles with anxiety or depression or hides a huge secret.  Definitely this will build empathy for those who don’t struggle with these things by providing them with a window into the world of anxiety and depression and trauma.  

There is also a graphic novel version of this that is striking and beautiful by Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll.  Anderson also has other novels such as CHAINS and FORGE that can be found on her website at http://madwomanintheforest.com/.

15.

Gephart, D. (2016) Lily & Dunkin. New York, NY: Delacorte.

This novel tells the story of two teenagers, Timothy McGrother and Norbert Dorfman- or Lily Jo and Dunkin as they prefer to be called.  The novel is narrated by Lily and Dunkin, depending on the chapter.  Gephart tells the story of Lily, a transgender girl who is seeking acceptance as a girl and desperately wanting her parents to accept this fact and allow her to take hormone blockers before puberty sets in and she is forced to grow a man’s body.  There is a great adventure about Lily trying to save the tree “Bob” from developers who want to turn the property into a park, adventures with Lily’s best friend Dare who lives up to her name and constantly pushes and motivates Lily to be herself. Gephart simultaneously tells the story of Dunkin, a great big kid who is new to town and happens to be bipolar.  Dunkin (for Dunkin’ Donuts) also hides two big secrets- he has an imaginary friend named Norbert and a father who recently committed suicide.  Dunkin quits taking his meds pretty soon once he starts school because he thinks they keep him from making the basketball team and by taking them he will get thrown off the team.  However, it isn’t until pretty far into the book that we learn that Dunkin’s dad actually killed himself and Dunkin has been lying to himself the entire time. The novel follows Lily as she transforms into a girl in the eyes of the world and Dunkin as he quits taking his meds and his mental illness takes over.  

This is a work of realistic fiction. Gephart has taken two issues that are in the spotlight in America today and woven them together to create a window for those readers who don’t understand either- transgender and mental illness- and put them into a novel written for young adults (even our youngest YA readers will benefit from this story).

This novel tackles the issue of physical development with the challenge of writing about two characters whose physical development is not typical.  In the creation of these characters, Gephart creates a way for readers to see that everyone develops in different ways, at different times, and that it creates a struggle.  

The themes in this novel are for our youth, but also for adults. The portrayal of Lily’s father and his reason for allowing her to begin treatment is profound- he tells Lily something to the effect of, “the doctor said I could have an alive daughter or a dead son” after telling him the suicide rates for trans people.This is a powerful story of being a teenager living with a mental illness and sheds light on a topic that is usually kept hidden. It also follows the family dynamics of Lily, her sister, and parents as well as the family disaster of a dead father, and a mom who takes her son to live with his Bubbie (grandma) in order to try to move forward. Gephart has  a website with further reading and resources to use with this novel at http://www.donnagephart.com/lily-and-dunkin.html.  It also includes links to previews of her other novels for the interested reader.

  

16.

Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: Workman.

Steve Harmon, a sixteen year old student who wants to become a filmmaker, is in jail during his trial.  He has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a robbery of a convenience store that left the store owner dead.   The novel opens with Steve in his bed at night in fear. The story follows his trial with flashbacks and what is happening now.  There are scenes from him at school and with his family; his mom is devastated.  Harmon works with his attorney to separate himself from the other men/teens in the group because they are trying to make him not look like a “thug” from the ghetto, as some of the defendants have a history to be. His attorney tries to prove that the “witness” against him cut a deal by testifying against Steve.  They bring in his teacher to serve as character witness.  There are big gaps in the events and we never get a clear-cut, black and white answer as to if Steve is guilty.  His attorney seems to dislike him and it seems that she believes he is guilty.  In the end, Steve is found innocent and goes home to piece together his shattered life.

 This realistic fiction novel is told in the format of a screenplay/ diary/ different types of text interspersed to tell the story. It includes lighting and stage directions.  This novel also has elements of a mystery because as you read, you are trying to put the pieces of evidence together to figure out if Steve is guilty or innocent or somewhere in the middle.  The author uses the literary device of an unreliable narrator, which leaves the actual guilt or innocence of Steve up to the reader.  As a reader, I believe that Steve was involved in a very small way, but the reviews I read shared other readers’ beliefs.  This novel leads into a great conversation about what makes guilt and innocence.  This novel would put some fear into readers about what it would be like to be in prison. Where a middle school librarian may not want to shelve a novel like THE HATE U GIVE, this novel is appropriate for younger YA readers. Some of Peck’s questions would be interesting to ask here.  “If you were to film the story, would you use color or black and white and WHY?” as well as “What one thing in the story has happened to you?” to further the format of the novel and to create connections for the reader, respectively.This novel was written in 1999, several years before the Black Lives Matter movement began. It is interesting to read in today’s social climate and see the connections. With that in mind, some other novels that would be good to read would be- YUMMY: The SHORT LIFE OF A SOUTHSIDE SHORTY or THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas.

Blogging- Books 1-8 (An assignment for YA Lit)

#1

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company.

Junior lives on a reservation, where he is made fun of for having hydrocephalus, glasses (one eye bigger and one eye smaller).  His best friend is Rowdy, who protects him. Junior is fair at basketball and very smart.  After getting suspended for hitting his teacher in the face with book, which was mostly an accident, he takes the teacher’s advice and transfers to Reardon, a mostly all white high school off the reservation.  He takes a lot of crap from the other Native Americans for leaving and from the white kids for being Indian.  His grandma dies. His sister dies.  He loses a lot.  He becomes amazing at basketball and is loved by his school peers.  He even manages to get a girlfriend at Reardon.  He draws attention to the alcoholism of his father and other characters (his dad’s best friend dies in a drunken fight with his friend, his sister dies because she was drunk and passed out so her house burned down with her in it).  For all of the sorrow, this novel is funny.  It includes some of “Junior’s” drawings.  There is an interview with the author in the back about how Rowdy was based on a real friend/ has elements from his actual life. 

This novel is a work of realistic fiction. It won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It creates empathy for the reader for the plight of Native Americans and the cycle of poverty and alcoholism many can’t escape from.  This novel also addresses the stereotypes that both the “whites” and the Native Americans have of each other.  This novel also helps readers to understand and have a window into the world of a Native American teenager and his struggle to break out of the cycle.  Thus, this novel is an excellent way to keep diversity alive in the classroom by introducing these characters and these topics.

This novel also is a perfect example of YA literature.  The protagonist, Junior, goes through many changes- changing schools, losing his best friend, losing multiple family members- and watches as he learns to deal with loss and change.  The plot follows him on a journey of self- discovery, yet leaves him still working on figuring it all out. This novel focuses on the developmental and physical changes going on with young adult readers.  Junior is dealing with his own physical differences as he goes through his normal development, but it is also worse for him because of his hydrocephalus and goofy eyes.  Maslows’ hierarchy of needs show that Junior is struggling with the levels of safety and belonging due the bullying and name-calling he endures at school. I would recommend this book to students as well as to teachers looking for something to read with the class. 

#2

Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York, NY. Greenwillow Books.

Eric Calhoune is the narrator in this work of realistic fiction.  He used to be the super-duper-whale-sized fat kid, so he made friends with Sarah Byrnes, the burned-up-face kid.  They were besties in junior high and went through all kinds of pain and suffering and revenge together, but Eric now has swim and friends besides her. With that said, the title is actually true because when Eric makes the swim team and starts losing weight, he starts cramming his face with twinkies and such to try to stay fat so he won’t lose Sarah; she is that important to him

During the course of the novel, Sarah ends up in a mental hospital where she is not speaking.  Eric has to figure out if she is really sick or if she is trying to stay away from her father- who the reader is learning about and we are learning that he is very abusive.  Eric turns out to be the truest kind of friend imaginable and risks his life to protect Sarah.

This novel is a very compelling work of realistic fiction (which may be turning historical since it was written in the 90s- oh my!).  It came out while I was in high school, and I wish that there had been a librarian who would have shared this with me.  This novel has a gripping plot and I would have gobbled it up and read everything else by Crutcher. This book is amazing and profound.  It definitely serves as a window to see into someone else’s world of suffering, or on the flip side, as a mirror into your own suffering so that you can see somebody work their way out of the pain and into safety.  It shines a light on domestic violence, abuse, bullying, fitting in, and standing up for yourself.  The dedication reads:  “For all those who finally stand up for themselves.”  This book is haunting and follows you for days after you read it.  The fear, pain, suffering, etc. that people all around you live with that you don’t see is profound. The characters are real, funny, smart, and loveable.  You want to protect these kids and make everyone see how amazing they are.  Sarah’s burned face shows the internal scars and wounds that so many people have on the inside.  It is symbolic and makes you think.  And grieve.  And hope. Some other books that will be of interest to readers of this novel- aside from Crutcher’s other works- would be What she left behind by Tracy Bilen or, for one set back in the 1980s, Revenge of a not-so-pretty girl by Carolita Blythe.  I would recommend this book to everyone.  All students will benefit from seeing into the world of Sarah and Chris.  It will teach empathy as well as a fabulous plot with life-threatening danger.  One way to introduce it would be to show this fan-made trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAcsueskKcc.  

#3

Satrapi, M. (2003). Persopolis the story of a childhood. Paris, France:  L’Association.

This book says it is a “Story of a Childhood,” so I start reading it believing that it is to show that Iranian children and life are just the same  as us and how we are all the same and such.  But it isn’t… it is the story of a girl- the author- growing up during changing regimes and revolution and war in Iran.  Marjane is independent and fierce, which is amazing since she sees people- both relatives and friends- die for voicing opinions that are different from the current political/religious views of the leaders.  One of the sweetest parts of the novel is her uncle who loves her above all others and when he comes to visit, he brings her gifts.  When he is imprisoned, he asks for her to be his only visitor.  And then he dies.  Marjane is brave in the face of adversity and is raised by parents who teach her how to become who she wants to be and keep life secret from the authorities. This novel is filled with bombs dropping all around the community, police questioning her, and eventually being sent away by her parents to safety in Paris and not knowing if she will see her parents ever again.  It ends with hope for Marjane, but fear for her family.

This is a beautiful memoir set in the format of a graphic novel, with simple black and white illustrations. This novel creates a window for the American YA reader to see how different life is growing up in another world. Kohlberg’s stages of Moral development fit in to this novel.  Satrapi writes about breaking the laws in secret and continuing to do what she and her family believe is the right thing to do.  Her family is in the conventional stage because they try to hide the illegal things that they do, and Marjane struggles to know when to speak out and when to stay quiet and appear to be a law-abiding citizen.  It is touching to see what Marjane lives through and how she grows up to be educated and liberated even in such a repressive and terrifying time.  The book captured my attention and held it in so much that as soon as I finished, I had to look up Satrapi’s biography so that I could find out if she ever made it back to her parents (she did- whew!).  In order to find out what happens next, read Satrapi’s Persopolis 2: The story of a return, or get the whole story at once with The complete Persopolis (1-4).  There is also an interview here https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/29/biography or the movie Persopolis (2007). A link to the movie book trailer is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ22VyjJ6n8. I would recommend this book to students and teachers alike. This novel teaches tolerance, diversity, feminism, social structure, and freedom.

#4

Stead, R. (2012). Liar & spy. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books.

Georges and his family have to move to an apartment because they lost their house when his dad lost his job. Dad is trying to build his own business, so money is tight.  Mom is a nurse at the hospital and is working extended shifts to make money- so we think.  Of course, Georges has had to give up everything he ever loved- his fireman bedroom, house, neighborhood- and is struggling. The day they are moving into the apartments, Georges’ dad sees a sign for a “spy club” and signs Georges up.  Georges ends up making friends with a home school kid and they go on adventures and spy shenanigans.  The boys fixate on the “man in black” and have a whole story about how he is a murderer.  Throughout the story, Georges misses his mom, and communicates with her via Scrabble notes they pass back and forth on his desk.  The novel has some routines, like Georges and his dad going out to the same pizza restaurant and Georges and Safer meeting up.  As the climax arrives, Georges and Safer have a huge fight because Georges thought the game was real and blames Safer for lying to him.  However, we also find out that Georges mom is actually IN the hospital as a patient because she had a bad fall and is very sick.  Georges finally forgives Safer and their friendship is saved.  Georges also finally goes to see his mom at the hospital. As the novel ends, it seems that Georges will be able to adapt to his new life after all and live in reality. 

This work of realistic fiction is set during the recession that took place in America between 2007-2009 and is aimed at our younger YA readers.  This novel is about a serious topic, but is handled by the author carefully and with a good dose of humor.   This novel would be helpful to our students who struggle with loss due to finances- which I teach a lot of- to use as a mirror into the struggles they face and the grace (or lack thereof) with which the protagonist learns to accept his new situation.  This novel also covers Maslow’s Hierarchy because the loss of financial stability has left Georges feeling vulnerable and insecure.  He must work out a way to feel secure with his family situation in order to be able to move forward and adapt to his new life. This novel is an excellent example of YA literature because Georges is nowhere near the end of his growing and changing as a human being, but he makes so much progress toward that goal during the novel that the reader believes he will continue on.  Other books by Rebecca Stead are When you reach me and Bob.  The author’s website is suited for young people at http://www.rebeccasteadbooks.com/index2.html I would recommend these books to my late elementary and middle school 6^th and possibly 7^th graders.  The topic of the novel are about friendship, fitting in, changing family situations, and other topics appropriate for this age group.

#5

Alexander, K. (2014) Crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.

The story focuses on Josh Bell, often called Filthy McNasty, and his twin brother, Jordan.  Their dad is Chuck “Da Man” Bell, and he was an NBA player in Europe that never made the big leagues in the states because he wouldn’t have the surgery for a knee injury.  The boys are training to be amazing ball players like their dad and are in 7th grade kicking butt.  Mom is the vice principal of the school they attend, and she is always making them follow the rules and get things done.  Dad acts like he is perfectly fine, but he is really sick and Josh keeps seeing signs of this, but dad won’t go to the doctor because when grandpa went to the hospital, he died. So Josh knows dad is sick.  His brother gets a girlfriend and he feels left out and alone.  Afraid for his dad.  These feelings grab ahold of him and he throws a ball in brother’s face injuring him and so his parents ground him from basketball.  He gets to reinstated to play in time for the playoffs. But in the meantime, his dad has a heart attack and is in the hospital so his brother won’t play in the final game.  Josh plays in the playoff game as his dad is dying.  It is so sad, so beautiful, and so heartbreaking. The poems about playing baseball are amazing.

This realistic fiction work is the winner of the 2015 Newberry Award as well as the Coretta Scott King Award Honor.  It is told in verse. This work is a perfect example of what realistic fiction should be.  The novel uses the slang and expressions that teenagers currently use.  The novel also has themes that emerge naturally as the novel progresses- “be kind” and “love people while you have them” to name a few.  Finally, this novel deals with real life issues like jealousy, sibling rivalry, consequences, and most profoundly, how to deal with the death of a parent.  Alexander uses literary devices and elements well.  The language is artfully done, and the onomatopoeia and imagery is off the chain. This work also is an excellent example of what Poetry should be for a YA reader.  It is about a familiar topic (lots about basketball) and uses literary devices that make it easy to comprehend for young readers. This is a book I can take out and read a section of to my 8^th graders and they will ask for more.  The rhythm and the sounds make this appealing to our young readers. Havighurst’s research applies to Josh’s acting out against his parents and his brother as he is being forced to watch his brother move on to the dating stage without him. I loved this book for the sheer aesthetic experience of reading something so beautiful- and it is even better when read aloud.  The beauty of the language almost makes up for the death of Check “Da Man” Bell, but not quite. 

 #6

King, A.S. (2010). Please ignore Vera Dietz. New York, NY: Alfred K. Knopf.

This Printz Honor book sucked me right in.  I wanted to sit and read it all in one sitting because I just had to know what happened.  The story is told by Vera (and occasionally Charlie, her dad, and the pagoda that overlooks her town) several months after the death of her best friend (Charlie who narrates sometimes).  The story switches between what is happening now- ‘NEW YEARS DAY- AFTER WORK” and the past “HISTORY- AGE FOURTEEN” and switches narrators occasionally, but it is mostly Vera.  The story is heart-wrenching as she has become an alcoholic (senior year in high school) because her best friend has died and she sees “thousands of Charlies” wanting her to find the evidence and clear his name (he has been declared a suicide and pet store arsonist).  We aren’t sure of the details- which is the purpose of the novel.  As we watch Vera struggle to make it through each day and deal with her impending adulthood, her relationship with her dad, her mom having been a stripper and then moving away and abandoning the family going to Vegas- she is processing and trying to find the strength to forgive Charlie enough to clear his name and bring the truth to light.  As Vera opens up more to what Charlie is trying to tell her she starts to see what really happened and is able to move forward with discovering and revealing the truth.  It seems that Charlie left clues that only she would be able to follow when he realized that he was going to die (because he was involved with a crazy person)..  Vera is able to clear Charlie’s name, survive attempted murder, and face her father when he discovers her alcoholism.  It ends with hope as Vera and her dad drive on an impromptu vacation trip and both let go of their fears (which they have written on index cards and taped to their backs… then the cards blow off out the window- yes, symbolically).

I guess this novel is an example of fantasy because there are many elements of fantasy- narration by Charlie, a dead boy, and further narration by the pagoda, an inanimate object.  The narration of Charlie adds vital information, while the pagoda is mostly comic relief.  I want to call this realistic fiction because it is about real, serious issues that our young people must deal with.   This novel broke my heart.  It covers so many heavy teen topics- teen pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, sex, trying to figure out who in the hell you are, domestic violence, parent-child relationships, and love.  For most of the characters, life is a hard, hard place with no happy ending in sight. This novel teaches us about letting go of fear, bravery, standing up for yourself and others, and moving forward.  King uses great literary devices in this novel- irony, humor (like a recurring reference to Charlie being a pickle in Vera’s big Mac), sarcasm and narration ( point of view) by a pagoda.  I think this novel simultaneously arouses the reader’s imagination (what would I do if my best friend died?  What if my dead --- were trying to reach me- what would they do?  Am I missing signs) at the same time as arousing empathy for those we know who are undergoing stressful situations or suffering from alcohol or drug abuse. This novel would be great to read using Peck’s questions about mood (color) and others such as “what one thing in here has happened to me?” because so much happens in here.  I would recommend this novel to older YA readers because of the issues it covers and the heavy weight it leaves in your heart after reading it.  The humor is not enough to make the sorrow and pain lighthearted.

#7

Block, F. L. (2009). The waters & the wild. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Bee is a teenager who feels like she doesn’t belong.  Then, one night, she discovers her doppleganger- and realizes that she, Bee, is a changeling- she has a strong sense of connection to the earth and growing things.  Bee is pale and puny and only working in the garden brings her joy.  After realizing that she doesn’t really belong to this world, she feels like she has a purpose before she can leave- to get Sarah and Haze together.  There is one night when the three of them go to a party and there is a moment where they hold hands and actually leave the ground.  Then she gets really sick and ends up in the hospital.  Eventually, she flies off to go back where she is supposed to be- under the earth with her fairy parents.  The real Bee goes back and takes her place.  Throughout the story, Bee, the real Bee, wants to come back to the real world with her real mother and real people.  She is fighting to take her place back. Once the girls have switched places, Sarah and Haze see the “Real” Bee at school as she is walking over to sit with the popular kids, and they know that their Bee is truly gone.  The novel touches on the mother, and how she could probably tell her daughter was wrong and was probably really happy when the real Bee showed up.

This novel is low fantasy because it takes place in the real world, but it has elements that are fantastical (a changeling and the magical events like bodies floating off the earth). The universal themes contained in the novel include the feeling of not belonging, and the most important universal lesson is the not fitting in and not wanting to be seen, but then realizing that you were beautiful all along.  The book has beautiful imagery of the earth and growing things, which appeals to the reader’s developing sense of reading for the aesthetic experience.  Why read this novel with children?  This novel is fun!  It tells a beautiful story and allows the reader to wonder “what if?”.  What if “insert name of friend here” were actually not a human?  If I weren’t a human, what would I be?  This is fun! There are some other magical books by this author which include Love in the time of global warming and The elementals would be of interest to a reader that enjoys this book.  If you like magic melding with reality, this is the book to read!  This novel showed me what an excellent example of fantasy looks like.  Block does an amazing job of connecting her magical elements in to the real world that I found myself already believing the story before realizing that it wasn’t realistic fiction, which shows that she is masterful at supporting her readers’ suspension of disbelief.  It also introduced me to a prolific author that many YA readers will be able to enjoy.  I would recommend this book to my fantasy loving students, and even to those who think they might like fantasy because it is mild in its fantastical elements and would be a good starting point for the genre. 

 #8

Green, J. (2006). An abundance of Katherines. New York, NY: Penguin.

Colin is a teenage prodigy who only dates girls named Katherine- 19 of them to be exact

(until we learn that 19 was 1 repeated).  His best friend is Hassan, a fabulously entertaining and supportive dude.  After K19 (yes, he actually calls her this) dumps him, Hassan decides to take Colin on a road trip in the hearse (and yes, Hassan drives a hearse) to make him feel better.  They make it to Gutshot, Kentucky where they meet a girl named Lindsey and her mom.  They are invited by Lindsey’s mom to stay at their house and work for her.  She sets them to work interviewing the people who work and have worked for the plant her family owns.  New adventures happen as we get flashbacks to his relationships with the Katherines, his time on a game show, and basically how he ended up at this point in his life. In the end, Colin starts dating his first Lindsey Lee Wells, who is dating her second Colin.  Throughout the novel, Colin is working on a theorum about dating and the “dumpers” and “dumpees” and there is an entire appendix at the end dedicated to explaining it- but I still don’t get it (and I’m not sure that anyone else does either!).

This Printz Honor book a work of realistic fiction.  John Green is a very popular author right now with the success of The fault in our stars and Looking for Alaska.  The characters in this novel are brilliantly done.  Green uses believable plot elements and is amazing at using irony, sarcasm, and humor throughout the plotline while maintaining the action of the plot.  He is able to seamlessly weave in the entire backstory through flashbacks and his other creative elements.  Colin anagrams- which I don’t get- but it is pretty cool.  There are surprises (like the anagram of the name of the grandfather to get tourists to come visit).  The footnotes are hilarious.  Not only does Green use these literary devices successfully, he also teaches several universal themes throughout the novel.  At the end, two beautiful themes stand out:  “And Colin thought: …Even if it’s a dumb story, telling it changes other people just the slightest little bit, just as living the story changes me.  An infinitesimal change. And that infinitesimal change ripples outward- ever smaller but everlasting.  I will get forgotten, but the stories will last.  And so we all matter- maybe less than a lot, but always more than none…” and the reader has this sense of being able to believe that they matter.  No matter how smart, funny, or insignificant they seem, they matter at least a tiny bit.  And there is also the lesson that “’...but there’s a place in the brain for knowing what cannot be remembered.” (213) which is poignant and memorable.  While some of the content of this novel (sexual activity and references, racial slurs) could be seen as objectionable, these are issues that our young people encounter, and many of our students would enjoy the humor and sarcasm in this book.  There are students I can think of right now that I would recommend John Green’s books to because they will be drawn in by his use of language and his characters.  I feel that this book does a good job of teaching our children to appreciate where they come from.  One of the side plots of the novel is Ms. Wells working to keep her town alive and recording the stories of all of the people who are part of it.  Green does an amazing job with layers of plot and theme, and this novel has shown me that there is room in literature for many voices.  Green has a very unique tone and I will always be able to pick out his work because he has such a strong voice.