Books 17-25

Drama

Telgemeier, R.  (2012).  Drama.  NY:  Graphix.  Callie is a seventh grader who loves theater.  She enjoys working on the stage crew.  The Eucalyptus Middle School is doing a Spring Musical Production of Moon Over Mississippi and Callie is apart of the stage crew.  In the midst of preparing for the production Callie meets Jesse and Justin, twin brothers who are very interested in the musical.  Justin tries out for the lead and Jesse is more than happy to let his brother shine.  She also kisses her crush, Greg but is disappointed that Greg still has feelings for his ex.  Callie begins to spend more time with Jesse and starts to like him.  Ultimately, Jesse invites Callie to the 8th grade formal.  She is so excited, but learns at the dance that Jesse has eyes for someone else.  Callie knew that Justin was gay but she had no idea that Jesse was.  This book navigates through the complication of middle school hormones and emotions as well as showing what can happen when a group of hardworking performers and their stage crew come together to do their best to put on an awesome musical production.  Drama is a challenged and banned graphic novel due to the LGBTQ theme in the novel.   This is a book trailer for Drama.  https://youtu.be/ysWrqAMktc0  This was a required text.

We Were Liars

Lockhart, E.  (2014).  We are liars.  NY:  Delacorte Press.  Beechwood Island is a beautiful private island off the coast of Massachusetts.  It is owned by Tipper and Harris Sinclair.  There are four homes on the island.   Clairmont which is inhabited by the Sinclair's.  Red Gate which is inhabited by their oldest daughter Carrie and her two children Johnny and Will.  Ed, Carrie's boyfriend and his nephew Gat join them.  Penny is the middle Sinclair daughter she lives in Windemere with her daughter Cadence.  Bess the youngest daughter resides in Cuddledown with her four children Mirren, Taft and the twins Liberty and Bonnie.  The Sinclair daughters were all married at one time but now they are all divorced.  Every summer they spend time on Beechwood Island in their respective homes.  The daughters feel entitled to the fortune that there parents have accumulated.  After the death of Tipper their mother, the daughters begin fighting over her things and the attention of their father.  They all begin making their own play for more inheritance.  Each daughter is not self sufficient.  They do not have a career or even a full time job so their trust funds and inheritance is all they have.  The women began involving their children in the fight.  The eldest children Johnny, Cadence, Mirren and Ed's nephew Gat come up with a plan to burn down Clairmont to stop all the fighting amongst the Aunts and their Granddad.  They felt that if the objects are gone then their is nothing left to fight over.  This plan goes terribly wrong.  Cadence is left with terrible injuries and long term migraine headaches that require serious pain killers to get some relief.  She also suffers from short term amnesia.  She can not remember what happened to her or why.  The others perished during the incident.  The novel is told from Cadence's point of view.  She spends the entire novel telling the story of the family in the years leading up to "summer fifteen" the year that all four of them were fifteen and then trying to remember in "summer 17" what happened in "summer 15".  This novel was on the Best Fiction for Young Adults list in 2015.  The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is a novel  by the author that was a Printz Award Honor Book.

Long Way Down

Reynolds, J.  (2017).  Long way down.  NY:  Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.  A free verse poetry novel about Will whose older brother Shawn was just killed.  Will explains that there are three things that always happen whenever someone is killed:  1-Screaming, there is always screaming from a girlfriend or a mother.  2-Sirens, the screaming always seems to be louder than the sirens.  and 3-Questions, coming from the police.  There are also rules.  Will is determined to follow the rules.  no crying, no snitching and revenge.  Will decides to follow the rules and gets Shawn's gun and heads out to shoot the guy he thinks killed Shawn.  Will steps on the elevator.  He lives on the seventh floor and must make it down to the lobby.  On his way down the elevator stops at each floor.  On the seventh floor Buck steps into the elevator with him.  Buck was a big brother to Shawn after their Dad died.  Buck was killed some time ago.  Will has an exchange with him that makes him think about what he is about to do.  On the sixth floor Dani, a girl who Will played with as a child steps on.  She was shot and killed at a playground when they were eight years old.  She speaks to Will about the gun he has in his waistband.  On the fifth floor Will's Uncle Mark gets on.  He was also shot and killed.  Uncle Mark was killed by a guy who wanted Uncle Mark's corner where he was selling drugs. Uncle Mark also questioned Will about the gun. On the fourth floor Mikey Holloman gets on.  Mikey is Will's dad who was killed when Will was three.  Mikey was killed by a guy who wanted revenge because Mikey killed a guy he thought killed his brother Mark.  Mikey also questioned Will about the gun.  On the third floor Frick gets on.  Frick is the guy who killed Buck to fulfill a gang initiation.  On the second floor Shawn gets on.  Shawn shot Frick because he shot Buck.  Shawn also questioned Will about the gun.  The story ends once the elevator reaches the lobby and everyone gets out of the elevator and Shawn asks Will, "You Coming?"  The book is aimed at gun violence and how it does not resolve the matter at hand, it just continues to spiral.  This book was a 2018 Printz Award Honor Book, on the 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults list and a 2018 Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers book.  The following is a book trailer.  https://youtu.be/FVQnyL6y6do

Scythe

Shusterman, N.  (2016).  Scythe.  NY:  Simon and Schuster.  In 2042 computational power became infinite.  This is the year that the world, mankind knew everything.  The cloud evolved into what is known as the Thunderhead.    Everything we know or need to know is there.  The Thunderhead took care of all needs.  There was virtually no crime because of this and so there was no need for jails or prisons anymore.  2042 is known as the year humans concurred death.  Death was no longer a natural occurrence.  Scythes were given the power to end life.  Gleaning they called it.  There are rules that a scythe must follow but the Thunderhead does not interfere with scythe business.  Two young people Rowan and Citra were chosen by Scythe Faraday to be his apprentices.  They were to endure a year of training and tests and at the end of that time only one of them would become a scythe and the other would return to his or her old life.  This matter was complicated when it was decided that which ever apprentice won would have to glean the loser.  This upset Honorable Scythe Faraday. Citra and Rowan were told that Scythe Faraday self gleaned.  So by the rules both apprentices should have been free to return to their old lives, but  Scythe Goddard, who was known for his flash and mass gleanings stepped up to take on the two apprentices after the death of Scythe Faraday.  Scythe Currie a dear friend of Scythe Faraday's took Citra so that Scythe Goddard would not take them both.  Rowan thrived under Scythe Goddard he got stronger and faster he became a weapon.  Citra learned about compassion and dignity in gleaning from Scythe Currie.  Citra soon discovered that Scythe Faraday was indeed not dead but merely had faked his gleaning so that he could retire and live in peace and free them as well.  He was unaware that his plan did not go as he thought.  Ultimately Citra was chosen as a scythe and she figured out a way to grant Rowan immunity and get him out of arms way and safe with their first mentor, Scythe Faraday.  This is a futuristic science fiction novel that shows that there is a high cost for immortality.  This novel was a 2017 Printz Award Honor Book.  Neal Shusterman is also the author of the Unwind Dystology which includes the first in the dystology Unwind. 

Laughing At My Nightmare

Burcaw, S.  (2014).  Laughing at my nightmare.  NY:  Roaring Brook Press.  This is a biography written by a twenty one year old guy name Shane.  Shane is an intelligent young man who graduated from Moravian College with a bachelor or arts in English.  He is a blogger and chronicles his daily life like so many millennials.  Shane could be looked on by others as anything but ordinary, he is confined to a wheelchair.  Shane has spinal muscular atrophy.  He has been in a wheelchair his entire life and has always required assistance from others.  Shane needs assistance to go the bathroom, sleeping, getting dressed, moving around and eating.  In this nonfiction book he explains what it is life to live with spinal muscular atrophy and all the complications it brings.  The author uses very colorful language to tell his story.  He also uses humor to describe some very difficult moments.  Shane makes very clear that his disability is not mental and that he does not like pity and wants to be treated normal.  He lives life to the fullest of his extent and takes it one day at a time.  This book was on the 2015 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults list. You can learn more about Shane's life on his site:  laughingatmynightmare.tumblr.com

The Boy In The Black Suit

Reynolds, J.  (2015).  The boy in the black suit.  NY:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  Matt  Miller is a high school senior whose first day of school senior year was the ninteenth day of school.  Matt started the school year late because his mother passed away.  Matt is really missing his mom and having a hard time.  Matt's dad begins drinking again and has a hard time coping and keeping a job.  Matt goes to the local chicken spot to fill out a job application and has a chance meeting with Mr. Ray.  Mr. Ray is the funeral director that Matt met while making funeral arrangements for his mom.  Mr. Ray offers Matt a job.  Matt takes the job and begins work at the funeral home.  Matt begins wearing a black suit everyday to work.  Matt begins sitting in the back at funeral services to observe.  He noticed that at every funeral there is at least one person who grieves openly at the service.  This makes Matt feel as though he is not alone in his grieving.  At one particular funeral Matt noticed a young woman who had lost her grandmother, he was intrigued by her because she did not cry.  This sparked an interest in him he wanted to know more about how she handled her grief.  Matt and the young woman, Lovey spark about a relationship he learns that Lovey has been through a great deal.  This realistic fiction novel told from a young man's point of view expresses loss, grief and life's lows and show the struggle to get up when you have been knocked down and search for help to get up.  This novel is on the 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

Here is a book trailer:  https://youtu.be/00yDmbCEnlA

The Bunker Diary

Brooks, K. (2013).  The bunker diary.  MN:  Carolrhoda Lab.  Linus, Jenny, Fred, Bird, Anja, and Russell are all locked up in a bunker together.  The bunker has cameras and someone, there captor they believe is constantly watching them.  The story is told through a series of diary entries from Linus.  The captor does many things to antagonize his captives.  He with holds food, poisons food, turns off electricity and water, and he punishes them with tear gas when they try to plan an escape.  Ultimately the six of them die off one by one and it is implied that Linus also dies at the end. This horrific fictional tale has no happy ending.  A 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults list book.  This is an interesting trailer for the book https://youtu.be/vtanrr9q7a4

One of Us is Lying

McManus, K.M.  (2017).  One of us is lying.  NY:  Delacorte.  Five students in detention Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, Cooper and Simon.  They all have secrets and Simon the author of the gossip app About That has some to spill about the other four.  During detention there is a car accident in the parking lot and the teacher Mr. Avery goes to investigate.  While he is gone, Simon drinks a cup of water and collapses.  Simon has an allergic reaction and the others were unable to administer his EpiPen  and Simon dies before paramedics arrive.  The police accuse the other four of having motives to kill Simon since he had gossip on them that he was going to post.  The story is told from the perspective of the four main characters. This fictional mystery delves into the family life of each of the accused and their possible motive.  The story takes an interesting turn when it is revealed that Simon had every intention on committing suicide and having the four of them be suspects in his demise.  Jake Addy's boyfriend agreed to help Simon when he learned that Addy had cheated on him.  Jake wanted Addy to be convicted for Simon's death.  This novel was a 2018 Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers list book.  Another best selling young adult book by this author is Two Can Keep a Secret.

Harbor Me

Woodson, J.  (2018).  Harbor me.  NY:  Nancy Paulsen Books.  At the beginning of the school year eight students were placed in a special class.  One moved away and another, a girl was taken out of the class because her mother told the teacher Ms. Laverne that her daughter was not like those students.  So Esteban, Haley, Amari, Tiago, Ashton, and Holly make up the students who are left.  One day Ms. Laverne takes them down to an old art room and tells them that they will meet there every Friday for the last hour of the day to talk.  She said that she would leave the room so that they could talk.  The students called it the ARTT room which stands for a room to talk.  Haley gets her uncle to purchase a voice recorder so that they could record their stories.  Each student eventually tells a story about their life that is significant to them that they want to share with the group.  They soon forge a bond that is so powerful.  They protect Ashton from his bullies. They support Esteban when his father is taken by immigration.  They listen and sympathize with Tiago when he tells them what it is like to be treated like he is not an American even though his family is from Puerto Rico which is a US territory.   They sympathize with Amari when he talks about being a black boy and how his dad told him he could not play with toy guns anymore because he did not want him to get shot by cops like a young man did in the park one day.  They support Holly when she tells a story about the loss of her grandmother and how she misses her.  Finally, they support Haley when she tells them that she lost her mom when she was three in a car accident and her dad went to jail for causing it.  They learn to be a harbor for each other.  This work of realistic fiction was a New York Times Best Seller in 2018.  Jacqueline Woodson has written other middle grade books including Locomotion.

Books 9-16

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces

Quintero, I.  (2014).  Gabi, A girl in pieces.  TX:  Cinco Puntos.  Gabriela Hernandez otherwise known as Gabi is a senior at Santa Maria High School.  She enjoys writing and hanging out with her friends.  She is a bold lively girl who is a self confessed food addict.  She loves to eat!  This is the story of her senior year in high school.  Gabi is surrounded by chaos and drama.  The pregnancies of her best friend and her mom, the coming out of her male best friend and his family not accepting his life style, boy troubles, her meth addict father and sometimes wild out of control brother make for a dysfunctional last year of high school.   This realistic fiction novel is written in English but the author uses phrases in Spanish to capture the culture and language of the characters.  The author tells the story in diary entries written by the main character.  Another book written in diary entries about the coming of age of a young woman is The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot.  This was a required text.

Persepolis

Sartrapi, M.  (2004).  Persepolis.  NY:  Pantheon.  In the 1980s, the author Marjane Satrapi was a child growing up in Iran.  During this time, the Shah's regime was overthrown, there was political unrest due to the war with Iraq and the Islamic revolution caused many who did not agree with those beliefs to protest and face imprisonment.  The author writes about the day to day life that she endured growing up in Tehran during this time in history.  She writes about how her family struggled to bring some since of normalcy to the war torn time.  The author was a very out spoken young woman who boldly challenged teachers and principals at her school.  Ultimately at fourteen years of age, the author's parents thought it best to send her to live with a family friend in Austria for fear of her being sent to prison or ultimately executed for her boldness.  This black and white nonfiction graphic novel gives an honest, child's point of view of life in Iran at that time.  This was the first book in the series.  The author published a complete volume of the series in 2007 called The Complete Persepolis.  This was a required text.

The Hate U Give

Thomas, A.  (2017).  The hate u give.  NY:  Harper Collins. This realistic fiction novel is set in modern day and could have been taken straight from the headlines.  It is the story of Starr Carter, a teenage girl who lives in an urban area infested with gangs and drugs.  Starr's parents are determined to stay in the area and make a difference but opt to send their children to a prestigious private school across town so that they can get a good education.  One night Starr goes to a party with her best friend in her neighborhood and brother's sister  Kenya.  There she sees a friend, Khalil that she has not seen in a while and they began to catch up when a fight breaks out and shots are fired.  They flee the party in Khalil's car and what happens next changes Starr forever.  They are pulled over by a police officer and Khalil ultimately looses his life over a hair brush. Starr has to deal with loosing her friend and has the weight of her community on her shoulders when the cop was not indited for killing an innocent young man.  This is the debut novel of the author.  Here is the link to a book trailer by Lisa McDonough for the book.  https://youtu.be/MuCNYnt--sA  This was a required text.

The Playbook:  52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life

Alexander, K.  (2017).  The playbook:  52 rules to aim, shoot, and score in this game called life.  NY:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  This beautifully illustrated nonfiction book gives life lessons using sports metaphors.  The author talks basketball to give inspirational wisdom on the journey of life.  He includes quotes from well known athletes such as Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Bill Russell, Shaquille O'Neal, Abby Wambach Scottie Pippen.  He also includes quotes from Oprah Winfrey former talk show host and studio executive, Maya Angelou acclaimed poet, and Sonia Sotomayor U. S. Supreme Court  justice.  This book is full of stories of real life perseverance and pursuit of dreams, achievement and excellence from track and field great Wilma Rudolph to the author himself.  The author has written other books using the theme of basketball.  One such award winning novel is The Crossover.  Kwame Alexander was a required author.

Deadline

Cruthcer, C.  (2007),  Deadline.  NY:  Greenwillow Books.  Ben Wolf, Little Wolf they call him.  He was a cross country star until his senior year.  Ben got some bad news from his doctor, a diagnosis of one year to live due to an illness.  Ben decides not to accept treatment and gets his doctor to keep the diagnosis a secret.  Ben decides to live his life to the fullest.  He changes sports and joins the football team to play alongside his big little brother.  He spends time reading every book he can and goes after his dream girl, Dallas Suzuki.  Ben also spends time with Rudy, the town drunk.  As the football season goes on, Ben begins to feel guilty about keeping his illness a secret and ultimately decides to share his fate with them.  Chris Crutcher the author has written other young adult novels about young adults in difficult situations including Running Loose, Staying Fat For Sarah Bynes.  Crutcher was a required author.

I Crawl Through It

King, A.S.  (2015).  I crawl through it.  NY:  Little Brown and Company.  This is a magical realism book about four teenagers that are having a hard time maneuvering through their lives.  Stanzi, is a girl who loves to dissect and never takes her lab coat off.  Gustav is building an invisible helicopter.  China is a girl who swallowed her self.  Lansdale's hair grows when she lies.  They deal with daily bomb threats at their high school as well as standardize testing that causes high anxiety.  The students soon learn that the only way to get through this madness is to "crawl through it".  This is a book trailer for the book.  https://youtu.be/A_kzgcaNqio  A.S. King was a required author.

100 Sideways Miles

Smith, A.  (2014).  100 sideways miles.  NY:  Simon and Schuster.  Finn Easton suffers from seizures due to an accident that happened when he was seven.  He and his mom were walking under a highway overpass when a horse fell off a truck injuring him and killing his mother.  Finn's dad is a science fiction writer who wrote a book that has a character in it named Finn and has seizures.  Finn is an introverted teenager and always feels like he is stuck in his dad's book even though his dad swears the character Finn is not based on the real life Finn his son.  Finn falls in love with Julia, a girl from Chicago and is heart broken when she moves back.  Finn has a best friend named Cade who travels with him to a University in Oklahoma.  On the way the two of them spot a van in the river with two people inside.  Cade and Finn save them and they become heroes.  After this, the two of them decide not to continue on their journey to Oklahoma and instead head to Chicago to see Julia.  This realistic fiction story tells of friendship and love. This is a book trailer for the book.  https://youtu.be/qMakV34Gyb4   Andrew Smith is a required author.

The Fault In Our Stars

Green, J.  (2012).  The fault in our stars.  NY:  Dutton Books.  Cancer, it sucks.  Hazel has cancer, thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs.  She begins attending a support group at the insistence of her mother.  Augustus also has cancer, osteosarcoma.  He attends the same support group at the request of his friend Issac. Hazel needs oxygen everywhere she goes and Augustus lost a leg.  Their common bond is cancer but they soon learn more about each other and grow closer.  Soon they are spending more and more time together.  Augustus still has a wish from the charity that grants wishes to terminally ill kids and decides to share it with Hazel so that she can travel to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author.  Of the two of them the odds were that Hazel is the sickest and has the greater chance of dying.  It turns out that Augustus ends up having a cancer recurrence this time it has spread everywhere and is aggressive.  Augustus' condition ultimately deteriorates rapidly and he loses his battle. This realistic fiction novel tells of the horrors of cancer and the joys of young love.  Another book by this author about the adventures of young people  is Paper Town.  John Green is a required author.

Books 1-8

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S.  (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian.  NY: Little Brown. Arnold Spirit (Junior) is a 9th grader who has had medical struggles throughout his short life.  He was born with “water on the brain” and had to have it drained when he was just an infant. Doctors were not optimistic about his survival.  Junior defied all the odds and although he wears glasses, has big feet and other physical issues that he is teased for he is a bright young man.  The story is written in a diary form from Junior’s point of view. He writes about a year in his life where one decision changes everything for him.  Junior decides that he wants more out of life than just living and dying on “the Rez” and decides to enroll in the all white Reardan High School in a near by town.  Junior ultimately ends up living in two worlds, his life at Reardan as a student and member of the basketball team and his life on “the Rez” the Spokane Indian Reservation.  The life of Junior the student struggles to fit in and keep up with the demands of High School and being the only Indian at the school. Junior’s life on the reservation involves poverty, sadness, death, alcoholism and abuse.  This book is on the challenged book list of 2018 for profanity, sexual references and its religious view point. This is a book trailer for the book https://youtu.be/p3shXStIESI

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Speak

Halse Anderson, L.  (1999). Speak. NY:  Penguin Group. Melinda begins her freshman year in high school ostracized.  No one will talk to her so she is forced to walk the halls alone and eat lunch alone.  Melinda has been through a lot over the summer and she can not speak about it. This constant silence begins to bother her parents, teachers and others around her.  She eventually is befriended by another freshman new to the area but is soon ostracized by her as well. Melinda’s strange behavior gets too weird for her and the new friends she is trying to impress.  The book is written in Melinda’s point of view and is divided into school marking periods, there are four in total. By the fourth marking period all is revealed as to why Melinda does not speak much and what she tries to do to free herself from the pain that she has been carrying.  This book is all about how when something bad happens to you, you should speak out and stand up for yourself and in doing so you just may help others. Laurie Halse Anderson also wrote another book called Shout.  This book is a memoir written in free verse and encourages her fans to continue to shout. This was a required text.

Lucky Broken Girl

Behar, R.  (2017). Lucky broken girl.  NY:  Delacorte.  Eleven year old Ruthie and her family leave Cuba and start a new life in the United States.  They land in Queens, New York. Ruthie is put in “the dumb class” at school because she does not know English.  Back in 1966 there were not English as a second language classes so “the dumb class” is where the put all those who could not fit into “the smart class”.  Ruthie soon proves that she can speak English and that she is bright so she is moved out of “the dumb class”. Ruthie’s life starts go very well. She becomes the Hopscotch Queen of Queens and her dad buys a new blue Oldsmobile.  One night the family is in a bad car accident, her dad’s beloved car is totalled and Ruthie is injured badly. She is placed in a body cast that she has to stay in for over a year. This is when Ruthie has to decide that she is going to fight for normalcy and her life as she wants it to be.  After the accident she discovers her love for reading and learns to paint thanks to the tutor sent to her home and the neighbors and friends around her. This story is historical fiction based on true events experienced by the author. The author was in a car accident and also spent a year in a body cast.  A book with a similar theme is Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.  Both books tell the story of minority families making a journey from their home to make a new life in a new land and the struggles and heart ships young people face and how they overcome. This was a required text.

Annie On My Mind

Garden, N.  (1982). Annie on my mind.  NY:FSG.  Liza Winthrop is seventeen years old, is class president, and dreams of attending MIT to become an architect.  She lives in Brooklyn, New York and attends a private school called Foster Academy. Liza loves the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  On one of her visits to the museum she meets Annie. Annie is also seventeen but she attends a public school in Manhattan. Annie and Liza become fast friends and as time goes on they become closer and closer until their friendship blossoms into a romance.  Annie is sure about her sexuality but Liza is not so sure. Liza has seen what happens to those around her when they attempt to live in their truth and she is afraid to step out and do that. The books is told from Liza’s point of view through flashback. The book gives hope and confidence to those teens struggling with this type of issue.  Unlike other books of this subject matter, this one has a happy ending. Due to the subject matter, this book is considered a banned book and was once burned in front of the Kansas City School Board building. The author Nancy Garden has written other books about teenagers falling in love with same sex partners including this one Good Moon Rising. This was a required text.

Lily and Dunkin

Gephart, D.  (2016). Lily and Dunkin.  NY:  Delacorte.  Lily Jo McGrother is a girl who was born Timothy McGrother.  She is accepted by her best friend, mom and sister but her dad is having a hard time with Lily leaving her identity as Timothy behind.  Dunkin Dorfman, born Norbert Dorfman got his nickname from Lily because he is always drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee. Dunkin is bipolar, he hears voices and recently moved to Florida after his father committed suicide.  The two of them ultimately strike up a true friendship despite their differences and personal struggles. This story tells of having empathy for others who are different from you. It also shows that you can stand up and be you despite what others may think.  This book showcases diversity mentally, physically and through gender identification. Readers who have encountered these struggles themselves or know someone who has can relate to this book. Donna Gephart has written other books about middle school age students including How to Survive Middle School. This was a required text.

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health

Harris, R. H.  (2014). It’s perfectly normal:  changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health.  Somerville, MA:  Candlewick Press.  This is a good resource for children ten and up.  A textbook or reference for families. It teaches children about sex and all things related to it.  The author does a great job explaining and defining common and technical terms. The book also breaks down the origin of various terms making it easy for children to understand.  This book is “sex made simple”. Due to the sexual nature of the book, it is a banned book. This nonfiction reference book has illustrations done by Michael Emberley are graphic and realistic in nature.  They depict the reproductive human parts of males and females in a variety of ways that may be seen as obscene to some. Mr. Emberley has been quoted as saying about the book he illustrated and Harris wrote, “We felt the same way about the subject from the beginning.  Both of us have a strong belief in spreading healthy information rather than hiding it.” The two of them have collaborated on other books such as It’s NOT the Stork! And It’s So Amazing! This was a required text.

Monster

Myers, W. D.  (1999). Monster.  New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.  Steve Harmon is a sixteen year old high school student who is on trial for murder.  He is charged with being involved in a robbery where a pharmacy owner was murdered. Harmon is going through a lot with being in jail and facing the reality that he may spend the rest of his life in jail although he professes that he is not guilty.  O’Brien is Steve’s lawyer, she is trying to get the jury to see him as a human and not as a monster to avoid the death penalty. The story is told in two unique formats. When Harmon speaks about his emotions and daily activities it is written from his perspective in a journal or diary format.  The second format used is as a screenplay. Harmon writes in third person a screenplay to describe the trial therefore distancing himself from the crime. At the end of the story, Harmon is found not guilty and returns to his life in high school but what haunts him is why when he was found not guilty Miss O’Brien turned away from him.  This book gives readers a look into the American legal system it also shows how young African American males are seen and treated in American society.  Another award winning book written by Walter Dean Myers is Autobiography of My Dead Brother. This was a required text.

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Ness, P.  (2008). The knife of never letting go.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press.  Todd Hewitt is about to become a man in one months time.  He is very excited about this. He is the only boy in a town of 146 men.  Todd lives in Prentisstown. The town was infected with a germ that causes men to hear, feel and see visions of the thoughts of other men.  They call this noise. You can not escape the noise, if another male is around you can hear their noise even the noise of animals and other creatures can be heard.  Todd was told that this same germ killed the females in the town. One day Todd is in the swamp picking apples and discovers something he never experienced before, quiet.  He later discovers something else. Females do exist. They all did not die. Todd begins to wonder what other lies he has been told. Todd finds himself fleeing his home and being chased by the Mayor and a man named Aaron.  This science fiction novel creates a New World in which settlers take over a land that they thought would be an “Eden” for them but turns out to be a dystopia. This book is the first in the series Chaos Walking. The other books in the series include The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men. This was a required text.