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.