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.