George

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George is a fifth grade boy who feels like he is a girl. He has felt like this for as long as he can remember, but he doesn't know what to do about it. George has researched transgender people since he found out what the word was, and since he found out how to clear the browser history on his mom's computer. When George's class is putting on a production of Charlotte's Web he decides that it is his mission to be Charlotte. After his teacher decides that she will not let him be Charlotte, George and his best friend Kelly come up with a plan for him to sneak into the part during the play. Afterwards George's mom comes to terms with his gender identity and they discuss getting a therapist for both of them to talk to, and the book ends with George, as Melissa, having the best day of her life dressed as a girl at the zoo with Kelly and her uncle.

One of Havighurst's Developmental Tasks, as described in the textbook, discusses adolescents learning to get along with their peers. The book that comes to my mind when thinking about this topic is George, where a transgender boy is trying his best to find where he fits in. His best friend, a girl named Kelly makes sure that he knows that she is still his friend, no matter what, and she helps him solve his problem by letting him take her part in the play and dressing him up as a girl for their trip to the zoo.

Citation

Gino, A. (2015). George. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

Persepolis

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Author Marjane Strapi discusses her childhood growing up in Iran during a war. She discusses issues that she had growing up such as having to wear a viel during school, and not understanding why this would be required since she did not always have to wear one. She also discusses her parents participating in demonstrations to show their contempt for what is happening in their country. Strapi discusses feeling helpless when her country is being bombed and there isn't anything that she can do about it. During the whole story Strapi discusses what his happening in her country and with her country's army, including her's and her parents feelings on the matter and what was happening to her during these times. At the end of the story her parents send her away to France, reminding her to be true to herself.

This story is very powerful. This could be used to teach the effects of war on families as well as children. With the topics that are explored and some of the events of the story I would recommend that this book would be most applicable in a high school setting where the students would not only understand what all was happening, but be able to handle the details of the story.

Reading Persepolis made me realize that all children have different battles that they are going through. This book could be beneficial in teaching students that everyone has a different journey. In our textbook it talks about how culture is constantly changing and how everyone has a different culture that they grew up in. I think this describes this book perfectly.

Citation

Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis. France: L'Association.

It's Perfectly Normal

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The general subject of this books is getting to know your body during a time when it is constantly changing. This book walks teens through what sex is, going through different aspects of it to answer questions that young people may have, through what changes are happening to their bodies, inside and out, what puberty is, keeping themselves healthy and what decisions they may need to make in regards to abortions, birth control, and how families are made. This book has cute little characters, a bird and a bee, that are present throughout the whole book, and follow along with the content, asking and answering questions. Throughout the entire book there are pictures to illustrate parts of the body and other things that the book is discussing. This book has a detailed table of contents and index that will help readers find the exact information they are looking for.

Teens have questions about their body. Most of the time they get the answers to their questions from their peers who do not always have the correct information. This book would be valuable for health classes to give students information in a way that they will understand and that will be interesting to them. 

All children will develop differently and at different times, as is mentioned in the textbook, (p. 20). Sometimes children will have questions that they are too scared to ask their parents and they will end up asking their peers, which will get them some crazy answers at times. The book It's Perfectly Normal will help give students answers to those embarrassing questions, but with the correct information.

Citation

Harris, R. (2014). It's perfectly normal. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Deadline

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Ben Wolf learns during the summer before his senior year that he has a terminal blood disease. Unlike how most people would feel, Ben feels like this is right. In the doctor's office he realizes that he has never pictured himself after high school, never thought about what he would be doing in college, or even for the rest of his life. After getting this news Ben decides that he is going to live his life to the fullest, for the amount of time he has left. Ben also decides that he is not going to tell his family or friends. During his last few months alive Ben goes out for the football team, and even though he is nowhere near the correct body type for it he is an amazing football player. He goes for the girl that he always wanted to be with, and somehow he ends up with her, they even go to homecoming together and he helps her though troubling times. Ben's doctor is angry with him for not going through treatment, so he makes him visit a therapist, but his cavalier attitude runs off a few therapists. By the end of the story Ben has decided to tell the people he loves about his disease. They take it just as he would have guessed, terribly. Then in February Ben begins a downward spiral, but he keeps up hopes that he will live long enough to speak at graduation. At the very end of the story Cody, Ben's brother, reads the speech that Ben wrote and helps take care of Dallas, the girl Ben loves, and her son.

Many of Chris Crutcher's book deal with serious issues that teens battle everyday. Teachers in upper middle and high school could use these books to help their students through these issues. Also, these books can bring up some good discussion in book groups.

All of Chris Crutcher's books that I am familiar with are contemporary realistic fiction. They all deal with situations that are not only realistic and believable, but are things that many students are currently going through now. While reading Deadline I realized that this book would be perfect for high school or middle school students who are going through coming to terms with an illness themselves or an illness of a friend or family member.

Citation

Crutcher, C. (2009). Deadline. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books.

Annie On My Mind

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Liza is a girl who has a hard time making friends. One day while at the museum she meets a girl who is not like any other she has met. After meeting the girls begin hanging out all the time, they become best friends. The two girls become inseparable, they go everywhere together. The problem arrises when the girls realize that they are beginning to feel more than just friendship for each other. Liza does not quite know how to handle her feelings and Annie is trying to gently push her towards a relationship that is more than what they have. When Liza and Annie begin having the relationship that is more than friendship they go too far. While housesitting for a couple of Liza's teachers they get caught together and the teachers get in trouble, as do they. At the end of the story, after Annie is trying and trying to get in touch with Liza, the reader sees Liza decide to finally get back in contact with her.

Even though this is an older book it is applicable for teens at the high school age. This book will bring up great discussion about sensitive topics, in an appropriate way. This book is not one that goes into too much detail in the private areas, but discusses the important topics. Realistic fiction books like this one can be very helpful for students who are going through many different situations, where a girl is figuring out how to deal with realizing that she is a lesbian.

Citation

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. Canada: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.

Gabi: A Girl in Pieces

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Gabi is an overweight hispanic girl who looks white. She is battling with her self-image regarding her weight, her skin tone, her father being addicted to drugs, and her mom not accepting her for who she is. During this time Gabi's best friend comes out to his family that he is gay, and ends up getting kicked out to live with Gabi for a little bit of time. Gabi's other best friend is raped and ends up pregnant. Then her mother finds out she is pregnant and her father overdoses in the garage. Through all of this upheaval in Gabi's life she finds someone who loves her for who she is on the inside, with little consideration to that on the outside. By the end of the story Gabi learns too to love herself for who she is, regardless about what people think of her on the outside.

This book is an amazing book for high school age girls especially. Being told from a diary type perspective the reader gets a close, personal view of Gabi's life. Girls can see how deeply Gabi is hurting and how in the end she learns to deal with the pain. This book will be a good one to use to help girls who are going through similar circumstances and will generate good discussion on these large topics.

As mentioned in the textbook there are qualities of good books (p.56-63). As I was reading in the textbook about these elements, some specific books came to mind from my reading, such as in Gabi a Girl in Pieces, the reader can identify with Gabi who is struggling with her self image. In this story the stereotype of insecure girl serves a purpose of showing how this one girl is getting through her troubles and that she makes it okay to the end.

Citation

Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, a girl in pieces. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

The Knife of Never Letting Go

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Todd Hewitt is a pretty normal boy. He works on a farm, he tends the sheep, he helps his family with chores. But his family is one of a few families that settled on a new planet. When they settled on this new planet there were other beings that already lived there and from what Todd has always been told they attacked the humans. Because of this soon after landing the humans killed the aliens. Another issue with the new planet is that humans caught the "noise germ", meaning that everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts. Which causes many different problems. One day when Todd is in the forest he hears a silent place in the noise. As he investigates he thinks that it is an alien and as he is going through town the silence is heard in his noise. This causes a complete upheaval that leads to Todd running from his life through the dangerous swamp. To find his way away from those who are pursuing him he follows a map left by this mother to a settlement that he never knew existed. Along the way Todd meets the first girl he has ever seen and he learns that what he has been told his whole life was a lie. While Todd is on the run he figures out how to protect the ones he loves and what he needs to do. As it turns out the leader of his settlement wants him to kill, they want to brainwash him so that he will be part of their army. When Todd arrives at the place where he thinks he can find refuge and get help, it turns out that his enemies had found him. The book ends with Todd in the hands of the people that want him to commit murder.

As mentioned in the textbook there are qualities of good books.(p.56-63) As I was reading in the textbook about these elements, some specific books came to mind from my reading. The textbook discusses plot and that at time it is okay if there are elements of the plot that are predictable to that the reader feels comfortable. In The Knife of Never Letting Go, it is predictable in that the boy gets the girl, and it employs some plot techniques that include flashbacks and foreshadowing.

This book is part of a series, and rightly so. This book ends on a cliff hanger and I would recommend reading the following books in the series. Other books that relate to this are the series that begins with the Red Queen and The Darkest Minds series.

Citation

Ness, P. (2014). The knife of never letting go. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Monster

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Steve Harmon has found himself arrested for murder, a murder that he didn't commit. This story follows his and another boy that is involved's trial. This story is told in a screenplay format with some interjections of Steve's thoughts. Steve was bullied into helping a group of gangsters rob a connivence store. His job was, allegedly, to go through the store to see if there were any cops or other people inside before the robbery crew went in. During the robbery the store owner was murdered and now two of the boys are on trial. Through his trial, Steve processes the information by writing everything down in a screen play. By the end of the trial Steve is found innocent because he did not have any direct part in the robbery or murder of the store owner.

This story would be a good one to use to teach students the impact of their decisions as well as how important it is to choose the right friends. Other books that readers who enjoy this book would like would be The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Lockdown, or The Chocolate War.

For my students, the days that we get to practice and perform our dramas are some of the most exciting days in my classroom. When I was reading Monster the screenplay feel of it made me think of my students' love for drama. I think that like some graphic novels, this book could be a bridge to get my students who are reluctant readers interested in reading novels.

Citation

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

El Deafo

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Author Cece Bell tells the story of the illness that caused her hearing loss when she was a little girl through a graphic novel with animal characters. One day Cece is playing like normal when she begins to feel sick. After she becomes worse her family ends up taking her to the hospital, where they find out that Cece will be permanently deaf. Now Cece will have to wear a hearing device to school and everywhere she goes. At first she is going to a school where there are other students who are like her. However, one day her family has to move so she has to leave her school behind and attend a regular school. Cece has to work through some difficulties including being self conscious of her hearing device and having people misunderstand her hearing loss. Many of the students at her new school think that for her to hear them they must yell. However, this does not help Cece understand. At times Cece has a hard time because children who are thinking they are being her friend are controlling her, but she is afraid to speak up because she does not want to be without friends. She also has to battle teachers not wanting to wear the device that will help her hear or mistreating her device. By the end of the story Cece has found friends that are good to her and she is beginning to know how to deal with her hearing loss through becoming El Deafo, the super hero who happens to have hearing loss.

This story teaches students that they can do anything that they set their minds to and that everyone is special in their own way. Also, teachers can use this story to discuss the fact that differences make us who we are and that differences need to be celebrated. This story is appropriate for many different age groups with the way that it is written and the material is appropriate for readers of all ages.

In my opinion reading graphic novels are perfect for aesthetic experiences. The pictures and organization of the story are beautiful and draw me in. However, some graphic novels are not only beautiful in their drawings, but are beautiful in how they introduce and develop topics as well as how they present information through word choice and symbolism. I felt this way when reading El Deafo by Cece Bell. The pictures were beautiful and eye catching with their wonderful colors and cute creatures but the way that she presents her struggles as a student with a disability struck me to my core. I laughed at the funny portions and my heart hurt for her when she was mistreated or when her teachers were unwilling to work with her and her hearing device.

Citation

Bell, C. (2014). El deafo. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

Speak

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Being a girl in high school can be very hard, especially when you are the one to call the cops during a party during the summer before your freshman year. Melinda knows exactly how this feels. One summer day Melinda decides that she is going to go to a party with one of her friends, a high schooler party. At this party a cooler upperclassman begins paying her some attention. However, when this boy goes too far Melinda does not know how to stop him. After being raped by this boy, Melinda does the only thing that she can think of, she calls the police. However, as the police are showing up Melinda has second thoughts about telling them what has happened. After she has called the police, many people alienate her, and as for those who don't Melinda alienates them. Not knowing how to cope with what has been done to her Melinda begins to withdraw, her grades drop, she has no friends, her parents are exasperated with her. She thinks that there is some light at the end of the tunnel when a new girl befriends her, but Melinda ends up alienating her as well. For an outlet Melinda jumps in with both feet into art. She loves doing art and she finds her place. At the end of the story the boy who raped her, who Melinda refers to as the "beast" tries to attack her again, but this time she fights back and other students witness the attack. With some others on her side Melinda now reveals what has happened to her and she begins the road to recovery after making up with her friend, Rachael. 

This story has many applications for high school students and it can open up a great deal of discussion about various topics. These topics include rape, being the victim of rape, how to deal with being raped, and how to help your friend who may be in this situation. This book deals with a lot of topics that would be inappropriate for students in lower grade levels, so I think that this book would be most appropriate for high school age students. 

Citation

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. Harrisburg, VA: RR Donnelley & Sons Co.

Crenshaw

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Crenshaw the cat is the imaginary friend of Jackson who only shows up when there is a problem in Jackson's life. Crenshaw is also a cat that is about the size of a person. Some of the problems that Crenshaw shows up to help Jackson through include his dad having MS, his mom loosing her job, which makes her have to work three jobs, and the family ends up having to live in their van each time they cannot pay the rent. Jackson has a hard time keeping friends because he is having to move from place to place, also, he is poor which makes him not be able to fit in with many of the other kids his age. Each time Jackson's parents are unable to make the rent they have a garage sale. Before the sale his parents ask him and his little sister put what they want to hold onto in a keepsake bag. All they want to keep must fit in the bag or it will have to go in the garage sale. After these garage sales the family ends up moving and living in their van for a while. This also makes it difficult for Jackson to make any friends. So Crenshaw appears to help him through these trying times, and help him with his insecurities about not being able to make friends. At the end of the story he meets a girl who becomes his friend who also has an imaginary friend and she lets him know that having an imaginary friend is okay.

This book would be helpful in teaching children that it is okay to be different and to celebrate their differences. Also, it would be a good book to use to teach children that everyone goes through hard times, but you can get through it. This books is another one that teaches the importance of friendship and how being/having a good friend can help during hard times.

In Crenshaw the main character, Franklin, is having trouble developing socially and emotionally due to the family's constant moving around. Because of this he develops Crenshaw, his imaginary friend, who happens to be a cat. As is mentioned in the textbook, "books can serve as portals to help students see others struggling with similar emotions and feelings and reactions." (p. 23) This book would be a good one to help students who are struggling with moving, not being able to make friends, and those whose families are going through tough times.

Citation

Applegate, K. (2015). Crenshaw. New York, NY: Fiewel and Friends.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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Junior lives on an Indian reservation and during the story his sister gets secretly married then moves out. One day one of his teachers tells him that he is smart enough to attend the white school off the reservation so that he can make something of himself. But to his community this is seen as a betrayal. Despite this Junior decides to attend the white school anyway. At this school he is, at first, made fun of for being an Indian off of the reservation and he works hard to create himself a good reputation, at times trying to make everyone think that he has more money than he actually does. While at this school he makes the basketball team, which makes him play against the team from his old school and all of his old friends. When on the court he is bullied by his old team and people from the reservation and it greatly bothers him. Throughout the school year Junior looses friends and family members and has to understand how to cope with these losses. He also makes some true friends in his new school that are willing to take care of him and be there for him. Junior's best friend from the reservation, Rowdy, by the end of the story has forgiven him for leaving the reservation for school and the friends are reunited. 

As mentioned in the textbook there are qualities of good books.(p.56-63) As I was reading in the textbook about these elements, some specific books came to mind from my reading. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian the main character is facing a serious societal conflict with leaving the reservation to advance his education.

This story would be good to teach character traits and character development through looking at Junior and Rowdy from the beginning of the story to the end, seeing who they are at the beginning and who they are at the end, as well as how they have changed and what made that change happen.

Citation

Alexie, S. (2009). The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Co.

Paper Towns

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After a crazy night of revenge and a crazy plan the love of Quentin Jacobsen's life, Margo Roth Spiegelman disappears. For days Quentin, Margo's family, and her friends worry about what has happened to her. As a detective is talking with Margo's family he asks to see her bedroom, while he is in there he pulls the blinds down and inadvertently reveals a clue to Margo's whereabouts. This spurs Quentin on a wild goose chase looking for more clues to find Margo and where she is hiding. On this quest he makes more friends than he ever thought he would have, gets closer with the friends he already has, and learns more about himself and Margo than he ever thought he'd know. As Quentin and his friends are solving the clues they figure out where Margo is hiding, but the last clue says that she will only be in that place for a couple more hours. So Quentin and his friends skip graduation and drive through the night to get to Margo in time. But, when they arrive Margo, it turns out, doesn't want to be found. Many of the clues were just remnants of her planning her escape and ended up accidentally leading them to her. Quentin convinces Margo to call her family and keep in touch. After parting ways Quentin is glad that they found her and it gives him a sort of closure. 

John Green is a fantastic writer and I would recommend that if a reader enjoyed reading this book that they give the rest of his books a try. This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys YA novels that are in the realistic fiction genre. I would recommend that this book be mainly for high school students, as much of the material would be inappropriate for younger readers. When reading the section in the textbook about observations about books there were a few books that jumped out at me. (p. 32-33)  Paper Towns, by John Green is a great example of a mystery that has excitement and pulls the reader in as they go along with Quentin to find Margo.

Citation

Green, J. (2008). Paper towns. New York, NY: Speak.

Liar and Spy

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Georges moves to a new apartment after his father looses his job. He is upset about leaving his room where he has a specially crafted bed and his mom is taking more and more shifts at the hospital where she is a nurse to compensate for his father loosing his job. Georges makes friends with a family upstairs after his father answer an ad for a spy club down in the basement. Georges, Safer, the boy from upstairs, and Safer's sister Candy, work together in spy missions, trying to discover if an upstairs neighbor, Mr. Black, is a serial killer. During their time together Safer's family invites Georges and his father over to dinner, and the reader very rarely hears about and doesn't see Georges' mother. During this time both Georges and Safer learn a great deal about themselves and each other that they never knew. At the end of the story Georges learns that Safer made the whole Mr. Black thing up and gets angry with Safer. However, eventually Georges comes around and is friends with Safer and his family again. Georges also discovers that Safer is afraid to go outside and helps him become less scared, to the point that Safer will attend school with Georges in the next school year. Georges also finally admits to himself that his mom isn't working overtime, she is sick in the hospital, and he finally agrees to visit her.

The time when I am reading a book to my students aloud is one of our favorite times of the day. If the students miss this time for any reason they are upset and they want to know when we can make this time up. For time time I make sure that I choose books that are exciting and will pull my student's interest with chapters that end on cliff hangers and characters that they get attached to. One book that is perfect for this is Rebecca Stead's Liar and Spy. Students get worried when Safer gets trapped in Mr. Black's apartment and they wonder if Geroges and Safer will reunite as friends by the end. Excitement about books that we are reading aloud is important and I love finding books to keep my students interest.

Teachers could use this book to teach a lesson about/help kids with going through large life changes, as well as meeting new people. Sometimes children have a difficult time with changes such as moving, parents loosing a job, or having a parent in the hospital. This book could help with lessons about these things as well as helping a friend deal with these situations.

Citation

Stead, R. (2012). Liar and spy. New York, NY: Yearling.

The Iron Trial

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Callum Hunt comes from a family of Mages, but he has been brought up to fear  magic after his mother died in a war when he was an infant. When the time comes for his test to get into the Magisterium, the school for Mages, his father wants him to fail so that he does not get into the school and he can no longer worry about his powers. Call tries very hard to fail, but he fails so miserably that he comes out at the top of the class ranking. When he is accepted into the Magisterium in a very important class group, his father tries to take him away but the Mages from the school make him stay. At the end of the story Call finds out that his father suspects that he has the most evil Mage inside him and that his father wants his magic bound so he can do no harm. However, Call believes that he can be good so he makes the decision to not bind his magic and he decides to continue in the Magisterium for the next school year.

I have some students who love reading about super powers and dream of having powers of their own, so book for students to live vicariously through a character could be in Iron Trial where Call grows up realizing he has powers, but thinks he will never use them, only to be forced into going to the Magisterium to develop those powers.

I would recommend continuing the series if readers liked this book. Also, if readers want to read something similar then I would recommend reading any of Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter series. There are currently two trilogies, one series with seven books, and another with at least 11 books. All of her books have the same feel and deal with magic, magical creatures, and demons. Also, she was the coauthor of this book. 

Citation

Clare, C., & Black, H. (2014). The iron trial. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

Winger

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Ryan Dean attends a private school where, because of his rugby team, his is known as Winger. Because of an incident involving a cellphone the previous school year Winger is placed in a dorm where all of the delinquent students are placed. To fit in Winger participates in some questionable activities, such as drinking and gambling. However, he also wants to behave so that he can return to his previous dorm with his friends and nicer room. Winger participates in the activities with his dorm-mates, regardless of the consequences. Because of this he ends up making great friends with the people he is with in the dorm. Through this he discovers more about himself than he knew as well as the importance of true friendship. In the end, the dorm he is staying in is closed down after a student is murdered for being gay. Winger has to come to terms with the loss of a good friend and the fact that he will no longer have his new close friends in his dorm any longer. One good thing that comes at the end of the story is that Winger gets the girl.

Teachers may find this book valuable for their classes when discussing differences, that it is okay to be different, and that people should not be treated badly because of their differences. This book could be used also for a character trait lesson. The character traits of Winger and the other boys can be compared and contrasted to discuss the different ways that different traits effect the story and plot.

Citation 

Smith, A. (2013). Winger. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

5th Wave

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This story is told in many different perspectives of the same story. The main characters include Cassie, Ben/Zombie, Evan Walker, and Sammy/Nugget. An alien ship comes to Earth. Instead of invading as people assume, the aliens begin releasing different waves of attack. These waves begin with an EMP that wipes out all technology, cars, airplanes, electricity, and more. The next waves include a tsunami, a plague called the pestilence, and the fourth wave awakens aliens that were placed within human minds. During these waves Cassie looses her mother to the pestilence and her father to the fourth wave. Just before she looses her father her brother is taken by the alien humans of the fourth wave. Ben has lost most of his family to the pestilence and his remaining sister is murdered. After this Ben contracts the pestilence and is then recruited into the same army that took Cassie's brother. Cassie wants to find and rescue her brother and Ben is trying to survive boot camp. Cassie, with the help of her boyfriend/alien, Evan, breaks into the alien/army camp to save her brother. Ben, who in camp is known as Zombie, after surviving boot camp and realizing the alien's plans breaks into the camp as well to save Cassie's brother, who he knows as nugget. Cassie and Ben together break Sammy/Nugget out as Evan blows up the camp. As they are escaping Ben/Zombie's platoon members rescue them in a humvee and they successfully make it away from camp.

This book is part of a series, and if readers like this book they will definitely want to read the sequel since this book ends on a cliffhanger. Also, if readers enjoy this book they will enjoy other apocalyptic books such as H20 and Darkest Minds. This book will also interest readers who enjoy series like the Hunger Games and Cinder. 

Young readers sometimes need a push to get them into reading, maybe they are unmotivated, maybe they don't know how to find books that interest them, this is where the librarian would come in. (p. 34-35) Books like 5th Wave that have a movie made after them, will grab the reader's attention long enough to get them hooked and maybe help them become life-long readers.

Citation 

Yancey, R. (2013). 5th wave. New York, NY: Penguin Group US.

Lumberjanes

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One summer a Troop of Lumberjanes begins encountering supernatural animals on seemingly normal camp excursions. During some of these encounters the girls are presented with a puzzle and some clues. As they are trying to follow the clues they have to try to keep up appearances of a normal troop of campers. Their troop leader does not believe their assertions that they have been seeing the supernatural creatures, or that they have been being attacked either. In one occasion they are canoeing down the river when a crazy river monster come up and tries to attack. Their troop leader somehow is looking away and does not see the monster. Because of the attack the girls are thrown from the canoe into the trees. As they are trying to get back to their camp they find more clues. The troop of girls follow the clues to a secret lair with the help of a boy's scout troop, who they save from a crazy camp leader. At the end the girls return to their camp with even more questions than when they started, but they have some promising clues to follow. To the girl's and their leader's surprise, the camp leader not only believes the girl's account, she knows exactly what they are talking about and she is willing to let them continue on their quest.

After reading this book I would recommend the other books in the Lumberjanes series and Nimona. Nimona is written in a similar style to this book and if you enjoyed one you would enjoy the other. In Nimona the reader follows a spunky girl as she tries to be the sidekick to the villain of the kingdom. As it turns out she and the villain become best friends and she has some special powers of her own.

Right now graphic novels and comic books are all the rage, as are interesting combinations of supernatural being and creatures. Knowing this I have already recommended Lumberjanes to many of my students and they are loving the eye catching drawings and interesting creatures that are in this graphic novel.

Citation

Stevenson, N., & Ellis, G. (2015). Lumberjanes vol 1: Beware the kitten holy. Los Angeles, CA: BOOM! Box.

We Were Liars

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Every year the Sinclair family goes to their family's summer home. However, recently, main character, Cadence, and her mother have not attended the family vacation, so Cadence feels like something is wrong. When they finally go, after missing a few summers, Cadence is treated as if she is super fragile and she makes it her mission to figure out what happened the summer before they quit going to cause this change. While only on the island for a short while, Cadence tries to get the truth out of everyone. But just by being on the island and hanging out with her cousins her memories begin to return. As her memories are returning Cadence realizes that her cousins actually died years ago in a fire that they all helped set in the main house. During the fire Cadence's cousins are trapped and when Cadence tries to save them she is injured and gets sick from smoke inhalation. This is what caused her memory loss and migraines. Every piece of the puzzle that she finds out she records in a journal so that she no longer is in the dark about her own past. By the end of the story she has remembered the whole story and her cousins ghosts are now free to move on. 

For someone who liked this book I would recommend Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight. It has many of the same qualities of this book and it has just as many twists and turns. Both of these books kept me guessing till the very end, which is exciting and keeps the reader invested in the book. Both books would be enjoyable for all who like YA novels. 

There are an amazing amount of resources for librarians to use when looking for book recommendations. Some of these lists give ideas about award winning books and some of these lists are the "if you like this then read this" type. Sometimes, if you see a book pop up on more than one of these lists you know that it must be a good one. When deciding what books to read for our assignment a book that fit this bill was We Were Liars which was on the list of "If you like Gone Girl you will like this" and the Best Fiction list.

Citation

Lockhart, E. (2014). We were liars. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Steelheart

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An event occurs, an almost apocolyptic event. After this event random people begin having super powers. Those who gain super powers are called Epics. But, they all become villians, and as much as people pray and hope, no heroes come. One of the few people that still believe is main character David Charleston's father, and he tries to stand up to an Epic, he is murdered. This sends David on a mission to kill that Epic, Steelheart. For years David researches Epics, especially the ones connected to Steelheart. He does everything he can to completely understand their powers, especially their weaknesses. When the Reckoners, a small group that fights against Epics, comes to town, David joins them and together they come up with a plan to take Steelheart down. As their plans are beginning to fail, David learns that someone that they thought was on their team and that their leader, Prof, is actually an Epic. At the last second, David discovers what he can do to eliminate Steelheart, so he goes for it. After Steelheart is dead, David sees that Prof is alive and they go to safety with the rest of their team.

Young readers sometimes need a push to get them into reading, maybe they are unmotivated, maybe they don't know how to find books that interest them, this is where the librarian would come in. (p. 34-35) Books like Steelheart that are about a new perspective on superheroes will grab the reader's attention long enough to get them hooked and maybe help them become life-long readers.

Author, Brian Sanderson has released two more books in the Reckoners series. If you liked Steelheart I would recommend reading the other two books in the series. They continue with David's journey with the Reckoners and their mission to save the people from the Epics that have been acting as evil overlords. 

Citation

Sanderson, B. (2013). Steelheart. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Wonder

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August Pullman, called Auggie, is starting public school for the first time because he had so many surgeries as a kid he was unable to attend school. He also has a serious craniofacial abnormality. Auggie tries to make as many friends as he can, even though he has some hiccups along the way. He learns the meaning of true friends, forgiveness, and perseverance. Auggie has found some close friends in Jack and Summer. By the end of the story Julian, the student who is the main one bullying Auggie, is no longer attending his school and he has found new friends in those who had been bullying him alongside Julian. Even though Auggie is the main character, he is not the one who learns the real lesson. From his example, the other students are the ones who are learning a lesson.

This is a wonderful book to teach lessons about character analysis, how to treat others, perspective, and point of view. This story is told from many different perspectives, Auggie, Jack, Julian, Auggie's sister Via, and Miranda, Via's childhood friend. Telling the story this way makes it easy to teach lessons about perspective, as well as discuss the fact that everyone will see a situation in a different way. There are resources online that help teach this book and there are fun activities included as well. 

There are an amazing amount of resources for librarians to use when looking for book recommendations. Some of these lists give ideas about award winning books and some of these lists are the "if you like this then read this" type. Sometimes, if you see a book pop up on more than one of these lists you know that it must be a good one. When deciding what books to read for our assignment some books that fit this bill were Wonder, that showed up on the New York Times Bestseller list, as well as many lists on Goodreads and Amazon.

Link to Choose Kind Resources

Citation

Palacio, R. J. (2013). Wonder. London: Corgi.

Red Queen

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Main character Mare Barrow is a Red, which refers to the color of her blood. The upper class has silver blood along with special powers. Her family is struggling to make ends meet and she has not job, soon she will be conscripted into the army. One day while at the palace she accidentally demonstrates a power she should not have, being a Red. After this occurs Mare joins the Silvers and agrees to keep up the lie that she is a long lost descendant of a lost Silver family. While pretending to be a Silver, she joins the Red Rebellion, working as a secret spy. At the end of the story Mare is found out and is, along with the King's heir, sentenced to death. When the King's heir and Mare are put into an arena for a fight to the death, the Red Rebellion breaks them out and now they are all on the run from the new king.

Author Victoria Aveyard, has now released a prequel, Cruel Crown and a sequel, Glass Sword. If a reader enjoyed reading this book I would recommend reading both the prequel and the sequel. I have started on the sequel and it is turning out to be just as good as Red Queen. It starts out exactly where Red Queen left off with the Red Rebellion taking Mare and Cal, the King's heir, out of the city in an underground subway. 

I have some students who love reading about super powers and dream of having powers of their own. Red Queen is the perfect book for students to live vicariously through a girl who realizes she has powers, learns how to use them, and what she does after this realization. 

Citation

Aveyard, V. (2015). Red queen. New York, NY: HarperTeen.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

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The main character, Glory O'Brien, is graduating high school and she has no idea what to do with her life. Also, she does not understand why her mom committed suicide and she wonders if she will turn out like her mom. Glory solves her problem by using the ability given to her by drinking the bat to discover things, not only about the future, but how she connects to the future. She uses this information to see that her fears are false and that she has an amazing future ahead. This information also helps guide her toward helping her dad out of his depression and finding her true love. At the end of the story Glory and her father have reclaimed their land from the commune that had been living there rent free. Her father has broken out of his depression and is ready to return to painting. Glory is now rid of the Petrified Bat visions, she has met her true love, and has come to terms with her mother's suicide. 

I think that this would be a good book for either upper middle or high school students. This character is going through a lot of the same issues that students in middle and high school will be going through, or may be currently going through. Students who like realistic fiction and fantasy will like this book, because the book mainly has the feel of realistic fiction, however, there is the portion where she has visions of the future after drinking petrified bat. 

When reading the section about Science Fiction and Fantasy I really liked the part that said "Fantasy and Science Fiction offer readers a unique perspective on the times in which they live" (p. 79-80). In Glory O'Brien's History of the Future students will see a unique perspective on a girl coming to terms with her mother's suicide, deciding what to do after high school, and dealing with a father's depression, by seeing her deal with these things through using futuristic visions given to her by drinking liquified bat remains.

Citation

King, A. S. (2014). Glory O'brien's history of the future. New York, NY: Little, Brown.