Review #10

Citation: Anderson, Laurie Halse; Speak, Farrar Straus Giroux: United States 1999

Genre:Printz Honor Book. Coming of age, Edgy/Realistic

Annotation:Raw and overflowing with emotion. "Speak" the truth and it will set you free.

Justification for nomination:Melinda Sordino is a freshman at Merryweather high school. It is not a good year. Her transition from middle school to high school is muddied by an event that causes Melinda to become the class outcast.

Melinda called the cops during an end of summer party where a lot of her classmates got in trouble for underage drinking. No one knows why Melinda dialed 911 and no one seems to care. What they don't know is that Melinda was raped by a popular Senior named Andy who she refers to as "it". Her friends hate her, her enemies hate her, even people she doesn't know hate her. Her parents don't even seem to notice anything about her. Melinda has nobody to talk to or notice that her life is starting to spiral out of control. She bites her lip until it bleeds, forgets to wash, gains weight, skips class and over time stops speaking.

The only "friend" Melinda has is a new student, Heather who uses Melinda as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. As soon as Heather is able to get into the clique she is angling for she ditches Melinda without looking back. The only place Melinda finds some comfort is the art room. Her art teacher Mr Freeman doesn't know what has happened, but over time senses that something is not right. While working on her art project over the year, Melinda begins to find her voice again and regain some of her confidence due in part to two people. One of her old friends from the past is in her art class and they begin to reconnect and her outspoken lab partner David. When her ex best friend starts to date Andy, Melinda has to get involved. She speaks out and finally is heard. Andy tries to attack Melinda again but this time she stands up for herself and everybody finds out the truth of what happened. Melinda goes from being an outcast to somewhat of a hero.

This book is a multilayer of many themes such as: friendship, identity, sexuality, family and adolescent cruelty. It will resonate with both male and females in its many different issues that it touches on.

Extra credit #2

Citation:Yang, Gene Luen, American Born Chinese First Second: New York 2006

Genre: Graphic Novel; Multicultural;


Annotation: Funny and pleasing to the eye. This beautifully drawn graphic novel will give the reader three separate stories that all twist together in the end making a great read.





Justification for nomination: The book begins with three separate tales that merge into one by the story's end. The first story is about the monkey king who is born from stone and tries to become what he isn't.

The second story is about Jin Wang who is the son of Chinese immigrants and moves from Chinatown in San Fransisco to a suburban school comprised of all Caucasian children. He is discriminated against and is unable to fit in. He has no friends until Wei-Chen Sun arrives. His family has come from Taiwan and Jin Wang does not want to be friends with him, but eventually they become best friends. Wei-Chen Sun does not try to be someone he isn't but Jin Wang continues to try to make himself into someone else.

The third story is about an American teen named Danny. Danny's Chinese cousin visits every year and causes alot of trouble for Danny. Chin-Kee is portrayed as the ultimate Chinese stereotype in every bad way.

The final chapter is a culmination of what it really means to be an American born Chinese. This lighthearted graphic novel would be great for any teen who has been embarrassed or had a hard time fitting in due to certain aspects of themselves. This is a good book about being comfortable in your own skin.

Extra credit #1

Citation: Brashare, Ann The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Dell Laural-Leaf: New York 2001

Genre:Coming of Age, Romance

Annotation:What does an ordinary pair of jeans, four friends, a summer vacation have in common? A light hearted magical adventure that will keep your nose in the book to the very end.

Justification for nomination:This book follows the adventures of four high school friends Lena, Tibby, Bridget and Carmen. They are very different, but as close as sisters. The summer before they start their junior year they are all going to be apart for the first time. Carmen finds a pair of jeans in a thrift shop that fit all the girls perfectly even though they are all different shapes and sizes. They decide the pants have a magic quality to them and they will take turns having them throughout the summer.
The pants start with Lena who is spending the summer with her grandparents in Greece. Lena meets Kostos and they have a sort of relationship.
 Next is Tibby who is stuck at home. She meets and slowly befriends Bailey a 12 year old who is dying of Leukemia. Tibby allows Baily to help her with the documentary she is making.
Tibby sends the pants to Carmen who is visiting her single father but finds out he is soon to be married. Carmen feels like she doesn't fit in and runs away back to her mother. She is able to work it out with her father and attends his wedding at the end of the summer.
Carmen sends the pants to Bridget at soccer camp in Mexico. Bridget is a little wild and loses her virginity to Eric, one of the coaches who is supposed to be off limits.
When all the friends return after their summer adventures they gather together for a birthday celebration and begin to reacquaint themselves as only best friends can.

Ann Brashares takes the reader on the magical journey of four best friends and one pair of jeans. It is a great pick for the YA reader. The characters are real, with all the insecurities and tribulations of teens. It is sure to give insight to anyone facing challenges and needing to learn how to become an individual.

Review #9

Citation: Welch, Diane Welch,Liz Welch Amanda Welch Dan  The Kids Are All Right Crown Publishing Group2009                       

                 Genre: Memoir, Coming of Age, Edgy/Realistic,Alex Award winner

Annotation:

Told in the alternating voices of 4 siblings this memoir is a riveting account of how life can quickly unravel but still be put back together again.

     Justification for nomination:

The Welch children lived a fairly normal life in the suburbs of New York until the mysterious death of their handsome father started the downward spiral of their lives. Following closely after their father's death was the cancer diagnosis of their soap opera star mother. She tries to keep things in control, but is unable to get a handle on things. Add to that the cloud of bankruptcy d that is looming and the Welch children's lives began to slide

When their mother finally succumbs to the cancer 3 years later, Amanda was 19 and legally on her own, but the three younger children; Liz 16, Dan 14 and Diana 8 were in need of guardians. They are farmed out to different family friends.

Amanda headed for college in New York and continued her spire into drugs.  Liz lived with a family she babysat for until graduation from High School when she took a job as a nanny in Norway to get away from the partying. Dan went from guardian to Boarding School and back again getting in trouble and more involved with drugs. Diana was given to a very strict and conservative family who wanted her to forget about her past life. As a means of doing so, Diana was subjected to physiological abuse from her guardians.

This is a story of survival and the unbreakable bond these four siblings share. A true look at the real harshness of life and how even when you lose yourself it is always possible to come out on the other side.

A great crossover book for teens as well as adults. This book is about teens and what can happen when there is no adult in control. Instead of being a depressing book about death and loss, it is a book of sibling love and redemption.



Review #8

                            Citation: Myers, Walter Dean Fallen Angels                  Scholastic Inc. New York 1988      

                 Genre: Coming of age; Banned; Realistic/edgy

Annotation:Gritty, stark and told through the eyes of a 17 year old young man. Fallen Angels will take the romanticism out of war.

Justification for nomination:War can be summed up in the following words, "Hours of boredom, seconds of terror." (Page 123) Set in Vietnam, Fallen Angels is the story of 17 year old Richard Perry who joins the army after high school as a way out of Harlem. He's plenty smart enough for college, but his alcoholic mother and younger brother need his support. The army is a way to earn money and get three squares a day. Perry has no real idea of what war really is and he goes into it with romanticized view which is quickly destroyed. He is not prepared for watching his friends die, what it feels like to kill someone close up, the stench of burning flesh, and the heat, humidity and bugs. We hear the truth of war in Perry's 1st person narrative.

We meet Perry as he is shipping off to Vietnam.  He meets and befriends Peewee Gates who he bonds with during an experience filled with death, fear and confusion. Perry starts to wonder why they were even fighting in Vietnam and why he enlisted in the first place: for selfish reasons or selfless reasons. Perry, Peewee and their platoon Alpha spend their days either board or out on patrol looking for Vietcong. When their platoon leader Lieutenant Carroll dies they get Lieutenant Dongan, a racist leader who puts his Afro-American soldiers in the most dangerous positions. This is almost secondary due to the fear felt from the violence of the war. Perry watches as the lines between good and bad get blurred, friends die and he loses faith in his commanding officers.

Perry long to be home and spends a lot of time writing (or trying to write) letters home to his younger brother Kenny and his mother. When Perry is wounded for the second time along with Peewee, they are finally allowed to return to home.

Dedicated to his older brother who died in the Vietnam war, Fallen Angels gives the reader a realistic look at war, far different then the one presented in American movies. This is an anti-war book that gives the YA reader an emphasis on the value of friendship and couage.

Review #7

Citation: Lewis, C.S. The Horse and His Boy Macmillian Publishing Co. New York 1954

Genre: Fantasy, Coming of age, Adventure/Search for identity


Annotation: A magical adventure of a talking horse and a boy as they journey toward freedom in the land of Narnia.


Justification for nomination: The Horse and His Boy is #3 in the series The Chronicles of Narnia. This book follows the adventures of a young boy and his talking horse as they travel from Calormen where they have been enslaved into the magical realm of Narnia. When Shasta, the main character of the book overhears the man he calls father agreeing to sell him he runs to the barn to find comfort with the animals. There he meets Bree, a talking horse from Narnia who has been enslaved in Calormen for many years. Bree and Shasta run away together with the hopes of making it to Narnia. During their travels, they meet up with Aravis, a young Calormene aristocrat escaping an arranged marriage and her talking horse Hwin who has also been enslaved in Calormen.
They journey across the desert and have many adventures along the way. During times of great duress Aslan the mighty presence of Narnia shows himself in different forms, giving the children the strength to keep moving forward.
After crossing the desert, things become rather tense as the children have learned that the Calormen's are going to invade Archenland the peaceful land that separates Narnia from Calormen. They manage to warn the king of Archenland and in the process find out that Shasta is really the long lost twin of Prince Corin (named Prince Cor). The book ends with both children and horses finding happiness in Archenland and Narnia.
This book is a great adventure story of two children on a quest for happiness and freedom from the constraints of their outward identity. By the end of the book they have all (horses included) learned their own self worth and forged great lasting friendships not to mention Shasta and Aravis falling in love...

Review #6

Citation:Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Little Brown and  Company: USA 2002

Genre: Horror; Coming of age; Supernatural

Annotation: Haunting and unforgettable, the story of a 14 year old girl's rape and murder told from Heaven.

Justification for nomination: "My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." (page 5) Susie Salmon was raped and murdered by her next door neighbor, George Harvey. What follows is a narration from heaven of her family's reaction and slow disintegration. Her family is unable to deal with their loss and the mystery surrounding Susie's death. Susie, finds herself in a Heaven of her own making with Franny her guide to help her along. Her heaven resembles a high school playground where she gets everything she wants except for the return to earth with the people she loves. Susie is unable to do anything but watch as her family falls apart. She is able to briefly show herself to her father and brother, but nothing in those first months can stop the inevitable stages of grief that the family must go through to come out the other end.

As the weeks and months go by, Susie follows the life of her family and friends, while keeping an eye on Harvey. She meets Harvey's others victims in heaven and comes to understand that his traumatic childhood has made him unsuccessful in his attempt to stop killing.

Susie will never be able to experience growing up herself, so she has to be content in following Ruth, her former classmate's daily routine of adolescences. One reason Susie can't let go of Earth, is her unfilled desires. She longs to experience the joy of first love. "at fourteen my sister sailed away from me into a place I'd never been. In the walls of my sex there was horror and blood, in the walls of hers there were windows." (page 125) It is only when Susie is allowed to come back to earth to make love with Ray Singh the boy with whom she was just starting to have a relationship when she was murdered, and ensure that George Harvey can never kill again is Susie able to move on into "adult Heaven". The book ends with Susie and her family all being given the gift of letting go and moving on. Susie finishes with a wish for the reader to have a "long and happy life."

Though a seemingly unbearable tragedy, the book is an imaginative and moving exploration of loss with a plot that features suspense, romance, mystery and hope. It leaves the reader not sad but thoughtful.