Shiver

Stiefvater, M.  (2009).  Shiver.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Press.  When Grace was a young girl, she was dragged into the woods by wolves and is attacked, but Sam intervenes.  Sam is a werewolf that is in his canine form in the winter months, but turns human in the summer.  When his family found out what he was, they tried to kill him, and the rejection hurt him.   He wants to be more human than wolf and wants to find a way to stay human.  Grace’s parents are present, but seem to ignore her.  One day, a boy Jack is mauled by a pack of wolves and his father decides to hunt them all down.  Sam is shot in the neck and goes to Grace for help.  She takes him to the hospital, and they leave as soon as his wound heals to avoid suspicions.  Jack discovers that Grace did not turn into a wolf when she was younger because she had some king of fever.  Sam and Jack decide that they will inject themselves with meningitis to see if that would keep them from turning into wolves.  Jack and Sam take the shot, but Jack dies soon after.  Olivia, Jack’s sister, decides she will stay as a wolf.  Sam, at first, has complications, but then turns back into a human.  I am a great fan of lycanthrope literature, and think this has a great plot.  I think a teacher could use this book to teach the 7^th grade Reading TEKS 6C on point of view because the author writes the name of the character that is telling the story.  In this style of writing, the author shows a limited perspective of each character.  In other words, when we see the story through Grace, she cannot see what Sam is thinking, and it is the same for him.

Looking for Alaska

Green, J.  (2005).  Looking for Alaska.  New York, NY:  Dutton.  Miles decides he wants to go to a boarding school, Culver Creek, in Alabama because he wants something more.  There he meets his roommate Chip Martin (the Colonel) and Alaska.  Even though Alaska has a boyfriend, Miles cannot help falling for her.  She remains faithful to her boyfriend.  Throughout the book, Miles and his friends (the Colonel, Alaska, Takumi, and Lara) play pranks on the Weekend Warriors (rich kids who get to go home every weekend).  One the biggest one was when they added blue dye to their hair gel.  During Thanksgiving, Alaska convinces Miles to stay with her, but they ended up going to the Colonels house instead.  One night, the three of them get drunk and Miles kisses Alaska.  She gets a call from her boyfriend, she feels guilty, so she storms out.  The next morning Miles and the Colonel find out Alaska was crashes and dies.  They spend the several days, along with Lara and Takumi, trying to figure out if Alaska committed suicide or if it was simply an accident.  They come to realize that the day before was her mother’s death anniversary and she was on her way to place flowers on her grave.  Miles and his friends decide not to forget her, but to stop pursuing the reason why she dies.  I think this novel is good to keep in a high school library due to language and some of the topics, but I think some students might be able to connect to it.  I think students will like it also because you have a group of students living away from their parents and making some grown-up decisions like smoking and drinking.  This follows Havighurst’s theory of developmental tasks, Adolescents undergo changing relationships with parents.

The Son of the Mob

Korman, G.  (2002).  Son of the mob.  New York, NY:  Hyperion Books for Children.  Vince is seventeen and is the son of a mob king.  His mother tells him that he works at odd hours because his father has a vending machine business.  When he gets a date with Angela, his night is ruined when he finds a person in the trunk of his car.  His brother, Jimmy, was supposed to take care of him.  Vince is unable to get the grades he deserves because his teachers know who his father is, and he is unable to be involved in school activities because the other students are afraid of what his dad could do to them if they touched Vince.  Vince meets a girl name Kendra, but he tries to stay away from her because she is the daughter of the FBI agent who is trying to bring down Vince’s dad.  They are brought together when Vince notices that he has “moving” dandruff and so does Kendra.  Vince tries very hard to stay out of his father’s business but somehow he gets involved anyways.  It even gets to his class web site’s ads (iluvmycat.us).  Vince’s dad finds out that there is a mole in his business so Vince finds a way to find out who it is.  Kendra finds out that Vince’s father is the mob king and breaks up with him.  She takes him back at the end when she realizes Vince is good and is trying to stay out of his dad’s business.  I think this book is comical.  I think that this could be read by students in middle school and up.  It would not be a book that I would read aloud to the class.  I think the plot in this book is a bit predictable, but would be enjoyed by kids, especially with the humor involved in the story.

Chinese Handcuffs

Crutcher, C.  (1989).  Chinese handcuffs.  New York, NY:  HarberCollins Children's Books.  Dillon has witness his brother suicide and feels responsible for it.  One way he finds to cope with his loss is by writing letters to his brother.  Dillon also runs a lot and joins marathons to help him cope.  Dillon is able to find out that the reason his brother killed himself was because he had raped a girl at a bar and had gotten his girlfriend, Stacy, pregnant.  Dillon meets another athlete, Jennifer.  She also tries to deal with her problems through exercising.  She is the star of the basketball team.  Jennifer has been sexually abused by her father and now step-father.  He has threatened to kill her sister and her dog if she tells anyone about it.  Jennifer also feels a great loss when her grandfather dies while they are putting a puzzle together.  She feels the only one who care for her had died.  When Jennifer finally has enough, she tries to jump off a bridge, but Dillon gets there in time to save her.  In trying to help Jennifer, Dillon is able to finally feel better and is able to go on with his life.  I feel that this book can is for an audience of middle school and up.  Some of the topics discussed in the book are a bit too mature for younger students.  I think many students going through issues of sexual abuse, parent neglect, and the subject of suicide.  What is revealing about this characters is that even though, Dillon, Stacy, and Jennifer are young, they have to deal with issues that have made grow up quicker and a made them wiser than their years.

Last Night I Sang to a Monster

Saenz, B.  (2009).  Last night I sang to a monster.  El Paso, Tx:  Cinco Puntos Press.  Zach is a drug addict who finds himself in a rehab center, and he has no recollection as to how he got there.  Adam, his therapist, tries to help him deal with his demons and tries to help him remember his past, but is not completely able to help him.  The only person who breaks through all the barriers is his roommate.  Rafael is also an alcoholic.  As Zach sees that he is also trying to get better, he sees hope and thinks he can get through it too.  Mr. Garcia, Zach’s English teacher, sees that Zach is a bright student, so he also tries to help him out.  Zach addiction problems arise from problems he has at home.  His father is an alcoholic and his mother is abusive.  Once Zach is able to remember his past and has been sober for a while, he moves to Los Angeles and starts college.  Rafael invites him to live with him and adopts him.  He allows Zach to call him dad, which makes him feel very happy.  I like the style of the book and feel that this is a realistic view of drug addiction.  I did felt that there were some tendencies for the character to be gay.  I think students who have also been addicted to drugs or had sexually abusive family members could benefit from reading this book.  In this book, I was able to find example of an archetype in Rafael.  He is older and wiser (with an addiction), but he is able to get Zach through all his emotions.  He is there to guide him all the way.

The Chocolate War

Cormier, R.  (1974).  The chocolate war.  New York, NY:  Delacorte.  Jerry Renault goes to a Catholic School.  In this school, there is a gang called the Vigils.  They leader, Archie Castello, gives out assignments to different to students that will cause some king of trauma.  Jerry’s friend, Goober, is assigned to take out all the screws from chairs, desks, and everything in Brother Leon’s classroom.  After he completes his task, he is not the same.  Jerry gets assigned to sell chocolates at the annual candy sale but he refuses.  He does this for many days.  The Vigils make him pay by having him beaten up, trashing his locker, and taking his homework.  As other students begin to refuse to sell chocolates, Brother Leon accuses Archie of messing up his candy sales.  Archie and the Vigils make extra efforts to sell the candy and when only Jerry’s candy is left, Archie devices the plan for a raffle.  Jerry is to get into a fight with Emile Janza, and the whole school shows up to see it.  Brother Leon is also watching everything from the beginning but does not report it and keeps Archie from getting into trouble.  Unexpectedly, Emile beats Jerry severely to the point he has a broken jaw and other injuries.  I find myself admiring Jerry’s strength as he stands up to the Vigils even after they make him pay.  I think that some of the topics in this book are a bit risque, so I would not read aloud to students.  I think it could be assigned to students to read on their own.  I think this book fits the elements of a contemporary realistic fiction novel, especially with the completely unexpected ending.  I was hoping for a happy ending, but found none at the end.

Annie on My Mind

Garden, N.  (1982).  Annie on my mind. New York, NY:  FSG.    Annie and Liza are from entirely different social classes.   Somehow, they are both at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and immediately become friends and trade numbers.  Liza calls Annie to let her know that she was suspended because she witness her friend Sally perform an ear piercing on Jenny Piccolo’s ear.  One day, Liza agrees to take care of the cat and house for Ms. Widmer and Ms. Stevenson.  She invites Annie to come over, and they become closer.  A religious teacher, Ms. Baxter, finds them in the house and searches it and figures out that the two teachers were a couple.  Liza is forced to tell her parents that she is gay.  Liza had to go through a hearing and the board of trustees allows her to come back to school.  When both girls go to college, they agree to meet each other again prior to going home on vacation and profess their love to each other.  I think this book needs to be in the high school library in case there are students out there that are going through the same thing these two girls are going through.  I think a similar book to this book is Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle.  It is also about two girls who also have feelings for each other and deny themselves at first. I think Annie on My Mind is a good example of realistic fiction.  The reader experiences different view point through both girls.  We are left wondering if their relationship will last even though they are now both free to express themselves.

Thirsty

Anderson, M.T. (1997).  Thirsty.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press.  Chris is a high school student who is undergoing changes in puberty.   Some of these changes include a hunger for blood.  He suspects he is becoming a vampire, but he tries to keep it to himself because vampires are lynched and killed.  He also knows that his town performs a yearly ritual that keeps a powerful drug lord imprisoned in the town’s reservoir.  He meets a celestial being, Chet, who makes promises that he will cure him if he puts the Arm of Moriator with Tch’muchgar, the vampire lord, so he will no longer be able to escape, but Chet betrays him.  He really was working for the vampire lord.  Lolli is a young vampire who keeps her identity secret.  In a vampire initiation party, Lolli kills a high school student.  She is later hit by a car and is captured by the town’s people and they take turns stabbing her to death. Chris does not want this fate so he fears that his parents might find out.  He does not believe his mother would turn him in but he remembers that when a little bird is touched by a human, the mother pecks him to death.  He saw some boys kill the little bird instead to show it “mercy.”  We are left wondering if Chris' mother would actually turn him in and if he would finally end his “thirst.”  Think this book is geared more towards high school age boys.  The story proved to be very interesting, but I would not use it with the students in the classroom setting because of the gore, and it might get parents upset.  In this book, we see examples of physical development  in Chris since he is undergoing puberty, but his changes include turning in to a vampire.

Bloody Chester

Petty, JT.  (2012).  Bloody Chester. New York, NY:  Roaring Book Press.  Chester Kates is lives in an old western town full of evil people.  He is constantly being beat up and has been given the nickname of “Lady Kate.”  Somehow, Chester always manages to get up.  After one occasion, he is left unconscious and wakes up in jail.  There he is cleaned up and given new clothes.  Mr. Croghan needs to run his railroad tracks through the town of Whale, but since there are many ghost stories surrounding it and a mysterious disease, his workers will not work near the town.  He hires Chester to burn it to the ground.  When Chester gets there, he finds that there are three people living there and do not want to leave, but he is determined to complete his job.  He also finds out that the ghost stories and plague were started by a Whitley Barber to keep the Indians and railroad out.  As he is determined to burn the City, he tells its inhabitants to pack up and leave.  As they are leaving, they are attacked by Sioux Indians and Chester realizes that Barber had tortured many of them.  Chester makes the decision to kill Barber and the Indians leave.  I feel that this book told a great story with a twist at the end, but I think it should only be read by the older high school students due to its content and language.  Even though Chester’s character is not free of flaws and a bad history, we find that he is still a good person.  He understands that a wrong has been committed against the Indians and sets to make it right by getting rid of Barber.

The Surrendor Tree

Engle, M.  (2008).  The surrender tree.  New York, NY:  Holt. Rosa is a young slave in Cuba.  She has the gift of healing people with plants and herbs.  Her job is to heal runaway slaves so that the slave hunter can take them back for a price.  She becomes very upset when her owner lends her to the slave hunter so that she can help heal the runaways.  She is free when the Cuban slave owners decide to free all their slaves in protest against Spain.  It does not last long, and she returns to healing those needing the help in hiding. As she is grows, so does her reputation.  Many who are sick or wounded seek Rosa so that she can put them back together.  Rosa falls in love with an escaped slave, Jose, and together they nurse people back to health.   At the end of the war, Rosa feels that she can finally see hope and freedom for the orphans that she helped and who helped her throughout the war. I feel that the best part of this book is how vividly you can see Rosa running in through the jungles to the caves. This book can compare to Persepolis by Marjane Sarapi.  Just like in Iran, Cuba has leaders that are ruthless to its people.  We see the Cuban conflict through the eyes of the people actually living in it.  I think students from middle school and up would be have a better understanding of some of the events in Cuba after reading this book. The poems written in this book do not just follow a set pattern.  Sometimes some of them had a particular rhyme and other times some of them have rhythm.

Persepolis

Sartrapi, M.  (2004).  Persepolis.  New York, NY:  Pantheon. This graphic novel talks about the wars occurring in Iran in the early 1980s through the eyes of a young girl, Marjane.  The Shah in place is quickly loosing popularity, since he made many promises, such as returning Iraq's splendor.   Marjane is confused because at first, she is told that the Shah was ordained by God and after he was forced to step down, the teacher asked all the students to rip out any pictures in the text books that were of the Shah.  She could not understand why there was revolution, so she decided to read.  One time, she went with the live-in nanny to demonstrate.  When she gets home, her mother is very upset because that day was “Black Friday,” and many people, who were protesting, were killed.  As she is getting a little older, she notices that many people that go away do not come back, and if they do, it is because they have been in prison and have been tortured.  At fourteen, Marjane is a rebel.  She is expelled from school because she accidentally pushes the principal. When an Iraqi bomb hit right next to her home, Marjane’s parents feel better if she is sent to Austria with her friend in Vienna.  What I liked about this book is that it brings to light the conflicts in Iran and how the people had to suffer under the harsh regime. This is not a topic that is discussed often.  I think this book lends itself for students to find more information on the revolution.  Satrapi provides examples of emotional development in her book.  When she is six, she is unable to understand why people protested against the shah when the teacher said he was ordained by God.  As she gets older, she has read books on the subject and is able to understand and sees that the new government in place also has many flaws.

Uglies

Westerfeld, S.  (2005).  Uglies.  New York, NY:  Thorndike Press.  Tally Youngblood is anxiously waiting to turn sixteen.  This is when she will undergo an operation from head to toe to transform her from ugly to model-like pretty.  Most of her friends have undergone the operation.  Her best friend, Peris was the last to go.  In order to see him she sneaks in to the Pretty town, a place no ugly is allowed.  When she manages to leave, she finds Shay.  They teach other what they know, and become very good friends.  Shay does not want to undergo the pretty operation and tells Tally to runaway to Smoke town where they can stay as they are.  Tally refuses, but follows Shay after Dr. Cable tells Tally that she will not have the pretty operation if she does not show her where Smoke town was located.  Tally finds Smoke town but falls for Shay’s interest, David.  She inadvertently sends a signal for Dr. Cable and the rest of the uglies are captured.  In order to make amends for the loss of David’s father and the others, Tally will undergo the operation and be a test subject for reversing the effects.  I think this book would be great to teach symbolism.  For example, a scientist genetically alters a rare white orchid, but it has taken over many landscapes and turned them barren.   I think it symbolizes too much of a good thing is bad.  Also, the Ruins symbolize how humans used to live before, and the pendant Tally uses is a symbol of betrayal.  There are many themes that can be found in this book.  For example, we find the themes of identity, betrayal, and appearances to name a few.

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett: An Origami Yoda Book

Angleberger, T. (2013).  The surprise attack of Jabba the Puppett:  An origami Yoda book.  New York, NY:  Amulet Books.  McQuarrie Middle School has not scored well on the state test.  In order to bring the school up to par, a new program has been installed, Fun Time Education System.  The elective classes have been cancelled, and in their place, students must watch videos featuring Professor Fun Time and his singing calculator.  Afterwards, they completed worksheets.  This proved to be unbearable for the students.  They saw hope upon the return of Dwight and his origami Yoda.  Together Dwight, Tommy, Amy, Sara, Harvey, Rema and the gang try to find ways to do away with the program.  What they decided to do was recruit as many 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders to refuse to take the state exam.  When they did not find enough support, they asked them to at least lower their scores so that the state could see that the program did not work.  Due to all the trouble the gang is causing, Principal Rabbski calls a meeting with the parents.  Here the parents see what the kids had been watching.  They did not like it and requested that Principal Rabbski inform the school board.  I think this book was an excellent criticism of the state mandated test.  It also made me think about my teaching methods, such as, “Am I just teaching to the test?  Am I just giving the kids worksheets?”  A lesson the teacher can teach with this book is that the students were successful because they researched and organized their plan.  I think the style of this book stood out.  There were a few cartoons, dialogue was circled for emphasis, and the chapters are written by different characters so that you can see the different points of view.

Speak

Anderson, L.H. (1999).  Speak.  New York, NY:  Penguin.  At the beginning of school, Melinda Sordino is bullied by her peers.  She even has mash potatoes thrown at her on the first day of school.  Most students hate her because she called the police during a party held in a secret location and where booze is involved.  She loses all her friends and is not accepted in any of the cliques in school.  She is “clanless.”  In reality, Melinda had been raped by one of the jocks, Andy.  When she called the cops, she had changed her mind, but it was too late, and the party was broken up.  As the book advances, Melinda is having trouble holding her secret, especially when she sees her former best friend dating “Andy Beast.”  She tells her, but is not believed.  When Andy, starts touching Nicole the wrong way, she puts a stop to it.  Everyone now knows what he has done, so he decides to get back at Melinda by attacking her again.  This time Melinda yells and is rescued by the lacrosse team.  I think that this book should be read by middle school students and above.  It can teach them that if they are ever touched wrongly, they need to speak up and not keep it to themselves because that perpetrator could be hurting other people, too, as we found in the case of Andy.  I think this book could be a good companion to Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.  In this book, we see the character of Andy as the stereotypical, all-American athlete.  He is supposed to be making all the right decisions, but it is discovered that he had been sexually harassing girls and knew they would not be believed because he was a jock.   

Monster

Meyers, W. D. (1999).  Monster.  New York, NY:  Harper.  Steve Harmon is on trial for murder.  He finds himself in prison at sixteen years old.  He decides to write down his experience in court as a drama.  He also combines his personal journal.  Through his experiences we find out that he must remain strong in jail or he could find himself being beaten up by the other prisoners.  We also find out that he was at the store where the owner, Alguinaldo Nesbitt, is murdered with his own weapon.  It is not clear whether he was inside at the time of the murder or if he was acting as a lookout.  He is referred to as a Monster because he has no regard to other people’s property or life. He begins to believe he is a Monster.  According to the trial, there is no concrete evidence that Steve took any part in the murder.  After he is found not guilty, he realizes that his attorney is not completely convinced that he is innocent and that there are differences between them.  In the end, there is no concrete evidence that Steve did not partake in the events at the store.  I think this is a great book to teach inferences, especially Figure 19 D.  The students can come up with their own conclusions and provide their evidence from book.  In many instances, I found myself asking, “so was he really guilty or not guilty and was he even at the store at the time of the murder?”  This book is a great example of contemporary realistic fiction.  Myers lets us see the thoughts of a young boy during his trial, but he does not solve all the conflicts in the story.  For example, at the end Steve’s lawyer is not totally convinced of Steve’s innocence.

The Fault in our Stars

Green, J.  (2012).  The fault in our stars.  New York, NY:  Dutton Books.  Hazel Lancaster is 16 and has thyroid cancer.  It has spread to her lungs, so she is forced to carry around an oxygen cart.  Her parents insist that she attend a cancer support group.  There she meets Augustus Waters, who is a cancer survivor.  He shows her true friendship and love.  Augustus gives up his one wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite book because her desire is to find out what happened to the characters after the book ends.  The author proves to be a jerk, so they return home.  Before returning, Hazel learns that Augustus’ cancer returns.  After he dies, she finds out that he wrote her a eulogy and sent it the Peter Van Houten, the author.  She finds comfort in reading it and knowing that her parents will go on with their lives even after she dies.  I truly loved the writer’s style of writing.  I did expect to be so emotional with this book.  I would recommend this book to students of a high school age or above.  I do not feel that younger students would be mentally ready to comprehend some of the topics discussed in the book.  I think students reading this book can learn about the acceptance that death is a part of life and not be so afraid of it.  I think some of the topics discussed in by Green are mainly for a more mature audience.  I do not think little kids would understand emotional development level would allow them to understand the feelings Hazel must face since they have not experience it themselves.  I think the older student will be able to connect, when Hazel says she is like a “grenade” because she would cause pain with those around her when she dies.

The House of the Sorpion

Farmer, N.  ( 2002).  The House of the Scorpion.  New York, NY:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.  Matt is a clone and his purpose in life is to provide organ parts to Mateo Alacrán, El Patrón.  His is kept intact even though other clones are injected chemicals to destroy their brain intellectually.  He is hidden from everyone until he is six years old when he meets María, Emilia, and Stephen.  Once exposed, Matt is treated as a beast without feelings or a soul.  Then, El Patrón suffers a heart attack.  Matt is whisked away to provide the much needed heart to keep him alive, but Celia, his surrogate mother, has been slowly poisoning Matt so that his heart would be proved lethal if transplanted into El Patrón. With the help of his friends, Matt runs away to Aztlan where he meets new friends and realizes that he is no different than anybody else.  Upon his return to Opium, Matt becomes legal (human) since El Patrón is dead and must take over as the lord of Opium.  By far, this is one of my favorite books.  I like how Farmer makes Matt so human with a maturity level beyond his years.  This book is great when teaching figurative language.  There are so many examples of similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, etc.  This book can also be compared to the movie The Island with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.  The clones in this movie suffer many of the same issues as Matt, and both empires are brought down due to an insect.  Farmer provides well-developed characters.  Matt completely transforms by the end of the book.  As he is growing, we can see how he is developing mentally at a fast pace and is able to make adult decisions by the end of the book.

Leviathan

Westerfeld, S. (2009).  Leviathan. New York, NY:  Simon Pulse.  15 year old Alek is the son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Serbia. There is unrest in his country, so his tutors lure him to the CyKlop Stormwalker, a clanker. Before leaving, he finds out that both his parents have been murdered. They make their way to Switzerland, where his father had bought a home to hide him. Deryn Sharp is a girl pretending to be a boy in order to get into London’s Air Service, but an accident led her to the Leviathan, which is a fabricated beast (whale) and machine. They are attacked and the ship comes down. As Alek is hiding in Switzerland, he sees the Leviathan fall, he uses his CyKlop Sotrmwalker to help them, but it is ruined. Since he is found out, he uses the Cyklop’s engines to get the Leviathan running and they, along with Deryn, head to the Ottoman Empire. I enjoyed reading how there are different animals joined (fabricated) with machines to get certain jobs done. I think this novel would be a great companion when teaching World War I. The teacher can create a web quest so that the students can research the participants of the war and compare events to the book. Westerfeld provided an acknowledgment where he explains what is real in the book. He also provides a very cool map of Europe. In this novel, Westerfeld weaves the elements of science fiction and bits of history together. He combines machines that are part machine and part living being with the early 1900’s time period, when cars were barely rolling on the streets.

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing

Angel, A. (2010).  Janis Joplin:  Rise up singing.  New York, NY:  Amulet. In this autobiography of Janis Joplin, we learn that as a young girl she is filled with insecurities.  She is so different in behavior and look from the other girls in school that she goes through taunting and teasing.  She does not want to conform to the mold set up for young ladies.  Her love is singing, and she is able to form a band with other misfits like her, Big Brother and the Holding, Co.  As she is becoming well known, Joplin struggles with the addiction to drugs.  She does try to clean herself up, but fails, and it eventually leads to her death on October 4, 1970.  The book includes many colorful photos of Janis Joplin from childhood throughout her singing career.  It has a useful timeline at the end of the book as well as a bibliography and index.  I believe the book is well written, but I would only include it in a High School library.  There are topics and photos that are not intended for the younger audience.  I liked how the author tells us Joplin story in chronological order so that we are able to see how she her decisions ultimately end her life.  According to Goodreads reviews, it says that this book has “been well researched” since it includes anecdotes from friends and family of Joplin and has many photographs.  In the back of the book, the author includes an extensive bibliography telling me this is an accurate account of Janis Joplin. Even though this book has controversial topics, I liked how the author did not present the information as one sided.  She just stated the facts.

The Tequila Worm

Canles, V. (2005).  The tequila worm. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books/Random House.  Sofia is a girl from McAllen, Texas.  She comes from a Catholic family full of traditions, but it is these traditions that bring her family closer together.  After each meal, they have a sobremesa, where the family sits around the table and is able to express themselves.  Sofia faces many obstacles while attending school, but she is able to get herself to the top and earns a scholarship to St. Luke's High School.  It is difficult for her family to let her go, but she wants to be able to experience new opportunities.  I feel that this book has so many similarities to Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Both characters want to have new experiences outside their communities.  Sofia does not want to settle for being a comadre and housewife, and Junior does not want to have a menial job and drown himself in booze.  I felt a strong connection to The Tequila Worm because many of the traditions found in Sofia’s home are the same ones that I had growing up.  I especially liked how the author let us get closer to Sofia’s father and admire him to such extent that you actually feel her grief upon his death.  I think that an activity a teacher can have when reading this book to the class is to have the students bring their own bag with artifacts representing different stories belonging to their families.  In this book, we see several of Havinghurst’s theories of developmental tasks.  Sofia must learn how to get along with Terry and Brooks, her roommate, when she enters St. Luke.  She must learn to either go with the comadres or continue to go to St. Luke's.  She also learns that she must fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer.

Ichiro

Inzana, R. (2012). Ichiro. New York, NY: Houghton Miffin Harcourt Publishing Company. Ichiro has grown up in the United States. His father was killed in the Iraq war, and his mother thinks it would be best if they move to Japan with her father. Ichi does not know his grandfather or the country, but his grandfather takes him to many historical places to show and teach him the history of Japan. At his grandfather’s home, the fruit from the trees is disappearing, so Ichi and his grandfather set up a trap for the creature. When he catches him, Ichiro finds out it is a shape shifter, and it drags him to a kind of underworld. He is only able to leave the world of the dead by accepting the help of Hachiman, a war god and ends up unconscious on a beach. After his mother finds him, Ichiro is more accepting of his new country and grandfather. I think this is a great graphic novel. The Illustrations were colorful and with creative insight. I feel that a reluctant reader can get lost in this book and will learn many things about Japan. I feel that this graphic novel best suits middle school students and up since many of the creatures in the fantasy world would be too frightening or not understandable by a younger audience. This book combines a bit of history and fantasy. As Ichiro’s grandfather takes him on a tour of Japan, he describes many historical events, such as the atomic bomb hitting Hiroshima. Another thing we see in Ichiro is that because of his experiences, he is able to be more open minded about Japan and his grandfather at the end.

It's Perfectly Normal

Harris, R. (2009).  It's perfectly normal:  Changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health.  Boston, MA:  Candlewick Press. It's Perfectly Normal touches upon the issues of the changes that happen to the body when growing up, sexuality, making babies, and staying healthy.  The book is divided into seven sections:  Lots of Questions, Our Bodies, What is Sex?, Puberty, Families and Babies, Decisions, and Staying Healthy.  As you go through the book, special terms are defined on the side with actual definitions from a dictionary.  The author also uses illustrations and descriptions to explain what parts of the anatomy are used when it comes to the changes in puberty and sexuality.  As an overprotective mother, when I first opened this book, I thought, “what is this book doing in our library?”  After reading the book, I realize that I could have used this book to help explain many of the questions my sons had on sexuality when growing up.  I also realize many parents are not able to or willing to discuss some of the difficult topics in this book, but I feel that a student (10 or above) can pick this book up on their own and be able to have a better understanding of what is going through their bodies as they are growing up. I also liked how it brought to light difficult decisions they might have to make at one point in their life, such as abstinence or being active, and present it in a way so that they make logical decisions and not based on perceived taboos.  Harris consulted many doctors, nurses, psychologists, nurses, parents, members of clergy, and scientist to create this book.  As you read the book and encounter topics that require decisions, she is not bias, but presents two points of view and lets the reader make their own decision.

Pretty Dead

Francesca, L.B. (2009). Pretty Dead. New York, NY:  HarperCollins Publishers.   At 17, Charlotte Emerson was created in 1925 by the vampire, William Stone Eliot. He teaches her to lure couples into their whereabouts in order to make a meal of their blood.  After almost a century of being under the William’s influences, she manages to break free of him.  He finds her, and in an almost unconscious state, William tricks her into making Emily, her best friend a vampire.  Char thinks Emily committed suicide, and through her grief, she becomes close to Emily’s boyfriend, Jared, and learns she is becoming human again.  William wants to do the same Jared, but Char intervenes and is at last free from William.  I truly enjoyed how Block was able to vividly make me see the different cities with her unique descriptions and the use of figurative language, such as “… a dazzle of gold like a handful of tossed coins.”  It also reminded me of Ann Rice’s book Interview with a Vampire when the main character also seeks to leave his maker.  I think teachers could use this book to teach students the use of imagery to make their writing come to life.  I would rather that this book be read by high school students since there are some topics that are too mature for younger students.  In Pretty Deadly, we see the physical and emotional development with the main character.  As she is getting older emotionally and not physically, she decides she will not wear what William decides.  She studies the trends with high school students and tries to fit in with them.  As Char gets older mentally, she realizes she does not see things the same as when she was 17.  She has change and has new desires and impossible yearnings, such as having a child.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, s. (2007).  The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian.  New York, NY:  Little Brown. Junior is an Indian living on a reservation.  He sees that his family, friends, and those living on the "rez" have "failed dreams" because nobody notices them, so they drown themselves in booze.  Junior does not want this life, so he asks his parents to transfer him to Reardan, an all white school.  As he attends this school, his grandmother is killed by a drunk driver, and his sister dies in a fire because she had gotten drunk and fell asleep after her party.  As Junior reflects on his decision to be different from those on the “rez” and on all the sacrifices he makes, he does not regret his decision of getting an education off the reservation.  I truly admire Junior’s character because he has so much against him, and yet, he is able to pull himself through.  I think that these trials have made him realize that despite of how his parents are (constantly drinking), they truly love him and will sacrifice for him.  We see Junior develop socially as he is learning that there are some things that are socially acceptable in his tribe and not at Reardan, yet, he also sees that his tribe can also be just as cruel and filled with prejudices as those in the white community.  We also see the emotional development of Rowdy.  At first, he becomes belligerent when things do not go his way.  As the book comes to an end, we see that he has accepted Junior’s reason for leaving and makes efforts to rekindle their friendship.  I think this is a great read for middle school students seeking humor, acceptance, and determination in stories.