Title: American Born Chinese
Author:  Gene Luen Yang
Year Published:  2006
Publisher: First Second
Author Links: www.geneyang.com/www.firstsecondbooks.com/authors/geneYangBlogMain.html
Amazon Link: www.amazon.com/american-chinese-gene-luen-yang/dp/1596431520/sr=8-1/qid=1158759786/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2750073-4085408?ie=utf8&s=books

When Jin Wang is a young boy and tells an elderly herbalist that he wants to be a transformer when he grows up, she responds with, “It’s easy to become anything you wish…so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul.” In the Printz Award Winning graphic novel, American Born Chinese, author Gene Luen Yang tells a complicated story of a Chinese boy’s struggle for acceptance in an American society.  At first glance, the novel appears to be split up into 3 independent storylines.  The first is of a Monkey King from Asian folklore, who is rejected from the heavens because he’s not dressed properly.  Then he transforms himself into everything that he’s not, and tries to prove his power by bullying all those who originally rejected him and attempting to defeat his Creator. The Second storyline focuses on a young boy named Jin Wang and his initial struggles to make friends at his predominantly white elementary school, where the other kids toss out jeers of Chinese stereotypes.  Into middle school he has found some Asian friends, but begins to try to change himself, starting with his hair, in order to be more attractive to a particular white girl in his class.  Presented as a TV sitcom, with a laugh track at the bottom of particular scenes, the third story begins with a white high school boy named Danny who strives to be popular at his high school. However, every year his cousin, an “over the top” stereotypical Asian “funny man,” comes to visit him and appears to ruin his life.

Although different storylines,  all of these narratives deal with the same issue, trying to fit in where you’re perceived as being different, and the price you will pay, whether it be betraying a friend, a family member, your own culture, or even yourself, in order to achieve complete acceptance. In the end, these stories meld together, as the characters reveal their true identities and join together in the final scene, recognizing their faults, but accepting with pride who they were made to be.

The graphic nature of this novel makes this a book accessible as an independent read to most middle school readers.  However, to fully understand the stereotypes presented, to appropriately decipher the parables and fables told and to truly appreciate the difficulties the characters face, students would benefit from teacher guidance in reading this text.  Because of the graphic style, there are few words on each page to read, but each word is chosen carefully to convey a meaning of authenticity in the dialogue.  Readers will develop their inferring abilities as they must pay attention to facial expressions and ellipses to fully comprehend the reactions and emotions of the characters.  Those (adult) readers skeptical of this new genre of graphic novels will not be disappointed with this rich and poignant tale of culture.

Title:  Criss Cross
Author:  Lynne Rae Perkins
Year Published:  2005
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
Author Link: www.lynneraeperkins.com/
Amazon Link: www.amazon.com/Criss-Cross-Newbery-Medal-Book/dp/0060092726/sr=8-1/qid=1171921859/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8621530-1215607?ie=UTF8&s=books

In the Newbery Award Winner Criss Cross, author Lynne Rae Perkins explores the lives of a group of friends as they begin to cross over from childhood into adolescence and young adulthood.  As the school year ends and summer takes over, the young teenage characters are on separate searches for something “interesting.” The novel begins with Debbie fiddling with a necklace that she eventually loses, and the reader follows the necklace’s journey as it exchanges hands and pockets until it eventually makes its way back to its original owner.  As we follow the journey of the necklace, we also follow the journeys of Hector and Debbie, as they struggle to find the extraordinary in what they deem to be merely ordinary.  In between their regular gatherings each week to listen to a radio talk show entitled Criss Cross, the characters’ ordinary lives interweave as they struggle with acceptance, love, who they are, and who they want to become.  Through friendships, family, and music, they discover that their search for love and belonging is not in some far off place, but right before their very eyes. 

Although not filled with action, and even though the reader may struggle to connect with some aspects of the time period (a detailed discussion over Nancy Drew characters, sitting in a truck to listen to a radio show, longing to wear platform sandals), students will immediately relate to universal themes of belonging, search for self, rebellion from parents’ ideals, first love, and the old saying, “the grass is always greener.”   Although mostly written in prose, as the characters explore different avenues in life, the author also explores different genres to express various scenes, including haiku, magazine style, artwork and script format.  Criss Cross will serve well as a whole class novel and the author’s use of strong character development provides a story useful for character analysis and teaching comprehension through connections with text.  

Title:  The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Author:  Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Candlewick Press
Author Link: www.katedicamillo.com
Amazon Link:  www.amazon.com/Miraculous-Journey-Edward-Tulane/dp/0763625892/sr=8-1/qid=1171939154/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8621530-1215607?ie=UTF8&s=books

In The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo, the reader follows the travels of a “china doll” rabbit, as he goes from being with a girl who loves him like a real person, to being tossed into the sea. Eventually he winds up in the hands of several different characters throughout this story, including an old couple longing for the love of a child, a traveling bum seeking companionship, and a dying girl, needing a little sunshine.  But the more poignant journey does not involve his physical travels, but rather the changes he endures inside himself.  As each owner develops a bond with Edward, he realizes that he needs them as well.  Through the love and abuse of others, he gradually transforms from being completely arrogant and selfish to discovering and feeling the true love around him, enabling him to humble himself and realize his vulnerabilities.  But with true love he discovers true disappointment and the pain that goes with loss, and hopelessness sets in.  However, in the end, his journey comes full circle years later as he, a changed rabbit, encounters his original owner, ready to accept and appreciate the love she, and now her daughter, will give him.

Although reading a book about a toy rabbit with thoughts and feelings may seem awkward at first, with teacher’s guidance, younger adolescents will appreciate the events of this quick read and even begin to empathize with Edward and the other characters.  The story and language are simple, but the message complex, as readers relate Edward’s passage to their own human journeys, and to those around them. This novel is also filled with religious symbolism that could be explored, and beautiful artwork that accompanies and enhances each chapter.   

Title:  Ida B…and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the
World
Author:  Katherine Hannigan
Year Published:  1994
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
Author link:            www.harperchildrens.com/authorintro/index.asp?authorid=27798
Amazon link:            www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0060730242/harpercollin1-20/

In this best selling novel, a determined, free spirited girl named Ida B. has a plan for everything. Most of her plans have to do with creating more amusement in her life because according to this spunky young lady, there is never enough time for all the fun that one could have.  Ida B’s parents are loving and nurturing, teaching her to not only be responsible for her chores, but also for the land around her, including their orchard.  And when they discover that Ida’s experience in school is stifling her spirit bringing on depression, they decide to homeschool her.  For a few years, life goes according to her plan, and all is wonderful. But when some events occur that Ida B. has no plan for, how will she cope?  Ida B’s mother develops breast cancer, and life as she knows it is turned upside down.  Due to her mother’s illness, Ida B has to return to school and her father has to sell part of their land, where Ida B. plays daily, in order to cover the expensive medical treatment.   None of this is part of Ida B’s plan, so she decides she must make a new plan, one that involves showing only anger and disappointment in her new situation.  She is now determined to show her parents that without their land and in forcing her to go to school, things would NOT be okay, as they tried to assure her. Throughout the rest of the novel, she wrestles with keeping her old jubilant self suppressed, even when she knows that the anger she’s exhibiting isn’t really how she wants to, or even should, act.  It is only through the help of a kind, understanding and persistent teacher, that Ida B. finally begins to surrender the inner battle she has created for herself. 

Readers will fall in love with Ida B.  Her funny and direct way of presenting her feelings will make readers laugh, and her struggles to cope will make readers cry.  Whether used as a classroom novel or an independent read, this story will touch readers’ hearts, as Ida B. tries to harden hers.  Author Katherine Hannigan uses vivid descriptions, extended similes and metaphors and comical hyperboles to bring a realistic and entertaining voice to Ida B.  Throughout Ida’s struggles, she learns the importance of giving people second chances, apologizing when you’re wrong, and allowing herself to adjust her plan, without adjusting the good inside of her. 

Title:  Looking for Alaska
Author:  John Green
Year Published:  2005
Publisher:  Speak (Penguin Group)
Author link:  www.sparksflyup.com/
Amazon link: www.amazon.com/Looking-Alaska-John-Green/dp/0142402516/sr=8-1/qid=1171940514/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-8621530-1215607?ie=UTF8&s=books

Miles Halter needs a new start.  After two years at his high school and no real friends to connect with, he decides to attend a boarding school in search of “the great perhaps.”  His boredom with his old life is quickly forgotten as he is kidnapped, duck-taped and thrown into the lake on his first night at the school; introducing him to the sometimes funny, sometimes dangerous, but always entertaining pranks between the different student groups at Culver Creek Boarding School. 

In his new environment, this skinny boy, who is obsessed with biographies and peoples’ last words, is befriended by his roommate “the Colenel” and a girl named Alaska.  They ironically dub him “Pudge.”  Through these new connections, he not only learns the politics of the student population, but also the importance of true friendship, loyalty and love, as this trio encounter the challenges of academics, authority and life as a teenager. 

The novel is divided into two sections, entitled “Before” and “After,” with the chapters noted as “one hundred twenty-seven days before,” “forty-nine days before,” etc, drawing the reader in to discover what the countdown signifies. But after one night of drinking in their dorm room, tragedy strikes, as Alaska is killed in a car accident.  And thus, the countdown ends and the AFTER begins.  Pudge and the Colonel are left trying to piece together what exactly happened that night to cause their dear friend’s death, wrestling with their incredible emotions of grief, anger and guilt. 

Through accurate dialogue, realistic adolescent situations, and strong character development with quirky personalities, author, John Green presents a genuine story of teenagers coping with life and dealing with death.  A coming of age book for older teenagers, readers will grieve along with Pudge and Colonel and rejoice in their final prank to honor Alaska’s memory. 

Title:  The Uglies
Author:  Scott Westerfeld
Year Published: 2005
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Author link: www.scottwesterfeld.com/
Amazon link: www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/105-8621530-1215607?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Uglies

Tally Youngblood lives in the future, hundreds of years from now, where kids roam around on hoverboards, belly sensors warn them of danger, and there is little to worry about.  In the novel, The Uglies, author Scott Westerfeld has created a story in a time when our way of life today has been destroyed by our own indulgences.  And the future inhabitants of earth will do anything not to fall into our historic destructive patterns….anything. 

But for Tally Youngblood, all she is concerned about is being “Pretty.” Tally and everyone around her consider themselves an “Ugly,” until they are sixteen and old enough for the operation.  During this procedure, every “flaw”, from acne on their skin, to too wide noses, to asymmetrical faces, will be corrected, and their dreams of beauty will come true.  Being the youngest of all her friends, Tally is left behind in Uglyville for a few months while all of her friends enter Prettyville, spending their nights partying and having fun. But while left behind, Tally meets Shay, who will turn 16 on the same day.  However, Shay has different plans.  Not only does Shay fear the operation that will make her pretty, she has no intention of ever going through with it.  As the friendship between these girls evolves, Shay tries to convince Tally that she is pretty just the way she is.  However, although Tally develops an everlasting friendship with Shay, she longs for the day when she can join her old friends and be rid of her thin lips, squinty eyes and frizzy hair.  So when Shay presents her with the idea of running away to a secretive place called the Smoke, where other Uglies have taken refuge from the operation, Tally is troubled.  Although she declines Shay’s invitation, she promises never to tell anyone about where Shay ran away to.  However, when the day of Tally’s 16th birthday arrives, she is forced by a scary group of people in the city called Special Circumstances to reveal all that she knows about where her friend went, and if she ever wants to have the pretty operation, she must find where Shay is, and alert Special Circumstances. 

Tally does not want to betray her friend’s trust, but she doesn’t want to lead a life of ugliness anymore either.  However, when she arrives in the Smoke, she discovers a new colony, where Uglies have spent years building a home for themselves.  As she works and lives among these people, she gradually begins seeing people for who they are on the inside, and spends less and less time criticizing their “ugly” outsides.  Through befriending a boy named David, who was born in the Smoke to the founders of the colony, she soon learns that the “pretty” operation she had been looking forward to all her life not only would change how she looks, but would also alter how she thought, creating a Tally who was less genuine, more compliant, artificial.  It is then that Tally decides not to alert Special Circumstances and to start a life for herself in this new home.  However, in destroying the sensor to alert Special Circumstances, she unknowingly activates it.  A few hours later, they are surrounded by those who want nothing more than to destroy their way of life.  Tally must now figure out a way to rescue her new family and save them from the operation she now deems dreadful.  And even after she does that, she needs to somehow win back their trust. 

The Uglies, the first book in a trilogy, is an excellent companion to Lois Lowry’s The Giver.    Perfect to use with middle schoolers as a whole class novel or in literature circles, this book is filled with action, and will activate students’ critical thinking skills.  Although lacking in strong character development, this text will lead to many discussions of whether Tally’s world is better than our world, how her world is similar to ours, how it’s different, and if the events in our time could ever lead to the events in this novel.  Teachers will find this text to be excellent for teaching the comprehension strategies of Questioning and Predicting, and students will find themselves unable to put the book down as they learn the price the characters pay for beauty.  

Title: Dairy Queen:  A Novel
Author:  Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company
Author Link: http://www.catherinemurdock.com/
Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Dairy-Queen-Catherine-Murdock/dp/0618683070/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174535316&sr=1-1s

D.J knows football.  Her father played and coached football, her brothers were star high school players and now play college football, she once played pee wee football, and even the cows on her farm are named after football coaches and players.  Having most of the responsibility of her farm this summer, D.J. also knows a little something about hard work.  So when a coach asks D.J. to help train a star quarterback, she knows she can do the job, but she’s not sure whether she’d want to work with Brian, the star quarterback from her school’s biggest rival.   She reluctantly agrees to secretly to take on the task of working with this rich, spoiled, lazy athlete.  However, she never dreamed that while she was teaching him a thing or two about hard work and football, he would also be teaching her about respect and communication…something her family struggles with on a daily basis.  Through her interactions with Brian, DJ gains the confidence to make a change in her life, to start doing things that she wants and enjoys, not just what others expect from her.  With her love of football mixed with her incredible athletic ability, DJ decides to try out for the high school football team….a decision that brings consequences she doesn’t expect.  In doing so, she loses the friendship she has developed with Brian and unexpected truths about her family and friends are revealed. 

Dairy Queen is the first novel of author Catherine Gilbert Murdock, and would be an excellent independent read for any middle school student.  Although the cover and title may attract only girls, boys may enjoy the football aspect of the novel as well.  Murdock has created a strong female character who throughout this one summer is confronted with issues of acceptance, responsibility, parental authority, communication, sexual identity, and confidence.  Although sometimes the dialogue is a bit trite, teenagers will relate strongly with the issues D.J. is confronting and will root her on until the end.  With typical teenage angst, D.J. learns that “life, no matter how much it sucked, every once in a while came together and was just perfect.”

Title:  Fairest
Author:  Gail Carson Levine
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Author Link: http://www.harperchildrens.com/hch/author/author/levine/
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Fairest-Gail-Carson-Levine/dp/0060734086/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174535968&sr=1-1

Think fairy tales are just for little kids?  Then you haven’t read any of Gail Carson Levine’s fairy tale retellings.  Author of Ella Enchanted and The Princess Tales series, Levine has creatively reworked the Snow White story in her new novel, Fairest.   Abandoned as a baby, main character Aza, is raised by loving innkeepers in the Kingdom of Ayortha, a land where singing is their passion.  They sing at everything, and Aza is one of the best.  But not only can Aza sing, she can “secretly” illuse, which involves making her voice emanate from another person or object.  However, Aza is ugly—large, wide, pale skin, dark hair, ruby red lips.  She feels the sight of her is so repulsive, that she often speaks with her hand covering her face.  Despite the beauty in her voice and the beauty in her heart, Aza longs for the beauty of her face.  

In an unexpected twist of events, this homely innkeeper’s daughter finds herself as a confidante and “friend” of the new Queen Ivi, who is obsessed with being beautiful and adored. With an elevated status of the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting and a wage to send to her parents, Lady Aza actually finds herself trapped, being forced to illuse a singing voice for the Queen, and appearing to support her in many selfish decisions she makes while her King husband has fallen ill. The only person Aza finds true acceptance with at the castle is Prince Ijori, who is captivated by her lovely voice and strong presence. But even he briefly betrays her, and she ends up in jail when her illusing deceit is discovered. But no fairy tale can end so grimly, and readers will continue turning pages as Aza escapes from prison, battles deadly ogres, finds refuge with gnomes, consumes a poisoned apple, outsmarts a magic mirror, and of course, lives “happily ever after.”   

Carefully plotted with twists and turns, filled with magic and mystery, all while addressing issues of identity and acceptance, this story will delight all middle level readers.  The use of visual and auditory description, the strong vocabulary, and the captivating action, makes this an excellent text to use in the classroom, especially if teaching the comprehension strategies of predictions, text-to-text connections and sensory imagery.   However, students who are not familiar with this type of royal fantasy might need some background knowledge to help them fully comprehend the text, especially in understanding issues related to the rule of the monarchy and various fantasy creatures.  

Title: The Higher Power of Lucky
Author:  Susan Patron
Illustrator:  Matt Phelan
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Atheneum/Richard Jackson books
Author Link: http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=4&pid=503504
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Power-Lucky-Susan-Patron/dp/1416901949/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174536538&sr=1-1

Why anyone would want to spend the rest of her life in a town with a population of 43 may seem baffling at first.  But once you meet 10 year old Lucky and the quirky citizens of Hard Pan, California, you, too, won’t want to leave this desert town.  Two years ago, Lucky’s mom was electrocuted after a rainstorm.  But with an absent father, Lucky was left with no one to care for her.  However, Brigitte, her father’s first ex-wife from France, comes to tend to her until a proper foster home could be found.  Brigitte ends up becoming her official Guardian, but throughout the story Lucky is in constant fear that Brigitte will miss her home too much and eventually leave her.  For this reason, Lucky always carries a “Survival Kit” backpack, and is constantly on the lookout for her Higher Power, something she hears a lot about through a hole in the wall of the town’s meeting place, that hosts several “12-Step” programs.  

In addition to “future world famous scientist” Lucky, readers will  meet Lincoln, her best friend who spends all of his time tying complicated knots; Miles, a five year old boy who mooches cookies from everyone; and Short Sammy, who lives in an old town water tank and creates tasty concoctions from the free government surplus food they all receive.   These charming characters all help Lucky make sense of her situation, and eventually, when she thinks Brigitte is leaving her for good, they all work together to bring her back home in the loving arms of her Guardian, whose plan has nothing to do with leaving Lucky.

Although The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron, received the Newbery Medal, it received more attention for its very brief, and proper, use of the word scrotum, a word that Lucky thinks sounds funny.  Whether or not you agree with the use of this word, it is such a miniscule part of the story, that it should not influence whether or not you read this charming tale of a young girl trying to cope.  Although younger readers may enjoy this story as an independent read, it would behoove them to have teacher guidance to understand fully, especially the central concept of a “Higher Power”, what it is, why members of Alcoholics Anonymous refer to it, and why Lucky has such an interest in it.  It would also be interesting to discuss Lucky’s  “survival kit,” why she has chosen such odd items for her pack and what students would feel to be necessary for their own survival kit.  Furthermore, the story lends itself well to discussions on character development and to cross curricular connections with Science. 

Title:  Sleeping Freshman Never Lie
Author:  David Lubar
Year Published:  2005
Publisher:  Dutton Books
Author Link: http://www.davidlubar.com/
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Freshmen-Ribbon-Fiction-Awards/dp/0525473114

Some students dread high school.  Others can’t wait to get there.  But most students experience mixed feelings of fear and excitement as they make their intial steps in to the halls of high school.  In Sleeping Freshman Never Lie, author David Lubar, truly captures the high school experience from the point of view of a freshman boy.  Scott Hudson and his friends begin the year vowing to stick together no matter what, but this promise quickly fades, as one friend immediately finds a girlfriend and ditches his former pals. We follow Scott’s journey through his first year in high school including the constant bullying he tries to avoid, the pretty girl who renders him speechless, the homework he’s buried under, the dances he never actually dances at, and the relationships that fade and develop.  Throughout the book this avid reader and writer wittingly reflects on his experiences with words of wisdom as he journals to his unexpected, unborn brother.  Like many typical teenagers, Scott is overly concerned with his acceptance by the right people, but in the end, it’s those he tried so hard to avoid, the giant bully, the girl with the face piercings and the non-stop talker, who he eventually befriends.

This novel would be excellent as a whole class or independent read, as teenagers will connect easily with many of the characters and situations in the story.  This book would be especially delightful to read in English class, as Scott’s favorite class is English, and the author weaves typical English class content and vocabulary throughout the text.  The main character is constantly experimenting with different types of writing to report the football games for the school newspaper, and author David Lubar does some experimenting with text as well.  Scott’s keen interest in reading and his desire to share stories and books with his family and friends may even inspire students to read some of the texts he suggests in the story.  From beginning to end, Lubar has constructed a realistic tale with a comical tone that will have readers laughing out loud and reflecting on their own decisions about their friendships and other relationships. 

Title:  The Road to Paris
Author:  Nikki Grimes
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Author Link: http://www.nikkigrimes.com/
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Coretta-Scott-Author-Honor/dp/0399245375/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174537901&sr=1-1

Eight year old Paris has no real home.  Her white father doesn’t want to be seen with a brown-skinned little girl.  Her mother has chosen alcohol and strangers over her.  Her grandmother doesn’t have the will to raise children again.  Her previous foster mom constantly abused her and locked her in closets.  The only thought that comes to her mind when considering the feelings associated with the word “home” is her older brother Malcolm.  But even memories with him are beginning to fade.  After running away form their abusive foster home, the brother and sister pair are separated, and Paris feels she’s now left with nothing—even in her new “home” with the Lincolns.  Eventually she learns to trust the new foster family she is with, as they too learn to understand her fears and behaviors associated with the abuse and abandonment she has endured.   But just as Paris finally feels comfortable with her new family, friends, and church choir, she receives a call from her mother.  Now she must decide whether her new, comfortable life with her foster family is where she wants to stay, or go back to her biological family, where she can finally be with her brother again, and try to start a new life with her mother who has been in recovery.  With “God in her pocket,” she has a difficult decision to make. 

The Road to Paris, by Nikki Grimes, is a sometimes difficult, sometimes heartwarming tale of family and home.  Through this story, Grimes exposes the challenges of the foster system, while also developing a character we grow to love.  When Paris has to make her final decision, the reader also is torn with what would be best for this talented young girl.  Addressing the themes of racism, religion, hope and family, the short chapters in this book make it an easily accessible text for most upper elementary/middle school reading levels and could be a basis for in depth classroom discussions. 

Title:  Sold
Author:  Patricia McCormick
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Hyperion
Author Link:  http://www.pattymccormick.com/
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Sold-Patricia-McCormick/dp/0786851716/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174538240&sr=8-1

Some stories you wish didn’t need to be told….but you know they MUST.  Sold, by Patricia McCormick is one of those stories.  Fictional, but based on researched events, McCormick draws the reader into the life of Lakshmi…a 13 year old country girl from India.  Because her stepfather wastes away their money gambling, and the monsoon has washed away their rice crop, Lakshmi is sent to the city to work for a family in order to help provide an income back home.  However, after traveling several days and through many towns, Lakshmi arrives in a city of poverty, where she soon learns that her work is not house work, but child prostitution.  She is starved, beaten, locked up and drugged before she finally must give in do her “work.”  Through Lakshmi’s story, we also learn about some of the other girls forced into this brothel, only to endure nothing but disgrace and abuse when and if they ever return home. 

McCormick has carefully constructed this tale with enough detail to help the reader understand the horrors of the sexual exploitation of young girls in India, but not so much detail that it’s inappropriate for teenagers.    Her poetic prose paints a vivid picture of the landscape, the people and the emotions that converge throughout this story.  This is a story that should not and will not be forgotten.  Sold is a powerful book that will make readers want to cry with despair and scream with anger, touching them deep in their souls.

Title:  The New Policeman
Author:  Kate Thompson
Year Published:  2007 in US.
Publisher:  Greenwillow Books
Author Link:  www.katethompson.info/
Amazon Link: www.amazon.com/Policeman-Costa-Childrens-Award-Awards/dp/0061174270

In the novel The New Policeman, time doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s side.  All the Irish villagers of Kinvara feel like they never have enough of it. For teenager JJ Liddy, time seems to be passing too quickly, with no time to practice his Irish music, no time to understand his family’s mysterious history, no time to hang out with his friends to go clubbing.  In fact, JJ’s mom’s only request for her birthday is to have more time.  In search of it, JJ finds himself in the magical and musical world of Tír na n'Óg, the land of eternal youth, that he thought only existed in fictional storybooks.  Here, there has never been any time…until recently.  Somehow, a leak has been created between these parallel worlds…a leak which brings time to Tír na n'Óg, and will eventually bring death, to the fairy world.  In turn this leak is taking away the hours of the “noddy” (human) world.   If JJ can help the fairies find the leak, then he can bring time back to his mother, and even solve a few family mysteries as well.  However, unbeknownst to JJ, as time is passing at a snail’s pace in Tír na n'Óg, it is flying by in JJ’s village, and his disappearance is causing great concern back home. 

Author Kate Thompson has carefully crafted a story that fuses together Irish history, folklore, music, and mystery.  The short chapters that end with traditional Irish musical score section create an interesting break in the tale.   Although there is a glossary included that contains of many of the Irish terms used in the novel, it would benefit students to have background knowledge of such words along with some Irish musical information to create initial curiosity in a story that could seem overwhelming without such knowledge.  It would even be fun to begin the book Reader’s Theatre style in order to generate interest.  Cross curricular connections with the music teacher would enhance the text even more.   Students usually not interested in fantasy may at first be bothered with the introduction of the fairy world, but wondering how JJ will find the leak and whether he will make it back to his home before too much time passes will move readers willingly through this book. 

Title:  Copper Sun
Author:  Sharon Draper
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Author Link:p   http://sharondraper.com/home.asp
Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Copper-Coretta-Scott-Author Winner/dp/0689821816/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558 5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177872776&sr=8-1

History books may tell you facts.  But literature involves you in stories.  Stories about love, suffering and hope.  In Copper Sun, we learn about the story of Amari, a vibrant young girl living in a village in Africa who is suddenly and violently taken from all that she loves.  While her tribe honors their pale-faced visitors with a welcoming ceremony, her family is killed, her village burned, and she is shackled to other village members by feet, hands and neck, led around like animals to their fate overseas, as slaves.  In this novel, we follow Amari’s journey from her beautiful homeland to the ultimate in ugliness.  Amari and the other women are raped repeatedly on the ship to America, and once there, she is sold as a “16th birthday present” to Master Derby’s son, Clay, where the torture continues.  Yet through this fate that seems worse than death, Amari is comforted first on the ship by Afi, a strong woman who instructs her to “find beauty wherever you can” to help keep her alive.  Then on the plantation in South Carolina, the cook Teenie cares for Amari, teaching her the importance of survival and her duty to pass on the stories of Africa to others.   But through all this, Amari can think of nothing but having her freedom. 

Amari also encounters a white indentured servant, Polly, who although not a slave, is bound to the Derby family for 14 years to pay for her dead parents’ debts.  Initially, Polly hates Amari, hates that she is assigned to teach her the language, hates that she must interact day in and day out with a slave.  But eventually, through alternating chapters told through her point of view, we discover that she realizes her learned perceptions are truly false, and Amari is as equal a human as she is, not some animal to be tortured.  The two become friends and that friendship is tested when circumstances on the plantation force them and Teenie’s four year old son to run away or face a fate even worse than they have had to endure so far.  With the help of some kind strangers and complete reliance on their own strength and spirit, the three children head south, instead of the typical north, to Fort Mose, a place they’ve only heard stories about, and are not even sure exists.  And although Amari inwardly begins to question her decision to go south, she outwardly remains strong and exhibits the strength she has learned from the women who initially gave her hope when she longed for nothing but death.  

Author Sharon Draper has written a story that all must read.  It takes the distance away from “history” and brings the reader into the hearts and minds of the characters, helping them experience the true horrors of the slave trade.   What some might have otherwise brushed off as a sad period of history, now will be enraged and sickened with the travesty that occurred.  Draper’s detailed description paints an African mural of pure beauty, sharing a life and time of love, affection and honor, in a tribe that people today would characterize as “uncivilized.”  Although fiction, Draper has completed extensive research over the years with hundreds of sources to create an accurate tale of life during slavery, and even lists websites and sources for further research.  Although this text could easily be digested independently by an upper middle school reader, the opportunities for discussion and the cross disciplinary connections with social studies makes this an excellent whole class read.   An important story for all to experience. 

Title:  Eggs
Author:  Jerry Spinelli
Year Published:  2007
Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company
Author Link:   http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_001.htm
Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Eggs-Jerry-Spinelli/dp/0316166464/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177873750&sr=1-2

Fragile….that’s the word one would use to describe the two main characters in Jerry Spinelli’s latest novel, Eggs.  David is a nine year old boy whose mother died suddenly and Primrose is a thirteen year old girl whose mother is just plain strange and distant.  Both children put up facades of toughness, and yet both long for the love and affection of their mothers. David copes by ignoring the love of his grandmother and following his own rules, believing that if he follows all the rules, then maybe his mother will return to him.  Primrose copes by retreating from her mother, creating her own bedroom in an old VW van just outside her house.  She also likes to play “pretend,” going so far as making up a father who she has never even met.  Both push others away, until they find one another.  An unlikely pair, David and Primrose develop a love/hate relationship, pushing each other’s buttons, yet surreptitiously clinging to their friendship.  They often sneak out together at night to visit Refrigerator John, who gives them a retreat from their own homes and tries to keep them out of trouble.  But when David and Primrose venture off down the railroad tracks to visit the city and end up spending the night in the woods, they push all pretenses aside and show their true emotions, sharing the secrets that have been weighing them down and opening up themselves to heal their wounds.  

This is a touching tale of two children longing for affection and eventually finding it in each other and ultimately with the family who they’ve been pushing away.  Probably aimed more at upper elementary school, but because of the teenage main character, this book certainly could be used in middle schools, especially with struggling readers.  The short chapters are appealing and readers who have experienced any kind of loss or longing for companionship can readily relate to this story of friendship.  Teachers may want to use this text to help students enhance their compare/contrasting and character analysis skills by analyzing David and Primrose’s situations, emotions and actions.   This novel could also be paired with many of Spinelli’s other texts that deal with “outsiders” who don’t quite fit in with their regular peers.

Title:  Rules
Author:  Cynthia Lord                       
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Author Link:  http://www.cynthialord.com/
           http://cynthialord.livejournal.com/
Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Newbery-Honor-Book-Cynthia/dp/0439443822/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177874836&sr=8-1

David has many “life rules” to follow.  Some seem obvious, like not putting toys in the fish bowl, some not so clear, like sometimes people are laughing with you, but sometimes they’re laughing at you.  But for David, none of them are easy to follow.  David is autistic, and in order to help him cope with this world, and create less embarrassment for her, his twelve year old sister, Catherine, has created a rule book for him.  Told through the eyes of Catherine, Rules, by Cynthia Lord is a story about life with an autistic family member. A life that never seems to be fair, a life where Catherine must always be on guard for her brother, a life where the only way she can sneak in quality time with her mother is at the her brother’s OT appointments.  While in the waiting room, she becomes acquainted with a paraplegic who cannot speak.  Jason uses a communication book, with limited word cards and pictures to “speak” with those around him.  Catherine uses her artistic talents to help him communicate better by creating more words for him.  But while their friendship develops, she must decide how far she wants it to go.  Is she willing to sacrifice her relationship with some “normal” classmates in order to pursue a more meaningful friendship with Jason?  

In her debut, award-winning novel, Cynthia Lord has created a very believable character in Catherine, who like any adolescent, just wants to be normal.  This need for normalcy creates the realistic struggle of her wanting to protect, but also wanting to ignore, her brother with autism.  This novel will appeal to all adolescent readers, but especially those who have connections with family members or friends with disabilities. The story is also visually appealing, as Lord describes the scenes with vivid, yet accessible, imagery.   In addition, this text would be excellent to use in a unit on disabilities to help students develop empathy as they learn about the normalcies and abnormalities of people with different disabilities.  Cynthia Lord has created a much-needed novel about an ever growing issue in our society. 

Title:  Harlem Summer
Author:  Walter Dean Myers
Year Published:  2007
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Author Link:  http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/myers.html
                       http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/bibs/myers.html
Amazon Link :  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-0821558-5052164?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=harlem+summer

Walter Dean Myer’s latest novel, Harlem Summer, brings us into the heart of New York City during the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance, when black people openly began to create new identities for themselves beyond what the white public imposed on them.  Teenager Mark Purvis, who plays the saxophone and dreams of being a musician, spends his summer trying to define who he is and who he wants to become while also considering the ideas of his parents, colleagues and friends.   Trying to earn just a couple bucks and make a connection with known musician Thomas “Fats” Waller, Mark takes a job one evening unloading a shipment of what he soon learns is illegal whiskey.  He doesn’t know that this night would change the direction of his summer, and possibly his life, forever.  While the consequences of this one-time gig begin to grow and loom over him, Mark’s mom makes him take a reputable job at The Crisis, a journal founded by activist W.E.B. Dubois, where Mark is introduced to the concept of the New Negro, and he struggles to decide if this is what he wants to become.  Through this job, he his introduced to many African Americans who later become the pivotal leaders in the Harlem Renaissance, including befriending Langston Hughes.  But Mark may not need to worry much about his future, if the gangsters he’s now having to face in this unfortunate twist of events have their way with him.  Mark must figure out how to get himself out of this dangerous situation and get back to living the normal life he now longs for.

Myers has written an exciting historical tale that will have the reader glued to this novel until they learn the fate of the main character.  An excellent text to use when connecting with history, Myers’ detail and description paints a vivid picture of a heated Harlem summer and the musical, artistic and activist culture of this time period. His use of actual people of the Harlem Renaissance at the time when they’re just coming onto the scene but not yet “famous” gives the reader a unique perspective.  At the end of the novel, Myers includes a photo biography of all the actual people and places referred to in the novel, including gangsters, publishers, club owners, musicians, etc.  However, it would behoove the reader to know about these “characters” beforehand, bringing heightened interest to the text as they make their “cameo” appearances.  Although historical fiction, young readers will be able to relate to the universal theme of “identity” that the main character struggles with and how his choices affect the way he feels and is perceived by others.  An excellent text to use with middle school readers; the straight forward word choice makes it an excellent choice for readers who may struggle with difficult vocabulary. 

Title:  The Invention of Hugo Cabret           
Author:  Brian Selznick
Year Published:  2007
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Author Link:  http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/
 Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Invention-Hugo-Cabret-Brian-Selznick/dp/0439813786/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177946023&sr=8-1

With his father dead, and his uncle missing, twelve year old Hugo Cabret finds himself living alone in the walls of a 1930s train station.  He continues his uncle’s work of maintaining all 27 clocks from within the walls, while being forced to steal food and other items for survival.  With no school, no relatives and no more friends, Hugo spends his days well hidden, looking out at the people of the station through the clocks and trying to fix the one machine that connects him with his father, the automaton.  A couple months earlier, before Hugo’s father died in a fire at the clock museum, he showed his son this mysterious robot-like machine that when working properly, would write some sort of message.  With his father gone, and only his notebook of drawings to help guide him, Hugo is determined to get the automaton working, holding onto the hope that maybe his father programmed a special message that would be written by the machine.   But when Hugo is caught stealing some toys for parts for his machine, his ‘secret” life begins to be revealed, as the grumpy old man working at the toy booth takes his notebook, which contains drawings that make the old man enraged.  In his attempt to regain his notebook, Hugo encounters the man’s book-loving goddaughter Isabelle, who helps Hugo recover his notebook and eventually get the automaton working.  But what the machine creates with the pen does not reveal a message, but rather a mysterious picture that appears to outrage Isabelle’s godparents.  Hugo and Isabelle, along with their movie-buff acquaintance Etienne, are now on a hunt to unravel the mysteries of her godfather’s true identity.   And as they search out clues, they are also on a journey to discover their own purpose in life, eventually finding true friendship in each other. 

Selnick has created a unique text with his combination of words and pictures.     Unlike most picture books whose drawings are there to enhance the text, Selnick’s sketches actually replace the text, taking off where the words end, telling a story through pictures, until the next words appear, sometimes pages later.  The story itself is well crafted, with a firm balance of action, suspense and emotion, giving the reader a glimpse of 1930s France and the magic of the first movies ever created.  Although struggling readers may initially be intimidated by a novel of 500+ pages, with over half the pages revealing pictures and the textual pages containing an abundance of white space, students will actually delight in this rather quick read.  Although it could easily be used as an independent text, the use of the pictures to tell the story creates many opportunities for learning and classroom activities, including the strategies of Questioning and Inferring.  The drawings also lend themselves as prompts for various classroom writing activities and discussions.  Furthermore, the “credits” page at the end contains valuable information for further research. 

Title:  Standing Against the Wind
Author:  Traci L. Jones
Year Published:  2006
Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Author Link:   http://www.fsgkidsbooks.com/authordetails.asp?ID=Jones
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Against-Coretta-Steptoe-Talent/dp/0374371741/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177948861&sr=1-1

Everybody needs someone to care for them.  Someone to make them feel important.  Someone to make them feel loved.  For eighth grader Patrice Williams, that someone was her grandma; although old, she was all she had….until her mother shows up one day and takes her away from Georgia to Chicago.  Two months later, her mom is jailed for fraud.  Patrice is put with her Auntie Mae, who works all the time, and Patrice becomes responsible for all the chores and care for the younger children in the apartment.  Her absent brother and self-absorbed sister are no help.  Patrice feels she has no one to turn to in this city, where she does not fit in with her plain looks, “puffy” hair and “country” ways.  So when the principal at her school presents her with an opportunity to apply for a scholarship at an African American boarding school, Patrice jumps at the chance.  But she can’t complete her application without obtaining her mother’s signature, a task that seems impossible. 

But just when it seems like everything and everyone is against her, a boy in her building named Monty begins to befriend her.  He had always halted the boys in his “group” who taunted timid Patrice, but she never really knew why.  Then one day he asks her for help with his little brother, who needs tutoring.  Their acquaintance soon blossoms, and eventually Patrice realizes that Monty really cares for her as more than just a friend.  He protects her from the dangers of the city and helps her become stronger, while she in turn influences him academically, helping him bring up his grades.  Although he doesn’t want Patrice to go, he knows that it would be best for her to leave the city before more people notice her hidden good looks and she becomes a victim of her surroundings.  Monty becomes instrumental in helping Patrice complete her boarding school application. 

Told with authentic language and honest detail, the author has created a story that truly mirrors the struggles that many inner city children face on a daily basis.  The lively dialogue not only reveals true to life characters but also places the reader directly into the story.  Many girls will empathize with Patrice’s struggle with her unmanageable hair, and boys will connect with Monty’s strong and caring heart that he must mask with a tough exterior just to survive in the tough city environment.   Excellent as an independent read for upper elementary and middle school, or for use in literature circles, as it addresses the themes of urban life, perseverance, education, peer pressure, friendship and family.

Title:  Twisted
Author:  Laurie Halse Anderson
Year Published:  2007
Publisher:  Viking
Author Link:   http://www.writerlady.com/
                        http://halseanderson.livejournal.com/
Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0670061018/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0821558-5052164?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177965949&sr=8-1

As indicated by the title of Laurie Halse Anderson’s newest novel, life for a teenager is often Twisted.  High school junior Tyler Miller makes a bad decision, vandalizing the high school with spray paint, and fellow students begin to think he’s cool.  But when he makes a right decision, by refusing to take advantage of a popular girl who throws her drunken self at him, he is accused of a crime.  And no matter what he does, he feels like nothing but a disappointment to his stressed out, work-obsessed, controlling father.  Tyler can’t think of anything else to do but to leave his town…and maybe even this world.  

With her latest novel, Anderson is back at the top of her game with a story that is so real, one could probably walk into any high school and recognize the “characters” she has created.  In fact, Anderson used her interactions with many high school boys to help her develop this story, and she succeeds in her attempt to “echoe and reflect their struggles and triumphs.”  But as the intro to the novel states, “This book is not for children.”  Dealing with the pressures of young adulthood, including drinking, sex, and suicide, are strong issues in this text, along with the ideas of bullying, family, character and loyalty.  Told in a similar style to Speak, the short segments, the witty delivery, the identifiable characters, the nail-biting climax, with a teenager’s life as its plot, Twisted is a text that all mature readers will connect with and appreciate, for once, feeling understood.

Texts 1, Texts 2, Texts 3, Texts 4, Texts 5