The Braid

Image Courtesy of http://jlaredoyamaterials.blogspot.com

Frost, Helen. 2006. The Braid. New York: Frances Foster Books. ISBN 0-374-30962-0. $16.00. Hardcover

*ALA Best books for Young Adults

*Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry Honor Book

*NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts

*Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book

*NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

*Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice

*School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

*Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award Master List

The story of two sisters, one who stays in Ireland while the other goes to Canada to escape the Highland Clearings.

Before they part ways, Jeannie  and Sarah exchange braids of hair as a remembrance. Jeannie escapes to Canada with her parents and three other siblings to escape the Highland Clearings.  Sarah decides to stay with her grandmother and go back to grandmother’s birth place. Their tales is told through verse and the connections are as tight as Celtic knots. Will the girls ever hear from each other again or will the only thing that holds them together be The Braid?

The Things They Carried

Image Courtesy of http://regularrumination. wordpress.com

O’Brien, Tim. 1990. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0289-0. $14.95.  Paperback—Reprint.

*Prix du Meilleur Lirvre Etranger—France

*Heartland Prize—Chicago Tribune

*Pulitzer Prize finalist

*National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

Fictionalized account of experiences and stories heard by Tim O’Brien during his tour in Vietnam.

Going to war means hours of marching, carrying all your equipment and fighting the enemy. The men who fought in Vietnam also carried emotional baggage, shameful memories, reputations, relationships, cowardice and courage.  This becomes apparent by the stories shared of which many are based on events that actually happened to the author or tales he heard from other people. Reading this book will you a greater understanding of what people went through in Vietnam. Above all it will help you to understand The Things They Carried.

Getting It

Image Courtsey of http://www.oasisjournals.com/tags/alex-sanchez

Sanchez, Alex. 2006. Getting It. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 1-14169-0896-X. $16.95. Hardcover.

*Winner, Myers Outstanding Book Award 2007

*International Latino Book Awards, 2nd place, Best Young Adult Fiction in English, 2007

*New York Public Library 2007 “Book for the Teen Age”

*Book-of-the-Month Club InsightOutBooks.com Main Selection

Carlos hires Sal, the gay guy at school to give him a makeover. In the process Carlos learns a lot about his friends and life.

Carlos is 15 and wants to find a girlfriend. His group of guy friends all seems to have more experience when it comes to girls and he wants to “get it” in several ways. After flipping through the television stations one night, Carlos gets the idea that Sal, the gay guy at school could maybe give him a makeover like on Queer Eye. Sal agrees on the condition that Carlos helps start the Gay-Straight Alliance at school.

Over the course of the makeover, Carlos learns things about himself, friendship, tolerance and even girls. He also learns that sometimes getting what you thought you wanted is not always the best solution. Carlos learns that Getting It comes in many forms.

I am Scout

Image Courtesdy of http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings

Shields, Charles J. 2008. I am Scout, the Biography of Harper Lee. New York: Henry Holt and Company. (ISBN 0-8050-8334-0 $18.95: US; Hardcover.)

*Winner of the 2007 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance for Best Nonfiction Book

*Quill Award Nominee for Biography

*Junior Literary Guild selection

*2009 Best book for Young Adults—ALA

The biography of the famous author, Harper Lee who is known for her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Gives a biography of Harper Lee through a variety of sources such as archives and interviews with friends and acquaintances. Tells about growing up, the writing of Mockingbird and her friendship with Truman Capote. She was a great influence and help to Capote’s famous work, “In Cold Blood.” Includes notes, bibliography and index. Very insightful look into the reclusive life of Harper Lee.

The Chocolate War

Image Courtesy of http://www.nassaulibrary.org

Cormier, Robert. 1974. The Chocolate War. New York, New York: Dell Laure-Leaf. ISBN 0-440-94459-7. $7.50.  Mass Market Paperback—Reprint.

Awards

*ALA Best Books for Young Adults

*School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

*Kirkus Reviews Choice

*A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year

Jerry Renault fights against the secret society at his private school, the Vigils by refusing to sell chocolates. This leads to an internal struggle between the powers at the school.

Jerry Renault is just a typical teenage boy trying to survive at his private boy’s high school. He is struggling to make sense of his mother’s death and find his way in the world. The school itself is run by the Brothers but the underlying power is in the group called the Vigils.

Archie Costello is the leader of the Vigils and he uses psychological warfare to intimidate the rest of the school into fear and reverence for the Vigils. When Jerry receives his “assignment”, at first he follows it just to not cause trouble. Then he asks himself “Do I dare disturb the universe?” and fights back against the Vigils and the school in a simple act. This act leads to The Chocolate War.

Milkweed

Image Courtesy http://www.quakerbooks.org

Spinelli, Jerry.  2003. Milkweed.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf.  ISBN 0-375-91374-2. $17.99. Library Binding Hardcover.

Awards/Honors

*ALA Best Book for Young Adults (2004)

*Golden Kite Award (2003)

*Carolyn W. Field Award (2004)

A young boy who does not know his name or past finds himself while trying to survive the Holocaust in Warsaw, Poland.

Imagine a life where you do not even know your real name. Now place yourself in the middle of Warsaw, Poland during the Nazi occupation. How would you survive? How would the experiences you face shape you as a person? Can you use the gift you have as a thief and your small size to the advantage of you and your friends to help survive? The young protagonist of the novel learns to survive in Warsaw, first on the streets, then in the Jewish Ghetto and finally surviving the purging of the ghetto and eventually making himself a new life in America.

The young boy is taken in by Uri and his gang of Jewish boys who live on the street. They steal and plunder to survive and have a great time of it at first. Once the Nazis come the little boy must use his small size and skills as a thief to help himself and the Jewish family who take him in to survive. Throughout the whole ordeal, the boy keeps his survival instinct on edge and must learn to grow up and figure out who or what defines him as a person. Will this young boy ever become free like Milkweed?

American Born Chinese

Image Courtesy of http://www.firstsecondbooks.com

Yang, Gene Luen. 2006. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second. ISBN 1-59643-152-0. $17.95. Paperback

Awards

*2007 Michael L. Printz Award

*2006 National Book Award Finalist-Young People’s Literature

*First graphic novel recognized by the National Book Foundation

Part graphic novel, part coming of age and part legend combine in this three tales in one graphic novel.

What do these three stories have in common–a tale of the Monkey King being denied entrance into heaven, Jin Wang and his struggles in a new school and Danny and his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee? The answers may surprise you. Read this book to find out what it is like to be American Born Chinese.

Beowulf a graphic novel

Image courtesy of www2.scholastic.com

Hinds, Gareth (adapter and illustrator). 2007. Beowulf. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.  ISBN 978-0-7636-3023-2.  $11.99. Paperback

Awards/Reviews

*2008–ALA Best Books for Young Adults

*2008–Great Graphic Novel for Teens

*Highly Recommended–Library Media Connection Oct 2007

*School Library Journal Review–May 2007

*Publisher’s Weekly Review–3/5/2007

*Kirkus Review–4/15/2007

The re-telling of the classic legend of Beowulf as a graphic novel.

The classic epic tale of Beowulf and his deeds has been given a new life by illustrator Gareth Hinds. Gareth Hinds uses the medium of graphic novels to showcase the story of Beowulf as the adventure tale. Most of the action is told through the rich artwork with portions of the poem interspersed  to help explain the tale.  Gareth Hinds shows an understanding of the time period in which the tale takes place and showcases the story in all its glory. You feel caught up in all the action by the energy filled illustrations that dominate the book. Beowulf is given a novel treatment and shown to be the superhero of ancient times.

The Outsiders

Image courtesy of http://www.puffin.co.uk

Hinton, S.E. 1967, renewed 1995. The Outsiders. New York: Puffin Books ISBN 0-14-038572-X $9.99.  Mass Market Paperback-Reprint.

Awards:
*New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967
*Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967
*Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975
*ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975
*Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, 1979

Ponyboy is a ‘greaser’ who enjoys hanging with his brothers and friends while avoiding the ‘Socs’ or rich kids. One night things go too far in the rivalry between the two groups and Ponyboy’s life is changed forever.

“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.” So begins one of the classics of young adult literature. Ponyboy is a ‘greaser’ who lives on the East Side of town with his two older brothers. They have a group of friends who they hang with who all have a variety of tough lives.  The group sticks together and is there for each other no matter what happens. On the West Side of town live the richer kids, the ‘Socs’. One of the favorite activities of the ‘Socs’ boys is to drive around in their fancy cars and look to beat up ‘greasers.’ There is one fateful night when things go too far and the lives of Ponyboy, his group of friends and the tension between the two warring factions is changed forever. Along the way, Ponyboy learns how to better understand people such as his older brother, friends and even the ‘Socs.’

One of the most remarkable things about this novel is the fact the author started writing it when she was 15 and it was published for the first time when she was 17.  S.E. Hinton shows a wisdom beyond her years in the way the themes of coming-of-age, friendship and how socio-economic status  can breed rivalries all tie together in the story. The novel is a fast-paced read but it will leave you with something to ponder and may even help you see rivalries or friendships of your own in a new light.

Song of the Sparrow

Image courtesy of store.scholastic.com

Sandell, Lisa Ann. 2007. Song of the Sparrow. New York, Scholastic Press.  ISBN 978-0-439-91848-0 $16.99.  Hardcover

*Starred Review–Publisher’s Weekly–5/14/2007

*School Library Journal Review–Aug 2007

*Library Media Connection Review–Nov 2007

*Booklist Review–9/15/2007

Sixteen year old Elaine has spent eight years as the lone female living with Arthur’s army. When Gwynivere arrives this changes and the girls must learn to trust each other to save Arthur’s army.

I am Elaine daughter of Barnard of Ascolat. Motherless. Sisterless. I sing these words to you now, because the point of light grows smaller, ever smaller now, ever more distant now. And with this song, I pray I may push back the tides of war and death. So, I sing these words that this light, this tiny ray of light and hope may live on. I dare not hope that I may live on too.

Listen to Elaine’s song of how she loved Lancelot, met Gwynivere and was able to help Arthur and his knights. All will be revealed and Elaine’s legend will live on through Song of the Sparrow.