Resistance Book 1

Resistance, Book 1

Jablonski, C. (2010). Resistance Book 1. New York: First Second.

Paul Tessier, whose father is a German prisoner of war, lives in what has been until now, peaceful, southern occupied France where he, his mother and siblings, run a hotel until the Germans commandeer it for their own use.  After this happens, Paul’s best friend, Henri’s parents, who are Jewish, are missing and Henri is forced to go into hiding.  Already angry and rebellious toward the Germans and their occupation, Paul, who loves to draw and has already been posting anti-Nazi posters, and his sister, Marie, decide to join the French Resistance in order to smuggle Henri to safety.  The children are successful in their mission and Henri is reunited with his parents in Paris.  Written and illustrated as a graphic novel, Resistance, as is the case with many graphic novels, presents valuable information in a format that is excellent to use with struggling and/or reluctant readers.  This particular novel, however, includes factual information about World War II, both before the story begins as well as in the back of the book that helps establish to the reader that the information is based on true and accurate facts.  This novel would be great to use with lower high school students in a World History lesson.  Further reading could include Defiance and Victory, the other two books in the trilogy.

Monster

Monster

Meyers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York: Harper.

Monster is the story of a 16-year-old, black, male named Steve Harmon who is accused and on trial for the robbery of a local pharmacy and the subsequent death of its owner. Interestingly written in the style that would read like a script for a reality show, by Steve, and including pages from his own personal journal which he writes as a means to endure the terror and overwhelming desperation he feels about being in jail, Monster gives the reader an in-depth view into not only what Steve is experiencing from the viewers’ standpoint, but a close-up of his inner conflicts as well.  We are able to witness his most intimate fears and concerns as he is “turned over” by some of the other participants to the crime and then eventually is able to establish that he was not involved.  An interesting twist at what should be a happy ending is achieved when we see that Steve, because of this emotionally charged journey he has just experienced, has, along with others, begun to question who he is.  He has begun to question his thoughts and decisions and how his parents and others see him as a person.

With a plot that reads like something from the newspaper, Monster is easily related to with its very real characters and raw emotions and would be an excellent choice for a high school humanities class to use with all its open-ended issues. 

It's Perfectly Normal

It’s Perfectly Normal

Harris, R. (2009). It’s perfectly normal. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

It’s Perfectly Normal is an informational book that addresses the aspects of adolescents’ changing bodies and explains everything from puberty, sexual health, sexual identity to STD’s, pregnancy, and the responsibilities attached to the choices regarding sexual aspects of their bodies.  Set up in a very easy-to-use, easy to understand format including definitions, cartoon illustrations, and sectioned according to topic.  Because the average readers’ bodies begin changing somewhere in the middle grades (5^th, 6^th, maybe 7^th grades), this book would be appropriate to have in a middle school library and would be beneficial in a health classroom as well.  Parents could also find this book to be of benefit when explaining the topic of sexual health to their children and the uncomfortable parent could certainly find it to be beneficial.  In addition, because there are late bloomers and those who have only learned what they have managed to pick up along the way, I also believe It’s Perfectly Normal should be included in a high school library collection.  

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska

Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York: Dutton.

Looking for Alaska is a modern fiction novel about a teenaged boy named Miles Halter who, bored and unhappy with his life in Florida decides to move to Alabama to go to the same prep school his father did in an attempt at self-discovery.  Once there, Miles makes friends with some very colorful characters who add elements to his life that he has yet to encounter.  Included in those friends are the beautiful, just-out-of-control, Alaska who Miles falls in love with only to lose one night in a car accident.  After her death, Miles and friends struggle with the guilt of allowing Alaska to drive when she was drunk and upset, not knowing if she committed suicide or if her death was due to drunk driving.  Throughout his journey to discover the truth about Alaska’s death, readers get a glimpse of the natural progression of Miles’ character development.  Because we get to hear the story from Miles’ point-of-view, we are able to connect with his character more effectively, a crucial quality in realistic fiction.  Last, but not least, the topics of suicide and drunk driving are major issues in schools today and something that must be talked about and dealt with, and the fact that Green deals with both of them in this novel makes it a great read for 9^th through 12^th grades.  

The Tequila Worm

The Tequila Worm

Canales, V. (2005). The tequila worm. New York: Wendy Lamb Books/Random House.

The Tequila Worm is a realistic modern fiction novel about a Catholic, Hispanic girl whose desire it is to excel in academics so that she can rise above her stereotypical station in life.  Sofia, growing up in McAllen, Texas, works so hard that she earns a scholarship to a top-notch school in Austin but struggles with the decision to go because it not only means leaving her family, but her heritage and community as well, to immerse herself into a predominately well-to-do white culture.  Sofia, however, makes the decision to go, and carries her values and culture with her, working hard to integrate her new life with her old one.   Sofia faces struggles and tragedies on her journey, like being picked on by other kids and losing her father to cancer, but overcomes them and allows them to help shape who she becomes as an adult. 

I think students of all ages could enjoy the book, but I believe students growing up and going to school in mixed cultures could truly understand the emotional struggles that are present.  Also, one of the qualifications that make this book good to use with students is the fact that The Tequila Worm is realistic in the developmental tasks that Sofia is experiencing so readers can identify with her. 

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing

Angel, A. (2010). Janis Joplin: rise up singing. New York: Amulet.

Janis Joplin, as told in this unbiased, accurate biography based on interviews and accounts, pictures and stories provided by family and friends, was a tormented girl growing up in the 50’s and 60’s.  As the book ranges from her childhood, throughout her career and eventually to her death at the age of 27 in 1970, we get first-hand accounts of the struggles she faced as a free-spirited child growing up in the straight-laced 50’s where she began to withdraw from mainstream society and pour herself into her art and music.  This path led her to find other, like-minded people with the same interests as herself, but it also caused her to delve into the world of drugs, something that no matter how hard she tried, kept its grasp on her until it led to her death of an overdose, but not before she produced music the world had not heard the likes of at that point including her last album, “Pearl”.  The book does a great job of including ephemera from her very colorful life, something that students often are fascinated by, even if they do not enjoy reading.  Janis Joplin is a great book for upper middle grades on through high school in so many ways.  The emotional struggle of not fitting in is a strong example of its validity as well as the indicators for being a good quality biography. 

Speak

Speak

Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York: Penguin.

Melinda Sordino, raped at a party by a popular jock from school, begins her freshman year as an outcast because she had the courage to call the police when the rape first took place.  Because of the backlash she experiences for speaking out, Melinda, who has lost even her best friend, retreats into herself to the point that she does not even speak much.  However, she has one place where she feels peace and that is in her art class where she is able to work through the trauma of not only being raped, but how she has been treated because of it.  When Melinda’s former best friend begins dating Andy, the boy who raped her, Melinda summons the courage to speak out against him only to incur further abuse from him.  When he corners Melinda in the janitor’s closet, she reaches an emotional and mental breakthrough and fights back, drawing the attention of others and is defended, finally, by Andy’s peers and others see him for what he really is, allowing Melinda the emotional freedom to talk about the rape with her art teacher—the first step toward healing for her.

I believe mature upper middle grade students on up through high school can appreciate Speak for its emotional content as well as its real-life, real-world conflicts.  While not every girl will be raped, many will and it is important for all of them to be able to identify, even if it is through vicarious experience.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. New York: Little Brown.

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Arnold (Junior) is a young Native-American boy growing up on a Spokane Indian reservation.  In this coming-of-age novel, Arnold realizes that life as he knows it on the reservation is not the way it should be, and makes a conscious decision to change his stars by transferring to a nearby, all-white school.  He is then ostracized by his friends living on the reservation, including his best friend Rowdy, as well as the white kids at his new school.  Arnold is also faced with multiple other personal conflicts and struggles like the death of family members due to alcohol, his parents’ own alcoholism, his own medical issues, bullying, stereotyping, racism, and poverty, not to mention the normal, natural development teens go through.  In spite of all that, Arnold maintains his determination to change his life and begins to realize that just because things are the way they are, doesn’t mean he has to maintain the cycle—especially since it isn’t right for him.  Ultimately, Arnold begins to come into his own as a budding adult and he does so with humor and grace. 

Because of the themes and conflicts involved, this book lends itself especially to boys and could easily be enjoyed by those from middle grades on up due to the emotional development as outlined by Havighurst.

The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Massachusetts: Candlewick press.

With its interesting character dialog, vocabulary and dialog, The Knife of Never Letting Go,  book one of the Chaos Walking series, brings readers 13 year old Todd Hewitt who, at the age of 14 should become a man because in Prentisstown, that’s just the way it is.  In a town where no one’s thoughts are private and people’s thoughts are scrutinized, Todd exhibits typical adolescent feelings of resentment and frustration, especially once he discovers the pocket of silence in the swamp where thoughts are private and then eventually that there is more to the world than what he has always been taught.  When his guardians, Ben and Cillian, realize Todd has made this discovery, they become frightened for his safety and encourage him to escape.  Todd also meets a girl named Viola, and girls are something else Todd has not ever encountered.  As the two embark on their journey, they are constantly faced with obstacles all while being pursued by an “army” from Prentisstown.  Because the book ends with Todd trying to save Viola’s life after Mr. Prentiss shoots her readers will want to read book two in the series.  Because of Todd’s developmental stage, readers from middle grades on up can easily identify with his character, but a more reluctant reader may shy away from the number of pages this book has.