Stamped From the Beginning
Reynolds, J. (2020). Stamped from the beginning. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Persepolis
Satrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis. NY. Pantheon.
Persepolis is the based on the life of the author in Iran than Europe. She is a young child then starts to transform into a rebellious teenager growing up in a very devout and strict culture. Marjane's family are political activists and finds her uncle executed. She has a strong family bond which ends up serving her well. Marjane realizes she cannot be the person her country expects her to be.
Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. Her other works include Chicken with Plums and the Marie Curie biopic Radioactive.
The Hate U Give
Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. NY. HarperCollins.The story of Starr a young back girl who deals with racism on many different levels. She is from the poor side of town, but attends a private school where her friends do not know the real Starr and her life. She has encountered police brutality when she is witness to the tragic death of one of her long time friends. Starr then has to navigate being involved in the incident and the ramifications of an outraged community. As all of this unfolds Starr finally reveals her interracial relationship to her father. All of Starr's worlds crash together and she finds her true self and stands up for what she believes. This is a wonderfully crafted story and very relevant to social and culturally happenings in this day and age.
Angie Thomas is an American author of young adult books. Some of Thomas' other works include On the Come Up and Concrete Rose.
Booked
Alexander, K. (2016). Booked. Andersen Press.Nick Hall is an eighth grader and soccer player. His parents have separated and he is struggling. He misses his mom who has moved away and he is dealing with the pressure from his dad. Nick is also getting bullied at school and feels bad about not standing up for himself. His crush April has been impressed with his vocabulary and she helps him develop a love of reading. The story is told in verse, so it is a nice easy read, which is great for reluctant readers.
Kwame Alexander is an American writer, poet, and educator. Some of his other works are Swing and Solo. Booked is part of the Crossover series, which is a three book series.
Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes
Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. NY. Greenwillow Books.Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes details the friendship of an overweight lonely kid and a spirited girl with burn marks on her face and hands. They are friends with each other out of a common need to have a friend who understands what it is like to be judged by your looks alone. As their friendship evolves secrets unravel surrounding Sarah Byrnes and her relationship with her father, It an odd turn of events, Sarah ends up trusting other people to help her move on in her life, while her father makes choices that leaves waves in the lives of those encountering him. A recurring phrase from the text is "Boy, ain't it a trip where heroes come from." I interpret the phrase to mean everyone has a strength or hero inside of them that they didn't know was there until they needed it. I see themes of believing in one's self, friendship, trust, and growing into a person of moral ethics.
Chris Crutcher is an American novelist and family therapist. His other works include Whale Talk and Deadline. His works often have themes of teens dealing with serious problems like abusive parents, religious and racial prejudice, and mental and physical disabilities. He has some titles that have been frequently challenged and even banned.
The Chocolate War
Cormier, R. (1974). The chocolate war. Pantheon Books.
Reality Boy
King, A.S. (2013). Reality boy. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Gerald Faust and his family were on a reality television program when he was five years old. His sister Tasha terrorized him and his other sister. This is what causes Gerald's terrible childhood. His mother does not help and his father feels helpless when it comes to Tasha's constant torment. He has been placed in special education and works on his anger with a specialist. When he meets Hannah and they run off together they help each other work through their issues when they go back home.
Amy Sarig King is an American writer. She has written other works like Ask the Passengers and Still Life with Tornado. She goes by Amy, but asks to be referred to as A.S. King because there are other Amy King's who are writers, and A.S. King sounds like "asking".
Winger
Smith, A. (2013). Winger. Simon & Schuster.
In Winger Ryan Dean West is a 14 year old junior who has returned to his boarding school, but has a new dorm and roommate due his prior poor choices. Ryan Dean recounts experiences from the beginning of the school year where he has low self esteem and is hard on himself. He becomes close friends with a teammate on the rugby team who is openly gay. At first having bias toward his friend, he realizes they are close and have a great bond. Unfortunately his gay friend Joey is killed and Ryan Dean has to come to terms with his confidence and relationships with others.
Andrew A. Smith is an American author who has written other books like, Stand-Off and Grasshopper Jungle. He is known for his quirky writing style and dark subject matter.
Looking for Alaska
Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. Dutton Juvenile.
In Looking for Alaska Miles Halter decides to attend a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama for his junior year. He befriends his new roommate Chip and eventually gets introduced to Chip's friend Alaska. The rich "weekday warriors" and Chip's group of friends pull pranks on each other. After pulling off a prank on the rich kids Chip, Miles, and Alaska end up drinking. Alaska ends up leaving and getting into a car accident and killed. Chip and Miles are not clear if Alaska caused the accident on purpose or was too drunk to drive. After trying to investigate what actually happened to Alaska, Chip and Miles decide to pull off a prank in Alaska's honor.
John Green is an American author and YouTube content creator. He has also written The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Stars. Looking for Alaska was Green's first novel for young adults.
Clap When You Land
Acevedo, E. (2020). Clap when you land. Harper Teen.
In Clap When You Land Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios discover they have both lost their father. He is the father they shared that neither of them knew about. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic and would only see her father in the summers. Camino is getting followed and harassed by someone her father used to pay off to stay away from her, but now that her father is gone the man continues to harass her for money. Camino gets Yahaira to send money and fly to the Dominican Republic for their father's funeral. Camino ends up stealing her sister's passport in a plan to fly back to New York with her sister's passport. Before she goes through with her plan, Camino is attacked by El Cero, the man who was harassing her. She is saved by Camino, Mami, and Tia. The sisters then end up going back to New York. The story is told in a verse so it provides a rhythmic and poetic read. It is also told from the point of view of both sisters dealing with their grief and loss of their father and realizing their new sisterhood.
Elizabeth Acevedo is an Afro-Dominican performer, poet, and writer. She is the author of Poet X and With The Fire On High.
Monday's Not Coming
Jackson, T. D. (2018). Monday's not coming. Katherine Tegen Books.
Monday's Not Coming is the story of a young girl named Claudia who has returned home days before her eighth grade year. Claudia was to keep in touch with her friend Monday, but does not see her or her siblings at school and finds Monday's phone has been disconnected. When she asks around no one knows Monday's location. Worried, Claudia still continues to find out where Monday has gone. Without her bestfriend at school Claudia is picked on by her peers, but then she befriends Michael at a learning center, much to her parents delight. After Claudia learns the truth about her post traumatic stress disorder, she realizes she has been reliving her life from two years ago. She is really 16 and recalls Monday and her little brother dead in a freezer, sadly killed by their own mother.
Tiffany D. Jackson is an American and horror filmmaker. She is known for her other works like Allegedly and Grown.
I'll Give You The Sun
Nelson, J. (2014). I'll give you the sun. Penguin Random House.
Noah and Jude are twin thirteen year olds who attend a local high school for the arts. They are competitive with each other in art and for their mother's approval. Noah watches his sister and realizes her art is much better than his, but she does not share her best work with school or their mother. Noah watches his mother and discovers she is having an affair. Their mother tragically dies when she was planning to leave their father for her lover, who happens to be a great artist. Noah falls in love with Brian and while Jude learns art with her mother's former lover, falls in love with his foster son Oscar.
American author Jandy Nelson who used to work as a literary agent. Other books by Nelson are The Astonishing Color of After and The Sky is Everywhere.
The Handmaid's Tale The Graphic Novel
Atwood, M. (2019). The handmaid's tale. The graphic novel. Doubleday Books.
In The Handmaid's Tale The Graphic Novel Offred is a woman who is a fertile child bearing aged woman enslaved and bound to produce children for a Gilead's commander. The republic of Gilead is due to a second American civil war. Deprived of everything she loves, Offred clings to her memories to survive her awful treatment and fate. This is a graphic novel adaptation of the original The Handmaid's Tale, but the beautiful illustrations in the graphic novel provide some greater understanding for readers.
Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Some of her best known works are Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin.
Hearts Unbroken
Smith, C.L. (2018) Hearts Unbroken. Candlewick Press.
Louise and her family have moved from Texas to Kansas in the middle of her junior year of high school. She has an internal conflict with being her true self where she is and wanting to connect and go back to where she feels most comfortable, back in Oklahoma. Louise notices cultural insensitivity all around her. While working on her school paper, her brother gets involved is the high school play. A parent group protests the casting of three students cast in the play and also get the newspaper advisor put on leave because of her liberal views. Louise writes a piece in the school paper about the poor and abusive behavior around her. On Thanksgiving day she and her friend Joey are caught in a tornado, but after staying safe and receiving messages from family and friends she realizes how loved and lucky she is in life.
Cynthia Leitich Smith is an author of fiction for children and young adults. She is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and writes fiction based on lives of modern day Native Americans. Her other titles include Jingle Dancer and Indian Shoes.
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers
Heiligman, D. (2018). Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh brothers. Godwin Books/Henry Holt, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.
Vincent Van Gogh and his younger brother Theo grew up in the Netherlands with their parents and the boys were the best of friends. They both left home in their teens to work for uncles in art galleries. Theo was an art dealer, while Vincent the artist struggled. Vincent relied on Theo to take care of him financially. The brothers were unlucky in love and both had mental breakdowns. They spent their lives close to each other and even ended up dying six months apart.
Deborah Heiligman is an American author of books for children and teens. Her work includes fiction and nonfiction and ranges from picture books to novels. Some of her other works are Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith and From Caterpillar to Butterfly.
You Call This Democracy? How to Fix Our Democracy and Deliver Power to the People
Rusch, E. (2020). You call this democracy?: How to fix our democracy and deliver power to the people. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.
American government has many issues with gerrymandering, electoral college, voter suppression, and a lack of representation. These are all areas that are an attack on our democracy. Changing our country has always been in the hands of the people of our country, especially teens. Teens are young, creative, and strong. Teens can lead their generation to change and inspire generations to follow. Each chapter in the book looks at the problem in our democratic system and provides ways things can be changed. The time to start the change is now and the people to do it are teens. We need to assist the teens in America to be the change.
Elizabeth Rusch is a children's author and magazine writer. Her other titles to check out are Volcano Rising and Generation Fix.
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