19 Varieties of Gazelle

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East

by Naomi Shihab Nye

Greenwillow Books, 2002

ISBN 0060097655

141 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye has brought together a collection of her poems about the Middle East, shedding powerful, tender light on a region filled with rich history and much turmoil. Nye, who is of Middle Eastern descent herself, speaks from the heart, capturing an entire culture in strong images -- especially in "Biography of an Armenian Schoolgirl," "Rock," and the poem that gives the anthology its title. Both remarkable and enlightening, this collection of poetry will help foster understanding in young and old alike for an area of the world most of us know only through nightly news broadcasts.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/342068.19_Varieties_of_Gazelle

Critical Evaluation

Although I do not usually read poetry, I enjoyed this book. A quote on the very first dedication page says, "If you look at the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions, their first commandments are the same: 'Thou shalt not kill.' It's not taken seriously." This collection of poetry is full of imagery and questions. Questions about war and fighting, about intolerance and selfishness. The poems are beautiful and make me pause and think.

Reader’s Annotation

A collection of poems about the middle east.

Information about the author

Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. Her experience of both cultural difference and different cultures has influenced much of her work.

Nye told Contemporary Authors: “I have always loved the gaps, the spaces between things, as much as the things. I love staring, pondering, mulling, puttering. I love the times when someone or something is late—there’s that rich possibility of noticing more, in the meantime…Poetry calls us to pause. There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own.”

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/naomi-shihab-nye

Genre

poetry

Curriculum Ties

poetry. current events. geography. history.

Booktalking Ideas

*Close your eyes, breathe deeply. What do you hear, smell, feel? Can you write about your thoughts? Slow down. Notice things around you.

Reading Level

age 11 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I believe poetry adds a depth to a library collection. Some teens really respond to poetry. I also appreciated that this book was about other countries and cultures.

Fruit Basket

Fruit Basket

by Natsuki Takaya

Tokyopop Manga, 2007

ISBN 1427806896

434 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Tohru Honda was an orphan, living with her grandfather, when one day fate kicked her out of the house and she was forced to take up residence in a tent in the forest. Little did she know that the land she was staying on belonged to the Sohma family, a mysterious clan. After stumbling upon the teenage squatter, the Sohmas invite Tohru to stay in their house in exchange for housework. Everything's going well until she discovers the Sohma family's greatest secret: when hugged by members of the opposite sex, they each turn into their Chinese Zodiac animal!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271199.Fruits_Basket_Vol_1

Critical Evaluation

This was a brand new experience for me. This is the first manga book I have ever read. I chose this one because it was referred to positively in the Manga's genre group presentation earlier in the semester.

There were quite a few things I liked about the book. 1- The artwork. I particularly enjoyed the artwork of the people. Somewhere I read (can't remember where now) that the author of Fruits basket likes to draw her men slender. That would be for sure. The men in the book are very beautiful also effeminate. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the males and females. 2- I liked the story line. It is interesting to have the characters turn into the different zodiac animals.

My only real problem with the book was getting used to the style. I still get confused about which way to read the pages. At the back of the book I found a "map" for how to read each page. But not each page perfectly follows that format and then I get confused. I followed the gist of the story just fine but sometimes I would read the dialogue in a backward manner.

Reader’s Annotation

When Tohru's mother dies in a car accident, Tohru lives in a tent. But she is soon found by some classmates and invited to live with them.

Information about the author

Natsuki Takaya (高屋 奈月 Takaya Natsuki, real name Naka Hatake) is the penname of a Japanese manga artist best-known for creating the series Fruits Basket. She was born on July 7, 1973; (Tanabata). Takaya is left-handed and once revealed that she wanted to be a mangaka since first grade, when her sister started drawing.

She was born in Shizuoka, Japan, but was raised in Tokyo, where she made her debut in 1992. She enjoys video games such as the Final Fantasy series or Sakura Wars, or working on her different manga series, such as Fruits Basket, which is the second best-selling shōjo manga ever in Japan, and the top selling shōjo manga in North America. Fruits Basket has also been adapted into a twenty-six-episode anime series.

In 2001, Takaya received a Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga for Fruits Basket.

According to Takaya (in a sidebar of a Fruits Basket manga volume), she enjoys drawing girls (girly ones) more than she does boys. Takaya also enjoys electronics and music, but dislikes talking about herself. Also revealed in a sidebar of Fruits Basket, Takaya broke her drawing arm (left) after Fruits Basket volume six was published. She had to go into surgery, and as a result, had put Fruits Basket on a brief hiatus. Takaya made a full recovery, but complains that her handwriting had gotten uglier, due to the surgery. During her hospital stay, she gained an interest in baseball.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/26306.Natsuki_Takaya

Genre

manga. fantasy.

Curriculum Ties

literature. Japanese culture.

Booktalking Ideas

*What do you know about the twelve zodiac animals? What year were you born? And so then, which zodiac sign are you?

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

Manga is continuing to gain popularity and is a necessary part of a ya collection. Fruit Basket has great reviews and seemed like a good place to start for my introduction into manga.

Tweak

Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines

by Nic Sheff

Ginee Seo Books, 2007

ISBN 1416913629

336 pages

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Nic Sheff grew up in California. His parents divorced when he was young and he lived the majority of his time with his dad. His dad treated him like an adult and took him everywhere with him. Nic was exposed to drugs, sex, violence at a very young age. By the time he was twelve he had started drinking, smoking and trying drugs.

When he went off to college he really became addicted and his life began to be out of control. Nic went through many cycles of sobriety and relapse. He lied, stole, broke into family's home, prostituted, etc. At one point in his early twenties he was diagnosed as being rapid cycle bipolar.

The book concludes with Nic having been sober for one year and living in the southern part of the United States. The book was published in 2007. I hope Nic is still sober.

Critical Evaluation

This was a very difficult book to listen to. (I listened to it as an eaudiobook). There is a lot of swearing, much more swearing than I prefer to listen to. There was some descriptive details about doing the drugs. There was also a lot of sex but no descriptive details.

I found myself alternating between feeling sorry for Nic and feeling frustrated with him. Sometimes I related to Nic. He talked alot about how difficult life is and I relate to that. But all of his behaviors made his life so much more difficult. Often I tried to think how I would feel as Nic's parents. That would be so hard. I know they loved him so much but time and again he hurt them. He would steal from them, lie to them, etc. Becoming involved with drugs very quickly ruins lives. It was amazing to listen to the descriptions of all that he put his body through. Not only were the drugs horrific to his body but injecting all those needles repeatedly into his body was damaging. And when he was in the middle of huge drug cycles he did not eat

or sleep so his body was wasting away. Nic was essentially killing himself.

Reader’s Annotation

Nic Sheff became addicted to drugs and cycled through drug abuse and sobriety over the course of many years.

Information about the author

Nic Sheff is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. Still in his early twenties, he continues to fight daily battles with his addictions. His writing has been published in Newsweek, Nerve, and the San Francisco Chronicle. TWEAK is his first book.

http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/nic-sheff

Genre

memoir

Curriculum Ties

Drug abuse.

Booktalking Ideas

*What happens to your body when you get addicted to drugs? What happens to your life?

Reading Level

grade 10 and up.

Challenge Issues

Drugs, sex, swearing.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

Why included?

I included this book because enjoy memoirs. Nic's father also wrote a book about Nic and this time in his life. It is called Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Meth Addiction by David Sheff. I have not yet read this book but plan to in the future.

Bras & Broomsticks

Bras & Broomsticks

by Sarah Mlynowski

Delacorte, 2006

ISBN 0385731841

320 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Rachel comes home from school one day to learn that her mother is a witch and that her sister has just discovered magical powers as well. Unfortunately, Rachel has not been blessed with any of these magical powers. Rachel really wants to be popular, to have a boyfriend, get a date to the spring fling, have a larger bra size and dance in the cool annual fashion show. Rachel convinces Mira to use some magical spells on her to grant some of these wishes.

Rachel and Mira's father is also planning on getting married very soon to a woman neither of them much care for. They think Jennifer is mean and that she acts one way in front of their dad and another way when he is not around. So the girls plot to use magic to foil the wedding plans.

Magic can be dangerous and often have disastrous effects and the girls learn this the hard way.

Critical Evaluation

This book was a fun, easy read. The mood of the story was light and breezy. I found this to be true of all the chick lit books that I read for this class. Actually I believe this to be a selling point of chick lit. I have quite a few friends who say "life is hard enough, why do I want to read about more of life's problems?" Chick lit may have a few problems but they are all nicely tied up at the end. In Bras & Broomsticks there were a few loose ends but this book is the first in a series so I imagine everything will continue to flow nicely and problems will be solved as we go along. I would be interested to read the rest of the books in this series.

Even though chick lit, in general and this book in particular, can be predictable, I still appreciated the themes of this book. Two strong themes presented themselves in this book: 1- messing with fate and the universe by using magic (or any other technique) can prove dangerous. And 2- If people do not like (or love) us for who we are then using magic or bribes or pretending to be someone other than we are, etc., will not bring lasting friendship and happiness. Those who truly love us, love us for who we are.

This was my favorite chick lit book of the class.

Reader’s Annotation

Rachel finds out her mother and sister are witches.

Information about the author

Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel MILKRUN.

Since then Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: FISHBOWL, AS SEEN ON TV, MONKEY BUSINESS and ME VS. ME, and the teen novels BRAS & BROOMSTICKS, FROGS & FRENCH KISSES, SPELLS & SLEEPING BAGS and PARTIES & POTIONS—all in the ‘Magic in Manhattan’ series, as well as GIMME A CALL and TEN THINGS WE DID (AND PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE).

http://sarahm.com/bio.php

Genre

Chick lit.

Curriculum Ties

Family relationships. Reading for pleasure.

Booktalking Ideas

*What would you do if you found out your sister was a witch? *If you had magical powers, what would you wish for?

Reading Level

Grades 6 to 9. So technically this may be a bit below this class level. But I still think older teenage girls would enjoy it.

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I included this book because I needed some Chick Lit in my database. I got this title from the Chick Lit presentation for our class.

Skinny Dip

Skinny Dip

by Carl Hiaasen

Warner Books, 2006

ISBN 0446615129

512 pages

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Joey's husband takes her on a romantic cruise for their two year anniversary and then proceeds to push her overboard. Chaz completes expects Joey to drown in the ocean. He plays the part of the grieving husband. Chaz miscalculates the ocean currents and Joey is a great swimmer and she is able to survive. She is rescued by a retired police officer named Mitch.

Now Joey has a conundrum. She can report Chaz's crime to the police but she knows that it will only be her word against his word. Or she can take matters into her own hands. Joey's parents died when she was young and she inherited millions from them.

Joey decides to get revenge on Chaz in her own way. She has millions of dollars at her disposal and Chaz believes she is dead. First, she wants to find out why Chaz dumped her over the edge of the cruise ship and then she wants pay back.

Critical Evaluation

I greatly enjoyed this book. Even though the actual subject matters of the book - murder, bribery, blackmail, dishonesty, etc. are serious they are treated in a lighthearted humorous manner. The only real serious topic is that of preserving the everglades in Florida. This is a common theme in Carl Hiaasen's books. He often interjects environmental issues into his book in a nonthreatening, unpreachy manner.

The characters are fairly predictable, stagnant people. The good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. Only one character really changes during the course of the book and that is Tool. Tool becomes Chaz's bodyguard once Chaz realizes something strange is going on. Tool has worked as a hired thug for years now but changes his ways and becomes kind, sort of! Chaz's character so lacks any type of integrity and is so self-absorbed he is nearly unbelievable. But he does make for a good laugh.

This book is definitely adult fiction rather than young adult. But it would make an interesting crossover novel. Although many young adult novels have swearing and sex, this book is different because all the characters are adults and the approach to the sex and swearing feels different than what one would find in a young adult novel.

Reader’s Annotation

Joey is thrown overboard by her husband but she survives. Joey seeks to find out the reasons behind her attempted murder and to get revenge.

Information about the author

"Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives with his family.

A graduate of the University of Florida, at age 23 he joined The Miami Herald as a general assignment reporter and went on to work for the paper's weekly magazine and later its prize-winning investigations team. Since 1985 Hiaasen has been writing a regular column, which at one time or another has pissed off just about everybody in South Florida, including his own bosses. He has outlasted almost all of them, and his column still appears on most Sundays in The Herald's opinion-and-editorial section. It may be viewed online at www.miamiherald.com or in the actual printed edition of the newspaper, which, miraculously, is still being published. "

http://www.carlhiaasen.com/bio.html

Genre

YA crossover, humor and maybe even some mystery

Curriculum Ties

This book has some excellent areas for curriculum use; such as environmental issues, agriculture, pollution, and the Florida evergreens.

Booktalking Ideas

*What would you do if someone wronged you and you could seek revenge? What would you do? If you inherited thirteen million dollars, what would you do with it?

Reading Level

Grade 10 and up.

Challenge Issues

No challenge issues for an adult novel. But as a crossover novel there is quite a bit of swearing and sex.

Why Included?

I included this book because I wanted some crossover titles in my selection. I had also read the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen which is an actual young adult book and was curious to see what his adult novels were like. I found this title on list of suggested adult fiction reads for young adults located at http://colchestervt.gov/Library/attachments/CrossoverFiction.pdf.

Little Brother

Little Brother

by Cory Doctorow

Tor Books, 2008

ISBN 076519853

382 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Marcus is a regular, although quite brilliant, seventeen year old just minding his own business when San Francisco experiences the worst terrorist attack since 9/11. Marcus and 3 of his friends are in the wrong place at the wrong time and get hauled in for interrogations. Marcus and two of his friends are eventually released.

Marcus finds himself now living in a police state. Every citizen is considered a terrorist and the citizen's every moves are being monitored. Marcus has no choice but to go after the Department of Homeland Security himself.

Critical Evaluation

The ideas, themes and concepts of this book were very intriguing. I do not understand all the technical language that Marcus used to explain his thinking and procedures with hacking yet I still enjoyed the main concepts. This book was very thought provoking. I pondered personal freedom versus safety. It is an idea that has been highlighted many times in the United States since 9/11.

My only problem with the book was that at times it felt a bit preachy. I understand what Doctorow wanted to put across to his readers. I felt like I was being talked down to and that Doctorow felt like he really needed to spell out his opinions for the reader to be able to understand. However, on the other hand, I felt that the afterwards at the end of the book were quite nicely written. They were nonfiction and the mood was refreshing.

Overall, the book is very interesting and definitely worth the read.

Reader’s Annotation

Marcus finds himself being interrogated and accused of being a terrorist. When he is released he find his city has turned into a police state.

Information about the author

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger -- the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of Tor Teens/HarperCollins UK novels like FOR THE WIN and the bestselling LITTLE BROTHER. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in London.

http://craphound.com/?page_id=1638

Genre

science fiction

Curriculum Ties

social studies. technology.

Booktalking Ideas

*What would you do if you were falsely accused of committing a crime? *How would you react if America was turned into an emergency police state?

Reading Level

ages 13 and up

Challenge Issues

This book has some anti controlling government themes. Marcus actively works to thwart the department of homeland security.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

Little Brother has won quite a few awards. Such as:

Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2008), John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2009), Emperor Norton Award (2008),Prometheus Award for Best Novel (2009)

Prometheus Award for Best Novel (2009), Sakura Medal Nominee for High School Book (2010), Florida Teens Read Nominee (2009)

Why Included?

Little Brother was one of three required readings for the class.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

by M.T. Anderson

Candlewick Press, 2006

ISBN 0763624020

358 pages

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Young Octavian is being raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers — but it is only after he opens a forbidden door that learns the hideous nature of their experiments, and his own chilling role them. Set in Revolutionary Boston, M. T. Anderson’s mesmerizing novel takes place at a time when Patriots battled to win liberty while African slaves were entreated to risk their lives for a freedom they would never claim. The first of two parts, this deeply provocative novel reimagines past as an eerie place that has startling resonance for readers today.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1845844.The_Pox_Party

Critical Evaluation

This book was a difficult read. However, many of the reviews I read about this book said the same thing. I enjoyed the first part of the book quite a bit. The experiment and the environment that Octavian was being raised in was interesting. I also liked how the setting was during the revolutionary war. So many books about slavery occur during the civil war.

Once the "management" changed hands of the home Octavian was living in and Octavian went to the pox party I did not enjoy the book quite as much. It got more confusing. Then there were quite a few pages crossed out and scratched through. I felt bogged down at this point. I did finish the book and hope the best for Octavian but I probably will not read part II.

Reader’s Annotation

Octavian Nothing is a young slave boy born into slavery and raised as an experiment to determine if African people are as capable as those of European descent.

Information about the author

M. T. Anderson is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of M. T. Anderson include The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves, Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware: M.T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales, Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware (M. T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales). http://www.jacketflap.com/m-t-anderson/209487.

Genre

historical fiction

Curriculum Ties

This would be a great book to use for any unit on slavery. It also takes place during the Revolutionary war which is an interesting twist because so many books about slavery take place around the time of the Civil War.

Booktalking Ideas

*Talk about the freedoms (or lack thereof) that slaves had. *Play some of the violin music that Octavian learned how to play.

Reading Level

age 14 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I chose this book because of the numerous awards it had won. Such as National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2006), British Fantasy Award (2007), Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (2006), BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (2006), Printz Honor (2007) Printz Honor (2007), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2007), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry (2007).

Code Orange

Code Orange

by Caroline B Cooney

Delacorte Books, 2005

ISBN 0385732597

208 pages

4 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Mitty lives in New York and he enjoys doing the least amount of work that he can get away with at school. He has a huge report due on infectious diseases due the very next day. He wants to get something turned in because if he doesn't he will get kicked out of the honors biology class and that would be awful because the girl he likes, Olivia, is in that class. So Mitty goes through his mother's old books and find some old smallpox scabs.

The more Mitty learns about smallpox the more worried he becomes about handling the scabs. He finally sends out some emails to lots of experts and health organizations trying to find out if he could become infected from the scabs. If Mitty got smallpox, he knew he could cause a worldwide plague. The action gets more intense from here but I do not want to give any more away!

Critical Evaluation

This book is a wonderful suspense, action book. It is similar to the writings of Harlan Coben who writes action/suspense adult fiction. There was not huge character development but the gist of this book was the suspense and the action.

I find the topic of infectious disease to be very interesting so this was an added bonus to read about. There were tidbits of information about Edward Jenner who discovered the vaccination for small pox.

Reader’s Annotation

Mitty Blake discovers smallpox scabs in an old medical text. As he learns more about the disease he is concerned that he has contracted the disease from the scabs.

Information about the author

"I had a wonderful sixth grade teacher. His name was Mr. Albert. All the girls wanted to grow up and marry him, and all the boys wanted to be just like him. Every Friday, he made us write a short story. He had a stack of covers from New Yorker magazines — detailed and brightly colored, like cartoons. He'd pass them out and we'd have to write a short story to match the picture we got. I was the one in the class who never stopped.

I love to write. I love to make things up. I'm in a library or a bookstore most days of the week, because I love to be around other people's books, too. Reading and writing books takes up most of my life. Now I've added talking about books on school visits, which is all the fun and none of the work of writing.

The best part of school visits is meeting my readers, since my three children are grown now and I don't get to hang out with teenagers (although I still play the piano for the four choirs in our middle school). School visits are such a neat way to see America. When you're in Indiana one week, Oregon the next, and Louisiana after that, you go home astonished and honored to have met all those wonderful kids and their teachers.

“Where do you get your ideas?” Readers ask this question of every writer. I don't usually know. I just wake up with a mind full of ideas. But we all have great ideas; I could go to your school and brainstorm with your class, and we'd end up with a great plot, or ten of them. The hard part is turning the idea into a book.

Sometimes I do know where an idea comes from. When Louisa, my oldest child, became an ambulance volunteer at 16, I wanted to write a rescue book, and that idea became Flight #116 Is Down. I volunteered for several years in an inner city hospital, and from that experience came Emergency Room.

There's more teamwork in writing than you would think. I have a wonderful editor, and we talk and talk about the next book I'm going to write — or the book I've just finished writing that she thinks needs a little more work. It's sort of like having your own lifetime English teacher: No matter how well you write, she thinks you can do better and mails the story back to you to do again.

I was born in 1947 in Geneva, New York, and grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Except for a few years in North Carolina, I've always lived in Connecticut. I tried four colleges and faded fast at each. Every now and then I order myself to go back to school and get my degree, but nothing ever comes of it. I use my children, Louisa, Sayre (rhymes with fair), and Harold, in all my books. I just finished The Terrorist, based on the year Harold and Sayre convinced me to live in London, England.

I'm a happy person. I've been told this is shallow, and if I thought more deeply, I would know better; I would be miserable. But I think that most of us, even if our lives are full of misery, want to think on good things, and plan for good lives. So I write about good kids trying to do their best, even if the world around them has crumbled and doesn't offer good choices."

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=2296

I realize that was a long author biography, but I thought it was quite interesting and well-written for kids.

Genre

suspense. action.

Curriculum Ties

health. infectious disease.

Booktalking Ideas

*If you found scabs in an old medical textbook, would you touch them? *If you found out you were infected with an infectious disease that people no longer got vaccinated for, what would you do?

Reading Level

ages twelve and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

This book was included on a library list for mystery/suspense young adult novels. Reading the back cover intrigued me.

Wintergirls

Wintergirls

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Viking, 2009

ISBN 067001110X

278 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her step-mother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she'll disappear altogether.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5152478-wintergirls

Critical Evaluation

I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time now and I am glad I read it. Eating disorders have always interested me because it is so far removed from my life experience. It is difficult to understand why someone would chose to keep losing weight when it was dangerous for their bodies and painful for them. I would hate to be hungry all the time. Two points that I found interesting were 1- Lia was unable to do anything else in her life. Because she was starving herself, her body was not able to do anything. She could not focus in school, she could barely drive, she could not maintain relationships. Her only friend died and so she was friendless. She did not date or hold down a job. Nothing. Her body was in survival mode and she was not really living. 2- It seemed that her eating was not just about being thin but about being in control. She felt out of control in her own life and felt that she had no influence on the relationships around her. Her controlling her body and her calorie intake gave her some measure of control. Or so she thought.

I was also surprised that I was occasionally out of patience with Lia. I feel that I am usually fairly compassionate toward other people. I believe that people are good and are doing the best they can. But sometimes Lia's behavior was so self-destructive and she was so out of touch with reality, that I would feel impatient with her.

Reader’s Annotation

Lia keeps trying to get thinner, thinner, thinner.

Information about the author

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, SPEAK and CHAINS, were National Book Award finalists. Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes.

http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-anderson-laurie.asp

Genre

realistic fiction

Curriculum Ties

physical health. psychology.

Booktalking Ideas

*Talk about all the things that happen to the human body when it starves.

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

The subject matter of anorexia can be quite disturbing. So there is a possibility a parent may object to this book.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

This book has won quite a few awards. An ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2010),Cybils Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2009), TAYSHAS High School Reading List (2010), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2009), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2010)ALA Teens' Top Ten (2010), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (2010), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2010), Iowa High School Book Award Nominee (2011), RT Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Novel (2009)

Why Included?

I wanted a realistic fiction book about mental health/body image problem. This book is a great fit.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief

by Marcus Zusak

Knopf Books, 2006

ISBN 0375831002

550 pages

4.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

In Germany during WWII Liesel Meminger is sent to live with foster parents. Her father has disappeared, her mother can no longer care for her and her brother dies en route to the foster family's home.

When Liesel first arrives at her foster family's home she does not know how to read. But her father teaches her and Liesel learns to love reading. She loves it so much, in fact, that she often steals books. Liesel also goes to school and makes friends with the neighbors on her new street. As WWII progresses, life gets harder for the German citizens. There is not enough food or work. Liesel's family hides a Jew in their basement. Liesel's foster father is sent to war. And as nearly all WWI novels go, the ending is unhappy.

Critical Evaluation

I loved this book. I had actually tried to read it two times before and could never get interested in it. The narrator is death and it is a bit odd at the beginning of the book. But this time I pushed through the beginning as I was getting used to the narrator and then I could not put it down.

Most of the WWII books that I have read have been from a Jew's point of view. And while those books are not to be diminished. It was interesting to read a book from a German citizen's point of view. Essentially WWII was not pleasant for anyone.

I enjoyed the theme of Leisel stealing books. She met the mayor's wife who had a wonderful library full of her personal books. The mayor's wife had lost her only child and never recovered. Not only was the book narrated by death but death is one of the books themes. Everyone was touched by death and each character dealt with it differently.

Reader’s Annotation

While living in Germany during WWII, Liesel Meminger copes with the horrors of war by stealing books.

Information about the author

Australian author Markus Zusak grew up hearing stories about Nazi Germany, about the bombing of Munich and about Jews being marched through his mother’s small, German town. He always knew it was a story he wanted to tell.

“We have these images of the straight-marching lines of boys and the ‘Heil Hitlers’ and this idea that everyone in Germany was in it together. But there still were rebellious children and people who didn’t follow the rules and people who hid Jews and other people in their houses. So there’s another side to Nazi Germany,” said Zusak in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald.

At the age of 30, Zusak has already asserted himself as one of today’s most innovative and poetic novelists. With the publication of The Book Thief, he is now being dubbed a ‘literary phenomenon’ by Australian and U.S. critics. Zusak is the award-winning author of four previous books for young adults: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting the Girl, and I Am the Messenger, recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature. He lives in Sydney.

Genre

historical fiction

Curriculum Ties

history. WWII

Booktalking Ideas

*State some things you know about WWII? Have you read a book about WWII that was not a Jewish story? *How would you describe death, if it were a person?

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I have been wanting to read this book for years. I also kept hearing wonderful things about it. And I was not disappointed!