The Fault in Our Stars

Green, J. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York: Penguin Group.

The story is about two teenagers who have cancer.  Hazel has terminal cancer and Augustus is a cancer survivor.  They meet at a cancer support group.  Hazel’s mom thinks that she is depressed and she requires her to attend the weekly meetings with other teenagers that either are living with or having survived cancer.  She spends most of her time alone and is obsessed with the book An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten.  This book is what she uses to draw her strength from in coming to terms with life and death. Hazel thinks that the meetings are a waste of time but she comes to appease her mother.   But this changes when Augustus Waters and his friend, Isaac show up one day to a meeting.  It seems that Hazel and Augustus have an instant connection.   Hazel’s and Augustus’ relationship grows and they begin to fall in love. She is worried that she will die and wants to spare him from being hurt.  Augustus decides to use his Make-A-Wish on her and travel to Amsterdam together to meet Peter Van Houten and get some answers about her favorite book.  While in Amsterdam, Augustus admits to Hazel that his cancer is back and that it has spread all over his body.  Upon returning home, Augustus becomes very ill and he dies soon after.  Hazel realizes that it was worth loving Augustus and not to have loved him at all.

This was an excellent novel to read.  I couldn’t put it down.  It is good read for anyone who is dealing with an illness or a death. Yes, it deals with cancer, death and sadness but it is also filled with love, hope and loss.  It tells the reader that they should live their life to its fullest and love freely.  

It's Perfectly Normal: A book about changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual heatlh

Harris, R. (1994). It's perfectly normal: a book about changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

This is an informational book that can be used as a teaching tool for children 10 and older about sexual health, emotional health, and relationships, and it also contains sections on puberty, pregnancy and sexual orientation.  The information presented are in a way that children can understand with cartoon drawings and two characters, a bird and a bee.  It is divided into six parts:

Part One – What is Sex?

Part Two – Our Bodies

Part Three – Puberty

Part Four – Families and Babies

Part Five – Decisions

Part Six – Staying Healthy

The way that the information is presented lets young adults make responsible decisions and be able to go to for unanswered questions.  This is a highly controversial book and it has been placed in the restricted areas for some libraries. This is a great book to be used by parents as an additional supplement for families.  

The Chocolate War

Cormier, R. (1974). The chocolate war: A novel. New York: Delacorte.

Jerry Renault is a freshman at the Trinity High School, a private school for middle class boys who wants to be the school’s quarterback.  At Trinity, there is a group of boys who call themselves the Vigils.  The Vigils are a secret society that pick students or “victims” to complete a difficult assignment.  The Vigils have the support from Brother Leon, the assistant headmaster.  The annual fundraiser to sell chocolates is coming up and Brother Leon has ordered extra ones.  He tells the Vigils that it will be their job to make sure that all the candy is sold. Jerry wants to make the football team but he knows that he has to prove himself to the other students. Then Jerry receives an assignment from the Vigils.  They want for him to refuse selling the chocolates for ten days than once it is up, then start selling. On the first day of the chocolate sale when roll call is being done, Jerry flat out refuses the chocolates to Brother Leon.  After ten days, Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates altogether.  The Vigils see this as a direct act of defiance but for many students see it as Jerry is earning their respect.  The chocolate sells are down and Brother Leon is blaming Jerry for it. So what happens next is that Jerry starts getting beat up, bullied, and receiving prank phone calls by the football team.  He still continues to refuse to sell the chocolates.  So, the Vigils arrange for a fight match between Jerry and the school bully.  During the fight, Jerry is nearly beaten to death for standing up for what he believed in.  Jerry knows that nothing will change, everything will stay the same.    

This dark realistic fiction novel deals with school violence and bullying. It is geared towards high school boys since they could be dealing with the bullying or they are the bully.  It lets them see that it is okay to stand up for yourself even if you are the only one.  

Here are some more books that deal with school violence and bullying that I would recommend Permanent Record by Leslie Stella, The List by Siobhan Vivian, The Buffalo Tree by Adam Rapp and Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson.  

We Were Liars

Lockhart, E. (2014). We were liars. New York: Delacorte.

Cadence belongs to the Sinclair family.  They are athletic, beautiful and rich.  They spend their summers on their own private island.  Penny, Bess, and Carrie are Cadence’s grandfather’s daughters, they scheme to be the family’s heir.  They want their children to be like them.  But Cadence, Mirren, Johnny and family friend, Gat who are called the Liars see past that. They are the best of friends and love life.  It all changes on the summer fifteen when a mysterious tragedy occurred.  Cadence’s life completely changes.  She quits sports, starts failing in school and she has lost contact with the Liars.  Cadence tries to contact the Liars but they shelter her.  On summer seventeen, Cadence who suffers from debilitating headaches wants to remember what happened on that fifteenth summer so her mother allows her to return to the island.  She slowly starts to remember what happened with the help of the Liars who were also there on the island with her to help Cadence remember. The Liars saw that money was pulling the family apart so they came up with a plan to set fire to their grandfather’s house.  Johnny, Mirren, and Gat get trapped in the house and are unable to escape the fire.  It is then that Cadence remembers that she was the only one who survived the fire.  That is when she realizes that she has been spending the summer with ghosts.  The Liars ask if they could leave and she lets them go. 

I did not expect it to end the way that it did but I enjoyed the twist.  This story was about how greed can destroy one’s life in an instant.  This is dark modern realistic fiction novel.  There are many people who suffer brain injuries and cannot remember what happened because their brain has chosen to handle the grief or the accident in a certain way.  Cadence grieved for the Liars and when she remembered it was heart-breaking but it was also comforting because she was able to receive it from them.  

Chance, R. (2014). Young adult literature in action: A librarian's guide. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Going Bovine

Bray, L. (2009). Going bovine. New York: Delacorte Press.

Cameron Smith is a high school slacker from Texas who thinks is having a marijuana induced hallucination in his English class.  But for sixteen year old Cameron who just wants to through life with minimum effort is diagnosed with mad cow disease and is told that he is going to die.  While in the hospital, he is introduced Dulcie during a hallucination-induced vision.  She tells Cameron that there is a cure but only if he is willing to go search for it.  Dulcie gives Cameron a Disney World wristband and she tells him that he needs to take a journey with Gonzo, a death-obsessed video-gaming dwarf.  So Cameron and Gonzo set off to find Dr. X and be able to save the world and cure himself.  Along the way to Florida, they rescue a Viking named Balder who was trapped in a garden gnome.  At Disney World, Cameron meets up with Dr. X and is told that he cannot save his life.  Then he wakes up in the hospital where the nurse is turning of the life support and his family are saying their goodbyes.  Cameron then finds himself happy with Dulcie.

In this high fantasy fiction, Bray uses Cameron’s hallucinations to create a bizarre world for Cameron to take his journey.  It is understandable why his journey is so strange is because of the mad cow disease is eating away at his brain.  So, to Cameron it was reality.  According to Chance, the criteria for high fantasy the story needs to feature a creature or character to add humor or relieve tension or despair.  In this novel, those characters are Dulcie and Gonzo.  This novel shows the struggle that Cameron was dealing with in both his real life and in hallucinations are the reflections of reality.

  

Chance, R. (2014). Young adult literature in action: A librarian's guide. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Scowler

Kraus, D. (2013). Scowler. New York: Delacorte.

Ry lives in an abusive home.  His father, Marvin sews Ry’s mom to her bed.  An 11 year old Ry and his sister, Sarah try to flee the house.  Because of his disobedience, Ry’s dad chases him throughout the countryside.  Through all of this, Ry finds comfort with 3 toys that he has in his pocket. Ry finds safety and his father is taking to prison.  Nine years later, his dad escapes from prison and heads back to the farm for vengeance.  At this time, Ry turns back to his toys: Jesus Christ, Mr. Furrington, and Scowler. After a meteor strike, Ry uses Scowler to help him kill his father leaving him traumatized.  This moment leaves Ry on the edge of sanity or maybe leaves him a more confident man. 

This dark realistic psychological thriller is recommended for grades 11^th and up.  I found this brand of violence to be disturbing and something that you cannot forget.  It is a teenage mental and physical survival story that is hard edged with domestic violence that is brutal and graphic.  It has different levels of scariness that could be very similar to the works of Stephen King.  

Mexican White Boy

De la Pena, M. (2008). Mexican white boy. New York: Delacorte Press.


 Danny Lopez is a biracial sixteen year old who lives in a wealthy northern San Diego county.  Danny’s mother is white and his father is Mexican.  Danny is confused with his sense of identity.  His father had left both he and his mother.  He is not sure if he belongs in a white society or a Mexican society?  Then over the summer, Danny goes to visit some of his father’s side of family in order to get a better understand of his ancestry and to learn why his father left them.  While in Mexico, Danny has a hard time fitting in as well.  He doesn’t speak Spanish and doesn’t have much in common with the boys in the neighborhood except for the love of baseball.  He learns that father is in prison. There is one boy in particular that Danny creates a bond with but it wasn’t easier at first.  Uno punches Danny in the face when they first met but overtime they develop a special friendship.  Over the summer with his family, he finds his focus for the baseball, he learns about his family and the able to embrace his multiculturalism.

This is a great realistic fiction for boys in grades 8^th grade and up.  It does share the Mexican-American culture and heritage.  It also shows how one can overcome their insecurities both from within and with identifying your identity.  The theme of baseball is also predominant in the novel as well.  Readers see how Danny is able to overcome his insecurities in regards to pitching and see how he develops his focus to stand on the mound.