The Midnight Dress (277 Pages)

Author Karen Foxlee is an Australian and a new author to me. The setting for this book is a small town in Australia. Rose Lovell arrived in this town with her father with whom she has been traveling around the country ever since her mother committed suicide. Now she is fifteen; she has never had a best friend; she has never had a home. And then she lands in Leonora, Australia where Rose meets Pearl Kelly, another 15 year old in Leonora. Pearl convinces Rose that she needs to join her (and the other young, high school ladies in the town in the annual harvest festival. She will need a dress as it is a competitive event in which one of the girls is crowned queen and two of the girls become princesses in the court. This is not the kind of thing Rose cares about, and she certainly doesn't have money to but a new gown. Pearl convinces her to go to a woman in the town who has made dresses for many of the town's women....however, there is talk about this woman being strange. Rose goes to the woman, Edie, and it is then that the reader learns about Edie's family as Edie teaches Rose how to sew. This is a very different read from most American YA authors. It is a mystery that involves betrayal, friendship, murder, and coming of age for two young girls.

Fallout (258+ Pages)

I think I've read almost every YA book Todd Strasser has written. The Wave and Give a Boy a Gun are two of my all time favorite YA books, not just for the read itself, but for the terrific discussion both books This book is no exception. It not only deals with the question, "Why War?" but also took me back to my days in the early 60's when The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred and scared everyone in the United States. What Strasser has done in this book is to fictionalize a historical event ( The Cuban Missile Crisis ) and has varied his plot structure with pre-bomb and post-bomb chapters. The story is told in the voice of Scott, a middle school student. Scott's father is one of the few people in his town to build a bomb shelter in their back year. He is ridiculed by most adults who hear about it. The shelter is built to offer shelter to four people Scott, his brother Edward, his mother and his father. There is food and water for the four of them to last for two weeks, when the radiation levels should be low enough for them to survive above ground. The book opens with Scott being roughly shaken awake by his father as the country is under attack. The text is frightening, as it moves forward in time. Strasser adds an author's note at the end of the book, and in three and a half pages explains what happened to him and his younger brother when his own father had a bomb shelter built in their back yard. This book offers so many questions for students to ask about appropriate ethics, about family values, about friendship, and about "Why War?"

Golden Boy ( 340 Pages +)

For any of you who are attempting/considering teaching a unit on tolerance or prejudice,thisis a book you should definitely consider! Author Tara Sullivan has researched the situation in Tanzania, and therefore the facts that are interwoven with the fiction. Habo is a 13 year old boy who was born to a very poor family. He has two brothers and one sister. Habo is an albino, and I learned so much about the albanism. Because he was born an albino, his father deserted the family. Eventually his family is kicked out of their home, because of the severe drought, they are unable to farm and therefore, cannot pay their rent. They run to the mother's sister's home which is located in Mwanza where there are poachers anxious to capture an albino. These horrible men then cut up the albino and sell body part for huge sums of money, as it is thought that an albino will bring luck to the family who has some aobino parts in their home. On the way to their aunt's. The man who drove the family to Mwanza, is evil, and he eventually comes back to capture Habo. Habo escapes and makes his way to,  Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania.There his luck changes as albinos are protected there. The book is an exciting, fast paced read. Students should be told not to worry about correctly pronouncing the names or expressions (although the is a glossary in the back of the book). It is a heart-warming, powerful read, and was named by Yalsa as one of the top ten young adult books in 2014 .

Being Henry David (304 Pages)

Another debut of a YA author's book, and it is a delight. So many opportunities for discussion, and for reader response; this could also make a great book club selection.  Cal Armistead has written a coming of age book in which a 17year old boy has lost his memory following an automobile accident in which he was the driver and his little sister was the passenger. He remembers nothing: not his name, not his address, not his telephone number, not what he is good at, none of his talents. It's a bummer. He finds himself suddenly sitting on the floor of Penn Station in New York City. He has been robbed, and all he has is the clothes on his back, the book Walden, and $10 in his pocket. Quickly exposed to homeless life in The Big Apple, he meets a brother and sister(Jack and Nessa) who seem to know the ropes, but following their daily routine, leaves him absolutely sure this is not where he belongs. He gets some money from Jack and buys a train ticket to Concord, Massachusetts. This destination has been sparked by his reading of Walden and his belief in Henry David Thoreau's ideas. He takes the name of Hank Davidson and starts out "camping" at Walden Pond in Concord. The reader is then taken on the journey with Hank to recall his past. It's a fun read, and will strike a chord with those students who have ever struggled with being honest, resisting impulses, and facing the consequences of their own actions. "Hank" has a photographic memory and is able to quote passages of Walden, frequently throughout the book . This is a winner!