You Against Me ( 413 Pages )

Jenny Downham ( author of Before I Die) has written another winner. In this novel she develops two characters from opposite sides of the tracks who meet and fall in love. Neither knows that they will eventually be against each other in a court of law! Mikey's sister has been abused. She has climbed into a shell and does not was to be touched physically, emotionally, or mentally. Ellie's brother has been jailed for sexual assault.However, he says he didn't do it. But Ellie's family has money, and they are able to get him out of jail...at least until the trial. When Mikey sets out with a friend to go to their house, they find the family has thrown a HUGE welcome home party for their son, the golden boy. Although Mikey does not realize it, he meets Ellie and does not discover that it is her brother who assaulted his sister. This is a story about loyalty, family,honor,and most of all, about love. It is a winner.

Bitterblue (539)

Billed as a sequel to Graceling and a companion to Fire, Kristin Cashore has written another wonderful novel that speaks to the reader about loyalty, family, leadership, and asks the reader to question, "What happens when a leader abuses power?" Remember, "absolute power corrupts absolutely!" (I don't know to whom I should credit that quote!) The same characters appear in this novel as in the other two, and because I had become so enthralled with many of them, this became one of those books where I found myself not wanting it to end. I wonder how many of our students could look at people around them and recognize their "grace"? Both boys and girls will enjoy reading this, and although it is not important for them to have read Graceling or Fire, they will want to read both when done with Bitterblue.

Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay

This book should be required reading for any secondary English and/or social studies teacher. It is written by two teachers who know their stuff! Kimberly Hill Campbell and Kristi Latimer have crafted a professional text chuck full of ideas for reading and writing, appendixes of forms and pass-outs for teachers to give to kids, a gazillion secondary book ideas, and more. They stole my quote ( which is quite alright) of "Read like a writer and Write like a reader." An entire chapter is devoted to reading like a writer. But understand, this book is more than just a sermon of anti formulaic writing. It takes this philosophy one step further with specific ideas of how to get your students out of the 5 paragraph mold! Available from Stenhouse, this book needs to be in the hands of everyone who trying to improve student writing!

Code Name Verity (327 Pages)

There are many books written about the Holocaust, and it is my hope that schools will reach beyond Diary of a Young Girl.Although it is a perfectly fine book, other have surfaced that offer other ides about the war. Here is a book that is quite marvelous. Written from two points of view,author Elizabeth Wein has crafted an historical novel that is spell binding. The first half of the book is "written" by Verity, a code name for Julie Beaufort-Stuart. Julie is from an upper class Scottish family who becomes a spy for England. The second half of the book is "written" by Maddie, a young, Jewish, British girl who is a bit of a tom boy. She becomes quite a capable pilot and flies for much of the war carrying supplies to resistance in France and bringing back English pilots who have been shot down, but survived. Maddie and Julie meet and quickly become best friends. I will not tell you how the book ends, you obviously know "who won the war"! But this is not about the war as much as it is about the active duty of women during the war, about close friendships women achieve, and about the word "truth". Much truth,and therefore, such an aptly named title. I was on the edge of my seat for much of the read!

Never Fall Down (214 Pages)

Patricia McCormick has written several books that I may have mentioned in class, among them are Sold, Purple Heart, My Brother's Keeper, and Cut. Everyone of them have proven to be great for discussion. This book is no exception. It is historical fiction, although most of it is based on the memory of the main character, Arn Chorn-Pond. It is the story of the atrocities dealt by the Khmer Rouge on the Cambodian people, and in particular on the Cambodian children. Without knowing what he was sucked into, Arn finds himself in the middle of what has become known as The Killing Fields. The book is filled with gore, brutality,and horrific violence. It documents once again man's inhumanity toward man. It is an important read, I believe, and one that could be embraced by social studies teachers as well as English teachers.

The List (332 Pages)

In this book, Siobhan Vivian follows eight high school girls, all of whom have found themselves on "The List." The List appears each year as a tradition for this school. The List states the prettiest and ugliest girls in each grade. Those who are named the prettiest have an initial reaction of "Wow, this is great!" Then they have to deal with the jealous feelings of their peers. And those who are named ugliest must face each day knowing that they are the bottom of the heap. I hate these lists, but in this book, Vivian allows the reader to examine the caste system that exists in most high schools, as well as what makes a girl "pretty" and how people are judged by peers in high school. There is much for discussion in this book.

Graceling

This is another book I read on my Kindle. Kristin Cashore has written a novel that will be loved by those who enjoyed The Hunger Games. The main character, Katsa, has a "Grace" that gives her extraordinary powers to fight, and I mean fight to the kill. Her uncle is using her to fight for him, killing those people who don't obey him or who do not honor him. Then she meets Prince Po and the two of them become friends. They frequently "fight" or perhaps I should say "spar." This is just to keep Katsa in shape and prepared for the next deadly fight. Katsa doesn't know that Po is also a Graceling. He has been born with the "grace" to be able to read people's minds. Katsa and Po escape from her mean uncle's grip when Katsa refuses to hurt a citizen of her uncle's kingdom. They proceed on a quest to determine who kidnapped Po's grandfather. This is a wonderful read, and gives the reader a thought to consider: Do all of us have some sort of grace? As students read about the romance that builds between Katsa and Po, they will be faced with a mystery as well as a love story. Another goodie!