The Wall ( 288 Pages)

William Sutcliffe has written a book that will keep the reader thinking long after the book has been completed. I read the inside cover to my daughter and she said,"Gee it could have been about the Berlin Wall." My response was,"Yes, or the USA-Mexican border!" What is it about walls that make people feel safer? What is it about isolation that keeps people from understanding others? In this book, Sutcliffe has placed the setting in a reality closely mirroring Israel's West Bank. The book is tense, and surreal, while at the same time being completely plausible. It is not fantasy! Josh could easily be a young boy any where today. He is with a friend who is a bit of a duffus and who "accidentally" kicks Josh's new, leather soccer ball over "The Wall." And so the story begins. This is such an important read. One that is so in need of discussion. I can easily see it as a whole class read where a smart teacher guides discussion to the point of students questioning "the enemy". Who decides this? Is it important to maintain enemy status? Why? Get this book into your classroom ASAP!

The Tragedy Paper (304 Pges)

Elizabeth Laban has written an amazing book on so many levels! It has two voices speaking to the reader. One of the two belongs to Tim, an albino student, at a prestigious eastern prep school. His albinism is important and as the reader takes in the text, s/he learns why a complete lack of pigment could be a problem for an adolescent. I had no idea that eye problems could develop as a result of being an albino. I was not surprised that Tim felt uncomfortable with himself and they way people reacted to him. The second voice belongs to Duncan, who is a year younger than Tim, and who "inherited" Tim's room for his senior year. It is a tradition that each year graduating seniors leave a "treasure" for the student who will be the next to live in his room. These treasures vary from a bottle of booze to a dinner at a local restaurant and some that are just plain silly. Duncan enters his room to discover that Tim has left him a stack of CD's to listen to, in which he learns all the facts leading up to the tradition of the senior stunt. The story weaves in romance, mystery, and the pressure of the senior paper. This paper's theme is (and has been for years) Tragedy. Students have read various Shakespearean tragedies, and have discussed the various qualifications for a tragedy to be called such. Throw in a slightly obnoxious senior boy who takes on the organization of the senior stunt. How this turns into a night of horror, is the culmination of this remarkable book.

Throne of Glass (404 Pages)

Sarah Maas has won an award for this book, although I can't remember the name of the award! However, it is well deserved. Throne of Glass is a fantasy read, but is written with such precision to detail, that this reader forgot it was a fantasy! The Throne of Glass tells the story of an unforgettable heroine, Celaene. She is known to be the most famous and most successful assassin on the island. The vicious king of the glass throne kingdom, catches her and puts her in the prison salt mines for life. She is not expected to live for a long time as the guards there are ferocious! However, the king feels he needs a champion (a person who will do as told, obviously to include killing for the king) The Captain of the Guards and the Crown Prince are given the job of finding 23 possible contenders for the job. One of these turns out to be Celaena. The contenders are forced into a competition of elimination, and the winner will be the king's champion. What happens throughout the book is spellbinding, and deserves the quote from USA Today saying that this book is "a must-read."

The 5th Wave ( 457 Pages)

Rick Yancey is the author of this new view of America/Earth in the future. This is a book that I would place in the "What If?" genre. If you aren't familiar with that genre of literature, I think I may have made it up. Anyway, there are many books that fall into this category, and this one is a goody! What if earth was being monitored by beings on a different planet in a different solar system for thousands of years. These beings are much more advanced than our species, and at some point they decide that the "need earth." So they appear in the 1st wave. But they don't look any different than we do. They come in human form and many are able to enter bodies of humans without their even realizing this has happened. They book centers around a family called the Sullivans. They consist of a mother, father, daughter (Cassie) and son (Sammy).  The kids become the main characters, and it is their attempt to survive  and understand all of the very strange events that carries the book from beginning to end. Boy, I didn't want this book to end.

Period. 8 (276 Pages)

I will always buy anything written by Chris Crutcher. I have never read anything he has written that I didn't love. Huythanh, if you are reading this blog, this is a book you and Robert would adore! Chris Crutcher is a a family therapist and a child protection specialist as is stated in the back jacket of this book. He knows kids. He know adolescents, and his writing rings true. All of his novels involve some sort of sport- sometimes more than one sport at  time! In this story Paulie Baum is a high school senior and a swimmer.  He is one of group of 8-10 kids who participate in Period 8, with science and government teacher Bruce Logsdon. During period 8 (which is when kids eat their lunch) the kids are there voluntarily and they are allowed to discuss anything they want to discuss. The only rule is that nothing is allowed to leave the room. It is a "safe place." Only it isn't, and it's not because  of Paulie or "Logs" or Paulie's girl friend, Hannah! I could not put this book down. It's a fast read, it's terribly exciting, and boys will love it (girls too ;-) )

Three Times Lucky (312 Pages)

This is the first book I've read by author Sheila Turnage. It is probably best as a read aloud for 5/6/7 grades. I'm not sure if they will get all of the humor, and it is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time! Mo (short for Moses) is a little girl whose mother gave birth to her during a hurricane and as the water was rising attempted to save her life by wrapping her in a blanket at putting her on a billboard that was floating downstream. She was found by a man known only as Colonel who with Miss Lana took her in as their own. Tupelo Landing in North Carolina is the setting for this book and the accents of the various characters is as thick as Southern grits! Mo spends much of the book writing a journal to her "Upstream Mother." She sends notes in bottles to her and members of the community help by taking the bottles with them when they are leaving the Landing for other parts. Mo's best friend, Dale is also a great character. He's the smallest boy in the 6th grade, hates math, and will do almost anything for Mo. Between Mo, Dale, the Colonel and Miss Lana, activities in this book are non-stop. It's a great story of what the word "family" really means, and what it means to be a friend.

Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You (276 Pages)

Here is another Joyce Carol Oates YA novel. For those who haven't read any of her other books, you may want to add some of them to your classroom libraries. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl was one of my favorites. In this book, Oates focuses on a high school senior, a girl who seems to have everything going for her : top student, early admission to Brown, part of "the in crowd," etc.  Then one of her best friends commits suicide, and everything begins to unravel. Marissa begins cutting. The thing I like about this book is that the reader begins to see the psychological twisting that seems to go along with cutting. Her behavior is a red flag, one that should be noticed and dealt with by her friends, family and teachers! Maybe some of our current students might learn from reading this and act to help a friend. The impact of their friend's suicide impacts all of the girls in the group. And as often happens in schools, rumors fly, then the rumors turn into cyber bullying, and everything is magnified. Some of the themes include friendship and standing up for what is right. I'm sure there are more because Oates is such a great story teller.