Title: Shooter
Author: Caroline Pignat
Format: Book
Subjects: Interpersonal relations - Fiction
Schools - Juvenile Fiction
High schools - Juvenile Fiction
School shootings - Fiction
ISBN: 9780143187585
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Razorbill
Copyright: 2017
Plot Summary:
Locked in the boys' restroom, five students hide from a possible shooter at their high school.
Each student has a different story.
Each student has a different problem.
Each student has a connection.
One of them may know who is dangerous.
One of them may be able to stop the shooter.
One of them may be running out of time.
All of them need to work together to survive.
Critical Evaluation:
Tight read that starts slowly and builds in tension and timing. This is not just about a school shooting; this is about people and how they are connected even when they think they aren't. This is about high school and all of the nuances in the relationships between everyone within.
Reader’s Annotation: We’ve all wondered about it. What would you do?
About the Author:
Caroline Pignat is the two-time Governor Generalʼs Award winning author of seven novels including Egghead, Greener Grass, The Gospel Truth and Shooter.
At age 16, she wrote a short story for her Writer's Craft class assignment and the seed of that idea never left her. Years later, it became Greener Grass, winner of the 2009 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. In 2015, Caroline won her second Governor General’s Award for The Gospel Truth -- a free verse novel told in six voices.
Apparently, there are a lot of voices in her head. We meet five more of them in Caroline's latest novel, Shooter, winner of the 2017 Red Maple Award. Like Caroline says, everyone has a story to tell -- all we have to do is tune in and listen up.
She lives, writes, and teaches in Ottawa.
About. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2019, from https://www.carolinepignat.com/about.html.
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: Current events, Mental Health
Booktalking Ideas: Link it to current events.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 6th grade reading level. High school interest.
Challenge Issues: School shootings
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- WINNER of the 2017 Red Maple Award
- WINNER of the 2017 John Spray Mystery Award
- 2018 Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award -- Honour Book
- 2016 Best Books for Kids & Teens -- starred choice
- 2017 Arthur Ellis Award for Excellence in Crime Writing -- Finalist
- 2017 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award -- Finalist
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Video Interview with Author:
‘Shooter’ takes aim at the terrifying moments of a school shooting
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Title: How to Speak Boy
Author: Tiana Smith
Format: Book
Subjects: Interpersonal relations - Fiction
Schools - Juvenile Fiction
High schools - Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781250242211
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Copyright: 2020
Plot Summary:
Quinn is competitive. She's not just a little competitive; she is ultra competitive. She will do almost anything to win, except cheat. She's definitely not a cheater.
However, it looks like her biggest competition IS a cheater. Grayson seems to win at everything he does without even trying and rumor has it that he's cheated a few times to do it.
Now Quinn and Grayson have become the co-captains of the speech and debate club so they have to work together. Quinn could finally learn the truth about Grayson and his winning ways.
But she gets a little distracted when her AP Government teacher accidentally mixes up Quinn's essay with someone else's. With that simple mistake, Quinn now has an anonymous suitor who lifts her up and makes her stronger, even as Grayson seems to be trying to beat her at every turn.
Who is the letter writer who keeps leaving notes with perfectly timed messages in her box? And who is Grayson, really?
Critical Evaluation:
While the How to Speak Boy might be considered to be a typical teen romance, that fact should not prevent people from reading it. The story is a retelling of the Shop Around the Corner so it is predictable in that format, but it is in a more modern setting with current technology and the same types of miscommuncation that have existed for generations. This story may not be among the meatier titles with historical relevance or deep characters, but this kind of title should be encouraged to be in libraries because of that. Reluctant readers may not want to read something that teaches a lesson or touches on current issues; some people just want to read for the joy of it. For those teens who want something similar to a movie rom-com, this book can be a great draw and create a new reader who will one day want to read those deeper books.
Reader’s Annotation: What do you do when you fall in love with someone you’ve never actually met?
About the Author:
Tiana Smith is a relatively new author with only one previously written work (Match Me If You Can). She seems to prefer easy to access stories with predictable plotlines and retelling stories that have been done before.
From Goodreads: “Tiana Smith is a copywriter turned novelist who grew up in the Rocky Mountains. When she isn’t writing, she’s chasing after her ninja boy, reading, or binging the Disney Channel. She’d love to be fluent in sign language, but for now she gets by with awkward hand gestures and even more awkward French. She has double degrees in Honors and English from Westminster College but wants to go back to school to be a lion tamer.”
Tiana Smith (Author of Match Me If You Can). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16785381.Tiana_Smith.
Genre: YA Romance
Curriculum Ties: Speech and Debate, School, Competition
Booktalking Ideas: Link to You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner. Mistaken identity.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 6th grade reading level. High school interest.
Challenge Issues: The primary challenge may be the lack of depth to the story. This is the modern dime-novel, which means that some people may not think money should be spent on it to bring it to the library. However, that kind of treatment of books like this is why many choose to not read. We need to have the easy and quick reads to draw in the reluctant readers.
Why Included: It’s a fun read that teens can enjoy, which will promote reading with a positive experience.
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Title: Sparrow
Author: Mary Cecilia Jackson
Format: Book
Subjects: Child abuse -- Juvenile fiction
Abuse -- Juvenile fiction
Guilt -- Juvenile fiction
Problem families -- Juvenile fiction
High schools -- Juvenile fiction
Schools -- Juvenile fiction
ISBN: 9780765398857
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Tor Teen
Copyright: 2020
Plot Summary:
Savannah Rose, better known as Sparrow, is a brilliant dancer. Her lifts and jumps are the envy of everyone in the company. She will definitely be the Swan Queen in the next major showcase.
But Sparrow keeps her private life out of her dance. She tries very hard to keep them separate. Her friends are from ballet. Her social life revolves around ballet. And she has no one else.
Until Tristan.
He's everything a girl could dream of. He's kind. He's generous. He's gorgeous. And he says he loves her...
... after every time he abuses her.
His love has conditions. His love depends on her behaving. If he gets angry, then she must have done something wrong.
Sparrow learned this with her mother years before. If they are angry, you were bad.
No matter how hard Sparrow's friends try to show her the truth and no matter how hard they try to protect her, they are no match for her own deep insecurities.
And they are definitely no match for Tristan's fists when he gets angry.
Critical Evaluation:
This one hit every button in me. I literally cried more than a few times during this. It is NOT an easy read. But it IS a necessary one for many. The author really nailed all of the points of view on this one. While there were a few little things to nitpick, the overall story is deep and meaningful. There is no HEA (Happily Ever After) in this. It does end, but it's not the same, predictable ending that people have come to expect. This ending is real. I strongly recommend this, but warn that there are triggers here.
Reader’s Annotation: If a person is abused and lets it happen, who is to blame?
About the Author:
Mary Cecilia Jackson has worked as a middle school teacher, an adjunct instructor of college freshmen, a technical writer and editor, a speechwriter, a museum docent, and a development officer for central Virginia’s PBS and NPR stations. Her first novel, Sparrow, was an honor recipient of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Sue Alexander Award, and a young adult finalist in the Writers’ League of Texas manuscript contest. She lives with her architect husband, William, in Western North Carolina and Hawaii.
(from Amazon)
Genre: Realistic YA Fiction
Curriculum Ties: abuse (both parental and relationship), depression, mental health
Booktalking Ideas: What if the person who is supposed to love you the most is the one who is the most dangerous for you.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 5-6th grade reading level/11th-12th grade interest
Challenge Issues: violence, abuse
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
The main character of this novel suffered from parental abuse by her mother as a young child, which has created her severe lack of self-esteem, and that leads to her belief that she deserves all of the abuse from her boyfriend, including his attempt to kill her. Her story and the story of her friends and family who tried to help her is essential reading to those who believe that they aren’t good enough to be treated with respect.
Video Interview with Author:
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Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Format: Book
Subjects:
- Dystopias -- Juvenile fiction.
- Love -- Government policy -- Juvenile fiction.
- Government, Resistance to -- Juvenile fiction.
- Families -- Maine -- Juvenile fiction.
- Orphans -- Juvenile fiction.
- Maine -- Juvenile fiction.
- Young adult fiction.
- Science fiction.
- Romance fiction.
- Fiction.
- Juvenile works.
ISBN: 9780061726828
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Harpercollins Children's Books
Copyright: 2011
Plot Summary:
Lena remembers her mother distinctly, even though she was a just a child when her mother jumped to her death. She remembers the dancing. She remembers the singing. She remembers the hugging. And she remembers her mother's final words, "I love you. Remember. They cannot take it."
Now Lena is looking forward to the day when they will take it. When the government will perform the procedure that will take away her fear, her doubts, her pain, her memories, and her love. Because in Lena's world, love is a diagnosable disease. Deliria nervosa.
It's the reason the world got so bad. It's the reason for hate and war. It's the reason for jealousy and envy. And it's now curable. A simple procedure and it's all gone. The day she turns eighteen, Lena will be free.
And then she meets Alex...
Critical Evaluation:
One of the standard-bearers of the YA Dystopian genre. It takes the complex realities of young love and turns it into a curable “disease” of the future to try and stop strife and conflict, which really means taking away freedoms and personal choice.
Reader’s Annotation: If love is the thing that tears us all apart, should we try to cure it?
About the Author:
Lauren Oliver is the cofounder of media and content development company Glasstown Entertainment, where she serves as the president of production. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of the YA novels Replica, Vanishing Girls, Panic, and the Delirium trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, which have been translated into more than thirty languages. The film rights to both Replica and Lauren's bestselling first novel, Before I Fall, were acquired by AwesomenessTV; Before I Fall is now a major motion picture and opened in theaters March of 2017. The sequel to Replica, titled Ringer, is her most recent novel and was released October 3rd, 2017.
Her novels for middle grade readers include The Spindlers, Liesl & Po, and the Curiosity House series, co-written with H. C. Chester. She has written one novel for adults, Rooms.
A graduate of the University of Chicago and NYU's MFA program, Lauren Oliver divides her time between New York, Connecticut, and a variety of airport lounges. You can visit her online at www.laurenoliverbooks.com.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Dystopia
Curriculum Ties: Dystopia/Utopia
Booktalking Ideas: If you could live in a world without hate, would it be worth it to also not have love?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 6th-7th grade/middle and high school interest
Challenge Issues: disobedience, rebellion, government control
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Video Interview with Author:
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Title: Fever, 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Format: Book
Subjects:
- Yellow fever -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Fiction.
- Epidemics -- Fiction.
- Shipwreck survival -- Fiction
- Pennsylvania -- History -- 1775-1865 -- Fiction.
- Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Fiction
Edition: 1st Aladdin Paperbacks ed.
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Copyright: 2000
Plot Summary:
Matilda "Mattie" Cook is living during one of the hottest summers on record in Philadelphia. Instead of being able to lounge around and try to keep cool in the heat, Mattie must help her mother and grandfather run their coffeehouse, which is the only income they have since her father died in a freak accident years before.
It's hard work, but Mattie hasn't really known hard work until the fever starts. Over the next three months, Mattie watches as everyone around her seems to go crazy with the fear of Yellow Fever. Stores close up shop. Households pack up and run for the countryside. Families dump their sick relatives on the streets to be picked up by the wagon for the dead.
And though she and her family live just blocks from the residence of President George Washington, even his close proximity cannot protect her and her family.
Critical Evaluation:
With this book, you'll not only see the events that took place surrounding the Yellow Fever outbreak of 1793, you'll live through them and even begin to worry if you'll survive.
Reader’s Annotation: Relive one of the most deadly outbreaks in the history of our young nation.
About the Author:
For bio stuff: Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author whose writing spans young readers, teens, and adults. Combined, her books have sold more than 8 million copies. Her new book, SHOUT, a memoir-in-verse about surviving sexual assault at the age of thirteen and a manifesta for the #MeToo era, has received widespread critical acclaim and appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for seven consecutive weeks.
Laurie has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award three times. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists, and Chains was short-listed for the prestigious Carnegie medal. Laurie was selected by the American Library Association for the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award and has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English.
In addition to combating censorship, Laurie regularly speaks about the need for diversity in publishing and is a member of RAINN’s National Leadership Council. She lives in Philadelphia, where she enjoys cheesesteaks while she writes. Find out more about Laurie by following her on Twitter at @halseanderson, Instagram at halseanderson, and Facebook at lauriehalseanderson, or by visiting her website, madwomanintheforest.com.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Curriculum Ties: American History, George Washington
Booktalking Ideas: American history is more than just a Tea Party and some signatures.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 5-6th grades/middle school interest
Challenge Issues: graphic depictions of the fever symptoms and death
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read” Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Video Interview with Author:
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Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie (Condie, Allyson Braithwaite.)
Format: Book
Subjects:
- Mate selection -- Juvenile fiction.
- Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Juvenile fiction.
- Self-realization -- Juvenile fiction.
Edition: 1st edition
Publisher: Dutton Books
Copyright: 2010
Plot Summary:
The dystopian novel is taking over vampire novels as the next "big tIn the Oria Province, everything is planned. The moment you are born, you are tracked. From your first day on Earth to the day you die, your life is mapped out for you.
The Officials track everything you do and plan your day for you. They send food trays to each person at mealtimes with the exact amount of nutrition necessary and then check the trays when you dispose them to make sure you ate everything. They watch your sleep and follow you on outings. They build a physical and psychological profile of you to help them predict your attractions, friendships, and reactions to events. They know what you're going to do before you do.
Nothing you do is truly private.
Nothing.
Cassia has always believed in the system. She was raised with it and has always been a good follower. On the day of her Match to her future mate, she is eager, happy, and proud.
And when the screen that is supposed to show the image of her Match in another province stays blank, leading to the realization that she's been matched to her best friend, Xander, things couldn't be more perfect. She gets to marry the one person who knows her better than any other and she gets to continue living in the same province as her family.
But when she goes to view Xander's profile on the microcard, another face appears. It's the face of another boy she's known most of her life and now Cassia faces the difficult choice: to follow the rules and stay with her Match, or follow her heart and be with Ky.
She has to choose carefully because every misstep is punished and the Officials have no tolerance for changes in the plan.
Critical Evaluation: Not as violent as The Hunger Games series (Cassia is more of a thinker than a doer, unlike Katniss), the stakes are just as high. Everything Cassia does affects everyone around her. There is a tightly paced story that is easy to track and follow, but still has surprises and shocks.
Reader’s Annotation: What if the person you are meant to be with isn’t the same person who is matched to you?
About the Author:
Ally Condie is the author of the international bestseller MATCHED, and its sequel, CROSSED. MATCHED was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten, named as one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010, selected as the #1 Pick on the Winter Kid’s Indie Next List, and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. In a starred review for the sequel, CROSSED, Kirkus called the Matched series an “addictive, layered dystopic trilogy.”
A former English teacher (who still keeps her license current, just in case!), she lives with her husband and four children outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, writing, running, and listening to her husband play guitar.
(from Condie’s website)
Genre: YA Dystopian Fiction
Curriculum Ties: Dystopias/Utopias, arranged marriage
Booktalking Ideas: Dystopias, romance. What is love?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 5/6th grade/middle school early high school interest
Challenge Issues: Defiance of authority
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Video Interview with Author:
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Title: Across the Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Format: Book
Subjects:
- Interplanetary voyages -- Fiction.
- Science fiction.
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Razorbill
Copyright: 2011
Plot Summary:
She only agreed to go because she didn't want to leave her parents.
She didn't know how wrong everything would go.
No one did.
No one could.
And now she's been awakened early and she can't go back to sleep. She can't sleep through the rest of the 300 year journey across space to the new planet. She may be dead long before her parents ever wake up...
He's been brought up to be the future leader.
It's his job to keep the people on the ship safe as they travel.
But he didn't know the secrets that were being kept.
Almost no one did.
And now he needs to get the answers to his questions and find out the secrets before more are unfrozen and awakened.
Before more die.
Together, maybe they can find the truth.
Critical Evaluation: This is Revis's debut novel and it's amazing. This ship world that has been created and all of the controls that are in place are mind-boggling both in complexity and simplicity. I highly recommend this to both sci-fi lovers and those who like a good edge-of-your-seat thriller.
Reader’s Annotation: What if the thing designed to save the human race is the thing that could end it?
About the Author: Beth Revis is a NY Times bestselling author with books available in more than 20 languages. Her most recent title, Give the Dark my Love, is a dark fantasy about love and death. Beth’s other books include the bestselling science fiction trilogy, Across the Universe, and a novel in the Star Wars universe entitled Rebel Rising. She’s the author of two additional novels, numerous short stories, and the nonfiction Paper Hearts series, which aids aspiring writers. A native of North Carolina, Beth is currently working on a new novel for teens. She lives in rural NC with her boys: one husband, one son, and two massive dogs.
(from Revis’s website)
Genre: YA Dystopian Fiction, Science Fiction
Curriculum Ties: Climate Change
Booktalking Ideas: Imagine waking up early from a flight you didn’t want to go on and only being able to talk to people who never knew the world you left.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 6/7th grade, high school interest
Challenge Issues: defiance of authority, sex
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Why Included: Science fiction often deals with aliens and the future on Earth. This story flips it to a horror story in space where the most dangerous creatures are the humans themselves.
Video Interview with Author:
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Title: By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead
Author: Julia Anne Peters
Format: Book
Subjects:
- Emotional problems of teenagers -- Fiction.
- Teenage girls -- Suicidal behavior -- Fiction.
- Bullying -- Fiction.
- Overweight teenagers -- Fiction.
- Suicide -- Fiction.
- Schools -- Fiction.
- Private schools -- Fiction
- Blogs -- Fiction.
- Teenagers -- Fiction.
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Hyperion/DBG
Copyright: 2010
Plot Summary:
"Bullycide. I know that word well. Suicide as an escape from bullying."
Daelyn knows bullycide only too well. After two botched suicide attempts, she's determined that the next time she tries, she will not fail. She's got it all planned out including the date, time, and way she's going to do it.
What she hadn't planned on was Santana, a home-schooled boy who lives near her school and suddenly is very interested in her. She also hadn't planned on meeting Emily, a girl who is just as fat as Daelyn used to be and is going through many of the same things she had.
So, as Daelyn plans her suicide and spends time on a website devoted to those who are planning to kill themselves, she also finds herself reaching out to others and being reached by them for the first time.
Is it too late for her to step back from that suicidal ledge she's balancing on?
Critical Evaluation: It's very well written, but filled with far too much detail with regards to many of the different options available. However, as I continued to read about Daelyn's past and reasons for wanting to just die and get away from the pain, I could see where she was coming from, though a large part of me wanted to just reach through the book and comfort her. The ending is ambiguous, but I can just see this book getting banned because of the content. This is good for older teens, especially those who don't see a way out, but should not be kept in middle school libraries.
Reader’s Annotation: Dealing with life and the living can be harder than dying.
About the Author:
Julie Anne Peters was born in Jamestown, New York. When she was five, her family moved to the Denver suburbs in Colorado. Her parents divorced when she was in high school. She has three siblings: a brother, John, and two younger sisters, Jeanne and Susan.
Her books for young adults include Define "Normal" (2000), Keeping You a Secret (2003), Luna (2004), Far from Xanadu (2005), Between Mom and Jo (2006), grl2grl (2007), Rage: A Love Story (2009), By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead (2010), She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not... (2011), It's Our Prom (So Deal with It) (2012), and Lies My Girlfriend Told Me (2014). Her young adult fiction often feature lesbian characters and address LGBT issues. She has announced that she has retired from writing, and Lies My Girlfriend Told Me will be her last novel. She now works full-time for the Colorado Reading Corps.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: bullying, suicide
Booktalking Ideas: If bullies really understood what they were doing to people, would they keep doing it?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 6th grade reading/high school interest
Challenge Issues: bullying, suicide, language
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- United States Supreme Court - BOARD OF EDUCATION v. PICO (1982) - No. 80-2043 - Argued: March 2, 1982 Decided: June 25, 1982
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Video Interview with Author:
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Title: Hate List
Author: Jennifer Brown
Format: Book
Subjects:
School shootings -- Juvenile fiction.
High schools -- Juvenile fiction.
Schools -- Juvenile fiction.
Emotional problems of teenagers -- Juvenile fiction.
Dysfunctional families -- Juvenile fiction.
Forgiveness -- Juvenile fiction.
ISBN: 9780316041447
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2009
Plot Summary: She didn't think it would go down like that.
She had no idea he would do it.
She'd only started the list because she needed a way to vent about being bullied and teased.
It wasn't supposed to become what it was.
It wasn't supposed to become a hit list.
It wasn't supposed to become his hit list.
Now, months later, Valerie is left to pick up the pieces of her life, even as many wish her dead.
After all, it was her list to begin with.
After all, he was her boyfriend.
She should have known.
She should have seen.
She should have stopped it.
At least that's what everyone thinks.
Including Valerie.
Final thoughts: Wow.
Critical Evaluation: This one is an intense read. It brings back memories of Columbine and other school shootings. I was amazed to find myself not only sympathizing with Valerie, but in some ways empathizing with her, as well. I truly hope that others can read this book, see the victims around them, and step up to offer them hope. This is a must read, especially for troubled high school students.
Reader’s Annotation: You didn’t do it, but you were close to the person who did. Is it your fault?
About the Author: Two-time winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Humor Award (2005 & 2006), Jennifer's weekly humor column appeared in The Kansas City Star for over four years, until she gave it up to be a full-time young adult novelist.
Jennifer's debut novel, HATE LIST (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009) received three starred reviews and was selected as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a VOYA "Perfect Ten," and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. HATE LIST also won the Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award, the Louisiana Teen Readers Choice award, the 2012 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award, was an honorable mention for the 2011 Arkansas Teen Book Award, is a YALSA 2012 Popular Paperback, received spots on the Texas Library Association's Taysha's high school reading list as well as the Missouri Library Association's Missouri Gateway Awards list, and has been chosen to represent the state of Missouri in the 2012 National Book Festival in Washington, DC. Jennifer's second novel, BITTER END, (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011) received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and VOYA and is listed on the YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list and is a 2012 Taysha's high school reading list pick as well.
Jennifer writes and lives in the Kansas City, Missouri area, with her husband and three children.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: School shootings; current events
Booktalking Ideas: In the aftermath of a school shooting, who can you blame when the shooter is dead?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 5/6th grade, upper middle school/high school interest
Challenge Issues: School shooting, language, secrets
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
Active listening to the patron
Library Selection Policy
Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
Reviews
ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Why Included: Sadly, school shootings are becoming a way of life and, after every one, there’s an attempt to find people to blame.
Video Interview with Author:
Bibliographic Information
Title: Fat Cat
Author: Robin Brande
Format: Book
Subjects:
Science -- Experiments -- Juvenile fiction.
Overweight persons -- Juvenile fiction.
Interpersonal relations -- Juvenile fiction.
Self-perception -- Juvenile fiction.
Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.
High schools -- Juvenile fiction.
Schools -- Juvenile fiction.
ISBN: 9780375844492
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2009
Plot Summary: Catherine has been battling the bulge for four years. She's also been battling Matt for those four years, even if he hasn't realized it.
And this year, she's going to beat him... at the science fair.
Everyone in Fizer's Special Topics in Research Science class has to blindly pull a picture from a pile on the first day of class in September, and then develop an entire research project around it to be entered in the March science fair. Get an A and you're guaranteed any college you want. Win, and you go on to international competition. Plus! You get to beat the guy who embarrassed you and broke your heart four years before.
So when Cat picks a National Geographic illustration of early hominins from 1.8 million years ago (a.k.a. Homo erectus), she feels pretty defeated.
Until she comes up with the ultimate plan. And the ultimate sacrifice. She will live as close as she possibly can to the lives of those hominins. That means no technology, no cars, no junk food, no make-up, and (gasp!) no hair products.
Over the next 207 days, she takes on a complete transformation. All that walking and lack of junk food turns "Fat Cat" into "Hot Chick", and plenty of people are starting to notice... especially Matt.
Now that she's skinny and hot, will she also be able to confront her former-best-friend-now-worst-enemy and make him explain himself? Or will she continue to feel like the fat girl she's trapped herself into thinking that she is?
Critical Evaluation: A light read with a well-paced story about transformations both inside and out. Some of the ideas in the book are a little far-fetched, but the overall story is well-written and the characters are mostly believable.
Reader’s Annotation: Once you are who you always wanted to be on the outside, will that help you on the inside?
About the Author: Robin Brande is an award-winning author who writes in multiple genres, including fantasy, science fiction, young adult, romance, and nonfiction. Her young adult novels have been named Best Fiction for Young Adults by the American Library Association.
She is also a martial artist and martial arts instructor, designer, lawyer, entrepreneur, and certified wilderness medic.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction, YA Romance
Curriculum Ties: bullying, nutrition
Booktalking Ideas: What makes you who you are?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 5th grade, middle/early high school interest
Challenge Issues: bullying, drastic dieting
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
Active listening to the patron
Library Selection Policy
Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
Reviews
ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Why Included: Being perfect has been a topic for generations. In the age of Instragram Reality, it’s even more difficult to become perfect on the outside. But the inside is just as important.
Video Interview with Author:
Bibliographic Information
Title: Because I Am Furniture
Author: Thalia Chaltas
Format: Book
Subjects:
Child abuse -- Juvenile fiction.
Child sexual abuse -- Juvenile fiction.
Guilt -- Juvenile fiction.
Problem families -- Juvenile fiction.
High schools -- Juvenile fiction.
Schools -- Juvenile fiction.
ISBN: 9780670062980
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Viking
Copyright: 2009
Plot Summary:
Anke is nothing in her family. She is often ignored by her father and her siblings. She has no strength to speak out and be heard.
What Anke doesn't understand is that in this family, being ignored is actually a good thing.
Her father is an abuser.
He beats his son. He rapes his oldest daughter. He screams at his wife. And they all let him do these things, because saying "No" only makes it worse.
Being ignored means that Anke is safe from him.
But now Anke has volleyball, where a player HAS to have strength and call for what is hers. MY BALL!
And as Anke gains strength, she also gains the knowledge that may very well save her family.
But can she use that strength, that voice, when it counts the most?
Critical Evaluation: This is a novel in verse, which means it's basically a series of poems that tell the story. It's powerful and thoughtful. You feel that you truly understand Anke and the position that she's in. An amazing book to help victims of abuse see that they are not alone and that they, too, can find their voices.
Reader’s Annotation: When the person who should care the most is the one who does the most damage, how do you learn to speak up?
About the Author:
Thalia Chaltas (Author, Because I Am Furniture, Viking, 2009) worked hard at her luck to get her Young Adult novel Because I Am Furniture published by Viking. She has been writing for children since just before the turn of the century. The current century. Running her medical transcription business has taught her the value of editing, since most physicians don’t sound brilliant without a transcriptionist. Raising five-year-old daughter Kaeva has taught Thalia the hard work of love, and she feels lucky to have that job as her first priority. She currently has her butt in the chair, working on another novel for Viking.
As a teenager Thalia Chaltas wanted to do everything, and she envied people who knew without question what their life goal was. Thalia did preliminary training to be a kinesiologist, a helicopter pilot, and a fire fighter, and has at times been a bus driver, a ropes course instructor, and a contralto in an a capella group. Along the way she has played lots of volleyball, written poetry, and collected children’s books. And eventually, that anvil fell from the sky and she realized writing was what all this previous intensive training was for.
She has kept every poem she has ever written – except one. Because she can’t find it.
Thalia lives in California with her daughter.
BECAUSE I AM FURNITURE is her first novel.
Where do I write?
First, I will tell you where I usually do not write. At home! Why? Because most of my life is there! Laundry in a pile. A new blackberry ice cream to create. Dust bunnies to pet. Very distracting.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: Abuse, Mental health
Booktalking Ideas: If someone you should trust is the one who is the most harmful, you are not alone and you have a voice.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 6th, high school
Challenge Issues: abuse
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
Active listening to the patron
Library Selection Policy
Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
Reviews
ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Why Included: Too many children are still being abused by their own parents verbally, physically, emotionally, and sexually. They need titles that show them that they aren’t alone and that there are places and people to go to for help.
Video Interview with Author:
Bibliographic Information
Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Format: Book
Subjects:
- Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.
- Boarding schools -- Fiction.
- Death -- Fiction.
Edition: 10th Anniversary Edition
Publisher: Dutton Books
Copyright: 2005
Plot Summary:
Miles has never really fit in in Florida. He's gawky, skinny, and pale, so he's really the anti-Floridian. In the hopes of finding "The Great Perhaps" (and maybe a few friends), he asks to follow in his father's footstep and attend Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama.
Within moments of unpacking, Miles is introduced to Alaska, who is the epitome of The Great Perhaps.
She is 100% authentic, 100% insane, and 100% what Miles never knew he always wanted.
So, as Miles is getting acclimated to boarding school and classes, Alaska and Miles's roommate, The Colonel, acclimate him to smoking, drinking, and pranks.
He's finally found friends who are more like family and he thinks he's on the way to finding The Great Perhaps.
But then something happens that changes everything that Miles ever knew, ever thought he knew, and ever thought he might know in the future. Can anyone make sense of the world again?
Critical Evaluation: It's very well written and powerful, but it's biggest draw is the way it addresses some very deep topics. There's friendship, family, peer pressure, sex, drinking, smoking, cliques, and death. This is NOT a fluff book and it's definitely not cotton candy. This is full of angst and mature themes. It's powerful and worth the read for older teens and adults alike.
Reader’s Annotation: Can you save someone from themselves?
About the Author:
John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.
In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers," which can be found on the Nerdfighters website, or a direct link here.
(from Goodreads.com)
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: peer pressure, fitting in
Booktalking Ideas: Running away to find a better life may lead to you a life you never imagined.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 5th grade reading, middle/high school interest
Challenge Issues: peer pressure, sex, drinking, smoking, and death
Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation):
- Active listening to the patron
- Library Selection Policy
- Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
- Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
- National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
- Reviews
- Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, 2006 ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
- ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Why Included: It’s John Green. Every library needs to have multiple copies of John Green’s novels both because they are popular and because they speak to what teens actually need to read.
Video Interview with Author:
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