YA Book Reviews Part 2 of 3

Part of my coursework for YA Lit (LSSL5385 @SHSU) has a requirement to read 25 books and review them. The books come from a required titles list, required authors list, and then free choice of books from select YA awards lists. Here are the second set 8 of the assignment. 

I have an annotated bibliography that can be viewed online or print out to share here.

Enjoy!

Annotated Bibliography Assignment: Books 9-16

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Books 9-16

Chmakova, S. (2017). Brave (Berrybrook Middle School 2). New York: Yen Press.

Jensen Graham is a student at Berrybrook Middle School and is worried that if he doesn’t pass math class, he will not be able to become an astronaut.  Jensen is able to go through his day at school when he puts it in the perspective of playing a video game. He treats each day at school like a new level of this game. When he is able to get past the monsters, bullies, and lives through math class, he is able to collect his reward of attending Art Club and visit with his friends.  Art club is the place where Jensen can be himself and be surrounded by people like him, he loves Art club. Akilah and Jenny, his friends, ask for his help with a project on Bullying they are working on. Jensen avoids reading the information they shared with him to prepare for the interview. Once he realizes what the topic and the details are, he denies being bullied and ignores the effects of it.  Will he ever admit that he IS being bullied and report it? 

This graphic novel is the second of a series created by Chmakova.  The panels are full of muted graphics with a slightly bolder color on the focus of the panel. The use of gutter space really allows the reader to not be overly distracted.  Speech and thought bubbles do not make the novel too busy or confusing to the reader and allows the reader to really be able to use the graphics to help tell the story.  

School Library Journal review, Nov. 2017, “This will be a great story to open up a discussion about bullying and friendship. There are so many things to talk about and dissect.”

Counselor Connection-This book allows the reader to see bullying in the middle school setting. Readers can see Jensen’s train of thought on how he doesn’t realize that he IS being bullied, and how he overcomes this issue.  

Book is part of the 7 free choice YA books for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne, this title came from 2018 Great Graphic Novels for Teens put together by YALSA.

Green, J. (2017). Turtles all the way down. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

Sixteen-year old Aza Holmes struggles with her anxiety disorder, a disorder that comes from her fear of being infected by the bacteria Clostridium difficile (“C. diff”) which could be fatal. Aza also has a problem controlling her thoughts, thoughts that “intrude” and send her on a downward spiral. She has to learn how to control her anxiety and these thoughts to be able to go to school and live a “normal” life.  A life where her and her best friend, Daisy, hear the news of their classmatee’s dad, Russell Pickett, being missing as one where they should try to solve in order to gain the $100,000 reward money. Money that without it, neither of the girls will be able to attend college. When Aza remembers classmate Davis Pickett from a grief camp they both attended when they were 11 years old. Davis may have a huge house and a lot of money, but he has to help his brother with the grief of a missing dad and a deceased mother.  Can Aza & Davis help each other deal and overcome their own problems?

Kirkus Review, Oct. 2017, “The exploration of Aza’s life-threatening compulsions will resonate deeply with some, titillate others, and possibly trigger those in between.”

School Library Journal review, Nov. 2017, “A deeply resonant and powerful novel that will inform and enlighten readers even as it breaks their hearts. A must-buy.”

Video of John Green reading first chapter of book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3QznppVuGU 

This book is part of Young Adult Authors Required List for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne.

King, A. S. (2017). Me and Marvin Gardens. Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic.

Obe is 11 years old and lives with his family in a 100 year old farmhouse in an area that is being quickly developed. The land used to belong to his family before his great-great grandfather mortgaged to support his alcohol addiction.  The newly developed neighborhood surrounding his house has brought so many changes, with the biggest one being , Obe losing his childhood best friend to the “other” kids. Obe has been spending time by the creek when he discovers a strange type of animal, one that is shaped like a dog with a snout like a boar’s and covered in fur-less slimy algae-like skin who likes to eat plastic, he names it Marvin Gardens, from the Monopoly game.  Obe quickly realizes that his secret friend, though gentle with him, could be dangerous to the land and area in which they live. Obe must share information about Marvin with someone in order to ensure the safety of everyone. 

2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee 

Reviewed on Publishers Weekly, Oct. 2016, “A provocative exploration of human action and interaction on both local and global levels, as well as the interplay between past, present, and future, King’s novel will leave readers pondering how we treat each other and the planet.”

Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, Oct. 2016, “A finely wrought, magical coming-of-age tale with a convincing message.” 

Book Talk video created by Texas Bluebonnet Award https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0HzlVoR-vI

This book is part of Young Adult Authors Required List for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne.

Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in a town of all men.  He lives in a town where everyone can hear each other’s thoughts, “noise,” they call it.  Even the animals, such as his own dong Manchee have noise. His caretakers, Ben and Cillian, have been his guardians since his parents died.  He is looking forward to his birthday, the day that he is to become a man is one month away. The way the other men walk and talk around him, he knows they are hiding something, even though he can hear their noise, he can’t figure it out. One day while on a walk with Manchee, he encounters silence, he becomes bewildered and returns back home. Upon arrival, his caretakers tell him it’s time for him to leave. He is to take a pre-packed backpack with him and follow the instructions on the book his mother wrote him.  He doesn’t know how to read. He is obedient and leaves, he soon realizes the men in Prentisstown, have become hostile at his departure. He encounters the silence again, its coming from a girl. The two keep running away, but his questions continue. Why does she have silence? Why are Ben & Cillian sending him away? He doesn’t want to leave, and wants to be able to “become” a man. This book is the first of a trilogy.

Other YA novels by author: Chaos Walking series: The Ask and the Answer (2009) & Monsters of Men (2010), A Monster Calls (original idea by Siobhan Dowd) (2011), More Than This (2013), The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015), and Release (2017). 

This book is part of Young Adult Novels Required List for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne.

Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, a girl in pieces. El Paso, Tex.: Cinco Puntos Press.

Gabi Hernandez is keeping a journal of her last year in high school. Gabi’s life has not been an easy one for a while. Her father is addicted to meth, and though she loves him dearly she knows that he is destroying himself and the family.  Gabi has two best friends, one who just got pregnant, Cindy, & the other who just “came out,” Sebastian. She a Latina girl who tries to identify with her peers, while trying to please her traditional mom and Hispanic heritage. She deals with many of her issues with her new found love of poetry and food, which she has to hide and stash from her mother.  She works hard on her college applications with the goal of being able to move away to attend the college of her dreams. 

Publishers Weekly Review, Sept. 2017, “The intimate journal structure of the novel is especially revealing as Gabi gains confidence in her own integrity and complexity: ‘I guess there is more to this fat girl than even this fat girl ever knew.’”

Kirkus review, July 2014, “With this first novel, Quintero excels at presenting a life that is simultaneously messy and hopeful. Readers won’t soon forget Gabi, a young woman coming into her own in the face of intense pressure from her family, culture and society to fit someone else’s idea of what it means to be a “good” girl.  A fresh, authentic and honest exploration of contemporary Latina identity.”

2015 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Top 10 Selection

2015 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults

This book is part of Young Adult Novels Required List for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne.

Ruby, L. (2015). Bone Gap. New York, NY: Balzer Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Finn O’Sullivan knows that Roza was kidnapped, he saw it, but he can’t prove it. This makes him start to doubt himself. His life moves on, slowly, but not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about what he saw, though everyone in town believes that she left on her own in the same mysterious way in which she first appeared.  Finn knows that it's up to him to find Roza when his description of the kidnapper is not of any help to the police. He learns a lot about himself through numerous questions while falling in love with Ruby, including that he has a disability which impedes him from recognizing faces. Roza tells of her past as she worries about her current predicament.  Finn has to work with what he has learned and what he finds out about the fields in his town in order to see if Roza is there.  

Kirkus review, Jan. 2015, “Cleverly conceived and lusciously written.”

Publishers Weekly review, March 2015, “A haunting and inventive work that subverts expectations at every turn.”

Booklist Online review, Jan. 2015, “Wonder, beauty, imperfection, cruelty, love, and pain are all inextricably linked but bewitchingly so.”

Winner of the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

National Book Award Finalist

Book is part of the 7 free choice YA books for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne, this title came from Printz winners & Honor Books, put together by YALSA.  This one won the M.L.Prinz medal in 2016.

Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper jungle : A history. New York, N.Y.: Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), LLC.

Austin Szerba shares the story of his Polish ancestors as he tells us about an epic adventure that he and his best friend Robby kick off in Earling, Iowa, when they unknowingly watch the release a biological agent that turns 6 humans into hosts for 6 foot tall praying-mantis type carnivores.  These praying mantises have two things in their mind, eating and reproducing. Austin enjoys documenting history in journals, and makes so many connections that others do not even notice, because he notices everything and journals it daily. He is in love with Shann, his girlfriend, but the friendship that he and Robby have is a bit more than just 2 guys being friends, he is so confused about the love that he feels for both.  With keen observations Austin realizes the these destroying giants respect, in their own way, Robby. They use this information to drive around their town saving a few people that have not been infected. The three of them are able to connect some information and discover that the property that Shann and her family just moved to, has a compound that will help save a small group of humans from the destruction that the giant praying mantises are performing to the world.  Will the compound be enough?

A 2015 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

Winner of the 2014 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction

Kirkus review, Nov. 2013, “A meanderingly funny, weirdly compelling and thoroughly brilliant chronicle of ‘the end of the world, and shit like that.’”

Publishers Weekly review, Nov. 2013, “Filled with gonzo black humor, Smith’s outrageous tale makes serious points about scientific research done in the name of patriotism and profit, the intersections between the personal and the global, the weight of history on the present, and the often out-of-control sexuality of 16-year-old boys.”

This book is part of Young Adult Authors Required List for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne.

Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York, NY: Balzer Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Starr is visiting with her childhood friend, Kahlil, while attending a party in her neighborhood of Garden Heights. Soon a fight breaks out, and shots get fired. Kahlil and Starr leave the party together in his car and soon get pulled over. Starr witnesses her friend be fatally shot by the white cop that pulled them over, he did nothing wrong.  When she goes back to her fancy prep school in the suburbs, the event is all over the headlines. No one knows exactly what happened during the event besides her. Her friend is called many things, thug, drug dealer, that he was armed. She goes to school with people that don’t understand or know of her reality at home. She realizes that her anonymity is hard to keep when trying to stand up for her friend. Will she share the story with the world to expose what really happened that night?  What will happen if she does? What will happen to her community if she does speak up?

Kirkus review, Dec. 2016, “With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.  This story is necessary. This story is important.”

Publishers Weekly Review, Nov. 2016, “Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large.”

This book is part of Young Adult Novels Required List for LSSL 5385 Dr. Lesesne.