Boy Meets Boy

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Leviathan, David.  Boy Meets Boy.  New York: Albert Knopf. 2003. Print. ISBN: 9780375824005. $17.99. 194 pages.

Annotation: 

Paul is lucky, because he lives in a town where it is acceptable to be gay, but when he finds that acceptance isn't the only path to happiness, he must overcome a broken heart and rediscover himself.  Boy Meets Boy deserves a place in libraries everywhere and more books like this should be available for teens.

Booktalk Style: The Index Card Trick

• Gay is normal
• Acceptance
• Heartbreak
• Boyfriends
• Popularity
• Friendships end
• Falling in love
• Left alone
• Loss of everything

Booktalk Style: Cut to the Cut

Being gay in town where everyone accepts you is easy. Right? Paul lives a charmed life.  He is popular and knows exactly who he is.  Then, the world falls apart.  His heart is broken and all of his friends find companionship elsewhere.  Is this what happens when a Boy meets Boy?

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Stargirl

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Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York: A. Knopf, 2000. Print. ISBN: 0679986375. $17.99. 188 pages.

Awards:

Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book 2001

ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2001

Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award 2001

Garden State Book Award (Teen Fiction Grades 6-8, 2003)

Iowa Teen Award Nominee 2002-2003

Iowa Teen Award Winner 2002-2003

South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee 2002-2003

Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee 2002-2003

 

Young Hoosier Book Award Winner 2002-2003

 

ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults 2005

 

Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee 2006

 

Annotation: 

Stargirl isn't like everyone else, she marches to the beat of her own drum, but when the boy she loves tries to change her, she must decide what matters more to her: fitting in or being true to herself.  Reading Stargirl took me back to my awkard teen years and made me appreciate individuality once again. 

Booktalk style: Open End

What is it like to be different? Picture yourself as the new kid in a school where being popular means being like everyone else.  Picture yourself sticking out, but not even caring about popularity or fitting in.  Most of us draw back at the thought, but not Stargirl.  She is like Van Gogh’s white flower in a field of color.  She does kind things for strangers, strums her ukuele as she sings to classmates on their birthday, dances in the rain, and even cheers for the opposing teams during games. 

I am Leo, and Stargirl likes me.  I thought I valued her individuality, but when the school turns on her, I convince her to be more like everyone else.  I made her change because I wasn’t brave enough to love her like she loved me.  Now what will happen to my Stargirl?

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More than Friends

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Holbrook, Sara. & Wolf, Allan.  More than Friends: Poems from Him and Her. Honesdale: Boyds Mill Press, 2008. Print.  ISBN: 9781590785874.  $16.95. 64 Pages.

Annotation: Being in love as a teenager is hard and More Than Friends perfectly captures the awkward, tortured, and exciting journey that teens take when they fall in love.  This book of poetry should sit on library shelves, as teens need resources that show them that their feelings are totally normal.

 

Review:

 

Holbrook and Wolf explore teenage love from his and her points of view through the use of alternating forms of poetry in More than Friends: Poems from him and her.  Young love is fraught with drama, awkwardness, fear, conflict, dreams, wonder, and utter happiness, which Holbrook and Wolf express and convey through their witty use of poetry.  From parental interference to maintaining friendships, and learning to accept and love their differences, the poets capture how truly agonizing and blissful first love can be.

 

I would recommend this book, because it really does capture those conflicting feelings young adults have when they are experiencing and exploring their first relationship.  I would place it in the Young Adult non-fiction section and display it often on tables.  Though the poems are written from both the male and female point of view, I don’t think it appeals to young men.  The dual perspective, however, is perfect for girls, as they yearn to understand how the guys around them think and feel.  The book is poignant and insightful and makes a perfect addition to any young adult collection.

The Book Thief

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Zusak, M. (2006). The Book Thief. New York, NY: Random House. Print. ISBN: 9780375831003 $12.99. 576 pages.

Awards & Honors:

BCCB Blue Ribbon Book 2006

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2006

Ena Noel Award 2006

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book 2006

Book Sense Summer Pick Teen Readers 2006

National Jewish Book Award (Children's and Young Adults' Literature, 2006)

Kathleen Mitchell Award 2006

ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2007

Book Sense Book of the Year 2007

Sophie Brody Award Short List 2007

Printz Honor 2007

Sydney Taylor Book Award 2007

Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2007

Whitcoulls top 100, 2008

ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults 2009

ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound 2009

Annotation:

Leisel is living in a new home, her parents are out there somewhere, the world is at war, and now she is helping hide a Jewish refugee, so for Leisel, books provide her with the perfect escape.  The Book Thief is incredibly written, unbelievably powerful, and should be read by as many readers as possible.

Review:

Death narrates the tale of Liesel Meminger, a little girl who is relocated to strange house on Himmel Street in 1939 as war plagues Germany in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, welcome her and she quickly makes herself at home. Hans is kind and gentle, and Rosa is strict and harsh, but both love Liesel. Hans teaches Liesel to read and she soon discovers that she is captivated by the world of words. Books and words become Liesel’s passion, which intensifies when she helps to hide, Max, a refugee from the Nazis. Max shares Liesel’s love of the written word and she is devastated when he has to leave and is later captured. The Book Thief is about growing up in Nazi Germany. But it is really about love and fear, tragedy and bravery, passion, and discovering that words can be powerful.

The Book Thief is one of the more beautifully written books I have read.  Death describes Liesel’s story and thoughts in the most eloquent and provocative manner.  I highly recommend this book, especially for its depiction of Hitler’s reign, because it tells the story from a point of view that is unique and insightful.  In a library setting, I would place this book in Young Adult, but could easily place a second copy in Adult Fiction for those who discover books through browsing. I would recommend this book to a diversity of readers from 7th grade on up.  Zusak’s tale speaks to students of World War II history, fans of fiction, and simply to lovers of books.

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Monster

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Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York, HarperCollins (1999). Print. ISBN: 9780064407311. $7.99. 281 pages.

 

Awards:

Printz Award (2000)
Coretta Scott King Honor (Author, 2000)
South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee (2002-2003)
National Book Award finalist (Young People's Literature, 1999)
Edgar Award Nominee (Young Adult, 2000)
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2000)
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (2000)
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1999)
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2006)
Iowa Teen Award Nominee (2001-2002)
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2000)
ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound (2004)
Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee (2005)

Review:

Walter Dean Myers creates a unique perspective of a young boy in trouble in his book Monster.  Steve Harmon is a sixteen-year-old, African-American boy on trial for a felony murder that he did not commit. The story is told from Steve’s point of view through his writing of screenplay to share with the world.  Steve uses the screenplay to not only speak to his current stresses and fears as he sits in jail awaiting his sentencing, but also to tell his history and the events that led up to his current predicament.  Steve's lawyer does not believe he has much of a chance, and Steve's time in jail allows him an abundance of time to reflect on who he is and what he wants for his future.

Myers clever writing style provides readers with an intriguing and powerful look into the serious issues of peer pressure, racism and profiling.  I would recommend this book to any reader from 6th grade up through adulthood.  The novel is intended for a young adult audience and should be shelved within that section of a library.  Though the main character is male and African American, the story speaks to audiences of any race and gender, as racism and peer pressure affect everyone and the more awareness that surrounds the issues the better.

 

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