A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

This Pulitzer Prize winning play was written by Williams in 1947 and takes place in New Orleans. The play serves as an interesting dichotomy between two major groups in the American South: the belles and brutes. When Blanche DuBois ("white woods") is asked to take a leave from teaching English, she stays with her sister, Stella, and Stella's husband, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche wants to maintain the grandeur of being a southern belle, but lost most of her family and the family plantation, Belle Reve. Stanley becomes very suspicious of Blanche's expensive clothes and jewelry and wants to investigate the status of Belle Reve. Blanche's traditional Southern culture clashes violently with that of Stanley's, and New Orlean's, urban working class culture.
Blanche originally claimed that she was asked to take a leave of absence due to her nerves, but we come to find that she was having a relationship with a seventeen year old student. We find out a lot about Blanche's past through one of Stanley's acquaintances who travels often in Laurel, Mississippi, the area around Belle Reve. The affair happened after Blanche's brief marriage to Allan Grey, who she later finds is homosexual.
Stella and Stanley have their own relationship problems. Stella is pregnant with Stanley's child but he is still verbally and physically abusive. Even after a particularly violent encounter during a card fight, Stella goes back to Stanley almost immediately. (This is also the origin of the well known yelling of "Stella".) Towards the end of the play, Stanley rapes Blanche and this sends her into a mental breakdown. When she is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, a doctor leads Blanche away and she says the iconic line "Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."
Since A Streetcar Named Desire is a theatrical play, it would be best to perform it or watch a production. One time tested film is the 1951 production featuring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh. This film version won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the categories of best actress for Vivien Leigh and was nominated for best actor, director and screenplay, among others.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A great deal has been said about Animal Farm over the years. It's a satire of the Russian revolution. It's about Stalinism, socialism, the labor force. The characters represent individuals in the past: Old Major is Karl Marx, Snowball is Leon Trotsky, Napoleon is Joseph Stalin.

This can all be true but I believe that, if we get caught up in the symbolism of it all, we miss out on a well written story worth reading and rereading. I understand the short book is basically a lesson in the Stalin era leading to World War II, and it can be taught in school alongside the appropriate section in history class. History and representation aside, Orwell wrote a beautiful, heart-breaking story that can be appreciated by high-school students and the home-reader alike.

I won't go on about the story and the symbolism, because most of you have heard it before. It's been about 15 years since I read Animal Farm, and I was happy to find it was just as enjoyable, if not more so, the second time around.

The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher

Here again is another installment of novels by Chris Crutcher. This one is pretty different from the others. In the first few pages, Eddie Proffit has the unfortunate experience of finding both his father and best friend dead. His father, who works at a full service gas station, forgot to let the air out of a truck tire before repairing it and it exploded, killing him. His best friend, Billy Bartholomew, kicked some Sheetrock leaning against a wall, which fell over and killed him. Crutcher fans will find this strange because the greatest tragedies in the book are, for all intents and purposes, self-inflicted. Nobody shot anyone, nobody gets raped or burned. It's probably the least violent book Crutcher has written.

The story is actually told from Billy's point of view while he "haunts" Eddie. As Billy tells it, he is only staying with Billy for a time and is able to bounce around in the heads of anyone alive (that will allow him) and has all knowledge of folks who have died. He describes a kind of communal and eternal knowledge. You can imagine, there is a great deal of spiritual exploration in the book. One of the characters, Mr. Tarter (a minister at the Red Brick Church and teacher at Eddie's school) attempts save Eddie, religiously, throughout the book.

Eddie takes a class with Ms. Lloyd where the class reads a book by Crutcher. The book is contested (as Crutcher's books often are) and taken from the students until the final ruling by the school board. I found myself laughing out loud at parts where Crutcher wrote himself into the book. The "Red Brickers" oppose him and scandalize him on the basis that his writing is indecent and vulgar. At a church board meeting, Reverend Tarter gives a monologue regarding Crutcher's work and validity as a writer:

Long story short, the author is relatively obscure, has ten books out, no best-sellers. He presents himself as a child and family therapist, though as near as I can tell, he has only a bachelor's degree. he's a self-proclaimed nonreader who spent some time as a teacher in alternative education, I'm assuming because he couldn't cut it in the public schools. Just the influence we need on our kids, huh? (94-96)

Some of the other students, who have shared experiences with the characters in Crutcher's book, visit Crutcher's website and contact him via email and phone. I can't help but think what this process must have been like for Crutcher himself. Was this a kind of therapeutic exercise where he was able to finally give his side of these book challenges? Does this book serve as a kind of defense of his own writing? At one point, Ms. Lloyd discusses with her class the issue of challenging Crutcher's book and it seems that he is speaking to his readers directly through her:

They'll tell you it's about family values and Christian values and morality and our need to get control over our educational system. But it's about you. That's it. Just you. If you're going to stop this, you're going to have to stop it yourselves. Decide whether you think your mind is strong enough to hear tough stories, told in their native tongue - and let the censors know. (100-101)

I was happy to see the return of Montana West and her father, Maxwell West, in their respective character roles. There are a few other nods to some of Crutcher's other books as well. This is a really good read, especially for Crutcher's fans. There are a number of fun surprises for Crutcher's fans and it may also serve as a good introduction to the author for those new to his work. There is a good debate regarding censorship and as Billy describes from his omnipresent state, all sides are really just working for what they believe to be good and right.

Get it at Amazon (in hard copy or Kindle edition), Borders and Barnes & Noble (in hard copy and digital edition).
ISBN: 0060502452

And visit Crutcher's website. I hear he answers emails quickly ;)

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

This is probably a little young for the "young adult literature" genre, but I still think many would still enjoy it. It's a quick read (only 81 pages, with illustrations) and probably took me less time to read than the film would talk to watch.
It's a very cute story about a family of foxes that are being hunted by three farmers. These farmers shoot at Mr. Fox, attempt to dig up his home and stalk his fox hole. But Mr. Fox is very smart and, with a little help, he tunnels to the three farms. Mr. Fox plans on feeding his family and the other underground families by these secret tunnels.
The illustrations are really an enjoyment as well. Like I said, it's a very fast read and if you plan on seeing the film (or have seen it already), it is probably worth the time investment.
Enjoy!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Once again, Collins has written a book that I just could not put down! This book picks up where The Hunger Games left off: Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch have returned to district 12 from the games. Things are strained between Katniss and Gale, who has been sent to work in the coal mines. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games, and so there is a Quarterly Quell, where the rules for the games can be changed. The Capitol announces that the tributes to the 75th games will be selected from the existing pool of previous victors. We know that means Katniss is going back to the arena with either Peeta or Haymitch. I don't want to spoil the book for those who have not read it. I'll say that Katniss vows to protect Peeta's life, no matter the cost. The tributes form a much different relationship that we saw previously.

In this book, some of the districts are bordering on revolt against the Capitol. The announcement of the Quell means that Katniss and Peeta's romance cannot pan out, which even the people at the Capitol disapprove of. During the course of this second book, Katniss has to propagate the romance with Peeta. President Snow even suggests that the Capitol throw the couple a wedding. Peeta develops as a lovable character that I would be happy to see Katniss marry, but then there is her relationship with Gale to consider....

The last chapter of Catching Fire is so surprising. Again, I'm trying to not give too much away, but we see history repeat itself in a very frightening way by the end of the book. I absolutely cannot wait until the final book, Mockingjay, comes out in August.

Visit Collins' website for more information on her books:
http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/catching_fire_88086.htm

Get Catching Fire at your library, Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

This trilogy is really very excellent so far and I do hope you will read it!

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

I don't know if American teens read Sedaris, but I believe they should. Sedaris is described as a playwright and NPR commentator. His writing style is hilarious, sarcastic and insightful. The book jacket for Dress Your Family says

David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters.
He goes on vacation with his family.
He gets a job selling drinks.
He attends his brother's wedding.
He mops his sister's floor.
He gives directions to a lost traveler.
He eats a hamburger.
He has his blood sugar tested.

Oh, but there is so much more. When Sedaris "plays in the snow with his sisters", it is because their mother locked them out of the house to protect her own sanity. When he "has his blood sugar tested", it's because a man pricks his finger in a guerrilla-type manner when the man thought he requested an erotic maid instead of the more common variety, which Sedaris was working as at the time.

Each chapter is a story that somehow ties together with the others. They are not chronological, but explore different times in Sedaris's life. The stories are of everyday events, but Sedaris has the gift of peeling back the surface of everyday life to reveal the hilarious and absurd. There is a comparison by The New Yorker between Sedaris and Twain or Nathanael West. I would not be surprised if Sedaris indeed becomes a new American classic author.

Please read this collection of stories. It is hilarious.

Get it from Amazon (where you can get it for your kindle) or Barnes & Noble (where it is also available in digital edition).

Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher

After reading Whale Talk, I became a huge Crutcher fan. Chinese Handcuffs, however, was more difficult to read than anything I have picked up by Crutcher. In the first 100 pages or so, there is rape, incest, suicide, child and animal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse. I talked about this with a friend of mine that is also interested in young adult literature. She let me know that it's a common trend of the genre and some teens seek out this content and even enjoy it.

That said, Chinese Handcuffs is written in the enthralling style that makes me enjoy Crutcher's books so much. There are a couple of main characters: Dillion Hemingway, an aspiring Ironman tri-athelete whose older brother, Preston, committed suicide before the time period of the novel, and Jennifer Lawless, a high school basketball star who has to deal with memories of a sexually abusive father and her current step-father with the same problem. Dillion often reminds me of the character T.J. Jones from Whale Talk: both are sensitive, self-driven teens and athletes. Some of the chapters are written in the form of a letter from Dillion to a posthumous Preston. Other chapters are flashbacks of Jennifer's where we are introduced to her little sister, Dawn, who Jennifer struggles to protect from her father and step-father. Dillion and Jennifer are able to bond over not only their athletic abilities, but the pain they have both endured. It is the story of their courage and bravery in the face of this pain.

I enjoyed this book and its character development, but it was a very difficult read. Crutcher's writing is often fairly graphic and I found myself wincing away at parts. I would somehow like to think that the intended audience, presumably high school teens, should know nothing about the horrors encountered in Chinese Handcuffs. I realize, however, that many know it far too well. If you choose to read this book, I wish you luck, since it was very difficult for me personally.
I strongly recommend Kelly Milner Halls' review of the book on TeenReads.com.

Buy it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Sold by Patricia McCormick

This is one of the most difficult books to read. It was really very fast since it is written as a sort of journal or even as poetry, at times.
Sold is the story of Lakshmi, a Nepalese girl. She struggles with hunger and poverty in her tiny village until she has the opportunity to work in the city as a maid. She is sold to a woman who sells her to another man who takes her across the boarder into India. There she is sold to Mumtaz, the owner of the Happiness House. Lakshmi does not become a maid, but is locked up in a brothel, drugged and raped of her virginity at the age of 13.
The languge is heartbreaking. There is, however, a hopeful light. Lakshmi makes friend with some of the other girls in the house, with the boy that sells tea at the back door and even the son of one of the women. The last even teaches Lakshmi some English.
The book is overall horrifying and distrubing. What's worse is that it's largely true. McCormick researched this sexual slavery and found that some 12,000 Nepalese girls are sold to brothels in India every year. Whether the ending is a happy one or not, is up for you to determine.
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This book is amazing. Once I started I could not stop until I finished it and now I need to get the second book in the series.
The Hunger Games takes place in North America in the future. There were 13 Districts, who held an uprising against the Capitol. The Capitol destroyed District 13 and as a reminder of the weakness in the remaining districts, they forced each of the other 12 Districts to send two tributes, one boy and one girl, to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. These 24 individuals are between ages of 12 and 18.
Katniss, the main character, lives in District 12, current Appalachia. District 12 is the coal mining area and Katniss and her family are pretty poor. When names are drawn for tributes to the Games, Katniss' little sister, Prim is called for the girls. Katniss volunteers to take her place. The male tribute is the son of a baker, Peeta. The two are sent to the Capitol to prepare for the Games. They meet their prep team and designers (who create the multiple costumes they need for interviews and such), as well as the fellow tributes.
In the second part, the Games begin. The 24 triutes are send to an area that seems like a forrest with a nearby lake. Alliances are formed and tributes are killed from the first minute. I don't want to give too much away, but there were numerous surprises in this text for me, up until the last page.
One of the biggest questions in The Hunger Games is that of government involvement. The Capitol rules over the Districts in a dictatorship-type manner. They even get involved in the Games when things may have become boring for the views (all the citizens throughout the 12 Districts). The tributes sometimes form their actions to manipulate the Capitol. I hope in future books of the series, Suzanne Collins lets the characters take down the Capitol.

Available in hard copy and digital edition from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The story was very interesting but took me a while to really get into. It's the story of Katsa, a girl "Graced" in killing. In the world of the Seven Kingdoms, some people (whose eyes are two different colors) have a special ability or Grace. Katsa meets Prince Po from the island state of Leneid and finds that he is also Graced. He originally tells Katsa that his Grace is fighting, but it turns out to be more complicated. Po can actually sense his surroundings and read minds in regards to himself. He is especially good as reading Katsa's thoughts of him or toward him.

The two Gracelings start out to the southern state of Monsea, where they investigate the King, Leck, his wife and their daughter, Po's cousin. As it turns out, Leck is also Graced, but he uses his in a despicable manner. I'm afraid I may have given too much away already, so I'll have to leave the summary at that.

The Graceling raises many relevant questions for young adults: What is your own special ability? How do you use it for personal gain and/or public service? What are your views of relationships, marriage and children? Do these views align with Katsa's?

I have heard there is a second book in the Graceling series. I'm excited to see what happens next, but I also have a full shelf of books to work on for now. Enjoy!

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Crane's classic war novel revolves around young Henry Fleming, an 18 year old farm boy fighting as a private in the 304th regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Henry/The Youth fights with emotions regarding war and battle. He has read about battles of the past but did not experience it first hand until his regiment marches into the Battle of Chancellorsville. Henry becomes frightened and deserts into a nearby forest. He overhears that his regiment won over the Confederates and is torn with shame and guilt.
Henry witnesses death, of men both known and unknown to him, and finally he returns to his battalion. In one of the following battles, Henry proves to be a very good fighter. He serves also as a flag carrier in one of the battles and somehow manages to not be hit by the Confederates.
There are many resources for this novel, published in 1894, 1895 and 1982, in different editions. It is still valuable today since it contains timeless lessons in war and battle, fear, bravery, courage and pride. It is available in hard copy as well as digital edition at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There is also a 1951 film version of the text.

The Outsiders by S E Hinton (1967)

The Outsiders is perhaps the most quintessential book of young adult literature. I'm sure you know that S.E. Hinton wrote and published the book when she was 15 and 16. It is the tale of teenagers as told by teenagers.

Ponyboy Curtis is a likable character and one of the reasons the text has endured for so long, I believe. He is smart but full of angst. His family is more that his two brothers; it consists of the members of his gang of Greasers. But when one of his "brothers" kills a member of a rival gang, the socially elite, the two of them have to hide out for a while. When the dust clears, the two of them return to an all out war between the two gangs. The groups plan a brawl to determine a winner.

Although the text takes place over 40 years ago, the lessons and questions remain relevant. Who is a family? Who or what determines social classes? Are social classes set or can they be traversed?

If you have not read The Outsiders before, it's worth the time. If you haven't read it for a while, pick it up again!

The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)

I know this text isn't terribly recent, but I would like to explore some of these texts that could easily become classics.
The Giver takes place in a time and place where children are grouped according to years and are treated collectively in these groups. At age 9, each child receives their first bike; at 12, each child is given their assignment, their job. At his 12 year ceremony, Jonas is chosen to become the new Receiver of Memories.
Jonas works with the current Receiver (who becomes the Giver) and learns of snow, sunshine, colors, love, etc. He has access to information he never knew existed; things that we take for granted in modern America. But when Jonas learns a fact about his father that makes him question the Community.
There are a number of questions raised by Lowry. What pain and sacrifice do we incur for knowledge and truth? What forms a family "unit"? How do we account for free will?
The Giver is a quick read and I'm sure the young and old will continue to read it (and re-read it) for years to come.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

Jenna Fox was in a car accident 18 months ago and has been in a coma since. She has awoken to a strange world where she does not remember her parents, her friends or most of her life. Her parents and maternal grandmother, Lily, have moved her to a small community in California while her father, founder of Fox BioSystems (the creator of BioGel), continues his work in Boston.
The text is a bit of a mystery in which the read can participate, where Jenna tries to figure out her past. She attends a small school where she meets Dane and Ethan, potential love interests, and a good friend, Allys, whose work is intertwined with the Federal Science Ethics Boards.
Jenna watches discs, seemingly like a DVD, to help her remember her life. The discs are chronologically organized around the years of her life. Her journey is like an amnesiac attempting to remember her former life.
But there is something strange about Jenna. Her life seems to be different after the accident. She feels like she never knew the girl in the videos. Her parents are secretive and cryptic. Will she find who she is and who she was? Who can she trust, her parents? Her distant grandmother?
The text deals with issues of humanity and identity, family and history. I found it very interesting, and I hope you will too!
http://www.whoisjennafox.com/
Published April 2008
ISBN # 978-0-8050-7668-4

Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz

This book takes place in the early years of the Meiji restoration in Japan (1890 or so) and centers on Toyo Shimada. In the first few pages of the text, Toyo serves as witness to his uncle, Koji's, seppuku. Toyo enters Ichiko high school shortly thereafter. He deals with his emotions involving his beloved uncle's death as well as the abuse/hazing at the hands of the upperclassmen of Ichiko. Toyo's father begins to teach him bushido, the way of the sword, in Toyo's precious little free time. The lessons are often harsh, but Toyo learns to apply them to his baseball practice.
The book deals with identity in Meiji society: being an individual vs. being a group; modernity vs. tradition; the West vs. the East.
I've spent some time in Japan, studying language, and from what I can tell, Gratz gives a good account of life there. He also transports the reader to a critical time in Japan: the Meiji Restoration. When Commodore Perry forced Japan to "reopen" after centuries of seclusion, the Japanese were forced to modernize very quickly. Gratz deals with this idea as well as the need to maintain Japanese traditions.
I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons. I have a personal affinity for Japan and felt the text transported me there. Gratz also deals with an historically significant time and applies it to a fictional character. There are a number of people who, I believe would also enjoy this book: those interested in Japan, history, samurai and baseball; male and female alike.

Skim by Mariko Tamaki (words) and Jillian Tamaki (drawings)

Skim (aka. Kimberly Keiko Cameron) is many things. She is a student at an all-girls Catholic school. She is possibly depressed. She is at least half Asian (Japanese, perhaps) She is a practitioner of Wicca and possibly a lesbian. She has a broken arm for the majority of the book. Her nickname is because she is not wafer thin, but a little plump.
At the beginning of this story, Katie Matthews' ex-boyfriend, John Reddear, kills himself. This launches the school into efforts to "Celebrate Life". Skim doesn't want to participate in these events, to the dismay of the school counselor and some of the other students. As it turns out, Katie doesn't care for the efforts either.
Skim's relationships change a great deal through the book. At the begininng she is friends with Lisa (a fellow Wiccan), but they grow apart, for better or worse, throughout. Skim falls in love with her English/drama teacher, Ms. Archer, who then moves away. Strangely, Skim becomes friend with Katie, a popular type, because they bond over their hatred for the Girls Celebrate Life group and similar attempts to lift the spirits of the student body at their school.
Skim is a quick read (it took me maybe an hour) and is worth the time. It raises questions of love (heterosexual and homosexual) and death. Many of the characters grow in the 143 pages and handle death and love in different ways.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

I have not yet read Looking for Alaska, but I've heard great things about it. This book, by the same author, was published in 2006 and follows a high school students named Colin Singleton through the events following the end of his 19th relationship with a girl named Katherine.
After the most recent break up, Colin and his friend, Hassan, decide to go on a road trip from their home city of Chicago. They end up in Gutshot, TN, befriending a girl named Lindsey Lee Wells and the boys do some work for Lindsey's mother, Hollis.
The heart of Gutshot is a textiles factory that employs the majority of the population. Hollis is in charge of this factory but is making some strange decisions, according to Lindsey, such as selling a piece of their family land to a subdivision contractor.
While recording some information for Hollis, Colin also finds time to work on his theorem (since he is/was a child prodigy) regarding the trajectory of any given relationship.
Will Colin solve his theorem and make a lasting impression or will he fade away as a former child prodigy? Will Hassan finally do something more than watch Judge Judy and eat Hardee's Monster Thickburgers? Why is Hollis so secretive regarding the hours she works from home?
Green's text is a quick read and very interesting. It is riddled with existential questions regarding fame, brilliance and legend.
ISBN # 0525476881

Feed by M T Anderson

Feed was published in 2002 by Candlewick Press. The story is placed in a future where everyone has the feed implanted in their head shortly after birth. The feed plays videos in the individual's eyes so it seems they are staring at nothing. Products are offered through the feed based on the individual's environment.
While vacationing on the moon, the main character, Titus, and his friend meet a girl named Violet. As it turns out, Violet had the feed implanted later in her childhood, so it did not integrate correctly with her biological system. Violet doesn't quiet fit in with Titus and his friends, but Titus finds himself attracted to her. As things unfold, Violet's system begins to fail.
The book is well placed in our contemporary American society since the onset of smart phone like the iphone and droid. These days, we can find people glued to their phones at a party or dinner table instead of interacting with the people around them. The book raises a number of questions regarding the future of technology and its impact on society.
Feed would compliment the reading of texts such as Brave New World and 1984.

Awards:
Finalist 2002 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Winner 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
Winner 2003 Golden Duck Awards Hal Clement Award for Young Adults
Nominee 2005–2006 Green Mountain Book Award

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Alexie's text is hilarious and heartbreaking. This is the story of Arnold Spirit (aka. Junior) and his life on an Indian reservation in Spokane. (I use the term "Indian" here, instead of Native American, due to its use in the text itself.)
In high school, Arnold's teacher, Mr. P, tells him he needs, to leave the reservation. Arnold takes the advice, leaves the reservation school of Wellpinit and enrolls at Reardan, a "white" school just outside the reservation. For this, the Indians of the reservation practically disown Arnold. When Arnold starts playing basketball for Reardan, he get shunned and abused by the members of the reservation community during a game at the Wellpinit high school.
Although he was never popular, Arnold struggles to maintain his friendship with Rowdy, who he tries to convince to attend Reardan with him. Strangely, Arnold seems to be more accepted by the Reardan students than the students at Wellpinit. He says he succeeds at basketball because the others at Reardan expect him to succeed.
Arnold has to dead with the deaths of those close to him due largely to alcohol. In one case, a beloved member of his family is hit by a drunk driver. In another instance, someone close to him is shot in the face by a friend after they had both been drinking. Finally, a member of his family dies when their home burns because "[she] was too freaking drunk to feel any pain when she burned to death!" (205)
Alcohol abuse, poverty and violence are central themes in this novel. The Indians of the reservation seem to be perpetually drunk and brawling. Arnold notes that the families are often hungry (which makes food taste better) and parents beating their children is an everyday occurance.
Towards then end of the novel, Arnold seems near a breaking point:

"But I was crying for my tribe, too. I was crying because I knew five or ten or fifteen more Spokanes would die during the next year, and that most of them would die because of booze.
I cried because so many of my fellow tribal members were slowly killing themselves and I wanted them to live. I wanted them to get strong and get sober and get the hell off the rez.
It's a weird thing.
Reservations were meant to be prisons, you know? Indians were supposed to move onto the reservations and die. We were supposed to disappear.
But somehow or another, Indians have forgotten that reservations were meant to be death camps.
I wept because I was the only one who was brave and crazy enough to leave the rez. I was the only one with enough arrogance.
I wept and wept and wept because I knew that I was never going to drink and because I was never going to kill myself and because I was going to have a better life out in the white world."

Although the content is difficult to digest, the text ends on an overall optimistic tone. I enjoyed this book and think you will too.

Published September 2007
ISBN # 0316013684

Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill (2007)

This text is a collection of poems from Plath and from the perspective of those in her life. There are poems by her parents, teachers, school mistresses and lovers. I learned more about Plath than I ever expected. The text begins with Plath's parents, writing about Sylvia's birth, follows her through school and her love life, and finally her suicide. Photos from Plath's life are included as well.
ISBN 0440239680
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (2006)

This graphic novel was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award and won the 2007 Printz Award. It has also been recognized by the National Book Foundation, a first for graphic novels.

Yang tells three stories that finally combine in the end. The text begins with the story of the Monkey King, a famous legend in China. The second story is that of Jin Wang, a second generation immigrant (an American born Chinese). The third story is of Chin-Kee, a Chinese cousin of Danny, an American. These three stories are told in turn until the point where they blend at the end.

In the beginning, Jin moves from Chinatown to the suburbs where the only other Asian is a Japanese girl. The elementary school students decide that Jin and Suzy Nakamura belong together, due to their ethnicity. Wei Chen moves in from Taiwan and Jin ironically finds himself wanting to beat him up. In the end, Wei and Jin become friends because they both like Transformer toys. As they grow up, Jin is told by a white male student that he can't date a white girl. The racism and transformations in this story can be subtle at times, but come ot a head in the end, when the three stories intertwine.

In the third story, Danny is living a seemingly average American life when Chin-Kee comes to visit. Chin-Kee is an often grotesque stereotype of a Chinese man (consider his name). He tests the tolerance of Danny and his classmates until, again, the three stories intertwine.

The ending of American Born Chinese is very interesting and I hope I haven't given too much away. The text is a very quick read and would be a great accompaniment to a unit on immigration or the like.

ISBN 1596431520. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble