A Separate Peace

Title: A Separate Peace 

Author: John Knowles
ISBN: 978-0-7432-5397-0
Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 10th to 12th
Publisher: Scribner
Media Type: Book
Copyright: 2003 (original publication 1959)
Genre: Fiction


Reader's Annotation: With two different personalities, Gene and Phineas's friendship is bound to have some bumps and bruises, but no one ever expected things to turn out this way.

Plot Summary: Set during World War II, Gene and Phineas, the two male protagonists, attend boarding school together in New England. With drastically different personalities the two become unlikely friends. At first, their friendship seems sincere. They engage in activities typical of teenagers such as sports and even forming a secret society; however, jealously, competition, and paranoia set in. Gene is more academically inclined and Phineas is the school sports star and the attention one of the boy receives becomes too much for the other. One of the boy's friendship becomes insincere and something happens that forever changes the course of both of the boys' lives.

Evaluation: (A) John Knowles not only developed a believable plot line, but also created convincing characters who effectively conveyed thoughts and emotions that many teenagers feel. Whether male or female, young adults may experience feelings of jealously and competition even among the closest friendships. While Gene and Phineas's friendship may not have been the closest friendship in the beginning one could sense sincerity among the boys. The sincerity lost, based on seemingly immature and paranoid thoughts, is true-to-life and therefore makes for a page turning read.

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• A Separate Peace DVD (2004)
  
• YALSA Selected Audiobooks

I Know This Much is True

Title: I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
ISBN: 0-06-098756--1
Recommended Grade Level of Reader: Adult Crossover (Acceptable Content for 11th and Up)
Publisher: ReganBooks
Media Type: Book
Copyright:  1998   
Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation:  With a schizophrenic twin brother and a failed marriage, life couldn't get too much worse for Dominick... or could it? 

Plot Summary:  I Know This Much is True details events in the life of the main character, Dominick Birdsey.  Told from Dominick's point-of-view, the story revolves around Dominick's adult life with flashbacks to his childhood.  Dominick has a schizophrenic twin brother who has gone in and out of mental hospitals.  The reader sees Dominick struggle with loving and taking care of his brother, but at the same time resenting him.  Dominick also struggles with his failed marriage to Dessa and his relationship with his stepfather.  The main plot is concerned with Thomas, Dominick's brother, and Thomas's shocking surprise.       

Evaluation: (A+)  It is evident why this is a number one New York Times Bestseller.  Lamb develops the characters so well that the reader will feel as if he or she knows Dominick, Thomas, and many of the other characters.  The plot is realistic and the text is rich with pertinent information on schizophrenia.  Lamb even provides a list of sources consulted which reinforces why the plot and characters are convincing.  While readers might be hesitant to pick this novel up due to its enormous size (897 pages), every page is filled with emotion, suspense, and heartbreak which will make it difficult to set this book down.  

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• Discussion Questions

Keeping You a Secret

Title: Keeping You a Secret

Author: Julie Anne Peters

ISBN: 978-0-316-00985-0

Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 9th and Up

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Media Type: Book

Copyright:  2003

Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation: Girl loves boy. Girl loves girl. No one ever said that dating would be this complicated.

Plot Summary: Holland, the female protagonist in Keeping You a Secret by Julie Ann Peters, is by all accounts a heterosexual teenager. She even has a steady boyfriend. That is until CeCe, a new student at Holland’s school, allows Holland to experience thoughts and emotions never before felt. Holland begins a secret relationship with CeCe that eventually reveals itself. She becomes the recipient of other peoples’ narrow-mindedness and bigotry and is forced to choose between her family and CeCe.  

Evaluation: (C)  While Julie Ann Peters presents realistic characters in Holland and Cece, the plot line was slightly unrealistic.  I believed Holland's inner conflict between maintaining her simple, mainstream lifestyle and her attraction and desires for the new girl.  Her choice for the latter was also convincing as was her family's reaction to it; however, the realism in the sequence of events subsequent to leaving her family's house bordered on outrageous for a young girl Holland's age.  While many real life teens may make the choice that Holland did, Julie Ann Peter's portrayal was not convincing.        

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• Out of the Closet 
  

Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

ISBN: 978-1-4233-2444-7

Recommended Grade Level of User: 9th to 12th

Media Type: Audiobook, Compact Disc (CD)

Copyright: 2006

Audiobook Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Narrator: Jeff Woodman

Duration: 7 Hours (6 CDs)

Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation:  Will Miles ever find his Great Perhaps? 

Plot Summary:  Miles is leaving his family and his home for boarding school in Alabama.  After his arrival, he quickly becomes friends with his roommate Chip and his roommate’s female friend, Alaska.  When Miles gets thrown into a lake one day by a local group of notorious pranksters, Miles and his friends declare a prank war.  Amidst the festivities surrounding the pranks, Miles finds that he is developing a crush on Alaska.  Throughout the course of the audiobook, infatuation grows between the two teens.  One fateful night, however, Alaska suddenly perishes in a car crash.  Devastated by their loss, Miles and Chip set out on a quest to uncover the truth behind Alaska’s death.   

Evaluation:  (B)  Green created three well developed characters in Miles, Chip, and Alaska. Each brought interest to the story with unique sets of characteristics and provided for an intriguing and suspenseful narrative.  It is easy to see how each character impacts the others' lives and while the ending isn't necessarily a happy one, it makes the story much more believable.        

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• YALSA Literature and Language Arts Book List

Make Lemonade

Title: Make Lemonade
Author: Virginia Euwer Wolff
ISBN: 0-590-48141-X
Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 7th and Up
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Media Type: Book
Copyright:  1993
Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation: LaVaughn dreams of going to college and getting out of her terrible neighborhood, but babysitting for a teenage mom may force her to change her plans.

Plot Summary: LaVaughn, a high school student, is determined to go to college. In order to get there, she must save money to pay to her tuition. After school one day, LaVaughn sees a help-wanted flyer for a babysitting position. Interested, LaVaughn contacts the woman advertising for help. Upon meeting the mother, LaVaughn learns that the woman is actually a young teenage girl much like herself. The difference is that the mother, Jolly, has two young children and is only seventeen. LaVaugh helps Jolly throughout the course of the novel not only by babysitting, but also by enrolling Jolly in school. Jolly isn’t the only person to benefit from the situation, however. LaVaugh learns a few good lessons along the way.

Evaluation: (B) Overall, this book was enjoyable. It is written in steam of conscious style which I had to get used to in order to read the passages fluidly. I really enjoyed the subject matter of teen pregnancy and how LaVaughn got to see the struggles of being a young mother. I believe Jolly’s story helped to reinforce LaVaughn’s desire to go to college and get out her neighborhood. While I was interested in the character’s lives, this wasn’t a book that I just couldn’t put down. Nonetheless, I believe that Make Lemonade is a good book for any teenage girl to read.

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• Teaching Ideas and Other Resources
• Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood: Fiction and Nonfiction
• It's Rough Out There: Teen Life and Issues Fiction Booklist
• Novels in Verse

Skinny

Title: Skinny

Author: Ibi Kaslik

ISBN: 978-0-8027-9738-4

Recommended Grade Level of Reader:  9th and Up

Publisher: Walker and Company

Media Type: Book

Copyright:  2004

Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation: A struggle to be thin. A story of family, perfection and dysfunction told from two different points-of-view.

Plot Summary:  Skinny tells the story of two sisters, Giselle and Holly.  Giselle, a former medical student, has been battling anorexia.  Holly, a high school athlete, has been struggling to deal with her older sister’s disease.  Being a top student and a perfectionist, Giselle has to discontinue her medical studies in order to deal with the disease that consumes her.  As such, she has to move back home with her mother and Holly.  Slowly, Giselle begins to uncover the reasons that led to her self-destruction.  Told from the point-of view of each sister, this novel documents the affect an eating disorder has not only on one individual, but also those that surround him or her. 

Evaluation:  (B)  While the idea of how one’s struggle with anorexia affects more than just the victim is interesting, Ibi Kaslik had difficulty setting up the story.  Skinny was not engaging in the beginning which made for a boring read.  A disconnect may have occurred as a result of the story being told from two people’s points-of-views.  The novel bounced around too much for the reader to become attached to or get to know either character in the first half of the book.  The author could have shown more character depth by telling the story from one character’s perspective instead of two.  Giselle’s story could have been told effectively through her point-of-view or by Holly a la Julie Anne Peters’ Regan in Luna.          

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• Physical and Mental Diseases and Disabilities
• Body Image and Eating Disorders

Story of a Girl

Title: Story of a Girl

Author: Sara Zarr

ISBN: 978-0-316-01454-0

Recommended Grade Level of Reader:  9th and Up

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Media Type: Book

Copyright:  2007

Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation:  Some people make mistakes, but others make them with everyone looking. 

Plot Summary:  Deanna, the female protagonist, recounts an event from her past that earned her a bad reputation with her peers.  The story surrounds her dad catching her having sex at the tender age of thirteen.  He just so happened to find her during this escapade in the backseat of a boy’s car.  The boy, her brothers now ex-friend, bragged to his classmates and, as a result, Deanna got labeled as the school slut.  Story of a Girl begins on the last day of Deanna’s freshman year of high school.  Events unfold over the course of the summer concerning Deanna’s two best friends, Deanna’s brother, and a summer job that goes awry. 

Evaluation:  (A)  This story is based on the underlying theme of mistakes.  Specifically, one mistake can affect many facets of an individual’s life.  This is apparent in not only the plot concerning Deanna getting caught in the backseat, but also subplots pertaining to other characters such as Deanna’s brother.  Zarr does an excellent job at subtly incorporating this lesson into the novel without being too preachy.  Additionally, the character dialogue and Deanna’s inner thoughts are believable and could easily be attributed to a real life teenager. 

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• YALSA Selected Audiobooks      
  

The Bell Jar

Title: The Bell Jar

Author: Sylvia Plath

ISBN: 978-0-061-14851-4

Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 9th and Up

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Media Type: Book

Copyright: 1963

Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation: Internships, careers, motherhood? Sometimes life can be a little overwhelming.

Plot Summary: The Bell Jar, a classic fictional novel supposedly based on the author’s life, is set on the East Coast during the 1950s. Esther, the female protagonist, is a college student on break for the summer. She beings a writing internship at a magazine in New York. Unconfident about her skills and conflicted about having a career or pursuing something more in line with traditional female gender roles like motherhood, Esther shows signs of depression. A month later, Esther returns to Boston to stay the rest of the summer with her mother and becomes even more depressed. She attempts committing suicide and ends up in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. Events unfold during her lengthy stay in the hospital which is the focus of the remainder of the novel.

Evaluation: (A) This is a great story because it is incredibly realistic. While The Bell Jar may appear to be outdated, it includes themes that teenagers today will be able to relate to. Esther has feelings of insecurity and this insecurity consumes her thoughts at many points throughout the novel. Many young adults will be able to identify with her anxiety as high school aged students are at the prime years to be questioning one’s identity and talents. Similarly, Esther struggles with pursuing a writing career and being a mom or entering a feminized profession. While this issue was prevalent during the feminine revolution, teenagers today still debate the path that they should be taking. The Bell Jar would make a great addition to a young adult book list concerning mental illness, social issues, or classic novels.

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• Physical and Mental Diseases and Disabilities

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Director: Mark Herman
Based on a Novel by: John Boyne
ISBN: 0-7888-8402-6
Rating: PG-13
Suitable for Ages: Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13
Production Company: Miramax Films
Media Type: DVD
Copyright: 2009
Genre: Drama



Reader's Annotation: Bruno just wants to make some new friends. So, why can’t he play with the boy in the striped pajamas?

Plot Summary: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is about a young boy named Bruno and his family. Bruno’s dad is a high ranking German solider who relocates his family from the city of Berlin to the German countryside during Work War II. Shortly after the move, the viewer realizes that Bruno’s dad moved his family in order to be near to a concentration camp. The camp is Bruno’s point of fascination throughout the movie as Bruno is in search of new friends. Bruno is only eight years old, however, and believes that the concentration camp is a farm. Bruno ends up making friends with Shmuel, an eight year old Jewish boy trapped inside the walls of the barbed wire fence. In an effort to help Shmuel find his father, Bruno digs a hole under the fence and joins Shmuel on the other side much to the horror of his family.

Evaluation: (B) This movie reminds me of Thomas Paine’s quote, “he that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition: for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” While Bruno’s dad was able to justify the mistreatment of the Jewish people in the concentration camp, perhaps he was able to see the inhumanity after Bruno’s expedition to the other side. Although not as emotionally charged as Schindler’s List or the Diary of Anne Frank until the end, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is sad and has a surprising outcome. I recommend seeing this movie and believe that it would be a good supplement to any lesson plan on the holocaust.

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• Parents Guide
• Discussion Guide
• Movie Tie-In Book

The Kite Runner

Title: The Kite Runner

Director:  Marc Forster 

Based on a Novel by:  Khaled Hosseini

Starring:  Larry Brown and L. Peter Callender 

Rating:  PG-13

Suitable for Ages:  Some Material May be Inappropriate for Children Under the Age of 13

Production Company:  Dreamworks

Media Type: DVD

Copyright:  2008

Genre:  Drama

Reader's Annotation:  A story of friendship and of heartbreak.

Plot Summary:  Two young boys, Amir and Hassan, are unsuspecting friends.  Growing up in Kabul, the two boys grow close as a result of their father's business relationship.  Amir's father is affluent while Hassan's father is Amir's family's servant.  After a sad and horrifying event shatters Amir and Hassan's friendship, the viewer sees the boys' lives go in separate directions.      

Evaluation:  (A+)  Hosseini weaves a beautiful yet heartbreaking tale of friendship.  The characters are innocent and happy until one day that is taken away from them both.  The two young actors effectively express their love for each other and consequently their confusion and pain.  With brilliant writing and convincing actors, The Kite Runner is an excellent film.     

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• YALSA Literature and Language Arts Booklist

The Perfect Score

Title: The Perfect Score 

Director: Brian Robbins

Novelization of Movie by: David Levithan

Starring: Chris Evans, Ericka Christensen, and Scarlett Johansson

ISBN: 0-7921-8912-4

Rating: PG13

Suitable for Ages: Some Material Not Appropriate for Children Under 13

Production Company: Paramount Pictures/MTV

Media Type: DVD

Copyright: 2004

Genre: Comedy

Reader's Annotation: Their futures depend on high SAT scores. Their lives depend on not getting caught.

Plot Summary: Kyle, a high school senior has big dreams of going to a prestigious college to study architecture. When his SATs scores are too low he plots to steal the answer key from the regional testing administrator's office. Slowly, his plan gets out to others and eventually it results in a group of unsuspecting teenagers who team up to accomplish this task. Each teen has a different reason for his or her involvement and each plays an integral role in the heist.

Evaluation: (C) While the story was interesting and suspenseful, the plot line was unrealistic. The characters were diverse and believable, however, and helped to interject believability into the story. Each character played a role indicative of a stereotypical student in any high school. For example, there was a jock who floated through high school based on his sports talent rather than his academic ability, a likeable straight A student girl who was also the school photographer, and a slacker kid who wasted his time getting high, to name a few. It was the humor in this movie that offered appeal rather than the unconvincing plot.

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• David Levithan

Thirteen Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

ISBN: 978-0-7393-5650-0

Recommended Grade Level of User: 9th to 12th

Media Type: Audiobook, Compact Disc (CD)

Copyright:  2007

Audiobook Publisher: Random House Audio

Narrators: Joel Johnstone and Debra Wiseman

Duration: 6 Hours, 25 Minutes (5 CDs)

Genre: Fiction

Reader's Annotation:  Hannah’s peers played a role in her suicide and they are about to find out why. 

Plot Summary:  Thirteen Reasons Why is about the story of Hannah Baker.  Before Hannah’s suicide, she documented the reasons that led to her untimely death.  Via cassette tapes, Hannah delivered messages to her peers to let then know why they each played a role in her suicide.  The messages, recorded on a series of seven tapes, were mailed to the first recipient shortly before her suicide.  Hannah’s message instructs each person to listen to all of the tapes and pass them along to the next person mentioned in her story.  Clay, the male protagonist, is one of Hannah’s peers mentioned on the tapes.  The story unfolds from Clay’s point-of-view as he recounts listening to Hannah’s tapes. 

Evaluation:  (B)  The premise of the story is creative and intriguing.  However, the plot is somewhat unrealistic.  It is evident that the author conducted research on suicide as Asher intertwined facts about suicide throughout the story.  It is unrealistic, though, that someone who is truly suicidal would have the energy and gumption to produce a chronicle of his or her life and devise a plan to circulate it.  Also, while people have different reasons for committing suicide, Hannah’s reasons are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of life.  Perhaps Asher thought the reader would chalk it up to the nature of teenage cognition, but the plot was unconvincing.  Nonetheless, the story is emotional and thought provoking.  Listeners of the audiobook (or readers of the novel) may give the golden rule more thought after hearing Hannah’s story.

On a side note, Hannah’s voice, read by Debra Wiseman was not only unrealistic because it was read by an adult woman rather than a teenage girl, but also since it was too theatrical for someone who has decided to commit suicide.  It is difficult to separate Wiseman’s rendition of Hannah’s story; therefore, I surmise that the novel, rather than the audiobook, is a better choice for those looking to experience Thirteen Reasons Why.   

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• It's Rough Out There: Teen Life and Issues Fiction Book List
• Death and Suicide

Twilight

Title: Twilight
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Based on a Novel by: Stephenie Meyer
Starring: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson
ISBN: 0-25192-02226-5
Rating: PG-13
Suitable for Ages: Parental Guidance Suggested for Children Under 13
Production Company: Summit Entertainment, LLC
Media Type: DVD
Copyright:  2009
Genre: Drama

Reader's Annotation:  Bella knew it would be difficult to transition from cacti and sun to trees and rain, but her dad never told her about the vampires. 

    

Plot Summary: Based on one of the wildly popular contemporary novels among today’s adolescents, Twilight is a classic story of love and infatuation. After Bella, the female protagonist, moves from Arizona to live with her dad in Washington, she meets a boy in her science class. Edward, Bella’s lab partner, is different; yet, she finds him intriguing and attractive. The two classmates gradually develop a romantic relationship and as Bella gets to know Edward more his secrets are revealed. Bella learns Edward’s true identity is that of a vampire. However dangerous that may seem to Bella, she finds that she is desperately in love.

Evaluation: (A) I have to admit that I am not a big fan of fantasy novels including the vampire genre. Hence, I did not read Twilight despite all of the rage. Moreover, I was not looking forward to seeing the movie. I was incredibly surprised, however, after seeing the DVD. Twilight was a great movie with a believable love story and a suspenseful plot. Since books tend to be far better than the movies based on the books (in my opinion), I can only imagine how good Stephenie Meyer’s series is. This movie makes me want to read Twilight and the rest of the series before New Moon is released to the theaters November 2009. I highly recommend seeing Twilight if you haven’t already!

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• Vampires: Bloodsucking Fiends?