YA LIT - Books 17 - 25

Shianna Nichols

LSSL 5385

YA Readers - Required Authors

Green, J. (2008). Paper towns. New York: SPEAK by the Penguin Group.

Quentin lives next door to Margo, who he has been in love with since they were children, and she’s been ignoring him every since high school started.  One night Margo shows up at Quentin’s window and the two sneak out going about doing pranks around the town.  Margo didn’t show up to school the next day and ends up disappearing.  Quentin thinks she might have committed suicide.  He follows the clues he thinks she left him.  But is he following a path to nowhere?  Does he really know who Margo was?
Paper Towns was written by John Green which was geared for ages 14 and up due to edgy material and sexual reference.  This book covers the required author list.  This is a coming of age book with language and mature content.  It also delves into very deep questions about identity and relationships.  If you enjoy this book you might also like, Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan.

Acevedo, E. (2020). The Poet X. New York, USA: HarperCollins.

This story recounts how a young girl from Harlem connects with poetry.  She discovers that slam type of poetry helps her understand her mother on a new level.  Connecting with the text helps her to better understand her mother's religion and her personal connection to the world around her.  Like typical teenagers, Xiomara feels that her feeling go unheard, but poetry helps to connect the dots in a new way for this character. This book covers the required author list.

Lippincott, R. (2018). Five feet apart. NY: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

Cystic Fibrosis is what kept Stella and Will five feet apart from each other.  They both have CF and on top of all that, Will has contracted B. Cepacia bacteria that isolates him even more.  Stella and Will have had extended stays in the hospital many times throughout their lives, but it wasn’t until they were 17 that they met each other on the same hallway.  Their teenage love for each other grows and the 5 foot tension between them is one they can’t cross, if they want to stay alive.  Stella is on the lung transplant list and can’t take any chances of contracting Will’s B. Cepacia.  

Five Feet Apart made the #1 New York Times bestselling list and is on the Indigo Staff pick of the month in 2019.  It’s rated for ages 14 and up and deals with first love and uncertainty of the characters futures due to an incurable disease the two teenagers were born with.  The book was written from a screenplay and has now been made into a major motion picture.  This book covers the NYT Bestseller List requirement.  

Woodson, J. (2018). Harbor me. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.

Ms. Laverne has decided to try something different with her last period class, a group of 6th grade students. She will have the six students sit in an abandoned Art room without adult supervision and allow them to talk, no particular topic, nothing is off limits. Haley knows only one person, her best friend Holly, and both are curious about the other 4 classmates. Haley brings a recorder to class and records their chats, and their stories as they begin to share.  As the weeks go by, the students are able to start talking about some of the issues that are bothering them and no longer worry that Ms. Laverne has set them up in some type of way.  They begin to trust each other and the time they have been awarded to be able to discuss things, hard things that they are dealing with in their lives.  Things like Esteban’s dad being detained by ICE, Amari not being able to play with toy guns anymore because he is black, to Haley living with her uncle while her dad is incarcerated and her mom deceased.  The group of six friends help each other understand grief, loss, identity, change, forgiveness, and even community.  
Horn Book Reviews, Nov/Dec 2018, “Woodson’s ... latest will speak to young people’s insecurities and fears while recognizing their courage in facing them, and her craft as a weaver of words and imagery is evident on every page. A timely tribute to the resilience of young people and to the power of human connection that often overrides our differences.” Publisher’s Weekly, May 2018, “Showing how America’s political and social issues affect children on a daily basis, this novel will leave an indelible mark on readers’ minds.” Kirkus reviews, June 2018, “Woodson delivers a powerful tale of community and mutual growth. The bond they develop is palpable. Haley’s recorder is both an important plot element and a metaphor for the power of voice and story. The characters ring true as they discuss issues both personal and global. This story, told with exquisite language and clarity of narrative, is both heartbreaking and hopeful.”

Book is part of the 6 free choice YA books for LSSL 5385, this title came from 2019 Best Fiction for Young Adults put together by YALSA.

McAnulty, S. (2018). The miscalculations of Lightning Girl. New York: Random House.

Lucy survived being struck by lightning at age 8, but not without any side effects.  The survival left her with a genius ability.  Now at age 12, she has been homeschooled by her grandmother all the way to high school level courses, even though she has the ability to start college; but her grandmother has decided to enroll her in junior high so that she has social interactions with other students her age.  Lucy may be smart enough to be able to hide or downplay her academic ability, but the OCD routines are a bit harder.  Lucy has to learn how to make friends and maintain her genius hidden, and navigate the nuances of junior high.  She finds a small group of classmates that really care and understand her. While working on a group project for class, she meets and falls in love with a dying dog.  Lucy learns much about herself and the things that she is capable of, now she must decide if she will remain in junior high, or move onto college courses.  Reviewed by KIRKUS Reviews, May 2018, “...Lucy quickly realizes no formula can calculate the perils and pitfalls of public school. The multidimensional, highly likable Lucy’s first-person narration is direct and unrestrained.” Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List 2019 2020 

Colby Sharp Book Talk video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NQckATiFbI Educators guide shared by publisher- https://images.randomhouse.com/promo_image/9781524767570_5289.pdf Book is part of the 6 free choice YA books for LSSL 5385, this title came from 2019 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers put together by YALSA.

King, A. S. (2019). Dig. New York: Dutton Books, An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

 Five teens live in close proximity to one another, yet they don’t seem to know each other.  But their lives are destined to be intertwined due to past family ties that turned sour between their parents and grandparents.  They are all part of a mess of secrets and only one generation removed from being the potato farmers their grandparents once were.  The teens are known as The Shoveler, Malcolm, The Freak, Loretta, CanIHelpYou?  They refused to let the mistakes of their parents determine their future and end up discovering clues to figure out what a certain pair of brothers did to their cousin.  By reading this you must try to piece together what’s real and what’s imagined and how the characters will ultimately connect with one another.  
    Dig by A.S. King is directed for ages 14 and up that covers many topics such as, family, abuse, privilege, race, and death.  The story comes from the perspective of five different teens who are all connected in some way.  Their stories were all saturated with pain and heartbreak such as, death of a parent, terminal illness, poverty, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, racism, addiction, and white privelege were are topics covered.  First time readers of A.S. King might have a difficult time navigating the chaotic storyline of all five characters.  If you enjoy this book you might also like, The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta.
Book is part of the 6 free choice YA books for LSSL 5385, this title came from Printz and/or Printz Honor books.

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. NY. Penguin Group.

Melinda has no friends and is an outcast freshman at her school because she called the cops on a summer party.  She was so distraught she became silent and self-removed to the point of isolating everything and everyone in her life.  But no one knows why she busted up the party until she decides to speak up for herself and tell a friend she was raped by an upperclassman.   Her art class was her only hope in understanding the healing process of the appalling episode she had encountered (her teacher ironically assigned her a tree study for the entire year).Just when things were looking up, she had another abusive encounter with her wrongdoer.  But this time Melinda fights back and refuses to be silent any longer.

Speak was as National Book Award finalist, won the Golden Kite Award in 2000 along with ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Printz Honor Book, and NYT Best Seller in 2001 and 2005.  The author captures the pains and troubles of everyday high school life with honesty and raw emotion.  This psychological story is a lesson worth reading and worth analyzing where you reflect on your past actions of judgement.  Speak is directed for ages 14 and up.  This book covers the required reading for great graphic novel for teens.  If you enjoy this book you might also like, A Step From Heaven by An Na.

Larson, H. (2018) All Summer Long. New York : Farrar, Straus, & Giroux for Young Readers, an

imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group.

It’s the summer between 7th & 8th grade. Bina is really dreading this summer, as her best friend and neighbor will be gone for the majority of the time to soccer camp.  She did notice he was starting to act a bit weird before he left. Bina is left “friend-less”, which allows her to explore other activities that she may not have done with Austin, befriend other people, and even discovers a new music band.  It may have only been a month that Austin was gone, but Bina learn a lot about herself, making friends, rekindling and balancing friendships, even gaining the title of “Aunt” this summer.   When summer is over, she is more than ready to start 8th grade.  

This graphic novel is done with panels of varying sizes. The dialogue is done in a variety of formats such as text messages, phone conversations, and traditional text/thought bubbles and is believable/relatable for students Bina’s age.  The images drawn are those of realistic people, not fantasy style, with great close up of faces that show great emotion.  Most of the book is done in a soft yellow/peach color with black outlines and white highlights.  

Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews, May 2018- A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a

summer evening breeze.”
Other graphic novels by Hope Larson-Compass South: A Graphic Novel (Four Points, Book 1), Gray Horses, Chiggers, Who is AC?

Book is part of the 6 free choice YA books for LSSL 5385, this title came from 2019 Great Graphic Novels for Teens put together by YALSA.

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 Outstanding Books for the College Bound List for LSSL 5385.