Sheinkin, S. (2010). The
notorious Benedict Arnold. New
York: Macmillan.
Benedict Arnold joined the army in the late 1700’s to fight
in the French-Indian War which he later deserted because of his mother’s sudden
death. He then joins the tax revolt
movement and begins trading things illegally.
Later he marries Margret in 1767 and has three sons with her. He is
eventually promoted to General by George Washington. Arnold was instrumental in winning battles of
the American Revolution, but because of his greed and reckless driven nature,
he was never given much credit. He never
really gets along with his peers and conspires with the British to give up West
Point, which he was protecting. George
Washington learns about his plan and Arnold is no longer welcomed in New York.
This novel is written in sequential order and allows readers
to understand where the character comes from.
The use of firsthand accounts and quotes from various sources that are included
in the sources notes at the back of the book is useful to the readers. Great read for discussion in middle school
aged students about greed, pride and examples of what happens when you allow
these to rule.
Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper jungle. New York: Dutton.
Austin is in love with two of his closest friends which are Shann,
his girlfriend and Robby, his homosexual friend. Things get complicated with their
relationships and Austin and Robby are beat up by bullies. That night, they return to get their
skateboards and shoes which were thrown up a roof of the store where Austin
works when they were being beaten up. Up
on the roof, they notice an entrance to Shann’s stepdad’s office. Inside they see some unusual displays. They didn’t know that these were supposedly
going to be broken into pieces and mixed with Robby’s blood. There was an outbreak of life size praying
mantises. These bugs were out to eat
humans and take over the world. The
praying mantise have multiplied and Austin, Robby, Shann, and family move to
Eden, which is a hidden underground silo that was built as a safe haven. Austin and Robby learn that the only way to
save the world is by using Robby’s blood and expose it to the creatures.
Geared towards high school students. Discussion can occur in regards to these
teenagers dealing with difficulties of being that age as well as trying to
figure out how to save the world.
Scientific and yet apocalyptic.
Similar Reads:
Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, a girl in pieces. TX: Cinco Puntos
James, J. (2007). Freak show. New York: Dutton.
Billy Bloom is a boy who feels normal when he is dressed in
girl clothing and wearing makeup. He has
just moved in with his dad because his mom kicked him out. He will be starting a new school and wants to
make a good impression. On his first day
he dresses with his feminine attire and makes a grand entrance into his
class. The students are not very
friendly and begin to bully him. They
beat him up and call him “faggot.” The
only friend he makes is the star football player, Flip. Flip and Billy become close friends after
Billy is beaten severely. They become
closer and closer to each other that one day Billy kisses Flip. This makes Flip become uncomfortable and no
longer wants to hang with Billy. Billy
decides he is going to be proud of who he is and stand up for himself and others
like him that he decides to run for home coming queen. He loses but through the process, he wins
Flip’s friendship back.
This modern, realistic fiction story is a great resource for
teachers and counselors to discuss and teach students about bullying,
acceptance, sexual orientation, and empathy.
Good age group would be middle school and high school students.
Similar Reads:
Sanchez, A. (2001). Rainbow boys. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Wein, E. (2012). Code name Verity. New York: Hyperion.
Maddie and Julia meet during World War II. They are assigned a mission in France and Maddie, a pilot, flies Julia, a spy, to complete the mission. The flight doesn't go well. Julia is forced to skydive and Maddie tries to make a risky landing. They both make it alive but are not together. Maddie is rescued by a family who lives in a farm and Julia is captured by German forces and imprisoned. She is forced to write secret codes and fears that Maddie crashed and died. Maddie on the other hand knows that Julia is alive and plans to go save her before she is sent to the concentration camps. With some help, Maddie does find her but things don't go well. They both know that the best way to save Julia is for Maddie to kill her, because going to the concentration camp is not an option. Julia does leave clues for Maddie to help in the destruction of the prison she was once in. Maddie is able to demolish the prison and return home safely.
The realistic historical fiction referenced in this book reveals to the readers the horrific experiences people had during the World War. Great tool for teachers of middle and high school students to use. The obstacles these characters endured can encourage feelings of empathy amongst our young kids who aren't able to fathom.
Similar Reads: Notaro, L. (2016). Crossing the horizon. New York: Gallery Books.
Bray,
L. (2009). Going Bovine. New York, NY: Delacorte Books
Cameron is diagnosed with mad-cow disease and is hospitalized. He has always been one who doesn't try in life but rather sail through it day by day without much desire or expectations. When his disease causes him to begin hallucinating, he is told he is soon to die. He then meets Dulcie, a pink-haired fairy with spray
painted wings. This is brought on by hallucinations. Dulcie
tells Cameron of a cure and soon he finds himself traveling across America with
a dwarf and a Norse god trapped in a gnome's
body. Cameron eventually earns his cure by defeating a wizard with a
trumpet given to him by a jazz musician in New Orleans.
In reading this book I felt like I was the one hallucinating but I can't say it wasn't entertaining! The characters in this book were
wild and zany and total unexpected. I have yet to find a more unique twist on the mundane topic
of overcoming an illness. I could not have predicted any part of this
novel and I'm sure the recommended readers of middle school and up won't be able to
either. Going Bovine was definitely worthy of its Printz Award in
2010 for literary merit.
Similar Reads: Anderson, L. (2002). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
Hunt, L. (2015). 13 days of midnight. MA: Candlewick Press.
Luke lives in England and has just received the news that his father passed away and has left him with a large amount of money. Extremely excited that he will be receiving this money, he quickly goes to sign papers and all the forms necessary to make the inheritance official. With his eagerness, he does not read the fine print on the forms. He soon discovers that along with the large amount of cash, he also inherited ghosts and has only 13 days to get rid of them.
Great read for high school students. Keeps you interested on what's going to happen.
Similar reads: French, P. (2013). Midnight in Peking: How the murder of a young Englishwoman haunted the last days of old China. New York: Penguin Books.
Crutcher,
C. (2006). The sledding hill. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Eddie
is Billy’s best friend. Within a month, Eddie
has found the dead bodies of both his father and Billy. These tragic and traumatic experiences have
caused Eddie to become mute. Eddie
becomes in contact with Billy’s spirit and finds the book Warren Peece provided by the his librarian which helps Eddie
through this. Eddie’s teacher becomes aware
of him reading this book and tries to help Eddie by encouraging him to get
baptized and wants to have this book banned.
Eddie feels that banning the book is wrong. With the help of his dad and best friend,
Eddie not only stands up for what he believes is right but overcomes his
muteness.
Great
read for the high school level on lessons over censorship in literature as well
discussions on communicating with ghosts will be appealing to the age
group. In addition, the life changes
Eddie endured helped him grow from an individual lacking self-disciplined, into
a determined and voiced participant.
Similar Reads: Hautman, P. (2000). Stone cold. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.
Stiefvater, M. (2009). Shiver. New York, NY:
Scholastic Press.
When
Grace is bitten by a wolf, she recalls it as not terrifying or tragic, but rather
remembers it like being licked by a dog.
From then on, she feels a connection to Sam who is a werewolf part time
and a human the other part. Grace is
determined to cure Sam from becoming a werewolf forever. She finds out there might be a cure from a
meningitis injection. Not all werewolves
are like Sam. There is Jack who is vicious as a human and even more so as
a wolf. Jack's sister Isabel is also looking for a cure. When the two
werewolves try a possible cure Jack is killed and Sam runs away. After
many nights with no sign of Sam, Grace and Sam encounter each other at a bird
feeder and embrace.
While
falling under the fantasy genre, Shiver offers the reader universal
themes such as good versus evil in the characters of Sam and Jack, true love in
Grace and Sam's relationship, and of course love conquers all.
Similar Reads: Roth, V. (2014). Divergent: 1. London: HarperCollins.
De la Pena, M. (2008). Mexican whiteboy. New York: Delacorte Press.
Danny's mother is white and is moving in her white boyfriend. Danny goes to spend the summer with his dad's side of the family, who is Mexican. Danny's plan for the summer is to save money to go visit his dad who lives in Mexico. He practices his baseball skills during the summer with his cousins and makes a great friend named Uno. Uno is half black and half Mexican. Uno helps Danny with his fear of pitching in front of others. They go together to meet Uno's high school baseball team and there Danny overcomes his insecurities and shows his talent as a pitcher with the team. During all this, Danny finds out his father hasn't moved but is in prison. He also finds out that his mother has decided to move back to their home. Danny is able to accept his life's circumstances and takes the opportunities in front of him and face them as best as he can.
This story highlights the Mexican-American culture and heritage. Gives students the opportunity to view the culture and it's complications of someone who is biologically two races. Great resource for teachers to use in middle school and up to exhibit culture attributes, backgrounds, and accepting challenges as they come.
Similar reads: Voorhees, C. (2009). The brothers Torres. New York, NY: Disney/Hyperion.
Shusterman, N. (2004). The Schwa was here. New York: Dutton Children's Books.
Anthony has a new friend, Schwa who has the ability to go undetected by others and can suddenly appear. They both utilize this ability by becoming spies and creating a business for profit. One task they accept to do is to go into the home of the town grouch, Crawley. Unfortunately they are caught by Crawley. Crawley makes a deal with them instead of calling the police. They both have to walk his 14 dogs in return. Anthony and Schwa begin to like Crawley's granddaughter and this causes friction between their friendship. Schwa ends of searching the reason for his unique ability while also looking into the disappearance of his mother. Anthony searches for ways to be a loyal friend to Schwa despite the feelings he has for Crawley's granddaughter. Their friendship is important to him.
An appealing read for students in middle school. Discussions can occur about the difficulties kids face when they are different in certain aspects and desire to be accepted. In addition students can discuss the ways a friend can show good character traits when they are faced with similar situations.
Similar Reads: Sachar, L. (2015). Holes. New York: Yearling/Random House Children's Books.
Cather is headed to college at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a worried about leaving her mentally ill
father. She is also an introverted
individual who doesn’t like to talk nor interact with people. Her sister is opposite of her and while at
college draws away from Cather and becomes a party girl. Cather would rather stay in her dorm and
write. She struggles to fit in until she
meets her roommate’s ex-boyfriend who she starts to like. Unfortunately her
heart gets broken and fails to do well in her writing course. In addition faces her father’s bipolar
breakdown and her sister’s alcohol poisoning.
Despite all this, she decides to keep moving forward and does overcome
these struggles in life. She continues
with her writing and uses this to discover herself and writes about her life.
Great read to discuss with readers in high
school about their fears as they leave school and move on with their
lives. Students can also relate to the struggles
some face with family circumstances and situations.
Similar reads:
Miller, L. R. (2013). The summer I became a nerd. Fort Collins, CO: Entangled Publishing.
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