Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, by Deborah Heiligman

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, by Deborah Heiligman. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2009. ISBN-10: 0805087214; ISBN-13: 978-0805087215. 272 p.

Plot Summary
This biography of Charles Darwin focuses more on his relationship with his wife, Emma, than on his famous travels on the HMS Beagle. Charles faced constant doubts about religion, an afterlife, and God's role in creating the earth--heretical notions in Victorian England. Emma Darwin, though she also had her doubts about some tenets of organized religion, was devoutly Christian, and determined that she would be with her beloved family in heaven. This story tells of the adjustments both had to make as they built a life together.

Critical Evaluation
Many biographies have been written about Charles Darwin, but most accounts of his life focus on his scientific discoveries, not his family. Heligman's approach is fresh and fascinating. Despite their religions differences, Heiligman makes it clear that Charles and Emma Darwin were well-matched and lived a happy life. The New York Times review says that "In today’s climate of division between religion and science, it’s instructive to read about a marriage in which the two cultures improved each for exposure to the other. Heiligman’s most revealing insight comes near the end of the book, as Darwin, having developed his ideas in private for 20-some years, spends a feverish 13 months writing them up in “The Origin of Species.” Without Emma, he might well have written a combative, antireligious treatise — “The God Delusion” of his day. Instead, his experience with his wife’s tolerant, reasonable brand of faith led him to temper his tone"(link). This book was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Award and a 2010 Printz Honor Book, as well as a recipient of YALSA's first-ever Excellence in Nonfiction Award.

Reader’s Annotation
Charles Darwin was a man of science, whose ideas on the origin of species were considered heretical by many religious people. His wife Emma was a religious woman of faith who believed strongly in God's creation of the earth and a heaven after death. How did two people who were so different build a happy life together?

Author Information

Deborah Heiligman was born and raised in Allentown, PA. She majored in religious studies at Brown University--she considered becoming a rabbi for about a week, but then had no idea what she wanted to do after graduation. She says, " I wanted to be a writer, but I didn't think real people were writers. I thought writers were like movie stars and that regular people like me couldn't be writers. At Brown all the people who said they were going to be writers wore all black, smoked lots of cigarettes (something I never did: my father was a lung doctor!), drank endless cups of coffee, and used such big words I couldn't understand what they were saying (I don't think they knew what they were saying either). My bet is that most of those people are lawyers or stockbrokers or maybe ski bums. Anyway, I bet they're happy. And so am I."

After college, Heiligman worked for a short time at MOMENT magazine, then got a job at the Scholastic News Explorer, writing articles for kids in grades 1 through 6. She says it was the best job she could have ever had, but doesn't regret quitting in 1985 to take care of her newborn son. She's published numerous articles in magazines such as Parents and Ladies' Home Journal, and has published over 25 children's books (source). She is married to the author Jonathan Weiner, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his book The Beak of the Finch (about evolutionary biology, specifically in the finches Charles Darwin studied in the Galapogos Islands) and now teaches science writing at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism (source).

Genre
Nonfiction.

Curriculum Ties
Science: Darwin's theory of evolution
History: Victorian England

Booktalking Ideas
-What do you know about Charles Darwin? Discuss his scientific legacy.
-Share Darwin's famed list debating the merits of marrying vs. not marrying.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-12 (Booklist)

Challenge Issues
None, content wise. Some may wish to ban it because it discusses the theory of evolution, which is still a point of contention among some religious fundamentalists.

I included this book because it received good reviews and seemed interesting.

The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey

The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey. New York: Simon and Schuster BFYR, 2009. ISBN-10: 1416984488; ISBN-13: 978-1416984481. 454 p.

Plot Summary
"mon-strum-ology. n. 1: the study of life forms generally malevolent to humans and not recognized by science as actual organisms, specifically those considered products of myth and folklore. 2: the act of hunting such creatures."

During the late 1800s, Will Henry is the orphaned assistant of Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, a man who has devoted his life to the study of monsters. Will, like his father before him, has seen plenty of gruesome scenes as he assists with necropsies in Dr. Lathrop's basement laboratory, but nothing can prepare him for the horrors that are about to come. The Anthropophagi--headless monsters with sharp teeth in their bellies, who impregnate and then feed on humans, have been discovered in North America. As they begin to prey on a New England town, can Will and Dr. Warthrop discover a way to defeat these monters and keep their town safe?

Critical Evaluation
Rick Yancey spends a lot of time setting the scene and presenting the history of human interaction with the monsters, but the tension he spends time building develops into a nail-biter of a climax. Yancey attempts to imitate the Victorian language of classic horror such as Frankenstein and Dracula. On the whole, he succeeds, although his excessive use of alliteration sometimes seems forced. Yancey's exploration, not only of the horror of monsters, but of the downsides of unfettered human ego and vanity, starts slow, but ends up being a great read.

Reader’s Annotation
Will Henry is the orphaned assistant to a scientist who studies monsters. When a group of violent, bloodthirsty monsters is discovered in New England and begins stalking the residents of a small town,Will discovers the horrors that human vanity and pride can cause.

Author Information

Rick Yancey knew he wanted to be a writer since he was a child in Florida. He earned an English degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, and then returned to Florida, where he taught and did some theatre work. He then began working as a revenue officer for the IRS, and eventually worked there for 10 years. However, he kept writing, and was able to leave the IRS after the publication of his memoir, Confessions of a Tax Collector, in 2004. He has published six novels in addition to his memoir, including the Alfred Kropp trilogy for young adults and the Teddy Ruzak mystery series for adults. He lives in Florida with his wife and three sons (source). His website is www.rickyancey.com.

Yancey realized he wanted to be a writer in middle school. He says, "a teacher assigned a five-page narrative paper and I turned in 25 pages! I wrote a note to him, apologizing for the length, and he wrote back, “Never apologize for something you should be proud of.". He says his wife is the greatest influence of his writing career. "[She] knew how much the dream of being a professional writer meant to me and dreamed for me when I lost all hope. She rescued manuscripts from the trash, gave me pep talks and bought books to encourage me. She's my biggest fan and toughest critic."

Genre
Gothic horror

Curriculum Ties
English: A modern companion to be read with classic horror novels such as Dracula or Frankenstein to help teens learn to analyze the gothic horror genre.

Booktalking Ideas
-Read the passage where a monster explodes out of a cemetery grave to kill its first victim. It's gruesome and bloody, and will immediately set the scene and grab the interest of teens who like such things.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12. While the protagonist is a 12 year old boy, I would hesitate to recommend it to younger teens because of the graphic, gruesome violence the monsters inflict on humans during the course of the story.

Challenge Issues
Gory, graphic violence, similar to that of Stephen King.

I included this book because it was a 2010 Printz Honor Book, and it was also recommended on the blog A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2009. ISBN-10: 0805088415; ISBN-13: 978-0805088410. 340 p.

Plot Summary
The summer of 1899 is a hot one in Texas. Calpurnia Tate is the only daughter of even children, and to keep cool she spends a lot of time at the river with her grandfather. An avid naturalist, he helps Calpurnia develop a love of nature and the sciences of biology and botany. But Calpurnia, as a girl at the turn of the century, is expected to spend her time learning to cook doing needlework, and learning the other feminine skills she will need before she comes out as a debutante. Can Calpurnia balance her duties as the family's only daughter with her ambition and scientific temperament?

Critical Evaluation
Calpurnia Tate is a delightful character. Kelly does an excellent job at evoking a specific time period, from the excitement surrounding the first telephone and automobile in town to the time-consuming nature of household chores like laundry and cooking. I loved this book, although I was a little disappointed that Calpurnia's questions about how to balance her desires with others' expectations wasn't really answered. Part of the appeal of this story, I think, is that it tries to answer her questions in a realistic way--just because she wants to be a botanist doesn't mean it will really be possible for her in 1899 society, but she's going to try her best to make it happen. Calpurnia's strong voice and determined interests make this story fly by.

Reader’s Annotation
The summer of 1899 is hot in Texas, and Calpurnia Tate spends her time learning about biology and botany from her naturalist grandfather. But as a girl, can Calpurnia balance her scientific curiosity with the expectations of womanly behavior?

Author Information

Jacqueline Kelly was born in New Zealand but raised in Canada. She moved to Texas to attend college in El Paso, then went to Galveston to complete medical school. (It's obvious that her time in Texas intimately influenced the setting and details of Calpurnia Tate). She practiced medicine for many years, but then decided it was time for a career change and attended law school at the University of Texas. After practicing law for a few years, she decided to spend her time writing fiction instead (source). The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is her debut novel, and was a Newbery Honor book.

When asked about her writing process, Kelly shared the following: "This book was inspired by a summer sojourn in my big old 120-year-old farmhouse in Fentress, Texas. With the thermometer almost boiling over, I began to wonder how people stood the heat a hundred years ago with no air conditioning, especially since they had to wear all those clothes. Callie and her entire family sprang to life at that moment. The book was also inspired by the sight of a big yellow grasshopper and a small green grasshopper sunning themselves on one of the window screens. They looked so different that I wondered if they were different species or not. I spent a lot of time trying to figure this out but never could.  Alas, the grasshoppers have refused an interview....I wrote a lot of this novel longhand, sitting on an old cushion on the front steps in Fentress, like Callie making her morning list of creatures" (source).

Genre
Historical fiction

Curriculum Ties
History: Early 1900s American life
Science: History of scientific theories, the ways science was practiced 100 years ago

Booktalking Ideas
Describe the setting--first telephone, first car, first time Calpurnia makes her own apple pie. The setting is so different from today that it will interest booktalking listeners.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Amazon says that this book will really appeal to 9-12 year olds, but I think that the language may be a little difficult for younger readers to get through. I feel strongly that this book could appeal to the older teen reader--while Calpurnia is a younger protagonist, her concerns can still resonate strongly with today's teen girls.

Challenge Issues
None.

I included this book because it appeared on the ALA's 2010 Best Books for Young Adults list. It also sounded really interesting in reviews I've read in various places on the Web.

A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003. ISBN-10: 0385730284; ISBN-13: 978-0385730280. 403 p.

Plot Summary
Gemma Doyle has been sent to the Spence Academy in London after her mother's mysterious death near their home in India. Gemma has a hard time getting to know the other girls at Spence, but she isn't completely along--she's been followed from India by a mysterious young man who warns her to close her mind to the visions she has seen since her 16th birthday. As she becomes more aware of her powers, she becomes entangled with both the popular girls at school and a shadowy group called the Order. Does her destiny with the Order's magical world?

Critical Evaluation
It's clear that Bray conducted fairly extensive research about life in Victorian England. Girls during this era were groomed to become rich men's wives, and their opinions generally weren't valued by society at large. Bray's large female cast reflects different attitudes and perspectives on Victorian female roles, and even if this were solely a historical novel it would be a great read. The fantasy element only improves the book by providing an avenue to explore gender roles in even more detail as well as advancing the story. The setting, characters, and background behind the novel make it very enjoyable.

Reader’s Annotation
Gemma Doyle was sent to the Spence Academy after the tragic death of her mother. As she makes her new home in Victorian England, she starts having visions of another world.

Author Information
Libba Bray grew up in Texas, the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. When she was 18, she was in a bad car accident and had 13 surgeries in 6 years to rebuild her face (she has an artificial left eye because of it). She says her three worst habits are "overeating, self-doubt, and the frequent use of the "f" word" and she hates donuts. When she doesn't write, she says she feels depressed and cranky and itchy, so she writes so everyone around her is happy that she's stopped complaining (source). Her most recent book was Going Bovine, which won the 2010 Printz Award. A complete biography can be found on her website at http://www.libbabray.com/LBAutobiography.html.


While A Great and Terrible Beauty is sometimes categorized as chick lit, Bray says she hates the term because it's demeaning. "By and large, the writing of men is not categorized and compartmentalized in this way beyond specific publishing genres, i.e., mystery, horror, science fiction. I have the same problem when movies are referred to as chick flicks. It's dismissive; it says that the themes that often show up in women's novels and films and the perspective of women artists are somehow less than....Now, that said, can we please, please move away from this recent spate of navel-gazing, whining, shopping-obsessed superficial novels in which guys are just accessories like the right shoes, and the deepest feelings encountered are a sort of self-absorbed sulkiness on the part of the heroine? Puh-leeeze" (source).  Her strong feminism and individualism is apparent in her work.

Genre
Gothic fantasy, historical fiction

Curriculum Ties
History: gender roles in Victorian England.

Booktalking Ideas
Evoke the setting by using the passage and description of the time Gemma first sees Spence.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12.

Challenge Issues
Occult/magic issues.

Challenge Defense
Invite the challenger to read the book before making a value judgement.

I included this book because it was named a 2004 Best Book for Young Adults by YALSA. I also saw it at Target as I was browsing and it looked interesting.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. New York: Picador, 2000. ISBN-10: 0312282990; ISBN-13: 978-0312282998. 656 p.

Plot Summary

Joe Kavalier, a Jewish art and practitioner of Houdini-esque escape, has just managed to escape Nazi-occupied Prague and moved to New York City. His cousin Sammy Clay, a Brooklyn-based comic book writer, chooses Kavalier as his partner in the development and production of this new novelty art form. Together, they create such characters as The Escapist, the Monitor, and Luna Moth (inspired by Rosa Saks, a woman who will influence both men throughout their lives). As they navigate life during World War II, they attain amazing professional success, but have more difficulty with their personal lives.

Critical Evaluation
From the first pages of this ambitious noel, it's clear the reader is in the hands of a master. CNN.com describes it as a "grand novel about dreamers selling dreams, reminding us that part of the thrill of dreaming is not the dream itself, but the realization that we can dream" (link). New York magazine's review admits, "I'm not sure what the exact definition of a 'great American novel' is, but I'm pretty sure that Michael Chabon's sprawling, idiosyncratic, and wrenching new book is one." At turns melancholy, joyful, and nostalgic for the Golden Age of comics, Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a gem.

Reader’s Annotation
Jo Kavalier and Sammy Clay are comic book artists living in 1940s New York. As they help build comic books as an art form, they grow up and deal with emotions of love, jealousy, and hatred as they work together.

Author Information

Michael Chabon was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the suburbs of Columbia, Maryland. He deeply loved comic books as a boy--his grandfather had been a typographer at a plant where comic books were printed, and would bring home bags of free comics for Chabon's father. His dad thought it was normal that his son should also grow up reading comic books (source). While working on a masters' program at UC Irvine, his thesis was the manuscript for Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Chabon didn't know it, but his thesis advisor submitted it to several publishing houses, and it was accepted for an advance of $155,000 (a colossal sum for a first novel by an unknown author). Chabon is married to the author Ayelet Waldman, and they and their four children live in Berkeley, CA.

In an interview with Powell's Books, Chabon said, of Kavalier and Clay, that "I definitely had a desire to try something bigger, but I've had that desire for a while. I'd tried once before to do this kind of a book. After I wrote The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, I worked on a novel called Fountain City for more than five years. Like this book, it had multiple points of view and took place over a fairly long period of time; it changed locales from one continent to another, all those kinds of things. And I failed. I had to abandon it....I wanted to do something more ambitious. Jonathan Yardley's review of Wonder Boys in The Washington Post was very kind and generous - he liked the book - but he closed the review with a paragraph where he sort of clapped his hand on my shoulder and said, "You've done well, but you haven't really tried much. Now's the time to set your sights higher." I took that to heart. It chimed with my own thoughts. I had bigger ambitions" (source). The critical reception of this novel, and the Pulitzer Prize he won, prove that his larger ambitions were brilliantly realized.


Genre
Historical fiction.
Adult crossover.

Curriculum Ties
History: 1940s New York City. Comic book history.

Booktalking Ideas
-Connect popular comics/superheroes (Batman, Spider-man, Superman) to this era of comic development. A lot of real artists are interspersed with fictional characters in the book.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10+

Challenge Issues
Sexual situations, including homosexuality. Some language.

I included this book because it's one of my favorites, and though it's an adult novel, I feel that many teens will also enjoy it. With the recent popularity of comic books (and especially movie adaptations of favorite comic characters), I feel that it will interest readers who like such movies.

Christine, by Stephen King

Christine, by Stephen King. New York: Signet, 1983. ISBN-10: 0451160444; ISBN-13: 978-0451160447. 528 p.

Plot Summary
Arnie is a loser. Every high school has at least two--a girl and a boy--and he's the boy at Libertyville High. He's too scrawny to fit in with the jocks, doesn't fit in with the intellectuals because he has no specialty, even though he's smart, and out with the girls because of terrible acne. But Artie is great with one thing--cars. When he sees an old junker, a 1958 Plymouth Fury, on the side of the road with a For Sale sign hanging in the window, it's love at first sight. But the car, Christine, isn't just a car. She's possessed--and out for blood.

Critical Evaluation
Stephen King is often called the Master of Horror, and this book is a stellar example showcasing King's skills at creating setting and developing his characters. King's earlier works--including Carrie, Cujo, The Shining, 'Salem's Lot, and Christine, are especially effective examples of the horror genre done well. A creeping sense of horror builds as King slowly sets the scene, and the buildup pays off at the tense, transfixing climax of Christine's reign of terror.

Reader’s Annotation
Arnie is a loser whose only real talent is working with mechanical things--especially cars. When he first sees Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury in terrible condition, it's love at first sight. Yet, as Artie restores Christine to mint condition, it becomes clear that Christine is more that just a car--she's a killing machine, and she's out for blood.

Author Information

Stephen King is renowned for his skill at writing horror. Born in Portland, Maine, he graduated from the University of Maine at Orono, where he met his wife, Tabitha (they married in 1971). Although Stephen was qualified to teach English at the high school level, he was unable to find work as a teacher after graduation, so he worked at an industrial laundry while his wife worked at Dunkin' Donuts. He still found time to write, despite an exhausting job, and eventually was employed by a high school in Hampden, Maine. He sold his first novel, Carrie, and the paperback rights sold for a very nice price that enabled him to begin working full-time. Since the publication of Carrie, he has published nearly 80 books, mainly novels and short-story collections (A complete list of all his publications can be found at his personal website.). He and his wife have three children, and they live in Maine. More biographical details can be found at StephenKing.com.

King has been vocal in his support of building bridges between popular and literary fiction. In an interview at Powell's.com, he explains that "there's a whole range of people who are doing really, really good work, that we call popular fiction. First of all, it's an artificial distinction between literary fiction and popular fiction. I sometimes think that literary fiction is a term that writers and critics give to a certain kind of well-written fiction that doesn't sell very much. That's the criteria, and a certain prejudice kicks in against you if you do sell a lot of books. The way the prejudice works, it's never scathing, outright, but it goes something like this: If three million people are reading X, I don't really need to read X to know that that is a bad writer's work. Because all I do is divide three million by the average IQ and come out with a minus number, and that's the IQ of people reading that book. That's bullshit, is all, it's just bullshit" (link). As a writer of popular fiction, he tries never to dismiss his readers because of what they like to read, and wishes that the media establishment would do the same.

Genre
Horror
Adult crossover

Curriculum Ties
None

Booktalking Ideas
-Read intro to Arnie as a character, especially the ways he doesn't fit in with any of the groups at his high school.
-Read the hallucination Dennis (Arnie's best friend) has when he first sits in Christine. He hallucinates that the car is in mint condition, with Christine telling him to take a drive, and it freaks him out.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues
Language, graphic violence, disrespect for parents/elders

I included this book because King's early novels, many about the horrors of high school (especially Carrie and Christine) are appealing to teens who are ready to move past the sterile, short horror novels meant for high school students (such as books by authors like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike). I love Stephen King and I thought Christine was a perfect choice to recommend as a good adult crossover, specifically because its descriptions of high school as a horrible place for those who don't fit in. It's an appealing notion.

Whip It (film)

Whip It. Written by Shauna Cross; directed by Drew Barrymore; starring Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis. 20th Century Fox, 2009. 111 minutes. Image credit: Slashfilm.com.

Plot Summary
Bliss Cavender lives in the podunk town of Bodine, Texas, and thought she's busy waiting tables at a diner and competing in the beauty pageants her mother loves, she dreams of getting out. When she sees her first roller derby match, she falls in love with the sport and tries out for a team--and she makes it. As she excels at roller derby, she must find a way to negotiate between her parents' wishes for her and her passion for roller derby.

Critical Evaluation
Ellen Page's soft-spoken, sweet Bliss Cavender makes a believable transformation into the tough, no-nonsense Babe Ruthless (her stage name). Whip It avoids a trap that many teen movies fall into--making the heroine's journey all about getting the guy. Instead, Bliss seeks acceptance by her parents of something she loves, something she's really talented at that gives her power over her life. By not giving up on her dream, bliss becomes a role model for girls to emulate as they follow their passions. Roger Ebert reviewed it positively: ""Whip It" is an unreasonably entertaining movie....Yes, the movie has cliches. Yes, it all leads up to a big game. Yes, there is a character's validating appearance near the end. Yes, and so what? The movie is miles more intelligent than most of the cream-of-wheat marketed to teenage girls. Funnier, more exciting, even liberating."

Viewer’s Annotation
Bliss Cavender fell in love with roller derby the first time she saw it, and now she's on a roller derby team. But when her parents find out about her new passion, will she still be able to play?

Author Information
Shauna Cross, the screenwriter for Whip It, has said that she's inspired by "all the "girl writers" working these days: "It's completely badass," she says. "I root for the girls. I'm a total girl's girl."" (Variety). Shauna plays roller derby, just like Bliss Cavender, and wrote a YA novel--Derby Girl, on which Whip It is based--to dramatize the experiences she had while competing. While the story isn't strictly autobiographical, Shauna does have experience with both beauty pageants and roller derby, and she has said that "the juxtaposition of the beauty pageant world and the roller derby world was really fascinating to me because they both represent two extreme ideas of femininity. One is about perfectly coifed physical perfection, but when you look closer, it’s actually kind of brutal, I think. While the other is anarchy and bruises, and yet, it’s the most female-empowering thing I’ve ever experienced. It’s like plastic sexy versus real sexy" (Film School Rejects). Whip It is her first major screenplay.

Drew Barrymore is a major Hollywood actress, known for movies like Ever After, The Wedding Singer, and the Charlie's Angels franchise. Despite a difficult childhood marked by drug and alcohol abuse, she successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress. She has said that she was drawn to the script for Whip It because she related to Bliss's journey, especially compared to her own life growing up in Hollywood: "the pageant-world was a metaphor for Hollywood, for me. I...hate cookie-cutter boxes. I hate when you’re supposed to be a certain way, or a certain kind of person. But, I didn’t want to necessarily sh*t on the world of pageants because it’s a total way of life for some people. It does open some doors. I see every film parodying pageants, like they’re the worst things on the planet, and I didn’t want to do that. I just don’t think it’s right for Ellen’s character in the movie. There are so many great things about Hollywood. I love filmmaking. I love the creative process, but there’s a lot of crap in there, too. I don’t think I’m the perfection-type. I think I’m more of a derby girl! These metaphors really meant something to me" (moviesonline.ca).

Genre
Film

Curriculum Ties
Sports: roller derby

Booktalking Ideas
N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age
PG-13 rating. Of interest to any viewer capable of handling PG-13 content.

Challenge Issues
Disrespect for parents. A complete listing of sexual content, violence, and language can be found at the website Kids In Mind--encourage parents to check this website out before viewing a movie if they are sensitive to content issues.

I included this film because I love the actress Ellen Page, and I was interested to see what she would do after her breakthrough role in Juno.

Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen

Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen. New York: Speak, 2006. ISBN-10: 0670061050; ISBN-13: 978-0670061051. 384 p.

Plot Summary
Annabel Greene has everything--at least, that's what you'd think if you only knew her from her modeling shoots. But her life is far from perfect. Her older sister has an eating disorder, and her relationship with her best friend Sophie ended suddenly last summer. She's ostracized at school and isolated at home, so she retreats into silence as a coping mechanism. When she meets Owen, his brutal honesty helps her learn to listen to herself and gain the courage to be honest with others. But will she be able to share what really happened the night that she and Sophie stopped being friends?

Critical Evaluation
Sarah Dessen is excellent at characterization, and this book is no exception. The characters' motivations and backstories are clear, and they're easy people to care about. Norah Piehl at Teenreads.com says that "Sarah Dessen's novels have become extraordinarily popular, not only for her strongly drawn characters but also for the trust she places in her readers. She has faith that they will be smart enough to pick up the sophisticated symbols and themes with which her stories are infused, and the results are novels whose wisdom far exceeds most other fiction for young adults....Annabel and her family literally live in a glass house; appearances are important to them, from Whitney's self-damaging desire for physical perfection to Annabel's mother's desire to help advance her daughters' modeling careers. With Owen's help, Annabel eventually recognizes that the truth, even when it's ugly, is infinitely more important than the image she presents to the world. Her journey to this difficult realization is not an easy one, but her clear voice and her introspection will make readers eager to take that journey with her."

Reader’s Annotation
Annabel looks like the girl who has everything. But in reality, she finds it hard to deal with her sister's eating disorder and the sudden end of her friendship with Sophie. Will her new relationship with Owen help her learn to communicate?

Author Information

Sarah Dessen grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and graduated with honors in Creative Writing from UNC-Chapel Hill. She still lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. She likes gardening and shopping, and owns 11 pairs of black pants (source). She blogs at http://writergrl.livejournal.com/.

When asked if she always wanted to be a writer, Dessen says "As far back as I can remember, I’ve been writing. I’ve always had this wild imagination, and I love to embellish stories to make them more interesting. When I was a kid I had all these intricate histories for all my stuffed animals and dollhouse families, which I would type out on this old manual typewriter my parents set up for me in the corner of our TV room. I kept writing all through middle school, and in high school I got diverted a bit, but I picked it up again in college. I really didn’t think I’d actually be a writer until I graduated and found that I just couldn’t stop and go get a real job. Every time I finished something, another idea would follow right behind. So I went into waitressing and just wrote like crazy. At times it seemed really stupid, since I was totally broke and there was no kind of guarantee that I’d ever see anything come of it. Luckily, it did. But even if I hadn’t sold a book by now I’d still be writing. It becomes a part of you, just something you do"(link). Her discipline and imagination have made her very successful as a writer of contemporary YA fiction.  

Genre
Chick lit

Curriculum Ties
Psychology: eating disorders, communication problems

Booktalking Ideas
Describe Annabel's loneliness now that she's friendless at school.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9+ (School Library Journal)
Grades 8-11 (Booklist)

Challenge Issues
None.

I included this book because my 16-year-old sister loves Sarah Dessen, and I thought I'd take her recommendation and check Dessen out. I'm glad I did!

Body Bags, by Christopher Golden

Body Bags, by Christopher Golden. New York: Pocket Books, 1999. ISBN-10: 0671034928; ISBN-13: 978-0671034924. 272 p.

Plot Summary
As Jenna Blake begins her first year of college, she worries about her future. She'd like to be a doctor, but she can't stand the sight of blood. Her father points her toward a job with the local medical examiner. When a congressional aide suddenly goes insane and commits a murderous rampage, the autopsy shows that his brain was diseased--and filled with insect larvae. Jenna is thrown into a world of rare disease, congressional politics, and mystery as she helps solve the puzzle of what--and who--has been killing those around her.

Critical Evaluation
Golden is excellent at conveying the excitement of the first year of college. While Jenna's time as a pathology assistant is fascinating, it's nice to see her work life balanced with classes and a social life. At times, Jenna's character seems too perfect--she never misses her classes, still spends a lot of time with her professor father, and has no roommate trouble--but her curiosity and kindness still make her an appealing character.

Reader’s Annotation
During her first year of college, Jenna Blake gets a job as a pathology assistant to the local medical examiner. When two victims are killed by a disease spread by insects laying eggs in their brains, Jenna uses her smarts to help solve the case.

Author Information

Christopher Golden published his first book in 1992--a non-fiction pop culture book called Cut! Horror Writers on Horror Film, which won the Bram Stoker Award--and has been a full time writer ever since. At the time of his first book sale, he was 25 years old and writing for Billboard magazine in New York, but moved back to Massachusetts with his wife once he started working as a writer. In an interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith, he shared that he loves writing YA books because "kids and teens are so much smarter and wiser than they're often given credit for, and writing for that audience is a way for me to both communicate with younger people and to let them know that I don't feel that way, that they have my respect."

Golden has written in a number of different genres, including mystery, horror, thrillers, and fantasy, and has also published non-fiction pop-culture books, video games, comic books, an online animated series, and a movie script. Along with his YA books, he's also known for writing novelizations of popular works, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the novelization of Peter Jackson's King Kong. He writes more about his love of pop culture in an interview at Wondrous Reads.

Golden can be found on the web at http://www.christophergolden.com/.

Genre
Mystery

Curriculum Ties
Career exploration: pathology/medicine

Booktalking Ideas
-Excitement of the first year of college
-How Jenna  feels after her first autopsy--grossed out, but also intrigued by the idea that she can help people by examining their bodies for evidence.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues
Gore, minimal violence.

I included this book because I enjoyed the first Body of Evidence book I read, and thought it would be interesting to read another.

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang. New York: Square Fish, 2008 (reprint), 2006 (first date of publication). ISBN-10: 0312384483; ISBN-13: 978-0312384487. 240 p.

Plot Summary
The monkey king of Flower-Fruit Mountain wants nothing but to join the gods and gain immortality, but finds that he isn't accepted into heaven because he's a monkey. Jin Wang is a child of immigrants who wants to fit in in his regular American classroom, but is hindered by his relationship with Wei-Chen, fresh off the boat from Taiwan. And Danny's Chinese cousin embarrasses him in school. This aware-winning graphic novel deftly weaves together three interrelated stories about the challenges young Chinese-American teens face as they participate in popular American culture.

Critical Evaluation
I was impressed by how neatly the three seemingly-unrelated threads fit together by the end. Publishers' Weekly praised American Born Chinese as a "fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they could escape", while School Library Journal said that this book "explores the impact of the American Dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story" (starred review). This book won the Printz Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award--the first graphic novel to win the Printz and be nominated for the National Book Award--and both honors were well-deserved.

Reader’s Annotation
American Born Chinese explores what it means to be on the outside through three interrelated stories about life as a young Chinese American.

Author Information

NPR reports that "as one of the few Chinese Americans in his predominantly white school in Northern California, Yang wrestled not just with all the usual questions of childhood, but also with often subtle forms of racism....Memories of shame played a big part in shaping the book, Yang says. He recalls a boy who joined his elementary school from Taiwan. Yang's teachers wanted him to befriend the new kid, who gamely talked to Yang in Mandarin for a week. Yang struggled to respond. "I was really dealing with something inside about me being ashamed of the culture of my parents," he says. " (link). Another great interview can be found at http://www.kartikareview.com/issue1/1gene.html.

Yang started publishing comics in 1996 under the name Humble Comics. He has published several other graphic novels, including Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, The Eternal Smile, Prime Baby, and Animal Crackers. He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay area and teaches computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School, a private Catholic school. He blogs at http://humblecomics.com/blog/index.php.

Genre
Memoir
Graphic novel

Curriculum Ties
History/sociology: Immigrant life

Booktalking Ideas
-read Jin's account of his parents' life and how they met (working hard as graduate students in San Francisco)
-share Jin's introduction to a new school in 3rd grade (no one could pronounce his name).

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9+. Younger teens may enjoy it as well, but may find the story format a little challenging.

Challenge Issues
None.

I included this book because I heard such good reviews, and I saw it as I was browsing the shelves at the library.