Quick Reads: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Bibliographic Data

Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. Print.

Summary

Josh and his twin brother Jordan are stars on their middle school basketball team when things start to change. Jordan gets his first girlfriend and becomes almost nonexistent, and their dad starts showing signs of the same heart disease their grandfather died from. Written in free verse and hip-hop poetry, we follow their journey to the championship game.

Critical Analysis

This is a great, boy friendly, quick read, will be great for students that say they “don’t like to read.” Through the fast paced writing students will get brought into Josh and Jordan’s world and they won’t look back. Broken into 6 sections: Warm Up, First-Fourth Quarter, and Overtime, you get a peek into the changing family dynamic, and how the family will react to the changes. One particularly strong point is some of the chapters are written with the text changing size, font, direction, etc. that makes you feel like Josh is right next to you rapping, hearing all of his inflections shown through the way the text was put on paper.

One weakness is because of the quick pace of the words on the page, students might read too fast and miss some of the meaning and strength behind the words. However, if students continue to read, they will be able to pick up on what they miss.

Creative Activity

Students can create their own free verse or hip-hop like poetry in Kwame Alexander’s style to tell their life’s story, or maybe just part of what happened that day. They can even have a poetry slam with the poetry they create.

Related Resources

Readers who like The Crossover will like Kwame Alexander’s next book, Booked. It is also written in free verse just like The Crossover.

Alexander, Kwame. Booked. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. Print.

Walter Dean Myers, also a winner of a Newbery Medal and Michael L. Printz Award, among others, has a well acclaimed book about basketball. For those readers that enjoyed The Crossover because of the basketball theme will surely enjoy this realistic fiction take into the same world.

Myers, Walter Dean. Slam! New York: Scholastic, 1996. Print.

Published Review
Gepson, Lolly. "The Crossover." Booklist 111.13 (2015): 70-71. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 23 July 2016.

Informational Books: Popular: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence by Maya Van Wagenen

Bibliographic Data

Wagenen, Maya Van. Popular: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence. New York: Dutton, 2014. Print.

Summary

In this memoir, Maya, an 8^th grade student living in south Texas, is by her own admission a geek who knows what it feels like to get teased by her peers. While cleaning out their house, they found a book from the 1950’s called Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide which teaches girls everything they need to do in order to become popular. Taking a chapter a month, Maya tries out the advice to see if over 50 years later it can help her become popular.

Critical Analysis

Maya does a great job of interweaving Betty Cornell’s words, and her experiences with those words. You feel like you are on this journey with Maya, fist pumping with each success she has. You also feel just as crushed, reflecting on your own middle school experiences, as she does when things don’t go quite as planned. It’s wonderful to see her go on her journey to find popularity, and find something more important: confidence and how to make others feel good and included.

The main weakness is I wish there was even more from Betty Cornell’s books, whether it be more of the text, or more of the pictures. I know this book is about Maya’s journey, but I wish we could have heard from her peers and their thoughts on what she was doing while the was doing it, and their thoughts once she finished and could tell everyone why she did what she did. Overall I think young girls will be able to quickly and easily connect with Maya, and hopefully see that they too can become confident, happy people.

Creative Activity

Students can read Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide and try out some of the advice just like Maya. After trying out the different advice they can come back together and discuss what happened, what went well, and what maybe didn’t go so well.

Students can also create their own Teenage Popularity Guide, teaching younger students how they should dress, behave, etc. Or, taking it in the vein of what Maya learned in the end, they can create a Teenage Inclusivity Guide, teaching students how to become more confident and inclusive of others.

Related Resources

Students can read what started Maya’s journey to finding her inner confidence. Whether students choose to try some of the advice on their own is up to them.

Cornell, Betty. Teen-age Popularity Guide. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1953. Print.

Students that enjoy Popular will love exploring Maya Van Wagenen’s tumblr page. Full of inspirational quotes, pictures, and words from Maya, students follow her page and keep some positivity and self-help at the touch of a button.

"Popular." Popular. Tumblr, n.d. Web. 24 July 2016.

Published Review

Weber, Ann. "Popular." School Library Journal 60.11 (2014): 65. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 23 July 2016.

Fantastic Fiction: In the After by Demitria Lunetta

Bibliographic Data

Lunetta, Demitria. In the After. New York: HarperTeen, 2013. Print.

Summary

Amy is a happy 14 year old girl, enjoying her Saturday at home watching tv, when the world is attacked by Them. These deadly creatures wipe out almost the entire population using their fast speed and thirst for any mammal, human or animal, it can find. Will Amy be able to survive in the After, or will she be another victim to Them?

Critical Analysis

In the After is a post-apocalyptic book that grips you in the opening scenes of the story, and doesn't let you go until you turn the last page. We see what happens that create the apocalypse, but the focus is what happens after, three years later. Broken into three sections, After, New Hope: Four Months Later, and Guardians, the reader gets a glimpse into Amy's life and how she was able to survive the attack of Them, as well as how she is able to reenter a society filled with people. The action and constant worry she and Baby will be heard and attacked pulls the reader further and further into the story to find out if they are able to survive, and if the aliens ever are destroyed.

One weakness I found with the book is the characters aren’t developed very well. I wanted to know more about Rice, Kay, but all we get is the surface understanding of who they are. Another weakness is it seems to just drop off where there should be some more chapters. The story does come to a conclusion, but not necessarily one readers are looking for. Readers will have to read the next book in the series in order to (hopefully) get that satisfying ending readers are looking for.

Creative Activity

Students can research how to survive in the wild, and determine if they would be able to survive with the Floraes. They can have a discussion or write about why they would or wouldn't be able to survive. Maybe they're good hunters but they talk loudly, or they aren't good runners, or they are good at sneaking around.

Another activity is they can read a variety of different apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic books and compare and contrast the different worlds that have been created, characters, ways characters have stayed alive, and reasons for the apocalypse.

Related Resources

Matched is similar to In the After when Amy reaches New Hope. Just like how the Director and Dr. Reynolds are in charge in In the After, in Matched, the Society decide who you love, where you work, even when you die. 

Condie, Ally. Matched. New York: Dutton, 2010. Print.

The Giver is a classic dystopian novel that has won many awards including the Newbery Award in 1994, The Regina Medal in 1994, the William Allen White Award in 1996, and has been on many top lists for best book of the year and editor's choice book.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.

Published Review

Lukoff, Kyle. "In The After." School Library Journal 59.8 (2013): 113. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 5 July 2016.

Realistic Fiction: This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Bibliographic Data

Tamaki, Mariko, and Jillian Tamaki. This One Summer. New York: First Second, 2014. Print.

Summary

Rose goes to Awago Beach every summer with her family, and this summer is no different. However, with her parents fighting more and more, Rose and her friend Windy try to find ways to pass the time. That’s when they get wrapped up in the drama surrounding two of the local teenagers.

Critical Analysis

This modern take on a realistic fiction novel is written in graphic novel form. It’s a quick and fun read for those that are more hesitant readers. It has humor, along with some heavy moments. Rose’s mom is depressed after having a miscarriage, her parents are fighting a lot, and one of the local teenagers gets pregnant. The pictures help move readers along with the story, and add to the telling of the story. It also won the Caldecott Honor award in 2015.

Although the story is well told, I feel the characters could have been developed a bit more. The story moves along without much depth to the main characters. We seem to learn more about her friend Windy and her parents and we do about Rose. I wish we knew more about her and what makes her tick.

Creative Activity

Students can create their own graphic novel about their life, or about a specific part of their life. If students don’t want to draw, they can create their graphic novels online using different websites like Powtoon.

Related Resources

About halfway through the story we find out Jenny, one of the local teenage girls, gets pregnant. Students can learn more about pregnancy, how to prevent it, and statistics on teen pregnancy while visiting It’s Your Sex Life. It is associated with MTV and a popular tv show called 16 and Pregnant. Because of this link to a well known tv show and a network teenagers watch might help bridge that gap.

"Pregnancy." It's Your Sex Life. MTV, n.d. Web. 06 July 2016.

Rose’s mom is depressed throughout the book, so students can learn more about depression and its effects by visiting the National Institute for Mental Health website.

"Depression." NIMH RSS. National Institute for Mental Health, n.d. Web. 06 July 2016.

Published Review

"This One Summer." Kirkus Reviews 82.9 (2014): 110. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 5 July 2016.

Culturally Diverse Literature: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Bibliographic Data

Myers, Walter Dean, and Christopher Myers. Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1999. Print.

Summary

Steve Harmon is a 16 year old African American kid is on trial for his life for a murder of a store clerk. Steve is the narrator and writes the story as a script for a movie. Will he be convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, or will he get off and have a chance to grow up and prove to his family he’s the kid they believed he was?

Critical Analysis

Monster was the first winner of the Michael L. Printz Award in 2000. The writing is easy to read, and you are able to get into the mind of Steve Harmon almost immediately with his journal entry about how terrible jail is. Going back and forth between his journal entries, and his script helps the reader to see what’s happening in the courtroom along with how he’s feeling about everything going on. There are a few pictures scattered throughout which don’t enhance the story. Some of the dialogue and the law lingo might be hard for some students to wade through. However, Myers tries to help by having the lawyers explain some of their words or motions.

Creative Activity

Because the books is written in the form of a movie, students could recreate the book in a reader’s theater format (with or without the words to read from). Students could also record their recreations to create the film Steve wanted to create.

Related Resources

Students can read about the latest facts of African Americans being incarcerated in the United States. Students can then discuss why they feel these trends are happening, and what they can do to help these numbers decrease.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Criminal Justice Fact Sheet." NAACP. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, n.d. Web. 05 July 2016.

Students can learn more about the ins and outs of a criminal trial. They can use this knowledge to discuss if they feel they would have convicted Steve and King, or if they would have let them off.

"Criminal Trial Overview - FindLaw." Findlaw. Thomson Reuters, n.d. Web. 05 July 2016.

Published Review

Beavin, Kristi. "Monster." Horn Book Magazine 77.1 (2001): 123. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 5 July 2016.

Challenged and Banned Books: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Bibliographic Data

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.

Summary

Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, is a Spokane Indian living on the reservation when one of his teachers tells him he has to get out of the reservation or he will die there. Arnold tells his parents that night he wants to go to the all-white, “rich kid” school 22 miles away from the reservation. When he starts attending his new school, his community back in the reservation treat him as a traitor, and make sure he knows how unhappy they are with him. Feeling stuck in two worlds, Arnold tries to navigate living in two very different worlds.

Critical Analysis

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has been challenged for several reasons. Some of the reasons it has been challenged is because it has offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, anti-family, drugs and alcohol use and abuse, violence, and unsuited for age group. While it’s true this book has all of those things, I don’t feel they are overly explicit in the use of those challenges. I also feel they are warranted because they add to the story. Without them, Arnold wouldn’t be truly understood by the reader. They make Arnold feel and sound like a read person that is struggling with his identity and his differences at home and at school. One weakness is the story kind of drops certain characters towards the end. The way it came full circle with Rowdy was nice, but the rest of the story kind of felt like it ended quite abruptly.

Creative Activity

Because this is a banned book, after reading students could debate the reasons why it has been challenged in the past, and argue whether they feel those challenges were warranted or not. They can also create a court room scenario where they have one side as defendants for the book and one side as the plaintiff, the parent challenging the book. The rest of the class can be the jury and they can have a trial to determine if the book should be taken off the shelves or not.

Related Resources

Wonder is a similar story of one trying to find their place in a new world. August, who has a facial deformity, decides he doesn’t want to be home schooled anymore when entering the 5^th grade. This story is similar to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian since both characters are having to navigate their way in a new world, and new school.

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.

Students can learn more about the Spokane Indian Tribe while through their website.

Spokane Tribe of Indians: Children of the Sun. Spokane Tribe If Indians, 2016. Web. 24 June 2016.

Published Review

"The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Review." Booklist Online. N.p., Aug. 2007. Web. 24 June 2016.

Award Winners: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Bibliographic Data

Green, John. Looking for Alaska: A Novel. New York: Dutton Children's, 2005. Print.

Summary

Miles (AKA Pudge), is a loner when leaves his home in Florida to go to a boarding school in Alabama hoping to find his “Great Perhaps.” Once there he begins to make friends. One of those friends is a girl named Alaska that he quickly falls in love with. Written as “before” and “after,” you see how Pudge begins to change, and how he will never be the same “after.”

Critical Analysis

Looking for Alaska won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2006. I believe this was a very well deserved award. The Printz Award is given to the author that is not only written well, but has a true voice. I believe we see that in Pudge’s story. Moments in this story aren’t glossed over. Pudge deals with the pressure to smoke and drink (to which he falls in step with the others quite quickly), with the want to fit in, and the uncertainty of life. Will that girl like me? Am I going to get in trouble because I’m messing up at school? And the hardest question of the book, did I kill my friend by letting her go? John Green takes a very real seeming person in Alaska and makes the reader feel the sadness and guilt over what happens to her.

I think both males and females alike will like this story. Males will enjoy it because they can see themselves in Pudge. A lonely kid, without friends, trying to make his way in a new school and make friends. Along with making friends, he’s trying to navigate having feelings for a girl for the first time. I think many males will relate or find relatable moments within Pudge’s story. I think girls will like it because Alaska is a compelling character, and you want to know more about her story. As the reader, you are definitely taken along for the ride.

I don’t see many weaknesses to this story. I know some teens will see the ending as a weakness because we never find out what happened to Alaska. I think many teens (and adults) want to know all the answers to all of the questions. The biggest one is was it an accident, or was it a suicide. The not knowing is hard, and I think many teens would criticize the not knowing. I do wish we had more back story on Pudge to know why he was such a loner. We hear him tell one story, his worst day ever, but did he not have friends before? As a reader I wanted to know more about him to understand where he was coming from.

Overall I think this was a very well written book. I think many teens will be able to relate to this book because the characters in the book are dealing with sadness, loss, the want to fit in with others, the pressure to drink and smoke, etc. I think many teens will enjoy this Printz Award winner.

Creative Activity

Pudge loves learning the last words of famous people. When asked why he loved last words he said, “But a lot of times, people die how they live. And so last words tell me a lot about who people were, and why they became the sort of people biographies get written about” (Green 128). Students could create last words for their favorite fictional characters and explain why those last words would tell about who they were and how they lived. They could even create last words for themselves, again explaining why those last words tell about them and how they lived along with how they hope their lives turn out.

Related Resources

As the book goes on, the students begin to drink, and some to excess. While many teenagers would blow off having to hear about addiction and substance abuse, this could be a good resource for students to learn more about addiction and how they can be helped if needed.

"Prevention in Teens." The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

Part of the mystery of the story is what happened to Alaska on that fateful night. We never find out whether it was an accident or a suicide, but Pudge and Colonel definitely talk about the potential for her killing herself. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention would be a great site for any students who are contemplating suicide, or know someone who might. It also has a lot of great resources to help people understand what’s going on and signs you can look out for.

"Home - AFSP." AFSP. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

Published Review

Glantz, Shelley, and Julie Scordato. "Looking For Alaska." Library Media Connection 24.3 (2005): 66-67. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 June 2016.