So Not the Drama- Paula Chase

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So Not the Drama is a light easy read that still talks about some serious issues.  Mina is entering high school along with 3 best friends (1 girl, 2 boys) and is very concerned with becoming one of the “popular” crowd.  Throughout the novel Mina deals with keeping up her friendships, forming new ones, [...]

Tears of A Tiger- Sharon Draper

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Written in 1994 Tears of A Tiger will still resonate with students now, 15 years later.  This story deals with the aftermath of a drunk driving accident that kills a high school student.  The relationships between friends, children and parents, teachers, and counselors are all discussed through transcripts of discussions, newspaper articles, diary entries, [...]

Nation- Terry Pratchett

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This Printz honor book has historical and fantastical elements to it.  With both male and female teens being central to the story it will appeal to both sexes.  As the characters are on an isolated island there is a lot of adventure, science, and discussion of faith.  Some parts of the story seemed [...]

American Born Chinese- Gene Luen Yang

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American Born Chinese might be my favorite book of 2009.  It was so much FUN to read.  I laughed out loud several times, from the dialogue and the illustrations.  Written in the format of a graphic novel it follows three story lines that come together at the end.  It took me a minute to [...]

Copper Sun- Sharon Draper

This novel is much different than Draper’s other works.  It is set during slavery and follows  one girl from her capture in Africa through her experiences with slavery here in America.  It is clear that Draper did a great deal of research to write this book.  The main character is 15 years old.  Due to [...]

Romiette and Julio-Sharon Draper

I have liked every single one of Drapers books that I have read.  This book is great because it plays off of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by having two teens of different races dating.  It has gangs, some violence, and deals with race issues in a very real way.  Draper catches readers’ (esp teens) attention [...]

Whale Talk- Chris Crutcher

I just finished reading this book almost entirely straight through.  I found it interesting, engaging, and felt it touched on several key issues for teens today.  The protagonist is a 17 year old male, and is multi-racial.  The book deals with racism, child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, the mentally handicapped, the physically handicapped, obesity, [...]