American Born Chinese by Gene Luen YangMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
“I do not make mistakes little monkey. A monkey I intended you to be. A monkey you are.”
Jin Wang (an American-born, Chinese-American) struggles in school with Asian stereotypes, prejudice, and misunderstanding. He decides to hide his Chinese identity and reinvents himself as “Danny”, a “typical” blonde-haired American. When an ancient monkey god comes to visit (in the form of an annoying and highly stereotypical Chinese cousin) his cover is blown. The monkey God eventually reveals himself and convinces Danny to accept and love who he truly is. This is a good book for reluctant graphic novel readers like myself. It is easy to read, easy to follow, and combines fantasy with real world issues and problems. – An inspiring book for people who have ever struggled with accepting themselves in the face of prejudice and ignorance.
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Accidental Love by Gary SotoMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
When Marisa Rodriguez accidentally switches cell phones with a stranger during a tussle with her best friends’ ex-boyfriend, the stage is set for an odd romance. When she meets Rene Torres to reclaim her phone, she inexplicably falls for his nerdy charm. Marisa decides to transfer from her dump of a high school to Rene’s more prestigious charter school in a better neighborhood. Though, she gets a lot of flack from her old friends at Washington High, who think she has suddenly decided she’s better than them, she begins to enjoy her new school and all it has to offer. When Rene’s mother objects to their relationship, they temporarily split, but apparently even the strictest of mothers can’t keep young lovers apart. This is a very cute book geared towards young Latinas. The book incorporates many Spanish phrases, and might be appealing to bilingual teens. I also liked the fact that Marisa was overweight (though she sheds quite a few pounds throughout the story) and that Rene is pretty geeky. This book is a good response to criticisms that there are few YA books about minorities that don’t involve characters dealing with deviant lifestyles or major social problems. Marisa and Rene are pretty typical teens, one from a middle-class background, one in a working-class neighborhood. Though Marisa likes to scrap occasionally, neither of them are hooked on drugs, pregnant, delinquents, or victims of rape or incest. They deal with pretty normal teenage problems like fitting in, and arguing with their parents. Also, the book smelled really good. I’m not sure if this was intentional or someone at my library just spilled perfume on it.
Hole in My Life by Jack GantosMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
“I stood up and went downstairs. But I didn’t sleep. Hamilton had read my mind – I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just afraid of the punishment.”
17-year-old Jack Gantos wants to be a writer. However, he’s a little confused as how to go about really becoming one. He spends a lot of time drinking himself into a stupor, smoking pot, working, and cruising around in his car. When he realizes he has no way to afford the cost of college, he moves out to St. Croix to help his father with the family construction business. However racial tension has cast a social and economic cloud over the island. When he is offered an opportunity to help smuggle a boat-load of hash to New York for 10.000 dollars, he jumps at the opportunity. But the plan doesn't work out as swimmingly as he'd hoped. When his indiscretions land him in prison, Jack is forced to think about the man he really wants to become. Ultimately, this aspiring writer manages to find creative ways of pursuing his dreams under the most challenging of circumstances. Beautifully,honestly, and accessibly written, Hole in My Life is an inspirational autobiographical account of the real-life adolescent struggles of a successful children's author.
Hush by Jacqueline WoodsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
“Close your eyes and imagine the floor beneath your feet – cool hardwood maybe. Or softly warm and carpeted. Sit down and lift your feet up off of it and imagine you can never put them down on it again. Ever. See how quickly the feeling of that floor fades? See how much you want to feel it again? How lost you feel with no place solid to put your feet:?
After Toswiah Green’s father (a Denver police officer) testifies against his coworkers for shooting an unarmed African-American teenager, her family is forced to go into the Witness Protection Program. All of her problems fitting in and adjusting as a young teenager become magnified, as she is thrust into a new city, new school, and new identity. Woodson’s book is a work of sophistication, poetically written, covering issues of race and identity in a timely and profound manner. Though the story is brief, the characters seem three-dimensional, believable, and well developed. Hush was listed by School Library Journal as one of the best books of 2002. Though I’m not sure this book would be a great choice for reluctant teen readers,it would likely spark an interesting eighth or ninth grade classroom discussion.
Push by SapphireMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
“-did you know no two snowflakes alike? Have you ever seen a snowflake? I haven’t! All I seen is gobs of dirty gray shit. You mean to tell me that nasty stuff is made of snowy flakes. I don’t believe it.”
Push chronicles the life and struggle of Claireece Precious Jones, an African-American incest-survivor from Harlem. Her fight for education, independence, and self-respect is an uphill battle. Although I couldn’t help feeling that the book was at times a rather heavy-handed tear jerker, I found the style incredibly original and refreshing. The novel is written in the colloquial voice of a young uneducated girl from Harlem, and eloquently illuminates the raw essence of the characters. It deals with many difficult and painful subjects for readers of any age. Though the language is explicit, these are explicit problems that require explicit language to describe. Push contains many hauntingly touching and thought-provoking passages, and is the work of a highly-skilled writer. It is ultimately a powerfully inspirational and satisfying story, with a strong heroine who successfully combats the many all too pervasive injustices of the world.
Book-of-the-Month Club Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award, The Village Voice’s top twenty-five books of 1996, TIMEOUT New York’s top ten books of 1996.
The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. FlakeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"I stare at myself for maybe twenty minutes in Daddy's mirror. I don't get it. I think I'm kind of nice-looking. Why don't other people see what I see?"
Maleeka Madison is in the 7th grade and has been ostracized by her classmates for years for her dark skin and homemade clothes. She develops a plan to get the other students off her back and presents the most popular girl in school with an unusual offer. I found this book to be well-written and enjoyable. It reminded me a bit of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, in terms of Maleeka's gradual journey towards regaining her self-esteem, learning to speak up for herself, and ultimate confrontation of her oppressors. I think the universal themes of bullying and the struggle to discover inner self-worth are ones with which pretty much any teen could relate, regardless of gender or ethnicity. This book is one of those rare gems, lauded by teachers, critics, and librarians and yet highly appealing to reluctant young urban readers. I found that this was by far one of the most popular library titles with tweens and teens while working in North Philadelphia.
Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for new authors, 1999. Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1999
Spellbound by Janet McDonaldMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
“She heard Dell saying, 'Employers can tell a project girl from a mile away. Ghetto hips.'”
At the age of 17, as a result of her first and only sexual encounter, Raven Jefferson becomes a mother and drops out of high school. She enjoys her baby and clowning around with her best friend Aisha, but aspires to do more in life than flip burgers. Her older sister, who has managed to move on from the projects and land a position as a paralegal assistant, encourages Raven to enter the Spell Success contest, offering a college-preparatory program and full four-year scholarship to the winner of their spelling bee. Although Raven believes that spelling is her biggest weakness, with her eyes on the prize, she buckles down and accepts the challenge. Honestly, I thought the overall plot was kind of hokey. It hardly seemed believable that there would be some program out there where winning a spelling bee earns you an automatic ticket to college, regardless of whether or not you meet the most minimal requirements. It seemed even less believable that a young single mom in the ghetto who admits her biggest weakness is spelling, succeeds in sounding out the word “puerile” and heroically wins the contest. That aside, this book was pretty sweet and funny, the dialogue was craftily written, and the characters were fairly three-dimensional. It was inspiring, and showed a sympathetic, lighter side to the urban projects. I found it enjoyable to read and would recommend it to younger urban teens.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
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