Posted by Chrystine Lose on Thursday, May 26th, 2011.
Domestic violence is a reality, and most of us believe it would never happen to us, especially when it comes to dating violence from a boyfriend or girlfriend. If that is true, how does it start and why do some stay in the relationship and let it continue?
This book follows 15 year old Alexandra as she dates Cliff, a handsome and popular football player on the high school team. As their relationship progresses, Alexandra enjoys his attention and concern for her, but she finds Cliff is taking all her free time and she is missing her friends – but then again, what could be better than spending time with Cliff?
When Cliff‘s jealousy and attention become uncomfortable and abusive, will Alexandra finally see Cliff for who he really is, or will she continue to believe love overshadows everything else and forgive him?
Miklowitz, Gloria. Past Forgiving. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age range: 14 and up
Keywords: dating violence, jealousy, physical abuse, acquaintance rape.
Lopez High Library Call Number: FIC MIK |
Posted by Chrystine Lose on Thursday, Apr 21st, 2011.
This graphic biographical novel tells a real life story of friendship, loss, and life beyond “The Real World” (MTV’s series). Judd Winick and Pedro Zamora met as members of The Real World, San Francisco (season 3). Judd knew that one of his housemates was HIV positive, but he didn’t know which one it would be. Before leaving for San Francisco, he joked with a friend that it would be his roommate because that was just his luck. It turns out, he was right.
Judd, an out of work comic-strip creator, and Pedro, an activist and lecturer, quickly became friends. This is the story of that friendship and much more. This is the story of how Pedro contracted HIV at a very young age and how he learned to live with AIDS. Pedro shared his story to help people understand the truth of HIV and AIDS. He wanted to help educate people of all ages so they could make smart decisions and, hopefully, avoid being in his position.
If you enjoy true life stories and like the graphic novel format, I would recommend this book. It is funny, sad, and honest. The comic-strip style illustrations add a lot to the story and if you haven't tried reading a graphic novel yet, I would recommend you do.
Winick, Judd. Pedro and Me. New York: Henry Hold and Company, 2000. Print.
Genre: Graphic Novel/Biography
Age range: 12 and up
Keywords: friendship, loss, love, family, HIV, AIDS, graphic novel, comics, biography, The Real World, MTV.
Lopez High Library Call Number: 362.1 WIN |
Posted by Chrystine Lose on Thursday, Apr 14th, 2011.
Have you ever felt like you had to keep secrets from the people closest to you? Ever felt like no one knows the real you? What if the person who didn’t know you at all – was you? What could it mean about you if the people who supposedly love you were keeping your secrets from you? Could your secrets be so awful that remembering them could destroy you?
Imagine how it would feel to wake up knowing only what other people, people you don’t remember, tell you about yourself. Jenna Fox is faced with these problems when she wakes up from a coma with no memories of her family, her accident, or even of herself.
She knows for sure that Jenna Fox is adored beyond all else by her parents, as seen in the sixteen years of family home movies. She knows that after two miscarriages, Jenna was born to be the miracle baby they dreamed of. (Can you imagine trying to live up to that kind of pressure?) She knows that losing Jenna would be unbearable to them. What she doesn’t know, can’t know, is how far they would be willing to go to save Jenna.
This is not the world we live in today, but in the not so distant future where science and fiction meld into one reality, the possibilities could be endless … but are they what is best for Jenna? Or for humanity? These are just some of the questions Jenna has to figure out as she tries to rediscover who she was, and at the same time, figure out who she is now. Is she really Jenna Fox, beloved daughter of Claire and Matthew Fox? Or is she someone else completely?
Most importantly, she must decide how far is too far when it comes to saving someone you love? Ask yourself, how far would you go?
Pearson, Mary E. The Adoration of Jenna Fox. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008. Print.
Genre: Science Fiction.
Age range: 14 and up
Keywords: teens, life, family, love, loss, identity, medical ethics, self-perception, memory, biotechnology.
Lopez High Library Call Number: FIC PEA |
Posted by Chrystine Lose on Wednesday, Mar 30th, 2011.
Daisy, 15, has been controlling her eating to the point of anorexia while living with her dad and stepmother, Davina the Diabolical, in New York. Now that their evil spawn, Damian (as Daisy likes to think of it), is on the way, Daisy is being sent to live with her mother’s sister and her cousins in the English countryside. Never having known her mother, (she died giving birth to Daisy), she hoped to get some insights about her from her Aunt Penn, her mom’s older sister. After only a short visit, Aunt Penn has to leave for Oslo to give a speech about the Impending War, but just expects to be gone for a week. The cousins enjoy their time fishing and hanging out together until the “Impending War” breaks out and they are stranded in England on their own. While the war seems all very far away at first, they begin to see the signs of it closer to home and begin to wonder: Will the war reach all the way to their farm? Will they be able to survive on their own? Those questions are answered, but the answers are not always what one hopes for.
This story takes you from the everyday problems of dealing with parents and trying to control one’s surroundings to falling in love to having one’s life ravaged by the realities of war the aftermath caused by such trauma. I enjoyed the characters and the cousins’ relationships to one another, including the intuitive and slightly mystical connection Edmond had with people and Isaac and Piper had with animals. It gave the story a little something extra without taking it too far into fantasy.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy character driven stories and who don’t mind an ending that doesn’t leave you all warm and fuzzy, but instead is based in real life.
Rosoff, Meg. How I Live Now. New York: Random House, Inc., 2004. Print.
Genre: Realistic Fiction.
Age range: 14 and up
Keywords: teens, life, family, love, cousins, pets, England, New York, war, survival, trauma, violence, loss.
Lopez High Library Call Number: FIC ROS |
Posted by Chrystine Lose on Thursday, Feb 10th, 2011.
Mary dreams of the ocean and of a future outside her village, but at the same time she lives in constant fear of the Unconsecrated (zombies) breaching the fences that protect her village and losing all that she has ever known. Following the loss of her parents, she is forced to join the Sisterhood when her brother refuses to take her in. Within the confines of the Sisterhood, Mary learns that the protectors of her village have secrets that make her question her place in the world. When tragedy strikes the whole village, Mary must flee and face the unknown. Together with her closest friend, the boy she loves, his brother who is her betrothed, and her brother and his pregnant wife, Mary heads out into the Forest, following the paths in search of refuge, not knowing if it exists.
To be honest, I read this book because of the zombies. I love zombie stories, I guess it’s the horror genre fan in me. Beyond the zombies, I thought this was a good story about the struggle to live a life others have chosen for you or choosing to live the life you believe is right for you and following your own dreams. Mary and her friends face very difficult and life threatening situations and they must be brave and work together if they are going to survive. The hard choices Mary makes and how she feels for having made them are not so different from teens living in a zombie free world. There is a definite horror aspect to the book with the zombies always trying to attack, the core group fighting their way through, and infant and child zombies. I would recommend this book to high school students who like both horror and adventure.
Ryan, Carrie. The Forest of Hands and Teeth. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. Print.
Genre: Fantasy/Horror.
Age range: 14 and up
Keywords: zombies, survival, love, friendship, family, horror, faith, loss.
Lopez High Library Call Number: FIC RYA |
Posted by Chrystine Lose on Thursday, Feb 10th, 2011.
This award winning book is about Bobby, a teenager living in New York City, whose life changes completely on his 16th birthday when his girlfriend, Nia, tells him she is pregnant with his child.
The story is written in a “then” and “now” format, telling the story from Bobby’s point of view as he cares for his daughter, Feather, and as he remembers the events that have led him to this point in his young life as a parent. Throughout the story, Bobby appears to be a single parent with limited help from his mom, dad, and friends while Nia is only mentioned in the “then” sections until the end.
I really enjoyed this book and felt the author did a great job portraying Bobby as a young dad taking responsibility for his daughter as best he can, but also feeling overwhelmed and exhausted as I believe every new parent does, regardless of their age. Bobby makes some mistakes and poor choices along the way, but at the same time he never blames Feather for the position he is in. He definitely works hard to be “a man” and the love he feels for his daughter is obvious and absolute. Although it was a very short read, the characters drew me in right away and I became emotionally involved almost from the first paragraph. I would recommend this to LHS students and believe it would be very good for anyone looking for a short, interesting read.
Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 12 and up
Keywords: Coretta Scott King Award, Printz Award, teen pregnancy, teen father, New York City, high school, friendship, love, teen parenting, graffiti.
Lopez High Library Call Number: FIC JOH |
Posted by Chrystine Lose on Tuesday, Jan 25th, 2011.
Dope Sick is the story of a young man who finds himself in a very bad place, both physically and emotionally. Lil J is accused of a crime he didn’t commit. His friend, who did the deed, told the police it was Lil J and now he is sure they are out for his blood. Lil J feels that his life is over one way or another at this point. While hiding from the police, he meets Kelly who asks him if he could change one thing that has happened, what would he change. Lil J struggles to take a hard look at himself and he doesn’t like what he sees. After remembering where he has been and figuring he is going nowhere, he realizes he has to make serious and difficult changes if he hopes to have any future at all.
Myers, Walter Dean. Dope Sick. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009. Print
Genre: Realistic Fiction.
Age range: 12 and Up.
Keywords: drug and alcohol use, violence, teen parents, redemption, jail, life and death.
Lopez High Library Call Number: FIC MYE |
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