5385 Blogging Required Books

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. NY: Little Brown.

This great and inspiring short novel narrates the life of Arnold aka Junior, as he spent his teenage years trying to blend in. As Arnold is determined to achieve his dreams, he made the difficult decision to attend Reardan High School, a school outside his reservation “rez”. He deals with the difficulties of being labeled by his tribe and the rest of his school. Despite all the hardships, Arnold is able to succeed and the kids from his school stopped referring to him as the “Indian Kid” by the end of the school year. I really enjoyed the comic illustrations and sketches Junior creates. I would consider the maturity level of my students before reading/recommending this book to them. It presents several themes such as alcoholism, poverty, ethnic imbalance, social injustice, and social labels. This book offers several topics that world wide audiences can relate to. It is an excellent tool to expose young adults to the ideal that people can follow their heart in order to pursue their aspirations.

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More titles from Sherman Alexie

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Speak

Anderson, L. H. (2019). Speak 20th Anniversary Edition (Anniversary ed.). Farrar, Straus and

Giroux (BYR).

During a party night, Melinda made a difficult decision that negatively changed her high school life. Everyone disliked Melinda for calling the cops that night. Consequently, she was isolated and with no friends willing to listen or have her back. Through her art, Melinda is able to face and cope with the fact that she was raped during that summer party. She starts to heal when she confronts her aggressor as she learns the importance of standing for herself and SPEAK OUT. This story presents several topics that worldwide audiences can relate to. These themes include rape, depression, judgement, shamefulness, empowerment, and aggression. It is a National Book Award List Finalist. I really enjoyed the vivid imagery incorporated in this novel that helped me understand this story through the perspective of the main character and have a better understanding of her emotions. I believe this book would be excellent for high school students.

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More from Laure Halse Anderson

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Lucky Broken Girl

Behar, R. (2019). Lucky Broken Girl. Penguin Putnam.

When Ruthie is finally adjusting to her new life in New York City, Ruthie and her family are involved in a horrible car accident that leaves her in a full-body cast confined to her bed for a long time recovery. Through vivid text, we are able to understand all the boredom, sadness, humiliation, changes, and fears Ruthie experienced during that long year in bed. Behar does an outstanding job by making us value the importance of life and how positivism can help us heal. This is a great resource that can be used to expose young readers to all the hardships immigrant families might face as they begin their lives in a new country. This book has received various prestigious reviews and recognitions that include Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Christian Library Journal starred, Horn Book Guide, Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews starred, Publishers Weekly, Pura Belpre Author Award, School Library Connection, School Library Journal, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA).

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More Titles from Ruth Behar

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Annie on My Mind

Garden, N. (2007). Annie on My Mind. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

This is a fascinating story about two teenage girls and how their friendship developed into romance. Through vivid text we were able to connect to Liza’s and Annie’s fear and need to hide their feelings for each other as their relationship is threatened by their families and school. This story presents themes that worldwide audiences can relate to. Topics such as sexual orientation, lesbianism, love, identity, confusion, etc. are discussed. This is a story that could help students understand the importance of staying truthful to their emotions and help them discover self-acceptance. I would be hesitant to present this book to my students as it has been challenged and banned in some cities.

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More Titles from Nancy Garden

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Celebrate Your Body 2

Leff, C., & Klein, L. (2019). Celebrate Your Body 2: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Preteen and Teen

Girls. Rockridge Press.

Celebrate your body 2 is a positive body-guide that presents information that will guide girls develop an understanding of puberty and the changes female bodies experience during this period of time. It presents 8 chapters titled: A New You!, Taking Care of Yourself, Your Beautiful Body, Menstruation: The Big Change, Your Amazing Brain, Relationships, Sex and Sexuality, The Whole Picture. This resource also explains mental health and services that are offered for emotional support. I liked that it has plenty of illustrations that support a better understanding of the concepts presented.

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Monster

Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (1999). Monster (Coretta Scott King Honor Book) (First ed.).

HarperCollins.

A sixteen-year-old boy named Steve Harmon is on trial accused of murder. As he tries to understand his situation, he decides to document the horrific scenery and events as he spends his life in prison. This book is structured as a movie script presenting leading events as he examines his life and contribution leading to Mr. Nesbitt’s death. The vivid text clearly explains his days in prison, as he prepares to face the jury and spend his life behind bars. Thankfully, Mr. Sawicky, Steve’s film teacher, takes the stand to testify and Steve is found innocent. This is an excellent book that can be used to make students reflect on life choices and the consequences that can be faced when decisions are made with poor judgement. This book presents themes that include identity, racism, guilt, innocence, and justice. This book has received various prestigious recognitions that include Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Michael L. Printz Award, National Book Award Finalist, among others.

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More Titles from Walter Dean Myers

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The Knife of Never Letting Go

Ness, P. (2008). The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (First Edition).

Candlewick.

In this story Todd Hewitt is the youngest male in Prentisstown. Ever since humankind was infected by a germ known as the Noise, all women of Prentisstown did not survive. The Noise caused everyone to be able to hear everyone else’s thoughts out loud. Soon Todd discovered that all women in his town were killed by the native alien species, the Spackle. As Todd discovers his ability to experience “silence,” he is forced to flee in order to stay safe from Aaron and the other men from Prentisstown. Todd then realizes that the source of the silence is a girl named Viola. At the end of this fantastic novel, Todd sacrifices his life to save Viola from Mayor Printess.

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More Titles from Patrick Ness

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Gabi, a Girl in Pieces

Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi, a Girl in Pieces. Cinco Puntos Press.

Mexican-American, Gabi Hernandez narrates her senior year experiences in her diary. She is processing the demands of college applications, coping with her best friend Cindy's pregnancy, her friend Sebastian’s coming out, boy drama, her father’s addiction to methamphetamine, food, and poetry. As the year progresses, Gabi evolves due to the different circumstances presented in her life. Gabi learns that Cindy’s pregnancy is the result of a sexual assault, her father dies from an overdose, and soon realizes that everything she has been stressing about will work out. Poetry greatly influenced Gabi’s journey of self-acceptance and finding her own identity. This book exposes young adults to several topics that include abortion, race, culture, drugs, sex, grief. In my personal opinion, the cover of this book was not a pleasant as I would have liked.

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More from Isabel Quintero

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Persepolis

Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Pantheon Books.

This book contains black-and- white comic strip images that strongly support the story of Marjane Satrapi’s early life experiences during the beginning of the Islamic regime. Marjane is an emblematic girl who presents a very strong character and has difficulty adapting to a new regime that is more restrictive. For this reason, his parents decided to send her to Vienna, Austria to keep her safe. The novel culminates when she departures and says good-bye to her parents at the airport. This is a graphic novel that is great to expose young adults to the horrors of war during the Islamic Revolution. I truly enjoyed reading this book. However, in my personal opinion, it includes themes such as cultural oppression, religion, identity, patriotism, rebellion, among other topics that can be sensitive for some audiences.

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More Titles from Marjane Satrapi

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The Hate U Give

This is the story of Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old African American girl who is the only witness to a tragedy that changed her life completely. Her childhood best friend, Khalil was involved in a fatal shooting that ended with Khalil’s life at the hands of a police officer. This horrific situation unfolds a series of events that follow Starr’s difficult decision to speak up and testify against the police or remain silent. Torn between meeting the expectations of two different worlds, Starr learns how to stand up for herself, finds her true identity, and continues to fight for justice on behalf of Khalil. In my personal opinion, this book would be an excellent tool to expose young adult readers to various subjects such as police brutality, grief, profanity, racism, drug use, violence, justice, and cultural profiling. Teaching connection- Black- Lives Matter movement and cultural appreciation awareness.

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More Titles from Angie Thomas

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Stamped from the Beginning

This book presents a deeper understanding of the history of racism and how it has developed differently across our nation with origins in Europe. It includes biographical references and an index. This book introduces important topics such as our nation’s racial history, activism, racism, and segregation. The essence of the book is remarkably presented by the theme of determination in order to expose readers to understand how thousands of African American leaders contributed to our national history and how they impacted our society today. This book can appeal to worldwide audiences, but can be targeted to students in grades 7-12.

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More Titles like Stamped from the Beginning

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Swing

Alexander, K., & Hess, M. R. (2019). Swing. Blink.

Swing was a very enjoyable book to read. Just like Alexander’s book titled Solo, Swing is a story also written in free-verse format. For a long time, high school junior Noah struggled to express his feelings for his lifelong crush Sam. Unfortunately, Noah had been friend-zoned and didn’t have the courage to share how he felt. Instead, Noah decided to pour his feelings into paper, and Walt (aka Swing) sent one of Noah’s poems to Sam without his consent. Noah is now in a position where he can stay anonymous or find his voice and speak out. This book can appeal to worldwide audiences as it presents topics that impact our society. The dialogue in this book beautifully captures the essence of characters and their friendship. It exposes young adult readers to several themes such as friendship, identity, connections with art, love, breakup, high school life, and finding one’s voice.

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More Titles from Kwame Alexander

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Loser's Bracket

Crutcher, C. (2019). Losers Bracket (Reprint ed.). Greenwillow Books.

High school senior Annie Boots narrates her difficult life in the foster care system. When she is finally close to having a real family, her dysfunctional biological relatives almost ruin her chances at a normal life. Through vivid text, Annie describes all the challenges she faced through her childhood experiences through social services. When Frankie, her nephew goes missing at one of her swim’s meets, Annie was the only one to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Even though she has had so many negative experiences because of her family, the love for them is still very evident. This book exposes several sensitive topics such as foster care, trauma, drug abuse, neglect, love, family, stress, drama, and personal growth that many young adult readers may relate to.

More Titles by Chris Crutcher

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In the Middle of the Night

Cormier, R. (1997). In the Middle of the Night (Reprint ed.). Laurel Leaf.

Sixteen-year-old Denny Colbert could not assimilate the reason why his father tolerates the devastating effects of harassment he has experienced over the last 25 years of his life. Unfortunately, his father was involved in a horrific accident that took the lives of 22 innocent children. As a consequence of the constant harassment, Denny is not allowed to answer the phone. Despite his father’s instructions, one time Denny picks up the phone and is trapped by the voice of a mysterious woman named Lulu. Lulu and her brother are both survivors of that tragic accident. Although Denny’s father was found not guilty, Lulu seeks revenge as there is no one else to blame. She decides to take advantage of Denny’s emotional instability and confusion to trick him. There is a huge plot twist when Lulu tried to murder Denny, buy Lulu is killed by her own brother instead. The dialogue in this book clearly projects the suspense and guilt presented by the characters. The theme of retaliation is clearly portrayed by Lulu’s actions. In my personal opinion, it was a good read!

More Titles by Robert Cormier

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Ask the Passengers

King, A. S. (2013). Ask the passengers. Little, Brown Young Readers.

Ask the Passengers is a beautiful story about a girl named Astrid Jones. Astrid feels that she does not have a person to trust. Therefore, she decides to share her feelings and thoughts with the planes flying overhead while she is lying on the backyard picnic table. As she speaks to the “passengers,” she comes to the realization that she is a lesbian and fears that she might be rejected by her family and the close-minded people from her small town. Through vivid text, the reader is able to visualize how much Astrid is struggling to internalize her sexuality and all the events occurring in her life. I loved how the author presented Astrid’s thoughts and feelings in order to find her own identity. I feel this book can appeal to worldwide audiences and many students struggling with self-acceptance and sexual orientation can relate to Astrid’s story.

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More Titles by A. S. King

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100 Sideways Miles

Smith, A. (2015). 100 Sideways Miles. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

This book narrates the story of a seventeen-year-old boy named Finn Easton. Finn is a quiet teenager who suffers from seizures as a result from a dead horse falling from a bridge landing on top of him and his mother. Unfortunately, he lost his mom in this same accident. Finn is terrorized by the idea that he’s the protagonist of his father’s best selling book. However, his father strongly claims it is not about him. He constantly feels “trapped” inside his father’s book and that his life revolves around it. Finn is devastated when his crush, Julia Bishop, moves away. Unexpectedly, Finn and his best friend, Cade, become heroes while on a road trip making Finn realize that he is more than just a character in his father’s book. The cover of this book clearly attracts the reader’s attention as it is very appealing and intriguing. Smith does a tremendous job at capturing the essence of the characters as they become extremely realistic. This book can be appealing to worldwide audiences, especially for students in grades 9-12.

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More Titles by Andrew Smith

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Paper Towns

Green, J. (2015). Paper Towns. Thorndike Press.

Quentin and Margo, the protagonist of this fantastic story, are high school seniors in a suburban community in Orlando. A critical event marked their lives creating an implied bond since they were nine years old. However, as they grew older, their friendship weakened. Quentin became a quiet teenager while Margo is highly popular among their peers. One night, Margo asked Quentin to help her execute her plotted revenge against her friends who wronged her. After that night, Margo disappears and Quentin is determined to find her. As he embarks on a journey to find Margo, Quentin and his friends discover that Margo left clues that will guide him to get to Margo’s mysterious location. I really enjoyed reading this book because of the character’s complexity and depth. The dialogue in this book was well and realistically executed. I like that Quentin is the narrator of this story, and how well the scenery was developed. I feel that this book would appeal to worldwide audiences as it presents topics that young readers can relate to.

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More Titles from John Green

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The Poet X

Acevedo, E. (2020). The Poet X. Quill Tree Books.

The Poet X is a novel written in short poems. The speaker of this story is a high school sophomore named Xiomara Batista. Xiomara lives in a very restrictive environment, as her mom has always been extremely religious. Xiomara deeply enjoys writing, however, she struggles to find her voice due to her mother’s controlling behavior. Xiomara is invited to the poetry slam at her school, but she doesn’t know how to do it without her mother finding out. Through extensive forms of poetry, Xiomara is able to convey her struggles as she tries to find her voice and identity. This story has an extensive use of imagery to present sensitive topics that are recommended to be shared with mature audiences. The cover of this book is an exquisite work of art that attracts the reader’s attention.

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More Titles from Elizabeth Acevedo

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Damsel

Arnold, E. K. (2019). Damsel. Balzer and Bray.

Printz Honor Book 20

Damsel is a Printz Honor book that narrates the quest of Prince Emory as he tries to claim his victory against a fierce dragon and save the damsel. His fruitful reward is the right to become king and marry the damsel, Ama. She is quite confused about her past. Ama has no recollection of who she is or what her life was like before she was captured by the dragon. Later, Ama comes to the realization that her horrific past as described by Prince Emory might not be exactly true. This story includes several themes that can be sensitive to several audiences. These topics include rape, animal abuse, emotional abuse, graphic sexual assault , self-harm, and physical abuse. However, I like how this story presents women empowerment. The cover of this book is a work of art and it is very appealing to the readers.

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More Titles from Elana K. Arnold

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Agnes at the End of the World

2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults

McWilliams, K. (2021). Agnes at the end of the world. Little, Brown Young Readers.

Sixteen-year-old Agnes is very dedicated to her home community Red Creek. However, she is forced to make the decision whether to save her brother or continue to follow the community's outrageous laws. Now Agnes is part of the rebellion as she meets a person that helps her with the medication needed to save her brother Ezekiel. Later, Agnes realizes that it is crucial to escape with her brother. Unfortunately, the world outside of the cult at Red Creek is not safe either as it is suffering from a viral pandemic that is terminating with humankind at an incredible rate. This book presents an excellent story that is relatable to all of our readers as they can understand the devastating effects of our current pandemic. Additionally, the cover of this book is very inviting and catches the attention of worldwide audiences.

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More Titles by Kelly Mc Williams

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2020 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Quinones, S. (2019). Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic. Bloomsbury YA.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Ogle, R. (2019). Free Lunch (1st ed.). Norton Young Readers.

NYT Bestseller list- Young Adult

McManus, K. M. (2021). One of Us Is Lying (B&N Exclusive Edition). Delacorte Press.

Outstanding Books for the College Bound

Brusatte, S. (2019). The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of Their Lost World

(Illustrated ed.). William Morrow Paperbacks.

Outstanding Books for the College Bound

Atwood, M., & Nault, R. (2019). The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel): A Novel (Illustrated ed.).

Nan A. Talese.