The Crossover

Alexander, Kwame. (2014). Crossover. NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Josh and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the basketball court. This novel is told in verse and through the point of view of Josh and his love for basketball. Their father was a professional basketball player and taught them the game and he has health issues that he does not address until it’s too late. Josh is beginning to feel jealousy of his brother because of his new girlfriend and his attention away from basketball which causes them to grow apart. When their father dies, it brings them together with a mutual respect for each other. This is an excellent introduction to reading novels in verse for young readers. This novel has themes of family relationships and loss in this book. 

I'll Give you the Sun

Nelson, Jandy. (2015). I’ll give you the sun. Speak.

Noah and Jude are fraternal twins who grow up in a stable home until they turn 13 when things change. Noah is an artist and gay and meets a model Oscar. He also meets a new kid that he has a crush on named Brian.  Jude is interesting in the popular crowd, makeup and clothes.  Noah and Jude learn their mother is having an affair and plans on leaving their father only to die off a cliff as she was preparing to take him divorce papers. Things change for the twins at 16 when Jude is accepted into an art school and Noah attends public school. Jude mentors with a sculptor who turns out to be the man her mom had an affair with.  He also mentors another student Oscar and he is dealing with the loss of his mother. Noah has been diving off cliffs thinking his mother is guiding him down safely and is saved by Oscar. The family reconnects and decides to live on a houseboat. Noah also openly acknowledges he is gay and his father accepts his son. Everything comes together in the story which seemed complex in the beginning. 

The Silver Six

Lieberman, A. & Rawlings, D. (2013). The Slversix. NY: Scholastic.

Phoebe Hemingway’s parents died in a crash and once she is found she is taken to an orphanage where she finds five other kids whose parents died in the same mysterious crash and left them moon registration forms.  They team up to escape the orphanage to find out the conspiracy behind their parents death. Once on the moon, Phoebe has to make the tough choice of sacrificing a friend. They helped to uncover a plot and the end result was the creation of a new fuel source from the orphan moon. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Andrews, Jesse. (2012). Me and Earl and the dying girl. NY: Amulet Books.

Greg Gaines is a senior and has a friend who he considers as his coworker and they make films together. He doesn’t like the films they have been making but he enjoys the process and his goal is to improve his technique. Greg’s mom convinced him to befriend an old friend Rachel who has leukemia. They begin to spend time together as Rachel is about to begin chemotherapy and also meets Earl. Greg is not sure about his college plans and Rachel suggests film school. He makes a film about Rachel and it was played for the whole school. In his horror, he stopped going to school and scratched all the DVD’s of his films. He considered the University of Pittsburgh instead of pursuing film school. Greg wrote the book to tell the story that you should not try and be something you are not. He later applied to film school.  I enjoyed the characters in the book. Greg was a funny guy, Earl had a tricky past and Rachel was very calming and a good friend.

Everything I Never Told You

Ng, Celeste. (2014). Everything I never told you. NY: Penguin Press.

There is a mystery of what led to the death of Lydia Lee, a 16 year old girl whose family had a lot of hopes and dreams for her and ended ignoring their other children. She is found dead in a lake drowned by either suicide or murder. Her family tries to find out what happened to her but it also uncovers the secrets Lydia had with trying to fit in and how lonely she was after her mom and dad pushed her to be popular. This family struggled to understand each other. This is a story of love, lies, secrets, race and identity.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Crutcher, Chris. (2003). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. NY: Harper Teens.

Moby has a friend named Sarah Byrnes who is in the hospital and she was the friend who was there when he was an outcast at school because of his weight. She was also a target of bullying because of burns on her face. She refuses to speak and it is a plot to try and give herself time to think because her father has been abusing her and fears it’s going to get worse. Moby has to befriend his bully Dale to help Sarah. He also has to betray his friends trust and tell his teacher Ms. Lemry about trying to find Sarah’s mother so she can testify against the father Virgil Byrnes. Moby is hurt by Virgil because of his interference but this gave the police reason to arrest him and send him to prison for 20 years. Sarah has a second chance at happiness when she is adopted by Ms. Lemry. I think it is a good book because it covers important family issues. It also lets students know that sometimes you have to betray a friends trust especially if it saves their life.  It is suited for high school students. According Havigburst’s adolescents undergo changing relationships with parent. Sarah goes through a lot of changes with both parents. 

The Iron Trial

Black, H. & Clare, C. (2014). The Iron Trial. NY: Scholastic Press.

Callum Hunt wants to fail the Iron Trial so he cannot be admitted into the Magisterium. He has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. They try and scheme a plan but is unsuccessful. He is admitted to the Magisterium and learning magic. Callum is an interesting character to learn about since he doesn’t know a lot about himself or the world he has fallen into because his father kept him in the dark. The characters in the story are well developed and gives you a good sense of where they are coming from especially if you continue reading the other series of books.