The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Kwame, A. (2014). The crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Summary: The Crossover is about two middle school brothers, Josh and Jordan. Both brothers love basketball and are quite good at the game. Their father used to be a professional basketball player but doesn't play anymore. This interests the boys and when they start to discuss this with their father, he avoids the conversation. During one of their games, the boys make a bet about who will win the game. Josh eventually loses and his brother goes to cut off a piece of his hair. Accidentally, a lot more than a "piece" is cut off. When Josh goes to his mother for help, she suggests that the damage is done and they need to cut off his precious hair. Josh looks for a container to hold his hair in the attic and stumbles upon some of his father's old things and finds his basketball ring among other items. After this discovery the boys find out why their father doesn't play ball anymore and the fear that he keeps secret from his boys. Eventually, the boys continue with their basketball games and become more involved in school. After a while Jordan develops a crush on a girl and starts a relationship with her. During this time, Josh feels completely left out and begins to spend more time alone. He starts to feel jealous and insecure that the relationship with his brother isn't the same anymore. Josh starts to spend a lot more time alone at his house and slowly starts to realize that there may be something wrong with their father. After a while, Josh comes to the realization that his father is sick and that is the reason he doesn't play ball anymore. The twin's father seems to have a genetic heart disease that other members of the family have had and have caused deaths in the past. Josh starts to see how his mother talks to the father about going to the doctor and the dad refuses. At the end of the book, during a high-stakes basketball game, Josh and Jordan's father has an emergency that does not end well for the family. 

Strengths:
Crossover's strengths lie in how it handles very difficult issues such as serious health issues and coming of age themes. This book delves into family life and contains a family unit that shows how beneficial it can be when involved parents guide their children through the struggles of life. Kwame Alexander says that he believes poetry can save the world. With his lyrical and hard-hitting poetry in The Crossover, he does just that. 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BONWz5Ao82E

Similar Books:

• Caminar by Skila Brown
• Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes
• Patina by Jason Reynolds

Other books by Kwame Alexander:

• Booked by Kwame Alexander
• Rebound by Kwame Alexander

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read a book by Kwame Alexander

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon.

Summary: In the book Persepolis, Marjane grows up in Iran in the 1970s and lives during the time after the Iranian Revolution. Marjane goes to a secular French school that is then shut down as it becomes illegal under the new law. Her parents and modern and pretty secular with their beliefs. They are often dismayed by the new laws and leadership of the new Islamic Republic. Her parents become even more weary when a new law is passes that all women are required to wear veils. Marjane quickly learn of the issues that have gone on in her country even to her own grandfather, a persian prince. She learns that her grandfather was often taken and tortured because of his status. Over the next couple of years, Marjane quickly see the human rights abuses that are taking place in her country. Assassination, imprisonments, totures, and executions. She begins to believe that nobody in her family are heroes and she starts to idolize a couple of the released prisoners who helped in the war. After seeing the assassination of her uncle, Marjane completely rejects God and her religion. Marjane's family decide to stay in Iran and she further sees the cost of war and the devastation that comes along with it. She sees the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War and begins to feel a strong sense of pride for her country. But after she sees the fleeing of refugees and the death of her best friend, Marjane becomes more outwardly spoken about her feelings towards the war and the government. Eventually, her beliefs and her words become so strong that her parents decide to send to school in Vienna where she would be free to speak her mind and have the freedom she has always wanted. 

Strengths: Persepolis is a memoir about a woman who grew up in Iran. The book's strengths are how she portrays daily life in her country. A country where there are public punishments, war and political corruption. She uses black and white images to show the starkness and contrast of where she grew up and the difficulties that her family and people had to face during the war with Iraq among other conflicts. This books really shows how the human spirit can triumph even through the most difficult times. 

Author Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9onZpQix_w

Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PXHeKuBzPY

Similar Books:

• City of Glass by Paul Karasik
• Dropsie Avenue by Will Eisner
• The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert
• Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Other books by Marjane Satrapi:

• The Sigh 
• Monsters Are Afraid of the Moon
• Embroideries

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read Persepolis

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian. New York, NY: Little Brown and Company.

Summary: Arnold is a fourteen year old boy who lives on an Native American Reservation in Spokane, Washington. Junior, as he is called by family and friends, lives in enormous poverty along with his family. Junior is nerdy and has a skull deformity that often gets him picked on by kids and adults alike on the reservation. His best friend, Rowdy, constantly defends him and is is opposite in almost every way. Rowdy is athletic and cool. Junior starts his first year in high school and is very excited for the new chapter in his life. In his geometry class, junior finds out that he is using the exact same book that his mother used when she was in high school and gets upset and disillusioned about living on the reservation in poverty. He ends up throwing the book at his white teacher. After the urging of his teacher, Mr. P, Junior tells his parents that he wants to attend a predominantly whote school in a wealthy part of town. Life at Reardan High School is very difficult for Junior at first. He suffers from culture shock, bullying, racist comments and not fitting in. Eventually he settles in and makes friends with Penelope, Roger and Gordy and starts to finally feel like he belongs at the school. Junior starts see some tragedy in his community on the reservation when several people dies including his grandmother. He starts to see just how important the reservation life and culture is to him and his family. During his time at Reardan, Junior makes the basketball team and finds out that he will play the high school that he left on the reservation and will have to face Rowdy, his friend that he left behind. During their first game, Rowdy attacks Junior but they eventually play again where Junior's team defeats Rowdy's. Towards the end of school, Junior's sister Mary dies of alcoholism and and Junior begins to see the affects that alcohol has on the community. At the end of the book, Juniors family comes together and bonds over visiting their family and friend's graves. 

Strengths: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian does a great job showing what life is like growing up in two cultures. On one hand, Arnold lives on a reservation where he has to deal with poverty and a brother who has an illness. On the other, Arnold goes to a "white" school where he see how other people live and interact. This is also a great story for anyone who feels like they just don't belong anywhere. You see Arnold struggle to fit in at home and at school. Many students might relate to Arnold's story and his feelings of not belonging. 

60 Second Book Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It-XG0hLvMU 

Author Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez23fpB7zVc

Similar Books: 

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
• Rain is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos

Other books by Sherman Alexie:

• Thunder Boy Jr. 
• Ten Little Indians
• The Toughest Indian in the World

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Summary: Monster is a screenplay written by 16 year old Steve who is on trial for murder. He is on trials for the murder of a Harlem store owner named, Alguinaldo Nesbitt. At the beginning of Steve's trial, his lawyer, Kathy, believes he is innocent. She also believes that he needs to make sure he appears innocent. She thinks that because Steve is African-American that he will face racial prejudice and profiling during the case. While he meets with his lawyer, the prosecution brings about witnesses that will prove that Steve is guilty of the crime. According to the facts of the case, Nesbitt was found dead with a gunshot wound and a worker at the store, Jose, found him dead. According to the presecution, Steve had robbed the store with Bobo Evans and Steve was the "look out". All of this leads to why Steve and Bobo Evans are on trial. The trial starts to gain a lot of news coverage and even is mentioned by Rudy Giuliani. During the trial, Steve is kept in a detention center where he bagins to write in a journal about his experiences. In his journal entries, the reader begins to see a child that is fearful he will be executed and does not show any of the signs of being the monster that the prosecution is portraying him to be. You find out in the journal entries that Steve is interested in writing movies and on the day of the murder, was looking at places to film the scenes to a movie. The two main witnesses against Steve are truly suspect but they seem to be strong witnesses and the case is looking worse and worse for Steve. Finally, when Steve is able to go on the stand to defend himself, he explains how their is no way that he could have ever been a part of this killing. After the jury returns to tell the verdict, they proclaim that Steve is innocent and he is free to go, to the delight of his mother. 

Strengths: Monster deals with many social issues that we are still facing today. Students would be very interested in seeing these struggles play out in the book and being able to connect to what they see in real life. Many students will relate to Steve and his journey. Monster tackles the themes of social justice and the unfairness of the justice system. Students will see a true to life account of what it is like to deal with the judicial system. 

Book Trailer: 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlqFm5R3QgM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gDG2V02_1M

Similar Books:

• Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
• Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
• Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena

Other books by Walter Dean Myers:

• Fallen Angels
• Hoops
• Slam
• Shooter
• Scorpions
• Lockdown

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read Monster

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Summary: The Hate U Give is about a teenager named Starr. Starr is African-American and grew up in a low-income area called Garden Heights. Although she grew up in Garden Heights, she does attend school with her peers from her neighborhood. She attends a predominantly white private prep school called Williamson Prep. At this point Starr feels as if she is living two separate lives and doesn't really belong in either. Her friends back home criticize her when she speaks like she does at school and her friends at school are insensitive to her culture back home. One night, Starr attends a party with a friend that gets busted by the police. Her best friend Khalil offer to give her a ride home and she accepts. As they are talking in the car, Khalil gets pulled over by a police officer who happens to be white. The officer asks the two teenagers to get out of the car and when Khalil turns around to check on Starr, the police officer shoots Khalil three times in front of Starr. Khalil dies in the street. As the story of Khalil is reported on by national news, Starr's role in the story gets hidden. She is kept as a secret witness and is forced to keep her trauma to herself and no seek the helps from friends that she needs. Eventually Starr allows two investigators to interview her at the advice of her uncle Carlos. Starr listens to Carlos because he took care of her when her father was sentenced to 3 years in prison from a crime that he didn't commit which he did to keep a gang leader out of jail. When Starr's father return's from prison, he leaves the gang which is allowed by King, the leader, the man her father took the fall for. When the police is set free from killing Khalil, Starr's neighborhood turns in to ground zero for protests and marches against police brutality. Starr's white friends have a hard time understanding why Starr is joining in the protest. Some of her friends go so far as to make racist comments toward Starr and Khalil. Even though Khalil's killer walks free, Starr commits he life to bringing about social change and keeping Khalil's memory alive. 

Strengths: The Hate U Give is a hard-hitting book that deals with many social issues of the day. Angie Thomas tackles racism, police brutality, the media, grief, violence, drug use and the Black Lives Matter movement. Students will connect with Starr immediately and understand her struggle of living two separate lives, not really knowing where she fits in. Students will clearly see Starr's heartbreaking struggle as she becomes the voice of a movement.

Author Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1gNYFka1-s

Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MM8OkVT0hw

Similar Books:

• Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
• Swing by Kwame Alexander
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Other books by Angie Thomas:

• On the Come Up

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read The Hate U Give

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Summary: Speak begins with Melinda, the main character of the story. Melinda is a high school freshman in upstate New York. We find out the Melinda is keeping a huge secret and ends up going to a party. At the party, Melinda, calls the police which causes most of her friends and the party goers to reject her. However, Melinda befriends a new girl at school Heather who is wild and tries to get Melinda involved in her grand schemes to help her bounce back after the party. Melinda spends most of her time hiding away at school and only really likes her Art class and feels that is the only place she really belongs. We begin to also see Melinda face a boy named IT, who she clearly has a past with. After this, we see her come closer and closer to coming to terms with the vile things he did to her. She slowly withdraws more and more and eventually starts skipping school altogether. Melinda begins to participate in self-harm for months and then is finally able to admit that IT raped her and she starts to come to terms with what happened and why she called the police to the party the previous summer. Melinda comes to life again and warns her friend Rachel that IT does not have the best intentions when it comes to girls. Melinda starts to work on her art piece and takes up yard work and gardening. She also starts to build a friendship with her old friend, Ivy. Melinda beings speaking up about what IT did to her and even stands up for herself when he corners her in a closet. Other girls that feel empowered by Melinda's story start to come forward about what IT had done to them as well.

Strengths: Speak deals with very intense themes such as eating disorders, sexual assault and suicide. Teen girls will most likely relate to the themes in this book and will probably relate the events to something that has happened to them or a friend in their own life. This book may also get teen girls to speak up if they see these things happen to a friend or to themselves. 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaWD7Nm9a1c

Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySpPkHZ66aI 

Similar Books: 

• 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Other books by Laurie Halse Anderson:

• Wintergirls
• Chains
• Fever 1793
• Twisted
• Shout
• Catalyst

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read Speak

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Green, J. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Summary: Hazel Grace Lancaster is a teenager who is suffering from both Thyroid cancer and lung cancer which causes her to have to use an oxygen tank at all times. Her mother is usually very worried about Hazel being happy and keeping up with her normal life. Her mother pushes Hazel to attend a therapy group which Hazel hates. She ends up meeting two friends, one named Isaac who has cancer in his eyes and Gus who had bone cancer and lost his leg but he is now in remission. They hit it off and eventually decide to hang out a Gus' house where they share their love of books. Hazel promises to read Gus' favorite book and he agrees to read hers, An Imperial Affliction which deals with cancer and death. Hazel is obsessed with the realities of the book and wants to meet the author. Hazel and Gus begin to hang out more and eventually form a relationship and fall in love. They often provide help and support to their friend Isaac who is dealing with the loss of his vision. Eventually Gus tells Hazel that he used his "wish" to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite book. When they meet him, they realize that he is a bitter old many who did not want to meet them at all and only did so because of the manipulation of his secretary. Hazel and Gus leave angrily and go back to their hotel where they spend a night together and Gus tells Hazel that his cancer returned and that it is way worse than before. Hazel helps take care of Gus through the course of his last days with cancer and is with him until his passing. Gus' death affects Hazel severely because of her love for him. After Gus' funeral, Hazel emails the pages of Gus' journal to Van Houten, the author of An Imperial Affliction. The book ends with Hazel coming to terms with Gus' death. 

Strengths: The Fault in Our Stars deals with loss and grief in a very real way. Both Hazel and Gus are both dealing with life-threatening disease and the healing process. The main character's love story is always sitting in the background of their illness. 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4BCKLbRHTM

Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHlzhHaAQjA

Similar Books: 

• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• If I Stay by Gayle Forman
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
• Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Other books by John Green:

• Paper Towns
• Looking for Alaska
• An Abundance of Katherines
• Turtles All the Way Down
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson 

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read a book by John Green

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeir

Telgemeir, R. (2016). Ghosts. New York, NY: Graphix.

Summary: In the beginning of Ghosts we find that Cat and her sister Maya move to a new town in California called Bahia del Luna. Cat is not happy about the move because she misses her friends. Maya, her younger sister has Cystic Fibrosis, and is the reason for the move. The town offers the perfect place for Maya to combat her condition. Cat begins to look around the town which she deems creepy and even meets a boy named Carlos who tells her all about the atmosphere and history of the town. He explains that the town is haunted by ghosts but no one is really afraid of them. Maya is thrilled at the mention of Ghosts and wants to meet one. After hearing about the Ghosts, Cat become sad and a little disheartened about her sister's condition is fearful of what will happen if it worsens. After Maya has a medical emergency after meeting some ghosts on El Dia de los Muertos, Cat begins to appreciate her loved ones and vows to help her sister be healthy. Cat comes to terms with her culture, her sister's illness and her new life in Bahia del Luna. 

Strengths: Ghosts tells a great story of culture, family and sister relationships. Maya and Cat are sisters who are moving to a place that is suitable for Maya's Cystic Fibrosis. The Day of the Dead is the backdrop of the story with Cat realizing that she may eventually have to deal with the death of her sister. Students will relate to the sibling bond between Maya and Cat as well as the struggle for Cat to deal with an ill sibling. The beautiful drawing and images help the reader be drawn in to the world around the sisters and truly appreciate The Day of the Dead. 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6f6wFWmAEU

Similar Books:

• Rollergirl by Victoria Jamison
• El Deafo by Cece Bell
• Sunny SIde Up by Matthew Holm
• Brave by Svetlana Chmakova

Other books by Raina Telgemeir:

• Guts
• Smile 
• Sisters
• Drama

LSSL 5385 Requirement Met: Read a book by Raina Telgemeir