the first part last

Johnson, Angela, the first part last, Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2010, 131 pgs.

Summary: Bobby is a teenage single father in New York. The struggles of raising a baby through the eyes of a teenage boy are provided in this novel. Bobby is on his own and his mother refuses to help. Bobby must get his daughter to daycare before school, make it through school without falling asleep, go get his daughter, and help her through the night so he can do it again the next day. A newborn baby is hard to take care of when you are ready and Bobby is not ready. Where is the baby’s mother? Nia had difficulty giving birth to their daughter and is now brain dead on life support in a care facility. Bobby visits her when he can and seeks support from his friends. Through it all he knows he can do it because Feather is his and Nia’s creation and his life is for her.

Evaluation: The perspective through the eyes of a teenage boy is very unique. I felt like Johnson did a good job of showing the struggles of teenage parenthood without glorifying it. The book is a quick read, but won’t make an impact unless the reader is aware of what is being written about. This book can be a very well written tool for librarians, teachers, and parents to highlight to young adults potential consequences to teen parenthood.

Annotation: I can’t tell you want comes next, but I can tell you that my life is all about being a good father for my newborn daughter.

Significance of Book: Books about teenage pregnancy are not unique, but the perspective through the eyes of a teenage father raising a newborn on his own is unique and very well written in this novel. This book also won both the Michael Printz award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award.

Genre/subject: fiction, teenage parenthood

Awards:

National:

• ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2004
• Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2004
• Coretta Scott King Author Award: 2004
• Michael L. Printz Award: 2004

State:

• Georgia: Georgia Peach Award Nominees: 2004
• Indiana: Eliot Rosewater Award Nominees: 2006
• Iowa: Teen Award Nominees: 2007
• Kentucky: Bluegrass Award Nominees: 2005
• Michigan: Thumbs Up Award Nominees: 2004
• Missouri: Gateway Readers Award Nominees: 2006
• New Jersey: Garden State Teen Book Award Nominees: 2006
• Oklahoma: Sequoyah Award Nominees: 2006
• South Carolina: YA Book Award Nominees: 2006
• Tennessee: Volunteer State Book Award Nominees: 2006
• Texas: Tayshas Reading List: 2005
• Virginia: Readers' Choice Award Nominees: 2006

Why I selected the book: I was interested to see how the dynamic of a single teenage father would be portrayed.

Price: $7.99

Punkzilla

Adam, Rapp, Punkzilla, Candlewick Press, 2009, 244 pgs.

Summary: Jamie aka ‘Punkzilla’, is a runaway teen living in Oregon. He ran away from military school where his father put him believing that the military will fix him. Jamie begins writing letters to his brother and decides to make a cross country trip to see his brother after he writes him a letter telling him that he is sick and Jamie should visit. Having very little money, Jamie buys a bus ticket and begins the trek from Oregon to Tennessee. At one stop he is knocked out and everything gets stolen. He begins hitchhiking across the country and writing a journal/letter to stay alert. Along the way Jamie meets some very interesting characters as usual on a cross country road trip. Will Jamie get to his brother in time or will the only member of his family that understands him leave him to walk the earth alone.

Evaluation: This is a very raw novel. The writing is very effective in making the experiences Jamie has feel real and yet not glorify life on the road. I had a difficult time reading some of the issues that Jamie is dealing with which is something that will speak to young adults. Homosexuality, acceptance, and family relationships are all strong threads throughout this novel. Although Jamie is only 14, this novel is mature and is one that younger readers may have a hard time grasping the lessons throughout the storyline.

Annotation: P, Please don’t die. I am on my way to you. Hang on till I get there. Love, Jamie

Significance of Book: This book highlights the prevalence of teen runaways in the United States which is difficult to write effectively about. The threads of homosexuality and tension in families are also effectively touched upon.

Genre/subject: fiction, drugs, runaway teens

Awards:

National:

• Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2010
• Booklist Editor's Choice: 2009
• Michael L. Printz Honor: 2010

Why I selected the book: The cover seemed very dark and I also saw that it was set in Oregon which is near Washington where I live.

Price: $16.99

All the Broken Pieces: a novel in verse

Burg, Ann E., All the Broken Pieces: a novel in verse, Scholastic Press, 2009, 218 pgs.

Summary: This novel in verse is full of a young boys struggle to find himself. Matt Pin was adopted from Vietnam. Now living in the United States, Matt must deal with the struggle of discrimination from those around him because of what Americans believe “his kind” did to American soldiers. Through baseball and the support of his parents, Matt slowly begins to understand himself and how he fits into his new life in America and to let go of the guilt of being one of the lucky ones saved from the war. Matt at first doesn’t understand why his father takes him to meetings with Vietnam war veterans, but through talking with them and hearing their stories and sharing his own, Matt begins to heal and find a place for himself in his new home and with his new family.

Evaluation: This novel is a quick read and a great example of the struggles some cultures experience when thrown into the mixed salad of American society. I found the choice of writing in verse to be very effective in illustrating the feelings and experiences Matt has. The cover is a little deceiving, but effective in grabbing the attention of young readers. I would encourage many to read this book, knowing that even though it is not completely about baseball, it will draw the reader in with the story that develops through the simple verse on each page.

Annotation: I left my mother, brother, and homeland..and a terrible secret that no one knows but me.

Significance of Book: This book highlights the difficulties that many Vietnamese Americans had after the Vietnam War. By writing through the eyes of a teenage boy, the author adds an innocence and pureness to a very tough case of racial discrimination.

Genre/subject: verse, Vietnam War, Vietnamese-Americans, adoption

Awards:

National:

• Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2010
• Booklist Editor's Choice: 2009
• Capitol Choices: 2010
• Notable Books for a Global Society: 2010

State:

• Arizona: Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominees: 2012
• Illinois: Rebecca Caudill Award Nominees: 2012
• Indiana: Young Hoosier Award Nominees: 2012
• Iowa: Teen Award Nominees: 2012
• Kansas: William Allen White Award Nominees: 2012
• Kentucky: Bluegrass Award Nominees: 2011
• Maine: Student Book Award Nominees: 2011
• Maryland: Black-eyed Susan Award Nominees: 2011
• Missouri: Truman Award Nominees: 2012
• Oklahoma: Sequoyah Award Nominees: 2012
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominees: 2011
• South Carolina: Junior Book Award Nominees: 2012
• Texas: Lone Star Reading List: 2011
• Vermont: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominees: 2011

Why I selected the book: Truly I selected this book for its cover thinking it would be about sports, but really it was so much more than that.

Price: $16.99

Swallow Me Whole

Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole, Top Shelf Productions, 2008, unpaged

Summary: Introducing a new type of graphic novel, this story of a young adults struggle with schizophrenia and dissociative disorder is raw and real. Ruth’s fascination with insects is clear from the beginning of this picture heavy story. Ruth is very close with her stepbrother who is also controlled by a wizard who makes him draw. Through the whole novel there is the constant struggle of dealing with their elderly grandmother who is slowly losing her sense of the present. The climax occurs when Ruth steals a frog from the museum she is volunteering at and is convinced that she did not do it.

Evaluation: The struggle that Ruth endures throughout the whole novel is confusing at times. The way the novel is written is free flowing with the intent the reader doesn’t catch all that is being said. Often words will seem to drift out of ‘earshot’ giving the reader a feeling of disconnect. I feel that young adults will relate more with this novel than one may think. The content is suitable for those young adults with a more mature taste and I even felt at times to not completely understand the true impact of what was happening.

Annotation: I didn’t take the frog, but somehow I have the frog.

Significance of Book: This topic is one that there is not a lot written about and the format is a unique way of presenting issues to patrons.

Genre/subject: fiction, graphic novel, teenage schizophrenia, family

Awards:

National:

• SLJ Best Adult Books for High School Students: 2009
• Will Eisner Best Graphic Album: New: 2009

Why I selected the book: I wanted to read an adult book that many young adults are also reading. I selected this book because of the unique circumstance.

Price: $19.95

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (Maybe)

Pauley, Kimberly, Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (Maybe), Wizards of the Coast, 2008, 297 pgs.

Summary: Mina has parents who are vampires, this does not make her a vampire, but it does mean that Mina has to decide whether she is going to be a vampire or else she gets taken away from her parents. This is only the hilarious beginning to a very funny book about Mina and her journey to deciding whether she wants to be a vampire or not. Yet another take on a vampire book, this novel does a great job in putting a humors twist on the subject rather than the dramatic one so many of the other vampire novels have taken. As Mina attends Vampire school and learns more about her choice, we as the reader also begin to see the common themes of coming of age struggle that are so popular in so many young adult books. There are still the dramas of high school with the twist of vampire school and experiences with her mentor uncle.

Evaluation: Overall I enjoyed the humor in this novel and many times found myself laughing out loud as Mina said or did yet another funny thing. The lighthearted air of the book is a great break from so many problem novel teen books, but tough issues are still addressed in this novel. I think this a fun young adult book with an edge that will attract many teens and other young readers.

Annotation: My parents are vampires and now I have to choose. To be a vampire or not to be a vampire, that is the question.

Significance of Book: This is a new look at vampires and is the trend that some books are going in. Vampires living among us naturally.

Genre/subject: fiction, paranormal, high school, family

Awards:

National:

• ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2009

Why I selected the book: The catchy title urged me to grab this title. I was also interested to see how this take on vampires would look.

Price: $ 8.95