![]() "Stick" is the nickname for talented, wide receiver Brett Patterson who both loves and hates football. Stick loves playing football but hates what it has become which is all about winning and not the love of the game. He is pressured by his coach and his father to be the best and he ends up quitting the team with a little advice from his quirky new friend Preston. But don't worry, things work out by the end of the book. Although this book is about football, it has a lot of layers and weaves in some lessons about acceptance, perseverance, making the right choices, standing up to bullies, and overcoming addiction. I ended up really enjoying this book and think students will as well. I will warn that there is quite a bit of profanity within the text and some abusive scenes as well as underage drinking and alcoholism, so make sure you are ready to encounter these throughout the pages. Approximate Reading Level - The reading level is probably close to 7th grade and up, but because of some of the language and content, I would steer it more towards high school students.
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![]() Jocelyn Wu has to figure out a way to save her family's Chinese restaurant from impending bankruptcy if she does not want her family to move. She devises a plan to save the restaurant and gets her dad's approval. The first step is to hire someone to assist her. Enter Will Domenici who is hired to assist with their social media marketing, website development, and anything else that needs to be done. Jocelyn and Will hit it off and develop feelings for each other. Everything seems to going well until Will's anxiety and Jocelyn's depression get in the way. This is my Brain on Love is narrated from Jocelyn and Will's perspectives so the reader gets to see how each of the characters deal with their mental illness. Both characters are caring, intelligent, and a little quirky, but they find a common spirit in the other. The characters seem a little more mature than a many of the high schoolers I have encountered, but they are still believable, and I think students will be able to relate to them and find them endearing. The storyline includes some problem-solving, some fun, and a little romance. There are some cuss words interspersed and some light sexual talk, so be forewarned for those of you who might be concerned. Approximate Reading Level: 7th-9th grade (the content would be enjoyed at higher grade levels as well). ![]() I have long been a Lakers fan, and when I saw the forward of this book was penned by Pat Riley, I had to give it a read. To be honest, I had not research what the book is about and only had a cursory knowledge of who Chris Bosh is, but I was pleasantly surprised with what this book has to offer. Chris Bosh writes this book as a series of letters to young athletes who are playing basketball or another sport. Through the letters he gives encouragement for struggles the athletes may well be facing as well as lesson on how to handle tough situations in sports and life. Bosh draws on his experiences coming up in basketball as well as his time in the NBA. He shares what he has learned from greats like LeBron, Kobe, and Coach K. Bosh also discusses how he has coped with leaving basketball behind with the diagnosis of a blood clotting issue he is faced with. You do not have to be a basketball player or fan to draw lessons from this book, although it might help. I would recommend this book to students who love sports and are aspiring athletes, especially if they struggle with the mental aspects of the game. Approximate reading level - 8th-12th (some mild cussing included in the book) ![]() While this book might be a good choice for many, it was not a good fit for me. I was not a fan of the author’s writing style and the multiple grammatical errors within the text. I also felt there was just too much going on with this book. There was the main plotline which I found interesting. Louisa was sent to a mental asylum and doesn’t know why and has to figure a way out, but then the author kept adding in subplots - Louisa’s brother and his issues in London, Grace and her fiancé, Beatrice and her baby, and then finally the fact that Louisa discovers she is attracted to women. It all began to feel like a soap opera with just a hodgepodge of storylines. Because of all of the aforementioned items, I would not recommend this book to students because I think I could locate a book that would offer a better representation of LGBQT+ feelings and thoughts that my students could actually relate to. There are a few scenes in the book where Louisa struggles to feel like she belongs and with her choices that some of my students might see as a mirror unto their own personal feelings, but on the whole, I do not see this being a book that many of my students would enjoy or that they would feel represented by. Perhaps the way Louisa was treated could open a door to discuss women’s rights and changes that have occurred over the years. The only thing I felt was a window in this book was the window into how women may have been treated in Victorian England. The author’s note at the end of the book mentions that the book was written in response to information about how women were incarcerated in mental institutions. I wish Eagland would have extended this in the story and made this the major focus of the book. Focusing on the historical fiction angle and saving the LGBTQ+ portion for a different story, would have allowed the author to effectively present both ideas because as the book is written, the LGBTQ+ portion of the story is not explored or extended to the full extent. Approximate Reading Level: 8th-12th grades (some sexual and LGBTQ+ themes) ![]() I have missed feelings about Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac. I am not a fan of Bruchac’s writing style, although I did find the storyline interesting. The book and characters overall just did not draw me into the story as I had hoped; it read more like a memoir than a novel, and I would have like more descriptive imagery and character development because overall the story just felt flat to me. That being said, it was interesting to learn a bit about the Navajo Code Talkers. While reading the novel, I used some of the questions within the “code book” shared in Abington-Pitre’s Selecting Appropriate Native American Children’s Literature, and I found some conflicting messages. While I do think Code Talker, is an acceptable piece of literature to share with students, there is a mix of stereotyping and derogatory language towards Native Americas, alongside, discussion of cultural authenticity. For example, the Marines, often referred to the Navajo Marines as “chief” and the teachers within the school looked down upon the Navajo students as inferior and unable to achieve as well as their white counterparts. This is balanced by the fact that the narrator, Ned, is very competent and achieves at a high level in school as well as during his time as a Marine. He, and the other Navajo Marines, are shown to persevere despite the stereotypes and obstacles they encounter. In fact, the Navajo were the ones to develop and implement the Code Talker program which is one of the pivotal achievements in winning World War Two. The reader also learns a bit about the Navajo culture such as their family values and religion through Ned’s discussions and reflections. Perhaps the conflicting treatment of the Navajo is something mirrored in students’ lives since most of us can relate to be viewed and treated positively and negatively in different situations. Although I did feel, Bruchac balanced out the negative perspective and stereotypes of the Navajo within the novel, I felt as if the Japanese were shown as the villains and were not given any real redeeming characteristics. While this might provide a window into how Americans and those fighting the war against the Japanese felt during the time period, I am not sure a book can truly be considered diverse if it praises one minority group while vilifying another. I would have liked to have seen a little internal conflict or reflection about how the Japanese were treated from the main characters. I do not know enough about World War Two and the Navajo Code Talkers initiative to know whether all of the information provided in the novel is accurate; although, it comes across as being valid and as with any text, I would encourage further research and study to validate the information. As a whole, I would recommend Code Talker to students because I feel like it is an interesting story that might further engage students in learning about the Navajo Code Talker program and provide them a window into what it may have been like to be involved in World War Two from the perspective of a Navajo soldier. Approximate Reading Level: 6th-9th grades ![]() The Poet X has been in my reading queue for quite a while, but I just have not gotten around to reading it. And honestly, now that I have read it, I am not sure what to think. I personally enjoyed the book and feel like my female students would be able to relate to many portions of it, but it is pretty gritty and sexual in places with some difficult themes that would make recommending it and teaching it a little dicey in some school districts. While I am sure it would serve as a window for many of my students to view the experiences young girls often face, I am not sure it is a window a lot of my parents would like their students peering through. Although the book is fictional it reads like an autobiography in verse; the author, Acevedo is Dominican and grew up in New York City which correlates to the main character Xiomara. As I read, I wondered how much of the book was potentially inspired by Acevedo’s own life and experiences. Many of poems center around Xiomara’s feelings towards her body and how men react to her body. She seems to constantly be dealing with having to tell men to stop touching her or commenting on her body which honestly made me angry as I read the book. Xiomara, and no teenager or woman, should have to deal with unwanted sexual advances. Being a teenager and dealing with your body’s changes is difficult enough without adding in the advances Xiomara deals with throughout the book. I am sure teenage girls will see many of their thoughts and feelings mirrored in Xiomara’s and feel a since of kinship with her. Xiomara also grapples at home with her religious mother, twin brother who begins to realize he is homosexual, and a father who is not very present. Xiomara handles her home struggles through writing poetry and leaning on her best friend, Caridad. The mom in the story seems a bit cliché’ to me. She was sent to the U.S. to marry her husband, and left behind her country and desire to be a nun. Her husband was a philanderer and so the mom is basically not happy except for the birth of the “miracle” twins who essentially saved the family unit. Since the mom did not get to become a nun, she is very heavy-handed in her treatment with Xiomara and how Xiomara should act as a female. Xiomara is given very little freedom and is expected not to date until she is finished with college. Although, I did enjoy the book, I would caution parents to review the content before having their children read it simply because of the sexual nature of many of the poems. It would be a good book for mothers to read with their high school-aged daughters to facilitate discussions about some of the things and feelings Xiomara contends with. Approximate Reading Level - 8th and 9th (but I would put the content level at high school) ![]() Lore by Alexandra Bracken centers on the protagonist of Melora Perseous, a descendent of the mythological hero, Perseus. In Lore reality and Greek mythology meet on the streets of New York City as Lore struggles with her decision to leave her past behind her and live as a mortal. But as you might expect, leaving her past behind is not such an easy task. Lore is wrapped back up in the world of the gods when the Agon begins which is a time when the original nine Greek gods walk the earth as mortals and vie for each other's powers. Lore is an action-packed book with some interesting and well-developed characters. I enjoyed the premise of the story and got caught up in the world Bracken creates and would recommend it to those of you who enjoy Greek mythology and action. There is a lot of fighting in the story which leads to some graphic scenes, violence, and death, so it may not be a book for everyone. There are also some romantic threads woven throughout the storyline and a couple of romantic scenes including both hetero and homosexual couples. There is nothing graphic about any of the "love" scenes, and in fact, they are more a passing reference, but they may be objectionable to some readers so I am mentioning them here so you can make an informed choice. If you have not read any of Alexandra Bracken's books before, I would also suggest looking into The Darkest Minds Trilogy. Approximate Reading Level - 8th-9th grade |
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