ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF YOUNG ADULT
TITLES
Angelou, Maya
I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings – An
autobiography of the writer in which the storytelling style so completely
captures the reader that it is easy to forget that Maya is more than a
character, and the events actually happened.
The books frank portrayal of racial incidents and child molestation will
be offensive to some, but the overall message is of triumph over adversity.
Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia
Shattered Mirror – Evergreen nominee 2004 – A
vampire hunter’s encounters vary from swift violence to extended psychological
interplay. Although I personally find
this genre too repetitious to enjoy, Atwater-Rhodes writes well and portrays
her vampires as multi-dimensional.
Bauer, Joan
Backwater – Young woman makes a
wilderness journey to connect with an eccentric aunt. Contains the delightful wise-cracking characters of Bauer’s other
books, but disappoints in that many aspects of the plot seem contrived.
Hope Was Here – Newberry Honor Book. Hope and the aunt who raised here make yet
another move to work in yet another diner where they become involved in a dying
man’s efforts to end the corruption in his small town. The interactions between the quirky
characters in this wonderful book both entertain and resonate as an accurate
picture of humanity, although it could be faulted as a tear-jerker.
Rules of the Road – Young woman deals the
with disappointments of an alcoholic father, finds satisfaction in her job as a
shoe salesperson, and ends up trying to help the old woman who owns the chain
when her son tries to sell it to a conglomerate. On the whole the book is very satisfying, but the events at the climactic
stockholder’s meeting seem a tad unrealistic.
Thwonk – Teen photographer faced
with cupid chooses to make a hunk fall in love rather than improve her artistic
skills. Even more disappointing than Backwater in that the snappy dialog is
also minimal.
Bruchac, Joseph
Sacajawea – A fictionalized biography
of this famous Native American woman’s part in the Lewis and Clark Expedition
written as a story told to her young son who is later being educated by Clark
in Saint Louis. The chapters are as if
segments told on succeeding occasions, alternating between the voice of Sacajawea
and that of William Clark. Bruchac is
true to primary sources of the time, but fleshes out the woman with emotions
and motivations based on his understanding of her people and the events of her
life.
Cormier, Robert
Chocolate War – A boy’s refusal to sell
chocolates for his religious high school isolates and endangers him. I find the overwhelmingly negative situation
contrived.
Frenchtown Summer – In a series of free verse
poems, an adult recalls his 12th summer in a small town in the
Northeast in the 1940’s. Supposedly based on Cormier’s life, the book is
uplifting unlike the rest of his work.
I Am the Cheese – Boy reveals the events of
his past through medicated interrogations from a mysterious questioner. Without a doubt an excellent and suspenseful
read, but ends in Cormier’s usual hopeless world.
Craighead-George, Jean
Julie of the Wolves – Newberry Award – An Iniut
girl runs away from an arranged marriage only to become lost in the tundra,
dependent on being able to connect with a nearby wolf pack to survive. An exquisitely written book focused on the
communication and behavior of the wolves, and Julie’s efforts to integrate
herself with the pack, in which the details of her past life are only slowly
revealed.
Crutcher, Chris
Stotan! – Eastern Washington high
school swim team with too few members to actually win any tournaments gives it
their all anyway. Messages about
reaching beyond what you think you can do are great, as is teen dialogue. If only Crutcher wouldn’t try to include everything: sports, growing up, abuse,
racism, illness, and death in every book.
Whale Talk – Evergreen Nominee 2004 –
Mixed race boy in all-white eastern Washington chooses to challenge the jock
oriented community by forming a swim team of misfits who will earn status-establishing
lettermen’s jacket. As with Crutcher’s
other books, many societal and personal problems appear as themes. Messages about dealing with abuse are
strong, but for teen dialogue I prefer Stotan!, which is also about a swim team.
Farmer, Nancy
The House of the Scorpion – In Opium, a land between the
U.S. and Mexico sometime in the future, a clone escapes the horrific existence
of others of his kind during his early life because he springs from the most
powerful drug, but as he ages, the threats to his existence multiply. An engrossing book that in 2003 is evidently
a favorite of children in upper elementary and beyond. Its only fault is an ending that is too
brief and event-filled considering the all the new characters, locations, and
details not introduced until that point.
Flinn, Alex
Breathing Underwater – Through his diary
writings, flashbacks, and work in an anger management class, a young man
explores the dynamics of his own controlling and abusive behavior in a
relationship that he has destroyed. As
a reader, it is interesting to be sympathetic to and appalled by the
protagonist’s behavior at the same time, hoping with him that he can reach a
place of choices rather than compulsions.
Frank, E. R.
Life is Funny – Chapters about various
teens, most of them who attend one high school, highlight a myriad of family
problems. Although Frank amazingly
makes the reader care about this assortment of kids with a minimum of attention
to each, I find the shifting focus and lack of resolution about some of them disconcerting
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Takeoffs and Landings – A motivational speaker
drags her two teens along on one of her tours and they unexpectedly find keys
to communication barriers set in place eight years earlier when her husband
died. A deceptively simple story that,
in moving from the viewpoint of Lori to that of her brother, illuminates the
way assumptions and personal emotional response color reality and cripple
growth and relationships.
Hesse,
Witness – Free verse exploration of
the polarization of a small Vermont town when the KKK takes hold. Based on a
true story, several characters take unexpected turns. A story that could be overwhelmingly menacing in prose, takes on
a more elegant quality as the words pass from one distinct voice to another.
Horowitz, Anthony
Stormbreaker: An Alex Rider
Adventure – Evergreen
nominee 2004. An English teen learns
that his murdered uncle was a spy, and is blackmailed into taking his place
investigating a suspicious electronics magnate. The book has a weak premise and reads like a bad TV movie, but I
can see that it might have appeal with some teens. I would suggest Fleming or some other author instead.
Johnson, Angela
The Other Side: Shorter
Poems –
Free verse poetry documents the author’s childhood in Shorter, Alabama, and her
mixed emotions when she moves in her teens and the town is demolished. Although perhaps not the strongest example
of free verse, the book is enjoyable as an illustration of human connection to
place, and for its illumination of Ms. Johnson’s early life and the overlaying
racism of the south. Her fiction is
surprisingly positive given her past.
Kerr, M. E.
Slap Your Sides – YPC nominee 2004 - Jubal
is attracted to Darie, but the relationship is impossible because her father
and many others in the town ostracize the family because his older brother
chose to serve a CO job rather than go to war.
There is tension within the Quaker family as well. Multiple strong characters explore different
facets of inner and outer challenges to belief systems.
Malamud, Bernard
The Natural – A ballplayer sidelined injury
at the hands of a psychotic woman in his youth attempts to capture his dream in
middle-age. This moral tale lends
itself to endless discussions about thematic elements, but the language is
dense with minimal action, and it is difficult to get past the unlikable
characteristics of the main character enough to care about his downfall. The movie based on the book is an entirely
different tale.
Mikaelsen, Ben
Touching Spirit Bear – Evergreen Award nominee
2004. Young man is exiled to a remote
Alaskan island in a last ditch attempt to offer him a different path than the
one defined by his abused childhood. The influence of Native American beliefs
is no doubt why I personally love this book, but the boy’s spiritual journey
and changing relationships with the “tough love” adults in charge rings true,
especially because his unreasoning anger puts him near death before he is even
able to see another choice.
Mitchell, Verner D., ed.
This Waiting For Love:
Helene Johnson, Poet of the Harlem Renaissance – A lesser known poet of the period who wrote some very accessible
poem’s and who’s life underlines women’s equality issues. The primary sources included document the
relationships between various artists of the time and provide a fascinating
glimpse into the life of this unusual woman.
Naidoo, Beverly
The Other Side of Truth – YPC(?) nominee 2004,
Carnegie, numerous “Best” lists – Sade, 12, and Femi, 10, find themselves
abandoned and alone in London after fleeing Nairobi; their mother murdered and
their father trapped there and their uncle in London missing. Grippingly realistic tale in lyrical
language that will be enjoyed even by older teens.
Park, Linda Sue
A Single Shard – Newberry Medal – A young
orphan and his older crippled companion eke out a meager living in 12th
century Korea until Tree-ear is resourceful enough to become the apprentice of
a pottery master. A wonderful “what if”
tale powerful enough to endure as long as the folktales it includes.
Paulsen, Gary
Guts – Evergreen Nominee 2004 -
Paulsen relates incidents in his life, much of it spent in the woods of north
Minnesota, which he used to make Hatchet
as real as possible. The book is
certainly interesting as a companion to Paulsen’s fiction, but the narrative is
not cohesive enough to stand on its own.
Peck, Richard
Fair Weather – YPCint nominee 2004 –
Unsophisticated man and his grandchildren travel from their country home to the
1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The
stereotypical characters and their concerns fail to engage the reader, but
there is some historical
perspective
to be gained from the novel and from the author’s note that follows. There is
also a short interview with the autho,r at least in the Puffin paperback edition,
which will be of interest to inspiring writers.
Pierce, Tamora
Protector of the Small: Squire – Evergreen Nominee
2004 – Third in a four book series (but can easily be read on its own).
Kelandry, Kel, is moving up in her training towards knight despite the
opposition from conservatives who object to women in their ranks.
Pierce’s
books are well written and successfully combine realistic adolescent concerns
in a fantasy setting. Be aware that sex
and desire are important in the book if not graphic.
Smith, Roland
Zach’s Lie – YPC nominee 2004 – Zach’s
family is in the witness protection program, but he can’t get used to lying
about his past and his habit of recording his true feelings in a journal may
prove a dangerous habit. The basics of
the plot are standard TV movie fare, but the well-drawn characters and story
details are intriguing enough to make this an enjoyable read.
Weyr, Garret
When I Was Older – Because their parents are
dating, a young woman who has lost her brother to leukemia and her father to
divorce, and a young man who has lost his mother to cancer, connect and explore
the many-layered emotional residue of survivors. Well-rounded characters who relate realistically, and with some
humor, balance this novel about loss.
Zindel, Paul
The Pigman – Two young people befriend
a lonely old man, but their friendship ends disastrously. There is no doubt that Zindel writes well,
but as the teens tell their tale, it appears they still see themselves as
victims of events rather than catalysts, and Zindel’s message for the reader is
unclear.