Young Adult Literature

Bibliographic Citation

Iturbe, A., & Thwaites, L. Z. (2017). The librarian of Auschwitz. New York: Square Fish/Godwin Books.

Summary

Dita Adler was taken hostage by the Nazis and brought to a family camp in Auschwitz. She was assigned a significant role as librarian by the camp leader, Fredy Hirsch. She carefully and honorably took care of eight forbidden books that slipped by the Nazi guards. Several stories bloom throughout this novel, and we see sadness, love, fear, pain, death, courage, hope, and more unfold throughout these pages.

Discussion/Reflection

I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Marisa Calin. I don't usually listen to audio, but I was so glad I did. I highly recommend the audio version of this novel as it was beautifully read. I think if I were reading the print version, I would've had a highlighter next to me. There are so many quotes that could be taken from this book. I was excited when I actually found a list of quotes here!

... and picked out one of my many favorites ...

“A book is like a trapdoor that leads to a secret attic: You can open it and go inside. And your world is different.”
― Antonio Iturbe, La bibliotecaria de Auschwitz

Connection

I love this activity found in A Teacher's Guide to The Librarian of Auschwitz:

Dita lives in three concentration camps: Terezín or Theresienstadt; Auschwitz–Birkenau; and Bergen-Belsen. Have students use print and internet resources to further research one of these concentration camps or one of the many others the Nazis established. Students should share their findings in an oral report. Follow up with a discussion about the different types of camps, such as forced labor, prisoner of war, transit, and extermination camps or death camps.

CCSS.W.7.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. CCSS.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Odean, K. (n.d.). A Teacher's Guide to The Librarian of Auschwitz [PDF]. New York: Godwin Books / Henry Holt.

Bibliographic Citation

Reynolds, J. (2015). The boy in the black suit. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Summary

Matt's mom passes away from breast cancer, and his once alcoholic dad starts drinking again. Matt remembers the exact moment that he lost it at his mom's funeral and started sobbing uncontrollably. He later started working at the funeral home with Mr. Ray and found himself borrowing Mr. Ray's suit jacket so that he could look a little more put together when he went upstairs to the funeral. Somehow, it always made Matt feel better when he could point out the person closest to the deceased. He could point this person out because they, too, would be crying uncontrollably. Matt starts wearing a black suit to school every day to go straight to the funeral home after school. Some time passes, and Matt is especially intrigued by a funeral of an older lady. This time, the person closest kept it together and never once lost it. Matt can't take his eyes off the girl and later starts talking to her and eventually become a couple. When Lovely is opening up to Matt about her mother's death years ago, Matt has an eerie realization that he witnessed Lovely's mothers' death.

Discussion/Reflection

I love this book and hit several emotions while reading it. I love to recommend this one to students, especially reluctant readers, because it is a page-turner, and Matt is pretty relatable. Most of my students have read A Long Way Down, and if they enjoyed it, I give them more options by Jason Reynolds.

Connection

When reviewing the curriculum guide to this novel, I absolutely love the prereading activities. The first one is to have students visit Jason Reynolds' blog and learn a little more about him and what he is passionate about. The second prereading activity is to have students research the grieving process. As they read the book, they can create a chart showing how Matt goes through the grieving process.

Bibliographic Citation

Deuker, C. (2020). Golden arm. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Summary

Lazarus Weathers is an amazing baseball player who doesn't have much of a chance of getting into the big leagues unless he can make a name for himself. His best friend and best teammate is also his half-brother, Antonio. When they learn that their home will be demolished, and their high school is canceling the baseball program, Laz has an opportunity to play for a rival team...his chance. He plays hard and shows his worth, but tragedy strikes after Antonio finds himself caught up in a drug deal gone wrong. Laz loses his chance at playing in the state title game after getting hit in the leg by a bullet that ricocheted off the ground. Antonio is also banged up pretty badly and has a long road to recovery, but Laz gets his chance as a third-round draft pick after being scouted by local colleges.

Discussion/Reflection

I really loved this book, and I think the short and quick chapters are why it landed on the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list.

Connection

Check out this video of Chris Deuker explaining the inspiration behind Golden Arm! This would be great to show students to let them know inspiration is everywhere! Below the video, is my own creation to promote this title. I just learned to use Animoto to create book trailers. This is my first go-around but I see some more trailers in my future...after some practice, of course!

Bibliographic Citation

Walsh, B. (2020). Manning up. New York, NY: West 44 Books, an imprint of Enslow Pub.

Summary

Jack is a small-town football hero on the verge of greatness. Sadly, his father passes away when Jack was young, leaving himself, his hardworking mother and his sister to carry on his memory. The news of a scholarship excites his mother but saddens Jack when he thinks about leaving her and the town he grew up in. Jack also sees many imperfections in his body and soon discovers that he has an eating disorder. He also gets mixed up with steroids and ends up collapsing on the field during a state-qualifying game. Jack attends therapy and is thankfully able to overcome these faults.

Discussion/Reflection

The award says it! It is definitely a quick read for reluctant readers. I did look up West 44 Books, and I am considering adding more of these high-interest/low reading level books to my collection!

Connection

Readers might also like Gym Candy by Carl Deuker, The Big Game by Tim Green, A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger, Golden Arm by Carl Deuker.

Bibliographic Citation

Feder, T. (2020). Dancing at the pity party: A dead mom graphic memoir. Dial Books.

Summary

Tyler Feder's mom was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer right before Tyler was a sophomore in college that would sadly take her life a short 6-7 months later. This memoir takes us through Feder's life with her mother by her side than life without her. It's quirky, honest, and essentially, a how-to guide on how to act or what to say to someone that just lost a loved one.

Discussion/Reflection

I have been putting off reading Dancing at the Pity Party for a while, even after a student recommended it to me. I didn't want to cry! Even though the topic was sad, I never felt that Feder intended to "bring the reader down." There were definitely moments of sadness, but it was written and illustrated in such a lighthearted way, and the drawings were "sweet" that it felt more of an ode to her mother.

Connection

Check out the official trailer for Dancing at the Pity Party by Penguin Teen!

Bibliographic Citation

Krosoczka, J. (2018). Hey, kiddo. New York, NY: Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic.

Summary

In this memoir, Jarrot Krosoczka lets us into the heartwrenching details of his life. His mom's drug addiction, and jail time, his father's absence, his grandparent's constant bickering, and the support of his art teacher help to mold him into who he is today.

Discussion/Reflection

I don't typically make time to read graphic novels, but I'm so glad to choose this one off of the Excellence in Nonfiction list. I know many of my students have read Krosoczka's work, so it's easy to hand this one to them when I help them make the connection.

Connection

There are many resources on YouTube of librarians and authors that discuss the pros of using graphic novels in their classrooms (see below). After reading this story, students can create their own graphics from their favorite quote or part of the book. I think students can get so creative with an assignment that even if they take a snapshot of their life, write about it and then illustrate it, teachers can learn so much about students through an activity like this!

Bibliographic Citation

Jackson, T. D. (2020). Grown: A novel. Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Summary

Enchanted dreams of her time to shine in the music industry. But she's got a few responsibilities at home that keep her from really spreading her wings to fly. Her friend talks her into performing in a talent show where she catches the famous artist Korey Fields' interest. She's obsessed and for a good reason. He makes her feel like a million bucks and tells her all the things she wants to hear, including landing her a record deal. Well, it's not long before Korey's true colors come out, and Enchanted finds "beet juice" on her hands. Sadly, Enchanted had to live, learn and pray she made it out alive.

Discussion/Reflection

This book was deep! So much going on, and I definitely found myself on the edge of my seat and rooting so hard for Enchanted. I hated what she had to go through and just wanted her to get out of the situation alive! Short and quick chapters make this one hard to put down even though the content was a hard pill to swallow.

Connection

For this connection, I made my own "Like Grown TBR List"! A few titles that look so good are Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Amerian Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones.