Annie on My Mind
Required Young Adult Novel
by Nancy Garden
Liza Winthrop is a senior at Foster Academy, a conservative private high school in New York, with aspirations of attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology when she meets Annie at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They begin a friendship, which later turns into love. Liza struggles internally as she fights the urge to connect with Annie physically and to decide whether or not she is gay. While cat-sitting for two of Liza's teachers who are on vacation, the girls "play house" and begin a sexual relationship. After their relationship is discovered and exposed by a school administrator, Liza risks expulsion. However, the board ultimately allows her to remain a student. She and Annie part ways when they leave for college until Liza makes a life-defining decision and phone call.
What surprised me the most about this novel was that it was written in 1982. Although living a gay lifestyle is currently a social trend and almost common place, this was not the case in the early 1980's. I was in high school at that time, and this subject was still considered private and shameful. So, for an author to write about it at that time was pretty groundbreaking. In addition, although the girls do begin a sexual relationship, Garden chooses to focus on the aspect of love in this realistic young adult novel. This provides the reader the opportunity to vicariously experience the complexity of emotions that coincide with falling in love with someone of the same sex. As Liza struggles with her decision, she experiences Havighurst's developmental stages including a changing relationship with her parents, developing personal morals/values, and defining appropriate sex roles. This book requires much philosophical speculation and causes the reader to ask questions such as: What is the difference between friendship and romantic love? What defines a homosexual relationship? Is homosexuality right or wrong? Regardless of how the reader answers these questions, reading Annie On My Mind will develop empathy for others.
Author, Nancy Garden's website: http://nancygarden.com/
A more recent novel about defining someone according to a single characteristic:
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Persepolis
Required Young Adult Novel
by Marjane Satrapi
Marji is a young girl growing up in Iran. As political turmoil begins in her country, she is forced to wear a veil at school and the children are separated by gender. Her parents often attend protests against the Iranian regime and support the revolutionaries. Marji begins to follow in the footsteps of her parents, grandmother, and uncle and attends a protest, which results in many deaths...thankfully, not hers. She also becomes outspoken at school, causing her to be expelled. When things become too dangerous, her parents send her to Vienna to keep her safe.
Persepolis is the personal memoir of author, Marjane Satrapi's childhood written in graphic novel format. It is a coming of age story in a time of war. If it were not a memoir, I think the events would be challenged as being false. But since it is a memoir, sadly, the events are true. Even though I was a teen during this time period, I was unaware of the details of what was occurring in the Persian Gulf area. The young boys being sent to serve in the military and how they were brainwashed reminded me of Hitler's regime. This book made difficult-to-understand history become interesting and easier to comprehend when told in a graphic novel format from a child's point of view than it would have been as part of a history textbook. It would be a great book for students to read as part of a high school World History class. Reading it made me thankful for the freedoms that I have as a citizen of the United States and caused me to develop empathy for those who are not as blessed. Within the story, the expressions and thoughts of Marji are realistic in their child-likeness. It was interesting to see Marji repeat the things that she heard from her parents, uncle, grandmother, or the TV without really understanding. Initially, she based her opinions on her emotions and on what she was taught. As Marji matured, she grew from taking the word of her teachers as truth to becoming an independent thinker, progressing from Kohlberg's preconventional to post-conventional stage.
After you finish reading Persepolis, you will likely want to read the sequel:
Persepolis and Persepolis 2 were made into a movie. Here is the official trailer:
Some information about the Islamic Revolution of 1979: http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php
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Gabi: A Girl in Pieces
Required Young Adult Novel
by Isabel Quintero
Gabi Hernandez is a senior in high school who documents her drama-filled year through diary entries. She was conceived out of wedlock to the chagrin of her grandmother, and, as a result, is repeatedly told to keep her eyes open and her legs closed by her mother. She is also frequently shamed by the adults in her life for giving in to her food cravings. Gabi has two best friends, Cindy and Sebastian. During the year, Cindy becomes pregnant after being raped and Sebastian comes out as gay. Gabi writes poetry to help her process her emotions, especially after she finds her meth-addicted father dead in the garage. Through it all, Gabi falls in love, has her first sexual experience, and comes to accept herself.
The cover art on this realistic fiction novel immediately reminded me of both Picasso's and Frida Kahlo's art. It was very befitting for this novel. Oh my goodness! What an interesting bunch of characters. One is gay; another was raped and became pregnant out of wedlock while drunk; yet another is addicted to meth and wanders the streets as though homeless periodically. Hopefully this is a book for the reader to live vicariously through rather than one for which they will relate due to personal experience. There are Spanish words laced throughout the book which help transmit the Mexican culture and that can usually be figured out through context clues. I looked some of them up to double-check my understanding, then about had a heart attack when one of the phrases was translated into what I consider the most vile expression in the English language. It breaks my heart that this is real living for numerous people. It also made me sad that Gabi defines herself as a fat girl. But I suspect that many high schoolers will connect with the book because they define themselves according to one personal trait which they dislike. It was refreshing at the end to see Gabi enter a maturity phase of making her own choices and of accepting who she is, evidenced by her willingness to wear a 2-piece swimsuit on the senior skip day trip. I read Gabi's Feb. 7th journal entry right after my best friend's father-in-law died, and I cried thinking about the mortality of my own 80 year old father and how time continues to pull us towards the inevitable. This book demonstrates that excellent poems/writing can come from pain. It will force the reader to think about stereotypes (Mexican, White, female, male, gay, drug addict), rape, whether or not there is a God, what defines "being good," and what happens when you die? It will also inspire students to find and read the poems noted within the text.
This book reminded me of Speak because both contained girls who were raped and afraid to speak up, of All American Boys and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian due to the included stereotypes, and of Winger because it addresses defining people by a single characteristic.
Information about Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo: https://www.fridakahlo.org/
Information about Pablo Picasso's Cubism period: https://www.pablopicasso.org/cubism.jsp
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Smile
Required Young Adult Author
by Raina Telgemeier
As a sixth grader, Raina visits the orthodontist and discovers that she needs braces in order to correct an overbite. Before she even becomes accustomed to the idea, she has a terrible accident which knocks out one tooth and compacts another. Her dentist, Dr. Golden, puts one tooth back in and pulls the other down. A week later, her plaster cast is removed, but more damage is found. Poor Raina continues having work done on her teeth and gums for the next 4 years, but that's not the worst of her problems...her friends are. They like to make fun of her. During her sophomore year of high school, she finds a new group to hang out with, finally has her braces removed, and becomes truly comfortable in her own skin.
Smile is Raina Telgemeier's personal memoir in graphic novel format. It is informative and entertaining. The pictures portray diversity, are hilarious, and capture the mood of each moment. Just look at the ones of the orthodontist making a mold of Raina's teeth on pages 40 - 41, and you'll see what I mean! In the Author's Note at the end of the book, Raina shares that it was quite therapeutic for her to create this book. Being 11 years old and in the 6th grade is a time when girls begin to feel awkward and have a desire to fit in. To have to deal with her friends' careless words of youth ("You'll look normal soon."), pimples, and headgear, in addition to the normal social awkwardness, would have been extremely difficult. I found myself asking, "Will this ever end!?" Middle school students will likely relate to some aspect of the book and will hopefully follow in Raina's footsteps by focusing on their interests rather than their looks. This will bring to light the things that they like about themselves which may have a positive affect on how others see them, as it did with Raina.
If you liked Smile, another great graphic novel memoir you might enjoy is:
Other graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier:
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I Crawl Through It
Required Young Adult Author
by A.S. King
Someone is sending daily bomb threats to the school which interrupts the standardized testing schedule. Is it Gustav, Stanzi, China, Lansdale, or someone else? Each is dealing with complex issues such as rape, death of a sibling, depression, and anxiety along with trying to survive in a pressure-filled society. After Stanzi and Gustav return from a trip in an invisible helicopter, all four learn that the best way to deal with their reality is to face it.
If you like weird books, chances are high that you will enjoy I Crawl Through It. It is a hard one to classify. It has characteristics of realistic fiction (kids in high school dealing with pressure and family issues), but also aspects of fantasy due to its invisible helicopter and girl who swallows herself. I had to read about 50 pages before I had a clue as to what was going on in the story, and it was difficult to keep track of the characters since the chapters switch narrators with no predictable pattern. Even so, King's writing style is intriguing...I was tempted at times to stop reading, but my brain wanted to put the pieces of the puzzle together, so I continued. Each of the characters teeters on the edge of insanity brought on by their own unique situation. With mature content such as sadomasochism, rape, and the death of a sibling, in my opinion this book is most appropriate for new adults of late high school/college age and adults, even though it was written as a young adult novel since the characters are under 19 years old. However, some young adults will be mature enough to handle the content. By the conclusion of the novel, Stanzi has learned how to crawl through situations in order to keep her sanity, hence the title of the book which is revealed as a metaphor of survival at the end.
Book trailer:
Author, A.S. King's website: https://www.as-king.com/
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Winger
Required Young Adult Author
by Andrew Smith
Ryan Dean West is a junior at Pine Mountain High School, a boarding school for rich kids. Although he plays wing on the varsity rugby team and is extremely bright, the one characteristic that he is identified by is his age: fourteen. "Winger" is sentenced to reside in O-Hall, the trouble-makers' dorm, after breaking into a teacher's cell phone to call his best friend, Annie, on her birthday...who also happens to be his love interest. As he navigates through school, O-Hall, athletics, first love, and friendship, he makes difficult decisions and some errors in judgement. When tragedy strikes, he must discover how to continue on. With the support of Annie and her family, he does just that.
This realistic fiction novel is a coming-of-age story that would have made a great 1980's movie. It was reminiscent of Dead Poets Society in my mind. It was particularly interesting to read a first love story told from the boy's point of view. Since Winger is 14, the book is full of foul language and sexual inuendos, often portrayed in his comic sketches. Because of this, it's a bit mature for junior high students. I have to admit that when the rugby team arrived at Sacred Heart with bandaids on (pg 202) and when Ryan Dean goes through security and then heads to the boarding gate at the airport (chapter 49), I laughed out loud! Although also about friendship and trust (especially between Ryan Dean and Joey), the entire story revolves around Ryan Dean's characteristic of being 14 years old. However, at the very end, the writer surprises you by going deeper and connecting to the reality that Joey was identified/judged/murdered because of his one definable characteristic of being gay. This drives the theme home: Nobody should be classified/judged by one trait. I expect that it will develop empathy in the reader as personal biases are examined and as they identify with the emotional/psychological development of Ryan Dean.
Author, Andrew Smith's website: http://www.authorandrewsmith.com/Author_Andrew_Smith/Home.html
If you liked Winger, you might also enjoy:
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Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design
Required Young Adult Novel
by Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd explains what graphic design is and what it is not by sharing numerous verbal and pictorial examples. After a brief timeline of the history of graphic design is portrayed, four chapters delve into its components: form, typography, content, and concept. The book concludes with 10 design projects which Kidd assigns to the reader and an avenue in which to share them.
This nonfiction book is chock-full of information which could be mentally overwhelming. However, Kidd presents the information in such a creative way, utilizing all of the components of graphic design, that it is digestible and fun! I read this book side-by-side with my 14 year old daughter who is gifted in art, and she was engrossed in every word. I have to admit that I learned a lot while reading the book, too, even as an adult who thought she understood the subject. Even those who are not interested in pursuing graphic design as a career will collect helpful tips that can be utilized in creating posters and school projects. Go is also unique in that it is appropriate for elementary students through adults. Kidd invites everyone who completes one of his suggested design projects to share them at gothebook.com.
A Ted Talk with author, Chip Kidd
Author, Chip Kidd's website: http://chipkidd.com/home/
Take the book cover challenge: http://gothebook.tumblr.com/challenge
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It's Perfectly Normal
Required Young Adult Novel
by Robie H. Harris
A narrator explains to a bird and a bee facts about changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health. The term "sex" is defined, bodies are discussed including the differences between those of males and females, and puberty is described in detail. The book then moves on to a discussion of families, babies, postponement, abstinence, birth control, abortion, and how to stay healthy including information on sexual abuse, STDs, and even internet safety.
I was not looking forward to reading this nonfiction book because sex can be an awkward subject. Though as with Harris' book for younger children, It's So Amazing!, the information was covered thoroughly through the text and drawings, but felt light due to the presence of the two animal "mascots," the bird and the bee. Harris and Emberley again kept a nice balance between comic-style anecdotes, anatomically correct drawings, and informational text. This balance helped the book to feel less embarrassing and somewhat fun. I think that this book would be best utilized by parents with their teenagers when paired with discussions on the topics rather than allowing the book to completely educate young adult readers. However, for those who do not have parents willing to share this type of information with them, this book will provide factual information to help them understand their own physical development.
Author, Robie Harris's website: http://robieharris.com/
Harris and Emberley's book for children aged 7 years and up:
