Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Genre: Contemporary

Honors: None Found

Review: Jane, like many other teenage girls, takes a trip to the beach with her family and decides to go for a swim in the blue ocean water.  Unfortunately, after this swim, Jane will no longer be like other teenage girls. She is attacked by a shark and practically killed and due to the bodily damage inflicted by the attack must have her right arm amputated.  Now Jane must mourn the loss of her arm and the old life she had before that fateful day at the beach. Written in a mixture of poetic verse, letters, and memories this novel is an artistic expression of the complex emotions associated with physical change and the strength required to embrace a new life.   

Opinion: While a shark attack is not a scenario many teenagers have or will ever deal with I still think this book is a worthwhile read.  Jane deals with an extreme physical change and must face the new person she has become.  She can never be the person she was before the shark attack and this theme resonates with many young adults.  I think many young adults have life-altering changes occur in their life and deal with the same  emotions that Jane feels such as anger, frustration, and depression.  The poetic verses that fill this book add a very special quality to this novel and make it a great read. 


Ideas: Hmmmm...thinking about it.

Paper Heart Written by Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi (Overture Films,2009)

Genre: Documentary, Romance

Honors: Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

Review: Charlyne Yi stars in this documentary about being in love and sets out on a mission to find out if she is capable of ever falling in love.  The documentary is quirky and a bit eccentric much like Charlyne herself and is a mix of filmed dialogue and vignettes of hand-crafted construction paper figures acting out scenes involving love.  Surprisingly the documentary takes a twist as Charlyne meets Mike, an actor teens will recognize from movies such as Superbad and Juno. Charlyne reluctantly finds herself interested in getting to know him better, and eventually begins a relationship with him.  Interesting tension builds as the new couple deals with the beginnings of a relationship all filmed on camera.  Will Charlyne actually be able to let herself fall in love?

Opinion:  This documentary presents a young, unique view of love and explores the notion from many perspectives.  Overall, the film is enjoyable and some of the interviews are fascinating.  The ending is a bit lacking, though this is acknowledged in the film itself and is addressed in a unique and fun manner. 

Ideas: This would be a good film to recommend to film or graphic design classes.  It demonstrates both documentary style and other forms of storytelling on film. 

I, Too, Sing America by Catherine Clinton, Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn

Genre: Poetry

Honors:ALA Notable/Best Books, Coretta Scott King Award/Honors

Review: This book is a good introduction to a diverse collection of African-American poets throughout three centuries of work.  The author has narrowed it down to one or, occasionally several poems per poet and has chosen a variety of beautiful pieces.  Included with each poem is brief biography of each poet.  This allows readers to learn more about those that have written their favorite poem.  This collection will inspire readers to find more poems by these writers and may even excite teen readers to write their own poems.  The illustrations compliment the content, but are truly pieces of art within themselves.  The illustrations tell a story and are as descriptive as the poems they compliment. 

Opinion: This is an essential book to have in the teen poetry section of the library.  It includes many well-know poets such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B. Du Bois, and many other poets that have also made contributions to poetry. It is especially interesting to learn more about the poet after reading his or her work.  


Ideas: This can be part of a collection on display for Black History month.  In addition this book will be useful in a Language arts lesson on poetry or a Social Studies lesson about America's history.

Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales told by Virginia Hamilton

Genre: Folktales and Fairytales

Honors: Publishers Weekly Best Book, ALA Notable/Best Books, Coretta Scott King Award/Honors

Review: The illustrations in this collection are the highlight of the stories.  They are interesting and detailed and allow the reader to escape into a fantastical fairyland.  The stories are very creative and unique and transport the reader to a different culture.  Each story has an African-American woman as the main character and is written in a way that feels as if one is being told a story passed down from many generations. There are five main categories of stories and include true tales of real African-American women.  This collection is rich with history and culture and is sure to be a favorite book for readers. 

Opinion:  It took a little while for me to get into these stories.  They are very different than fairly tales I have read in the past and it is not always easy to understand the conclusion of the tales.  My favorite part of the compilation is actually the "True Tales" section where the reader learns about African-American women in different time periods and different situations such as the Civil War and during times of slavery.  The images are absolutely gorgeous and are done by a famous husband and wife artist couple. 


Ideas:  Make this part of a display during Black History Month.  It can be used as part of a lesson where students take fairly tales and transform them to fit their own culture.  These are examples that can be used.  The images in this book can be used as inspiration for art classes, as noted a famous artist couple created them and the images alone make the book fantastic. 

Prozac Nation (Screenplay written by Frank Deasy and Lary Gross, 2001)

Genre: Contemporary

Honors:None Found

Review: Lizzie, a talented writer, receives a journalism scholarship to Harvard and moves from her native home of Manhattan to Cambridge.  At first Lizzie is having a great time in college, she makes friends, dates men, and even receives an award from Rolling Stone for her review of a Lou Reed performance.  Slowly, and then rapidly, Lizzie begins to have mental health problems and alienates and betrays her family and friends. Lizzie begins regular visits with a therapist and slowly works through her issues of mistrust that stem from her dysfunctional relationship with her parents.  Briefly, the movie addresses Lizzie's use of Prozac as an anti-depressant, but it feels rushed and artificial.

Opinion: Overall, I did not like this film.  I had to watch it in two sittings because it was so overly dramatic, and in my opinion overdone.  At the end of the film it is shown that Lizzie is a real person and that she wrote the book that this movie is based on. I actually wonder if the book is better than the movie and I kind of want to read it.  I think the story is a good one, I just don't think the movie did it justice.


Ideas: None. 

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Genre: Romance

Honors: ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Review: Is it a fantasy to have a high school where people are not ostracized for being homosexual?  Where the star quarterback is also a drag queen and people love her?  All this and more is possible in Boy Meets Boy where Paul, a popular high school boy, meets the boy of his dreams and then, of course, manages to mess it all up.  In this romantic book for teens it is made clear that no matter what your orientation or age, love is complicated, very complicated. 

Opinion: I couldn't help but love the main character, Paul.  He has such a positive attitude and sincerely tries to be kind and caring to everyone in his school.  His dialogue throughout the novel is fun and fresh and makes this a great novel. I especially like the fact that the author created a world, while unrealistic, where people are free to be themselves and they are accepted.  Underneath it all, people are people, and all feel the same need for acceptance and love.

Ideas:  This is a must have in the library.  I cannot think of another YA book that discusses homosexuality so freely and without it being an issue or a problem.