Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan. Laurel Leaf (1990), Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages

A group of high school seniors, afraid that the most unreasonable teacher in school, Mr. Griffin, will prevent them from graduating, plan to kidnap him in order to scare him and to send a message to him that he had better lighten up. They plot to enlist the help of Sue who agrees against her better judgment to help because she has a crush on David. But nothing is as it appears to be and Mr. Griffin fights back hard; He warns Sue to run thinking she was being victimized too; Griffin has a heart condition and dies and the ringleader of the group, Mark, is a psychopath who will kill anyone who gets in his way. As things continue to go wrong the kids are sucked deeper and deeper in as they try to cover their tracks. I enjoyed the quick and easy read. It is a dark read, and I couldn’t help noticing that Sue would absolutely be looking at time if it were written today. The kidnapping scene and death were gruesome. For me, the most horrifying part was that only Sue seemed to have any compassion at all for Griffin or his wife.

Cut (Collins Flamingo) by Patricia McCormick. CollinsFlamingo (2002), Paperback, 176 pages

Cut has a diary feel about it. Callie is not speaking to me, as the reader, she is speaking to her therapist whose name we never learn. This is very clever because when we first meet Callie, she does not speak; she is in a mental institution and she cannot speak because she is so traumatized by her brother’s illness and her parents dysfunctional behavior over it and by the responsibility she has to take care of a seriously ill little boy in an increasingly dysfunctional family where her parents, especially her father, are distant and withdrawn, that she is compelled to cut her own flesh over and over again. Callie gets to know the other guests at “Sick Minds” (Sea Pines) by observing them and their behavior and Callie keeps her secrets until the arrival of Amanda, (who also cuts,) forces her to face herself, her family and her cutting. As she begins to speak she begins to heal and finally is able to confront herself and her father and start dealing with some serious family dysfunctions. The story comes full circle when Callie decides she does want to be healed and she tells her therapist she is ready to talk. The book then, is Callie telling her story to the therapist.

Shooter by Walter Dean Myers. Amistad (2005), Paperback, 256 pages

I love contemporary issue books. Myers does here what he does so well, he tells the story of an unstable, alienated white student who takes a gun to school and kills the school bully who has been tormenting him. Myers tells the story through various official records of the incident (autopsy report, police report, psychological interviews) as well as newspaper accounts and the killer’s diary. We see the same group of incidents through the eyes of three different teens; Len, the unstable killer who showed lots of warning signs that were not properly dealt with by any of the adults he came in contact with; Carla, his maybe girlfriend who was treated so badly and Cameron, his best friend, one of the few black students in the school who is also an outsider and subject to bullying. Cameron was in the school with him the day of the shootings. Looking at the same incident through the accounts of different sources is very effective to stimulate thoughtful reflection, for example, in the news paper story the murdered bully’s father says: “you don’t send your kid to school, teach him the right things to do, to have it end like this.” (p156). But Brad appears very different in Len’s diary “At the ranch, Brad called me a faggot. He pushes and pushes into me” (197). The different viewpoints -focus reinforces that people and events are not black and white; they are much more nuanced and, I hope it will promote a more thoughtful examination in everything teens read and hear. Could lead to good discussions of important topics. 12/06

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. Wendy Lamb Books (2006), Paperback, 224 pages

It is the age of modern terrorism--seemingly the not too distant future—and 15 year old Daisy leaves NY to spend time in rural England with cousins she barely knows. The family is a little odd, as is Daisy herself, with the family patriarch, who Daisy never does meet, away in the war, but Daisy instantly connects with the group, especially with cousin Edmund, a twin with whom she shares a special telepathy, as well as an incestuous relationship. Life is idyllically absent any adult oversight ( her aunt goes off somewhere and is unable to return due to an invasion of foreign troops) and the children all take good care of eachother, until the war reaches their very doorstep and they rapidly find themselves terrorized, starving, enslaved, lost hungry and in constant danger from civilians and , troops foreign and domestic. Determined to reunite with Edmund and the other boys, Daisy and Piper’s existence becomes more and more desperate. They eventually meet, but much has happened and eventually Daisy’s parents in the US manage to get her back home where she stays for several years until she is able to return to Edmund as a young adult…But life is very different for everyone now… I liked the book but it is not for everyone. Rosoff is a very talented writer and the entire book is written in first person as a narrative… as if Daisy is recording it for an interview. I found myself pulled into the story that is told in an absolutely authentic voice. The story line is odd and mundane and fantastic all at one….my first true understanding of the genre Magical realism. Many reviewers say 8th grade, but I say highschool. Good book club book. needs guidance for best result.. Printz award. 9th grade +

Push: A Novel by Sapphire. Vintage (1997), Paperback, 192 pages

This is the story of Clareece Precious Jones, a black, illiterate middle-school student molested by her mother, physically beaten and pregnant for the second time by her father. When she is sent to an alternative program for at risk girls she meets a lesbian teacher who teaches her to read and to love herself, and she leaves her abusive family to find a new family with her teacher and classmates. As she learns to read, her tolerance and understanding expand and Clareece-- once classified as mentally retarded-- makes huge gains intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. But, no happy ending for Clareece; she finds out she is HIV positive and the future for her is uncertain.
I loved this book. The language is authentic and flows easily—I can hear her voice! This is not a book to read; it needs to be spoken aloud. It is powerful. I really love contemporary issue books and I especially like the way the text changes with the literacy level of Clareece. It reminded me somewhat of Hesse’s Music of the Dolphins where the language and fonts change with that characters ability to use language. It is a powerful work, already popular with YA audiences; libraries cannot keep it on the shelf. Lots of sex and raw language.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Pantheon (2004), Paperback, 160 pages

Graphic novel memoir told in the voice of the young teen Satrapi, Persepolis shows us what life was like under the Iranian Islamic revolution for a 10 to 14 yr old and her family. We see the uncertainty, the terror, the bad behavior and lack of charity, the very real fear of the secret police, the political repression, school days, censorship, family life, and war with Iraq. All seen through the eyes of a young Satrapi , the memoir ends with her hasty trip out of Iran to Austria because the family thought it was too unsafe for her in Teheran. She was forced to leave Iran alone. The story is told in dialogue and is thought provoking. Persepolis (an ancient city in Persia) is autobiographical, and while it deals with her growing into a young adult, it all occurs in Iran during the Iranian revolution. We get a rare glimpse of family life under a repressive regime right as events unfold. It is well written, well drawn and powerful.

Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Edward R Emberley. L,B Kids (1993), Hardcover, 32 pages

Always a winner--and fun to read. toddlers thru kinder have fun making the big green monster go away and come back one page/nose at at time. Good tool for verbal practice--have group chant "GO AWAY" with you. Hand puppet too. Great for storytimes. ( )