The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/F3QMxf4yySA

A Native American teenage boy named Arnold Spirit Jr. lives in an Indian reservation. The reservation is a place of poverty and his parents are alcoholics. To make things worse, he suffers from seizures and is constantly being picked on and beaten up by everyone. But with Rowdy, his best friend in the picture, both look at each other for strength through rough encounters. Throughout the story he loses his grandmother (struck and killed by a drunk driver), sister (due to drinking and a fire), and two of his dad's friends (one hung himself in jail because he shot and killed the other when they were both drunk). But despite all the tragedies and against all odds, he is determined to get out of the reservation and get a better education by attending an all white High School called Reardan.

This book is a well written story from the point of view of a Native American teenage boy. This is an amazing, great read that is both funny and tragic. This book sends out a positive message when Arnold makes the independent choice and is determined to better himself by overcoming poverty. This is a book recommended for 7th grade and up. Other books by the same author include, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me: A Memoir, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Reservation Blues, Indian Killer, War Dances, The Toughest Indian in the World, Under Boy, and Flight. 

Speak

Anderson, L. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. 

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/FpIuOa7C1f8

An outcast who is without a friend all because she called the cops to raid an end of summer party. No one will listen or talk to her. They call her names and harass her.  But there is a secret that they don't know about. Something terrible happened at the party that night in which traumatized her and caused her to call the police. It is then that she stops talking. The only place at school where she feels at ease is her art class. It is through a project and the support of a teacher that she is finally able to face the fact that at the party she was raped. As she begins to heal, she comes across the guy that raped her. This time Melinda fights back with a little triumph finding her voice and refusing to be silent.  


Emotional, and unforgettable novel that will capture everyone's attention. This story shows how cruel and vicious high school life can be but at the same time send a positive message that can encourage and help rape victims to speak up for themselves. Teens and adults can relate to Melinda and the horrible ordeal she had to go through. A book for grade levels seven through twelve. Other books written by the this author include, Chains, Wintergirls, Fever, The Impossible Knife of Memory, and Twisted. 

Feed

Anderson, M. T. (2002). Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/3IJbB8wQpJo

A story of a future world where society is dominated by the feed (computers and television) which is implanted into people's brains as babies. Everything is different in the future they see. The planet is destroyed and to week to handle the production of goods. Therefore, powerful corporations are obsessed to control consumerism at any cost. The Internet has expanded and the feed is felt at every moment. Kids are empty headed and driven by shopping, fashion and silly entertainment. Their lives are different but for Titus everything is normal. Titus (teen narrator) never really questions the feed. But when Titus and his friends go to the moon on Spring Break everything changes.  It is at the moon where he meets Violet who is home schooled and thinks for herself. During the party a hacker attacks them and damages their feeds. Violet is not afraid and decides to fight the feed. That's when Titus sees the world for what it really is.

A captivating, intriguing, and well written novel about a futuristic world of consumerism.  The characters are given a unique language in which teens can relate too. This is a story for ages 14 and over. Other books written by this author include, Octivian Nothing, Whales on Stilts, Burger Wuss, The Game of Sunken Places and The Suburb Beyond the Stars.

My Friend Dahmer

Backderf, D. (2012). My friend Dahmer: a graphic novel. New York: Abrams.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/zO4KWpIwnrk

This is a story about a boy that no one noticed but the bullies. He was a lonely kid with limited social skills and therefore, had no friends. As a junior high student he did weird things such as kill animals store them in acid and keep them in a shed located in his parents back yard. In one occasion he goes on a fishing trip with a friend and catches a fish but instead of throwing it back Dahmer chops into pieces with a knife. His parents were distant and combative. His mother suffered from neurotic episodes and ended up in a divorce. Dahmer realized he was a homosexual but couldn't talk about it. During his high school years he gathered more attention as the class clown. He faked epileptic seizures, and pretended he had cerebral palsy.  Loneliness and insanity start to sneak up as he becomes an alcoholic with public displays of hiding something disturbingly wrong and which nobody notices or cares enough to help. 

Powerful, dark and a well told true story in a graphic novel form that shares the life of a disturbed young man and detailing odd behavior that may had lead to why he becomes a notorious serial killer and one of the most famous. A story with an unhappy ending. It has been recommended for professionals and those who are into true crime stories.  Other books written by this author include, Trashed, Punk Rock and Trailer Parks, and True Stories #1.

Six of Crows

Bardugo, L. (2015). Six of crows. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/bSC39371rMg

Kaz is a thief known as Dirtyhands and is offered a large amount of money to kidnap a scientist named Bo Yul-Bayur from a highly protected place in Fierda, the Ice Court. The scientist has developed a highly addictive drug that enhances the Grisha peoples paranormal abilities. Kaz is hired by Jan Van Eck to kidnap the scientist but this is an almost impossible task in which Kaz cannot do himself. Therefore he recruits the following team of criminals, Inei Ghafa an acrobat who has talent for sneaking around, Wylan van Eck good with some talent for demolition and bombs, Nina Zenik, and Jesper Fahey, a sharpshooter with a gambling proble. But his group is not yet complete. They need one more person Matthias Helvar, a former soldier who has knowledge of inside the Ice Court and who is in Hellgate prison. Nina had turned him in with a lie of him being a slave trader. But she did it to save him. They both had a trust for each other until he is jailed and while he hates her for her betrayal he still loves her. Kaz and his group break Mathias out of the prison. As they continue their journey to the Ice Court they are ambushed and Inei is stabbed. Nina uses her magic to help Inea's stab wound. They capture the stabber and discover that someone else is trying to rescue the scientist.  The group continues to the Ice Court but along the way Nina and Matthias make a deal. Neither of them want the scientist to live. Every person has secrets that start unfolding. 

Thrilling and filled with wild imagination this story is sure to leave an impression especially after an unresolved ending. Recommended for young adult readers who enjoy fantasy. This is a book for grades seven and up. Other books written by this author include, Crooked Kingdom, Run and Rising, and Shadow and Bone. Products related to this item include First Year (The Black Mage Book 1) by Rachel E. Carter, The Last of the Firedrakes (The Avalonia Chronicles Book 1) by Farah Oomerbhoy, Heir of Illaria: Book One of the Illarria Series by Dyan Chick, and A Bond of Venom and Magic (The Goddess and Guardians Book 1) by Karen Tomlinson. 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Black, H. (2013). The coldest girl in Coldtown. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/3Tk3BkaCH7o

In Tana's world vampires exist. When she was a child she experienced her mother turn into a vampire. She did not want to become a vampire. But one day, at an ordinary school party, Tana plays a drinking game and passes out in the tub. After many hours she finds herself waking up to a house full of bodies that have been drained of their blood and realize that they are her friends and classmates. While trying to find her keys and get out, she walks through the bodies in pools of blood and finds her ex-boyfriend (Aiden) tied up alive and infected.  Then she is saved by Aiden's bite by a mysterious handsome vampire named Gavriel. She develops mixed feelings for him. With hungry vampires after them, she somehow manages to escape and take them both into and out of cold-town finding a way to save them all. 

This is a thrilling, fast-paced story in a wild imaginative vampire world with an unpredictable twist. Great book for vampire fans from grades nine through twelve. Other books written by this author include, The Darkest Part of the Forest, Tithe a Modern faerie tale, and Ironside, A Modern Faery's Tale. Similar books include, The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire by Trisha Telep, My Love Lies Bleeding (Drake Chronicles #1) by Alyxandra Harvey, and Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead.