Mockingbird

Title: Mockingbird
Author: Kathryn Erskine
Publisher: New York : Philomel Books (2010)
ISBN: 9780399252648 0399252649
Pages: 235

4 bookmarks

Awards: National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2010), YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011), International Children's and Young Adults Book Award (2011)

Mockingbird is a touching story about 10 year old Caitlin, who suffers from autism. Caitlin sees everything in concretes- black-white, good-evil. She often has trouble "getting it" and has relied a lot on her older brother, Devon to help her. However, Devon has been killed recently in a tragic school shooting, leaving Caitlin and her father reeling and struggling to get closure. The tragedy makes it even more difficult for Caitlin to make friends than it was before. With the help of her school counselor, Caitlin learns to cope with her grief and make friends. In order to help her and her father, Caitlin happens upon the idea of finishing the chest that Devon was working on for his eagle scout project.

It is not often that an author tries to take on the perspective of a person with a disability, especially one such as autism. Kathryne Erskine is able to make a fairly believable portrayal of Caitlin, who is obviously high functioning autistic. This book would be great for students to read who are have an autistic classmate so that they are able to understand that perspective on things. It would also be a great book for students to read who have suffered a tragedy, such as the loss of a classmate.

Playing with Matches

Title: Playing with Matches
Author: Brian Katcher
Publisher: New York: Delacorte Press (2008)
ISBN: 9780385735445 9780385905251 0385905254 0385735448
Pages: 294

4 bookmarks

Leon Sanders is your average teenage guy. Not terribly popular, but has a core group of close friends. He is essentially an unknown in his high school, which is better than Melody, a classmate who was badly burnt as a child and is more of an outcast. In order to escape working on a group project with a classmate he hates, one day Leon decides to work with Melody and discovers that the two of them share many interests and quickly become friends. Soon, feelings start to develop on both sides, but Leon can't get over his obsession with his dream girl Amy. Who will Leon choose, the beautiful but often petty and mean Amy or disfigured but smart and entertaining Melody?

Like much of the YA fiction that I have read, this is a bit cliched and predictable. What normal teenage boy is going to stay with a girl who is amazing but disfigured when he can have a beautiful and popular girl instead? I did like though that at the end, Leon realized that he should have stayed with Melody and that Amy was basically just going to use him. This is your typical story of "it's what's on the inside that counts". Thankfully, it is a quick read and does have some parts that are genuinely funny.

What I liked the most about the story is the transformation that Melody underwent. At the beginning of the book, she is pretty quiet and tries to stay in the background as much as possible. After becoming friends with Leon, she starts to make more friends and becomes a lot more confident and social. It was through Leon's friendship that she was able to start to value herself and not just see herself as a disfigured burn victim, but as a complete person that other people might actually like.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Author: John Green and David Levithan
Publisher: New York: Dutton (2010)
ISBN: 0525421580 9780525421580
Pages: 310

4 bookmarks

We all know that there are other people out there who share our name. How often though, do you happen to meet someone with the exact same name as you? Chances are slim to none. However, one night in Chicago, Will Grayson does just that after being ditched by his friends who snuck into a club.

Will Grayson is best friends with Tiny (who is anything but tiny). Tiny, who is pretty flamboyantly gay, has written about his life that he wants to perform for the school. After Will Grayson introduces Tiny to the second Will Grayson, Tiny's play and the life of the original Will Grayson are changed.

While I can't say that this book was epic, or changed my life, or any number of glowing over the top compliments, I can say that it pretty much sucked me in. Despite gay Will Grayson being whiny and complaining constantly, straight Will Grayson being boring and just sort of floating through life, and Tiny being over the top, the book was enjoyable. The flaws in the characters were what actually made them believable. I loved the fact that John Green and David Levithan used the names of actual bands in real life that the characters liked.

I do have to say that the lyrics to Tiny's musical and the musical itself were epic. His musical is one that I definitely would go see. At times, they are funny enough that I would laugh, not just a snort, but an actually laugh. Unfortunately, I do not see the possibility of many high schools putting on a musical like Tiny's. While I do not want to ruin the ending, I do have to mention that it was really touching and showed that both Will Graysons had grown some over the course of the book.

An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank

Title: An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank
Author: Elaine Marie Alphin
Publisher: Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books (2010)
ISBN: 9780822589440 0822589443
Pages: 152

2 bookmarks

Leo Frank was the superintendent of the pencil factory in Atlanta, Georgia until the fateful day in 1913 when an employee, Mary Phagan, was found murdered in the basement. While there were several other suspects, the Jewish Leo Frank quickly became the prime suspect in the murder. Following a media feeding frenzy, Leo Frank is convicted of the murder on shaky grounds. Even after his death sentence was commuted, "justice" at the hands of Georgia citizens prevailed when Frank was kidnapped and lynched for the crime.

It is true that much of what is taught in history class is taught from the perspective of white middle class males. History as taught in most high school classrooms glosses over anything that is negative in history. This is a fact that continuously bothers me. Not everything in United States history has been good. In fact, much of our history has revolved around persecuting people of different ethnicity, religion, and cultures. A compelling argument can be made that the case of Leo Frank is one of those. Much of this is lost though with the highly pro-Frank bias of the author and her sometimes condescending tone (for example explaining that there wasn't always the Internet). If a high school teacher wants to use a book in class that reveals some of the negatives of American history, they would be much better served by Lies My Teacher Told Me, That's Not in My American History Book, or The People's History of the United States

Girl by Bart Bare

Title: Girl: a novel
Author: Bart Bare
Publisher: Vilas, North Carolina : Canterbury House Publishing (2010)
ISBN: 9780982539644 0982539649
Pages: 182


4 bookmarks

Loren Creek isn't your typical teenager. Most teenagers live with their parents. Loren lives by herself, illegally. After her mother dies from cancer and the state tries to force her into foster care, Loren runs away from the mountains of Tennessee and crosses over into Boone, North Carolina with the help of 2 friends. There, she sets up a new life, disguised as Lorne. Living as Lorne, she rents a house from an old man, posing as his grandson and enrolls in the local high school. There, Lorne is one of the guys and even becomes one of the stars on the football team. All the while, her caseworker from Tennessee is desperate to find her. Living a double life as Lorne is hard on Loren, but she makes the best of it and is able to get by until disaster strikes during a game. Then, the truth about her past and her identity comes out with surprising results.

While the book was pretty well written Loren/Lorne does not always seem like a teenager. She seems to be more of an adult that some of the adults in the book. She's more responsible and insightful than a lot of the adults that I know. I can't make up my mind whether or not this was intentional.

I think that this book seemed a bit more real because it is set in Boone, NC. I have spent a good deal of time there, and Bart Bare is able to capture the city well.

Introduction

My name is Erin and I am an MLS student at Appalachian State. In a year, I will be graduating with my Master's in Library Science and be a for real librarian. Given that fact, it can be assumed that I am an avid reader. Typically, I like either dystopian or historical fiction, but will read anything that strikes my fancy. Some of my favorite authors include Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl, and C. S. Lewis.

Here, you will find reviews of the many books that I read.