Scythe
Shusterman, N. (2016). Scythe. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.
Watch a book trailer for this series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=59&v=rYPiWDEiVvU
Somewhere in the future, mankind has found the secret to long life and the end to all diseases that could take a life. To control the potential of overpopulation, a group of people, the Scythe, are called on to take the lives of a quota of people annually.
Citra and Rowan, are two teenagers who are completely unaware of one another until they both happen to have chance encounters with scythe in separate death missions. Neither of them wanting to be near the scythe, and disgusted by the concept of taking lives. Their mutual disgust of taking lives, finds them both in the apprenticeship of the scythe.
Shusterman is able to capture the rebellious and questioning spirit that occurs in adolescence. He also shows Kohlberg's conventional and post-conventional theory with his characters. Citra and Rowan follow some of the rules and while also finding their own truth to make their own rules.
Curious about this world and these characters? You may want to consider joining in reading this series. Learn more about Neal Schuster, click here: http://www.storyman.com/
Citra and Rowan, are two teenagers who are completely unaware of one another until they both happen to have chance encounters with scythe in separate death missions. Neither of them wanting to be near the scythe, and disgusted by the concept of taking lives. Their mutual disgust of taking lives, finds them both in the apprenticeship of the scythe.
Shusterman is able to capture the rebellious and questioning spirit that occurs in adolescence. He also shows Kohlberg's conventional and post-conventional theory with his characters. Citra and Rowan follow some of the rules and while also finding their own truth to make their own rules.
Curious about this world and these characters? You may want to consider joining in reading this series. Learn more about Neal Schuster, click here: http://www.storyman.com/
Annie on My Mind
Garden, N. (2007). Annie on my mind. New York: Square Fish.
Liza and Annie are two teenage friends that live in different worlds. As the girls spend more and more time together, they find themselves having deeper feelings for each other. These feelings, they both feel they will have to hide from others.
Living in a world where the two don't feel that they will be accepted, they find refuge while pet sitting for Liza's two teachers. Liza's and Annie's place of sanctuary is destroyed when uninvited guests arrive at the house. The girls' secret is unwillingly revealed and they are forced to share the truth about their relationship with others.
Nancy Garden shows the changing relationships that take place between adolescence and their peers. She also shows Kohlberg's theory of conventional and post-conventional thinking, as Liza moves from following the rules, to breaking away and forming her own rules.
Follow Nancy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Nancy-Garden-158162927584843/
It's Perfectly Normal
Harris, R. (2009). It's Perfect Normal. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.
It's Perfectly Normal, shares with children and young adult readers about the changes and feelings that occur during adolescence. The book uses a bird and a bee to share this information with its audience, as well as the detailed illustrations to teach about sexual health topics.
It's Perfectly Normal, has been on the banned and challenged book lists and has also received many notable awards, due in part to the illustrations and subject matter. Some readers will appreciate the candor used in the illustrations and content, while other readers may not feel comfortable with its subject matter. I would advise parents and caregivers to read the book before offering it to a child or young adult to read. This will insure that it's the right book for the right child.
Monster
Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster. New York: Amistad.
Monster, tells Steve Harmon's story, in a screen play format, of his possible involvement in a drugstore robbery. Steve, who is 16 years old at the time of his incarceration and awaiting his trial, is faced with the extremes of life in prison. He uses his gift of writing to try to cope with the hopeless situation he finds himself in.
The format that this story is written in is interesting. Steve reveals the behind-the-scenes actions that are taking place and also shares some of his thoughts, in what he hopes to be the screenplay of this portion in his life.
Myers shares Steve's story in a powerful way. Readers can see the struggle that Steve is forced to face in his circumstances. Readers get to see the struggle that Steve goes through, knowing that he is not an adult yet, and is being treated as one. Myers is able to capture how Steve is trying to work through moving from conventional thinking to post-conventional thinking as he tells his story.
Learn more about Walter Dean Myers here: http://walterdeanmyers.net/
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.
Todd Hewitt is a young man, living in a community of all men. The women, he is told, were all killed by an alien race, called the Spackle. The men and young men in the community have been given the Noise bug, by the Spackle. This bug allows them to hear and see all of their thoughts. This power is not limited to people, they also hear the thoughts of the animals.
Todd is near becoming the recognized age of a man when he is forced to leave his community. While he is at the swamp gathering apples for one of his caretakers, he unknowingly discovers a girl there. This discovery forces Todd and Viola to flee to what they hope will be a safe place for them.
Fans of science fiction might consider adding this to their book list. It is part of a series, so be careful, you might need to read them all. I'm not a fan of "To Be Continued" books, but Ness leaves his readers with a positive incentive of wanting to know what will happen to their new friends Todd and Viola. Ness shows Kohlberg's theory of how adolescents move from conventional thinking to post-conventional thinking, through the thoughts of Todd and actions of Viola.
Want more books by Patrick Ness, click here: https://patrickness.com/
Watch the book trailer at https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iba-1&hsimp=yhs-1&hspart=iba&p=patrick+ness+book+trailer+for+the+knife+of+never+letting#id=3&vid=66eb3740c043b637e7eb6749d754b415&action=click
Persepolis
Satrapi, M. (2003). Persepolis. NewYork: Pantheon Books.
Persepolis, tells the story of Marjane Santrapi and family living in Iran in the 1980s. Both her parents are politically minded, and want to see positive change come to their beloved country. Her family's views are more modern than the regime that is power, and the family faces the hardships of living with these opposing views.
Marjane has strong opinions on what she feels is right and wants to join in with her parents and others who protest the governments rules and laws. She does not like the clothes that they force them to wear, she would much rather wear the 1980s fashion from the west. As Marjane begins growing into a young adult, her parents see that she is much too strong-minded to stay and live safely in Iran.
Fans of the graphic novel format and historic biographies are sure to enjoy this book. Marjane shares her story and gives her readers a view into what live was like for the people in Iran during the 1980s. She uses humor and her truth to help her readers to empathize with the hardships they faced. Readers also get to see the transition in thinking that Marjane makes moving away fro conventional thinking to post-conventional thinking, as she begins to form her own views of her world.
Marjane has strong opinions on what she feels is right and wants to join in with her parents and others who protest the governments rules and laws. She does not like the clothes that they force them to wear, she would much rather wear the 1980s fashion from the west. As Marjane begins growing into a young adult, her parents see that she is much too strong-minded to stay and live safely in Iran.
Fans of the graphic novel format and historic biographies are sure to enjoy this book. Marjane shares her story and gives her readers a view into what live was like for the people in Iran during the 1980s. She uses humor and her truth to help her readers to empathize with the hardships they faced. Readers also get to see the transition in thinking that Marjane makes moving away fro conventional thinking to post-conventional thinking, as she begins to form her own views of her world.
Learn more about Marjane Satrapi on her blog https://www.theamateurmediablog.com/blog/brutal-unflinching-uncompromising-marjane-satrapis-persepolis
The Hate U Give
Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York: HarperCollins.
The Hate U Give, tells the story of Starr and friend Khalil who while pulled over for a broken tail-light, find themselves in a life-threatening situation, that leaves Khalil dead. Starr and her family live in a neighborhood that is plagued by two opposing gangs. With her parents wanting better opportunities than they had, they send Starr and her brothers to a private school in an affluent area.
Starr must decide to do what she knows is right and speak the truth about what happened the night that Khalil was killed. She finds her voice, and learns to use that voice to share Khalil's story with others.
Angie Thomas takes a powerful, outstanding stance on the effects that social injustices have on the people in a community. Readers will have a window into the Black Lives Matter movement, while not called that in the book. Angie's story will help her readers to see a different perspective than the ones portrayed on TV. She shares black culture with her readers in relatable ways and allows them to see the love and loyalty that run so deeply within the culture. Angie shows her young adult characters and how they are forming their own views of the people in their lives and the world around them. Her characters are well developed and strong, they are the kind of characters that will stay with you long after finishing reading her book.
Check out Angie on her website, http://angiethomas.com/
Turtle All The Way Down
Green, J. (2017). Turtle all the way down. New York: Dutton Books.
Aza and her best friend, Daisy, hatch a idea of trying to solve the mystery of missing billionaire, Russell Pickett, for the reward. Their efforts are blocked by Pickett's son Davis who thinks it's best to leave his disappearance unsolved. Aza and Daisy find themselves facing the decision of continuing their investigation or taking the money that Davis offers them if they stop investigating.
Aza faces tougher decisions than this, while trying to work through her destructive compulsive thoughts that constantly force her to repeat habits and rituals to try to find her normal. Davis and Aza begin to work on forming a friendship, and at times they would like to be more than friends.
John Green shares his interesting tale, that captures the turmoil that can occur in adolescents. He creates characters that seem real and have real inner struggles. He shows how his characters develop their morals and how relationships with parents change during this time.
Fan of John Green? Follow this link to his website, http://www.johngreenbooks.com/
This Land
Osborne, L., B., (2016). This land is our land: a history of American immigration. New York: Abrams Books.
This Land Is Our Land, tells the history of people coming to America. Osborne uses photographs and tells snip-its from different immigrants stories, while trying to begin their new lives in America. She also shares how the community viewed these new immigrants through newspaper articles and other documents.
This is an interesting and powerful book. I do seem to say this phrase a lot, but it is true. The struggle that immigrants find themselves facing, does not seem to have changed that much over our history. While America truly is a melting pot of people, those same people are not always welcoming of others who want the opportunity for a better way of life for themselves and their families.
Osborne is able to share with her readers that since the United States of America was established there have been waves of people who wanted the opportunity to begin a new life here, but that not all the people were willing to welcome them. This book would be helpful for adolescents to read to learn more about the history of our country, and to help them as they are beginning to move from conventional thinking to post-conventional thinking. Readers will be better informed about the history of immigration and will have some insight on how to better handle this current topic in the United States.
See more of Linda's books here, https://www.abramsbooks.com/contributor/linda-barrett-osborne_671710/
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