Quick, odd read. I enjoyed the Turkey Trot. Not the best King book but I’m stuck inside so extra time to read.

Allison Gervais’ book, The silence between us, was not a book that I would have personally chosen but I did find the majority of the story interesting. I preferred reading about how a young, deaf girl would navigate the waters of high school at a hearing school and with hearing friends over the romance part of the book. The main character was a strong character that did not let her disability hold her back, her not being a victim was a positive character trait. Her character did come across as excessively surly at times, the stress of a new school, her sick brother, and working hard to get into college were certainly some of the reasoning for this. Overall, the book was an easy read and entertaining, if not eye opening.
The silence between us is a #ownvoices book, won the Schneider Family Book Award and the Best Teen Honor Book of 2020.
The story focuses on Maya, a high school senior starting at a new school. Unlike years ago, schools are integrating young adults into classrooms instead of having them in separate classes, this book was a great look into that and how a high school student would have felt in a school of average kids with little to no disabilities. She had previously attended a school for the deaf and this was her first experience in a regular high school.
For many reasons, this book would make a good book for discussion among young adults. Whether disabled or not, the first experience around someone different than you can always be a challenge. It’s important for young adults to learn about people that are different than them and about their culture, the stereotypes associated, and words that can be offensive. This is specifically relevant with the #blacklivesmatter movement, even in 2020, some groups of people are still experiencing oppression, discrimination, and misunderstanding.

The truth as told by Mason Buttle evoked many different emotions ranging from happiness, anger, and sadness. I found it heartwarming and heart breaking that such a young boy, enduring so many hardships in his life could remain positive through all of it. Even when bullied relentlessly, he still managed to find something positive in the situation. I found the friendships, while only a few of them, that Mason made throughout the story to be a good example of how, despite their differences, they were the best of friends.
Leslie Connor’s coming of age story about Mason Buttle won the Schneider Family Book Award in January of 2019. The story is told as Mason Buttle would have written it, it tends to be choppy, with short sentences and truthful, as a boy with a reading and writing disability would write via the “dragon”. The story looks inside the mind of a boy who has suffered tragedy, bullying, and lives in a run-down home on an apple orchard with an unconventional living situation.
This story would make wonderful addition in any library or school for middle school students. With topics about bullying, friendship, losing friends and family to death, “pranks” ending in tragedy, telling the truth, disabilities, and wrongly judging others, there is little shortage in important topics to discuss. Conversations about this book could bring about empathy and sympathy for those affected by such circumstances and events.

The poet X is told entirely in verse, this was an immediate turn off to me but to my surprise, I found the story to hold many parallels to my own teen years and found the story an easy read. Xiomara could not win, she was born into a curvy body and shamed for that by her mom and lusted after by any male she encountered which lead her to her fair share of fistfights. Her only outlet was writing her feelings through poetry, once her mother found her poetry, she burned her notebook. Only having a small group of friends (one being her twin brother), Xiomara befriended a boy in school, Aman, who she eventually began a relationship with only to be punished for it by her religious mother. If I could relate to this story, I have no doubt that other young adults would benefit from reading the words of Xiomara. While portrayed by others as a rebellious and a "Cuero", Xiomara only wanted to be herself and learn who she was in the world.

Acevedo’s novel won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature 2018, Carnegie Metal 2019, and Golden Kite Award for Young Adult Fiction 2019. Xiomara is the voice in The poet X, she tells her story through poetry kept in a notebook gifted to her by her twin brother. Growing up in Harlem with a religious mother, Xiomara struggles with many important topics: sexual harassment, religion, homosexuality, teen relationships, overbearing parents, and her gift of verse. Anyone with a TV or Facebook knows that two important topics are the #metoo movement and the #blacklivesmatter, both bringing to light social and societal injustices, this book would be a great starting point for a discussion on those topics. Xiomara is Dominican, living in Harlem and has experienced both types of injustice. Sexuality and shame is an important theme as well, Xiomara and her brother experience it from their family, Xiomara is shamed for having any sort of sexuality and Twin cannot even tell his family he is gay for fear of how they would react.
Religion is also a strong topic in this story. It's portrayed as extreme in the case of her mother but slightly more understanding in the case of Father Sean. After the climax of the story, we see a shift in understanding from all parties, giving hope to all characters in the story for new and better relationships. Teenagers can struggle in their relationships with adults and adults can also struggle to understand teenagers, especially if they have a religious film over their eyes, I think it's important for both parties to see their faults and come to a mutual understanding.

Long Way Down was a one sitting kind of book. Although it was in verse, it read clearly and smoothly. The story in itself was heartbreak and difficult to read as a mother and as a sister. To imagine those things happening over and over again to my family just because they are “The Rules” was hard to understand but understandably difficult to break the cycle. Although the twist in the elevator surprised me at first it was floor after floor of heartbreak and each stop, more difficult than the last.

Long Way Down won the Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Printz Horo Book at the 2018 Youth Media Awards. The book also won the Walter Dean Myers Award and the Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction (Long Way Down (book), 2020). This story leaves so much to the imagination that there is no doubt that it leaves the reader with question after question making it a fantastic story to ask questions and speculate about. The ending is vague and leaves the reader wondering what happened, what did Will decide to do about his brother’s death? Will’s ride down the elevate to revenge his brother’s murder brings to light many things Will didn’t even know about his own backstory and family. His family is so riddled with murder and gun violence that he thinks it’s the only choice he has. With gun violence in the media so regularly, it is an important topic for kids to talk about, especially how they have other choices. Another topic of discussion could the symbolism in the story: what each ghost in the elevator really meant, what the smoke in the elevator meant, how the elevator rules paralleled the street rules, and what was the meaning of his brother’s reaction (so different than the other ghosts) with Will.

Additional citations:
Long Way Down (book). (2020, May 16). Retrieved June 13, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Wa...

Uehasi’s YA novel, The Beast Player, was a relatively boring read for me. I thought the characters were underdeveloped and just disappeared from the story line as the main character, Elin, grew up and moved to new adventures. The only character that was relatively developed was Elin and her character was not likable. I generally feel a strong connection to the characters in books, especially ones with major roles, but this book didn’t leave me with that connection. I felt that the story was interesting and not like any I’ve read before but I would not read it again or read any sequels.

The Beast Player was written by Nahoko Uehashi in Japanese and translated by Cathy Hirano. It won the Michael L. Printz, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, and Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book Awards. This book would make a good book for a Young Adult English class or a book club. In a school setting, the way it was translated as well as reoccurring themes in the book could be a part of the book discussion. Teens may find the character names, places, and clans confusing, I found the name confusion and difficulty relatively similar to those in the Game of Thrones. Young adults who enjoy fantasy and mythological creatures would enjoy reading and discussing the story. Two main themes in the book are stereotypes of other cultures/ethnicities (clans in this book) and their mistreatment due to these stereotypes as well as mistreatment and proper care of animals. Throughout the book, Elin is continually stereotyped and discriminated against because she has Ahlyo blood in her. The conflict between clans/territories is also based on past events and myths. Animal lovers may also enjoy reading and discussing this book. Readers may enjoy discussing the future of Elin and the care of the creatures that are a main focus of the book.

Dig was quite a story. I really appreciated how the author weaved the characters into one another’s lives (or non-lives…) and brought them all together, unexpectedly, at the end. The parallel’s drawn between the lives of the characters and the potatoes was an interesting take as well. I liked that the potatoes were not just a parallel either, they were a part of the characters history. I appreciated the names of the characters: The Shoveler, the Freak, CanIHelpYou?, Loretta the Flea-Circus Ring Mistress, and First-Class Malcom, it gave an interesting dynamic to them – many times we remember someone with a nickname and do not know their real name until later, when the timing is right.

A. S. King’s book, Dig, won the 202 Printz Award at the Youth Media Awards (Yorio, 2020). The story weaves the lives of five teens The Shoveler, the Freak, CanIHelpYou?, Loretta the Flea-Circus Ring Mistress, and First-Class Malcom into one another in a seemingly random way that all link back to Gottfried and Marla Hemmings. The history of potato farming in their path and the way that potatoes grow is paralleled to their lives and the teens are even described as the discarded potatoes that still manage to thrive on their own. Tunnels are also a large part of the story line and would make for an interesting discussion on what young adults think the meaning of them is. There are so many parallels and themes in this book to discuss, many that are uncomfortable but important to think about. The character’s grapple with their white privilege and racism, all of the characters are plagued with family dysfunction, some form of abuse, and family secrets. A reoccurring theme in the book, while uncomfortable, is something that all teens think about: teen sex and sexuality, specifically female masturbation. This book would be a fantastic book for discussion.
Additional citations:
Yorio, K. (2020, January 28). 'Dig' Wins the Printz, Much to Author A.S. King's Surprise. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=dig-wins-printz-much-to-author-a-s-king-surprise-YMAs-books-libraries

The graphic novel, Spill Zone, reminds me of Tank Girl but geared towards a younger audience. The main character, Addison, is a daring, young teenager who makes a living for her and her sister who survived a “spill” in their city, which their parents did not, by sneaking into the “Spill Zone” and taking pictures of the odd things that have happened around the city and selling them to a buyer. The dystopian, apocalyptic, radioactive theme is intriguing and keeps the reader interested in the story. The artwork switches between relatively normal to dark in between scenes. This book would be a great series for fans of Paper Girls.

Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland’s Spill Zone combines great graphics and an interesting story line that are sure to keep the reader interested. While the story is relatively short and lacks some depth, the characters in this book would make a good discussion for young adults. Addie, the older sister’s risky behavior and whether she is really doing it for the money or if she has alternative motives. Lexa and Vespertine are also main characters worth discussing. Lexa is Addie’s younger sister that appears to be selectively mute due to the spill and Vespertine is Lexa’s animate doll that needs to go with Addie on her adventures into the Spill Zone to be “recharged”. The author leaves the cause of the spill and the effects of the spill up to the readers imagination and introduces a few new, mysterious characters at the end of the book that leaves the reader wondering what happened next. This is the first book in a series and it is left on a cliffhanger as it closes to leave the reader wanting to know what happens next.

Dread Nation was an interesting story. The combination of early American “history” and a zombie story were a great blend. When a story is combined with “history” it seems to give the unbelievable part of the story more merit. This is the first book I have read that has combined these two genres. The story was unsettling, not only because of the zombies but also because of the raw racism throughout the book. Even though slavery was abolished, African Americans and Native Americans were treated as inferior and used as the white people’s personal protection from zombies. A plus in this story is that the main character, Jane, is a strong, black female.

Dread Nation was finalist for the Andre Norton Award in 2019, the Bram Stoker Awards in 2019, the Lodestar Awards in 2019, and won the 2019 Locus Award. This book would make a great book discussion for a book group. There are three major themes in Dread Nation: racism, corruption, and strength. The story takes place after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, but racism is still alive and well in this America. Black and Native Americans are sent to school to learn to defend white people from shamblers (zombies) when they turn of age. The special schools teach them combat and proper etiquette for being hired by rich white Americans for their protection. Corruption in this story is within the government/elected officials. The main culprit is Mayor Carr. The Survivalist Party pushes the agenda that the best way to protect society is by using Black and Native Americans to defend the white citizens. The main character, Jane, is a great example of strength. She is a black girl, who is training to become a shambler fighter. Jane is smart, daring, and able to overcome obstacles.
Additional Citations:
Justina Ireland Awards. (2020, April 9). Retrieved June 22, 2020, from http://www.sfadb.com/Justina_Ireland