Book Review:   Bibliography- Hicks, F. E. (2015). Friends with boys . POPCOM Publishers. ISBN 3842025602   Plot Summary- Maggie McKay hardly knows what to do with herself. After an idyllic childhood of homeschooling with her mother and rough housing with her older brothers, it's time for Maggie to face the outside world, all on her own. But that means facing high school first. And it also means solving the mystery of the melancholy ghost who has silently followed Maggie throughout her entire life. Maybe it even means making a new friend, one who isn't one of her brothers.   Critical Analysis- This story included ghosts, pirates, homeschooling kids, and zombie theatre to name a few! I specifically enjoyed seeing the brothers with their play-fights, funny banter, and their realistic relationships between them. I love comic books that are only black, white, and grey. The panels convey the emotions and feelings of the characters perfectly. I think...

  Book Review:   Bibliography- Jensen, K. (2018). Don't call me crazy: 33 voices start the conversation about mental health .                Algonquin Young Readers Publishers.  ISBN 9781616207816   Plot Summary- To understand mental health, we need to talk openly about it. Because there’s no single definition of crazy, there’s no single experience that embodies it, and the word itself means different things—wild? extreme? disturbed? passionate?—to different people. In  (Don’t) Call Me Crazy , thirty-three actors, athletes, writers, and artists offer essays, lists, comics, and illustrations that explore a wide range of topics: their personal experiences with mental illness, how we do and don’t talk about mental health, help for better understanding how every person’s brain is wired differently, and what, exactly, might make someone crazy. If you’ve ever struggled with your mental health, or know someone...

  Book Review-   Bibliography- Shakur, T. (1999). The rose that grew from concrete . MTV Books. ISBN 0671028448   Plot Summary- This collection of deeply personal poetry is a mirror into the legendary artist's enigmatic world and its many contradictions. Written in his own hand from the time he was nineteen years old, these seventy-two poems embrace his spirit, his energy and his ultimate message of hope.   Critical Analysis- Selections in this book are reproduced from the originals in Shakur's handwriting, personalized by distinctive spelling and use of ideographs, complete with scratch outs and corrections. Some poems are also accompanied by his drawings. There are a few black-and-white photographs also. The poems are passionate, sometimes angry, and often compelling. What makes this book of poetry unique is that the preface is written by Tupac Shakur's mother, the foreword was written by Nikki Giovanni, a famous poet and activist. The introdu...

  Book Review:   Bibliography- Blume, J. (2014). Forever . Antheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 1481414437   Plot Summary- Katherine and Michael are in love, and Katherine knows it’s forever, especially after she loses her virginity to him. But when they’re separated for the summer, she begins to have feelings for another boy. What does this say about her love for Michael? And what does “forever” mean, anyway? Is this the love of a lifetime, or the very beginning of a lifetime of love?   Critical Analysis- This novel explores the thrills and risks of a teenage couple’s first sexual relationship . Although it has been the topic of many controversial book conversations, I think it is a well written book that can serve as a model of what a healthy teenage sex life could be. The storyline isn’t harsh and doesn’t scold or shame people, so I think it is very relevant to today’s teens. The novel is written in first-person, which makes it feel almost ...

  Book Review:   Bibliography- Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster (C. Myers, Ill.). Harper Collins Publishers.      ISBN 0060280778          Plot Summary- Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout. Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of "the system," cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences. For the first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life. As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his...

 Book Review: Bibliography- Nayeri, D. (2020). Everything sad is untrue: (a true story) . Levine Querido Publishers. ISBN 1646140001   Plot Summary- In an Oklahoman middle school, Khosrou (whom everyone calls Daniel) stands in front of a skeptical audience of classmates, telling the tales of his family's history, stretching back years, decades, and centuries. At the core is Daniel's story of how they became refugees, starting with his mother's vocal embrace of Christianity in a country that made such a thing a capital offense, and continuing through their midnight flight from the secret police, bribing their way onto a plane to anywhere. Anywhere becomes the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy, and then finally asylum in the U.S. Implementing a distinct literary style and challenging western narrative structures, Nayeri deftly weaves through stories of the long and beautiful history of his family in Iran, adding a richness of ancient tales and Persian folklore. ...

  Book Review-     Bibliography: Craft, J. (2019).  NEW KID . Quill Tree Books.   Plot Summary: Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?   Critical Analysis: Craft uses the power of text and visuals to tell a vivid story narrated by Jordan Banks, who is the ambitious and talented main character. The other characters in the story, Maury, Liam, Drew and Mr. Garner are relatable an...