Internment by Samira Ahmed

Another twitter find, I remember the days when I had to go to the bookstore to find out what was new in the YA book section, now I just scroll through Twitter to find out what people are talking about.  It's hard on my credit card, but I don't think it's any harder than when I went right to the bookstore, just more convenient.  

Internment was a fabulous read.  It is set about 15 minutes into the future in the United States.  It is so close to many of the worries based on the political division in the US (and starting in Canada).  This idea of us vs. them is very scary.  

Internment is the story of 17 year old Layla Amin.  Ever since her family checked off the Muslim box on the census, life has slowly started to change for her.  She is no longer able to go to school, can't see her boyfriend, her parents have lost their jobs and now, her and her family are forced into leaving their homes and taken to an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.   Her parents are worried about so many things, but mostly they are worried for Layla's safety.  But Layla isn't going to take this forced camp laying down.  Her and her fellow teenage allies, Layla looks for ways to fight for her freedom and the freedom of all Muslim's.  

I can't say enough of this book, it was a great read.  I am cautious about who I would give it to though, it is political enough and could be frightening for some students to read about what could happen.   I would strongly suggest people read it first before giving it to any students.  

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

I reread this one today- trying to see if it would work for a read aloud for grade 7 & 8's.  It was a great book, and I know why so many kids enjoyed reading it- but unfortunately it isn't going to work as a read aloud for my kids. 

This is the review I wrote on March 31, 2019: Last week when I ordered On The Come Up through Amazon, this book came up as a recommendation.  I'd read about it on Twitter and heard good things, but I didn't order it until last week.  I read it last night and I'm so glad I did.  I could not put it down!

Dear Martin is the story of 17 year old Justyce, who is smart, focussed, polite and has a clear path in front of him.  But when he is arrested for helping his girlfriend, suddenly all the things he's been hearing on the new about young black men being shot by police man start to feel much to real for him.  Now Justyce is starting to question how racism applies to him, his white friends off-side comments start hitting him when he realizes that people don't have any idea of what it is like to be young, black and male.  As Justyce tries to figure out how to deal with these issues, he relies on the teachings of Martin Luther King to help guide him and writes letters to him as a way of grappling with his experiences and conflicting ideas of who he is and how he wants to live in this world.

I LOVED this book!  It was so well written and so believable.  There is a small bit of language in the book, but nothing that would stop me from giving it to anyone in grade 7 or 8.  It is a book that will make people think and I have a feeling that Justyce's story will stay with me for a long time.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

I read this book about a year ago on my Kindle, but just reread it in order to blog about it.  I wanted to buy it for some of the girls at my school because they need to read it! 

Moxie is the story of Vivian, who is a student in grade 11.  At her high school, the football team rule the school.  The boys on this team get away with anything, and Vivian is done with this.  These boys wear rude shirts, insult girls and subject girls to sexual harassment in the hallway.  But Vivian is a quiet girl who likes to be unnoticed.  When digging through her mom's memorabilia from the 90's, she finds inspiration and decides to take a stand.  Vivian creates an anonymous zine (short for magazine) for her classmates that encourages them to stand together and stand up against not only the high school boys, but also the administration.  As the zine starts to gather momentum, the males at school also start feeling uncomfortable and push back trying to silence the girls.  But these girls will not back down! 

I loved this book both the first time I read it and again today when I read it.  Vivian is such a believable character, she is uncertain, shy and doesn't know how to make a difference, but she also won't stop- which I love about her.  This book has some mature concepts, there are references to sexual harassment, but I wouldn't hesitate to have students in grade 7 & 8 read it.  There is nothing in this book that they haven't seen or heard at school or in movies.  If you are worried about giving it to a younger student, I would suggest reading it first.  High school teachers- I would go out and buy this book immediately. 

Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

One of the grade 7 girls at school comes to me regularly (like every other day) to ask me what she should read next.  Since I've lost a great deal of my library when I left it behind at my old school, I'm having to find new books for her.  This has been great (although expensive) because it means I'm looking for new books for both of us to read.  She recently read all of The Program series, reading more than I did.  Last week I was reading Twitter and a new book by Suzanne Young was announced - Girl With Sticks, after reading the blurb on Amazon, I knew both of us would love this book. 

 Girl with Sharp Sticks is such an interesting book.  In some ways it is like The Uglies, and like The Handmaids Tale as well.   The main character is Mena - she is a young adult who goes to the Innovation Academy.  Here, beautiful young women are taught how to behave in the world. They are taught how to be the best wife any man could ask.  At this school they are supervised by Doctors, an Analyst and their Guardian, nothing is left to chance for them.  They are kept at school except during highly supervised field trips.  But when Mena meets a boy from the outside world and starts to question what she has been taught, her and her friends discover that all is not what it is seems in their world. 

This was a great read, I started it last night and finished it this morning.  There are certainly similarities between The Program series, but it is unique and the plot twists are surprising and I could not stop reading it. 
I can't wait to give it to a few students next week. 

On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

On the Come Up has been getting a lot of buzz on Twitter.  It is the second book written by Angie Thomas.  The first was The Hate U Give- which I loved, but read on my kindle so I apparently didn't blog about it.  I've read ordered it since the movie came out, many of the kids at school want to read it. 

On the Come Up is a bit more edgy than The Hate U Give- I am a bit concerned about giving it to students in grade 7 & 8 because there is a LOT of swearing.  However, the swearing in it is very natural and very appropriate to the dialogue, so I'm on the fence about giving the book out. 

On the Come Up is about 16 year old Bri- she wants nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of her father and be a rapper.  She drops some really amazing rhymes at home and is really hoping she can start her career in 'the ring' where she will battle it out with other would-be rappers.   But Bri has more to worry about than just how she will perform in the ring.  She is living up against her father's reputation, her father who was killed in front of her by a local gang just before he made it big.  She has to worry about having enough money for food, heat, clothing and her mother staying off drugs.  She also has to worry about school and the attitude many teachers and security have towards her just because of the colour of her skin. 

I loved this book!  I could not put it down.  It was sometimes tough reading because of the slang and the way life Bri lives.  It was an amazing insight into a different genre of music as well.  I think readers of The Hate U Give will love this book, but others will love it too.  Hopefully parents won't mind all of the swearing. 
I would strongly suggest any adults read this book before giving it to students. 

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

If you knew you were going to die in the next 24 hours...how would you live your life?  This idea is what Silvera explores in the book They Both Die at the End.  

Just after midnight, Mateo and Rufus, total strangers, receive a call from Death-Cast informing them that this is their last day to live.  Mateo, who has spent his last several years avoiding really living, is determined to change how he lives his last 24 hours.  Rufus is still dealing with the loss of his family a few months ago and is determined to spend the last of his time with his new family.  However, both boys decide to use an app called Last Friend that hooks people up for their final day together.  Mateo and Rufus end up creating a life time of memories in their last day on earth.  

I thought this book was amazing!  I loved the story of both boys.  Silvera creates a world much like our own, but with the only difference that people are informed when they are going to die.  It explores the different ways people choose to live out their last days.  I really cared for these two characters, both boys showed courage and vulnerability as they got to know each other and spend time wrapping things up in their life.  

I would totally recommend this book.  There is a bit of swearing and mature content, but nothing that would stop me from sharing it with students in grade 7 and 8.    I would suggest reading it yourself to make sure you are comfortable with the content.  

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I've been doing lots of reading of YA books this summer, and they have all been realistic fiction that has been more appropriate for older students.  I decided I needed to go back to my favourite genre- dystopian novels.  So I did a little searching to find out what I've been missing and this series kept coming up. 

In this dystopian novel the world is split into those with red blood and those with silver blood.  Silver blooded people are the aristocrats who rule the world.  Many of them have special powers and they are used to keep the red blooded people down.  Mare Barrow's is a red blood- her and her family and struggling to survive in the world where those with the wrong type of blood are limited to the worst, most dangerous jobs.  Mare knows that once she turns 18, she will be sent off to war to fight for the silver blooded royalty.  There is no choice in this, like her brother's before her, she has to report to war.  But when a chance encounter with someone changes her future, she soon discovers that even though she is of red blood - she also possesses special abilities.  This makes her a threat to the Silver's way of life and puts her life at risk as she tries to navigate living in the Silver world, while staying true to her Red family.

This is a great book!  Lots of action and excitement.  The only problem is, when you finish one book, you have to race to Chapters to buy the next one!