Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Don't ask me where I picked this book up because I have no idea.  It was in my TBR pile and last week when I was looking for a book to read, this is the one that stood out for me.  I LOVED this book- I loved that it was told through poetry, but also that it was a story of a grade 7 boy playing basketball told in poetry!

Crossover is the story of twin brothers, Josh and Jordan Bell. They are the children of a former basketball star and they have game. They are the star players on their school team and they eat, sleep and dream basketball.  That is  until a girl comes along and suddenly things start to change for the brothers.
As the boys adapt to new feelings and changes at home, they use basketball as a way to work through their thoughts and feelings.

The story is told from Josh's perspective and he is such an interesting character.  At the start it is all about basketball, but as the story goes on, you start to realize he has deeper feelings and his writing changes as the story progresses.  Both Josh and Jordan are dealing with both normal things all kids deal with, but with the added pressure of their father's dreams for them as well.

I can't wait to share this with some of the boys from my class last year.  The fact that the story is told through poetry opens up so many discussion opportunities as well making it a quick read, which is appealing to many boys.  

Innocent by Eric Walters

Eric Walter's has done it again!  He has created the idea for a series of books where there are different characters connected by a common event.  Just like with the Seven series, the Secret series is written by different authors who each explore a different character.

After a fire at the orphanage where Betty has grown up, she is forced to start her new life outside the only home she has ever known quicker than expected.  When Betty ends up in Kingston, she finds herself working for the richest family in Kingston as a maid.  As she gets to know the other servants and family members, Betty is given glimpses of her life before the orphanage.  The more she learns about her past, the more confused she becomes.  When she learns that her father is serving time in jail for murder, it takes all of her strength to discover the truth.

As with all Eric Walter's books, I loved this character.  She was strong, determined and very clear in her beliefs.  I really liked the fact that this book was set in 1964 and in Kingston.  I could see many places Betty visited in my mind as I read through the book.  The gentle life style of the 1960's was really interesting and put a different twist on the story.  I like reading about kids dealing with situations who aren't quite as jaded or connected to social media as most books I read these days.

I think this series is destined to be another success for Eric Walters and the other authors.  I want to go out tomorrow and pick up more of the books.  I can really see girls in grade 5 or 6 enjoying these books.    

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

Last week I was doing some Christmas shopping at found myself at Chapters.  Of course I had to see what was new in YA books, because even though I'm not in the classroom right now, I like to keep on top of new books.

What We Saw is an incredible book.  In some ways it reminds me of Some Girls Are, Speak, and The Mocking Birds, however this story looks at the situation from a different perspective.
The main character is Katie, the book opens up with her waking up the morning after a big party.  She doesn't remember much, only that she had been drinking and something happened between her and a boy she has liked for a long time.  When kids at school start receiving texts, Instagram and Reddit posts from the party, Katie starts putting things together.  The kids at school are divided into different camps based on their perception of the events of this night.  Katie has to figure out not only what happened, but what she will do with the information once she discovers the truth.

It is hard to do justice to this book since I don't want to give anything away.  I found this book to be incredibly interesting.  Katie is a great female character who finds herself questioning many things.  Her friend Ben is also struggling with that night, all he wants to do is forget it and not get involved. All of the characters in the story are believable as they are dealing with a party that got out of hand.

Anyone who has read any of the books I mentioned above would love this story.  I wouldn't hesitate to give it to mature readers in grade 8, but I would strongly suggest reading the story first.  

The Lost Marble Notebook of Forgotten Girl and Random Boy by Marie Jaskulka

Another book from my very large TBR pile!  I was looking for a quick read on Sunday night, and I grabbed this one off my shelf.  That is my new strategy, just grab a book and start reading it.  If it is in my TBR pile, it must be there for a reason.  

This story grabbed me right away, I mean, I read it straight through because I was so caught up in the story.  I am pretty sure I won't be able to do the book justice here, all I can say is that I LOVED this story, it took my breath away in many places.  

Forgotten Girl writes poetry, and tells her story through poems.  At one point in the story she writes "If only I didn't have to write it all down, but I do, I do.  I don't know why.  It just makes me feel better, less alone with my thoughts; less liable to forget all the truth.   When she meets Random Boy, she feels an immediate connection and discovers he is a writer too.  She shares her writing with him, and he with her.  The only problem is, as they grow closer, Random Boy wants to know everything about her.  He doesn't allow her any secrets from him.  The secrets she keeps from him cost her greatly and she needs to learn how to be in love without losing herself.  

This book was so incredibly written, there were so many times that I stopped reading to just reflect on a stanza from the story.  Even though this was written for young adults, there were many important messages for adults.  This book is much too mature for Elementary classrooms, but high school students would love this book!

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

My TBR (to be read) pile is huge- I mean there must be at least 30 books on my shelf that I've purchased because they sounds good, and then I start reading another book.  Not being in the classroom this year means that I also read more adult books.  However last week, my friend Karen mentioned this book and was talking about how great it was.  It sounded familiar (this is how bad the TBR pile is- I don't even know what is on there), but sure enough, when I got home I looked through the stacks (and stacks) of books and found this one just waiting to be read.

I'm not sure why I waited so long to read it,but it was just what I needed.  I've read another Teresa Toten book before- The Game and I quite liked it.  I love the fact that Toten writes about issues of mental health.  It is so important that young adults see themselves reflected in the books they read, and any of us working with kids recognizes the upswing in the issues youth are dealing with.  That is why I love Toten's book, she writes about real characters who are dealing with real issues.

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, is about a boy named Adam who is in group therapy to help him deal with his OCD, his mother's issues, his parents divorce and his step-brothers anxiety issues.  He has a lot of his plate, more than any 15 year old should have to deal with.  When a new girl joins the group, Adam is completely taken by her.  But he struggles over how someone with all the issues he is dealing with could have a normal relationship.  Adam is an incredibly sweet young man, who does indeed step up to be the hero to many people he meets, all while dealing with his own issues.  I was completely in love with Adam myself.

There are so many reasons to love this book, but the characters and the topic are what sold it to me.  I am not really sure if I would have this in my grade 7 classroom, it would have to be for the right student.  Grade 8 and older for sure. Intermediate teachers, I would suggest you read this first to determine if it is right for your students.  There are parts of Adam's story, like when he is describing how his OCD manifests itself that may confuse some readers, but it is so worth the read.

Teresa Toten is an author I will continue to buy everything she writes!  Check out her website here. 

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

This book is one that I have had on my shelf for a while- I ordered it with a Scholastics Book Club order in the spring and never got around to reading it until this weekend.  I didn't realize until I finished the book that it was written by the same author as Skinny- which I quite liked too.

Can't Look Away is the story of Torrey, a 16 year old blogger who found fame on the Internet sharing her beauty tips.  What the public sees of Torrey is one side, but in her private life she is dealing with the death of her younger sister just a few months ago.  She feels a great deal of guilt and doesn't know how to cope with the changes in her family.  When her family packs her up and moves her across the country, Torrey hopes she can remain anonymous because strangers online are saying very cruel things about her.  As Torrey gets to know a local boy whose family owns the local funeral home, she starts learning more about death and the Mexican tradition of el Dia de los Muertos or The Day of the Dead.  Torrey starts to explore her own feelings about death and how she can mourn the death of her sister.

I couldn't stop reading this book.  It was sad and hard to read at points, but I could see so many of my students in Torrey.  Even just dealing with the whole idea of being famous on the internet and the different ways people respond to complete strangers in the comment section makes this book an important one to read. Watching how Torrey and her family deal with the loss of her sister also makes this book quite compelling.  I really enjoyed it.  

Say You Will by Eric Walters

It's no secret that anyone who knows me, knows that I love reading Eric Walter's books.  So when I saw this one at Chapters this summer, I picked it up without ever reading the back.  It took me a while to get back to reading YA books because I was reading mostly adult books over the summer, but now that school is back in session, I need to work my way through a very large pile of books I have purchased!

Say You Will is about the new fad of big elaborate "promposals" where boys go out of their way to make a very public and expensive show of asking a girl to the prom with them.  In this story, Sam is a very smart young man who is trying to learn to fit in.  He is lucky to have his two best friends to support him, but he is working very hard to seem like just a regular guy.  After watching a promposal, Sam decides he is going to risk asking the girl he likes to go to the prom with him.  He is willing to risk spending lots of money and facing the fear of public rejection. His best friends think he is crazy and his parents are worried he will get hurt, but nothing will stop Sam from coming up with an unusual promposal for the girl he is interested in.

This was a cute book, a very fast read.  I like that Walters wrote a book that is more geared towards girls- not that boys wouldn't enjoy the book, but I think more girls would be drawn to it.  That is a nice change because most of his books tend to be written for male audiences, although because the stories are so compelling, girls also enjoy them.  I can see many grade 8 girls enjoying this book!  I have a few I am going to pass it onto.