John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth

Partridge, E. (2005). John Lennon: All I want is the truth : a biography. New York, NY: Viking.

This is a fairly detailed biography of the famous Beatle, from birth to beyond his death.  While some biographies gloss over the subject's flaws, this author definitely does not do that.  Lennon's obsessive personality, drug use, promiscuity, and anger/abandonment issues with his family are all addressed honestly.  From his humble beginnings in lower class Liverpool to the soaring heights of Beatlemania, Lennon's genius is given the attention it deserves, but balanced with the struggles of fame, like loss of privacy and control by managers.  As a Beatles fan, I enjoyed learning more about Lennon, but this is suitable for older teens because of the subject matter.

Ideas that Changed the World

Ferris, J., & DK Publishing, Inc. (2010). Ideas that changed the world. London: DK.

This is a really cool book!  It is separated into six categories: genius, great gizmos, handy gadgets, on the move, explore, and culture.  Under each category are double-page spreads of an idea with beautiful pictures (It is DK, after all!) and interesting tidbits of information.  The year and person responsible are included for each idea.  For many of them, the idea is explored from the past, present, and into the future. 

I had this book on my desk at school for over a week, and I had several kids who would fight over it.  I had to have them pick a number between one and ten every day, or take turns with it.  They were really ready for me to turn it in so they could have it!  I love DK books, and this is no exception.

You Hear Me? Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys

Franco, B. (2000). You hear me?: Poems and writing by teenage boys. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press.

This is a touching collection of poetry written by teenage boys.  Some of them are light, and some are definitely heavy, but they are all honest.  The quality varies, but of course that's a matter of opinion, and poetry is subjective.  I did enjoy reading it, and some of them really spoke to me.  Most of the boys just want to me heard, and loved, and appreciated, and many poems are addressed to the boys' fathers.  Some of the language and content is mature, so this would be most appropriate with older teens.

Flygirl

Smith, S. L. (2008). Flygirl. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

This is a really great piece of historical fiction.  It's the story of Ida Mae Jones, a pale African-American girl in New Orleans at the beginning of World War II.  Ida Mae's father has died, but he was a pilot, and he taught her to fly.  When the war breaks out, her older brother Thomas joins as a medic.  Soon, Ida Mae hears about the WASP program for women pilots, and wants to join, but they do not accept black women.  Ida Mae decides to "pass" for white, and joins.  She meets two wonderful friends, goes through the rigorous training, and becomes a pilot.

Throughout the story, Ida Mae faces discrimination from people because of her skin color and her gender.  She lives in fear that she will be discovered and killed for passing as white.  There are several intriguing storylines, including her brother going missing in action, a death, and a budding romance.  I think this is a fantastic story for young girls to read.

Chains

Anderson, L. H. (2008). Chains. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

This book tells the story of Isabel, a slave in the beginning of the American Revolution.  As the story begins, her mother has died, and Isabel and her sister Ruth are sold to a New York couple instead of being freed.  "Madam" mistreats the sisters, renaming Isabel "Sal" and selling Ruth when she finds out Ruth has seizures.  Isabel meets Curzon, who is a Patriot, and he talks her in to spying.  When Isabel gets in trouble, Madam has her branded with an I for insolence, and Isabel gets sick.  Curzon is wounded and imprisoned, and Isabel sneaks food to him.  Finally, Isabel works up the courage to run away after she realizes that Madam is going to sell her.  She sneaks Curzon out of prison, and the novel ends with a cliffhanger. 

I enjoyed this book, especially seeing Isabel grow and gain courage as a young woman.  She grew to mistrust others, but to depend upon herself.

Amulet

Kibuishi, K. (2008). Amulet: Book 1. New York: Graphix.

Amulet is the story of Emily and Navin, brother and sister.  After their dad dies, their mom decides to move to an abandoned, run down shack of a house that belonged to their great-grandpa.  Emily finds a her great-grandpa's library, where she discovers an amulet that won't come out. After their mom hears a noise, from the basement, she is captured by a jelly-like tentacle-y monster, and to save her, they go out this door, which leads them to a parallel universe. The amulet helps them to a lake, where a trench coat-wearing guy leads them to an old house. The guy turns out to be a pink rabbit named Miskit. In the house, Silas (great grandpa) is dying. He tells Emily she has to take care of the stone. She accepts, and then she, Navin, Miskit, and friends go to rescue their mom. They do, but she is poisoned, and to find the cure, they must travel across the world.

I found this to be bizarre, and creepy.

Complete Persepolis

Satrapi, M., & Satrapi, M. (2007). The complete Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books.

The Complete Persepolis is a graphic novel illustrated and written by Marjane Satrapi. It is about Marji herself, who grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. She and her mother were protesters against "the veil" they were forced to wear, until they got hurt. Marji's mom and dad got her out of Iran after Marji got kicked out of school because she refused to not wear jewelry and jeans, and she moved to Austria when she was 14. From there, because her mother's friend kicked her out of where she was supposed to stay she moved around Europe until she got really lonely and moved back to Tehran. There, she met Reza, who she married. Then she got an Art degree and had to move back out of Iran when she was 24.

I'm not the biggest fan of graphic novels, so I wasn't thrilled to be reading this.  It is a good story though, and it's a fast read.  It's a good example of religious, social, and cultural information in an artistic format.

Madapple

Meldrum, C. (2008). Madapple. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

This is a very bizarre book that sort of defies description.  Aslaug lives with her mother in rural Maine, and they are totally cut off from the outside world.   Her mother is some sort of botanical genius, so they forage for a living, and her education has been very nontraditional - she knows several ancient languages and tons of botany, but nothing of the modern world.  Her mother, Maren, seems insane, and then dies of cancer.  Aslaug is accused of her murder, but it is determined that she overdosed herself on jimsonweed but had terminal cancer, so Aslaug goes to find her aunt and cousins in a nearby town.  The aunt is an evangelical preacher, and her cousin Sanne appears to be as crazy as Maren was.  Her male cousin, Rune seems to have incestuous feelings for Aslaug.  One storyline involves her quest to find out who her father was.  Aunt Sara claimes her ex-husband Mikkel fathered her, but Sanne (and Maren) believe there was an immaculate conception.  Another storyline involves theological discussions on Christianity's co-opting of many pagan ideas.  Aslaug quickly ends up pregnant at age 15, like her mother before her, but has no memory of ever having sex, other than a dream of her cousin Rune.  Sanne convinces her it was immaculate conception again, though she has actually drugged the household so that Rune would impregnate her.  Bizarre!  She has the baby, and they raise her communally, along with another teen pregnant by Rune.  Rune and this girl eventually run off with the baby, causing Sanne and Sara to commit suicide and Aslaug to be charged for their murder.  Rune finally saves to day, and I guess they all live happily, incestuously ever after.  Definitely one of the weirdest books I've read in a while.  It was like a mix of DaVinci Code and V.C. Andrews.

London Eye Mystery

Dowd, S. (2008). The London Eye mystery. Oxford: David Fickling Books.

The London Eye Mystery was cute, but I did not fall in love with it.  It's a really quick read, with chapters that are just a few pages each.  It's told from Ted's point of view, and he's a Londoner who happens to be autistic.  His "brain is wired differently", as he says.  His autism is covered in a very positive, though realistic light.  His family is very supportive, but they do occasionally get a little frustrated with him.  He works on his social skills with a therapist, and there are reminders of his lessons throughout the book.  Ted's aunt Gloria, and cousin Salim come to stay with them on their way out of the country to move to New York.  They decide to ride the London Eye, and Salim disappears - he goes up in the Eye then never returns.  Ted and his sister Kat work as amateur detectives to figure out what happened to Salim.  The family gets very stressed out as the kids race to solve the mystery.