October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I want to thank Lauren Strohecker for this wonderful gift to our library and with it her advice that it is a must read for young adults. I wholeheartedly concur; in 68 poems in this spare, yet piercing novel in verse, the author was scheduled to speak at Matthew Shepard's college and found out just before about the savage beating this young man received. Leslea Newman kept her keynote engagement and spoke and wept at the sheer horror of this hate crime toward an innocent victim who succumbs to death 5 days later. Newman has taken many elements of Matthew Shepard's last hours and imagined what may have been; the road, the fence he was lashed to, the biker, the murderers, the pistol, the deer and so much more. This book is a tribute to Matthew Shepard who died as a result of a hate crime at the hands of gay haters. This book is also a history lesson that every child, young adult and reader needs to explore because in the reading of this book, you will be changed. This book needs to be read by everyone.
I especially gained even more knowledge through the author's introduction, her epilogue, her afterword, notes, explanation of poetic forms and resources. Newman brings sympathy, anger, sorrow, and compassion to each and every word in this book. Highly recommended.
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verse (8)
Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Liz is a great photographer, a senior with a loyal boyfriend, and best friend forever in Kate since they were six years old. But all of this changes when their once a month slumber party is marred with a fight. Liz accuses Kate of being too comfortable and never taking a chance, their argument ends in Liz angry and stomping up to her room, leaving Kate in the basement. What happens next is open to interpretation. This novel in verse reminded me of the Alex Flinn book, Fade to Black where the reader is not sure who is telling the truth...this is what happens in Exposed and Liz's lens of the world changes, and she begins to lose her moral compass. A great read for girls, reluctant readers, and anyone who likes novels in verse.
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Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The young teens in Hopkins’ novel, a companion to Triangles, make decisions for love that alter their lives. In this engrossing novel in verse; teens deal with issues gripping and devastating such as HIV, pregnancy, sexting, and the death of a family member. The book uses profanity and graphic sex in order to drive home the reality that love/sex is harsh and reminds teens to be more deliberate and smart. Fans of Hopkins will LOVE this book
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Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wicked Girls is a great novel in verse exploring the Salem Witch Trials and the young girls who were called seers and were taken over by witches that these girls named. The witches were put in jail and then on trial. Hemphill does a good job of setting up the world in which these girls lived and the fact that the French and Indian War was involved; some were servants and others were a little more privileged. Strict religion and piety were very important and there was too much punishment by parents and relatives of very physical beatings. I think Anne Putnam was the most needy and in the end the girl I disliked the most because she became very arrogant and if she didn't like someone, Anne and her mother would come up with names of "witches" to punish. Hemphill ends the book with a listing of the real girls and what happened to them. She gives the names and a hsitory of the real people accused by the girls, an authors note that I find very helpful concerning research and trying to decide what theories were plausible and what were not.
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Karma by Cathy Ostlere
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book, very very long but so worth the saga and drama during the tumultuous time in India when Indira Gandhi was assasinated. I loved Maya, Sandeep, and understood the failings of her family because of their cultural beliefs.It is 1984 just after Indira Gandhi has been massacred; Maya and her father are caught in the middle of this crisis in India as they have returned from Canada to bring her mother’s ashes to her home in India. Two love stories are explored in this stunning novel in verse; will Maya be able “to speak” to Sandeep and her father?
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Fallout by Ellen HopkinsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The stories of Autumn, Hunter and Summer, Kristina's three oldest children, are provoking, harsh, and sad. We see their childhoods from their point of view, and we feel their pain, their joy, and their ties, to a mother they don't really see or know. Hopkins tells us (shows us) how their mother's meth addiction fuels their dysfunction, how they are predisposed to alcohol, anger, anxiety---all because of the woman who brought them into the world. But this book holds out hope that these teens are strong, working against the odds to make their worlds a better place with each other, even including and accepting their mother, Kristina with all of her shortcomings.
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Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa SchroederMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Schroeder's 3rd book in free verse is achingly poignant as Brooklyn and Nico still mourn the death of Lucca. Brooklyn was madly in love when Lucca was taken from her and she is still missing him, writing him letters and buying their favorite comic books. Her mother has left with her 2 brothers and Brooklyn remains with her father. Nico was Lucca's younger brother, but they were very close. Nico's best friend, Gabe dies and Both Brooklyn and Nico are stunned. They knew he was suffering, but they were in pain themselves. Now Brooklyn has nightmares about Gabe and Nico is being haunted by Lucca TO HELP BROOKLYN. That is easy for a ghost to say since Nico is still running away to handle the pain. To honor his dead brother's wishes, he encourages Brooklyn to change, start running with him and participate in a marathon. I was compelled to read this book, I felt so badly for Brooklyn and Nico, will they find that they can go on without their beloved Lucca? A must read! It has all the elements YA's will love--drama, suspense, fear, anger, loss and longing!
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You Are Not Here by Samantha SchutzMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Shutz's latest novel in verse is fiction about a Annaleah who has a secret relationship with jock, artist, basketball player Brian, who suddenly dies. Only 3 of Annaleah's friends knew and didn't necessarily approve of them being together. With Brian's death, AnnaLeah is plunged to the depths of despair and now we as the reader find out about Brian from Annaleah. Brian didn't always make time for Annaleah but it is her friend Marissa, who keeps calling her friend (will Annaleah return her calls?), is honest with Annaleah (at times at the expense of their friendship),and provides empathy which Annaleah desperately needs. Annaleah spends her days visiting Brian at the cemetery, and at home in her pajamas, annot talking to her mother. Friends Parker and Jess give a grief book to Annaleah, which she refers to as the "death book" but she does read it and even though she mocks what she must do, Annaleah begins to wade through this book. It is when she takes a job at a pizza parlor that we feel Annaleah confront her pain and loss and begin to try to ease back into her old life, and friends. Girls who enjoy a romance, and a quick read will enjoy this novel in verse about a lost love.
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