Revolution is Not a Dinner Party, Ying Chang Compestine

While Compestine's debut novel is touted as fiction; the narrative draws on Compestine's experiences growing up in China during Mao's Cultural Revolution. She poignantly describes the erosion of individual rights in China in the 1970's. Ying Chang watches as her classmates, neighbours and eventually her father are denounced as bourgeoisie and thus enemies of the revolution.
Her parents, once prosperous doctors at the local hospital, are forced to work as cleaners throughout the night. Their home is invaded by the revolutionary pioneers and stripped of any western possessions such as radios and western style clothing.
Compestine portrays a life of hardship and fear.
This is a great read for grades 8 and 9. Compestine's experience is especially relevant for student in Social Studies 9.

This World We Live In

The last in Pfeffer's Life as We Knew It trilogy brings Miranda and Alex together. The two form a a deep relationship as the world continues to disintegrate.
Life as We Knew It is Miranda's and Alex's reality with survival when the moon's gravitational pull increases, causing massive natural disasters on earth. Miranda and her family struggle to survive in a world without cities or sunlight, and wonder if anyone else is still alive.
Cataclysmic disaster is the new genre of choice among teens. Pfeffer's trilogy is a hit for all grades.

Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson

Isabel is sold after her mistress dies. Her life as a slave in 1776 for a New York couple turns political when she finds herself caught up in the revolutionary war. Isabel narrates a haunting tale of the role slaves and free men played out at the onset of the American battle for independence.
Anderson graphically recounts the daily drudgery of Isabel and her sister. The descriptions of Isabel's new mistress leave the reader screaming for Isabel to escape.
Isabel learns of her own resilience and strength as she navigates the political turmoil of spies and patriots. Will this war free her or will she free herself?
Fantastic read for all grades; especially, grades 8 and 9. This is also a perfect companion for students in Social Studies 9.

Searching for the great perhaps

Miles Halter seeks the "Great Perhaps" in John Green's Looking for Alaska. His public school life in Florida is uneventful, uninteresting, and unfriendly. He leaves for Culver Creek Boarding School, Birmingham, AL seeking a more fulfilling existence. He finds his meaning of life in Alaska. The "hottest girl in all of human history." She is smart, adventurous and mischievous. Her past is somewhat of a mystery which she slowly divulges during late night smoking and drinking sessions.
Miles is drawn to the excitement of Alaska. But, can he handle the excitement and its consequences?
This award winning first novel is a classic for young adults. Recommended for grades 8-10.

Little Brother

w1n5t0n and his friends are arrested as a suspected terrorists in the confusion surrounding the terrorist attack on the San Francisco. They are held by the Department of Homeland Security. Their families are in mourning as their children are missing and assumed dead . w1n5t0n is released after days of interrogation. In the wake of the attack and the United States' security fears he vows to use his computer skills to fight back against the increasingly Orwellian tactics used in the guise of safety.
Doctorow's near futuristic narrative is filled with techno-geek hacking and subterfuge. The extensive bibliography offers readers the opportunity to explore the writers research as he learned about hacking and security. A fascinating read for grades 8-10.

Books and Movies

Need to present a book talk? Try choosing a book that has been made into a movie. Use this guide to help you construct your presentation.
Book or Movie

Losing My Cool (2010)

Thomas Chatterton Williams reflects on his dual persona growing up in suburban America. He portrays the struggle between the academic opportunities his father, a self taught scholar, provided in the family home, a home filled with 15, 000 books and the allure of Hip Hop culture that permeated black youth in the 1990's. The story is punctuated with lyrics from Hip Hop fame such as Biggie Smalls, Dr. Dre and Ice-T.

While Williams offers a peak into the black male psyche of what it means to be a young black man, it is the unconditional love and confidence that his father exudes that strongly shapes Williams' choices of self over the black community. I found myself waiting for Williams to recount another story of his father's experience as an educated black man from the south. His father was forced to read by flashlight in the closet as his family frowned on his academics. His marriage to a white woman, Thomas' mother, occurred when interracial marriage was against the law in many southern states.

Williams' story speaks of the black experience but I can see the struggle that many adolescents, black or white, endure during their teen years as they navigate the foundations of family and the pull of peers and popular culture.

This book is recommended for students in grades 11 and 12.