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.

Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger (2009)

Julia and Valentina Poole, 20 year old twins, are given an opportunity to escape their sheltered suburban Chicago home. Elspeth Noblin, their mother's twin sister, has died and left them her fortune. She has also bequeathed her London flat, which borders on Highgate Cemetery. The Poole twins have always wondered about their estranged aunt. Their mother, Edwina, has cut off all ties with her twin sister. There is a catch to how the young Americans can claim their inheritance; Elspeth has stipulated that the girls are to live in her flat for one year, and their parents are not allowed to enter. Their London flat neighbours include Elspeth's younger lover, Robert and Martin, an eccentric crossword composer whose OCD Niffenegger poetically portrays.
Julia and Valentina embark on a journey that takes them deep into themselves and the ghosts of their family and Highgate Cemetery.
Her Fearful Symmetry brings suspenseful supernatural mystery the unsuspecting Poole twins and the reader. Niffenegger also weaves in a history of London's famous Highgate Cemetery, where likes of Karl Marx, Christina Rossetti, George Elliot and Malcolm McLaren are buried. The novel is rich in topics and themes that students can explore for book talks or for the pure enjoyment of reading. I would recommend Niffenegger's latest work to grades 10-12 as well as the enthusiastic junior reader.

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro

Your life has been designed for you to give to others. You will most likely not survive past 30 years old. What is your life like?
Ishiguro creates a disturbing narrative that explores the life of clones destined for organ donation.
Set in futuristic England, Kathy H. reflects on her schooling and friends from Hailsham. She reveals the personal and emotional struggles that she endured upon leaving her protected sanctum of Hailsham.
Ishiguro brings to light the morality of child rearing, education, and cloning through the eyes of adolescence. Never Let Me Go is a powerful read that will have you reflecting on the purpose of your own life. The Vintage Canada edition that we have comes with a reader's guide and discussion questions regarding the movie version. These are GREAT resources for your English book talks. I would recommend Never Let Me Go to students in grades 10 - 12.

DEAR

SDSS celebrated Drop Everything and Read on October 19, 2010. Special thanks to Ms. Crump's English 9 class who allowed me to join them in their silent reading time.

The Possibility of Fireflies

Ellie spends a lot of time alone. Her mother is becoming increasing unhinged since her father left them. Gwen, Ellie's sister, is someone Ellie no longer knows or wants to know. She is waiting for someone to come and rescue her from school and her family. As Ellie grapples the dangers of smoking, arson, drugs, alcohol, risky sex, and an abusive mother, Paul creates an intensive narrative and gripping plot. How will Ellie choose to escape her troubled life? The Possibility of Fireflies will appeal to students in grades 8 and 9.

The Boy from the Basement

Charlie has been confined to the basement since his family moved to town from the lake. One night the back door slams shut and Charlie is locked outside. Charlie is fearful of the outside; he longs for the damp walls of his only home, the basement.
He is taken into care at the local hospital and then into a foster home. As he struggles to adjust to his new life of being 'outside', he learns about Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving and Christmas. His ultimate goal is to one day play soccer outside. But, how can he achieve this; what if father is watching him, what if father finds him? Surely, he will be punished for leaving the basement.
Shaw draws us in to the psychological journey of an abused child as he overcomes nightmares and hallucinations.
While the writing is average and the plot structure somewhat repetitive, there is a thriller aspect to the novel as we wait to see if and when Charlie's father will come back for him.

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali

Hotel Rwanda, a critically acclaimed film, is loosely based on Courtemanche's Canadian bestseller novel, A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, as well as the true life experiences of people during the Rwandan genocide.