Module 1 Book Reviews

 

Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-312-67439-7

Plot Summary

Melinda is just starting ninth grade and she is already an outcast. Over the summer she attends a high school party where she is attacked and raped. She is so shocked and upset after the attack that she calls the police from the party. When the police arrive the party is busted and she is blamed. Not only has Melinda lost all of her friends but she is battling the horrors of being raped. Melinda struggles to deal with the reality of what has happened to her and is unable to speak. The only peace she finds is in art class with her teacher Mr. Freeman. Through the year Melinda slowly starts to come out of her shell and starts to process what has happened only to be attacked once more. This time Melinda stands up to her attacker and learns to speak up for herself.

Analysis

Anderson captures the gritty realism of high school perfectly. A small portion of this novel is based on Anderson’s own experiences after a sexual assult she suffered as a teen. The main character, Melinda tells her story through wit and humor which is used to hide her pain and suffering. Female students will empathize with Melinda’s struggles and may see themselves or someone they know in this character. Filled with symbolism, this book is a must read.

This book could be used to open the discussion of what unfortunately happens too often in high schools across America. What to do in this situation, and how to seek help when needed. It also touches on mental health issues such as cutting. These are all topics that today’s teens are faced with and this book lets girls know that they are not alone.

Reviews

“In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. . . . Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers’ empathy. . . . But the book’s overall gritty realism and Melinda’s hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired.”

—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today’s headlines. . . . The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn . . . a novel that will be hard for readers to forget.”

—Kirkus Reviews, Pointer Review


National Book Award Finalist

ALA Best Books for Young Adults

Michael L. Printz Award Honor


Other Books by Laurie Halse Anderson include: Shout, Catalyst, and Prom.

Potok, C. (1967). The Chosen. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-449-91154-9

Plot Summary

Set in the 1940’s The Chosen tells of a friendship between two boys on opposite sides of the Jewish faith.  Reuven Malther is a secular Jew with a father who is a professor and Zionist.  Daniel Saunders is a Hasidic Jew and the heir to a Hasidic rebbe.  This story follows the boys through their teens and into adulthood and captures their complicated relationships with each other and their fathers.  

Analysis

Potok himself grew up in the Hasidic community and uses his experiences to write this story.  There are a couple conflicts in this story, the conflict between the Hasidim and the Orthodox, as well as blind fanaticism and piousness.  The author also shows the two ways in which the fathers are choosing to raise their sons.  Danny’s father raises him in complete silence and a firm hand in order to train him to replace him as a tzaddik whereas Reuven’s father raises him as a scholar and with a gentle hand.  This leads to conflict between Reuven and Danny’s father as he tries to understand the hostile way in which he raises his son, who is his best friend.  He sees the toll it takes on his friend and how Danny follows his father with blind faith.  This book shows the world the ways of the Hasidic community in Brooklyn and makes their faith more accessible to people.  Readers can relate with the characters on the complexity of trying to figure out who you are and what you believe in as a young adult.  

Reviews

 “So entertaining, so full of love and compassion that readers of all persuasions will take it to their hearts. Mr. Potok is writing about two fathers and their sons... in a way that will ring just as true at Iowa as in Brooklyn.” ― Publishers Weekly

“It is a simple, almost meager story... yet the warmth and pathos of the dealings between fathers and sons and the understated odyssey from boyhood to manhood give the book a range that makes it worth anybody’s reading.” ― The Christian Science Monitor

National Book Award Finalist

Other books by Chaim Potok include: The Promise, The Book of Lights and My Name is Asher Lev.

Chee, T. (2020). We Are Not Free. Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0-358-13143-4

Plot Summary

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor fourteen teens lives become forever changed.  This group of Japanese American friends take the reader on a journey through the war and the incarceration camps they were forced to move into.  The teens have grown up together in Japantown in San Francisco and treat each other like family.  Surrounded by people who hate them for how they look and who they are, they must stick together to make it through the war.  

Anaylsis

Chee used stories from her own grandparents as well as historical tidbits to write this book.  This story is told from the fourteen points of view of each of the main characters.  The reader is weaved through the events of the war from each teens perspective. This allows the reader to understand how the characters were similar but also the differences.  Each character had their own complex relationship with their own families as well as their loyalties to America or Japan. The writing styles change throughout the book based on what character is telling the story.  There is both first and second person narration as well as verse and letters. Also included in the book are historical pictures of various places and documents. This book also gives you some insight into the incarceration camps during WWII and the daily conditions each teen was subjected to through their eyes.  The teens dealt with regular teenage things such as love, school, dances, and friends but they also had to deal with racism, death, and politics.  This topic of the incarceration camps is not often spoken about and has readers empathizing with the teens and the hardships they endured.  They were American born but were often called racial slurs and were preyed upon for how they looked which led them to question what it means to be an American.  This incredible novel is a story everyone should read.  

Reviews

Chee is a master storyteller.... Here, she uses her own San Francisco-based Japanese American family's history to inform a blazing and timely indictment of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. Her passion and personal involvement combine with her storytelling talents to create a remarkable and deeply moving account of the incarceration.... [We Are Not Free] should become required curriculum reading on a shameful and relevant chapter in U.S. history.-- "Booklist, STARRED review.

“A compelling and transformative story of a tragic period in American history....Each voice is powerful, evoking raw emotions of fear, anger, resentment, uncertainty, grief, pride, and love....An unforgettable must-read.​" —Kirkus, STARRED review  

National Book Award Finalist

Printz Honor Book

Walter Honor Book

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book

Other books by Traci Chee include: A Thousand Steps Into Midnight and The Reader Series