Books #1-8

Gephart, D. (2016). Lily and Dunkin.  NY: Delacorte.

Told from alternating first person point of views, Lily and Dunkin tells the story of Timothy and Norbert who are both struggling with identity during their eighth-grade year.  Timothy, at school, and Lily, at home, works to make her father understand that she is Lily all the time and should start hormone treatment.  Norbert, dubbed Dunkin by Lily, struggles with bipolar disorder and the secret that he and his mother moved in with his grandmother after his father had a breakdown from the same illness.  Dunkin feels the mania and depression of his illness and hides the fact the he stops taking his medication.  Both Lily and Dunkin also work through the typic middle school problems including Dunkin having to decide if he should drop Timothy’s friendship because the boys on the basketball team.  While the resolution to the story may have been a little too neat, Lily and Dunkin is a delightful read.

As I read Lily and Dunkin, I am reminded of the amount of research that Donna Gephart did in preparation for writing this book.  The characters feel real and authentic as they grow and struggle.  It resonated with me that Lily is more than a flat transgender character.  She is also struggling with her changing relationship with her friend Dare, saving a tree, and a school dance.  There is more to the character.  The same is true with Dunkin. While struggling with his mental illness, he is also concerned with making the basketball team and living with his grandmother.  The characters in the story are more than just LGBTQ characters they are adolescent characters with all the highs and lows.

Other YA novels with LGBTQ characters:

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

One in Every Crowd by Ivan Coyote

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Harris, R. (2009). It’s Perfectly Normal. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press.

This book goes way beyond “the talk”.  In a relatable way, Harris explains topics changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health.  I love the double page spread that shows all different types of body styles.  Even as an adult, I am curious!  There is a nice balance of water color illustrations and text.  The easy-going dialogue blends nicely with the scientific information so that it is approachable and friendly while informative.  The bird and bee characters are great!

Every year I have parents who ask me how to talk about sex and puberty with their children.  I wish I knew about this resource years ago!  I have ordered a copy to add to my parent library (I teach fourth graders and not every parent would like their child to have access to the book) and one for my eleven-year-old daughter.  Even though we’ve talked and she has other books, I think this is an important resource.  It answers so many questions beyond just the fundamentals of sex and puberty.

Sartrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis. NY: Pantheon.

Marjane is growing up in Iran during revolution in the 1980s.  She attends a French school that was once coed that is not separated by gender and the girls must wear a veil.  The graphic novel format is a perfect media for this coming of age story.  Marji’s family sends her to Austria when they open after it has become too unsafe in Iran.  The graphic black illustrations of the graphic novel make this a visually interesting format.  Marjane provides valuable insight into of what it like to grow up in a country immersed in war.  There are many things to love about Iran which Marjane points out as the story winds from one memory to the next.  It is raw and unapologetic as it describes the horrors that Marji sees and how she processes her new reality.

I love how Marjane’s pride for her country shines throughout the story.  Many students have only seen Iran through a western lense.  This book is a way for them to see universal themes that all adolescents deal with as well as the horrors of war and how they shape every aspect of life.  The part where Marjane describes the empty grocery store shelves resonated with me.  You still have to go to the grocery store while the country is at war.  Students could read the graphic novel then watch the movie and compare the two.  They could analyze the book and look for universal themes.

A trailer for the movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PXHeKuBzPY

Thomas. A. (2017).  The hate u give. NY: HarperCollins.  

Starr is hanging out at a spring break party with her brother Seven’s sister Kenya when she connects with her childhood friend Khalil.  When shots ring out, Khalil offers to drive Starr home.  On the way home, Khalil and Starr get pulled over by a police officer.  Khalil is asked to get out of the car and when he ducks his head in to check on Starr, he is shot and killed.  Starr helplessly watches him die.  Starr is overwhelmed with emotion and she and her family decide to keep her identity as the witness hidden from people in her neighborhood as well as from her friends at her exclusive private school.  Starr feels like she is pulled between two worlds- the Garden Heights Starr and the Williamson Starr.  She even keeps it from her white boyfriend, Chris.  Starr’s neighborhood, already fractured by drugs and violence, riots in the wake of the tragedy.  Starr’s father, a former gang memember, helps DeVante escape the life in part because he was unable to help Khalil.  Even as Starr’s family moves out of the neighborhood, Starr feels compelled to speak out and give Khalil a voice.

I was fortunate to get to hear Angie Thomas speak.  She is motivating, real, and inspiring.  Hearing her process and her struggles made her even more relatable.  Students should watch this video of her talking about her inspiration for the book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CorQppCdxEI  In the classroom, I would ask students to think about an artist that they connect with such as a musician, painter, or author and have the draw inspiration.  They could debate whether or not Starr should hav spoken up using examples from the book to support their ideas.

Anderson, L. H. writer. Speak. (1999). Illus. Carroll, Emily (2018). NY: Macmillan Publishing Group.

Melinda starts high school as a social pariah.  Everything was fine until the end of the summer when she called the cops and busted a party.  Now everyone knows who she is and shun her at school.  Melinda withdraws and stops speaking at home and at school.  She feels like the cubby that she sets up in an old janitor closet is the only place where she feels relief and can sleep.  Her former best friend Rachel is now her enemy and the only person who talks to her is Heather, the new girl.  Melinda’s depression deepens and she withdraws further from home and school.  A light in the darkness is her art class.  When her grades hit a new low, Malinda’s parents stop their bickering long enough to realize there is a problem but not long enough to see what Malinda is facing.  She does not reveal her rape to anyone, however when her former friend starts dating Andy, Malinda must try to do something so she writes a note.  After visiting the place of her rape, Malinda is able to reclaim a bit of herself.  She realized that she no longer needs her closet.  While cleaning it out, Andy comes in and attempts to rape her again.  Malinda is able to escape and the lacrosse team is there to bear witness to what happened.  After all she has gone through, Malinda is able to find her voice and begin to heal.  This book is amazing.  There are so many topics that are touched on beyond the over arching theme of processing trauma.  There is the dysfunctional relationship that her parents have, friends changing from middle school to high school, first crush (David from science class), and depression.  I read the graphic novel as well as the print version.  I liked the way that the graphic novel stayed true to the original novel but felt that is left out so much.  Students who are hesitant readers will be able to connect to the graphic novel with its detailed, beautiful illustrations.  They, like me, may be so impressed with the graphic novel that they want to read the full version.  I feel like this book is a must read for all students.  Here is a book trailer for Speak: https://www.teachertube.com/video/speak-book-trailer-131463

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. NY: Little Brown.

When Junior starts ninth grade at Wellpinit High School, he is optimistic.  That quickly dies when he sees his mom’s name written in his Algebra book.  Junior convinces his parents that he should attend Reardan High School.  It is difficult for Junior to get to a school that is twenty-two miles away because they often don’t have enough money to pay for gas.  Junior is caught between the two worlds, the reservation or rez, and the all-white school.  His parents are alcoholics, his grandmother is killed, his sister marries and moves away, the whole community literally turns its back on him, and yet Junior still manages to finish the school year with decent grades.  He promises his mom he will never drink and even finds a way to remain friends with Rowdy.

This book is funny like laugh out loud while in a quiet room funny.  It is a nice balance to the cutting dialogue in other scenes.  The harshness of reservation life and the setbacks that Junior face bring home the realities of his life.

Other books about teens caught in two worlds:

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth

Black Boy, White School by Brian F. Walker

Ball Don’t Lie by Matt de la Peña

The hate u give by Angie Thomas

Behar, R. (2017). Lucky Broken Girl. NY: Delacorte.

A story about a Jewish Cuban girl who immigrates to New York in the 1960s.  Things are starting to go well for Ruthie when she is in a devastating accident.  Her leg is broken in the car accident and she must spend the next year immobilized in a cast.  Ruthie draws strength from Frida Kahlo as she travels in her head as she listens to the stories around her and then must face learning to walk again.  This story is semi-autobiographical.  Author Ruth Behar suffered from the same injury when she was a child.  An inspiring story of finding inner strength, the simple language of the story draws you in.  There is a great interview of the author where she talks about how the story relates to her life http://www.anansesem.com/2017/08/ruth-behar-finding-wholeness-in-age-of.html

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on My Mind. NY: FSG.

While spending time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, senior in high school Liza meets Annie.  She feels an attraction immediately and goes out on a limb to introduce herself and exchange numbers.  Liza is thrilled when Annie calls her and their relationship progresses from there.  Annie realizes that her feelings go beyond friendship before Liza.  While housesitting for two female teachers, the girls realize that the women are in a relationship.  The girls decide to further their relationship at the house and are ultimately caught.  This leads to a disciplinary hearing for Liza at her private school and to the teachers losing their jobs.  Annie goes to a public school with a much different reality than Liza’s.  After graduation, the girls go to colleges on separate coasts.  The book opens with Annie reaching out to Liza who has ignored her letters and closes with Liza reaching out to Annie.

I had a hard time with this book.  It felt forced to me.  When I checked the copyright date, 1982, and warmed a bit to the book.  The characters are likeable and I am sure that there are students with whom the characters will resonate but I feel like there are so many great books today with characters discovering their sexuality who have more depth.  In 1982, I am sure this book was groundbreaking and a life raft for teens struggling to understand their identity.  I would use it in the classroom as a comparison book to more contemporary books to help explain how much the world has changed.  This is not to say that people do not face prejudices, struggles, and misunderstanding every day; however, I feel like there are more current books available.  Instead of Annie on My Mind I would invite students to read:

Vanished by E. E. Cooper

About a Girl by Sarah McCarry

South of Sunshine by Dana Elmendorf

The Space Between by Michelle L. Teichman

Harper is the most popular girl in ninth grade by genetics.  She is not only beautiful her older sister has blazed the trail for her to be the most popular girl in school.  This only rub is that when she comes face to face with Sarah she can’t let it go.  Sarah is everything that Harper is not a loner, artistic, scared, and religious.  To make matters even more difficult, Harper begins to date Sarah’s twin, Tyler.  The story goes from Harper’s point of view and Sarah’s as the story unfolds.  The girls have to decide whether being true to themselves or pleasing the people around them is more important.

For more information about Michelle Tiechman go can visit her website http://michelleteichman.com/