Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

 Stead, R. (2012). Liar & spy. New York, NY: Yearling. 

Georges is in 7th grade and is struggling with bullies in school, a lack of friends, busy parents, and a "crazy" spy in his new apartment building. Georges (the S is silent) helps out Safer, the spy, in finding out what the mysterious Mr. X does. Throughout the process Georges finds strength from his dad, his table-partner Bob, and Safer and his siblings to fight against the bullies in school. Through his training he learns to find the truth in his daily life and accept the fact that his mother is in the hospital with a disease she is trying to fight off. In the end, Georges finds happiness with his new friends, other classmates, his mother's return, and in himself. 

The intended audience is students in middle school (6-8th grades) because of the subjects discussed. Teachers would be able to use this novel to discuss bullies and opening up to another person when you have a problem. 

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars!

Persepolis by M. Satrapi

 Satrapi, M., & Satrapi, M. (2007). The complete Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. 

This autobiography is based on the life of a young woman whose life has been altered because of war.  Marjane and her family find themselves in the midst of the Islamic Revolution that has taken over their lives and that of their friends. As we read her graphic novel we are not only given facts about the revolution, but we are shown how her life has been influenced by books, religion, family and politics during this trying time. We are not given glossaries, bibliographies, or indexes, but we are given images of these events, and many more!

Personally, I did have a hard time finding interest in the beginning of the book; not because I didn't think her story wasn't interesting, but I had a hard time understanding the portions where she was explaining the revolution. I felt that more explanation should have been given, especially for those, like me, who are ignorant of the Islamic Revolution. Eventually, the story began to grow on me, and I found her coming-of-age story powerful and enlightening. I feel that we can use portions of her graphic novel to introduce memoirs and autobiographies in a new way for our students. We can also tie this in to Malala Yousafzai's experience in being shot because of her thoughts on educating women. 

I rate this graphic novel a 4 out of 5 stars!

Hades Speaks! by Vicky Alvear Shecter

 Shecter, Vicky Alvear, and J. E. Larson. Hades Speaks!: A Guide to the Underworld by the Greek   

                God of the Dead. Honesdale: Boyds Mills, an Imprint of Highlights, 2014. Print. 

In Hades Speaks! we are given information about the Greek god Hades. The book is divided into 11 parts, and each part explains either a piece of Hades' Underworld, the rites of death, the fates of mortals or gods who entered the underworld without permission, and other Greek myths and personas. In addition to these sections, the book also includes a glossary of terms used, a bibliography of sources (both primary and secondary), and illustrations that depicted either the realm of Hades or people within the myths. 

The intended audience of this book would be 6th-12th grade; the way it is written it sounds as if Hades is guiding you on a tour of his domain, and throughout the "tour" he will explain information so that the reader understands what is going on. A good follow-up book would be Anubis Speaks! by the same author because it also gives pertinent information without leaving the reader overwhelmed. This book would be well used when going into Greek or even Roman Mythology. 

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!

An Abundance of Katherine's by John Green

 Green, J. (2006). An abundance of katherines. New York, NY: Speak.

Collin has just graduated from high school and is ready for what the world has in store for him. Unfortunately it isn't the same for Collin's girlfriend Katherine. Katherine the 19th, as he calls her because she is the 19th Katherine he has dated in his short life, has just dumped him on graduation night and he is at a loss of what to do. His friend Hassan has suggested they go on a road trip, and it leads them into Tennessee. While there they meet a girl named Lindsey and get hired to work for her mom, the town's main source of income. While there, Collin works to find an equation that can predict when a break-up will occur. With the help of Lindsey and Hassan, Collin finds his equation, and finds love as well.

Personally, I did not enjoy the book. I am a John Green fan, but this novel didn't do it for me because I couldn't relate to the main character, so I didn't feel any sympathy towards him. The intended audience is young adults, but I wouldn't suggest using it for a whole-class read unless you can find a way to make this novel connect to your students. It does have value in that Collin is a character who is reflective and uses knowledge to support his thoughts, but I do not see this becoming a novel that teachers would be able to pull resources to connect with.

I rate this book a 2 out of 5.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

 Bell, C., & Lasky, D. (2014). El Deafo. New York, NY: Amulet Books. 

Cede is an ordinary child that enjoys spending time with her family and friends. That is until one day when she notices that something is different about her, she has lost her hearing. She now has to use a hearing aid to help her when she is at school, and this is what sets her apart from many of the other kids. After loosing and regaining different friendships in school, Cece sees now how important it is to find strength within yourself and be true to who you are. 

I did enjoy reading El Deafo because Cece goes through a lot of emotions that students can relate to. That feeling of inadequacy or fear of being different or losing your best friend can cause havoc to any child of any age, even to some adults! I believe that students of any age can read and relate to this graphic novel because of the message that it brings to it.  I can see it working in grades 4 and up because of the images as well as content in the novel. Teachers could use this book in order to relate to a theme of individuality, acceptance, or tolerance. I feel that Bell created a novel that would be able to be used in the Do The Write Thing campaign that is promoted in many school districts in my area as well as in other states. 

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

 Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown. 

Junior is a young boy who is trying to make a life for himself despite the fact that he has a lot of odds against him; not only is he living in a poor reservation with his family, but he isn't getting proper education, he has some medical issues, and his family is having a hard time holding things together. In order to try to better himself, Junior leaves his reservation to attend a "white" school. He is seen as a traitor and even loses his best friend in the process. He keeps moving forward despite all the bullying this move has caused him, both by adults and kids, and finds out that he did well for himself and gains back the respect and admiration of his family and friends. 

This is not the first time that I read Alexie's book. It is one that I do continue to find enjoyable though, each time I read it, because of the sense of humor included with all the deep lessons. I think that this book, because of some of the topics they talk about, would be best left at 8th grade level. I believe the kids would find it amusing with all the illustrations, but would be old enough to talk about the themes of this novel as well. I think that another novel that could be read after this book would be The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. It is another coming-of-age novel that has a female lead and also discusses leaving one's home in order to start a new life. Teachers would be able to use this as a good starting novel for the year since it isn't too overwhelming and would be able to begin practicing literature groups should they want to incorporate them in their classes.

The following video is a student made production of a book trailer for The Absolutely True Diary or a Part-Time Indian. 

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

 Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Steve Harmon is about to go into trial, he has been accused of murdering a store clerk during a hold-up. We see Harmon's case play by as if he is filming a movie, he is already being held in a correctional facility and we see his fears and his struggles going through this case. He is being represented by a lawyer, Kathy O'Brian, who is trying to prove his innocence to the state as well as the jury. He documents his flashbacks to times before the trial, and where he was during the time of the murder. In the end, he is found to be not guilty, but it does leave the reader wondering whether or not it was warranted. 

I did enjoy reading Myers' book because the teacher and student in me were both dying to learn more. I see the audience for this book falling between grades 6-8th because it is a quick read that can be understood by students of these levels while still being able to hook them on the story line. I think that a good book to bounce and follow up with would be Right Behind You by Gail Giles. It is also about a young boy who is in trouble with the law, but I would recommend it more for 7th or 8th grade. Teachers would see the benefit of this book play out in correlation with a Drama Unit because of the inclusion of stage directions. I believe that since it is written in a script format is a major strength in the book because we can also do Reader's Theatre with it. A lesson that I would probably do with it is first teach the elements of Drama, characters, stage direction, etc, to the students using the novel. Then we could begin listening to the audio to show how a Reader's Theatre would sound like. After doing this for a few days, I would allow students to work in groups to preform a particular section, and to increase the rigor we could have them change the dialect from modern, informal English to maybe "proper" English, or to change the point of view to another character. 

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars!