Gail Carson Levine: Fairest

David Levithan: Boy Meets Boy

Lauren Myracle: Rhymes with Witches

Sharon Hale: The Princess Academy

So much more than what the title says. HOLY COW was this good.

Gennifer Choldenko: Al Capone Does My Shirts

Louis Sachar: Holes

I totally forgot what an amazing story this is! This is the third reading of it, and I bawled at the end. Stanley Yelnats (stanley backwards) has terrible luck, doesn't like himself very much, and is forced to dig 5x5x5 holes in the middle of the desert as punishment ("this isn't a girl scout camp") for a crime he didn't commit.

Sachar weaves a family's history into the tale among the modern Stanley's detailed experience. The end of the story, while tidily wrapped up, is original and masterful in the manner the entire text was written.

Really a unique story, and I am SO glad I haven't (and won't) see the movie...I love the images of Caveman and Zero I have in my head, and have no desire to have anyone else's interpretation. I love my imagination!!

Definitely check this book out!

Jack Gantos: Hole in My Life

Even though the story is far from upbeat, Gantos doesn't tell a "woe as me" story of his incarceration. The events leading up to his arrest are told realistically, and the one theme that is weaved throughout is Gantos' desire to write--in any capacity. While his drug use and drinking were completely out of control, his lifestyle is essential to the story, but never appears preachy to the reader--which is slightly different from most Young Adult texts.

This is more of a story of a writers' journey to where he is today, told in a very matter-of-fact way without preaching or judging. Brutally honest and moving--I am glad Gantos published this text. He also alludes to several (more than 15) important books/authors in his journey, and could be great tool in the classroom. Students who enjoy nonfiction & biographies/memoirs will really enjoy this book. Potential writers would also benefit from reading this text as well. Check it out!

Jack Gantos: Joey Pigza Loses Control

Sharon Creech: Love That Dog

I bought and read this book the year it came out, after I had taken a “teaching writing” course down in Chicago and the instructor mentioned it. I had never encountered a book in verse before, and I instantly fell in love with it, especially since I know Myers’ works, and knew (and was/am familiar with) what an amazing writer he is. I have also been drawn to the format ever since reading this text, and most of my current favorites are books in verse.
The perspective Jack offers also enhances the read. I am not nearly as familiar with texts ideal for young boys/texts written for the young male perspective as I’d like to be, and this book opened up the possibility that I could become more familiar with quality books for boys. I think that Creech’s words contribute to my being able to identify with Jack’s perception and eloquent verbiage, but I have also come to the realization that truly good writers can write outside their gender.

The emotions that this book draws up in me also add to my love for the book. I bawl when I read Jack’s account of losing Sky, and when he is so thrilled that Mr. Walter Dean Myers read his letter and accepted his invitation. I know that thrill of getting what you have wished for, and I know the sorrow of a devastating loss. I can empathize with Jack’s hesitance in accepting poetry, and have experienced the confusion of not-really-getting what an author was getting at, and the frustration in trying to discern why I was being asked to study something that at the moment made little sense to me. I can identify with Jack’s awe of Myers, for if I were to meet my idol—and my idol responded to a request I made—I know I would be just as thrilled and “inspired” by such an event. I was explaining to one of my friends the premise of the book, and how moved Jack becomes by “Mr. Walter Dean Myers,” and I couldn’t help but well up in my description of the book’s events! I absolutely LOVE this book!

Patricia McCormick: Sold

Unbelievable. Written by the author of Cut, this is a series of vignettes from the perspective of a Nepalese girl who is sold at 13 and forced to work in a brothel. McCormick actually traveled to India and saw these brothels and spoke to some of the young women who were lucky to escape/be freed as she researched for this text--which makes it all the more heart-wrenching and emotional.
A really amazing and moving read--the imagery and details McCormick uses allow a topic foreign to most readers a more intimate relationship with those who delve into this text.
I bought it today & finished it today!