The social class system is very hierarchical in 1960’s Swaziland and especially at Keziah Christian Academy, a boarding school that Adele is sent to each year. Adele is a model student, studying extra Bible verses, following all of the rules, and making sure she knows how to maneuver in the game of remaining “on top” at her school. But things are changing and Adele has to deal. Her peer group is shunning her. Then she is assigned to room with Lottie, a girl far below her in status. But Lottie is rich in many other ways that Adele will slowly discover. A story of self-discovery and friendship, When the Ground is Hard was excellent. This is perfect for literature circles in schools as it will lead to discussions on social class, trust, family, peer pressure and growth. Hopefully, this story will be discovered by award committees.

Kasie West’s Maybe This Time is the teen Hallmark Channel version of a romance – squeaky clean with over the top “almost” moments–9 to be precise. Over the course of a year, Sophie Evans ends up at events in her small town only to be frazzled by big city-born Andrew Hart, son of the once-famous chef Jett Hart. Jett is working to help Sophie’s best friend’s family catering business gain more traction. Andrew doesn’t have a choice in working for his dad. Sophie attends these events as part of her job working for the local florist. Sparks fly at first like iron sharpening iron, but readers can see early on where this will go. While Sophie thinks she has interest in another boy, that is dropped within 6 months, but it will take the entire year for Andrew and Sophie outwardly admit their romance to each other. This is sap, sap, sappy! And some readers will love it! Totally appropriate for middle school too.

Fractured fairytale, story within a story, feminist critique, moral compass — all of these describe Jennifer Donnelly’s Stepsister. This frame story begins with Isabella, one of the evil step-sisters of Cinderella, known in this remake as just Ella, finding herself going to the ultimate extreme of cutting off her toes to fit her foot into the glass slipper. Blood everywhere, the Prince does realize that this is not his Princess. Jumping back to earlier times, readers see the pressure that would push Isabella to the extreme, mount as the stepmother is exacerbated about her daughters marrying well by being pretty enough. Isabella’s conscience is given a voice when Donnelly creates Fate and Chance, who game each other, putting bets on Isabella’s choices. This reader is not sure Fate and Chance needed to make an appearance, but aside from that, Donnelly has created a work of fiction that is thought-provoking about the importance society puts on “beauty” and hoping that Isabella will one day still get the Prince she deserves.

This narrative biography, Captured by Alvin Townley is an emotional book about our POWs from the Vietnam war.  Alvin Townley did a great job of giving us a descriptive narrative account of Naval aviator Jeremiah Denton from the aircraft carrier USS Independence, that was shot down and captured in North Vietnam in 1965. Denton was held in multiple North Vietnam prisons for seven and a half years as a POW.   While in prison Denton and other POWs were kept in solitary confinement for many years, and their only form of communication was through a complicated tapping system. They were tortured and starved daily while being held in the Northern Vietnam prisons for not giving any information to the Vietnam guards besides which were required by the Geneva Convention. Denton and his fellow comrades struggled with keeping their sanity during this time in such horrible conditions.  Denton kept the fellow POWs spirits up and continued his duties as best he could during this time. Denton led his men with honor through the longest and hardest deployment until 1973. Vivid and descriptive details along with actual photos of the POWs and the places talked about makes this readable and recommendable for anyone.

Jennifer Donaldson’s I Know You Remember is a well-crafted, plot-twisting mystery/thriller for a young adult audience. Zahra and Ruthie find each other in a time where they were desperate to be seen. Then Ruthie one moves away for three years, only to come back to her father’s Alaska home after her mother dies and find that her best friend Zahra is missing. Ruthie will focus her life on finding Zahra, and just when a reader thinks they have the correct theory, a plot twist will completely spin the story in a new direction. Lives will be ruined, points of view will switch. And while this reviewer didn’t particularly like the negative portrayal of religion, other issues are handled carefully, such as poverty, substance abuse, and racism. If you are a fan of One of Us is Lying, this is another choice that will be a stand-alone read.

Breaking Bailey is an addition to Beatrice Sparks’, aka Anonymous’s, collection of stories written in the diary format concerning hard choices and consequences teens encounter. Bailey has started a new school after losing her mother. Desperate for friends and to fit in, she joins an after school “science club”–the meth club–that produces meth that is sold around their town. With paychecks come parties, alcohol, prescription drugs and a love interest. But this party will come to an end. Bailey will ask her love interest to stop. But will she be able to pull away and come out ok? Teens that crave the chance to live vicariously through characters will enjoy Anonymous’s newest tale.

This compact review of slavery and race relations in American history is an excellent introduction for younger readers, but it posits a number of ideas that could be included in much more critical (higher thinking) discussion.

The book outlines the early roots of slavery and procedes with quite a thorough chronological examination of major events regarding how discrimination and racism persist.  The work also reveals how racism continues to be a concern today and suggests ways to address this concern for dealing with the more subtle aspects of racial bias.

I appreciated the simple, clear rendering of the history of slavery and the awful history that followed the civil war.  The author also included a number of ancillary details that might not be illustrated in a standard approach to the subject.  For example, it was interesting to note how the leaders of the Black Panther movement recognized how African American women in the organization were the victims of discrimination within the ranks. 

I truly did not dislike any aspect of the work.  It is hard to find anything objectionable in a book that deals with the subject of slavery and the ways in which those roots still affect culture and society today (and into the future).  Perhaps this has something to do with what has been called “white fragility”.  

The ideas were presented in clear, readable fashion geared toward younger readers.  However, the style and delivery of the vital ideas and implications in the book made it useful for much higher level thinking/questioning.  I also found the “sideline” sections to be useful as additional information to supplement the main text.

Younger, less-informed readers will find the book accessible and readable.  Those older readers who are familiar with the sad history of racism in America will be surprised by the more complex issues that might be revealed (and discussed) along the way.

I recommend this book with enthusiasm, especially for the younger reader (middle school).  It is a great introduction for the subject of slavery and how those roots still affect our society and culture.  I gleaned a good deal from my reading of Harris’ book; it is an easy way to review the essentials while affording much more discussion about the complexities of racism even in these more “enlighted” times.

Paris Secord, known as DJ ParSec to the dance/rave scene, is found dead right before she’s about to make it big. Two key figures in her life, Kya and Fuse, who were not friends before the murder are forced to work together because neither of them believe that the police are doing enough or even know what they are doing to find Paris’s murderer. Her fan base, ParSec Nation, work via social media to pull clues for Kya and Fuse. And true to social media form, not all clues lead to the truth.

Lamar Giles provides plot twists and thrill scenes, some of which were hard to follow as the story shifts narrators between the three girls as well as jumping back and for between past and present. As in the best murder mystery writing, the murder is not who you think it might be and will probably keep most teens engaged, especially if they like hip-hop jargon.

The book Life Sucks: How to Deal with the Way Life is, Was and Always Will Be Unfair by Michael I. Bennett is written by a father-daughter team that discusses the big things in your teenage life that can suck in a no-nonsense way.  They discuss the reality of how personal quandaries such as body image, cultural and sexuality awareness can cause questions just as much as the typical drama with friendship, school, and home life. This father-daughter team has given great examples of what to do or how to deal with lots of situations that come up in most teen’s live.  This book will show teenagers that they are not alone in dealing with these issues and help them to laugh them off. The information is given in a way that seems to guide the young reader and will help them realize that it is ok to talk to their parents and others around them about issues that come up in their lives. This self-help type book contains questionnaires and an answer key –great for individuals who have purchased the book but something to monitor in a school library.  This style makes the book easy to read. One can pick it up to read a page or two at a time if need be. Unfortunately, the information and examples become somewhat redundant over time and might be better suited for a teen in their personal library at home.

Everything was going along wonderfully until she broke up with Alex! Why do that troupe? In Eileen Cook’s You Owe Me A Murder, Kim is desperate for a friend while on the flight for school trip to London. Her ex-boyfriend Connor and his new romance are on the same trip. When she meets Nicki, a native Londoner, on the plane and divulges her frustrations, Nicki takes note of Kim’s list of “Why he deserves to die”. One day into their trip Connor falls or is pushed into a train. Shortly after, Kim receives contact from Nicki that her part is done and now it’s time for Kim to murder Nicki’s mother –quid pro quo. Why wouldn’t Kim just tell the police? The complications continue as Kim falls head over heels for Alex. Most of this story clips at a fast pace and there are twists readers won’t see coming. Aside from that 2 page part where some editor probably told Cook to have the main characters break up, this book is a winner for those psychodrama-loving teens in your library.