The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Title: The Chosen One

Author: Carol Lynch Williams

Publish Date: May 2009

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 224pp

IBSN: 0312555113

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Price: $16.95

Amazon: $11.53

Annotation: Thirteen-year old Kyra has just been chosen to marry her sixty-year-old uncle, who already has six other wives. Kyra must make a desperate choice to either face her fears or comply with rules and powers that be. 

Summary: Kyra is thirteen-years-old. She lives in a polygamist community with her three mothers and LARGE list of siblings. She savors any time she gets alone, especially when she can spend that time reading the book she keeps hidden in a scrubby olive tree (secular books are forbidden on the compound). Kyra get’s put into The Chosen Ones, an isolated polygamist sect in the desert led by Prophet Childs. The Prophet decrees that Kyra must marry her sixty-year-old uncle, who already has six other wives. Wondering if this is her punishment for sneaking forbidden books and liking a boy her own age, Kyra must make a choice. She doesn’t see how she can go through with this marriage but if she doesn’t follow orders dangerous and violent consequences await.

Evaluation: This was a powerful and emotional read about a realistic subject that is not necessarily common (yet common enough). The frightening aspects of the story are the tight constraints in which Kyra must abide by in order to protect her family. Her frustration, anger, and guilt ridden emotions transcend off the pages. My heart literally broke for Kyra when she found out she had to marry her sixty-year-old uncle (can you imagine? Ugh), especially because she was so in love with Joshua (a boy her own age). The ending came as a bit of a surprise.  I am still not sure how I feel about it, but I do have hope that Kyra will overcome her fears. One thing I just loved was how the mobile library on wheels was kind of this symbol for hope. As a soon-to-be librarian I will always have an affinity for libraries and the impacts they can and do have on young people, especially those in need.  

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Living under a strict set of rules.
• Fear for your family.
• Being forced into something you are uncomfortable with.
• Having to care for you family and never getting to be a kid.
  

Reason this book was chosen: I am HUGE Big Love fan (I know, I know), so when I did some research on young adult books and polygamy I found The Chosen One. This story highlights several interesting issues such as: polygamy, underage marriage, incestuous marriage, faith, love, loyalty to family, and the fear of the outside world.

Similar Titles:

Keep Sweet by Michele Dominguez Greene

Willow by Julia Hoban

After by Amy Efaw

Author Website: Click HERE

Author Interview: Click HERE

Awards:
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2010
Association for Mormons Letters Award (Young Adult), 2009
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2010

Take a look at this book trailer.  I feel it captures the overall tone of the story.

Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurlin

Title: Freaks and Revelations

Author: Davida Wills Hurlin

Publish Date: November 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 234pp

IBSN: 0316049964

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Price: $16.99

Amazon: $12.23

Annotation: Based on a true story, “Freaks and Revelations” follows the lives of two boys, one homeless gay thirteen-year old and the other a seventeen-year old neo-Nazi. When their paths cross, violence ensues.

Summary: Told from the perspectives of Doug and Jason, in alternating chapters.  Each boy has a difficult and painful background.  Doug’s family is dysfunctional.  His parents are racist and unrelenting.  At ten years old, Doug’s older brother, Carl, is shot by a black man, which fuels the already racist parents.  Then Carl decides to not press charges, aggravating his parents even more. Doug begins drinking and using drugs to get away from everything, especially his preoccupied parents.  When he discovers the punk rock scene, he begins to feel connected to something, so much so, that he is pulled into an extreme aspect of the scene, he becomes a skinhead. Jason comes from a dysfunctional family as well.  His parents have split up, turning his mother into a stringent religious nut. His uncle was arrested for child pornography, his brother has runaway (and no one seems to care), and he has a crazy grandmother.  During a family meeting, Jason decides he wants to be honest, so he tells his family he is gay.  His mother decides he is not welcome in their home and packs him a backpack and kicks him out.  Not knowing where or what to do, Jason ends up in the Castro, doing anything he can in order to survive.  When life there gets too hard he heads to Los Angeles, meets a friend, Coco.  Eventually, Jason and Doug encounter one another in an ally behind a restaurant.  Doug and his Ne-Nazi friends beat Jason up, leaving him for death. Twenty-five years later, the two meet again in a surprising circumstance that changes both of their lives.

This story is inspired by the real lives of Matthew Boger and Timothy Zaal, who have shared their story on The Oprah Winfrey Show and NPR.

Evaluation: A story of hate, violence, pain, and forgiveness. I felt sympathetic for each boy as the author focuses on each character’s childhood and teenage years, allowing the reader to not only see where they came from but how they came to be.  It’s really devastating.  The fateful encounter between the boys (when Doug almost beats Jason to death) was extremely hard to read. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Survival.
• Acceptance.
• Being thrown out for being gay.
• Having anger.
• Abusive home life.
• Living in a dysfunctional home.
• Forgiveness.

Reason this book was chosen: The real life story of Matthew Boger and Timothy Zaal (in which this story is based off of) is fascinating and almost seems unreal as Matthew almost took Timothy’s life when they were both very young. The reuniting of the two men at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles is so touching. 

Similar Titles:

Freak Show by James St. James

Fade to Black by Alex Flinn

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L.Going

Author Wikipedia Page: Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Rainbow List, 2010

NPR Article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97451126

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Title: Unwind

Author: Neal Shusterman

Publish Date: November 2007

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Pages: 352pp

IBSN: 1416912045

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Price: $16.99

Amazon: $8.99

Annotation:   Connor has just found out he is on the list to be killed unwound: taken apart piece by piece for organ and body parts donation.  On his desperate attempt to escape he meets Risa and Lev, who are also “unwinds” on the road. 

Summary:   Set in a dystopian society where the war over abortion has come to the conclusion with The Bill of Life, which does not allow any child to be touched from the moment of conception till the age of thirteen. Between thirteen and eighteen teenagers can be killed unwound for their body parts for those who are in need of them.  A medical breakthrough allows the entire use of the body, which has society convinced that unwinds are not killed, but live on in a separated state. The story follows three teens, Connor, Risa and Lev, who are from different backgrounds and who are all consigned to this fate. Throughout their journey they change their attitudes about themselves and learn to become leaders among the Unwinds. 

Evaluation:   Extremely thought provoking story that is set in a dystopian future where the abortion debate has turned into a war, leaving the final solution a morbid compromise where no one can abort a fetus, but they can “unwind” (harvesting body parts) their child between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.  This is INSANE! I thought the author did an excellent job presenting questions about the value of life, and the extent to which one is willing to go to defend one's beliefs.  This is a quick read, as you just cannot put it down. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Parental Abandonment
• Fighting for your life.
• Survival.
• Comforting your idea of what life is/means.
• Relationships.

Reason this book was chosen:   The controversial issues this book presents such as the value of life and the extent to which one will go to defend one’s beliefs.  Additionally, the reviews for this book are phenomenal. Someone on Good Reads explained the book as follows: “Pro-Life verses Pro-Choice equals The Bill of Life.”

Similar Titles:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

The Unwind movie site: http://unwindmovie.com/UNWINDMOVIE/UNWIND.html

Author's Website: Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008

ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2008

Check out this book trailer!

Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

Title: Big Mouth & Ugly Girl

Author: Joyce Carol Oates

Publish Date: April 2003

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Pages: 288pp

ISBN: 0064473473

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 13 and up

Price: $8.99
Amazon: $8.99

Annotation: When sixteen-year-old Matt, AKA Big Mouth, is falsely accused of threatening to blow up his high school and his friends turn against him, an unlikely classmate, Ursula Riggs AKA Ugly Girl, comes to his aid.

Summary: Big Mouth is Matt Donaghy, a popular well-read teen who likes to make jokes. After making a seemingly harmless comment, he finds himself unexpectedly driven into the center of a controversy over safety within school. Ugly Girl is Ursula Riggs, a loner and star of the girl’s basketball team.  She doesn’t care what anyone thinks or feels.  She barely knows Matt, but steps in to defend him when everyone else is against him.  The two form an unlikely friendship and eventually a romantic relationship.

Evaluation:Extremely well-written story with engaging characters that sort of become your friends. The novel explores a post Columbine-era where school shootings, or bomb threats are not taken lightly.  The characters are well developed, making them seem real and missed when you finish reading.  Overall, a very satisfying read.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Being accused of something you did not do.
• Having everyone turn his or her backs on you.
• Being a loner/outcast.
• Opposites attract.
• Discovering who your real friends are. 

Reason this book was chosen: I read some great reviews about this book and thought it was an interesting look inside a post-Columbine era when it can be dangerous to not take every remark seriously, yet false accusations and rumors can really hurt people's reputations and lives.

Similar Titles:

Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Author's Wikipedia Page:  Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2003

ALA Popular Paperbacks, 2005

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Title: Cut

Author: Patricia McCormick

Publish Date: January 2002

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Pages: 160pp

IBSN: 0439324599

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Price: $16.95

Amazon: $7.99

Annotation: Callie is a normal teenager.  She attends high school and runs track, but Callie is hiding a big secret, she cuts herself.  When the cuts on Callie’s arms are revealed, Callie is sent away to deal with her problems. 

Summary: Fifteen year-old Callie appears to be normal, she attends high school and runs track.  When a school nurse notices all the cuts on Callie’s arms, Callie is sent away to a psychological treatment facility for adolescents. At the treatment center, Callie refuses to speak to anyone, including her family. Instead she watches, and listens and learns about all of her group mates (who are suffering from anorexia, behavioral problems and drug abuse), but they know nothing about her. Then, when Amanda joins the group and flaunts her cutting scars, it becomes more difficult for Callie to remain silent. She slowly begins to speak and shares her feelings.  In doing so, Callie realizes that she wants to get better.

Evaluation: I felt this was an important read as it shows a glimpse inside the mind of why someone would want to use self-mutilation as a coping mechanism.  This is a fast read, but also a deep and meaningful experience.  The psychological problems Callie faces are very real and very sad.  I think this is a great story for anyone either going through similar situations, or anyone who knows someone going through this. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Using self-mutilation as a coping mechanism.
• Feeling like you caused harm to someone you love (guilty).
• Feeling unable to speak about your problems. 
• Learning forgiveness. 

Reason this book was chosen: To explore the mentality of a cutter, both psychologically and emotionally.

Similar Titles: 

Willow by Julia Hoban

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters

Author Website: Click HERE

Awards:
Isinglass Teen Reads Award, 2004
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2002
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, 2001

33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp

Title: 33 Snowfish

Author: Adam Rapp

Publish Date: February 2003

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Pages: 192pp

IBSN: 0763618748

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Price: $15.99

Amazon: $6. 99

Annotation: Custis, a homeless boy, Curl, a fifteen-year-old drug-addicted prostitute and her boyfriend Boobie, who just killed his own parents, are on the run from the police with a baby, Boobie’s little brother.  They are all set out to make a better life, regardless of their past. 

Summary: When you have nowhere to go, whom do you turn to? Custis does not have parents.  He has been living with Bob Motley, who has been sexually abusing him over a period of time and forces him to participate in pornographic films with other children. Custis decides to run, but he has nowhere really to run to.  While collecting quarters on the street near an arcade he notices a strange boy with black eyes named Boobie.  The two meet and become friends.  They make a home in the woods and are soon joined by Curl, Boobie’s fifteen-year old girlfriend who is addicted to drugs and prostitutes herself in order to survive.  After Boobie inexplicably murders his parents, he grabs his baby brother in hopes of selling him to the highest bidder.  The four of them hit the road, running from the police and doing anything they can to survive.

Evaluation: A haunting and depressing story that shows an unfiltered view of three children who have been forced to live lives they did not deserve. Through all the pain and suffering, these characters display a human quality that is actually quite beautiful.  The overall underlying message of the story is really amazing as each character gets the opportunity for redemption.  It should be noted that there is a lot of offensive language, though the language fits the context of the story. There is no easy way out in this story, the reader must work for it, and I have to say, I really appreciated this aspect as it leaves the reader with a message to reflect on.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Displays realities of being young and poor and abused.
• The life you are given isn’t always fair.
• Redemption.
• Coming from a rough beginning.
• Losing the people who are the closest to you.

Reason this book was chosen: This book was chosen because of the multitude of controversial issues, which are: sexual abuse, teen pornography, teen prostitution, murder, delinquent behavior, and teen sex. 

Similar Titles:

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Jumping the Scratch by Sara Weeks

When Jeff Comes Home by Cathrine Atkins

Author Wikipedia Page: Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004

New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, 2004

The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

Title: The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials

Author: Phillip Pullman

Publish Date: April 1996

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Pages: 416pp

IBSN: 0679879242

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: 12 and up

Price: $7.50
Barnes & Noble: $6.75

Annotation: The first book in His Dark Materials trilogy is set in an alternate universe where humans have “daemons.” Lyra, the eleven-year old heroin, sets out on an adventure to save her friend Roger, and ultimately the world.

Summary: Set in a Victorian/Steampunk world where humans have "daemons" that are a physical manifestation of their soul in the form of an animal that is both physically and spiritually connected to them. The story is set around ten-year-old Lyra Belacqua who is an orphan and has been raised at Oxford University by the attending scholars. Along with her companion daemon, Pantalaimon, she sneaks into places she does not belong and learns secrets about her protectors and her home. Lyra’s ride begins when her friend Roger gets kidnapped by adults who conduct experiments on children.  Lyra sets out to find him, along the way sh encounters talking bears, flying witches, wandering gypsies, and learns of a possible dispute that exist between different worlds. 

Evaluation: Phillip Pullman is an outspoken atheist from England who is also known as a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.  His Dark Materials is said to be what Narnia is for Christians, but for atheists.  With that said, I would not classify this book (or series) as anti-Christian or anti-religion. There are minor references and it’s nothing apalling (in my personal opinion).  Overall, I view this novel as an adventure-fantasy with present themes that questions truth and deception, as well as what is the value and nature of the soul are. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Trusting yourself.
• Fearless.
• Questioning authority.
• Fighting for your rights. 

Reason this book was chosen: Phillip Pullman is an outspoken atheist from England who is also known as a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.  His Dark Materials is said to be what Narnia is for Christians, but for atheists.  Now, I am not an atheist, nor am I a Christian, I would consider myself a spiritual human being. In any event, religious matters aside, this book was chosen for the steampunk fantasy element.  Alternate universes and girl heroes

Similar Titles:

The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Series: His Dark Materials

The Golden Compass (2001)

The Subtle Knife (2001)

The Amber Spyglass (2001)

Author Website: Click HERE

Awards:
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2003
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 1997
British Book Award (Children's Book of the Year), 1997
ALA Notable Children's Book, 1997

The Movie:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chobsky

Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Steven Chobsky

Publish Date: February 1999

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group

Pages: 224pp

IBSN: 0671027344

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 13 and up

Price: $14.00

Amazon: $10.08

Annotation: Charlie is about to begin his freshman year in high school.  He has many fears, as he is somewhat of a loner.  Writing letters to a “friend” help him chronicle his life experiences. 

Summary:  Charlie is about to begin his freshman year in high school.  He has many fears, as he is somewhat of a loner.  Writing letters to a “friend” helps him chronicle his life experiences.  From losing a friend to suicide to gaining a handful of friends who are all seniors, Charlie’s letters continue through the school year, recording his friendships, high school life, mental issues, and ongoing battle to emerge from passivity and actively engage with the world.

Evaluation: A truly inspiring and compelling novel about growing up.  Charlie, the protagonist is easily relatable as he narrates his thoughts and feelings.  His story and experiences rang true and pulled me back in my wallflower days in high school. Subjects such as: sex, drugs, and abuse, were presented in a realistic manner.  I LOVED this book, could hardly put it down once I started reading it.  Go MTV for promoting this book! Truly a teen classic. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Being a “wallflower.”
• Experiencing big life moments for the first time.
• Falling in love.
• Being scared of love.
• Being scared of being alone.
• Suffering from a traumatic experience.  
• Molestation
  

Reason this book was chosen: It came as a recommendation from a good friend who said, “it’s our generation’s version of the Catcher and the Rye.” This is one of FAVORITE YA books.  Maybe it was my connection to the time period--the Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Smiths, being infinite, I whole heartedly fell into Charlie’s story about his freshman year of high school. This book deals with a gamut of issues: friendships, homosexuality, sex, drugs, death, fighting,  

Similar Titles:

The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Cut by Patrick McCormick

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2000

ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, 2000

Godless by Pete Hautman

Title: Godless

Author: Pete Hautman

Publish Date: November 2005

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Pages: 208pp

IBSN: 1416908161

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 13 and up

Price: $15.95

Amazon: $8.99

Annotation: Jason decides he no longer wishes to be Catholic like his parents, instead he decides to create his own religion, Chutengodianism, a.k.a to worship the town's water tower.

Summary: Jason Bock decides to take a spiritual departure from Catholicism, as he is tired of his parent’s strict ways.  He decides, in part as a joke with his friends, to worship the town’s water tower. He recruits a congregation of worshippers and calls this new religion “Chutengodianism.” As Jason and his congregation worship the Ten-Legged God (the water tower), unexpected things and emotions start to happen.  What started out as a joke has suddenly become problematic for some of the members. 

Evaluation: I thought this was a good/quick story that offers readers a lot to ingest. Jason is an enjoyable character.  It's easy to see why he has such an influence over his friends and it’s interesting to see him attempt to figure out religion and what makes it work, or not work.  I found the evolution of the character’s motivations incredibly interesting as Jason became more curious, Shin went into an obsessive manner, Henrey just wants to climb the tower, and Magda just wants to get close to Henry.  It’s a weird parallel if you think about it.  Overall, the main message I got from this book is not that religion is a bad thing, or a good thing, just that everyone should question it. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

• Questioning faith.
• Struggling to understand religion.
• Influence can be a powerful thing. 

Reason this book was chosen: After reading the back of the book and discovering the storyline about a high school student questioning religion that decides as a joke to form a new religion worshipping the local water tower, I knew I had to read this. 

Similar Titles:

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjan

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Author Website: Click HERE

Awards:

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, 2004

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2005

Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2004

CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children’s Book Council)

New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, 2005

ALA Popular Paperbacks, 2007

Tenderness by Robert Cormire

Title: Tenderness

Author: Robert Cormier

Publish Date: September 2004

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Pages: 240pp

ISBN: 0385731337

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Age Range: 14 and up

Price: $16.95

Amazon: $7.95

Annotation: Eric is an 18-year-old serial killer and Lori is a fifteen-year-old runaway. They are both victims of sexual abuse who are quenching their needs for affection through murder.

Summary: Eighteen-year old Eric Poole has progressed from killing small animals to killing parents and unsuspecting young women.  He has paid for these crimes by serving three years in the juvenile detention center. Lieutenant Jake Proctor has labeled Eric as mentally incapable of feeling and a psycho path.  He believes Eric has committed at least three other murders, and will not be able to control himself.  Upon his release, Eric encounters Lori, fifteen years old, whom he has met before when she was twelve. While on the road to hunt for Maria, a girl Eric met in the juvenile detention center.  unveiling of Eric’s psychopathic desires and underdeveloped emotions. 

Evaluation: A dark and gritty read that deals with major psychological issues rooted deep down within a serial killers mind.  I thought the overall disturbance of the story to be quiet hard to read—killing kittens, oh my!  However, Cormier allows the reader to venture into the dark world as to what and how things happened, which for me lead me to some creepy places and overall enhanced the story because it gave me the power to foresee the ugliness. This was definitely a novel I had to just put down and return reading when I was mentally able.  The underlying theme, which so happens to coordinate with the title of the book, is for both characters to release their fixations and to be handled with love and tenderness. The ending was poignant and left me with an eerie feeling.  Actually, the entire book left me that way. 

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Amazon:

• Being an outsider.
• Struggling with family pain.
• Having bad things happen to you and being confused about it.

Reason this book was chosen: After reading The Chocolate War, I decided I wanted to get another feel for Cormier’s work as I enjoyed his writing style.  Tenderness focuses on an interesting subject: serial killing.  The library record states, a psychological thriller told from the points of view of a teenage serial killer and the runaway girl who falls in love with him.

Similar Titles:

Fade Robert Cormier

I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Author Website: Click HERE (Wikipedia page)

This book has been adapted into a film.  Click HERE to view the IMDb page. 

Awards:

Popular Paperback for Young Adults/Different Drummer, 1999

Here is the film trailer.