Controversial Literature for Young Adults: February 2010

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Title: Boy Meets Boy

Author: David Levithan

Publish Date: May 2005

Publisher: Random House Childrens Books

Pages: 192pp

ISBN: 0375832998

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 14 and up

Price: $17.99

Amazon: $8.95

Annotation: Paul meets Noah. Paul falls in love with Noah. Paul loses Noah. Paul tries to get Noah back.

Summary: Paul is gay and he lives in a simplified town where being gay or a drag-queen quarterback is not given a second thought. In fact, when Paul was five, he knew he was gay, especially after seeing what his kindergarten teacher wrote on his report card. He then proclaimed his homosexuality to his parents, who had no hesitation or refusal of acceptance. During Paul’s sophomore year in high school, he falls love with Noah, a new kid (who is also gay), but things get complicated (high school drama) with Paul’s ex who seems to have a change of heart. In the meanwhile Paul’s friend Tony, who is homosexual and lives in a different town—a religious town, comes out to his parents who do not approve of his lifesytle and won’t let him hang out with boys unless there are girls there too.

Evaluation: I really enjoyed this story because of the wonderful world in which it creates for almost every GLBTQ teenager. Fantastical in respect of the town in which Paul lives is so accepting of the GLBTQ community, but still showed the struggles homosexual teenagers have when coming out to their parents and not finding acceptance.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

Coming out to un-accepting parents
Confidence.
Self-acceptance.

Reason this book was chosen: A LGBTQ story that offers more humor and happiness then sad and depressing.

Similar Titles:

Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

Author"s Website: Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2006

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004

ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2004

Lambda Literary Award, 2003

BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, 2003

What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles

Title: What Happened to Cass McBride

Author: Gail Giles

Publish Date: November 2006

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 224pp

ISBN: 0316166383

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 14 and up

Price: $13.25

Amazon: $7.99

Annotation: Cass McBride has been buried alive by the older brother of the boy who killed himself after she turned him down.

Summary: David Kirby has committed suicide and Cass McBride--the beautiful and popular girl who is on track to becoming prom queen and applying to all the best schools-- feels somewhat responsible. Cass knows what she wants, and knows what it takes to stay on top. If you are on her radar, she is sweet, and if you’re not on her radar, you don’t matter. When David Kirby asked her out, a nobody, Cass was shocked. She was nice to his face, but ripped him apart in a letter to her friend—one found by David. Kyle, David Kirby's big brother, learned too late about the note Cass wrote and holds her responsible for the death of his brother. He decides to kidnap her and buries her underground. Now, Cass finds herself waking up from a drug-induced sleep, realizing that Kyle has buried her alive with a crude air supply system and walkie talkie setup through which he can torture her for what she did to his brother. Cass decides the only way she can get out alive is if she manipulates Kyle’s guilt over leaving his brother with their emotionally abusive mother.

Evaluation: A psychological thriller about how crazy and mean teenagers can be. The style and structure of this book captures the reader from the first page (very Gail Giles like). I liked how each chapter alternates character narration, allowing you the reader to feel their points of view. I also appreciated the straight forward plot line, with a satisfying, but ambiguous conclusion.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

Think about the way you talk to people—words can inflict pain.

Reason this book was chosen: After reading Shattering Glass I was hooked on anything Gale Giles. I picked What Happened to Cass McBride because of the buried alive storyline—sounded, er, freaky.

Similar Titles:

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Author Website: Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2007

ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2007

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Title: Feed

Author: M.T Anderson

Publish Date: December 2003

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Pages: 300pp

ISBN: 0763622591

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Range: 13 and up

Amazon: $7.99

Annotation: Titus and his friends live in a society where everyone has a Feednet wired into their brains and are basically controlled by corporations and driven by consumerism. The story begins with a spring break trip to the moon where Titus meets Violent (“the girl”) and soon after gets his Feed hacked along with his friends.

Summary: Set in a near future where everyone has a Feednet wired directly into their brains. These feeds can do a number of different things for each individual like: bringing a constant stream of media and advertising, offering instant information. This negates the act of reading and writing and almost speaking as chatting is mostly done through the feeds. Titus and Violet are two teens who meet during spring break on a trip to the moon. Violet is unusual because she did not get a feed until age 7, making her the only free-thinker that questions authority, while Titus is quite comfortable with his feed. That is until an “interaction” happens and Titus and his friends experience a jamming in their Feeds. This very same “interaction” affects Violet’s life.

Evaluation: Impressively thought out novel. Anderson introduces global issues and consequences of consumerism, commercialism, data mining and the temptation to rely too much on technology to the detriment of developing into thinking, questioning, individuals who are willing to take responsibility for decisions—big and small. The slang was brilliant! --Different from today’s teens which helped set the novel apart from our time, yet similar enough to understand. Anderson gives teens a lens to evaluate their own culture.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness

Think for yourself, even if its against the norm.
Standing up for yourself.
Losing someone you love (a romantic partner)

Reason this book was chosen: I love storylines that involve dystopian worlds, questioning authority, and technology advances. When I read the synopsis of this book, mainly that the characters had chips installed in their brains (Feeds) that basically controlled them, I knew I would love it—and I did!

Similar Titles:

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2003

Book Sense Summer Pick Teen Readers, 2003

A Horn Book Fanfare Book Award, 2002

BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, 2002

Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block

Title: Psyche in a Dress

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Publish Date: September 5, 2006

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 128pp

ISBN: 0060763760

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology

Age Range: 12 and up

Amazon: $8.99

Annotation: A modern retelling of the classical love story about Psyche and Eros. Modern day Psyche is a teenage girl who stars in the films her father makes. When her love Eros leaves her, she ventures out on an odyssey of self discovery.

Summary: Psyche is a teenage girl under the abusive thumb of her film producer father, Zeus. Missing her mother, who left when she was younger, Psyche connects with her spirit by wearing the dresses she left behind. She has a brief affair with a mysterious stranger, Eros, whom she experiences love with. When Eros leaves, Psyche's life spirals downhill in which sets her on a journey to achieve happiness—the same happiness she felt when she was with Eros. Psyche takes full form in her metaphoric namesake: the soul. She goes on an odyssey of self discovery and traveling through other mythological heroines--Eurydice, Echo, Persephone--as she meets new lovers, who, inevitably, cannot replace her one and only love, Eros. She ends up returning home and working for her father’s girlfriend, Aphrodite, who happens to be Eros’s mother, which reunites Psyche to Eros. She gives birth to Joy and learns

Evaluation: Psyche in a Dress is an emotionally raw novella written in verse using classical Greek mythology against the backdrop of Hollywood. This story explores eroticism and teenage sexuality. It studies a young girl as she struggles with her identity and relationships. It helps to have some prior knowledge in Greek mythology before reading this book, otherwise it can be quite confusing.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

Self discovery
First love can leave a heart fluttered with confusion.

Reason this book was chosen: I love Greek Mythology and was interested in Francesca Lia Block's retelling of the classic story of Pysche and Eros.

Similar Titles:

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Ruby by Francesca Lia Block

Author's Website: Click HERE

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Identical

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Publish Date: August 2008

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Pages: 576pp

ISBN: 1416950052

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Amazon: $12.95

Annotation: Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins who appear to live a picture-perfect life, but underneath this façade lays painful secrets and abusive behaviors.

Summary: Written in verse, Ellen Hopkin’s captures the tragic story of two twins, Kaeleigh and Raeanne, who appear to have the picture perfect California family with their mother running for Congress and their father being a district court judge. But things are not as they appear as their father is addicted to OxyContin and duly an alcoholic who regularly molests Kaeleigh and controls her life. This sets Raeanne into a rage as she views her father’s actions as favoritism, so she acts out by being promiscuous and getting high. Both girls, extremely different in their own right, suffer in silence, living behind the facade of a perfect, all-American family. The concluding chapters reveal a huge secret, or rather disorder for Kaeleigh.

Evaluation: An emotional and powerful story written in verse with intimate and graphic details, in which are hard to read due to the nature of the story that is packed with multiple issues such as: abandonment, drugs, incest, date rape, self-mutilation, and dysfunctional families. Not a comfortable read, but one that provides vast insights, imagination, and a surprise twist that reveals a psychological element that will have the reader thinking long after the story has ended.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

It’s ok to ask for help.
You don’t have to keep the person who is abusing you safe, no matter who it is.
Sometimes the people that are suppose to protect us end up hurting us the most.
You don't have the bear a horrible secret, it's better to share with someone you trust.
It's ok to ask for help.
Drugs, self-mutilation, and other form of self physical abuse will not help you.

Reason this book was chosen: Known for writing in verse, and dealing with difficult topics—drugs, sex, abuse, etc.-- I have always wanted to read an Ellen Hopkins novel. Identical was chosen (mainly) because it was required, but also because of the vast array of subjects Hopkins incorporates in this one novel—maternal abandonment, drugs, casual sex, a tragic past, cutting, bulimia, and incest.

Similar Titles:

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Thirteen Reason’s Why by Jay Asher

Author Website: Click HERE
Awards:
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2003
Banned Books Week adopts Hopkin's anti-censorship poem as manifesto

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

Title: Annie on My Mind

Author: Nancy Garden

Publish Date: July 1982

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Pages: 272pp

ISBN: 0374303665

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Range: 12 and up

Amazon: $8.00

Annotation: Liza and Annie have been friends since the early days in high school, as the years go by they become more then friends, they fall in love. When their love is discovered, their world collapses, thus creating a drift between Liza and Annie.

Summary: Liza, conventional senior class president of her prep school, meets imaginative and playful Annie and begins a friendship that blossoms into a romantic relationship. Despite pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, Liza and Annie promise to remain true to one another and their feelings. When their private lives are thrust into public view, their world collapses into turmoil and Liza breaks away from Annie. The story is narrated by Liza's thoughts as she attempts to write Annie a letter, in response to the many letters Annie has sent her.

Evaluation: I found Annie on My Mind to be a poignant story about the struggles of being young and falling in love with a person of the same sex. While the story itself is mild, I found that the struggles and uncertainties fall true for just about any young person who is falling love for the first time (gay or straight). Because this was written in a time where homosexuality was frowned upon I can see the uniqueness, I am just glad our society is slowly breaking those barriers. I feel this is an important book to have on every library shelf and personally, I am happy to have it on mine.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

Coming of age-coming out.
Love is genderless.
Falling in love for the first time.

Reason this book was chosen: One of the reason’s this book was chosen was because it was required, the other reason is because of Nancy Garden. She is an inspiration for the youth of the LGBTQ community. Her story, Annie on My Mind, is just that, her actual story. An extremely important story for adolescents to have access too.

Similar Titles:

Keeping You a Secret by Julie Peters

Dare Truth or Promise by Paula Blook

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

Author Website: Click HERE

Awards:

ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adult Readers, 1997

ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 1982

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Title: Shattering Glass

Author: Gail Giles

Publish Date: August 2003

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Pages: 224pp

ISBN: 0689858000

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Suspense

Age Range: 13 and up

Amazon: $7.99

Annotation: Rob Haynes, the cool out-of-state boy and leader of the pack decides to transform Simon Glass, the all around nerd, into the heights of popularity. When Simon discloses his true plan with his new found popularity he finds himself greeted with violence from the other boys in the pack, and ultimately dead.

Summary: Simon was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn’t realize it until the day we killed him. This tension-filled suspense story is told through the eyes of Young Steward, a member of the cool group ran by Rob Haynes, an out-of-state student who transferred in and immediately took over with a wide-reaching power. Rob presides to transform the high school nerd, Simon Glass, who by all means demonstrates all the typical elements of a nerd. With this physical transformation, Rob encourages his classmates to accept Simon and change their perception of him. With his newfound popularity, Simon does not cease contentment but rather revenge. He is tired of Rob controlling him (and everyone else). He takes a stand, in which leads to a violent death.

Evaluation: I thought this story did an excellent job at portraying five different boy’s perspectives and flaws, in which made it easy to associate with at least one or two of them (even the girlfriend, Ronna was relatable). I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the excerpts of interviews before each chapter, it kept the depth and pace of the novel. By the time the reader finished the book, they had all of the pieces in place.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:

People aren’t always what you perceive them to be.
Everyone has a dark side.
Trying to change people doesn’t always work to your advantage.
Following the crowed keeps you from being yourself.

Reason this book was chosen: I have never read a Gail Giles book before though have heard some intense reviews from my friends (and online). The main reason for selecting this title (besides the obvious, “it’s required”) is the similarity it has to Lord of the Flies, a novel I absolutely love.

Breathing Underwater by Alex Finn

Lord of the Flies by William Golding