LSSL 5385 Young Adult Book Blogs 9-16

Young Adult Book #9: Gabi: A Girl in Pieces


Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi: A girl in pieces. TX: Cinco Puntos.

Gabi is a senior in high school, and so much is going on. Her best friend Cindy is pregnant, her other best friend Sebastian is gay and is coming out, her brother does graffiti, her dad is a drug addict, and her mother is always on her case about her weight and her expectations on how to be a proper young woman based off the Latino cultural beliefs. Gabi's goal is to get out of her house next fall and attend University of California, Berkeley. In order to do that, she must finally pass Algebra II and continue to succeed in her poetry class. Along the way, Gabi finds herself helping those around her with their situations while trying to juggle her own. She does things like getting in a relationship and participating in poetry readings, which helps her realize she is a beautiful young woman with a bright future.

I like how this novel was written as journal-entries. Readers are really able to understand Gabi's feelings and thoughts and be able to relate to her various stages of pain, love, and confusion. As I read Gabi's entries, I realized that Gabi had self-esteem issues. Coming from a girl who has been called "Gordita" many times, I understand how Gabi feels when she compares her body to other girls' and talks about how she is ashamed of it at times. Because of this, I believe that the author included the theme of "identity" for many reasons. Many readers of the Latinx community can relate to  Gabi dealing with her family, like when her mother thinks that when Gabi does anything out of the ordinary, she is trying to be "white". Also, her mother believes that just because she is a girl, she needs more rules and expectations so she doesn't end up pregnant. However, she does not let these issues overcome her! Instead, Gabi pushes through to grow as a person in many aspects of life. She doesn't let society define her, but instead she does her best to break out of the typical Latino stereotype and create a brand for her true self.

Going off of this, Gabi realizes she enjoys writing poetry, and she is quite good at it. I believe the author added this characteristic about the main character because it is simply an example of how she copes with outside situations and conflicts. Even if it is not writing poetry, readers can get motivated to find something they are passionate about and use it to help them gather thoughts and feelings, sort of like a safe space!

Overall, this book tackles many issues today's young adults go through, including self-image, drug addiction, teen pregnancy, sexuality, sexual assault, etc. I loved every single moment of it, especially since Gabi's humor and optimism helped not only her, but those around her to keep pushing through. Check out this book trailer for the novel:

Young Adult Book #10: Persepolis

Sartrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis. NY: Pantheon.

Marjane Satrapie was a young girl during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. She comes from a wealthy and loving family, but she encounters many tough situations based off what is going on in her country. For example, she and all the other women had to wear veils and learn about the history of Iran through specific point of views. She believes she is a prophet from God, but then changes her mind when problems worsen. There are protests, arrests, and executions, which allows Marjane to find her voice and help fight for what's right and uncover the truth about the things going on all around her.

I like how this memoir was written in the format of a graphic novel. There is a lot of history events mentioned within the story, and I feel the pictures and short captions help the reader comprehend the story's plot more rather than just have it all through words. Also, the comics are illustrated in black and white, which I believe helps portray the seriousness of these events and situations she went through. Since this is in Marjane's point of view, readers are able to see how the revolution and war can affect a child. Family members and people she was close to were getting arrested or killed, which is traumatic for most children. She is able to the tell a story of that even though all these things she went through were devastating, she still had her family's love and strength to help her carry on. She even wrote about how women were badly treated and the importance of women's rights and freedom. Finally, in the end, her parents decided to send her to Europe to live at and get an education from in order to help protect her. She was separated from her family, which is what many immigrants from today experience. Even though they sent her away for good reasons, it was still heartbreaking since they already went through so much together.

This book is a New York Times Notable Book and a San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Bestseller. Check out this book trailer that includes some of the comics from the memoir:

Young Adult Book #11: The Hate U Give


Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. NY: HarperCollins

Starr is sixteen years old and is a part of two different worlds. She lives in Garden Heights, known as a poor black neighborhood. However, she attends a prep school in a more suburban area that's about 45 minutes away. One day, she attends a party in her neighborhood, which is something she usually doesn't do. While there, she runs into her childhood best friend named Khalil. There ends up being a shooting at the party, so Starr and Khalil have to flee and get in his car. As they are driving, they are catching up until a cop pulls them over. It seemed like a regular traffic stop, but Khalil is asked to step outside the vehicle and to wait and not move. When Khalil moves to check up on Starr, the cop shoots him and kills him. Starr witnessed the murder, and now Khalil is portrayed as a dangerous drug dealer who threatened the cop before he was shot. This is absolutely not true, so now Starr is the key witness in the investigation and is trying to clear his name. At the same time, riots start to occur and Starr finds her voice to participate as an activist and find justice for her dear friend, all while trying to deal with her two worlds.

Wow! This book is amazing. I don't know how many times I cried while reading it. I'm labeling it as a classic because it's crazy how realistic it is for today's world. It represents pure honesty, especially how it is told in a POV of a young black girl who saw injustice and racial profiling firsthand. People of color are going through these situations every single day. They fear for their life because one little thing can change their lives forever. When Khalil was shot because it appeared he had a gun, I was devastated. He is a young teenager who was checking on the well-being of his friend, but in the cop's eyes, he was a danger to him. Another example is when Starr's dad had an encounter with two cops in front of Starr and her siblings, which left all of them scared. I've heard of many situations like this through social media and the news, and it is a huge problem that many people are aware of while many other people are not. It's a shame and it's heartbreaking, but this novel perfectly depicts reality.

I also want to talk about how I admired Starr finding her voice to speak up about the injustice that occurred over her childhood best friend. She witnessed the event and she knows the truth, so rather than just be a bystander, she uses her strength to fight for what's right. I believe that her doing this is an excellent message to young readers. Don't just hear about it, do something about it. Speak up and share with others. Talk about how this isn't something that just happens every once in a while. This is something that happens all the time!

Finally, I want to talk about the title of the book. When I first looked at the cover, I noticed "You" is spelled like "U". I didn't notice that the title is written with each word in a line and appearing as an acronym. THE HATE U GIVE = T.H.U.G.  This blew my mind, especially when Khalil explained it a little more while in the car with Starr. The title is a reference to Tupac's explanation of "Thug Life"(The Hate U Give Little Infants F**** Everybody). Khalil says this means "what society gives us as youth, it bites in the a** when we wild out". However, Starr realizes that it's more than just youth, but more about "black people, minorities, poor people. Everybody at the bottom in society". In other words "the oppressed". This makes sense, which makes the title even more engaging, for it represents the story's plot perfectly as a whole.

Check out this video of Tupac explaining his meaning of Thug Life, which is relevant to the themes and plot of The Hate U Give:

Here is also the movie trailer for The Hate U Give. I have not watched it yet, but it would be nice to see this wonderful story come to life on the big screen:

Finally, check out the book Dear Martin, where a young black boy is also pulled over and experiences racial profiling.

Young Adult Book #12: Booked

Alexander, K. (2016). Booked. NY: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Nick Hall's life revolves around soccer. He and his best friend, Coby, always play and practice even though they are on opposing teams, and they are super excited about a big tournament coming up in Dallas. Things are looking swell for Nick, that is until his mom moves away for a job to train horses. In addition to this, his parents separate, leaving Nick with his father who is a linguistics father and is obsessed with words. This man even wrote his own dictionary that he forces Nick for expanded vocabulary. In addition to all this happening at home, Nick also has things going on at school, such as bullies and having a crush on a girl named April. Will Nick be able to juggle it all?

First of all, this novel is written in verse, which is totally awesome! This makes it an easy yet engaging read for young and/or struggling poetry readers. It seems that each important moment for Nick is it's own poem, which helps the plot progress smoothly. In addition to this, Nick mentions that his father wrote his own dictionary with footnotes. This is where I believe the humor aspect comes into Booked. Nick himself has footnotes with harder words he says within the poems. The footnotes include the word's definition and usually a funny/sarcastic sentence of Nick using it correctly. The fact that Nick uses these words from his father's dictionary shows that even though he doesn't quite like using this expanded vocabulary, he tends to embed it into everyday conversations, making him sound "wordy" and "intelligent".

In addition to this, I believe that Booked is an excellent novel for young readers because of the issues Nick goes through. These issues are ones that most readers at that age also go through. I especially like how Nick is able to realize that he is going through these conflicts and decides to do something about each of them, such as standing up to his bullies. I noticed that Nick doesn't necessarily speak in a first POV, but instead says"you" when referring to himself. Even though readers know he is talking about himself in these situations, the way it is written can actually help them see themselves in these dilemmas as well. The can help them easily journey through Nick's adventures.

Booked is actually part of The Crossover series by Kwame Alexander. Check out these other two books in the series that are also written in verse but more about basketball:

Young Adult Book #13: Period 8

Crutcher, C. (2013). Period 8. NY: HarperCollins.

Every day, students in Period 8 are expected to "keep it real", meaning to tell the truth about situations, share their opinions, and keep it between only those in the room. The truth can actually hurt others and create problems, which is what happened with Paul Braum when he admits to his girlfriend, Hannah, that he cheated on her. This situation is discussed within Period 8, but there is also another situation happening. One of their peers, Mary, appears to be missing and not attending school, which is weird since she has a super strict dad and she's all about staying on top of her academics. A mystery is formed, for no one understands how this could be for such an innocent girl. Also, things aren't adding up about this situation, and it appears that someone in Period 8 knows a little more than others and is not telling the truth after all.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. The plot seemed as an excellent mystery, but as the story progressed and eventually ended, I was left confused and not satisfied. For example, when I first looked at the book's cover, I noticed the swimmer facedown as if he was preparing for something major. I also noticed a body in the water, which I assumed was a girl's. I assumed there was going to be a murder, or perhaps even someone's body eventually found in the water while someone was out for a swim. I was wrong though. There was a character who was missing for a while, but she came back, which in my opinion, kind of took the fun away of the book's mystery. A character from Period 8 was responsible for the girl's disappearance and the reason why a peer cheated on his girlfriend, but then the author added a crooked officer and a sex ring leader into the situation, and I became completely lost. Now, I admit that I appreciated how the author wrote about an environment (Period 8) in which his characters felt like it was a safe space from other places in the school and their outside world.  Although, I felt like their teacher, Mr. Logs, was a little too close and open with his students. It's good to have a relationship with students, but Mr. Logs appeared to be super nosy in their situations as if he was trying to be their age again and simply be their "friend". It just seemed super weird to me, but others may feel differently.

However, there are many reviews about how this novel is intense, terrifying, and an overall excellent mystery. Check out this video of Chris Crutcher himself explaining why "telling the truth" is an important aspect within Period 8 (which I actually agree with):

Young Adult Book #14: Please Ignore Vera Dietz

King, A.S. (2010). Please ignore Vera Dietz. NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Vera Dietz and Charlie Kahn have been best friends since forever. They grew up together and have always felt like outcasts. Vera was also secretly in love with him. However, during their final years of high school, they drifted apart and Charlie started to hang out with other teens who were bad influences. Vera hates that he hung out with these people and how he even started to treat her after a while. Unfortunately, Charlie dies after a major town incident, and Vera feels guilty because she hates who he became but still wished she could have saved him in some way. People believe Charlie committed a crime right before his death, but Vera knows this is absolutely not true. She then goes through struggles with moving on within her own life and asking herself whether or not she should clear Charlie's name even though he is dead.

I believe that this YA novel deals with many issues most teenagers go through today. For example, Vera's father believes that she needs to learn how to deal with adult responsibilities such as getting a job and making her own money. Because of this, Vera works her butt off on school nights as a pizza delivery girl. Another issue this book covers is alcoholism. Charlie was a drunk and ends up dying from most likely alcohol poisoning. Vera also had a few drinks from time to time, which made her father worry since he was once an alcoholic. Many teens resort to alcohol when it comes to problems or know somebody in their family who is an alcoholic. A third issue that is tackled is mourning the loss of a loved one. Vera loved Charlie but also hated his actions right before he died. She didn't know what were the "right" feelings for this situation, which heavily affected her. Teens often feel lost and confused during a time life this and don't necessarily know how to go through the grieving process without help. Finally, domestic violence was done within Charlie's family, and even though Vera and her father knew about it, they were bystanders rather than do anything about it. These issues seem dark, but unfortunately, this the reality most young adults have to go through on a day to day basis.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an honor book for the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, which makes sense there are many connections readers can pull from the story's plot. Check out this engaging book trailer that can be used to quickly grab a reader's attention:

Young Adult Book #15: 100 Sideways Miles


Smith, A. (2014). 100 sideways miles. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Finn Easton is a high school boy who feels he is not ordinary. He has to constantly try to convince himself that he is a true human being with real problems and not the main character from his father's well-known scientific fiction novel. When he was young, a dead horse fell from a bridge and killed his mother and severely injured him. His back was broken and he became an epileptic. He has scars along his back that look like this: :|: Because of this, many people believe he is truly like the character in his dad's book. Now Finn has to find his place in the world and discover what his true destiny is. Along the way, he has wonderful support from both his best friend, Cade Hernandez, and his first ever girlfriend, Julia Bishop.

This novel is filled with humor and is perfect for those in high school who feel confused about their own identity. An example of the humor that I appreciated was when Smith would insert the :|: at random times throughout the text. Finn is embarrassed about his scar and feels it makes him connected to his dad's novel, even though that is unwanted. However, Cade constantly makes jokes about it, treating Finn as an ordinary teenage boy. Also, the scar itself looks like the serious/disappointed emoticons we use when we text, and I noticed Smith put them in places in the story when Finn believes something unfortunate had happened, which is how we would also probably use them in real life messages. In addition to this, I want to point out that I personally found it funny how Finn kept calling his best friend and his girlfriend by their full names, as if the readers still weren't familiar with who they are. I guess this was an attempt to show readers how much he was mesmerized by the both of them and how couldn't classify himself as "normal" when he had wonderful people like these two in his life. Finally, I believe that the cover of the book is super interesting and makes readers curious right off the bat. Like, it's a horse falling from the sky. That's pretty random and may represent the story's humor as well. However, I believe this is not the case, for the horse is actually literally representing what happened to Finn when he was young that caused his injury and his mother's tragic death. :|:

I can definitely see why 100 Sideways Miles has won many awards such as NPR Best Book of the Year, NYTBR Notable Children's Book of the Year, NYPL's Best Book of the Year for Teens, etc. Check out this video of Andrew Smith explaining the book's summary, some background information over some of the places mentioned, and why Finn tends to bring math and physics into his life:

Young Adult Book #16: Paper Towns

Green, J. (2008). Paper towns. NY: Penguin Group.

Quentin Jacobsen has been mesmerized by Margo Roth Spiegelman, the girl next door, his whole entire life. They use to be close when they were younger; however, as they got older, they actually drifted apart. Now in their senior year, Quentin has a small group of friends while Margo is quite popular. This is why it is shocking when Margo randomly climbs through Quentin's window one night and asks for assistance on a revenge mission she has planned against her boyfriend who cheated on her and some other people she has usually hung out with. Quentin is skeptical at first, but then agrees to go with her and actually ends up having one of the best adventures he has ever had. Quentin believes that this night will actually bring him and Margo closer together once they're back at school, but it turns out that Margo actually runs away. Nobody has an idea where she is, but it appears that she left a series of clues specifically for Quentin to find her. Quentin begins a search for her with his small group of friends, learning lots of new things about his old childhood friend and hoping he can save her if she is in any type of danger.

In Paper Towns, Quentin, who is use to just hanging out around his small circle of friends while focusing on academics and playing video games, seems to go through major character development. When Margo first appears at his window, Quentin kept on thinking about the consequences of going out on this random adventure with her, which kept holding him back. This makes sense, for he is use to his simple routine and knows how outgoing Margo is, and he is really just afraid of taking risks and ruining everything he has worked hard for. However, the night adventure opened up his eyes to a world full of possibilities when going out his comfort zone. Even when Margo left and he was traveling to these various places looking for her, fear didn't cloud up his mind. Instead, he was determined and willing to risk missing out on important moments (i.e. graduation, prom, etc.) in order to uncover the truth about Margo. Along the way, he was able to find adventure, which is what Margo intended for him to do in the first place.

Now, as for the plot, I feel like some parts dragged a little. For example, I thought the whole clue finding thing for Quentin would be exciting, and it was at first. I found myself trying to piece the clues together as I read, and it kind of reminded me of being in an escape room. However, that mini-mall that Quentin kept going to for clues made me anxious at times. I felt like he went there too many times and was not successful in finding useful information, which kind of felt like a waste of time. It made sense at the end when Margo revealed that the mini-mall was not meant for him to find any clues but instead just be a place he can escape to. Still, with the amount of time Q spent there, I felt like something should of came out of it sooner, especially since I was going along with the mystery as well. I also believe that the most interesting part was the road trip Q and his friends took to Agloe in hopes of finding her. This part built up plenty of anticipation within me; however, I felt kind of let down when I read that Margo did not want to be found. I understand her reasoning, for she wanted to find her true self and was sick of going with the flow and being "fake" within a paper town, but still, I was somewhat disappointed.

Even though I have those opinions about Paper Towns, I can still why this novel was a #1 New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller. Check out the book trailer for this novel:

I even want to watch the movie now! Check out this clip below of the movie trailer. From what I saw, there are many differences. Readers can compare and contrast it to the novel. I know I'm planning to.