This author is going to be HUGE because wow, just wow, what a debut in Dear Martin. Justyce and Manny are prep school students who hang out with a group of white boys who like to makecasual comments about race, playing them off as jokes. SJ, the sassy smart girl, throws in some intelligence to classroom conversations that are money in this story. As Justyce writes letterstoMLK, trying to find his way through a system built on white supremacy, the real world of violence and racism comes to his doorstep. This book explodes with issues of class, race, justice and the lackthere of. Incredible book - sequel is out this fall.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
If you missed this Newberry award winning memoir of Jacqueline Woodson's life a few years ago, it is worth going back to. Written in poetic form, it tells the story of 'Jackie' and her life between Brooklyn and her grandparent's house in the South. Just beautiful.
Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith
Stunning collection of poems that focus on how black men are killed through police violence, AIDS, disease, societal ignorance and lack of compassion, history, all of it. The poem Dear America dropped me. Tough issues, definitely more suited to older teen as well as adult, but would be powerful to use different poems to accompany books in a classroom. Highly highly recommend.
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham
Here is another YA historical fiction that focuses on an incident that has been covered up, forgotten, and deliberately hidden for generations...the 1921 white race riots in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Latham, in just her second novel, does a spectacular job of moving between two time periods: today's world, 17 year old Rowan whose best friend is Black, whose father is a white powerful businessman and mom is a Black bad-ass public defender, who discovers a mysterious skeleton hidden in her backyard; and the story of long ago told by William, a seventeen year old biracial boy of 1921 Tulsa, whose father is a white Victrola salesman and mom is a wealthy Osage native, whose learning curve of race relations in his town is high and furious. Oh yes, so many things are brought into this book...the treatment of black and natives, the role of oil in Tulsa, the murders of the Osage women and their headrights, the treatment of blacks, particularly young black teens, in today's society. It is an olio of 'issues' and author Latham handles them with aplomb. A beautifully written book, with a serious mystery that will keep one turning pages, and a feeling of shock of all the things that have been hidden away from us in America's history surrounding race. It would be a perfect book to use in a secondary classroom, or a book club, as the provocative topics will definitely stimulate conversation.
ALL books by Jason Reynolds
Ghost (Track #1) Patina (Track #2) Sunny (Track #3), Lu (Track #4)
Castle (ie. Ghost) is an angry kid, with a father in prison and a mom working and studying and just trying to put food on the table. When Ghost shows his speed to 'Coach,' a former Olympic gold medalist, a relationship is born. Each book takes on the 'newbie' to this club track team and shows a slice of life that is valuable, important, and inspiring. Awesome series for an upper elementary or middle school student.
As Brave as You
This middle reader book won numerous children's books awards and was well deserved. It is the story of two brothers who are sent by their parents from their Brooklyn home, to stay with their grandparents in the South. So many 'small' issues that become big to these brothers: a split between their father and grandfather, how to be 'cool,' where one fits in the city world vs. the country world, how to how to answer all the questions in the world, and what brave really means. If you've got a kid stuck at home, place this book in their hands, along with anything else Jason Reynolds writes.
Castle (ie. Ghost) is an angry kid, with a father in prison and a mom working and studying and just trying to put food on the table. When Ghost shows his speed to 'Coach,' a former Olympic gold medalist, a relationship is born. Each book takes on the 'newbie' to this club track team and shows a slice of life that is valuable, important, and inspiring. Awesome series for an upper elementary or middle school student.
As Brave as You
This middle reader book won numerous children's books awards and was well deserved. It is the story of two brothers who are sent by their parents from their Brooklyn home, to stay with their grandparents in the South. So many 'small' issues that become big to these brothers: a split between their father and grandfather, how to be 'cool,' where one fits in the city world vs. the country world, how to how to answer all the questions in the world, and what brave really means. If you've got a kid stuck at home, place this book in their hands, along with anything else Jason Reynolds writes.
Ghost (Track #1), Patine (Track #2) by Jason Reynolds
The Boy in the Black Suit
In this story, Matt is a teenage boy who grieves his dead mother by working in a funeral parlor and wearing his black suit every day to high school. Yeah, seems the antithesis of what would help, but you would be surprised. He also deals with an father who copes through alcohol, school issues, and a girl named Lovey who surprises him over and over again. Powerhouse of a book.
All American Boys (told by BOTH Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely)
Rashad is just a black kid at a grocery story, yet when he trips and falls, a woman accuses him of stealing, and a white policemen beats him so badly he winds up in the hospital. Quinn, a white boy and best friend to the brother of the policeman, is a witness. Told by the dual perspective of Rashad and Quinn, we see today's world play out through their eyes. POWERFUL story.
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
This is a brilliant story of the lives urban kids lead after school, as the book is told in ten blocks, ten chapters. Their lives intertwine with each other, as well as their neighbors and it is a brilliant look into another world. If I was still teaching middle or high schoolerstoday, both these books would be on my Must Read list.
The Boy in the Black Suit
In this story, Matt is a teenage boy who grieves his dead mother by working in a funeral parlor and wearing his black suit every day to high school. Yeah, seems the antithesis of what would help, but you would be surprised. He also deals with an father who copes through alcohol, school issues, and a girl named Lovey who surprises him over and over again. Powerhouse of a book.
All American Boys (told by BOTH Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely)
Rashad is just a black kid at a grocery story, yet when he trips and falls, a woman accuses him of stealing, and a white policemen beats him so badly he winds up in the hospital. Quinn, a white boy and best friend to the brother of the policeman, is a witness. Told by the dual perspective of Rashad and Quinn, we see today's world play out through their eyes. POWERFUL story.
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
This is a brilliant story of the lives urban kids lead after school, as the book is told in ten blocks, ten chapters. Their lives intertwine with each other, as well as their neighbors and it is a brilliant look into another world. If I was still teaching middle or high schoolerstoday, both these books would be on my Must Read list.
Long Way Down
Fifteen year old Will leaves his apartment with a gun in his waistband, intent on revenge for his brother Sean's death. However, his elevator ride down stops on each floor, and a ghost enters, telling the story of the Gun, the Violence, the Rules. Do Not Miss This Book. My jaw was on the floor with the last two-word line.
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