Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

When I first saw this book on the desks of my 8th graders last year, I didn't think anything of it. When I started seeing The Sun Is Also a Star on the short list for the National Book Award, I decided to check out Yoon's first novel; I was not disappointed.

The premise: 18-year-old Madeline has a rare disease that forces her to stay inside in a completely controlled environment. She's surprisingly optimistic and fine with this life, until a boy named Oliver moves in next door with his family. 

When I read the summary for this book, I thought, great, another The Fault in Our Stars. I know that kids absolutely adore John Green, but I find his characters tiresome and angsty.

Everything, Everything is definitely not TFIOS. Though the characters have many things to be upset about, they're not. The relationship between Olly and Madeline (Maddy, as he calls her) is adorable and sweet and lovely, but my favorite part of this book is the mixed media/multi-genre feel to it. Yoon partnered with her husband to create these wonderful drawings spread out through the novel, as well as dictionary entries, emails, IM conversations (do kids even IM anymore?) and blog posts to her Tumblr account.

I love when books are multi-genre like this. It contributes to the authenticity of the voice, the character, and the story. It makes me feel like I'm peering into someone's diary. 

Let's get into the ratings...

Rating: ***** 

Recommended: Mature 8th graders, high schoolers (there is a mature romance scene that happens later in the book, so just make sure you're aware of this when recommending it to younger readers). 

Diversity: Though it's not obvious at the start of the book, Madeline is half Japanese and half black. There is also a character who comes up later in the book who is black and gay. Though it's not a focal point of the book (race or sexual orientation), I think it's important that it's here. The story may not be about race and racial identity, shouldn't young black readers be able to see themselves in Maddie: someone who is strong, brave, and kind to others? 

If you liked: all John Green books, all Rainbow Rowell books, To All the Boys I've Ever Loved Before 

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

One hundred lives for the one you took. One life to one dawn. Should you fail but a single morn, I shall take from you your dreams. I shall take from you your city. 

And I shall take from you these lives, a thousandfold. 

The Wrath & the Dawn is a breath of fresh air, in spite of how dark the actual story gets.

The premise: An evil "boy-king," Khalid, takes a new bride each night and murders her by the next morning. When Shahrzad's best friend Shiva is the latest murdered bride, Shahrzad (Shazi) volunteers as Khalid's next bride.

This novel has elements of fantasy, fairy tale, and romance, and I ate it up! I kept reading (at first) because I was dying to know the secret/reason behind all of the murders, but then I just couldn't stop shipping Khalid and Shazi. (#teamShalid)

What I also appreciated is that although there is an element of a love triangle with her childhood sweetheart Tariq, Shazi very clearly makes her choice, and we know that we don't have to endure much indecision with her.

Ahdieh also writes beautifully. She explains her character's motivations and actions at times so that her YA readers don't miss out, but she doesn't dumb down her language; she uses words like "delineated" and "reticence." Vocabulary! Yes!

Ahdieh also has non-white characters in a fantasy novel, which is something I always have a hard time finding. Furthermore, she doesn't have a white character coming in from the "logical west" to discover all that the "magical and mystical east" has to offer; this just IS the world in which the characters live, and there is magic because it's part fantasy novel!

I'm looking forward to the sequel (already got on Audible), but I'm hoping it still has the excitement and charm that this one had; I've been let down by sequels and series in the past few years.

Rating: *****
Recommended: 8th grade and high school readers, fantasy and romance readers
Diversity: Yes! I loved the Arabic names and characters.
If you liked: The Raven Boys series, Red Queen, the Lunar Chronicles

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

The premise, as told by Amazon: "When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white. In the aftermath of Tariq's death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth."

Initially, this book is a bit confusing; each character is so sure that he or she did or did not see a gun in Tariq's hand, for example. WIthin the first 10 pages, however, you quickly realize that each narrator is unreliable. 

This book starts to get great towards the end. It focuses less on plot and more what the characters' lives are like in the aftermath- how so many feel trapped by simply being born in "Kings territory." This is when I think kids would really gain empathy and understanding about how someone's life can be harder and unlucky just by being born somewhere else. 

I feel torn by how I feel about the structure. I think it's great that we get different perspectives, particularly about what it means to be black. (As a white female reader, this helps me continue to understand what it feels like to be a non-white American and how that can feel drastically different for some.) On the other hand, whenever there are so many characters, I have a hard time getting to know any of the characters deeply. I wanted to know more about Tyrell and less about Brick- more about Kimberly and and less about Will. 

Unfortunately the f-bombs abound on every page, so I won't be able to use this book in my 8th grade classroom, but it would be a great book in a high school literature circle- an interesting theme to explore for this might be "The American Experience." 

Rating: *****
Recommended: high school readers 
Diversity: Absolutely, though I would have liked it to go deeper with its discussions about race. 
If you liked: Monster, The Skin I'm In 

Peas and Carrots by Tanita S. Davis

I could not put this book down; I gobbled it up in one weekend! This book is one of my favorites so far this fall.

A quick summary: Dess, a girl that has moved in and out of foster care, has now come to live with Hope's family, which is also where Dess's younger brother, Austin, lives. Less is not used to trusting others and Hope has always been taught that kindness prevails. Heartwarming and heart-wrenching events and hijinks ensue.

The book is told from two different perspectives, Dess and Hope, with alternating chapters. This seems to be the "it" structure right now; is this to create rounder characters or because contemporary readers want to know all of the secrets?

Dess felt like students I have taught before. I appreciated that she was not the sweet, kind orphan character who only needs someone to believe her. Quite the contrary: she was hardened to reality because the world had taught her to trust in no one but herself.

Though I haven't known a family like Hope's, I'd like to believe (dare I say, hope) that there are families like this out there. We so often read narratives of foster families scamming the system; I'm glad to finally read a different perspective.

This book offered both high and low stakes problems. There were times when the conflict was a life and death issue, while at others it was just about finding the right outfit for a party.

What I also appreciated was that Hope's family was black- this saved me from having to read another "white savior" narrative. There are not enough YA books out there with black characters, much less upper middle class ones. Of the 81 books I have read this year, this is the only book so far that has featured such a character. Authors: this needs to change.

Though it wasn't the primary focus of the book, it does address some female body issues and how girls can and should feel beautiful no matter their size. (This is when I have a problem with the cover art: Hope talks so much about being curvy and sometimes embarrassed by her size, but the cover features a slender black girl. Not cool, Random House.)

Rating: *****
Recommended: Realistic fiction, 7-9 graders
Diversity: All over! The main family was African American with one of our protagonists being an African American female.
If you liked: Goodbye Stranger, Awkward, Ghosts

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart

Ya'll. This was the most I have cried during a book reading sesh in a long time. We're talking snot-nosed, lip-quivering, shaky-voice-using crying. You definitely want to read the book now, right? RIGHT?

The premise: Twelve-year-old Mark and his dog, Beau, strike out on an adventure together to climb Mt. Rainier. He's racing down the clock in more ways than one: 1) He ran away from home, and his loving family and friends are trying to get him home safely 2) He has cancer and not much longer to live.

Adventure, road trip books are not normally my thang. I'm not sure why, but when I find out characters are going on a journey that will last the duration of the book, I'm not interested. Needless to say, this book sat on my "to read" shelf (both my literal, bedside shelf and my figurative GoodReads shelf) for a few weeks.

I did, however, enjoy this book. I wouldn't read it again because of the crying (no, the dog doesn't die), but I do enjoy most things (movies, books, real-life activities) with dogs. I did feel that the characters were a bit flat, even Mark, our main character. One of the structures of the book is that after each Mark chapter is a 1/2 chapter which is about what's going on at home. At first these were helpful and interesting, but after awhile, they just added more stress. I also didn't feel like I got to know his family or Jessie any better. I think would have enjoyed more Mark chapters and zero 1/2 chapters.

Rating: ****
Recommended: Dog lovers, 5-8 graders
Diversity: Zero. All white characters with a white male protagonist
If you liked: Hatchet (because hiking and outside)