Whale Talk

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher ISBN: 9780061771316 Greenwillow Books, New York, and 2001 Plot Summary: The Tao Jones (T.J.) is black, Japanese and white and he is the only bi-racial kid in his high school. This fact is one that he has gotten used to, but the one thing he can’t accept is how the …

Big Fat Disaster

Big Fat Disaster by Beth Fehlbaum ISBN: 9781440570483 Merit Press, Blue Ash, OH, 2014 Plot Summary: Colby sticks out like a sore thumb in her family. She is not a replica of her beauty queen mother like her sisters Drew and Rachel; she is built like her father who used to be a linebacker in …

Freakboy

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark ISBN: 9780374324728 Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, 2013 Plot Summary: A novel-in-verse told through three perspectives on gender identity. It looks like Brendan has the perfect life; he is a star student, an athlete and has an awesome girlfriend. But he feels trapped in his own skin and wishes he …

All American Boys

American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely ISBN: 9781481463331 Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 2015 Plot Summary:  Rashad is a decent student and a member of ROTC who hasn’t stepped outside of the law except for some drinking at parties with his friends. But the only thing that matters to the cops …

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina ISBN: 9780763658595 Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, 2013 Plot Summary: Piddy’s sophomore year of school is not going as expected. Her best friend Mitzi moved out of New York City, her mother has moved them to a new apartment which entails transferring to a new school …

Boy Toy

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga ISBN: 978-0618723935 Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA, and 2007 Plot Summary: In middle school Josh Mendel’s secret was exposed to the world and his life was left in ruins after an innocent game of spin the bottle ends up with Josh going too far with his friend Rachel. It turns out …

Moxie

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu ISBN: 9781626726352 Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2017 Plot Summary: Vivian Carter lives in a small town in Texas and goes to a school where the only thing that matters is the football team and the players can do whatever they please.  After watching the new girl’s confidence get destroyed in …

The Hate U Give

  The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ISBN: 9780062498533 Balzer + Bray, New York, 2017 Plot Summary: Starr Carter’s life is split between her home life in a poor neighborhood and her school life in a fancy prep school. The precarious balance she has attained comes crashing down when her childhood best friend, Khalil, …