Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin is an amazing book for teens (grown ups too). This book is about three kids Matt the oldest who is 13, Callie the middle sister who is 11, and Emmy the little sister who is five and takes place in South Boston. The book is written by Matt when he is 17 as a letter to his little sister Emmy to tell her about what happened in a difficult part of their lives just in case Emmy doesn’t remember because she was so young at the time. The kids live in an abusive situation with their psychopathic mother. Even their father Ben is afraid of the mother and although he pays support, he doesn’t help the children. Werlin writes this so well, the reader feels the children’s anguish and roots for them as they read. There were one or two slow spots but they are worth reading to find out what happens next. My students loved this book; collectively they root for the kids and hate the mother. After the kids meet someone new they find hope, until that hope is crashed to the ground. The journey these children are on has many twists and turns that are often unexpected creating a desire in the reader to keep reading and find out what happens which these children that one gains so much empathy for. This is an edgy young adult novel because of the mother’s abuse and the violence and emotional abuse these kids experience. Matt tells the story of how he and Callie try to save themselves and their little sister in an engaging manner. A couple of times I did need to stop and ask, “Has anybody ever felt that way?” There are a myriad of themes to explore in this book including fear, abuse, survival instincts, right and wrong, why people who love us hurt us, the strength of self, etc. I highly recommend this book especially if you have someone else read it with you, so you can talk about it. Or a good read aloud book for a teen and a mom or dad, or students and a teacher. Nancy Werlin also wrote Double Helix which I will review later, and 10 other books I have not read yet. This book was head above Double Helix and is wonderful for reluctant readers.

272 pages
ISBN-10: 0803730012
660L

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel is necessary read for all teenagers, especially as there are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors living today to tell their stories. Night is Elie Wiesel’s personal narrative of what happened when the Nazis invaded his hometown in Romania, forced his family into and then out of the ghetto, and the concentration camps. It is told as he at fifteen experienced it. It is a low lexile level, so even younger readers understand the words, but the subject is so disturbing that it is best for eighth grade students and up. I start my students out with facts and images about the Holocaust, because each generation is getting farther away from the history. This short novella effectively allows readers to understand what happened during the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s main purpose is to bear witness, which is why he wrote this book. By bearing witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust, we hope that humanity never again lets these things happen. As my tenth grade students read and learned about the Holocaust, they were able to make impressive connections to what is going on in Darfur, Sudan at the current time and what happened in Rwanda. It is so important for our adolescents to know about the past because they will be in charge of the future, and as they see it, we aren’t doing such a good job. Nevertheless, it does bring some appreciation for living in America and that fact that they will never know hunger as described by Wiesel. Night and the Holocaust is vital reading for the leaders of the future. The newest translation by his wife is very clear. When someone stands to bear witness, we should all listen. Never again.

120 pages
ISBN-10: 0374500010
ISBN-13: 978-0374500016
Lexile level: 590L

L

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

This is Mark Twain’s classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. First as a parent or a teacher, we need to have a conversation about the use of the “N” word. Why it is included in this book, and why it is completely unacceptable to repeat. That should take care of the naysayers who feel this book should be banned. It is always good when literature gives you a chance to have an honest conversation about the word, and our role in it. As you know, this moving story is set in the 1830s and that is how people back then spoke. And Huck leaving his alcoholic father is a classic theme and one that is completely relatable in our current times. Huck’s journey down the river with former slave Jim is worth a re-read if you read it along time about. There is a great moral lesson in this book, as Huck sacrifices himself and his soul to save Jim. It teaches that all humans no matter how educated, or what color, are vital in our world. It shows too that children don’t see color, they are taught to see color just as they are taught kindness or hatred. Jim is stereotyped to the time in this book, but readers are still able to show his innate humanity. Despite the use of that word, this is definitely a book all American teenagers (and adults) should read.

Paperback: 270 pages
ISBN-10: 1456364391
ISBN-13: 978-1456364397
Lexile Level: 810
There is also a high/low edition available at a 600 Lexile

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Teenage girls like this book Fallen by Lauren Kate. The protagonist 17 year old Luce Price is in love with Daniel, good looking and mysterious, but he doesn’t want anything to do with her. The good boy Cam dark and sarcastic likes her but she can’t like him because she’s in love the one who doesn’t want her. Sound familiar? This book set in a reform school called Sword and Cross which is described in the novel as hell. This is an interesting book; readers are awaiting a sequel as it does leave the reader with some questions. I wouldn’t use it in class, but it may get some girls reading.

Young Adult
452 Pages
ISBN-10: 0385739133
ISBN-13: 978-0385739139
Lexile Level: 830L

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson is an amazing best book for reluctant readers and teenagers. The protagonist is a teenage boy named Tyler Miller, and the plot is his journey through the incredibly demanding maze we’ve all been through called high school and adolescence. I read it with my students and in this class of reluctant male and female readers, they amazingly asked if they could take the books with them and keep reading. Written in 2007, this book addresses modern concerns of teenagers. Although there is drinking, a teenage boy and girl relationship, internet misuse, and a gun, none of it is told in a way that would teach your adolescent a bad lesson, in fact it is the opposite. There are good lessons that this book will share with teenagers, and it will actually make teens want to read!

Young Adult
272 pages
ISBN-10: 0142411841
ISBN-13: 978-0142411841
Lexile Level: 680L
Ages 12 - 17