I can’t imagine anybody in high school not feeling like an outsider at some point. I expect even the athletic heroes and the cheerleaders and all the other so-called popular students don’t believe their good fortune in being well thought of. And I know from personal reflection through sixty-one years of life after high school that we nerds were better thought of than we’d ever believed. High school is hard emotionally, mentally, and physically. But most of us do make it through and discover that we’re better than we thought we were. These three books touch on those issues quite successfully in their own ways.
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Do you remember the girls in high school who were considered to be tramps? You were afraid to be friends with them because it might tarnish your image? I’m sure you do remember. And I’m sure you feel as I do that you should have tried to get to know at least one of them. I think we can all empathize with Hayden in this story.
Kissing Lessons: Learn from the Best
Sophie Jordan
Hayden, whether she wants to be or not, is considered the high school tramp. The supposedly good girls sneer at her behind her back and the boys lust after her. Because she comes from a less than stellar family background with a tramp of a mother, Hayden doesn’t think she deserves better treatment, but she also knows she’s more than what others think of her. Emmaline, the younger sister of Nolan, a guy Hayden finds attractive, asks her to give kissing lessons. In doing so, Hayden begins to have a friendlier relationship with Nolan. Through the journey of the book, all the characters learn how wrong it is to judge people by their appearances and what other people say about them. This is one of the better books about how hard it is to grow up and how easy it is to believe what others say. All the characters begin to show their true selves in this book, which is at times sad and dark and other times amusing. The reader will develop quite a lot of sympathy for Hayden and the other characters. This should be appealing to all teens as they struggle to find their places in the world.
BIBLIO: 2020, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, Ages 14 +, $17.99.
REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan
FORMAT: Young Adult
ISBN: 9781328977076
ISBN: 9780358067412
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Maryland schools were being integrated the last two years I was in high school. My homeroom teacher was a very nice black woman having to deal with racism and she did it well. Religious differences were not discussed, though they were present I’m sure. After 911 fear of Muslims and the Islamic religion took a good section of center stage and, sadly, still does. This next book deals quite well with this subject.
The book also addresses the concern over hacking on websites.
No True Believers
Rabiah York Lumbard
Salma’s best friend, Mariam Muhammad, isn’t just moving away from their northern Virginia suburb, she’s moving to a different continent. Mariam’s family is moving because her father’s medical practice is losing patients prejudiced against him because he and his family are practicing Muslims as are Salma and her family. Then a new family moves into Mariam’s house and at first these seems nice, but then things begin to be weird. The book is well written and an important contribution to our country’s discussion of ethnic prejudice. It also sheds light on the need to not trust what we read on the internet at face value. People aren’t necessarily what they seem to be. We must be diligent in cross checking what we see to make sure we’re getting the whole truth. Salma learns important lessons about the computer hacking she’s been doing and the online so-called friendships she’s developed. The book presents lots of opportunities for classroom discussions on religion, computer information, and personal growth.
BIBLIO: 2020, Crown Books for Young Readers/Putnam Random House, Ages 14 +, $17.99.
REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan
FORMAT: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 9780525644255
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The third book I’ve selected has magic in it, but is primarily about finding one’s self during teenage years. There is a lot of whimsy in the story, but an understanding of loyalty and being one’s own unique person.
The Circus Rose
Betsy Cornwell
A book of magic and love and loyalty, the story is about fraternal twins, though in this case the girls should be rightly called “maternal” twins. Yes, they were born on the same day to the same mother, but to different fathers. Rose is an athletic redhead who loves performing aerial acrobatics. Ivory, the white-blonde twin, loves tinkering and designing new circus sets. Their mother’s circus is their life and their home, and the people of the circus are their family. The story tells of their journey toward self-awareness, with magical creatures like Bear and evil religious zealots to help or hinder them along their journey. The author weaves a good story which pulls the reader along. There are hints to folk/fairy tales like the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty and real-life issues such as finding one’s place in the world. The reader will become very fond of the characters and teachers will find much to discuss with their students.
BIBLIO: 2020, Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Ages 12 +, $17.99.
REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan
FORMAT: Early Young Adult
ISBN: 978-1-32816-3930-9
ISBN: 9780358164432
Be well and stay safe during our time of lock down. And enjoy reading all the books you’ve put aside for a rainy day. Here’s that day. As always, I’d love to hear from you. Sarah
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