Because You'll Never Meet Me

Thomas, L. (2015). Because You'll Never Meet Me. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Summary

Two recluse become pen pals and best friends. The irony is they have never met each other in person. They only write letters back and forth to each other.  Ollie is allergic to electricity. Moritz has a pacemaker. They are separated by their health issues as well as physically. Ollie lives in a forest in the America and Moritz lives with his family in Germany. Ollie does have one friend, Liz. As they get older they do grow apart. She begins high school and Ollie cannot go.  His dreams of taking her out around town or to the movie are diminished.  Moritz is not having an easier time. He is bullied at his school. Their physical limitations put them in the situation where they can be best of friends and feel like the two are all each other has.  A true friendship is what has grown between these boys after all the years of correspondence.  Ollie gains the insight and confidence to go out into the world and brave the chance of his health be affected.

Commentary

A book is good when you think it is going one way and it turns in a different direction. I thought the boys were going to turn out to be mutants like in X Men and that the story was a science fiction all along.  My interest was kept the entire novel. The novel being written in letters between the two customers helped move the plot along. The setting and events go back and forth between to two. The story of two boys having true friendship without having met each other shows young readers it has very little to do with outside appearance.  You have to be able to express yourself so that others can understand you

Conncections

teacher guide

Similar books

Connections to text

This novel shows the importance of friendship and how it will hep anyone through a tough time. It is realistic fiction but it is written as letter from one character to another. Finding ones worth is a common theme in YA literature.  These boys are both dealing with a handicapped that keeps them from living their live to the fullest and discovery what they want out of the world. 

The Sledding Hill

Crutcher, C. (2006). The Sledding Hill. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Summary
A traumatic event has resulted in Eddie becoming silent or mute. He found his father and best friend's dead bodies.  His friend dead friend Billy has come back to Earth to help Eddie through this hard time. He visits him in his dreams and gains his confidence. When he Eddie returns to school, he struggles to get through without Billy. Billy's father is the school janitor and he becomes a companion for Eddie. He had previously helped him deal with his ADD problems.  A English teacher wants to ban a book, Warren Peece, and it happens to be a book that Eddie enjoys reading. He begins to start a counter attack against the move to remove the book. He sees it as a way to fight for freedom. This fight causes Eddie to get his voice back literally and of course figuratively. By the end,  Billy sees that he is not needed anymore. Eddie has become comfortable with himself and around others.  His voice is back so Billy's purpose is done.

Commentary
This book is interesting because the protagonists are males in a realistic setting not in a science fiction or alternate society. The older intermediate grades would find it interesting because the character is fighting against what he sees as not fair. Even though he looses, the readers can identify with go against rules or systems that seem unjust. The theme of censorship and reaction to death are topics that can lead to great discussion in upper grades classrooms.

Connections
Interview with Chris Crutcher

Connection with text
While reading this book I immediately thought of Speak.  Both characters have selected to become mute because something traumatic happened to them. I also thought of Crenshaw.  Both stories have a non real character that helps a real character through a tough time.  This novel deals with theme of dealing with authority and how to fight against what one thinks is unfair.  The relationship between the main characters Billy and Eddie show how males can have deep lasting friendships and youth.

The Crossover

Alexander, K. (2014). The Crossover. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Summary

Twin brothers Jordan and Josh compete on and off the basketball court even though they are on the same team on and off the court. They are growing apart socially partly due to a girl Alexis.  The growing agonizing erupts in a fight between the two brothers.  This puts a strain on the family as well.  Suddenly their father passes shocking the boys who partly viewed him as invincible due to his former pro basketball career.  After his death, the boys realize the fragility of life and the importance of family being there for each other. 

Commentary

This novel is written in prose. It helps make the reading quick. It is rare to read a book with African-American male protagonist that aren't fighting the police, drugs, or gangs. Both the boys are good students with professional parents. The issues are not typical teen issues but for readers of a particular demographic their are familiar themes. Dealing with the police as black males, healthy diet and seeing doctors are common themes for black families. Alexander presented these in his novel without beating readers over the head with it.

Connections
   
Teacher Vision Educator's Guide 

Connections to text
The realistic fiction genre features characters in real settings going through real life issues. In YA books the characters are teens in middle or high school dealing with friendship, love, changing family dynamics.  These are all in the novel The Crossover. The fact that the main characters are male and not a teenage girl which is a change of typical YA.

Eleanor & Park

Rowell, R. (2013). Eleanor & Park. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Summary

Eleanor is a new girl in school and she doesn't fit in very well starting with her bright red hair and her strange outfit choice.  Park is the unlucky person who has to sit next to Eleanor on her first day on the bus.  He is not too happy about it.  Over the days an friendship develops then a romance.  Eleanor's home life is awful. She lives with her mother, 5 siblings, and an abusive stepfather. Richie had kicked Eleanor out of the house a year ago and she was forced to live on the couch in the house of friends of her mom.  Now that she has returned, she is forced to walk on eggshells so as to not disturb the fragile structure that is in place now in this new small home. Park recognizes that Eleanor is smart and finds a fellow comic book lover.  They share taste in books and music. When they begin dating, Eleanor has to make sure Park doesn't find out the truth about her home life.  While Park has no problem telling Eleanor how he feels about her, she cannot bring herself to reciprocate. One day he defends her against Steve, a bully, and gets in a fight. His mother gets angry and grounds him from seeing Eleanor again.  Eventually Park's parents see Eleanor's true family life and offer to let her stay with them. She accepts.  Then her uncle offers to let her come stay with him in Minnesota. Richie won't let her leave. However after a big fight between Richie, Eleanor and her mom, Park drives her up to Minnesota with monetary help from his dad. Park still holds on to their relationship by writing letters and sending packages. Eleanor never responds.  Park's hope of reuniting or continuing their relationship long distance slowly slips away.  Eleanor tells a friend at her new home that she didn't have a boyfriend. She thinks to herself that Park was her champion.  At the end, the author leaves us with a cliffhanger. Park finally gets a postcard from Eleanor and it says three words. We are left to guess what they are.

Commentary

A wonderful quick read.  The chapters don't dwell on forever repeating details over and over again.  The book moves fast much like the friendship and romance between Park and Eleanor.  I thought the character of Park was considerate. On the other hand, it took me a while to warm up to Eleanor.  I want to feel for her but she comes across as curt. I'm sure that is the wall she has to build up because of Richie and her mom.  This is true in real life too. The students that are hard to sympathize with are usually the ones carrying the heaviest baggage. When I saw that this book had been banned, it surprised me. I read through it so fast that the profanity and "sexuality" didn't really jump out at me as significant.  I just attributed it to the author writing what teenagers say and do. 

Connections

Connections to Text

This novel checks all the boxes when it comes to YA Realistic fiction; bullying, love, abuse, alcoholism, suffering through school, finding ones place, breaking up, and moving on. It is no wonder why it was a Printz Award Honor Book in 2014.  Girls and boys can relate to the themes included in the novel. 

I Crawl Through It

King, A.S. (2015) I Crawl Through It. New York, NY: Little Brown and Company.

Summary

Sorry to say but I Crawl Through It is how I made it through this book.  It didn't grab a hold of me to keep me interested in reading it. So it took me a long time to get through it. The story of 5 teenagers who have to suffer through the mundanes of high school. But these characters don't  react like typical teens. They make plans to escape in an invisible helicopter built by Gustav.  All the characters Stanzi, Landsdale, China, and Gustav are bright and unique. This aids in their feeling of alienation from others. Landsdale lies and her hair grows. China has turned herself inside out.  Gustav ends up leaving with a naked neighbor. China runs off to meet a boy she met online. All of this goes on while also dealing with testing and assaults and bomb scares.  In the end, the characters quirks are what helps them to escape their reality.

Commentary

I mentioned how I had to force myself to finish this book.  Not that it isn't good. I just don't enjoy surrealism. If I had time to read it again maybe I could get a deeper meaning and understanding but for a one time read, I found it very confusing.  I did catch on that the kids were actually finding a way to deal with everyday teen age issues. They all had issues to work on. But I didn't understand a lot of the details.  But there is an audience for this time of YA literature.  There are people who like the idea of escape in unusual ways or to take the ordinary and turn it on its ear.

Connection 

Connection to text
I'm not sure if this is considered a dystonia novel. It definitely shows an alternate way to deal with social structure. But the world itself is not alternate. The setting is a typical high school. That aside the other elements are familiar with YA literature; sexual assault, dating, testing, and fitting in.  The genre is fiction with characters, plot, setting, and theme. The author used an unusual approach to tell the story.

X A Novel

Shabazz, I. (2015). X: A Novel. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Summary

If anyone can write a semi-biographical account of Malcolm X's early life it is his daughter. She knew him and and access to others that knew him well. Malcolm Little  lived in Lansing, Michigan.  His father died when he was six. As a young teen, he started to get into trouble for playing pranks at school and stealing fruit from a store and a neighbor's yard.  He is moved to a foster home because the government believes his mother is not well and cannot take care of him. Eventually all of his sisters and brothers are moved to a foster home.  When Malcolm is 16, he decides to move to Boston with hsi half-sister. The big city immediately captivates him. He is drawn into the criminal life because he finds it so easy and he can make money quickly. He goes from job to job eventually become a porter on a train and discovers Harlem. He moves up  there and become even more of hustler. After getting in big trouble with a dangerous number runner, Malcolm's friend Shorty comes to rescue him and take him back to Boston. Waiting for him there is Sophia. She is the woman Malcolm cannot not shake because she is white and it is considered forbidden and that excites him. Sophia and her sister get Malcolm and Shorty involved in their robbery operation.  A foolish move gets them caught. Malcolm takes a watch he stole to get fixed and the jeweler calls the cops. Once in prison, Malcolm Little must come to terms with all the mistakes he has made in his life. He reevaluates what his father has taught him. He comes to term with is role in the United States and realizes he cannot depend on others but cannot blame others either. It ends with Malcolm Little becoming Malcolm X.

Commentary

The book coves Malcolm's early life in detail. Even though some stories and characters were made up or compiled of a collection of events and people it reads like a true biography. If you are familiar with the James Baldwin biography on Malcolm X. This serves as a perfect prequel.  the names and places are all true. Ilyasah Shabazz did a good job including events that explains why the Malcolm became the leader we know him for in his later life. 

Connections

Book Trailer

Connections to text
Biographies should be true to the time they cover. The United States at the time of the novel was extremely divided racially. This novel can serve as a history lesson for young readers who were not alive in the 1940s. Readers will get a better understanding of the character Malcolm and how and why he became the man to lead people.

This is Where it Ends

Nijkamp, M. (2016). This Is Where It Ends. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.

Summary

On the surface, it is a book about a shooting in a high school in a rural community. But its actually an examination on brother sister relationships. There are 3 pairs of brothers and sisters; Autumn and Tyler, Sylvia and Tomás, and Matt and Claire. The novel flips between the present and the past. Tyler has arrived at the school after a suspension heavily armed and begins shooting. He wants Sylvia and Autumn are caught inside. Tomás and his friend Fareed are inside the school but not where the shooting takes place. They decide to help their fellow classmates escape Tyler's rampage. Claire was outside running with her drill team and must figure out how to help her brother who is inside. She has felt like his protector since he has a handicapped and is troubled that she cannot go in to find him. Claire also once dated Tyler. She runs through their history to try to figure out what would make him do such a thing. The reasons for shooting unfold through various first person accounts. Tyler is upset that his sister has found love with Autumn and is planning on leaving Opportunity, Alabama to go to Julliard. The characters must decide whether to sacrifice their lives to save others. They contemplate that sacrifice with their plans for their future and their role in the family. In the end, all the girls survive but are hurt physically and or emotionally. All the males let their sisters know how they felt before they died.

Commentary 

The book moves along quickly and transitions between characters at a quick rate to help the story move along except for the Claire/Chris story line.  This subplot was unnecessary. It seems like the author was trying to add a love story. As a reader, I don't want to read about how two teens are discovering they love each other in the midst of a mass killing. The Claire inner dialog was long and dragged out and kept the reader out of the interesting plot; inside the school. Each character had a issue to work through; same sex relationships, young love, parent with health issues, domestic abuse, rape, and family changes due to death and military. None of these topics are dealt with deeply because the main focus is how these students will make it through this day.

Connections

Interview with Marieke Nijkamp and School Library Journals

It was very hard to find a book trailer of good quality. The videos made by students are not edited well and lose focus. Here is one I found. Trailer

Connection to text

Young adult realistic fiction should cover current topics. This novel does cover several, school violence, homosexuality, teen dating, abuse, military separation, declining health, and death. None of the issues are written with any depth as the novel takes place over 50 minutes. The characters reminiscence on events in the past while they are being help hostage by the gunman inside and outside the school. Teens want to be the focus in books that are written for them and they are in this book. The grownups are just background characters like parents in memories and police officers telling them the teens to stay put. While the ending is not a happy one it does leave the readers hopeful that the remaining characters will find a way out city and situation.