Multicultural: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie was a featured guest at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, participating in a Young Adult novelists' panel on November 3, 2007. He reads a snippet from his new book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and then answers a few questions at the end.

Follow Sherman Alexie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sherman_Alexie

Listen to an Interview Sherman Alexie gave on NPR regarding the book in 2007: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14586575

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2007. Print. ISBN: 978-0-316-01369-7; paperback, $8.99.

Annotation: The story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school

Book Awards

• National Book Award for Young People's Literature, 2007
• Boston Globe - Horn Book Award, Fiction and Poetry, 2008
• Odyssey Award, 2009
• California Young Reader Medal, 2010
• Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA, 2008

Book Talk: 14-year-old Junior thinks he is a zero. Born with mental and physical disabilities, Junior is picked on for being and looking different [show self portrait of Junior on page 5]. Growing up on a poor Indian Reservation, Junior carries with him the dream of being a cartoonist. After being suspended for accidentally hitting his teacher with a book [show teacher's picture on page 29], Junior transfers off the reservation to a rich and almost all white high school. Throughout the story, Junior faces many hardships, a lot of which is feeling ashamed for leaving the reservation. His relationships with his best friend Rowdy, his parents and grandmother [show picture of grandmother on page 69], and a girl that Junior likes at his new school [show Penelope on page 113], all play integral parts in Junior's coming of age story. 

Graphic Novel: A Contract With God

Interview with author Will Eisner which includes discussion about the creation of the story

Eisner, Will. A Contract with God. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. Print. ISBN 978-0-393-06105-5, paperback, $18.95.

Annotation: Through a quartet of four interwoven stories, A Contract With God express the joy, exuberance, tragedy, and drama of life on the mythical Dropsie Avenue in the Bronx. 

Book Awards

Book Talk: Frimme Hersh had made a contract with God, written out on a small stone [show Frimmie writing the contract on page 18].

After migrating from Russia to New York City, Frimmie finds an abandoned infant girl at his doorstop which he believes must be part of his contract with god [show Frimmie finding and raising the girl Rachele on pages 20-21].

One day, Rachele, the adopted daughter of Frimmie suddenly dies, leaving Frimmie in utter despair and anger. Frimmie does not believe this is possible because after all, he had made a contract with god [Show Frimmie’s anger on page 23].

How does Frimmie cope with his misfortunate? Does he remain loyal and faithful to his contract with god or does he throw the contract out and go back on the promises he had initially made? 

Urban Fiction: Upstate

A short video from author Kalisha Buckhanon giving advice and her experiences about writing

Check out her website here: http://www.kalisha.com/

Buckhanon, Kalisha. Upstate: A Novel. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. Print. ISBN: 0-312-33268-8; hardcover, $19.95.

Annotation: The letters between Antonio and Natasha, two teenagers in love but separated by Antonio being in jail for being accused of murdering his father.

Book Awards

Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship in Prose (2001)

Hurston-Wright Foundation Legacy Award in Debut Fiction- finalist (2006)

American Library Association ALEX Award (2006)

Audio Publishers Association Audie Award in Literary Fiction (2006)

Terry McMillan Young Author Award at the National Book Club Conference (2006)

Friends of American Writers Adult Literary Fiction Award (2009)

Book Talk: Antonio and Natasha are two teenagers in love in Harlem New York City. Their relationship is put to the ultimate test as Antonio is in jail being accused of murdering his Father. Through their letters, their relationship is explored through past experiences and their feelings toward their future.

" When I'm 21, you'll just be 20. When I get out we can get married real quick and start a family and buy a house where you can do hair or make clothes in the basement and I can have a music studio or sumthin down there too. We can do it. We can get through it and this can happen for us. I just need for you not to be mad at me and not to leave me, just to stick by me and not to leave me."

Their relationship is strained as Natasha has to make difficult decisions about Antonio while he left with his despair and longing to be free with the girl he loves. Their correspondence , full of raw emotion, demonstrate that their love for each other can only last for so long as Antonio remains locked up. Will they be together when Antonio gets out or will Natasha let go of the boy she was in love with before Antonio got locked up? 

Chick Lit: Two-Way Street

Check out my Book Talk video!

Barnholdt, Lauren. Two-Way Street. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007. Print. ISBN 978-1-4169-1318-4, paperback, $9.99

Annotation: Jordan and Courtney are on a three day road trip to college. The only problem is their recent breakup. Will they survive the trip and is there something to more to their relationship?

Book Awards

Book Talk: Jordan and Courtney embark on a three day road trip to college. When they planned this trip, they were still boyfriend and girlfriend. Now they are separated because Jordan dumped Courtney, but why? Courtney is determined to disengage and detach from Jordan but is that possible when they are spending three days together?  Jordan, however, may not be over Courtney either:

"I lean my head against the side of my truck an take a deep breath. I've spent the past two weeks driving myself completely crazy with the fact that if it weren't for Courtney's douche bag dad, and one second that changed everything, we'd still be together. But instead, we're not, and Courtney hates me."

In Two-Way Street, we find out if Courtney and Jordan can survive their three day road trip and discover just what happened that led to their broken relationship. Is it possible that they discover the truth about each other before the end of their journey or will their time by themselves lead to an insufferable adventure. 

Horror: Silver Kiss

Klause, Annette Curtis. The Silver Kiss: With two short stories: “The Summer of Love” and The Christmas Cat.” New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. Print. ISBN: 978-0-374-85782-9; paperback, $8.99.

Annotation: Zoe is wary when, in the dead of night, the beautiful yet frightening Simon comes to her house.Simon seems to understand the pain of loneliness and death and Zoe's brooding thoughts of her dying mother.

Book Award

• South Carolina Young Adult Book Award, 2013

Book Talk: What would cause Zoe to kiss the un-dead? Zoe is sixteen and is depressed by her Mother being hospitalized with cancer, her best friend moving away and her Father being stricken with grief and despair over taking care of Zoe’s Mother. With Zoe being unable to cope with her Mother’s imminent death, she wanders out one night to meet the mysterious but beautiful Simon. When Zoe and Simon kiss, she finds out the secret truth behind Simon and his past. Can their relationship help solve their problems and conquer their fears of coping with their past and future?

Realistic/Coming of Age: The Fault in Our Stars

Check out an interview from the movie with Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort 

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton Books, 2012. Print. ISBN 978-0-525-47881-2; hardcover, $17.99.

Annotation: The love story about Hazel and Augustus, one with cancer, the other now cancer free, as teenagers who fall in love despite their diagnosis.

Erika S. "I really liked this book. Even though it is really sad, it is really happy too because it is about love and honesty. Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters are relatable, and I think the movie does a pretty good job of showing how they are connected and in love the way it shows in the book. The text messages back and forth between them are exactly how I would talk to my boyfriends and friends, and their phone conversations until 3 AM show how strongly they are connected, and I’m glad these all made it into the movie. Texting is an important means of communication in relationships today, like Facebook and Twitter and all of it, social media and technology are pervasive in relationships."

Book Awards

• Children's Choice Teen Book of the Year Award, 2013

Book Talk: "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices."

Despite a diagnosis of thyroid cancer and knowing that dying young is relatively certain, sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster remains a strong, funny and smart minded teenage girl who is resilient in the face of her cancer. One day in her cancer support groups she meets Augustus Waters who is cancer free after having his leg amputated. Hazel is cautious at first in her relationship with Augustus because she does not want to hurt Augustus when she dies. As their relationship grows, a life-altering trip to Amsterdam may finally allow them to fully understand and embrace their love for each other. While Hazel is aware of her cancer and her growing relationship with Augustus, she remains driven to understand the final fate that the people, both in fiction and in real life will face. This coming of age story is a great read for those willing to venture into a young relationship of love and friendship , where fate is left to The Fault in Our Stars. 

Fantasy: The Giver

The movie adaptation was released in August 2014. Watch the Trailer!

A 5 minute interview from NPR features the author Lois Lowry and her inspiration behind her writing the book: Lois Lowry Interview


Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print. ISBN 978-0-395-64566-2; paperback $7.99

Annotation: In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy.

Brittney C. "I think I would be really sad if I could never love someone, not even my parents. If  I lived in Jonas’s community, I would never know what it feels like to love someone, or to have my own kids, or anything. Even if you would never have any war, or murders, you would still never be able to love anyone, and no one would be able to love you. I also would not like that you had to do the job that they told you. What if I didn’t like that job?  I would definitely choose to live in my own world so that I can love people and choose the job I like."

Book Awards

• Newbery Medal Winner, 1994
• Regina Medal, 1994
• William Allen White Award, 1996

Book Talk: Why was Jonas chosen as the Receiver of Memories? In a society of sameness where rules and order govern society, Jonas is given his lifetime assignment of becoming the receiver of memories, a position that only one other person in the society has been assigned: The Giver. In his meetings with the Giver, Jonas receives memories of what his community was like before everything was made the same. As Jonas receives more memories, he begins to understand the dark truths that govern society. Will Jonas be able to convince others in the community that the rules they live by are immoral? Is it the Giver who is responsible for Jonas' fear and hatefulness for their 'perfect' community?  

             

LGBTQ: Annie on My Mind

Check out my book talk here!

Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind. New York: Square Fish, 2013. Print. ISBN 978-0-374-40011-8; paperback, $8.00

Annotation: The story of Liza and Annie, two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into love and who, despite pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, promise to be true to each other and their feelings.

Book Awards

1982 Booklist Reviewers' choice; nominated for Gay Book Award and Golden Kite Award 

1982 ALA Best Books

1983 ALA Best of the Best 1970-1983

Best of the Best renewed, (1987?)

Booklist Best Books of the 1980s 

Booksellers' Choice list, 1993

ALA Best Books for YAs for past 25 Years, 1994

Book Talk: Liza is conflicted with a war inside her. In her growing relationship with another girl named Annie, she knows that it is wrong and bad and sinful. Another side of her knows that nothing has ever felt so right and natural and true and good. Liza feels that this is all happening too fast, but through her war of thoughts and emotions, all Liza wants is to stop thinking altogether, fling her arms around Annie and hold her forever.

Liza's tug-of-war of feelings and emotions are pulled from all sides throughout her final year of high-school in a New York City private school. Her life is forever altered when her and Annie meet and begin to fall in love. In 1982, when same-sex relationships are viewed with disgust, disbelief, and as a disease, all Liza wants is a place in the world for her and Annie to be together and true to themselves. As their love grows, will their relationship be able to withstand the pressures from their families, school and the world around them? While Liza spends the novel fighting this war inside her, she admits to never a moment without Annie on My Mind.