The Line Tender by Kate Allen 

The Line Tender is a book of many things. A moving recital of the stages of grief. Fascinating glimpse into the world of sharks and marine ecosystems.  ​Description of a friendship which may be something more. Above all, it's story of a girl who discovers a part of herself that she never expected to find. Lucy Everhart lives in a small town on the Massachusetts Coast. Her father is a member of the Salem Police dive team. Her mother, a marine biologist with a special interest in sharks died five years ago of a brain aneurysm. Lucy and her next-door neighbor Fred are inseparable companions. Recently they undertake a monumental summer project: creating a field guide documenting Rockport animals. Fred, the detail-oriented science nerd writes the copy. Lucy illustrates.  Without warning, Fred dies in a tragic drowning accident. Lucy’s narrative is raw, painful, and honest.  Her struggles to make sense of the deaths of her friend and her mother are revealed in simple details. Her voice is one of wonder, hope and even joy.

​Some lines don't break.

Extraordinary Birds by Sandy Stark-McGinnis

Abandoned by her mother and placed in foster care, eleven-year-old December Lee Morgan has developed her own survival strategy. Convinced that she is a bird and that the scar on her back conceals a magnificent pair of wings waiting to unfurl, she spends countless hours high up in trees, jumping off in preparation for the time when she can fly. She restricts her diet to foods that birds might consume, chiefly sunflower seeds. This makes her a problematic placement. Moving from one family to another, she is eventually placed in the home of Eleanor, who works at an animal rehabilitation center. In her spare time, she enjoys taxidermy. Upon learning this, December is horrified and speculates that this Bird Girl will be the next specimen to be killed and stuffed. ​December absconds with one of Eleanor's projects: a stuffed owl. She decides to carry the owl with her in her backpack. Then there is the problem of Bird Girl sneaking off, climbing trees, and attempting to fly from the topmost branches. Alone. After dark.

Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby

When you're in sixth grade, life can be difficult. When your mother leaves the family, life can be challenging. When your father suffers with a bipolar disorder, life is a burden that becomes impossible to conceal from others. Fig struggles under the weight of these difficulties. The daughter of a renowned composer and pianist who is no longer able to create music, it is up to Fig to maintain some semblance of order in her home and her life. Her father loves Fig and tries to be a good parent to his daughter. But often his illness prevents him from functioning in the role of care-giver to Fig. She is beyond terrified when her teacher notifies child protective services and a case worker arrives at her home. She knows that there are problems but is desperate to protect her father at all costs. ​She reasons that perhaps she can help her father if she better understands him. A science and math geek, she takes the plunge and enrolls in a painting class. Fig discovers Van Gogh. Drawn both to his work and his life story, she begins to see her father as Van Gogh, the troubled artist and herself as Theo, the supportive brother.

Art Imitates Life. Life Imitates Art

Additional Resource

Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman is a thoughtful study of the van Gogh brothers. It received numerous awards including  2018 Michael L. Printz Honor Book, 2018 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award, 2017 Nonfiction Boston Globe-Nonfiction Award, and  SCBWI 2018 Golden Kite Award for Non-Fiction for Older Readers. Pair Hurricane Season with Vincent and Theo for an excellent fiction/nonfiction reading experience.

Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins

Kat, skilled in the art of Brazilian jujitsu, is brutally assaulted in her school’s stairwell by a popular member of the basketball team. She escapes, but the incident has scarred her, leaving her wary of men and emotionally shattered. When she reports the assault, her attacker pleads a convincing defense, denying her accusation. School becomes unbearable due to the constant presence of her assailant as well as the questioning looks and snide remarks from fellow students. A family friend arranges for her to leave her California home and live with an understanding friend in Boston. Robin, the adopted son of wealthy, well-connected Boston parents, is completing his high school senior year. His father plans his life trajectory beginning with a college education. Robin feels unsure and unsettled, with questions regarding his birth and subsequent adoption. Guess everyone has a backstory. ​They make us real, even if they make us cry.

Piece of Cake

There is a lovely scene where the Asha House residents surprise one of the volunteers with a birthday cake. In turn, each girl feeds the honoree a piece of cake, while telling her something they admire about her. I like this tradition and will continue it by sharing some virtual bites of cake with Ms. Perkins.

A Personal Perspective

​“People who are adoptive parents know that they aren’t a hero or a villain. They are just a parent.” Mitali Perkins, mother of adopted twin brothers, shares her perspective on adoption and the adoption triad: birth mother, child, and adoptive parents. Read her Huffpost opinion piece and her recent interview with Lakshmi Gandhi in an NBC news report.

The Becket List by Adele Griffin ill LeUyen Pham

Meet the irrepressible Becket. When her veterinarian parents decide to leave the city and relocate in the country, Rebecca is ready to go. She wants to take on a new country persona, requesting to be called Becket and creating a list of all the new experiences she plans to have on the farm. Not everyone shares her enthusiasm. Older sister Caroline is devastated, as she must leave friends. Twin brother Nicolas finds that his perceived ailments are even worse. Then there's Mr. Fancypants, the pug that has always been a member of the family but has slowed down and isn't much fun anymore. Living with her family on grandmother's Blackberry Farm, isn't quite what Becket envisioned. Collecting eggs can be painful when Laying Godiva, Gran's prize New Hampshire Red hen, defends her eggs by viciously pecking Becket. There is a lemonade stand fiasco, when Becket discovers the importance of sweeteners. Summer day camp is not the friend-fest she thought it would be. And sometimes helping the launch of a camper’s miniature boat is not helpful.

This camp has been a bran muffin amount of fun, not a banana split with three cherries and sprinkles amount of fun.

Outside, the big old moon is glowing yellow over the fields.
​”Beautiful Alert,” I whisper.

Have You Met These Girls?

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer

​​Full disclosure: Initially I skimmed this book's  back cover and concluded that it was a remake of The Parent Trap. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the movie. So, no. I wasn't interested. But... this middle grade novel was by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer.  I reasoned that two extremely talented authors would write something more than a warmed-over Disney movie script. Once I started reading I was hooked.  ​​Reasons why I loved this book: Point one: The girls are interesting individuals, not plot contrivances. While they have a west coast vs. east coast point of view, they have enough unique traits to transcend the California and New York City stereotypes.  Point two: The dads.  These men are neither good guys nor bad guys. They are guys.  They are dads. They make some good decisions, arrive at some conclusions based inaccurate assumptions. They make mistakes. They love their families.

I Have Questions

Music of Love

Recently, several books about menstruation have been published for young readers. Most are collections of information presented in an engaging manner. The Moon Within takes a refreshing approach. Salazar weaves poetry, astronomy, and mythology together with Mexican and Caribbean culture in this intimate view of a young girl anticipating and experiencing her first menses. The book is divided into sections mirroring the lunar cycle: New Moon, First Quarter Moon, Full Moon, and Last Quarter Moon. This journey from childhood to maidenhood is like the moon: at times dark, at other times shimmering with reflected light.  Twelve-year-old Celestina Rivera lives in East Oakland with her father of Puerto Rican heritage, mother of Mexican ancestry, and younger brother Juju. Magda, a drummer in her bomba class is "better than my best friend," and "my best echo." The two are inseparable.

Culture, Identity, and Menstruation

For two decades Laurie Halse Anderson has been speaking out, giving voice to teens who have experienced horrific trauma. Speak has brought the shame and humiliation experienced by rape victims out of the dark recesses of suppressed memory. Acknowledging the suffering, the rage. Initiating the first steps to healing. In my early years as a youth librarian, Speak was constantly requested, always checked out. The story is as relevant to a fourteen-year-year-old girl from a small Texas town in 2000 as it is to a teen living in urban New York in 2019.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson It all started in 1999. Laurie Halse Anderson published her first book: a ground-breaking young adult novel chronicling the story of fifteen-year-old Melinda Sordino. Beginning her freshman year, this young student is ostracized by her former friends and classmates. She is singled out at a school pep rally for calling the police at a summer party. What Melinda cannot say is that she was raped at that party. School becomes unbearable. She is constantly confronted with the shame and agony of that night, as the boy who raped her is a student at her school. Shunned by her friends,

Speak: The Graphic Novel ​by Laurie Halse Anderson ill by Emily Carroll Publishing a graphic novel version of Speak is both an obvious choice and a brilliant decision. This visceral narrative translates to striking visual imagery. Anderson chooses to update the original story, including references to cell phones and Instagram. This gives the narrative a fresh, contemporary vibe. Her Author's Note serves as an introduction. A helpful list of organizations which support victims of sexual assault contains descriptions and contact information can be found in the back matter.

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson Told primarily in verse, this memoir covers a wide range of events and emotions. Part One shares moments from Laurie’s difficult and conflicted childhood, her rape at age thirteen and subsequent reliance on drugs to mask the anguish, the slow ascent from depression during tenth grade, her year as a foreign exchange student in Denmark, and her foray into writing for teens. Part Two explores the publication of Speak and the impact it has had on her and a world-wide audience. Part Three returns to recurring symbols and themes: trees, blood, family, and stories. She acknowledges her parents’ personal troubles, but is willing to maintain a relationship with each. What a generous heart!

Bonus: Additional Resources

Since my early draft of this post, a twentieth anniversary edition of Speak​ has been released. It includes a new introduction by Ashley C. Ford as well as an afterword by Jason Reynolds. This edition also features an updated Q&A, resource list, an essay, and poem by Anderson. I look forward to reading this updated edition. I’ve Talked With Teenage Boys About Sexual Assault for 20 Years. ​This Is What They Still Don’t Know  Laurie Halse Anderson Time January 15, 2019

Laurie reads "Me,Too" from Shout. Laurie reads "Listen" from the 20th edition of Speak.

Under Water by J. L. Powers

After the death of her beloved grandmother, seventeen-year-old Khosi and her nine-year-old sister Zi must face the world alone. Her aunt, accusing Khosi of witchcraft, has stripped the girls’ family home of its contents. They have only mattresses, a cracked plastic chair, and an ancient T.V. Working as a sangoma, a traditional Zulu healer, Khosi abandons her studies in order to support herself and her sister. This should have been her last year of school prior to university. She wanted to study nursing, practicing modern medicine along with traditional healing. Circumstances impel her to break the two promises she made to her grandmother: that she would complete her schooling and that she would not get seriously involved with her longtime boyfriend, Little Man. Tensions rise when her boyfriend becomes enmeshed in the local tsotsi's (gangster) taxi war and the body of a murdered Somali shop owner is left on her property. Destitute, pregnant with Little Man's child, her home destroyed by fire, Khosi knows that she must take her sister and flee.

"What do you suppose Gogo is doing right now on the other side?" Zi asks.
I shake my head. I don't have to suppose. I already know. "She and the other amadlozi are sitting around gossiping about the funeral," I say. "Gogo is laughing about how many people came for a free meal, people who never visited when she was alive."
Zi shakes her head. "That isn't funny,"
...
​"The things that matter to us when we are alive are not so important when we are dead," I say. "Gogo is glad they had a good meal. And she's touched by how many of them brought money to give to us."

Getting Acquainted with South Africa

Introduce students to the history and culture of South Africa and the Zulu People. These resources may serve as a starting point for further exploration.

They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles 

This slim poetry collection becomes more relevant with each passing day. They Call Me Güero chronicles the life of twelve-year-old Güero, a Mexican American boy living on the swath of land near the Rio Grande. Although he lives on the American side of the river, his heritage and identity are deeply rooted in Mexico.  He frequently traverses the bridge connecting the two countries. In Mexico he and his father eat breakfast and purchase fresh groceries. Güero's imagination inhabits his grandmother's world filled with chilling tales of mythical monsters. He possesses distinctive physical characteristics which distinguish him from other members in his community: a light complexion with freckles and a head of bright red hair.

Bowles handles sensitive topics with a light touch. Racism, stereotypes, immigration are part of Güero's life and are subtly revealed throughout the narrative. This is a boy discovering a world closely connected to his heritage, family, and friends.    Spanish is clearly an important feature in the text. Bowles liberally peppers these verses with Spanish phrases and references to Mexican and Mexican-American culture. A glossary for most of the phrases with pronunciation and the English equivalent enriches the reading experience. This is especially helpful when reading aloud. The poems can be read as a collective narrative.  They also work well as standalone vignettes.  Read. Enjoy. Discuss. Share. Repeat.

¡Gracias!

​THE REFUGE ON THE RANCH It's quiet here except for the hushed flow of the river and the hum of the bugs answered by the sharp trill of birds Somewhere, an ocelot growls. ​ "I know poetry when I hear it.”