5. Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi

Chotjewitz, David. Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004. Text.
Annotation: "I walked back to the jeep.  The ground was strewn with bits of broken glass, chunks of cement, pieces of rusty metal.  A green shard caught the sunlight.... I didn't let myself think back seven years to that November night when whole streets were littered with glass.  No I wasn't ready to relive Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. I thought back to only one glass splinter."
Recommendation: Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi was a fantastic read. The story intertwines the events of the present day Daniel and his memories of the beginning of the rise of Nazi power up to the night of Kristallnacht in Hamburg, Germany.  Daniel is the main character and his transition throughout the novel is truly great.  Throughout the novel, Daniel transforms from a seemingly normal German boy into a grown, American lawyer.  He experiences deep inner transformation as the Nazis come to power and redefine what a German is.  The reader gets to see first hand as Daniel struggles with being half Jewish and half German. 
The novel is great for young adult readers because it has action and drama, but it also has relevant issues that teens can relate to.  The issues of discovering oneself is an important part of a teens life.  Daniel tries to find who he is, based on what the government says, his parents and friends say, and how he feels. 
I also enjoyed this novel because it gave a realistic portrayal of an important time in history.  The story was fictional but many of the feelings of the characters and events described were true to what really happened in Hamburg, Germany at the time.  This is a good way to help students relate to not just literature, but to history as well.
Overall, the novel was quite good and I think that many teenagers would love it.  The flow was easy and I could barely put it down.

Genre: Historical Fiction

4. John Lennon: All I Want Is The Truth

Partridge, Elizabeth. John Lennon: All I Want Is The Truth. London: Penguin Books, 2005. Text.
Annotation: "Rock 'n' roll was real.  Everything else was unreal.  To me it got through."
Justification for Nomination: This autobiography on the life of John Lennon was truly fascinating.  It covered his entire life, from his birth to the aftermath of his death.  The information provided on his life was factual and very well researched.  I really enjoyed the flow of the reading of this biography. The words sailed nicely across the page.  This book was unique in its shape, as it was a little more boxy, however, the larger font and use of extensive pictures made it well worth the unusual shape.  The pictures were what made the book what it was.  Almost every page contained pictures of John Lennon, his band members, his family members, or anything that pertained to his life (school mascots, school emblems, and influential artists).  The narrative voice was unbiased and stuck to only telling the truth of John Lennon's life. 
Genre: Biography, Autobiography, or Memoir

3. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey. New York: Simon Pulse, 2004. Text.                                                               

Annotation: "DONT YOU DARE READ THIS, Mrs. Dunphrey. It's four in the morning, and i'm writing here because I can't sleep at all. I lie on my front, then my side, then my back, then my front again...And all the time my brain's racing around thinking of new things to worry about.  I'm scared. I'm scared like I've never been before. Mom's gone."

Justification for Nomination: Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a realistic fiction novel featuring a high school girl dealing with issues of divorce, abuse and neglect.  Tish, the main character, has to raise her younger brother, go to school, work a part-time job and run a household without the help of either of her parents.  

The format of the story is written as a journal that Tish keeps for her class. This format is great for the YA reader because it flows very easily and the reading goes pretty quickly.  Because it is in journal form, the reader is allowed inside access to the writer of the journal's mind.  In dealing with the sensitive issues of this novel, having this access is extremely important because it allows readers to understand how the writer is really feeling without the clutter of outside forces.  

There are two types of character development that take place in this novel.  The first is the development of secondary characters that we see through Tish's descriptions of her conversations with them, as well as their actions.  This type of character development can be challenging because it is only one-sided, coming from only Tish's minds.  It does not allow for the reader to see the other characters from different standpoints.  The second type of character development takes place as the reader grows to know the main character, Tish.  Through journal entries, the reader gets to see Tish's mind grow and change as she begins to face more challenges.  It is a very intimate way to learn about and understand a character.  I think that for a novel that deals with issues like this, it is important to be able to really see how the main character is affected.  

The issues that Tish deals with in this novel are very relevant for YA readers today because many of these readers will be dealing with at least one of the issues that Tish deals with.  In today's ever expanding school system, many more children are left to deal with issues ranging from problems at work/school to paying bills and feeding siblings because their parents expect more or are not around.  I think it is important for YA readers to have a novel that contains the same issues that they are dealing with in their lives as a way to see that they are not alone, as well as a way to understand what it is that is going on with themselves.  

Overall this is a pretty great read!

Genre: Realistic/"Edgy"/Problem Novel

2. Keesha's House

Frost, Helen. Keesha's House. New York: Frances Foster Books, 2003.

Annotation: "So now thats what I say
                        when kids show up and I know they can't ask
                        for what they shouldn't have to ask for. They
                        need more than I can give them. I know i'm
                        no Aunt Annie. I ain't up to the task
                        of tryin' to be their legal foster dad.
                        But I can give them space-and space is time."
                                      Keesha's House, pg. 35

Justification for Nomination: Keesha's House is the intertwining novel told in prose form from the perspective of seven different teenagers and the people in their lives.  The main characters in the novel are all dealing with a broad range of issues from pregnancy to abuse to neglect.  At one point or another throughout the story, they find themselves at a home they call "Keesha's House".  It is a safe haven for teenagers who need time to work out the inner and outer struggles that they are having. 

This was a fantastically written prose novel for teenagers.  Each characters story builds throughout the story, revealing more details to the reader about the inner workings of the characters mind.  There is no action in the story that is spelled out, everything that the reader learns is through thoughts of the main teenagers.  This makes the characters very compelling because our ideas of them are formed through their own thoughts, allowing us, as readers to judge them based solely on themselves. 

Their is not one particular narrative voice in this novel, which I think is very refreshing from traditional novels because it allows readers to really picture each character as different from the others.  The dialogue throughout the entire novel takes place between the characters inner selves.  There is never a time that a dialogue takes place between two people, it is just characters discussing their issues with themselves.  I really enjoyed this style of writing because it trimmed all the excess that was not needed, the characters thoughts were raw and it made their problems and solutions seem much more real because there were no outside details to fog what was being thought.  I especially enjoyed when there were small poems from the people who were not teenagers, such as Joe and Charles, the home owner and a father of one of the boys. These insights really added to the story because it was a small insight into their thoughts, which could be used to understand the main characters situations better. 

The style of this book makes the read very fast, however, the fast paced nature of the read does not take away from the messages that the book is sending.  The topics covered are real and pertinent to teenagers today.  In the demands that young adults have on them today, such as jobs, family responsibilities and school work, they need to be able to read something quickly that still has the ability to affect them.  True writing has the ability to affect its writer in any form, not just the standard novel form.  This novel proves this to be true. 

Genre Classification: Poetry and Verse Novels