The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt

The Radius of Us is first and foremost a love story. Phoenix and Gretchen come from different worlds but they fall in love but they may never be able to be together due to forces outside of their control. Phoenix is an asylum seeker from El Salvador. His life is in danger due to gang violence in his home town and he has made an arduous journey north with his younger brother. At the U.S. border the brothers asked for asylum, and Phoenix is put into the Stewart Detention Center (a for-profit detention center in south Georgia) and his brother is put in a different facility in Texas. Phoenix meets a couple of women who get him released into their custody in an Atlanta neighborhood. That is where he meets Gretchen, a young woman who is having panic attacks due to a traumatic event in her life. As you read you discover what happened to Gretchen and what happened to Phoenix to bring them to that Atlanta neighborhood. It's a lovely story with a timely backdrop that makes it all the more heart wrenching. It is easy to blame immigrants on problems in America, but much harder to paint such broad strokes when you know their stories and the dangers they have faced in their quest for a better life. I have visited the Stewart Detention Center and written letters to detainees there, and it is a troubling place that people should be more aware of. I have also hosted Marie Marquardt at my school, and she writes from a place of deep knowledge and empathy for undocumented immigrants based on her research as an Emory University professor and her work with the nonprofit El Refugio.

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Daniel is a poet who believes in fate, but is feeling trapped by his parents' expectations for his life. Natasha is rational, a science geek, who also loves music. She is not the kind of girl who would fall in love and let it change her life. But Daniel and Natasha are fated to meet and spend an incredible day together. Unfortunately, it is the day Natasha's family, who are undocumented immigrants, are scheduled to be deported to Jamaica. And it is the day that Daniel's Korean parents have scheduled his interview for Yale University. They meet and connect and the entire book takes place in that one day. Fans of romance will love this book--it's compulsively readable and the characters really come alive. And there are first-person snippets from other characters (real and inanimate) that make the book even more charming. Fans of realistic YA fiction (especially The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park) will love this book. Recommended for 8th grade-up.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

I have read many stories of people who survived great hardship during World War II, but I had never heard about the forced removal of Lithuanian people perpetrated by the Russians. This is the story of a girl named Lina who is taken during the night with her mother and brother and put on a train bound for Siberia. Lina is an artist, and keeps hope alive by secretly drawing and making efforts to send messages to her father, whom she believes is in a Russian prison. Lina and her mother and brother survive the train ride, only to be left in a remote village where they must do hard labor while they nearly starve to death. From there they are sent to an even more remote Arctic location where they live for many years even after the war has ended. The author brings to life many peripheral characters that you as a reader come to know and care about. The writing is beautiful and the story is heartbreaking and gripping. A movie is coming out in mid-2017, so now is the perfect time to encourage students to read this book. Recommended for middle school-up.

The Borden Murders by Sarah Miller

Can you imagine a young woman taking a hatchet and murdering her parents in their own home? Back in 1892 a woman named Lizzie Borden was accused of just such a crime. This nonfiction book takes a detailed dive into this true crime story, taking you through the day of the murder and the ensuing trial and acquittal of Lizzie Borden. It's a fascinating story, and the truth is that no one knows whether Lizzie was guilty or innocent. We do know that her stepmother and father were brutally hacked to death one morning while Lizzie was either in the house or in the barn. We also know that Lizzie gave some early testimony that seemed to contradict itself, but what she said was not allowed at the trial. Readers with an interest in criminal justice and the law will be riveted by the details of Lizzie's arrest, imprisonment, and trial. As an adult reader, I was fascinated and I recommend it for 7th grade on up.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

It is 1911 and a 14-year-old girl from rural Pennsylvania dreams of a better life than she will ever have working on her father's farm. Forced to quit school, she treasures the diary given to her by her beloved teacher. Joan is a reader, and she knows from Jane Eyre and other classic stories that there is more to life for a young girl than cooking and cleaning. She runs away to Baltimore, changes her name to Janet, and gets hired by a wealthy Jewish family to be their hired girl. She learns to navigate a new world of wealth and a bewildering world of religious differences. All the while she writes in her diary about her dreams of travel and education the world beyond the station she was born into. My favorite childhood books are the Betsy Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, and Janet is clearly akin to Betsy Ray, another girl from 1911 who longed to be a writer and see the great world. Young people who like history and coming of age stories will love this, as well as adult readers. In fact, when I purchased my copy of this book, it was in the adult section of my local children's bookstore. Recommended for grades 7-up.

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

I absolutely loved this historical fiction book and Ada and Jamie, two siblings who are sent out of London during the air raids of World War II. Nine-year-old Ada has a club foot and her mother has kept her a virtual prisoner her whole life. She has never gone to school and rarely left their apartment. But when her younger brother Jamie is scheduled to be sent to safety in the country, Ada doesn't hesitate to go with him. In a seaside village in Kent all the children are taken in by local families. Jamie and Ada, who are malnourished and dirty, are the last children chosen, and are practically forced on a single woman named Susan Smith. Although Susan says she has no idea how to take care of children, she knows that Ada needs a doctor, and crutches, and an education. Ada thrives in the country as she learns to ride a pony and makes her first friend. She and Jamie are wary of embracing their new life, though, because they know they could be returned to their mother at any time. This is a story of healing and survival, set during a fascinating time in British history. Highly recommended for upper elementary and middle school readers.

The Martian by Andy Weir

This book was recommended to me by several high school boys. It's not something I normally would pick up, but I listened to it as an audiobook, and found it very compelling. It is hands-down the most science-filled science fiction book I have ever read, and as a matter of fact, it's almost nothing but science. The plot is simple. Mark Watley, an American astronaut, is left for dead during a mission to Mars. He's not dead, though, and he must figure out a way to survive on Mars for as long as it takes NASA to rescue him. Things go wrong. He almost dies. He fixes the problems. Then more things go wrong. There's not a lot of characterization or dialogue, but his survival story kept me hooked and all the science sounded believable to me. I'm pretty sure this will appeal to people who don't like novels dripping with symbolism and emotion and deep meaning. Highly recommended to boys from grades 7-up (not that girls won't like it but it definitely has strong guy-appeal).

El Deafo by Cece Bell

This charming graphic novel will be loved by a wide range of readers. Although the characters are all rabbits, it's the true story of the author's girlhood and she dealt with sudden hearing loss at age four. Cece has all the insecurities and endearing hopefulness of any little girl, but her life is made much more complicated by the big hearing aid box that she must wear around her neck while at school. She spend one year in a special kindergarten class where she learns to read lips, but after that she is in public schools. Although her box sets her apart, she sometimes sees it as giving her super hearing and she fantasizes that she is a fearless superhero called "El Deafo." She longs for a true friend, and finds several friends as the book goes on. One tries to manipulate her, one makes a big deal out of her hearing loss (always talking slowly and loudly), and one shies away from her out of guilt. There are small moments that made me really empathize with kids with hearing issues, especially the time when, at a slumber party, Cece is shut out of the conversation because the girls turn out the lights. My 9-year-old son loved this book, and I suspect kids from 2nd through 8th grades will enjoy it on many levels. Anyone who grew up in the 1970s will also recognize their childhood in Cece's story. I recently met Cece Bell for the first time at the Decatur Book Festival. We went to the College of William & Mary together, although we never knew each other there. She is the author/illustrator of a series of Sock Monkey monkey picture books which I love, and her husband is Tom Angleberger, author of the Origami Yoda books.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Yes, this is a popular TV show, but it originated as this book, which is the true story of one woman's year in a women's prison. Piper Kerman was a Smith College graduate who spent her first year after college traveling around the world with drug mules. Piper didn't mastermind anything or actually transport drugs, but she did knowingly transport drug money. She soon left that life and settled into a more normal existence, but ten years later her former "friends" turned her in and her past caught up with her. She was sentenced to 13 months in a women's detention center, and at age 35 she served her time. The book provides a really fascinating look at a place that most of us will never see, and it also gives a sympathetic view of the women who are incarcerated. Many lack an education and access to good attorneys, and the prison system does nothing to educate, rehabilitate, or otherwise help them be productive citizens. This is definitely worth reading. Recommended for high school on up.

The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

I love reading a good nonfiction book about a topic that is new to me. I vaguely knew that a lot of Nazi war criminals escaped to Argentina, but I had never heard the story of how Israeli spies tracked down the notorious Adolf Eichmann and brought him to trial in Israel. Eichmann was the head of the SS during World War II. It was his job to carry out Hitler's plan to exterminate the Jews. He was a powerful and arrogant man during the Holocaust, but he disappeared in 1945 when Germany lost the war. Years later, most of the world had given up and tracking down Nazi criminals, but many Holocaust survivors and people living in Israel still wanted to bring public justice to the worst perpetrators of the genocide. Amazingly enough, Eichmann was first discovered to be living in Argentina by a teenage girl and her blind father. It took several years for officials to believe their story and for Israeli spies to devise the elaborate plan to capture Eichmann, hold him as a secret captive in Argentina, and fly him to Israel—all without the Argentine government finding out anything. The details of how the capture was made are fascinating. This makes for great reading, especially for fans of history and spy books.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

I love historical fiction and particularly enjoyed Elizabeth Wein's previous book, Code Name Verity. This follow-up book, which isn't a sequel but shares one character, was also a great read. Rose is a young American pilot working in Britain during World War II. She longs to fly to Europe instead of ferrying airplanes around the UK. On her first chance things go wrong and she is captured and sent to Ravensbrück, a women's concentration camp that I knew nothing about before reading this book. While there she is taken in by a group of women called the "rabbits" because they were the subjects of horrific medical experiments done by Nazi doctors. The whole concentration camp experience is awful, as you can imagine, but this book is so full of humor and humanity and daring that it is inspiring rather than depressing. I appreciated that the book did not end in the camps, rather it went on to show the aftermath for those who survived. This is a book about friendship and the power it can have to overcome the worst circumstances in the world. The best part of the book for me? Rose is also a poet who loves the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Millay's poems are interwoven throughout the text as are poems that Rose writes. Elizabeth Wein, a pilot herself, is an outstanding writer and this is a must-read for historical fiction lovers. My review isn't going this book justice, so please see this review of Rose Under Fire as well.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Conor's mother is dying from cancer and he is having a recurring nightmare every night. A nightmare that he can't tell anyone about. But one night after midnight a monster shows up. It originates from the yew tree behind his house, but this monster is able to walk. It's also able to talk and tell stories and it demands the truth. Conor thinks it can't be real but how else could he explain the leaves of the yew tree strewn about his floor in the morning and the destruction that the monster can cause? Conor's grandma is called in to take care of him when his mother is hospitalized. His estranged father also comes to visit from America. But Conor is essentially alone with his fear about the bleak future of his mother. It doesn't help that he is bullied at school and at odds with his former best friend. Patrick Ness is a fabulous writer and in his hands this story is compelling, creepy, and so, so emotionally true. Perhaps because I lost my mother to cancer I especially relate to Conor's emotional journey. I'm not going to lie to you, the end of this book will break your heart. Recommended for older middle school readers through adults.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

There's a quote on the back of this book from John Green (author of The Fault in Our Stars and other great YA books) that sums it up. "Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." I read a lot of books for kids and teens, and I often find myself mildly interested (or sometimes not interested at all). That was not the case with Eleanor & Park. From the very beginning I was drawn into their interesting, intelligent, and unlikely romance. I cared about both of these misfit characters and I loved how their relationship slowly built up bus ride by bus ride. This book is all about the characters and those small details that are so important when you are young and in love. I also liked the time period of this book (the 1980s) and that these characters weren't the popular kids. If you want to curl up with a romance this is the book to read. Definitely for high school, though!

Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team That Changed a Town by Warren St. John

This is the young people's version of an adult book that was published several years ago. It's the true story of a soccer team for refugees in a town very close to where I live in Georgia. It is really the story of a Jordanian woman named Luma who immigrated to the United States and dedicated herself to helping refugees by coaching soccer teams for children and teenagers. The author, a New York Times reporter, followed Luma's teams for a season and wrote about their games, their life stories, and the community where they settled. Luma is a tough coach who cares deeply for her players but often has to make difficult decisions about who will play on her teams. The players come from all over the world and Clarkston, Georgia isn't the most welcoming place for them. For many of the players, the "Fugees" team becomes their family and their reason for living. I love the story of this team and I know this book will appeal to soccer fans. My criticism of this book is that I wanted deeper knowledge about Luma and the families she works with but this book tended to spend more time on soccer play-by-play than on the details of their lives. This book is a solid nonfiction choice for middle school students, but I suspect that adults and older teens will prefer the original version of Outcasts United.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

This unique story of spies, war, and friendship grabbed me and tricked me and kept me on the edge of my seat. Most of the book is the written confession of a British teenager who is captured by Nazis in France during World War II. The Germans torture her but give her six weeks to write out all she knows and she seems to be giving them all her secrets in order to stay alive. Her story tells of a remarkable friendship with another young woman who became a pilot during the war. Together the two girls ended up flying into France, but their mission went terribly wrong. This book has twists and turns and many secrets—so many that I don't want to tell any more about the plot for fear of giving them away. Suffice it to say, at one point in the book I had to go back and re-read previous chapters just to see what was truth and what was lies. Readers with an interest in aviation, spies, or World War II will love this. Other readers just might develop some new interests as they get pulled into the world of Verity and Kittyhawk. I would recommend this book to high school students and adults.

Room by Emma Donoghue

This is not strictly a YA book but I know lots of high school students have read it. It took me a few starts to get into it but it was definitely worth reading. It's a story of unimaginable horror about a college student who is abducted and held prisoner by a sex offender for 7 years in a 12x12 reinforced shed. The thing that makes this book readable is that it is narrated by her 5-year-old son who has never known anything but the room that they live in. The young woman (we never learn her name) shields her son Jack from her captor, Old Nick, and from the knowledge that he is a prisoner. Jack doesn't even know there is an outside world until his mother hatches an escape plan and sends him out into the world to freedom. I thought the book was most interesting after they escaped—imagine a child learning everything about the world after spending his entire life in one room with one person. It's a tough subject but there's definitely a lot to talk about and think about here.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Get out your kleenex. Any time you read a book about two teenagers with terminal cancer you know it's going to be emotionally rough, and probably full of cliches about facing cancer bravely and living in the moment. But in the hands of John Green, it's refreshingly funny and touching and illuminating and frequently surprising. Hazel, who has thyroid cancer and needs assistance to breathe, meets Augustus, who had a leg amputated due to bone cancer, at a cancer support group. They share a sarcastic sense of humor an intellect beyond their years. They bond over a favorite book and contact the author to ask him some questions that lead them on a journey to Amsterdam. But the plot really isn't the point here. It's the characters and how they make something special in the midst of the rotten luck they share. Like many excellent young adult books, it's definitely for older teens and will be embraced by adults as well. I was serious when I said get your kleenex, though. Read this book somewhere where you can wallow in delight and in sorrow.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

I recently re-read this amazing fantasy trilogy that consists of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Actually, I listened to them all as audiobooks narrated by the author and with a cast of actors playing all the characters' roles. I have listened to many audiobooks in my years as a school librarian and these are the absolute best (second place are the Harry Potter books which also are a great listening experience). It would be impossible to summarize the plot of this trilogy in a blog entry so I will just explain why I like these books so much. First of all, I love Pullman's invention of daemons, which are the physical embodiment of the soul. In Lyra's world, all humans have a daemon and it is in the form of an animal. You can talk to your daemon and cuddle up to it, but it's highly taboo to touch another person's daemon. Also, it's excruciatingly painful to be very far apart from your daemon. I love the relationships that the characters have with their daemons, and the fact that later in the series we find out that people from our world actually also have daemons. Secondly, I love the complexity of these books. Pullman has strong views about the church and what it has done to humanity that some people find objectionable, but I would argue that he has done a brilliant job of weaving his ideas into a marvelously complex fantasy world. I am in awe of the intellect that was able to create this epic story that entertains, delights, and even enrages some people. Thirdly, the characters Pullman creates are incredibly real. I would know Will Perry or Marissa Coulter or Mary Malone if I saw them on the street. In the end, a book is only as good as its characters and Pullman truly knows how to create living breathing characters, even when they are witches, armored bears, or Texan aeronauts.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I just finished reading this book to my son, Will, who is 6 years old. He begged me to buy it for him and to tell you the truth I thought he would not be able to handle it. He has a history of getting scared and can't even stand to watch Disney movies. But this magical book worked its spell on him and right now he can't sleep because he is thinking of questions (Who will be the new Dark Arts teacher next year? and Will Voldemort ever get his own body?) If I were J.K. Rowling I would have wanted to watch this kid read my book. He was alternately snuggled up to me, then sitting up full of questions, then full of amazement (Voldemort killed the unicorn?), and occasionally hiding outside of the room almost not able to stand the suspense. Oh, and of course he was laughing (especially when the troll got a wand up the nose). And you should have seen him adding up the points as Dumbledore kept giving Gryffindor more and more points toward the House Cup. He almost erupted into cheers when Neville got those 10 points. I have a new appreciation for this story—so full of honest childhood moments (mean kids and trading cards and dreams of being a sports hero) yet at the same time full of the most wonderful magic ever dreamed up. Reading this book together has been one of the best parts of being Will's mom (so far).

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

I am in awe of Irene Gut, the author of this book. She lived in Poland during World War II and rather than giving in to Hitler and the German army she fought to save the lives of the Jews around her. She was only 17 when war broke out and she was separated from her family and traveling with the Polish army as a nurse. Russian soldiers attacked and raped her and she later was forced to work for the German army as a cook and a housekeeper. Her first act of resistance was to pass food into a ghetto. From there she slowly took more and more risks to save Jewish lives until finally she was transporting Jews to a hideout in the forest, hiding them in her workplace, and harboring them in the basement of the home where she was living and working as a housekeeper for a Nazi commander. She was always fearful for her life but never stopped doing what she thought was right. It was heartening to read about numerous others who also were helping in a time of unbelievable horrors. I would recommend this to 8th graders on up through adults.