Rebecca Radic

Book Title: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor

to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
Author: M. T. Anderson
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year: 2006

Format: Book
Genre: Historical Fiction
Selection Source: Textbook honor list, p.23
Recommended Audience Age: 14 & up
Stars (1-5): 5
Curriculum Connections: History, Science,
Philosophy

Review: This book follows the early life of Octavian, a well-treated slave growing up in a house of
experimental philosophy. He soon finds out that he was purchased to be a science experiment to determine
if black people have the capacity to be as intelligent as white people. The experiment controls every
moment of his life, down to the recording of his feces. When the house of philosophy runs out of funding
and a new, terrible master comes to stay, Octavian realizes he must escape this life. For a while he blends
in with a nearby troop, acting as their fiddle player and ditch digger, until he is found and recaptured by his
masters. With the help of an old white man who repents of the actions towards Octavian, he is finally able
to repent for good. The book is printed on regular paper with deckled edges, to give it the feel of an older
book. Its told in the style of a memoir, mingled with recovered letters and scientific journal recordings. It
is a National Book Award winner.
Evaluation: While this book is a fantastic historical look into racism and slavery, told from the earnest eyes
of a child, the vocabulary is a bit challenging and old fashioned, especially during the war scenes, making
the book sometimes hard to follow. The ending feels a bit unfinished, but as there are two more books in
this series, it may have been what this book needed to provide a proper stopping point.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: Nothing
Author: Janne Teller
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Year: 2000, translated 2010

Format: Book
Genre: Realistic
Selection Source: Textbook honor list, p.22
Recommended Audience Age: 12 & up
Stars (1-5): 3
Curriculum Connections: Leisure,
Philosophy

Review: A Printz Honor book and Batchelder Honor Book, Nothing tells the story of a 7th grade Danish class
who seek to prove to their former classmate that there is meaning in life. Pierre Anthon has recently
dropped out of school and sits in a plum tree all day, shouting how life is meaningless and therefore no one
should bother to do anything as his former classmates pass underneath. His classmates are soon driven crazy
by Pierres rants, and to prove Pierre wrong, both for his sake and their sakes, they take turns forcing each
other to put their most meaningful item in a big pile. What the children force each other to give up
becomes increasingly more deranged, one forced to give up her virginity, one forced to kill a dog, and one
forced to dig up her baby brother. Their heap of meaning becomes famous the world over, and the children
decide to sell the heap for millions, proving to Pierre that if the heap were truly meaningful, it wouldnt
have been sellable. The narrator likes to give repetition of things in threes, and some pages only contain
one sentence, making the book easy to get through.
Evaluation: The book was translated from Danish, making it hard to initially get into the groove of the
narration. Once this groove is picked up, the book becomes a great philosophical exploration of nihilism and
the battle to overcome it. The downfall of this book is that its a bit extreme for the suggested audience,
and the characters remain static throughout, with no one progressing or changing their world views.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: Repossessed
Author: A. M. Jenkins
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year: 2007

Format: Book
Genre: Religious Humor
Selection Score: Printz Honor List
Recommended Audience Age: 13 & up
Stars (1-5): 5
Curriculum Connections: Religion, Leisure

Review: This book is about the fallen angel, Kiriel, who decides to steal the body of a high school boy, the

moment before he would have died. Kiriels role in hell is to watch the damned punish themselves, and act
as a mirror to their misery. He has never understood why people sin since they feel so guilty and miserable
in the afterlife. But in his new human body, Kiriel gets to explore sins firsthand, falling in love with the
seven deadly sins. Its hard to say Kiriel is evil, however, as he also strives to improve peoples lives while
hes visiting, to prevent them spending more time punishing themselves in the afterlife.
Evaluation: This book is a fantastic story about seeing life in a new way that makes one appreciate the
beauty in it. Kiriel doesnt fully grasp the complexity of human emotions, and as he ponders why people do
things the reader ponders the same. Kiriel also has a lot of religious concerns, as he feels completely
ignored by God, and wonders why things are the way they are. Many young adults will be able to relate to
this religious exploration that is so natural to our human minds.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: Deadline
Author: Chris Crutcher
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Year: 2009

Format: Book
Genre: Realistic, Sports
Selection Source: Syllabus
Recommended Audience Age: 14 & up
Stars (1-5): 5
Curriculum Connections: P.E.

Review: Ben Wolf goes in for a routine physical before his senior year, and finds out he has an aggressive
blood disease that, if untreated, will only give him about a year to live. Ben decides not to accept
treatment, choosing quality of life over quantity. He also decides not to tell anyone about his disease,
including his younger brother, who he is extremely close to. Having a deadline on his life gives Ben the
courage to do new things, to play football, to talk to the girl of his dreams, stand up to fake history hes
being taught by a biased teacher, and to make friends with the town drunk, who turns out to be a lot more
than that.
Evaluation: This book is extremely touching and well written. Even though you know Bens death is coming,
the story is still beautiful and poignant in a way that isnt boring. For me, the only parts I didnt like were
the in-depth described football games, yet many high school boys would find this an extremely appealing
part of the book. Theres a great lesson in living your life to the fullest that all high-schoolers could relate
to.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: All Good Children
Author: Catherine Austen
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Year: 2011

Format: Book
Genre: Dystopia
Selection Source: Booklist
Recommended Audience Age: 12 & up
Stars (1-5): 4
Curriculum Connections: Behavioral
Psychology

Review: This book is about Maxs life, set in futuristic America. Max lives in the safest neighborhood in
America, thanks to his deceased fathers old job. Max is an outspoken teen who is mostly hated by his
parents. But theres a new vaccine going around that will change this in Max and all other teens. Max
discovers the result of this vaccine, which is administered to kids youngest to oldest, as he sees younger
children stand before the school doors like zombies, when before they would yell and play. The vaccine
turns students into well-behaved, rule-abiding citizens, and Max knows he must escape this vaccine.
Thankfully, his mother is a nurse, and pretends to give Max the vaccine but doesnt. Max convinces his
mother they must escape to Canada, to get away from what is happening in his society, especially after his
little sister is given the vaccine (which only lasts about 6 months, then has to be re-administered).
Evaluation: This book is suspenseful and a bit agitating to read, since the reader easily becomes angered at
the injustice going on in the book, and wants to fight along with Max. Its a great story about mind control
and the greater good vs. the strive for individuality. Though the book has a happy ending, the reader is left
with the want of more resolution for the community, and not just for Max and his family.

Rebecca Radic
Book Title: The House of the Scorpion
Author: Nancy Farmer
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Year: 2004

Format: Book
Genre: Dystopia
Selection Source: Syllabus
Recommended Audience Age: 11 & up
Stars (1-5): 5
Curriculum Connections: Science,
Philosophy

Review: This is the story of Matts life. Matt is kept locked in a house with no company other than Celia,
who takes care of him but makes it known shes not his mother. One day, Matt sees three kids out of his
window, and eventually talks to them. After he is hurt, the kids take them to his house, a huge mansion not
far from Matts shack. This is the house of El Patrn, a very rich and very old opium drug lord. Matt soon
discovers he is the clone of El Patrn, and though he doesnt fully understand what this means, he knows its
the reason so many people detest him. After some rough treatment, El Patrn sees to the protection of
Matt, ensuring he is raised and educated like a prince. When El Patrn falls ill (yet again) and needs a new
heart, Matt finally understands what it means to be a clone: he has been kept alive for replacement organs
for El Patrn, and other such clones are the reason he has lived for so long. Matts bodyguard and Celia help
him to escape, but his journey is not an easy one. He crosses the border from El Patrns opium land only to
be taken into a workforce full of orphans, where Matt is told he will work until he is at least 18. Further
mistreatment ensues, but Matt is used to this and is able to fight back and escape. When Matt escapes, he
knows El Patrn is dead, and that he must escape to the opium lands to set things right. The book includes
discussion questions at the end.
Evaluation: This is a great story about the value of life, and ethical questions like whether clones are their
real people who deserve the same rights as humans. There are people and animals implanted with
microchips to make them working zombies, raising further ethical questions. The ending feels a bit rushed,
and Matt goes from trouble to happiness too easily and too quickly. Though, again, there has since been a
sequel written to this book, that picks up where this story leaves off.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: No Way Out
Author: Peggy Kern
Publisher: Townsend Press
Year: 2008

Format: Book
Genre: Hi-Low Realistic Fiction
Selection Source: YALSA 2009 Quick Picks
for Reluctant Readers
Recommended Audience Age: 13 & up
Stars (1-5): 4
Curriculum Connections: Reluctant
Readers, Leisure

Review: This book is #14 in the Bluford series, which are high interest low vocabulary books for reluctant
readers that focus on real life issues urbanites may experience. This book is about Harold, who lives with his
grandmother. His grandmother has recently become ill and racked up a bit of hospital bills. Harold worries
they wont be able to pay them, and he will be taken into foster care, as his grandmother will be deemed an
unfit guardian. Harold tries to get an afterschool job at a grocery store, but it just doesnt pay enough to
fill his needs. So he becomes a delivery boy for a local drug dealer. One bad turn after another leaves
Harold wanting to quit this lifestyle, but the drug dealer will not let him. His neighbor and a good role
model finally helps Harold escape his life.
Evaluation: This book is an easy read and would seem to be very appealing to boys who might be caught in
similar lifestyles, or might be wanting to avoid these lifestyles, just like Harold. While the book isnt overly
emotional, its still a bit corny and sit-com-ish where the hard problems are easily resolved and life is
peachy again.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Penguin Group
Year: 2010

Format: Book
Genre: Realistic
Selection Source: Textbook Honor List, p23
Recommended Audience Age: 13 & up
Stars (1-5): 2
Curriculum Connections: Health

Review: This is the story of Lia, an anorexic girl who has just lost her bulimic ex-best friend. Lia lives with
her dad and stepmom and is in a constant battle of tricking everyone into believing shes eating. Lia has
been in rehab before and appears to be doing better, though she has come up with tricks to make the scale
lie for her while her weight slips into drastic numbers yet again. Lia sees the ghost of Cassie, her bulimic
friend who has committed suicide. Cassie is constantly harassing Lia to join her, Lias mother is constantly
harassing her to come back to live with her, Lias father is in denial, and Lia is hopelessly sick with anorexia,
and doesnt even appear to want to live.
Evaluation: This book makes the reader feel like theyre the one with the eating disorder. It is a constant
counting of calories and scales and self-inflicted wounds. I didnt enjoy reading this book at all, as it just
made me feel crazy. Although Lia eventually gets help and is on the road to recovery and wants to live, this
book could be used as a tool for girls with similar eating disorders, as Lias tricks could help someone who is
sick.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: Hold Still
Author: Nina LaCour
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year: 2010

Format: Book
Genre: Realistic
Selection Source: Banned Books list
Recommended Audience Age: 15 & up
Stars (1-5): 5
Curriculum Connections: Art

Review: Caitlin has just recently lost her best friend to suicide. She is hopelessly depressed and miserable
and cant seem to get her life back on track. Her old photography teacher ignores her, even though she is
the one person Caitlin thought would understand. Caitlin is left with her best friends diary, and through
reading its pages she discovers a new side to Ingrid that she never knew. Now she struggles to answer
questions: who she is, how we know ourselves and others, were there warning signs she missed, how to cope
with the outside world, can she make new friends and be a person again? The book is so beautiful and
poignant and even though it drags the reader into the depths of despair it still offers a glimpse of hope and a
chance at renewal. Caitlin finally learns to deal with Ingrids death through her photography and through
building a tree house, and she learns to repair the relationships in her life, as well as begin new ones.
Evaluation: I think everyone should read this book and I have nothing but good things to say of it. There are
so many themes teens can relate to: identity and self confidence, art as self expression and therapy, the
stages of grief, the roles of educators to their students, sexual exploration and lesbianism, friendship and
loneliness, coping with their being a world outside of ourselves (which so many young adults have trouble
recognizing and responding to), racism, and love in all forms. The book was banned for suicide, lesbianism,
and sexual confusion and exploitation, but it is such a valuable novel to anyone trying to grow up.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: The Monstrumologist
Author: Rick Yancy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year: 2010

Format: Book
Genre: Horror
Selection Source: Textbook Honor List, P23
Recommended Audience Age: 14 & up
Stars (1-5): 4
Curriculum Connections: Science,
Philosophy, Biology

Review: A true horror story, The Monstrumologist is the story of Will Henry, an orphaned boy who has come
to take his fathers role of the assistant to a scientist of philosophy, Dr. Warthrop. The story is embedded in
another story, and is told as a memoir from a recovered from a stack of diaries. The other story has no
meaning in itself, other than to add to the mystery that this might be a true story. In the middle of the
night a grave digger comes to Dr. Warthrops house with quite a package: the body of a young woman in the
midst of being eaten by an Anthropophagus, which is a headless monster with two large, lidless eyes in its
shoulders, a jaw full of rows and rows of teeth protruding from its chest, and long arms with claws sharper
and stronger than titanium. As Anthropophagi dont travel alone, Dr. Warthrop soon discovers a pack of 35
of them, while trying to relay the young womans body to rest. He hires the help of Mr. Kearns (if that is his
real name), and together with Will Henry and a few helping hands they seek to remove the rest of the
monster population. Dr. Warthrop, in his discovery of secret tunnels stemming from his own familys

sepulcher, discovers his father had a hand at keeping these monsters a secret for so long. Will Henry is just
a young boy, scared yet unable to go against the Doctors commands, and the Doctor takes Will Henry along,
front and center, for every horrific scene.
Evaluation: This story is fascinating, but the long, drawn out paragraphs with slightly outdated vocabulary
does lead the readers mind to wander quite a bit. The story could have been cut down from its lengthy 450
or so pages while retaining the same aspects of horror. There is a lot of emotional play between Dr.
Warthrop and Will Henry, though Dr. Warthrop is anything but emotional, and while it is lightly portrayed
there is a depth there the reader really has an opportunity to explore.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
Author: Sonya Sones
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year: 2013

Format: Book
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
Selection Source: Syllabus
Recommended Audience Age: 12-16
Stars (1-5): 3
Curriculum Connections: Leisure

Review: This is the story of Ruby, who, after the death of her mother, is forced to leave her best friend and
boyfriend and move across the US to live with her famous actor father, a man she has never met. The book
is told in a series of poems and e-mails, making it a very quick and easy read. Ruby now lives in a huge
mansion and goes to a school full of children with famous parents, yet she just cant allow herself to love
her father or her new life, focusing instead on those she left and worrying about her boyfriend finding new
love in her disappearance. The book does a lot of famous name dropping and moving dropping, making it
very realistic, though her father, Whip Logan is not a real character. The book has a surprise ending that
really ties Rubys early memories to what is going on, and it is pleasant.
Evaluation: This book was very easy to read, but its a bit shallow and typical. There are no grand lessons to
be gleaned and is just light entertainment, though I would not have missed out had I missed this book.
Rebecca Radic
Book Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year: 2013

Format: Book
Genre: Magical Realism
Selection Source: Textbook Honor List, p22
Recommended Audience Age: 12 & up
Stars (1-5): 5
Curriculum Connections: list some for
each book (i.e. Sociology, English, History, P.E., Health, leisure reading)
Review: This is a fantastic book about Connor, who is dealing with the cancerous demise of his mother.
Every night he has a nightmare that isnt fully explained until the end of the book. Conner unknowingly calls
forth another monster to help him, a monster formed from a yew tree he can see from his bedroom window.
Connor is ignored by everyone in school, to the point where he cant even get in trouble. His grandmother is
a brisk woman hes never really gotten along with, and his father lives in the US with his new family. So
Conner forges a relationship with the monster, who tells him three stories. The first has a twist ending and
is meant to teach Connor that people arent always bad, even though they may seem like witches (like his
grandmother). The second tells Connor about the power of belief and always standing behind your belief,
while giving Connor the chance to release some stress through destruction. Unknowingly Connor ends up
destroying his grandmothers valuable items, while he thinks he is within a story. The third story is about
Connor, who is trying to be seen, and not be invisible. This story leads Connor to beat up an old bully,
though Connor believes the monster is doing it. Connor must tell the fourth story, which is his nightmare. In
his nightmare Connor is holding on to his mother to keep her from falling down a cliff. But Connor lets her
go. This is what is scary, the fact that he feels he could save his mother but decides not to. The whole
point is that the monster has really come to save Connor, not Conners mother (as Connor thought), by
showing him its okay to let go, and that really all he has wanted was relief of his mothers cancer being
behind him, and not a constant reminder of whats to come (her death). The book is based off an idea of
Siobhan Dowd, who died before she could write the story, and is illustrated by Jim Kay, with some
illustrations cutting into the perfect square of text. It has won numerous awards, including the Red House
Childrens Book Award, and CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenway Medals.

Evaluation: Though this book may seem a bit juvenile, the stories told within it are full of depth and real
meaning the reader can take with him. Its so beautifully told and in the end the reader gets the same
release as Connor.