Top YA Authors: Andrew Smith

Smith, A. (2014). 100 sideways miles.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster BFYR.

Seventeen year old Finn Easton suffers from epilepsy, but he meets and falls in love with a new girl, Julia.  Unfortunately, Julia's move to Finn's California neighborhood is short-lived and she moves back to her old hometown in Chicago.  Finn is devastated when she leaves, but agrees to continue with his plans to go on a road trip with his best friend, Cade to check out a college campus.  A life-threatening event during the road trip changes both boys' minds about this college and they decide instead to visit Julia in Chicago, where she and Colin agree to maintain a long-distance relationship.

Because of the frequent use of profane language and sexual references within this book, I would recommend this read to high schoolers.  I really appreciate the first-person perspective of someone who experiences seizures.  I have a student who experiences seizures in my class this year, and even though seizure experiences are varied, I feel like I have an idea of what it might be like.  Many kids will either applaud or abhor the carefree attitude and humor Finn's friend Cade brings to the story.  Either way, Cade is a very memorable character that most readers will be able to find amongst their own school populations.  This realistic fiction novel is such a satisfying read.  Finn and Cade matter-of-fact, humorous take on the life and times of seventeen year old males will give male readers someone to bond with and female readers a glimpse into the male mystique.  The narrative accurately reflects high school life from the lame requests of administrators to the shenanigans of the top dogs of the school.  Smith wraps up the story well, and the reader can leave the book knowing that Finn and Cade are going to be OK.

Top YA Authors: A.S. King

King, A. S. (2011). Everybody sees the ants. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Lucky Linderman is a fifteen year old boy who has been bullied by Nader McMillan since he was seven.  When the evidence of bullying is physically represented with a facial injury, his mom decides to take him away for a few weeks and leave his dad to deal with it (he never does).  While away, Lucky makes a new friend and finds a male father figure in his uncle that help to bolster his confidence to deal with the bully.  This paired with some advice from his dead grandfather via dreams gives Lucky the confidence to stand up to the bully once and for all.

Everybody Sees the Ants is best suited for the high school aged student because of the language and some sexual references.  The book approaches very serious topics like bullying and suicide by using a first-person narrator to really share the inner thoughts of the character.  This allows the reader to explore the main character's fears, concerns, naïveté, and sense of humor.  King made the antagonist of this story so villainous that readers won't want to leave the book for long for want of revenge being exacted on Nader.

King crafted an exceptional piece of young adult literature with Everybody Sees the Ants.  Teens are provided insight into the bullied, the suicidal youth of America and explores the less talked about topic of parental bullying and control.  Through Lucky's first person narration, they'll learn they are more like him than different.  Lucky finally makes it through this terrible part of his life and appears to have the strength to do great things, which is very satisfying even though the story ends before the reader can see how the conversation between Lucky and his dad goes at the end of the book.

Top YA Authors: John Green

Green, J. (2006). An abundance of Katherines. New York, NY: Speak.

Colin Singleton, a child prodigy and recent high school graduate, agrees to go on a road trip with his lazy friend Hassan, in an attempt to starting the healing process from Colin's most recent relationship trouble, being dumped by the nineteenth Katherine he has dated.  They wind up in Gutshot, Tennessee where Colin and Hassan both engage in activities outside their comfort zones. The two change for the better in the end: Hassan decides to enroll in college and Colin dates a non-Katherine.

Last year were a group of very mature sixth grade girls decided to read An Abundance of Katherines.  I think given the other literature they consumed last year, that this book was certainly appropriate for them.  For most kids, I would say eighth grade and up would be the ideal age range that should read this.  I also think that although girls may gravitate towards it, boys would enjoy this too.  A male perspective on the complexity of relationships would prove helpful to boys who probably never bother to ponder the subject.  Colin and Hassan's ability to just be friends with females at the beginning of the book demonstrates Havighurst's developmental task regarding easy relationships with the opposite sex.  Although both of them fail at this in time, Hassan incredulously seems to be able to bounce right back into friend mode once he is double crossed by his love interest, which I think can be attributed to his carefree attitude towards life.

Top YA Authors: Chris Crutcher

Crutcher, C. (2013). Period 8. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

After Paulie confesses to his girlfriend that he cheated, things in his life get really weird.  He confides in his Period 8 teacher Mr. Logs about what's going on and together they put together pieces of the puzzle to try and work through it.  It turns out, Paulie was just a pawn in someone else's sick plan, and a few people get hurt before this other person is caught.

Both male and female high school aged students would be best suited to read this book due to the use of profanity and references to sexual situations.  The plot of the book is hokey in my opinion (it has a low budget movie feel to it), but teenagers will eat it up because of the drama.  For this reason, I think it would be a great book to include in a high interest-low level collection because the book is an easy read and will keep teens' attention, especially those reluctant readers.  The profanity used in this book certainly matches the way teens use it in real life.  Likewise, most of the problems the characters face in the book are similar to the drama teens frequently encounter in high school: break ups, disloyal friends, senior year pressure, bad things happening to good people, etc.  These factors coupled with the fact that readers are kept in suspense of who is responsible for what is happening in the characters that they can relate to make it a great pick for high schoolers.

Top YA Authors: Holly Black

Black, H. (2015). The darkest part of the forest. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Hazel and Ben are red-haired siblings who find that they are the only two people who can save their somewhat enchanted town of Fairfold from a monster that lives in the nearby faerie-infested forest.  With the help of their friend Jack (a faerie person living amongst the humans), they put together the pieces of the puzzle until they discover that Hazel has been fighting for the ruler of the faerie realm while she sleeps each night.  Eventually, a trip to the forest during a the faerie festival gives the trio the opportunity to supplant the faerie king and appease the monster.

The secrets that Hazel, Ben, and Jack all harbor will keep middle and high school readers glued to the book.  Black's writing reminds me of my beloved Neil Gaiman, in particular his book Stardust, because of the relationship between the town of Wall and the faerie town of Stormhold.  Black's attention to details create a believable setting for her story.  Her understanding of faerie lore is such that she was able to create a place in which the humans live mostly harmoniously with the faerie world just along the edges.  It just makes sense and that is why the reader dives in to this book so deeply and won't let it go until he/she knows the fate of the people of this town.  Even told in third-person Black manages to endear the characters of Hazel, Ben, Jack, and the faerie characters to readers.  We care about them and want everything to work out for them in this strange existence they live.

Top YA Authors: Tom Angleberger

Angleberger, T. (2011). Darth Paper strikes back. New York, NY: Amulet Books.

Back for their seventh grade year at McQuarrie Middle School, Tommy and the gang want to save their buddy Dwight from being sent to an alternative education school.  They put together a case file to present to the school board to clear Dwight's name.  In the end, Dwight's mother, fed up with the hypocritical school board decides to send Dwight to a private school so they cannot exact their punishment upon him.

 Even though the characters are in middle school, fifth and sixth graders alike are the best candidates to read this book.  I think the combination of the Star Wars references, the "case file" format, and the humorous characters are what attract boys to this series. With this second installment of the Origami Yoda series, Angleberger stayed true to the characters of the book.  Even though it had been years since I'd read the first book, reading this one was like reuniting with an old friend and clicking like no time had passed at all.  The characters are still up to their same shenanigans but face a new problem.  Tommy, Kellen, Sara, Amy, Harvey, and Dwight--they're all kids we could easily find in a middle school that are experiencing real middle school issues.  Best of all, Angleberger solves a major problem, but leaves the series wide open to continue and I hope he milks this series for as long as he can because I could read these books forever.

Brown Girl Dreaming

Woodson, J. (2014).  Brown girl dreaming. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.

Jacqueline Woodson takes readers through her childhood growing up during the civil rights era in both the South and the North.  Born in Ohio, Woodson's parents split up just after her first birthday and her mother moves her and her siblings to South Carolina with her grandparents.  Her mother leaves the children with their grandparents while she moves to Brooklyn to make a life for them there.  Woodson grows very close to her grandparents and is nearly devastated when her mother finally comes to take them up to Brooklyn just before Woodson starts first grade.  Woodson must adapt to life in the city and without her beloved grandparents.  She has a new baby brother, new Puerto Rican friend, and a growing love for writing.

When I read this book, I tagged many of the chapters' free verse poem because they connect with some of the novels my sixth graders read, particularly One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.   The references to the racial tensions and lifestyle of the South, the relationship between Woodson and her sister as well as her mother reminds me a lot of Delphine's story.  Fifth or sixth grade teachers should certainly add this book into the curriculum to support standards relating to literary nonfiction, theme, connections, and thematic links.  Havighurst's task dealing with changing relationships with parents is exemplified in this book because Woodson is separated from at different times from her father (via divorce), mother (when Mom goes to Brooklyn), and grandparents (when Woodson moves to Brokolyn).  She must learn to negotiate this fluctuating authority figures in her life.