Top 5 YA

Jason Reynolds at NCTE in Atlanta

It's the last week of the year, and I plan to use this week to look back at the year.  Today I'm starting with my top five young adult reads for the year.  This are in alphabetical order.  It was difficult to narrow down to five, so I'm not going to try to narrow down to the best.

Ready?!

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
 Rashad is in the store getting a bag of chips when he trips over a lady and the chips end up in his bag.  He is a young black man who is now being roughed up and charged with theft.  The story unravels.  It's a great fictional look at race and the problems faced by young black men and their friends.  This realistic fiction novel could take place in any American town.
I also read The Boy in the Black Suit and Ghost (both by Reynolds) and highly recommend both.  They'd have made the list if it wasn't too long already.

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff
Trent is a young man with a lot of emotions.  Many blame him for the death of a classmate.  Although Trent comes of as angry, part of him still feels guilty.  He is partnered up with a young girl, and although it's rocky, they start enjoying each other's company.  Both learn to like themselves a bit more.  Lisa Graff also wrote Tortilla Sun (also read this year) which although was beautiful was a harder sell to students.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
This novel is packed with action and emotion.  It's about a young girl who becomes pregnant, dog fighting as a way of life, a family without a mother... It's a story about abuse, poverty, and love.  It was heart breaking and invigorating at the same time.  In my opinion, it gave a look into people that suffer from hurricanes, but more importantly, people who suffer because of their surroundings.

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Totten
Adam is in a support group for students dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder.  As one would expect the meetings are interesting.  Inside the group, he's met a friend and seems to hold it together.  Outside the group he is dealing with family issues of divorce and step siblings.  Although life is easier at his dad's house, his mom needs him.  The group holds him together, and he is even able to share a part of his life with the group.  His family pulls him apart, and he needs to be able to share this with someone.


Who Will Tell My Brother by Marlene Carvell
Evan is part American Indian and would really like his school to remove the Indian mascot.  This causes the understandable struggle with administration and teens.  Racist and prejudice remarks are made as the struggle continues.  I read this book looking for an American Indian book to add to my curriculum.  This book discussed current topics of racism and mascots.  Unfortunately, this book isn't current (out of print), and I couldn't find enough copies to teach.