by Matthew Quick
Summary:
Today, Leonard Peacock is going to kill himself and one of his classmates. He will first say goodbye to the only four people he cares about, but then he will do it. Leonard's last day is a cry for help, but no one pays enough attention or seems to care enough to follow through. As he says goodbye to his four, we learn the struggles that led him to the decision, and have to hope that someone will save him from himself. A haunting novel which portrays the struggle and many causes that lead someone to this decision, the book will keep you hoping that's it's protagonist finds something to live for.
Review:
While the premise itself is violent, the book is more about the myriad of factors that led Leonard to where he is now. We learn about the abuse he suffered in silence, about the constant bullying and his absent and clueless mother. The four people he says goodbye to are the only ones who appear to care, but even then are not aware of how desperately he struggles. It's a chilling reminder that you never know when how you treat someone will have the power to pull them from an abyss, or give them that last push to jump over. A great read for older teens.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade
Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Opposite of Hallelujah
by Anna Jarzab
Summary:
Carolina has been essentially an only child since she was 8 years old, when her older sister Hannah decided to enter the convent. Now, 8 years later, Hannah decided to leave the convent and come home. It's not that Carolina doesn't want her there, but having a virtual stranger move into her house her junior year is not ideal. Besides the fact that none of her friends even know she has a sister (because you try explaining that your sister is a nun and you barely remember her because it's been so long since you've seen her). Yet as Hannah moves back in, it becomes apparent to everyone that everything isn't quite right with her. Carolina is about to find out that old secrets have a way of coming to light, and that it's always better to face things head on rather than try and bury them in the past.
Review:
I really enjoyed Jarzab's book. Carolina is both bratty and compassionate, dealing with the stress of being an overachieving high school student and having her home life completely thrown upside down. It's easy to think that she's in the wrong most of the time, but as you get to know her you really feel for her situation, it would be really hard to live most of your life with no sister then have one thrown at you and be expected to be best friends with her immediately. I thought that Hannah's situation could have been talked about more, the end was a bit 'here's all the problems ok now we move forward' but overall it was good. Definitely a good read for teens who are a bit more spiritual. It's a good balance of religion and fiction, making it appealing to a broad audience. I really liked that it questioned a lot of beliefs and had Carolina really looking at her life.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
Summary:
Carolina has been essentially an only child since she was 8 years old, when her older sister Hannah decided to enter the convent. Now, 8 years later, Hannah decided to leave the convent and come home. It's not that Carolina doesn't want her there, but having a virtual stranger move into her house her junior year is not ideal. Besides the fact that none of her friends even know she has a sister (because you try explaining that your sister is a nun and you barely remember her because it's been so long since you've seen her). Yet as Hannah moves back in, it becomes apparent to everyone that everything isn't quite right with her. Carolina is about to find out that old secrets have a way of coming to light, and that it's always better to face things head on rather than try and bury them in the past.
Review:
I really enjoyed Jarzab's book. Carolina is both bratty and compassionate, dealing with the stress of being an overachieving high school student and having her home life completely thrown upside down. It's easy to think that she's in the wrong most of the time, but as you get to know her you really feel for her situation, it would be really hard to live most of your life with no sister then have one thrown at you and be expected to be best friends with her immediately. I thought that Hannah's situation could have been talked about more, the end was a bit 'here's all the problems ok now we move forward' but overall it was good. Definitely a good read for teens who are a bit more spiritual. It's a good balance of religion and fiction, making it appealing to a broad audience. I really liked that it questioned a lot of beliefs and had Carolina really looking at her life.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Looking for Alaska
by John Green
Summary:
Miles didn't exactly know what to expect when his parents sent him to Culver Creek Preparatory School, a boarding school in Alabama. But from the moment he walks into the dorm room he will share with his new roommate Chip, Miles knows that there is something different about this place. There's something about their friend Alaska, a girl who's confidence and love of life knows no bounds, that keeps everyone coming back for more. But life can't stay perfect always. When a car crash interrupts, Miles and the rest struggle to come to terms in their own roles in the wreck. And learn to live after others are gone.
Review:
Green's book is a study in before and after a tragedy. Miles and the rest of his group at school are not bad kids, but they break the rules they want to. They aren't exactly models of clean living but they never do anything really terrible. But a tragedy that could have been avoided cuts through all of their lives. We watch him and his friends try to come to terms with it, as well as with their own roles in it. It is a well written book about loss and survivor's guilt, as well as the necessity of moving on.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
Summary:
Miles didn't exactly know what to expect when his parents sent him to Culver Creek Preparatory School, a boarding school in Alabama. But from the moment he walks into the dorm room he will share with his new roommate Chip, Miles knows that there is something different about this place. There's something about their friend Alaska, a girl who's confidence and love of life knows no bounds, that keeps everyone coming back for more. But life can't stay perfect always. When a car crash interrupts, Miles and the rest struggle to come to terms in their own roles in the wreck. And learn to live after others are gone.
Review:
Green's book is a study in before and after a tragedy. Miles and the rest of his group at school are not bad kids, but they break the rules they want to. They aren't exactly models of clean living but they never do anything really terrible. But a tragedy that could have been avoided cuts through all of their lives. We watch him and his friends try to come to terms with it, as well as with their own roles in it. It is a well written book about loss and survivor's guilt, as well as the necessity of moving on.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Hold Still
by Nina LaCour
Summary:
The school year might be beginning like normal for everyone else, but for Ingrid, all it brings is reminders of the death of her best friend at the end of last year. Caitlin was beautiful and fun, but what everyone believed she was was shattered when she committed suicide. Now Ingrid is left behind trying to understand not only why Caitlin did it, but why Caitlin never talked to her about her problems. When Ingrid finds Caitlin's journal, she finds a way to understand a little bit of Caitlin herself, the part that Caitlin always kept hidden.
Review:
Hold Still was not nearly as captivating as other novels about the aftermath of a suicide. However what it did try to explain was the fact that Caitlin knew that she was ultimately the one responsible for her life and that what she was going to do was not the only option. The book focuses on her friend trying to understand the betrayal she feels, and how to deal with both that betrayal and her grief. Overall it's well written but there are better books on the subject out there.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th-10th Grade
Summary:
The school year might be beginning like normal for everyone else, but for Ingrid, all it brings is reminders of the death of her best friend at the end of last year. Caitlin was beautiful and fun, but what everyone believed she was was shattered when she committed suicide. Now Ingrid is left behind trying to understand not only why Caitlin did it, but why Caitlin never talked to her about her problems. When Ingrid finds Caitlin's journal, she finds a way to understand a little bit of Caitlin herself, the part that Caitlin always kept hidden.
Review:
Hold Still was not nearly as captivating as other novels about the aftermath of a suicide. However what it did try to explain was the fact that Caitlin knew that she was ultimately the one responsible for her life and that what she was going to do was not the only option. The book focuses on her friend trying to understand the betrayal she feels, and how to deal with both that betrayal and her grief. Overall it's well written but there are better books on the subject out there.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th-10th Grade
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Dreams of Significant Girls
by Cristina Garcia
Summary:
Ingrid, Shirin, and Vivien could not have come from different backgrounds. But at a summer boarding school in Switzerland these three girls, a German-Canadian, a Cuban-American, and an Iranian princess, become roommates. Not only must they navigate through cultural differences, but over the three summers they spend together they learn the true meaning of friendship.
Review:
Dreams of Significant Girls is a novel about friendship and growing up, about first loves and first heartbreak, about hope and despair. Though set in the 1970's, it is easy to relate to the girls without any real disconnect in the time spans. The subplot between Ingrid and Vivien's father's is very interesting, though the book could elaborate a bit more on that (Ingrid's father was a Nazi soldier who spared Vivien's Jewish father during the raid on the Warsaw ghettos.) One thing I liked about the book was that it did not have a happily ever after, best friends forever ending. The book's epilogue checks in with each of the girls, and we discover that while they still think of each other, life has kept them apart. The book overall had a similar feel to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Summary:
Ingrid, Shirin, and Vivien could not have come from different backgrounds. But at a summer boarding school in Switzerland these three girls, a German-Canadian, a Cuban-American, and an Iranian princess, become roommates. Not only must they navigate through cultural differences, but over the three summers they spend together they learn the true meaning of friendship.
Review:
Dreams of Significant Girls is a novel about friendship and growing up, about first loves and first heartbreak, about hope and despair. Though set in the 1970's, it is easy to relate to the girls without any real disconnect in the time spans. The subplot between Ingrid and Vivien's father's is very interesting, though the book could elaborate a bit more on that (Ingrid's father was a Nazi soldier who spared Vivien's Jewish father during the raid on the Warsaw ghettos.) One thing I liked about the book was that it did not have a happily ever after, best friends forever ending. The book's epilogue checks in with each of the girls, and we discover that while they still think of each other, life has kept them apart. The book overall had a similar feel to The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Thursday, December 22, 2011
13 Reason's Why
By Jay Asher
Summary:
Hannah committed suicide. She left no note, no explanation. Yet one day Clay receives a package in the mail. A package containing 13 cassette tapes. As he begins to listen to them, he hears her voice. A voice he thought he would never hear again. The tapes are her explanation. Her story. They are not an excuse, but a way for her to tell those who hurt her, who were part of her story, the role that they played in the events that led to her death.
Review:
Asher has created a very powerful book about the nature of teen suicide. Through Hannah he has created a character that the reader sympathizes with, that the reader wants to know more about. It is a warning message about the terrible power of rumors, about how it only takes a little to spiral out of control. It is also a story about revenge, as this is the only way Hannah knows to get her story out, her way of reaching out even though it is too late for anyone to respond. Overall it is a very impressive book, though definitely suited to an older crowd not only due to the frankness it deals with suicide, but also the prevalence of sex and alcohol.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th grade
Summary:
Hannah committed suicide. She left no note, no explanation. Yet one day Clay receives a package in the mail. A package containing 13 cassette tapes. As he begins to listen to them, he hears her voice. A voice he thought he would never hear again. The tapes are her explanation. Her story. They are not an excuse, but a way for her to tell those who hurt her, who were part of her story, the role that they played in the events that led to her death.
Review:
Asher has created a very powerful book about the nature of teen suicide. Through Hannah he has created a character that the reader sympathizes with, that the reader wants to know more about. It is a warning message about the terrible power of rumors, about how it only takes a little to spiral out of control. It is also a story about revenge, as this is the only way Hannah knows to get her story out, her way of reaching out even though it is too late for anyone to respond. Overall it is a very impressive book, though definitely suited to an older crowd not only due to the frankness it deals with suicide, but also the prevalence of sex and alcohol.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th grade
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Hate List
by Jennifer Brown
Summary:
No one really knows what to make of Valerie. Innocent victim, hero, or accomplice in the murder of several of her classmates? It might have been her boyfriend Nick who pulled the trigger, but she was the one who lived. Now she not only has to recover from a devastating bullet wound, but also learn to make her way in a school where no one trusts her. Where everyone is recovering from losing someone they loved, but she is the one recovering from loving a killer.
Review:
School shootings are a sensitive topic, one which Hate List is able to bring up in a very powerful way. The book focuses not only on Valerie as she attempts to heal from the trauma of being shot, but intersperses it with flashbacks to the day of the shooting as she attempts to figure out where everything went so wrong. It all began with a list she made about things she hated, people who were annoying her, but spun so out of control the reader truly empathizes with her and the situation. The book is a great read which focuses on devastating consequences bullying and social seclusion can have.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Grade Level: 8-9th Grade
Summary:
No one really knows what to make of Valerie. Innocent victim, hero, or accomplice in the murder of several of her classmates? It might have been her boyfriend Nick who pulled the trigger, but she was the one who lived. Now she not only has to recover from a devastating bullet wound, but also learn to make her way in a school where no one trusts her. Where everyone is recovering from losing someone they loved, but she is the one recovering from loving a killer.
Review:
School shootings are a sensitive topic, one which Hate List is able to bring up in a very powerful way. The book focuses not only on Valerie as she attempts to heal from the trauma of being shot, but intersperses it with flashbacks to the day of the shooting as she attempts to figure out where everything went so wrong. It all began with a list she made about things she hated, people who were annoying her, but spun so out of control the reader truly empathizes with her and the situation. The book is a great read which focuses on devastating consequences bullying and social seclusion can have.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Grade Level: 8-9th Grade
Speak
by Laurie Hale Anderson
Summary:
Melinda didn't want to start freshman year as the girl everyone hates, but after calling the cops on a party at the end of the summer she has found herself to be persona non grata with everyone. No one asked her her side of the story, and even if they did she's not sure what she'd say. With no one to turn to she takes refuge in the one class she likes, art. As the year goes by she finds that the things she really needs to say she can't. But when her friend is threatened by what she experienced at that party, she realizes that the courage to speak was there all along.
Review:
Speak is a powerful book about a girl's reaction to being raped. Her confusion and shame, unwillingness to talk, and ostracism by her peers (though none of them knew about it) are all taken matter of factly by Melinda herself. What struck me the most about the book was how no one really stepped in to talk to her, how her parents left her alone and didn't question as she withdrew from everyone. How her friends turned on her after learning she had called the cops, without asking her why. But once she does tell her side of the story, everyone stands by her, realizing that she was the only one who had it right all along.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Grade Level: 9th grade
Summary:
Melinda didn't want to start freshman year as the girl everyone hates, but after calling the cops on a party at the end of the summer she has found herself to be persona non grata with everyone. No one asked her her side of the story, and even if they did she's not sure what she'd say. With no one to turn to she takes refuge in the one class she likes, art. As the year goes by she finds that the things she really needs to say she can't. But when her friend is threatened by what she experienced at that party, she realizes that the courage to speak was there all along.
Review:
Speak is a powerful book about a girl's reaction to being raped. Her confusion and shame, unwillingness to talk, and ostracism by her peers (though none of them knew about it) are all taken matter of factly by Melinda herself. What struck me the most about the book was how no one really stepped in to talk to her, how her parents left her alone and didn't question as she withdrew from everyone. How her friends turned on her after learning she had called the cops, without asking her why. But once she does tell her side of the story, everyone stands by her, realizing that she was the only one who had it right all along.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Grade Level: 9th grade
Monday, April 25, 2011
According to Greta
According to Greta
Distributed by Ancho Bay Films
Publisher: Beverly Hills, CA : Anchor Bay Entertainment, [2010]
Plot Description:
Greta’s life hasn’t been easy for a long time. Her mother cares more about Greta’s stepfather than about Greta. She can’t decide what to after high school, or even if life is worth living anymore. But during a summer spent with her grandparents, spent broadening her horizons and breaking down the barriers she has built up, she learns that perhaps family and relationships really aren’t a bad thing and tries to fix the ones she has left.
Review:
Overall a good movie. Greta, played by Hilary Duff, is a headstrong character who thinks she knows everything she needs to know, but in typical teenage fashion really has no idea. Her seemingly brazen attitude and desire to rebel masks a lifetime of insecurities that she is forced to face by the end of the movie, as she struggles with the consequences her actions have not only for her but those she cares about. A good movie for older tweens, but younger tweens probably will not enjoy it as much for its older content.
Genre: Fiction
Viewing Age: 8th-9th Grade
Similar Movies: Cinderella Story, Ella Enchanted
Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- A good movie about teenage angst
Subjects/themes- Depression, Suicide, Relationships, Growing Up
Character names/descriptions-
Greta- 17 year old struggling with depression
Julie- the boy she begins a relationship with who helps her realize that life is worth living
Annotation: Sometimes life is worth living.
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