Michael Printz YA Award Winner - The First Part Last

Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689849222

Plot Summary
At just 16, Bobby finds himself as a single parent after his girlfriend Nia suffers brain damage after delivering their daughter Feather. Although they had plans of giving her up for adoption, Nia's postpartum condition spurs Bobby to refuse to sign the papers and raise the baby himself. His choice results in him struggling to care for his daughter while trying to keep up with school, maintain his friendships, and live up to his parents' expectations of being a responsible man.

Critical Analysis
Angela Johnson gives readers at taste of what teenage pregnancy and fatherhood is like from the male perspective. The exhaustion of caring for baby Feather can be felt by readers such as when Bobby takes Feather for a doctor's visit and wishes that the doctor would write him an excuse for getting out of the constant attention a baby needs: "It just had to get me out of staying awake all night, changing diapers every hour, and doing nothing except think of the yawning little thing in the white booties, whose baby carrier was all I wanted to be in." Scenes in which Bobby expresses his love for Feather and her mother are beautifully worded and his effort to do the right thing (be responsible and mature) is demonstrated by the choices he makes: "I thought about laying her in the middle of my bed and going off to find my old Game Boy, but I didn't. Things have to change. I've been thinking about it. Everything. And when Feather opens her eyes and looks up at me, I already know there's change." In the final chapter, readers will be begging for more about this young father and daughter duo as they start a new life in Heaven, Ohio, the town where Bobby's brother lives and a seemingly pefect place for raising a child. Brief, but poetic and riveting, this novel is a great read for highschool students as it will grab listeners immediately and make it an ideal subject for class discussion.

Review Exerpt(s)
BookList - "Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again."
Kirkus Reviews - "It's the tale of one young man and his choices, which many young readers will appreciate and enjoy."

Connections
*This novel would make a great topic for discussion for highschool students regarding teen pregnancy.
*Other novels about teenage pregnancy:
Cole, Sheila. WHAT KIND OF LOVE?: THE DIARY OF A PREGNANT TEENAGER. ISBN 0380725754
Wild, Margaret. ONE NIGHT. ISBN 0553494341
Bechard, Margaret. HANGING ON TO MAX. ISBN 0689862687

Newberry Award Honor Book - Rules

Bibliography
Lord, Cynthia. 2006. RULES. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439443822

Plot Summary
Living with her autistic brother David, 12-year-old Catherine struggles to find order and balance in her life. While she loves David, she is embarrassed by his behavior. She makes rules to help him function more normally. Her longing to live a normal life so that she can receive as much attention from her parents as her brother does as well as make friends without being hindered by her brother's behavior is further complicated by her growing friendship with Jason, a paraplegic.

Critical Analysis
Cynthia Lord sheds light on the family dynamic created by a family member with a disability. Narrated by Catherine, readers are able to experience what it is like to grow up with an autistic brother. They are able to enter Catherine's topsy-turvy world filled with conflicting feelings about loving David but at the same time being embarrassed, impatient, and resentful of him. Catherine's concern for her brother is shown in the rules she makes for her brother, "so if my someday-he'll-wake-up-a regular-brother wish doesn't ever come true, at least he'll know how the world works, and I won't have to keep explaining things." At the same time, her wish to fit in with everybody else is hindered by her brothers abnormal behavior and the amount of attention he needs. Making "real friends" is not as easy for Catherine and unexpectedly becoming friends with Jason only makes the matter more complicated. Ultimately, Jason helps Catherine admit that her rules may really be excuses, opening the way for her to free herself from what she fears others will think: "You're a good friend, and I've been--Weak." Entirely convincing, her emotions come across vividly through her thoughts and actions. Readers will relate to the universal themes of being/feeling different and finding acceptance.

Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly - "A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view."
School Library Journal - "A lovely warm read, and a great discussion starter."
Kirkus Reviews - "Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences."
Booklist - "The details of autistic behavior are handled well, as are depictions of relationships."

Connections
*Students can be invited to write about an experience they had about feeling like they were different and not accepted by somebody else.
*Students can write about something that happened in the story through another person's point of view, such as Catherine's mother, father, or friend Jason.

Fantasy Series- The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide

Bibliography
DiTerlizzi, Tony & Holly Black. 2003. THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES: THE FIELD GUIDE. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689289368

Plot Summary
The Grace Children (13 year-old Mallory and 9 year-old twins Simon and Jared) and their recently divorced mother move into their great Aunt Lucinda's worn out Victorian house. There, Jared discovers a field guide, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You--a hand book to faeries and other creatures. Often in trouble, Jared gets blamed for some unusual occurences until his siblings finally believe what the field guide says, after they see one of the creatures inside it for themselves.

Critical Analysis
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black prove to be a remarkable pair, as they introduce fantasy-loving readers to the story of the Grace children and the fantastical world of creatures around them. The Grace children's discovery of the mysterious faerie realm that exists around them pulls readers in, making them anxious to read more. The first creature readers are introduced to, is a peaceful brownie living inside the walls of the house. Unknowingly, the Grace children destroy his home in the walls, causing him to turn into an enraged boggart. Jared suspects this when he reads about brownies in the field guide: "The Arthur guy says it's a boggart. See, brownies are these helpful guys, but then if you make them mad, they go crazy. They start doing all these bad things and you can't stop them. Then they become boggarts. That's what I think we have." The boggart's ways of exacting revenge on three of them, such as knotting Mallory's hair to her headboard and freezing Simon's pet tadpoles into ice cubes all while making Jared's mom believe he is responsible for this, makes for a story with just enough menace and suspense. The clever headings of each chapter such as "In Which There Are Answers, Though Not Necessarily to the Right Questions," and the antique-style pen and ink illustrations are appealing to young readers. So is the book's opening letter from Holly Black to the reader, the note written to her and Tony DiTerlizzi by the Grace children, the map of the Spiderwick estate, and a handwritten note in Arthur Spiderwick's upstairs library, which will perhaps convince some that the story is real.

Book Review Excerpt(s)
Publishers Weekly - "Appealing characters, well-measured suspense and an inviting package will lure readers on to The Seeing Stone, due next month."
Kirkus Reviews - Readers who are too young to read Harry Potter independently will find these have just the right amount of menace laced with appealing humor and are blessed with crisp pacing and, of course, DiTerlizzi's enticingly Gothic illustrations."

Connections
*Other fantasy series:
Nimmo, Jenny. MIDNIGHT FOR CHARLIE BONE(CHILDREN OF THE RED KING, BOOK 1). ISBN 0439474299
Rowling, J.K. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (BOOK 1). ISBN 0590353403
Mull, Brandon. FABLEHAVEN: RISE OF THE EVENING STAR (BOOK 1). ISBN 1590387422
Neff, Henry H. THE HOUND OF ROWAN: BOOK ONE OF THE TAPESTRY. ISBN 0375838945
Sage, Angie. SEPTIMUS HEAP BOOK 1: MAGYK. ISBN 0060577312
MacHale, D.J. THE MERCHANT OF DEATH (PENDRAGON SERIES #1) ISBN 0743437314