Opt: Post your final Book Lists
Help grow our YA title databases by posting your final booklist and explaining your ranking system if you use one. Be sure to list the authors along with the titles. This was a great suggestion!
posted by Bucky C. at 7:41 PM
5 Comments:
1. My Life In Dog Years - Gary Paulsen
2. House on Mango Street- Sandra Cisneros
3. Girl Coming in for a Landing, A Novel in Poetry - April Halprin Wayland
4. The Giver - Lois Lowry
5. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
6. The Golem's Mighty Swing - James Sturm
7. Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
8. Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
1.Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar: 2 I can't find much redeeming in this book, except for some interesting characterization of the narrator.
2.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: 4.5 Great fantasy with themes readers of all ages can relate to. Warning: Highly Addictive.
3.Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller: 3.5 Dry as can be, but displays strong emotions.
4.Night by Elie Wiesel: 5 One of the best things I've read in a long time. Powerful, emotional, gripping.
5.Genshiken by Kio Shimoku: 3 Manga about manga. Addresses individuality, fitting in, stereotypes, the “cool crowd”, so it does have some good themes.
6.The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar: 4 Would appeal more to female readers, but nice story about family relationships.
7.The Giver by Lois Lowry: 4.5 Easy to see why this is considered a classic.
8.Love That Dog by Sharon Creech: 4 Adorable book, good for any age.
*Out of 5 stars
A Wrinkle in Time. by Madeline L'Engle. 2. I thought it was boring, but Sci-Fi isn't my thing.
Harry Potter series. by J.K. Rowling. 5. These books have so much to offer in terms of teen-friendly content and symbolism, word-play, etc.
Mary, Bloody Mary. by Caroline Meyer. 4.5. biographical/historical fiction - extremely useful for building up a historical context (it's a series that covers the whole Tudor dynasty)
The Teahouse of the August Moon. By John Patrick. drama. 4. Funny and valuable for cultural discussions.
The Last Knight: An Introduction to Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. By Will Eisner. graphic-novel (sort of). 3. It's really short and would be good for bridging the larger text of Don Quixote.
Monster. By Mister Walter Dean Meyers. 5. Written like a screenplay. Offers great opportunities for duscussion on form and the grey areas between right and wrong.
Mona in the Promised Land. by Gish Jen. 5. Hilarious and Witty with lots of layers on multiculturalism.
Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States. 3. It offers a good way to discuss the correspondence between language and meaning. Written partly in Spanish.
Annie on My Mind. By Nancy Garden. :)
The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family. By Dave Pelzer :)
20 Ten minute plays for teenagers. Volume II :/
The House of Stairs. By William Sleator :(
Bone: Out from Boneville. By Jeff Smith :)
The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963. By Christopher Paul Curtis :)
The Wizard of Earthsea. By Ursula K. Leguin :)
Out of the Dust. By Karen Hesse :)
A Separate Peace by John knowles. 3.5; didn't love it, but I'd use it.
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
4.5; great for middle school.
Whirligig by Paul Fleishchman.
2; some kids might like it, but I didn't, and wouldn't use it.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
5; so fun to teach.
A Contract with God by Will Eisner
4; liked it a lot, but, right or wrong, I think you'd have to fight to get it in your classroom.
Inherit the Wind by Robert E. Lee and some other guy whose name I can't remember
3.5; good play, quick read, based on Scopes Monkey Trial.
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
4.75; really nice novel written in free verse.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5; awesome, seriously.
I'm forgettig one, but I also read Monster by Walter Dean Myers, and thought that was awesome. I'd give it a 5.
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