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Weekend Pick for December 27, 2024

12/27/2024

Weekend Pick for December 27, 2024

Leilya Pitre

As the New 2025 Year's bells are ringing closer, I would like to say thank you to everyone who worked with me during the past three years on Weekend Picks. I couldn't do it without you. Your contributions to this blog are immense, and I greatly appreciate every single one of you. I hope you will continue to invest in reading and your students, so we can witness positive changes in our immediate and global worlds.
Happy New Year, friends! Let it be kind, hopeful, and promising. Take care and stay well.
Best wishes,
Leilya

The 2024 weekend Picks conclude with Lesley Roessing final suggestion. To remind, Lesley is a former middle school and high school ELA teacher, a K-8 charter school literary consultant, a Writing Project director and instructor of teacher education.
Lesley shares recommendations and reviews of her reading on her website at https://www.literacywithlesley.com/book-reviews.html. She has written books on literacy for teachers and school librarian, such as Talking Tests: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum.

Lesley Roessing

Boundless, edited by Ismee Amiel Williams and Rebecca Balcarcel

The U.S. population is undergoing rapid racial and ethnic change. The multiracial population in the United States—those who identify with two or more races—is also increasing with the rise in interracial couples. The children of these interracial unions are forming a new generation that is much more likely to identify with multiple racial groups. By 2060, about 6 percent of the total population—and 11 percent of children under age 18—are projected to be multiracial. (Population Reference Bureau)

Most of us have felt, from time to time, that we don’t fit in—with our peers, our communities, our families, even our own skins—for a variety of reasons.

These are twenty stories of adolescents who don’t feel they fit in or they are not “whole” because they are multiracial or multicultural. Boundless shares the multiracial and multicultural experience of contemporary adolescents—Asian, Hispanic-Jewish, Japanese-Jewish, Mexican-Irish, Italian-Chinese, Indian-White, Honduran adopted by an Irish couple, for example.

Boundless, edited by Ismee Amiel Williams and Rebecca Balcarcel, shares stories for those who have not felt “enough” for any reason. This is a book that invites some adolescents to see their lives and experiences reflected and invites others to experience the lives of their contemporaries.

Weekend Pick for December 20, 2024

12/20/2024

Weekend Pick for December 20, 2024

Lesley Roessing

If you haven\t met Lesley Roessing yet, let me introduce you. Lesley is a former middle school and high school ELA teacher, a K-8 charter school literary consultant, a Writing Project director and instructor of teacher education, including courses on Adolescent Literature, and shares recommendations and reviews of her reading on her website at https://www.literacywithlesley.com/book-reviews.html. She has written books on literacy for teachers and school librarians, such as Talking Tests: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum.

One Last Chance to Live by Francisco Stork

I first “met” Francisco Stork when reading The Memory of Light on my search for books about characters facing mental illnesses. I then read Marcelo in the Real World, Disappeared and its sequel Illegal, On the Hook, and I Am Not Alone. Stork’s writing is fresh and his characters memorable. He writes about meaningful topics – illegal immigration, gang life, revenge, mental health, social justice, and respect—self-respect and respect for others. Teachers, parents, and librarians will appreciate that he can explore these topics—with genuine, true-to-life adolescent characters—without the use of profanity, proving that “realistic” is not the same as “necessary.”

Francisco Stork

My favorite novel, other than The Memory of Light, is his most recent One Last Chance to Live. Readers will come to care about, and hurt for and with, Nico, an aspiring teen writer, who becomes obsessed with discovering his fellow writer and close friend (although he wished for more than that) Rosario’s recent death. He needs to find out what happened and why she gave up her dream after finally finishing her book of short stories. He wants to find out if and how their high school writing teacher is involved and how his recent dream of death is tied to Rosario’s death.

Meanwhile Nico’s mother becomes seriously ill with cancer and his 10-year-old half-brother is becoming involved with the local gang. Nico is looking at a future which may be hopeless, which may be how Rosario felt, but a future in which he will need to take charge.

This is a story of hope and hopelessness, family, love, hate, and acceptance; it is the story of finding meaning in our actions.
Hope you'll enjoy your weekend with this great novel.

Weekend Pick for December 13, 2024

12/13/2024

Weekend Pick for December 13, 2024

Lesley Roessing

To remind our readers, the December Weekend Picks contributor is Lesley Roessing, a former middle school and high school ELA teacher, a K-8 charter school literary consultant, a Writing Project director and instructor of teacher education, including courses on Adolescent Literature. She shares recommendations and reviews of her reading on her website at https://www.literacywithlesley.com/book-reviews.html. She has written books on literacy for teachers and school librarians, such as Talking Tests: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum.

JUMPER by Melanie Crowder

So far in 2024 from January 1st to October 18th, there have been 42,698 wildfires in the United States covering 7,865,946 acres. Fires across the country are predicted to burn between 4 and 6 million acres of land in 2024. Firefighters work for a variety of federal agencies, state institutions, tribes, and private contractors. These fires are fought on the ground by handcrews, hotshots, and engine crews, and in the air by helitak crews and smokejumpers. Smokejumpers parachute from airplanes to provide quick initial attack on wildland fires in remote areas.
Blair Scott has a passion – fighting wildfires. She has a goal—to become a smokejumper even though she is only 19 years old. But Blair also has a secret—she has Type 1 Diabetes, a condition which could keep her from reaching her goal. Blair feels she has to take risks and prove herself as, not only a young recruit, but especially as a woman. But when a tragedy occurs, she realizes the importance of collaboration and community.

Melanie Crowder

Jumper is a novel of adventure, danger, courage, goals, friendships, support, and, most of all, the power of fire. Well-researched, the novel provides a vast amount of information about wildfire and firefighting training and protocols and will appeal to teen readers, especially those with an interest in adventure and nature.

Melanie Crowder is the author of nine very different novels—prose novels, a verse novel, historical fiction, a fantasy series, magical folktale—and a picture book about winds.

To learn more about Melanie Crowder, visit her home page at https://melaniecrowder.net

Happy reading!

Weekend Pick for December 6, 2024

12/6/2024

Weekend Pick for December 6, 2024

Lesley Roessing

Meet our December contributor Lesley Roessing. She is a former middle school and high school ELA teacher, a K-8 charter school literary consultant, a Writing Project director and instructor of teacher education, including courses on Adolescent Literature, and shares recommendations and reviews of her reading on her website at https://www.literacywithlesley.com/book-reviews.html. She has written books on literacy for teachers and school librarians, such as Talking Tests: A Teachers’ Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum.

I, Lesley, have written that one of the most effective ways to learn about any historical event, and the nuances and effects of those events, is through novel study—the power of story. Every historical event is distinct and affects people and places uniquely—and each is surrounded by misconceptions, misunderstandings, miscommunications, and differing and shifting perspectives. We may learn about history through textbooks and lectures, but we experience history through novels. And when we live it, we learn it; we do not merely learn about it. We discern the complex issues, and we feel empathy for all affected. We bear witness to the events we read and the plights of the people affected by those events.

Gringolandia, Torch, and Eyes Open by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann received her Master’s in Library and Information Science and edited the journal MultiCultural Review. She also received a MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Lyn has taught both middle and high school English, social studies, and Jewish studies; translates books from Portuguese; and writes a blog at https://lynmillerlachmann.com/. She has written 6 novels, a picture book, co-authored a book on women film directors, and contributed to the She Persisted series with a book on Temple Grandin.

In the last few years, I have learned about some of the most interesting periods in history through the novels of Lyn Miller-Lachmann. These three novels cover social justice in 1980-1991 Chile, 1968-69 Czechoslovakia, and 1967 Portugal.

Gringolandia shares the story of high school student Daniel, a refugee from Chile's Pinochet regime, his activist "gringo" girlfriend Courtney, and Daniel's father who has just been released from years of torture in a Chilean prison and joins his family in Gringolandia. Spanning 1980-1991 this novel would be a valuable addition to a Social Justice or Social Studies curriculum or as in my personal case, a good read to learn a history generally not covered in curriculum.

On August 21, 1968, the Soviet Union and three other Communist regimes—Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria—invaded Czechoslovakia. The new wave of repression that followed saw the withdrawal of freedoms, mass firings, expulsions from the Party, the imprisonment of dissidents, and the closing of the borders. (Author’s Note)

Taking place from December 1968 to Summer 1969, Torch is a story of not only an historic time period but of resilience, freedoms, resistance, creativity, family, and, above all, friendship.

When 17-year-old Pavol finds his dreams of attending university in Prague have been ended by the Party and he faces a life in the mines that killed his father, he and his friends Stepan and Tomas write a letter to deliver to the castle in Prague. When he and Stepan are stopped and sent away, Pavol follows the example of martyr Jan Palach and sets himself on fire, a human torch.

Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Readers see how not only the increasing restrictive and punitive government’s actions but also Pavol’s actions affect his pregnant girlfriend Lydia; her father, Ondrej, a WWII freedom fighter; his friends Stepan and Tomas; and his mother and three younger sisters. But his death didn't affect anything else.
Stepan, a former bully who had been transformed through his friendship with—and maybe a crush on—the kind Pavol, socially awkward Tomas whose father is high in the Party and calls him “antisocial” and threatening to send him to a mental hospital when he turns 18, and Lydia, pregnant with Pavol’s child became real, working their ways into my heart, feeling their pain and frustrations and cheering any victories as they formed unlikely bonds with each other as they began trying to support each other on to lives with the freedoms they needed.

The newest novel, Eyes Open, a verse novel, was spellbinding and eye-opening. I lived in 1967 Portugal with 15-year-old Sonia Maria Fernandes Dias through the highs and many lows of her year—as she writes poetry, fighting the nuns for the right to write in free, not rhymed, verse which she writes about her boyfriend, Ze Miquel, a revolutionary. In the future she will write books, he as illustrator. Sonia’s—and Portugal’s—story is most powerfully written; the author again puts the reader into the life and hearts of the characters.

"The bigger the issue, the smaller you write" claims Richard Price. We read for many reasons but one essential purpose is to learn about our world, including its history, and develop empathy for others.

Weekend Pick for November 29, 2024

11/29/2024

Weekend Pick for November 29, 2024

Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez

Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez concludes November Weekend Picks. To remind our readers, she is an assistant professor and the director of English Education at North Dakota State University. She is in her 15th year of teaching and loves it just as much now as she did on day one. She has taught and worked with pre- and in-service teachers in Montana (very rural), Arkansas (urban), Arizona (urban and rural), and, now, North Dakota (urban and rural). She has been a member of NCTE since 2008, and is a strong supporter of professional organizations like NCTE, its state affiliates, and ALAN. Her research interests include teacher education, rural teacher support, YAL, and methods of teaching reading. She can be reached at [email protected]

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg

Destination Unknown by Bill Konigsberg is the novel you didn’t know you needed. I started it and was absolutely unable to stop reading it; in fact, I may need to go reread it right now. Micah is a young person growing up in New York City in the late 1980s. He knows two things: he knows he’s gay, and he knows he doesn’t want to die from AIDS. The problem is that he has no idea how to be gay and not die from AIDS at the same time. In his quest to become himself, he finds CJ Gorman: “the ‘like’ interest,” “the ‘love’ interest,” definitely “the interest” for Micah. CJ is gay, out, and living life to the fullest, everything Micah wishes he could be and do. Destination Unknown portrays life for two young men who need, more than anything, love, support, and guidance, as they try to become the people they want and need to be.

This book is for you if you are interested in YAL that addresses contemporary issues through a more historical (OMG, are the 1980s historical?!) lens: parental relationships, friendship dynamics, the importance of role models, safe sex, coming out, and love for oneself. In addition, Destination Unknown is for you if you are interested in learning more about what it was truly like to live during/through the AIDS epidemic. You can learn more about New York City, ACT UP, and medical care for AIDS patients. And you will be inspired to research more about the history of the pink triangle and the SILENCE = DEATH images that were and are so integral to LGBTQIA2S+ activist movement.

Bill Konigsberg

Bill Konigsberg is an amazingly kind, brilliant, funny person and a talented writer of many genres. More than anything, Bill is an advocate for young people. He has won awards, including the Stonewall Award, which recognizes books that honor and truthfully share the experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. Bill’s advocacy for young people and their rights led to the creation by ALAN of the Bill Konigsberg Award for Acts and Activism for Equity and Inclusion through Young Adult Literature. His actions and words inspire others to speak and act, and I hope this book will inspire you to speak out and act up.

I want to thank Rebecca and her students for all of their book suggestions throughout November.
To our readers, we'll be here next Friday.

Stay well and keep reading,
Leilya

Weekend Pick for November 22, 2024

11/22/2024

Weekend Pick for November 22, 2024

Abby Moe

Meet Abby Moe, another student of Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez, who is generously helping us to provide book suggestions in November. Abby is in her fourth and final year at North Dakota State University. She is majoring in English Education and is looking forward to starting student teaching in the spring! Abby is originally from Eagan, Minnesota, and cannot wait to teach middle school and high school English in the Twin Cities area. She loves reading YA books and romcoms in her free time. Abby reminds our readers about her favorite book, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
If you haven't read it yet, it might be just the right time to pick it it up.

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Firekeeper’s Daughter written by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) is a Young Adult novel following an 18 year old hockey player named Daunis. Taking place in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on Ojibwe land, Daunis is left in shambles after many of her classmates are struck by tragedy through drug addiction and abuse. There is something going on in her small town, and there seems to be secrets surrounding who is involved in making and dealing lethal meth to minors in their community. It is up to Daunis to find the mole and stop the destruction in her town. She teams up with the FBI and finds out secrets about her community and her family.

Angeline Boulley

Once I was into this story, I literally couldn’t put it down! Angeline Boulley’s writing is so immersive and beautiful. Daunis is a fantastic main character who makes me laugh; she is strong and also stands up for herself and others around her. Firekeeper’s Daughter is a mystery thriller with themes of belonging, friendship, and perseverance. I thoroughly enjoyed Boulley’s novel, and I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series. I recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for an inspiring story of family and the empowering meaning of being a part of the Ojibwe community.

Weekend Pick for November 15, 2024

11/15/2024

Weekend Pick for November 15, 2024

Lexy Nelson

Meet our next contributor, Lexy Nelson, who is a 4th year senior studying Nutrition Science and Neuroscience at North Dakota State University. When she is not investing time and energy into her STEM degree, she loves to read and learn. She has always has a passion for reading and investing in building her own personal library. Taking a break from focusing heavily on sciences has allowed her to be opened up to the world of literature and movements/groups in favor of keeping reading alive, diverse and accessible. She loves to learn and expand her understanding about herself, others and the world and will keep using literature, writing and science to do so. She can be contacted at [email protected] or follow her Goodreads Lexy Nelson to keep up with her reading.

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell

Looking For Smoke is a book that I wasn’t looking for, but one that I needed. I really wanted to read a book that reflected the season of fall and luckily, I stumbled upon Looking For Smoke.
This debut novel by K.A. Cobell (Blackfeet Nation) is full of twists, whodunnits and suspense. If you are looking for a fast-paced mystery/thriller that will make you feel deeply and craving to learn about Indigenous communities and culture, this is the perfect book for you. Looking For Smoke follows four different teenage Blackfoot Community members during Indian Days held by the Blackfoot Reservation. We get to see all these characters: the new girl Mara, class clown Brody, grief-stricken sister Loren, and tough guy Eli, as they grieve a missing member of their community and try to solve the murder of another. This novel had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was causing such grief and fear in this Indigenous community. I found it empowering and powerful learning more about the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women’s epidemic (MMIW) and getting a glimpse into Blackfoot culture.
You can learn more about the novel and purchase your own copy here https://kacobell.com/ at K.A. Cobell’s Website. Join our characters as they grieve, heal and piece together who is causing harm to their community.

Weekend pick for November 8, 2024

11/8/2024

Weekend pick for November 8, 2024

Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez

Welcome to the second November Weekend Pick!
Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez is an assistant professor and the director of English Education at North Dakota State University, where she is living her dream, teaching Methods courses and Young Adult Literature and mentoring preservice English teachers. She is in her 15th year of teaching and loves it just as much now as she did on day one. She has taught and worked with pre- and in-service teachers in Montana (very rural), Arkansas (urban), Arizona (urban and rural), and, now, North Dakota (urban and rural).

She has been a member of NCTE since 2008, and is a strong supporter of professional organizations like NCTE, its state affiliates, and ALAN. Her research interests include teacher education, rural teacher support, YAL, and methods of teaching reading. She can be reached at [email protected]

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Hearts Unbroken literally dropped into my life this month. I was walking to the faculty lounge from my office, and I passed by our department’s table of free books and there it was: a book I had been longing to read but hadn’t yet had the chance to! I picked it up without hesitation, took it back to my office, and, once I started it, I couldn’t put it down!

Cynthia Leitich Smith

If you are hoping to read a book about friendship, family, and the importance of home, this book is for you. I absolutely love the way Cynthia (Mvskoke) centers characters in her books. In Hearts Unbroken, we follow Louise Wolfe as she enters her senior year at East Hannesburg High. She’s just broken up with the most popular guy at school (just ask him!), and all she wants is to do well this year and become a top journalist for the school’s newspaper, The Hive. When the new drama teacher announces that she’ll be taking an “inclusive approach” to all future casting for performances, she creates a domino effect forcing Louise, her family, her school, and her community into a reckoning with the community’s less-than-inclusive history. Join Louise through the twists and turns of the first few months of school; there are some stormy days, but there’s definitely a rainbow at the end of them. [More on Hearts Unbroken at the end of the month in Rebecca’s Wednesday post!]
You can read the synopsis and find an excerpt from the book here (https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/ya-books/ya_index/hearts-unbroken/ ) on Cynthia’s website.

Weekend Pick for November 1, 2024

11/1/2024

Weekend Pick for November 1, 2024

Let me introduce our guest contributor for the month of November. This month's book suggestions will be provided by Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez, an assistant professor and the director of English Education at North Dakota State University, and here students, Dariana Gunderson, Abby Moe, and Lexy Nelson.

Dariana Gunderson

The first suggestion is brought to you by Dariana Gunderson, a senior at North Dakota State University, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English Education with a minor in Creative Writing. She also is the current President of the English Honor Society, and she co-leads a creative writing group on campus. She is originally from Taylors Falls, Minnesota. She has been reading books since she was a little kid and has been writing about as long as well. Her go-to genre is fantasy and romance. Her favorite days are when she is able to curl up on the couch with a good book and one of her four cats by her side.

The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs

Need a perfectly spooky new read as you transition from October to November? The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk) is the book for you! In her debut novel, Isaacs weaves Native American folklore with teenage drama. I was originally drawn to this book because it was brand new, just released from Heartdrum. Not only did the cover appeal to me, as it is very spooky looking, but also the description. I wanted to branch out with my reading genres as well, so I wanted to try reading a horror novel.

Cheryl Isaacs

The Unfinished follows Avery an Indigenous teenage athlete whose curiosity really kills the cat (almost literally). When Avery takes the wrong turn down a trail in the woods, she is faced with a mysterious force that haunts her and starts causing people to disappear. The mysterious force, known as the black water, is something only known in Avery’s Kanyen’keha:ka relatives’ tales. However, Avery knows nothing about these stories as she is disconnected from her Indigenous heritage. When her best friend, Key, has also gone missing, Avery has to make a difficult, life altering decision: listen to her Kanyen’keha:ka relatives and lose her best friend forever or risk everything and save Key.

This book is full of twists, turns, and teenage drama. You will be at the edge of your seat while reading this book just wondering what is going to happen next.

You can read the full synopsis of this book on Cheryl Isaacs website at https://cherylisaacs.ca/books/ .

Weekend Pick for October 25, 2024

10/25/2024

Weekend Pick for October 25, 2024

I would like to thank Katherine Higgs-Coulthard and her students, Emma Olsick and Hannah Mortensen for the October Weekend Picks! I appreciate your book suggestions, but more so your generosity and time commitment to these blog posts.

Hannah Mortensen

Hannah Mortensen is a senior elementary education student at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame. She grew up with a passion for reading, often devouring two to three books a week. In high school, the busyness got in the way of reading and she quickly fell into a reading slump. As a sophomore at Saint Mary’s, Hannah and her friends started a book club, the SMC Bookworms, as a way to continue reading for fun. Since the foundation of the club, membership has grown from five to over seventy.

How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

Alice Lawrence loves watching horror movies…not living in them. When her sister and friends drag her to a Halloween party, Alice’s life is forever changed. She becomes the only witness to her sister's murder. On the day of Alice’s testimony, she is taken back in time to the night that replays itself in her nightmares every night since that fateful event. Now, Alice has the chance to change history and save her sister. As she races against the clock, will Alice be able to save her sister and others from the killer?

Danielle Valentine

Author Danielle Valentine keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Just when you thought you knew what would happen, you realize you don’t. Capturing the audience isn’t the only thing Valentine does well, integrating discussion of stereotyping and inclusion is prominent in the writing. Valentine also connects a variety of movie references relating the character to the reader. How to Survive Your Murder is the perfect book to curl up with by the fireplace. If you are looking for the not-so-spooky you’ll have nightmares but still keeps you on your toes book, add this to your list!

Stay safe and come back next week for more reading suggestions!

Leilya Pitre, Ph. D. is an Assistant Professor of English Education at Southeastern Louisiana University. She teaches methods courses for preservice teachers, linguistics, American and Young Adult Literature courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Her research interests include teacher preparation, secondary school teaching, and teaching and research of Young Adult literature. Together with her friend and colleague, Mike Cook, she co-authored a two-volume edition of Teaching Universal Themes Through Young Adult Novels (2021). Her latest edited and co-authored book, Where Stars Meet People: Teaching and Writing Poetry in Conversation (2023) invites readers to explore and write poetry.

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