Son of Hamas

 
Son of Hamas, by Mosab Hassan Yousef

ISBN:  9781414333083
Carol Stream, Ill:  SaltRiver, 2010

Subject addressed - This is an autobiography of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the original founders of the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas.  The story is complex, but the outline of his life is fairly simple.  He was raised in a loving home with a burning awareness of the Israeli enemy in his back yard, building walled communities, the Settlements, that his people considered illegal according to a peace agreement signed before he was even born.  He was a dedicated believer in jihad, or Muslim Holy War, when he was arrested by the Israelis, thrown into prison, and tortured.  A very strange thing happened then.  He was approached by the Shin Bet, the very Israeli secret agency that arrested him, asking if he'd be interested in becoming a spy for Israel.  This is the story of his journey through constant life-threatening situations after deciding what to do with such an audacious offer.

Critical Evaluation - This book is engrossing.  It is an autobiography, and so unapologetic in its bias in fact presentation.  Taking Yousef at his word or not, it is an amazing story of a childhood and young adulthood surrounded by and experiencing horrible violence and then choosing a very, very different road.  It is co-written with Ron Brackin, and the style is straightforward with no sentimentality, but the simple presentation of facts is terrifying and engrossing on its own, much like some of Dave Eggers's work.

Reader's annotation - Yousef is the son of one of the founders of one of the world's deadliest terror organizations, and when he was asked to spy for the other side, he knows he is being asked to betray everyone, most especially his hero, his loving father.
Information about the author - In addition to the information already given, Yousef became a Christian, a awful blasphemy in his family's eyes, and took Jesus's teachings of compassion and love for ones enemy quite literally.  He says that this is what has sustained him while separated both geographically and emotionally from his family.  His work was responsible for the thwarting of many suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks.  He is currently living in exile in the United States, but hopes to return to Palestine when there is peace.
Curriculum Ties - Ethics classes for upper classpersons; History of the Israeli/Palestinian wars
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Read a short section from Yousef's young life harrassing Settlers.  Begin on pg. 23 with, "A friend and I hid again another day..." and end on pg. 24 with "I hadn't gone very far when I felt my feet fall out from underneath me."
2. Read a bit from the section where Yousef is first arrested and hears the Leonard Cohen song over and over again.  Begin on pg. 70 with "Through the thick steel door,..." and end on pg. 71 with, "...forcing me to lean forward."

Reading level - 16+  This is an intense book, but not hard to read for young adults.  The politics and scenes of torture are too much for an audience any younger than 16.

Challenge issues - political issues surrounding the Palestinian/Israeli war; violence; family betrayal

Challenge defense ideas:

• Librarian must read the book carefully and include it as a resource intended for older teens.
• Librarian greets students and regularly discusses their reading choices; she provides individualized, age-appropriate guidance in book choice.
• Explain the ways in which the librarian accompanies and guides younger students looking for books, and knows students well as individuals. 

Why I included this book - It's a riveting story and an important one to be told.  Using it as part of a History or English class regarding literature from conflict would be fantastic.  It will engender much discussion about whether or not Yousef is representing his own history accurately or not, and is a fantastic launching point for more research about the area.  

Slaughterhouse Five

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

ISBN:  9780385333849
New York:  Rosetta Books, 2000
Kindle edition
Warning--this review is influenced strongly by Vonnegut's writing and so may not satisfy the reader's need for clear interpretation of the text as a choice for the YA audience.  On the other hand, I see no way other than what I've written here to describe what I think should be a required experience, not just a book, for young readers over the age of 16.

Plot - This is a very difficult book to summarize because time and space are not in their usual order.  Meet Billy Pilgrim.  He's a time traveller.  Well, he's a person who's kidnapped by the Tralfamadorians, put on exhibit, and taught the true nature of things, which is that past, present, and future are all around us all the "time."  Billy was in "Slaughterhouse-Five," the name of a holding building for prisoners, when the Allies bombed Dresden because....  That's the central question of the novel, though it's not pursued as a normal question might be because there is no answer out there to find.  Why would the winning team kill over 100,000 utterly innocent civilians in a stunningly beautiful city with bombs that exploded into fire for no strategic purpose whatsoever?  Vonnegut himself experienced this bombing as a prisoner and speaks in the book about the reality of it.  Billy Pilgrim, though, can't get out.  He's perpetually swinging through time, back to Tralfamadore, back to Dresden, back to outer space, all with an unperturbed acceptance of what we would call the absurdity of the whole adventure.  But that's Vonnegut's point--only an absurd sense can possibly witness such a massacre and keep breathing by choice. 

Critical Evaluation -This book has a gentle, rocking pace through devastation and humor.  It's a masterpiece of organization, no, of construction.  How Vonnegut was able, finally, to take his tragic memories of more than 20 years before, combine them with his absurdist science fiction vision, and wrap them up in a story that moves like a gentle river through a forest fire is beyond me.  But he did it, and the book is not only heart wrenching, it's really fun.  There are points that are laugh-out-loud funny, just enough to prime the reader for a good kick in the belly.  War never got such a bad rep.

Reader's annotation - Billy Pilgrim is experiencing PTSD, but in his case, he's not just scattered emotionally; he's being dragged through time and space and just can't stop ending up in that horrible scene where the whole world is on fire.
Information about the author - Kurt Vonnegut was born in 1922 and died in 2007.  He was an American, born in Indianapolis, where there is now a Kurt Vonnegut Library.  Some of the very best information about him comes from graduation speeches he gave throughout his career.  He believed teacher was the "noblest of all professions in a democracy" (graduation speech at Agnes Scott College, 1999), and that forgiveness and understanding were the ultimate, first, and last things we should teach our children.  His own mother committed suicide on Mother's Day in 1944.

Curriculum Ties - History, English
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Read a section about the bombing itself.  Stop before the gore gets too much.
2. Simply fill the listeners in on the firebombing of Dresden.

Reading level -16+  I believe this book is taught to younger students sometimes, but it shouldn't be.  It's very heavy and very light, and to get both of these in turns, the readers needs a good dose of maturity.  Into 11th and 12th grades is where I would really recommend it.

Challenge issues -violence, stupidity of Allied forces

Challenge defense ideas:

• Librarian must read the book carefully and include it as a resource intended for older teens.
• Librarian greets students and regularly discusses their reading choices; she provides individualized, age-appropriate guidance in book choice.
• Explain the ways in which the librarian accompanies and guides younger students looking for books, and knows students well as individuals. 

Why I included this book - It's a life-changing book, if it hits the person at just the right time.  Otherwise, it's a sometimes funny, sometimes wrenching story that's worth the read.

Oh. My. Gods

Oh. My. Gods, by Tera Lynn Childs

ISBN: 9780142414200
New York : Dutton Children's Books, 2008

Plot - Phoebe loves to run.  It reminds her of being with her dad, who's been gone for six years.  But for the life of him, her coach, who's seen the best of the best at her age, can't figure out how she does it so seemingly effortlessly.  No matter, though, Phoebe's this close to a full ride scholarship to her dream school, USC, after a fantastic showing at her running summer camp before senior year.  Her mother's waiting for her at the finish line of the most important race and that's just wrong.  Her mother is supposed to still be in Greece meeting her dad's big family.  Her mother is definitely not supposed to be saying the words, "I'm getting remarried" or certainly not "we're moving to Greece."  But it happens. Phoebe is stuck on an island called Serfopoula where, she learns quickly, not only is her new step dad the head of school, all the students are descendants of real live Greek gods.  So much for trying to keep up her 3.5 GPA or her running skills in any recognized competitive way.  To make matters worse, her step sister, Stella, has it out for her and her main competition on the track is entirely too gorgeous to completely hate, though he definitely deserves it.  Still, Phoebe is not going to give up on her dreams..it's just going to be a little harder and involve a little bit of something extra she never expected.

Critical Evaluation - This is ChickLit at its fluffy best.  Phoebe, her nemesis and crush, Griffin, Stella, and even Phoebe's mom are all developed only as far as they need to be in order to carry the plot and make for a good story.  And the story is good.  It's certainly and obviously born from The Lightening Thief's success, but Childs adds a distinct and worthwhile element in Phoebe's love of running.  Her competitive spirit and pur joy when she's on the track lends an edge to her character that will make her identifiable to many sports-loving girls.  The plot moves quickly, and although it's thin there are twists that keep it interesting to the end.

Reader's annotation -Phoebe is the best of the best until she has to compete against athletes whose ancestors were gods! 
Genre - YA nonfiction
Curriculum Ties - none
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Set the stage for story in which champion runner with perfect best friends has to leave it all behind but keep her vision clearly set on returning and claiming what should be hers.
2. Read a bit from the scene where Troy gives Phoebe a feather, pg. 78.  It's a beautiful description of her experience running.

Reading level -12+  Yes, it's a fluff read for even a 12 or 13 year old, but it's also a lot of fun as a quick break for a stressed-out 17 year old staring down 15 college apps. 

Challenge issues -none
Why I included this book - As I remarked in the reading level section, above, this is a fun book, plain and simple.  It's a quick read for an older girl, and a great one for a reluctant reader.  I believe we need these in the midst of other, more weighty books we can really sink our teeth into.

Son of the Mob

Son of the Mob, by Gordon Korman

ISBN:  9780786815937
New York:  Hyperion, 2004

Plot - Does a girl really want to date a guy who goes to the back of his car to get a blanket to share with you, and there's an unconscious body wrapped up in it?  Or, how easy is it for said guy to impress girls with his athletic prowess on the football field when all of his (many) touchdowns are actually made because everyone's too scared of the guy's dad to block him?  Vince Luca is said guy, and he wants nothing to do with what has everything to do with his life--his dad's in the "vending machine" business (read, Mob Boss).  Vince gets great grades (because his Dad has paid off the teachers), and a Porsche for his birthday (turns out it's hot, and Vince gets arrested for it), but can't do anything to get out from under the All Mob All the Time family life.  Then he meets Kendra, a tough kid working tooth and nail to shed the image and life she gets to bear as the daughter of an FBI agent, the FBI agent, in fact, who is tracking Vince's dad and has both their houses bugged.  The two fall in love and have to find a way to stay together despite their fathers'...differences and the level of truth they're willing to share with each other.

Critical Evaluation - This is pure silly business and it's highly entertaining.  The plot is relatively simple in the overall picture, but Korman manages to throw in enough surprises to make it highly entertaining and surprising throughout.  Characters are characters, not necessarily deep individuals the reader is likely to remember for themselves alone.  That said, Vince and Kendra in particular are developed well enough to create some very funny dichotomies between them, and excellent dialogue.  The story is fast paced throughout, and a light, fun read.

Reader's annotation - His father is a mob boss and her father is an FBI agent--the FBI agent, it turns out--sound pretty simple?  Not by a long shot.
Information about the author - Gordon Korman has written over 50 books for young people, having had his first published when he was only 14!  His secret to life, and what he really thinks makes the world go round is humor.  He did have to curtail this reaction to life, though, when he wrote his Island trilogy since it was about kids who'd survived a shipwreck; for that, he had to come up with other page-turning devices such as fear and suspense.  When he was two, his first career ambition was to grow up to be a dog.

Genre - YA fiction (This book may belong to a "ChuckLit" genre--like Chicklit, but for guys)

Curriculum Ties - none
Booktalk ideas - 

1.  Read the ending of the short bad-date scene at the beginning, starting with "She kisses me..." through to "...his thin lipped mouth lets out a little moan."  It's hilarious and leaves you wanting more.
2. Read a snippet from the scene where Kendra accuses Vince of being ashamed of her and they have their first fight.

Reading level - I agree with the 12+ consensus, but emphasize that it's worth pulling off the shelf to casually lie in the path of reluctant readers through 12th grade.
Challenge issues -none
Why I included this book - I've included it as a Gordon Korman representative in a way, and because of its place in what I've now termed, ChuckLit.  It's very funny and incredibly easy to read in the sense that the story flows along like a good log ride at Disneyland.  An excellent part of any reluctant reader collection. 

The Compound

The Compound, by S.A. Bodeen

ISBN:  9780312578602
New York : Feiwel and Friends, 2008

Plot - Eli's father has saved them all--a nuclear bomb as hit near Seattle and, thank heavens, Mr. Takanaki has a huge, fully equipped living space for them all to rush into, with a time lock on the massive door to keep them safely hidden for 15 years until the air is acceptable to breath "up top."  The only problem right away is that Eli's twin brother, Eddy, and their grandmother have been left behind, unable to get to safety soon enough.  Eli and his sisters have all they could want, though, supplied by the copious amounts of money and time his father has spent in anticipation of their need.  Eli is spoiled with all the music and digital entertainment he could dream of, a personal gym to work out in (as he's nine when the enter, his father knew teen years were coming), and Eli acts like it.  He's selfish and brooding at times, but sometimes he doesn't just brood on his own misfortune in the face of not having what he wants.  Sometimes he can't help but doubt the reality of what's been happening to him and his family for six years underground and under the complete control of his father.  Slowly, the situation begins to deteriorate for the group--food becomes scarce, light sources are on the fritz, and Eli's dad really seems to be losing it.  When Eli finds his brother's laptop and accidentally discovers an Internet connection, his fears are increased exponentially, if not completely confirmed.  Eli's family's need turns from surviving an external disaster to surviving the reign of terror that his father is revealed to be running.  They must get out, and Eli must grow up enough to help his mother and sisters escape.

Critical Evaluation -  This fun ride moves like lightening once it's about one third of the way through.  Eli's character, really a pretty spoiled kid, is developed thoroughly through the first part of the book, without much in the way of plot movement.  Though, in retrospect, the reader will remember tiny hints placed around Eli and his world when we first get to know him.  The other characters are round enough to make a good story, but not memorable in and of themselves.  Once Eli discovers the outside world is actually there and in good shape, the story takes off into terrifying and unexpected directions.  The finish is breath-taking.

Reader's annotation - What would you do for 15 years locked underground after a nuclear bomb destroys your city?  On the other hand, what would you do if you thought your dad had way too many secrets locked away with you and your family underground for 15 years?
Information about the author - S.A. Bodeen is a YA and children's author who loves to read YA distopian novels more than any other genre.  She grew up in a very conservative style in a small school, and loved to read Stephen King novels, which she had to sneak in to the house. She's also a huge science fiction fan, and loves X-Files reruns.  She believes firmly that characters need flaws to be revealed right off the bat in a story in order to make them realistic, the more heroic the character, the more she wants to reveal his or her imperfections first.

Genre - YA sci-fi fantasy/distopian fiction

Curriculum Ties - none
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Read pg. 13-14, where Eli describes not being "Dad's biggest fan."  Begins to plant doubts in the listeners' minds, and fears of the big, crazy dad.
   
2. What could someone possibly do to assure that forever there would be enough food in a completely locked, underground compound?
   

Reading level - 14+  The text is certainly readable before 14, but what with the cannibalism references and scary dad violence, I would edge into the older teen realm with this one.  Fun and engaging through high school.

Challenge issues - references to cannibalism, violence

Challenge defense ideas:

• Librarian must read the book carefully and include it as a resource intended for older teens.
• Librarian greets students and regularly discusses their reading choices; she provides individualized, age-appropriate guidance in book choice.
• Explain the ways in which the librarian accompanies and guides younger students looking for books, and knows students well as individuals.

Why I included this book - It's an award winner, recommended by NovelList, having won many state library awards, as a debut novel, and having been chosen as one of ALA's Quick Picks for Young Adults.  Other than attesting to the quality of the writing and how truly breathtaking the plot becomes, I assume the awards also reflect how much fun it is to see Eli mature into a hero.  It's not all wild successes and selfless acts of heroism being a teenage boy, and sometimes the ones you least expect it from turn out to save the day. 

Sitting Bull and His World

Sitting Bull and His World, by Albert Marrin

ISBN:  978-0525459446
New York:  Dutton Children's Books, 2000

Plot - Sitting Bull's life story is told here as it played out within the history of his people and the land they lived on.  The Lakota leader's youth was filled with tests of bravery and skill, all of which he passed through as a .  The story of his life is told in the beginning by tracing his son's birth and growing up amongst the Lakota warrior boys. We learn of his youth and watch as his skill and experience build into a personal wisdom that his people begin to notice and follow.  Finally, Sitting Bull's later years are revealed, including his victory at the Battle of Little Big Horn where he led a huge group of warriors to crush General Custer's troops, and we see a man who in essence followed all the rules of life that had been put before him, passed the tests, and wrote new ones for posterity.  He did not, however, receive training in deceit as a warrior or a leader.  This is what the author reveals was his downfall, and Sitting Bull was astute enough to recognize it immediately and to speak to it with other nations.  The whites' willingness to break simple agreements and official treaties as a tool of war was something Sitting Bull never expected, and what brought his ability to lead his people to a final halt. 

Critical Evaluation - Albert Marrin tells a long and complicated life story as a series of captivating history lessons.  The reader learns as much about the world in which Sitting Bull grew up, formed into the leader he became, and ultimately was defeated as about the man himself.  Presenting Sitting Bull's life in the way allows the author to reveal so much more about the character than would be possible only focusing on his single life story.  The reader is informed about the world that shaped Sitting Bull, including many elements of Lakota life that have appeared barbaric since the first European witnessed them.  From there, Marrin explicates his vision of the primary differences in world view between Sitting Bull's people and the newcomers.  Through the text the reader learns that differing practices between the groups really grew out of radically different world views, and Marrin communicates clearly his perspective that cohabitation on the plains of North America was simply not ever a possibility.  He does not, however, leave it all up to relativism; Marrin judges the whites' use of deception harshly.  The language is accessible to young people but certainly not elementary, and the plot, as it were, is engaging.  It's a page-turner. 

Reader's annotation - A boy grows up to fulfill his society's every image and requirement of a leader; he is brave and intelligent beyond his years and becomes an extremely effective leader to thousands, but his people now live in abject poverty.  What happened to unhinge this leader's grip on control over his beloved nation's safety?
Information about the author - Dr. Albert Marrin is professor of History at Yeshiva University in New York.  He has published a very large collection of books on history and biographies for young readers since 1967.  He grew up reading the Arabian Nights, and has gotten the most joy throughout his life as a storyteller of history more than as a scholar.  It is the stories within the time lines that really interest him, and so he has continued for over 40 years to aim his history lessons at young readers who love to hear a good story.  He lives in New York with his wife, Yvette.

Genre - YA nonfiction

Curriculum Ties - History of the Plains Indians and European western expansion
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Read a section representative of Marrin's explication of the differences between the groups.  Start on pg. 63 with "Emigrants changed the land itself." and end with "Native Americans believed in the unity and sanctity of nature."
   
2. Read the opening section describing the birth of Sitting Bull's son.  End on pg. 16 with "Nobody had the right to do his or her 'own thing.'"  Elicit quick feedback on this concept in relation to a close-knit society.
   

Reading level - 13+  I put a higher age on this book than School Library Journal because the style of story-telling text will be most enjoyed, I think, by an older audience with the patience and interest to enjoy it.  The material is useful for research for students through high school.

Challenge issues -none
Why I included this book - It won the Carter C. Woodson award in 2001 for books for young people, that deal with racial or ethnic issues, and it is truly a great story.  The writing pulls the reader forward, waiting to see what happens next or how things worked for the Indians and emigrants of the time.  Much more than just an outline of a person's time on earth, this really is a treasure trove of understanding about the man, Sitting Bull, and the world around him.

No Easy Answers: Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement

No Easy Answers:  Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement, by Calvin Craig Miller

ISBN 10:  1931798435
Greensboro, N.C. : Morgan Reynolds Pub., 2005

Subject addressed - Bayard Rustin is the subject of this biography, and a figure virtually unknown in most studies about the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1940's through the 1960's.  Rustin was raised by his grandmother, a Quaker, as another of her children and was taught the Quaker ways of nonviolence, respect for all human beings, and a life of service.  He grew up in Pennsylvania and so although he knew racism as a child, it was nothing compared to what he would grow up to experience in the deep south.  As a  young man, he joined a Communist league, but became disillusioned with the group when it came out strongly against racial integration in the miliary.  Although he was a member of a Quaker meeting, deemed by the federal government a "peace church," when World War II broke out and therefore free to be excused from service as a conscientious objector, Rustin did not take this opportunity.  Instead, he simply refused to participate on his own moral grounds.  He was arrested, as he anticipated, and sent to prison in Kentucky where he first encountered the hatred and violence of racism and where he began to build resistance to it using nonviolence. He stayed out of the limelight for the most part, but was specifically removed from any place near it after a 1953 incident in which he was arrested for public indecency because of anti-gay laws.  From that point, he became the Civil Rights Movement's behind the scenes educator on nonviolent resistance--travelling to India to study Ghandian methods, advising Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and masterminding the famous 1963 March on Washington where King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.  Lyndon Johnson called Rustin to Washington after King was assassinated specifically to learn from him how to handle the incident on the national scale.  And in the 1980s, Rustin advised Lech Wolenska's Solidarity movement in Poland. 

Critical Evaluation - Miller tells the story of Rustin's life based on his growing up to be the main organizer behind the March on Washington; the book begins and ends with this event.  His writing is clear and obviously intended for audiences of many ages, but he does not use elementary prose.  The stories are intriguing and colorful, and the tone is obviously very admiring of this individual.  Miller certainly includes Rustin's being gay and the flap it caused among his colleagues and his detractors, but the author is true to Rustin's take on it that it did not define him by any means.  Black and white photos throughout illustrate the life and times of this figure, and although some of the text is somewhat cramped, the layout is easy to follow and visually pleasing.  Overall, an informative and well executed biography for young and old alike.

Reader's annotation - Have you ever heard of Bayard Rustin?  Neither had Martin Luther King Jr., or President Lyndon Johnson, or those looking to have a big showing for civil rights in Washington D.C. in 1963--until Bayard Rustin taught them all how to what they wanted to do all without violence.
Information about the author - Calvin Craig Miller is a biographer whose other books include, Che Guevara: In Search of Revolution, Roy Wilkins: Leader of the Naacp, and A. Philip Randolph: And the African-American Labor Movement.  I have not been able to find any other information on this author.
Genre - YA nonfiction

Curriculum Ties - Social studies (history of gay civil rights), History
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Introduce the Quaker concepts of service and nonviolence and ask where these might show up in history that the kids already know about.  Place Rustin in that picture for them, most likely for the first time, as King's adviser.
   
2. Read the short section describing what Rustin had to go through to organize the March on Washington.
   

Reading level - 12+  Although this book is readable easily by 12 year olds, the subject and prose are also fascinating and engaging for readers through high school.

Challenge issues - homosexuality

Challenge defense ideas:

• Librarian must read the book carefully and include it as a resource intended for older teens.
• Librarian greets students and regularly discusses their reading choices; she provides individualized, age-appropriate guidance in book choice.
• Explain the ways in which the librarian accompanies and guides younger students looking for books, and knows students well as individuals. 

Why I included this book - The book is informative on so many different levels--Quaker values and the Quaker contribution to U.S. History, Rustin's deep influence on the entire nonviolent Civil Rights Movement worldwide, gay rights issues.  It's equally as broadly appropriate for different audiences.  I include it for these reasons and because the more teens know about what was happening behind the scenes in big historical shifts, the more they can imagine themselves active parts of these movements in democracy, whether or not they're born leaders.