Ice Princess [DVD] 2005

Wilson III, William W. (Executive Producer), & Fywell, Tim (Director). (2005). Ice Princess [Motion picture]. US: Walt Disney Studios.

17-year-old physics whiz Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) is urged by her physics teacher to work on a physics project over the summer for presentation to Harvard. As a skater, Casey decides on a project that shows the elements of physics applied in competitive figure skating. To start, she visits a skating club run by former professional skater Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall). Casey eventually finds that in order to better understand the principles she’s using, she will have to become her own test subject, and joins the skating school. The more she gets involved, the more she falls in love with figure skating….and must ultimately make a choice; Will it be Harvard – which her mother (Joan Cusack) and Casey have both dreamed of, or will it be her new dream – as a competitive figure skater?

My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade

My Chemical Romance. (2006). Welcome to the Black Parade [CD]. Burbank, CA: Reprise Records.

The Black Parade is the third studio album release of My Chemical Romance. It is a concept album classified as a rock opera centering on a character known as “the Patient” who dies over the course of the album. The album presents the story of his passage out of life, and his subsequent reflection on his life.

Seventeen Magazine – September 2007

Seventeen Magazine, September 2007

The content of Seventeen includes information and advice about fashion and trends, celebrities, beauty – skincare, hair and make-up – and lifestyles. It also has a health section about nutrition and exercise, a sex and body section, and quizzes and horoscopes. The article length is kept deliberately brief, high quality photographs emphasize regular celebrity and clothing themes and it is well supported by advertising keen to reach the big-spending demographic of fourteen to early-twenty-year-olds.

Fairest – Gail Carson Levine

 

Levine, Gail Carson. (2006). Fairest. New York: HarperCollins Publishing.

Recommendation source: It was a book chosen for the LSC 531 Materials Promotion Project
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: After a chance encounter with a duchess at her family’s inn, fifteen-year-old Aza is invited to attend the royal wedding. There she is befriended by the beautiful but manipulative new queen. Aza quickly becomes an accomplice to her deceptions, but when their tricks are discovered, Aza is the one who must flee from the castle to save her life.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Family Guy – Blue Harvest

MacFarlane, S. (September 23, 2007). Blue Harvest, Family Guy. Fox.

Family Guy is a prime example of a cult cartoon. The show was originally cancelled after it’s third season, only to come back three years later when there was enough a following to get it back on the air. In this sixth season premeire, the writers of the show create a Star Wars special; molding together two very prolific fandoms. In this special, hour-long episode, Peter Griffin and family are reenacting the Star Wars saga to entertain themselves. It is full of witty remarks and clever statements made by the traditional family guy cast. It is another example of the comedic genius of producer Seth MacFarlane.

Beauty and the Geek

Kutcher, A., Goldberg, J., & Santora, N. (2005-present). Beauty and the Geek. The CW.

This Reality show teams up eight female beauties and eight male geeks in what is called “The Ultimate Social Experiment.” Each team consists of a male geek and a female beauty. Throughout the season the beauties and the geeks compete against the other teams to win the ultimate prize, $250,000 to split with their teammate. Each show of the season consists of challengies for the beauties and the geeks. Some will test the book smarts of the beauties while others test the social smarts of the geeks. Teams that win challenges are granted immunity from being voted off the show. Each episode results in the loss of one team until there is a winner.

The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

The Shins. (2007). Wincing the Night Away [CD]. Seattle, WA: Sub Pop Records.

The Shins first gained popularity when a selection of their songs appeared on the Garden State Soundtrack in 2004. They have a fun jingly sound and compelling lyrics that could interest any young adult listener.

Myspace.com – a place for friends

(2003-2007). Myspace.com: a place for friends. Retrieved December 6, 2007 from http://www.myspace.com.

Myspace is a place where users can create profiles and do a variety of other things such as, messaging other users, adding friends, creating bulletin posts, listen to music, post pictures and potentially dozens of other things. Myspace users have a main profile and they can then add people as friends and keep up with the events of their lives (or whatever information that user choses to include) through this remote Web site. Users can find new bands through myspace music and even up and coming comedians through myspace comedy. This extremely versatile site allows people to stay connected even when they are apart…such as when friends graduate and go away to separate colleges.

Last.fm – the social music revolution.

 

Miller, F., Stiksel, M., & Jones, R. (2002-2007).  Last.fm – The Social Music Revolution.  Retrieved December 6, 2007 from http://www.last.fm.

This revolutionary site allows users to download a program that will track and log songs that they listen to with certain media players already installed on the computer. Users can set up profiles where they can keep track of recently played songs, top played artists and various other statistics of their music listening habits. Once a member of the site (which is free!), users are able to add friends if they know their user name as well and meet new people who may or may not have similar music tastes. Last.fm is a way to connect with your friends along the most common of bonding elements; music.

The Sandman (Vol. 2): The Doll’s House – Neil Gaiman

Gaiman, N. (1995). The Sandman (Vol. 2): The Doll’s House. New York: DC Comics.

Recommendation source: The second volume of a Graphic Novel I previously enjoyed
Reading level: Grades 10-12
Brief summary: This second installment of the Sandman Graphic Novels is just as excellent as it’s predecessor. The themes of this series are slightly more mature and as such it is recommended for older students. In this volume of the story, Dream has his personal items back and is back in business as a creator of dreams. The main focus of this installment is Rose, granddaughter to Unity Kincaid (of Vol. 1). Rose and her mother are called to meet dying Unity, unaware of their relationship to her. Rose has a brother who has gone missing and Unity requests that she find him. Rose encounters Dream and she is told that she is a vortex and that creates several problems regarding the realms between dreams and the living.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The Sandman (Vol. 1): Preludes and Nocturnes – Neil Gaiman

 Gaiman, Neil.  (1995). The Sandman (Vol. 1): Preludes and Nocturnes. New York: DC Comics.

Recommendation source: A librarian at the Warwick Public Library
Reading level: Grades 10-12
Brief summary: An excellent graphic novel intended for an older audience. In this first volume, the reader is introduced to a variety of characters that are suffering because Dream has been captured from his immortal realm. Dream is held captive in the basement of a house for over 70 years and when he finally breaks free he must go on a journey to find three items that are essential to his being and ability to create dreams for others.
Librarians rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Death Note (Volume 2) – Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Ohba, Tsugumi & Obata, Takeshi. (2005). Death Note (Volume 2). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC.

Recommendation source: The following volume of a previous item choice that I enjoyed
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Light is learning more about the uses of the Death God’s notebook and he is truly testing the limits of it’s power. He knows that he can write somone’s name on the paper and they will die of a heart attack within moments unless he specifies the time and circumstances of the death. The Japanese police and FBI are searching for the person who has been killing individuals in Japan and Light panickes as they get close to finding him out.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Death Note (Volume 1) – Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

 

Ohba, Tsugumi & Obata, Takeshi. (2005). Death Note (Volume 1). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC.

Recommendation source: I watched the anime videos and enjoyed it so the novelization seemed to be a good place to find my first manga.
Reading level: Grades 9+
Brief summary: Light Yagami is a star pupil in Japan, always coming in at the top of his class. One day he finds a notebook on the ground that has fallen from the Realm of the Death Gods. Light takes the notebook and learns of it’s uses as Ryuk, the Death God that dropped the notebook, befriends him and enjoys watching the results of Light’s actions with the notebook.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang

 

Yang, Gene Luen. (2006). American Born Chinese. New York: First Second.

Recommendation source: Classmates from LSC 531, book promotions project
Awards: 2007 Printz award
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, a Chinese-American boy trying to fit in at his predominantly white school. Intelligent,
creative, and extremely funny, this book will draw readers in from the very
beginning and will impart some important lessons about cultural stereotypes
and self-acceptance.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth: a biography – Elizabeth Partridge

Partridge, Elizabeth. (2005). John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth: a biography. New York: Viking.

Recommendation source:
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: (from School Library Journal) Partridge cuts through the mythology and misinformation surrounding the life of the legendary singer/songwriter and goes a long way toward revealing the complexities of his personality. She relies heavily on Lennon’s own writings and the wealth of interviews he granted during his lifetime. What emerges is an unflinchingly honest portrait of a troubled, angry, and highly creative individual who was captivated by rock ‘n’ roll and often used it as a means of expressing his unhappiness and confusion. Partridge skillfully captures the amazing speed at which the Beatles were swept into astonishing popularity that led to an unrelenting schedule of touring, songwriting, and recording that slowed down only when touring became both too grueling and too dangerous. She doesn’t shy away from the sordid details of the band’s mercurial rise to fame and fortune but her nonjudgmental commentary focuses first and foremost on the music. Lennon’s life after the dissolution of the Beatles is explored in depth, as are Yoko Ono’s influence and the worldwide impact of his death.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories about Being a Guy

Mercado, Nancy (ed.) (2007). Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories about Being a Guy. New York: Speak.

Recommendation source: YALSA booklist
Reading level: Grade 8+
Brief summary: A collection of 10 short stories written by a variety of prominent male authors, such as; Walter Dean Myers, David Lubar, and Craig Thompson. These authors share stories that explore the aspects of young manhood. Though the collection is about young men, many readers, boys and girls alike, will welcome the glimpses into various male experiences.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott – Russell Freedman

Freedman, Russell. (2006). Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. New York: Holiday House.

Recommendation source: 2007 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults nominee
Reading level: Grades 5-7
Scholarly review: (School Library Journal) Freedman begins this outstanding history by reminding his audience that the injustices of racial segregation did not happen that long ago in the United States. Throughout the book, he gives accounts of how much coordination and sacrifice went into conducting the Montgomery Bus Boycott–far more than students are likely to imagine from the usual popular and oversimplified versions offered in textbooks and on television. There is a refreshing emphasis on depictions of regular people and forgotten local crusaders working together to make the boycott possible and triumphant, from inspiring descriptions of drivers getting up at dawn to take others to work to accounts of well-known civil-rights lawyers working to find the right plaintiff to challenge unjust laws. Freedman’s prose style pulls readers into the narrative, integrating the actual recorded words and deeds of the people to tell the story. The high-quality, black-and-white photographs range from everyday scenes of African-American boycotters meeting, waiting for carpools, and protesting to representations of more famous figures, such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Quinceañera: Celebrating Fifteen – Elizabeth King

King, Elizabeth. (1998). Quinceañera: Celebrating Fifteen. New York: Dutton.

Recommendation source: www.amazon.com
Reading level: Grades 5-8
Brief summary: Like a bat mitzvah or a sweet-16 party, the quinceanera is a coming-of-age ritual, and it takes place in the context of a Latina’s family and church. Its origins come from Aztec and Mexican customs transmuted through Spanish and Latino celebration. King follows and photographs two beautiful young women, Cindy Chavez and Suzi Prieto, as they prepare for turning 15. Cindy’s family is from El Salvador and Suzi’s from Mexico, so many of their choices for this combination party, religious event, and family festival are different, but both hold the religious part of their ceremony at the historic San Fernando Mission in California. Girls dreaming of their own coming-of-age parties will find lots to exclaim over.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦

Hole in My Life – Jack Gantos

Gantos, Jack (2002). Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Recommendation source:
Awards: 2002 National Book Award Finalist, 2002 Printz Award
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: In this memoir, Jack Gantos gives the reader a glimpse into his life as a wannabe writer. He had difficulty finding inspiration and ultimately made some bad decisions which led to his imprisonment. He signed on to smuggle drugs north up the Atlantic Coast and was caught upon his arrival in New York. His memoir is a gripping account of the events associated with this time of his life and the small sliver of hope he felt as he was released from prison.
Librarians rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Riding the Bus with my Sister – Rachel Simon

Simon, Rachel. (2002). Riding the Bus With My Sister: A True Life Journey. New York: Plume.

Recommendation source: A Rosie O’Donell recommended book.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Rachel Simon’s sister Beth is a spirited woman who lives intensely and often joyfully. Beth, who has mental retardation, spends her days riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. The drivers, a lively group, are her mentors; her fellow passengers are her community. One day, Beth asked Rachel to accompany her on the buses for an entire year. This wise, funny, deeply affecting book is the chronicle of that remarkable time. Rachel, a writer and college teacher whose hyperbusy life camouflaged her emotional isolation, had much to learn in her sister’s extraordinary world.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli

Spinelli, Jerry. (2000). Stargirl.  New York: Knopf

Recommendation source: A Student from LSC 531
Reading level: Grades 6-10
Brief summary: Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Crash – Jerry Spinelli

 Spinelli, Jerry. (1996). Crash. New York: Knopf.

Recommendation source: A student from LSC 531
Reading level: Grades 5-7
Brief summary: Crash feels passionately about many things: the violence of football; being in charge; the way he looks in shoulder pads; never being second in anything; and the most expensive sneakers at the mall. Although a stereotypical bully, the boy becomes more than one-dimensional in the context of his overworked, unavailable parents and the love he has for his grandfather, who comes to live with the Coogans and then suffers a stroke. It is because of his affection for Scooter that Crash comes to appreciate Penn Webb, a neighbor and classmate whom for years Crash has tormented and teased about his pacifism, vegetarianism, second-hand clothes, and social activism.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

A Mango Shaped Space – Wendy Mass

Mass, Wendy. (2005). A Mango Shaped Space. New York: Little, Brown.

Recommendation Source: www.amazon.com
Awards: 2004 Schnieder Family Book Award winner
Reading level: Grade 6+
Brief summary: 13-year old Mia sees and hears things differently from almost everyone else she knows. Ever since an embarassing moment in the third grade she has never told anyone about her differences. Eventally the time comes when she must confide in her friends and parents and she is accepted into a world of others like her.
Scholarly review: (Booklist) This contemporary novel does for synesthesia what Terry Hesser’s Kissing Doorknobs (1998) does for obsessive-compulsive disorder: the lively personal story demystifies a fascinating condition. For 13-year-old Mia Winchell, the world has always been filled with a wonderful, if sometimes dizzying, sensory onslaught–numbers, letters, words, and sounds all cause her to see a distinct array of colors. She keeps her unusual condition a secret until eighth grade, but then her color visions make math and Spanish impossibly confusing, and she must go to her parents and a doctor for help. However, this is more than a docu-novel. Mass beautifully integrates information about synesthesia with Mia’s coming-of-age story, which includes her break with her best friend and her grief over her grandfather’s death. The episode where Mia fabricates an illness to try out acupuncture for the color visions it produces is marvelously done, showing Mia’s eagerness for new experiences even as it describes a synesthete’s vision. References to a comprehensive Web site and bibliography about synesthesia are included.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Ann Brashares

Brashares, Ann. (2003). The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New York: Delacorte Press.
Recommendation source: Popular book among young adult females
Reading level: Grade 6+
Brief summary:A pair of jeans purchased at a thrift store is the unlikely bond that keeps four best friends emotionally connected during the first summer that they spend physically apart. Carmen doesn’t think much of the pants she buys for $3.49, until she and her pals discover their magical quality. The jeans which fit each girl perfectly despite their very different body types serve as a surrogate friend for Tibby, Carmen, Lena and Bridget as they wrestle with new issues of first love, jealousy, fear and sadness in the months before their junior year of high school. Each girl has a turn with the pants, then sends them on to the next person in the rotation; by summer’s end, when the friends are reunited, the jeans will be the symbol of what the girls have experienced.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Monster – Walter Dean Myers

 

Myers, Walter Dean. (2004). Monster. New York: Amistad.

Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Awards: 200 National Book Award Finalist, 2000 Coretta Scott King Honor, 2000 Printz Award
Reading level: Grade 7+
Scholarly review: (School Library Journal) Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist’s character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the “monster” the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost. Christopher Myers’s superfluous black-and-white drawings are less successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers. In some respects, the novel is reminiscent of Virginia Walter’s Making Up Megaboy (DK Ink, 1998), another book enriched by its ambiguity. Like it, Monster lends itself well to classroom or group discussion. It’s an emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and disturbing.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

A Step from Heaven – An Na

Na, An.  (2003). A Step from Heaven. New York: Puffin.

Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Awards: 2002 Printz award for young adult literature
Reading level: Grade 8+
Brief summary: Young Ju is an immigrant from Korea.  She and her family move to California and she struggles with being both and Asian-American as well as retaining her Korean background.  Young Ju’s parents struggle through many low income jobs while trying to provide a new life for the family in America. Her father also often crosses the line in trying to prevent Young Ju from socializing with her American friends and becomes abusive towards her and her mother.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

In the Time of the Butterflies – Julia Alvarez

 Alvarez, Julia (1995). In the Time of the Butterflies. New York: Plume.

Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Four sisters from the Dominican Republic are growing up in a time of revolution.  María Teresa, Patria, Dede and Minerva all take part in sharing the historical story of the Mirabel sisters through the memories of Dede, the only sister who survived the revolution.
Scholarly review: (Booklist) Alvarez follows her charming first novel, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), with a broader, deeper, and even more affecting second one. It’s a true story drawn from the history of her native Dominican Republic, about the Mirabel sisters, who, along with their husbands, were instrumental in the formation of an underground resistance movement against the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. What Alvarez achievesso effortlessly and splendidly, with controlled emotion and resonant detailis a novel with a beautifully balanced sense of domestic as well as political drama. She portrays the sisters as they grow from girls into women and follows their paths from school, boys, marriage, and children to even greaterlife-and-deathconcerns. Her novel is a statement about politics and history told in very human terms and, as importantly, told not with outrage, but with self-possession. Certain to be a hit.
Librarians rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Picture Perfect – Elaine Marie Alphin

 Alphin, Elaine Marie. (2003). Picture Perfect. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.

Recommendation source: Librarian at the Providence Public Library.
Reading level: Grades 5-8
Brief summary: Ian is a 14 year-old boy who never can seem to live up to his father’s expectations.  The harder he tries to be the perfect son, the more he sees himself failing.  His friends and mentors start to disappear from his life and as he tries to sort out what his happening, he discovers some shocking truths about his family and himself.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦

Hidden Roots – Joseph Bruchac

 Bruchac, Joseph. (2006). Hidden Roots. New York: Scholastic Paperbacks.

Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grades 5-9
Brief summary: Eleven-year-old Sonny and his mother can’t predict his father’s sudden abusive rages. Jake’s anger only gets worse after long days at the paper mill — and when Uncle Louis appears. Louis seems to show up when Sonny and his mother need help most, but there is something about his quiet wisdom that only fuels Jake’s rage. Through an unexpected friendship with a new school librarian, Sonny gains the strength to stand up to his father, and to finally confront his mother and uncle about a secret family heritage that may be the key to his father’s self-hatred.
Librarians rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Left Behind – Tim LeHaye & Jerry Jenkins

LeHaye, Tim, & Jenkins, Jerry. (2000). Left Behind.  Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Late one night, millions of people disappear leaving their belongings as the only traces that they were ever there to begin with.  Rayford Steele lost much of his family in the disappearances and is not attempting to find the truth behind where they have gone.  Rayford meets a young reporter by the name of Buck Williams and together they embark on a journey of self-discovery.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦

Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse

 Hesse, Karen. (2005). Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Awards: 1998 Newbery Medal winner
Reading level: Grades 6-8
Brief summary: The land in Oklahoma has been over-farmed  and over-cultivated, as a result there is nothing but sand and dust in the air.  Billie Jo writes of her experiences growing up during the time of the infamous Dust Bowl with a heartbroken, grief-stricken father and dust covering her most beloved possessions.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦

The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd

Kidd, Sue Monk. (2003). The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Penguin Books
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: Lily is a young girl who just can’t stand her life at home. She runs away to a town a few hours away and discovers three sisters who teach her about bees and making honey as well as helping her discover who she really is.
Scholarly Review: (School Library Journal) Lily Owens, 14, is an emotionally abused white girl living with her cold, uncaring father on a peach farm in rural South Carolina. The memory of her mother, who was accidentally killed in Lily’s presence when she was four, haunts her constantly. She has one of her mother’s few possessions, a picture of a black Madonna with the words, Tiburon, South Carolina, written on the back. Lily’s companion during her sad childhood has been Rosaleen, the black woman hired to care for her. Rosaleen, in a euphoric mood after the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, goes to town to register to vote and insults one of the town’s most racist residents. After she is beaten up and hospitalized, Lily decides to rescue her and they go to Tiburon to search for memories of her mother. There they are taken in by three black sisters who are beekeepers producing a line of honey with the Black Madonna label. While racial tensions simmer around them, the women help Lily accept her loss and learn the power of forgiveness. There is a wonderful sense of the strength of female friendship and love throughout the story.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison

Morrison, Toni. (2005). The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: The Breedloves have a reputation in town. No one likes them and everyone lets them know it. Follow Pecola Breedlove as she goes through things that no young girl should ever have to experience.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J. K. Rowling

Rowling, J.K. (2004). Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury.

Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: All ages
Brief summary: Harry Potter, a young boy, is thrust into a world of witchcraft and wizardry that he never knew existed. Join him in a serious of adventures as he finds out that there is a place in the world where he feels like he belongs. This is the first novel in an amazingly popular seven book series.  This british version of the book truly transports the reader into the culture Harry Potter’s world.  Enjoy the British terminology and spelling while being wisked away into Harry’s adventures.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦