Review: Harbor Me

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wish I could live in one of Jacqueline Woodson's books because they are so full of beauty. Even when she is writing about heartbreaking events, she finds a way to paint the most desperate situation with her magical lyrical brush. Harbor Me is a short quick powerful read, which will leave you believing that Woodson could find a way to solve all of our country's problems. This novel explores the way we view and treat each other in this country. She manages to explore all the hot-button political issues through the lens of fifth and sixth grade "special" students. These topics include racism, immigration, rich vs. poor, the separation of families, and having an incarcerated parent. How she managed to pack so much depth in such a small book is beyond me, but let me tell you, folks, she did!

What I love most about this novel is how Woodson tackles these important topics; six students spend an hour every Friday afternoon in a classroom talking to each other without any adults present. While one might think kids this age would talk about trivial things, these students truly open up to one another and talk about their preconceived notions of one another based on race, appearance, accent, etc. They find a way to break down the imaginary walls between them simply by honestly discussing their feelings. If only all adults could be so honest with one another, we would probably have a lot less stress in our lives. This book is a perfect spring broad into discussions about equal rights or the lack thereof in this country. Teachers should feel comfortable sharing this book with students in 4th grade and up; however, it would be an excellent tie-in to the fifth-grade curriculum (in South Carolina).

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Review: Resistance

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I finished reading this book last night, the first word that came to mind was WOW. This historical fiction novel follows Polish Jews who are part of a resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. Chaya is a sixteen-year-old courier; her job is to sneak food and supplies into the ghettos, but she also sneaks people out of the ghetto. Thanks to her looks and language skills, she can easily blend in with Polish Christians, so German soldiers often don't think twice about letting her into the ghettos "to sell scarves."

When Esther joins Chaya's resistance group, Chaya is very unimpressed with her. She can't possibly understand what she will offer their group. Esther is timid and makes lots of mistakes. Eventually, Chaya learns to trust Esther, and they become like sisters. They take their fight to the Warsaw ghetto right as it is about to be heavily attacked by the Nazis. Their mission is to save as many Jews as possible while making the world take notice of their resistance.

This novel accurately depicts the atrocious living conditions in the Jewish ghettos. It is violent without being gory. While it may be difficult for students to stomach, I think Resistance is a necessary read. It seems that history is repeating itself far too often. Students and adults alike need to learn from the past so that there will be hope for a more peaceful future. In her closing, Jennifer A. Nielsen says that "love is the resistance." I hope this book will inspire students not to blindly follow or believe what someone tells them; I think one of the greatest takeaways from this novel is to stand up and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, whether that be because they are too weak, too scared, or too hopeless. There is always hope. There is always a cause or a person worth fighting for. Don't be a sheep "who goes like lambs to the slaughter."

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Review: Tight

Tight by Torrey Maldonado
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As I was reading this book, I was reminded of many students I've taught in the past. Those students really could have used a book like this in their lives. Many of them grew up in similar situations to the main character, Bryan: a home in the projects, a parent in and out of jail, and struggling to figure out where they belong. So often, I could see those students straggling an invisible line: they could be smart and well-behaved around certain classmates and teachers, but around peers from home, they had to be so hard. I think that many of those students probably worried about their friends and family thinking they were trying to be better than them by doing well in school and trying to have a different future. I hated seeing them have that internal struggle. I can only recall one student who was adamant that he was going to make a better life for himself, and I hope he did.

Bryan has a very similar internal struggle; he longs for peace and quiet in a very loud and unpredictable environment. His dad often lets his temper get the best of him, and it has put him in jail more than once. Bryan doesn't want to be like his dad, but at the same time, he doesn't want his dad to think he's soft. He pushes himself out of his comfort zone with his new friend Mike who encourages him to do things that aren't exactly legal. Bryan's parents think Mike is a good friend, but they don't see Mike's wild side. When Bryan befriends Big Will, he realizes that there are other kids like him who value peace and calmness. He has to make a difficult decision: stay friends with Mike because they've been so tight or bounce because Mike isn't who he thought he was.

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Review: Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nowhere Boy is the story of two boys living in Brussels, Belgium; Max is an American expat who is extremely unhappy with his parents for uprooting their family, and Ahmed is a Syrian refugee who has lost his entire family. Their story takes place during a tumultuous time in Europe, so readers will relive terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. With no family and no place to go, Ahmed finds himself living in the wine cellar of Max's family's basement.

While Max is miserable in his new school, Ahmed daydreams of being able to climb over the wall of Max's yard and walk to school like any other normal teenager. Max eventually discovers Ahmed in his basement, and they form a very unlikely friendship. Max risks everything to help Ahmed. He sneaks downstairs every night to bring him food and books to read. He even goes so far as to forge illegal documents to help Max attend his school. Unfortunately, a nosy police officer is constantly stopping by Max's house, so the boys live in fear that Ahmed will be discovered and deported.

The chapters are very short and alternate between Max and Ahmed's perspectives; however, the novel itself is fairly long: 353 pages to be exact. Students with low reading stamina may struggle to make it to the end of this novel. This book would pair well with Refugee by Alan Gratz; both novels compare the way Syrian refugees are being treated to the way Jewish people were treated during the Holocaust. Readers will see that even though it may be hard and scary to stand up for those who are being mistreated, doing nothing is not alright. This book will be more meaningful for older readers who are beginning to take interest in the world around them. If you know readers who are interested in current events or politics, I would definitely recommend this book to them. I would also put this book in the hands of any child who needs a lesson in empathy. Nowhere Boy is a worthwhile, meaningful read.

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Review: Grenade

Grenade by Alan Gratz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alan Gratz has historical fiction down pat. He makes events from the past come to life for his readers, and his latest novel, Grenade, is no exception. This story takes place on Okinawa during WWII and is told in the alternating perspectives of a young Okinawan boy, Hideki, and an American Marine, Ray.

Hideki is given two grenades and charged with using one to kill as many Americans as possible and using the other to kill himself. Ray is the son of a WWI vet, so he has seen what war can do to a man. He doesn't want to become used to killing Japanese soldiers and Okinawan civilians, but he has to in order to survive. Hideki doesn't want to become a monster like the Japanese and American soldiers that he is constantly trying to avoid.

This novel truly shows war for what is: death, death, and more death. There are scenes of Okinawan civilians committing mass suicide, body parts being blown off, etc. It's certainly not a lighthearted read. Know your younger students before handing this book to them. Grenade would be a great addition to WWII text sets. I would recommend this book for mature 5th grade students and above. I can see high school history teachers using this book to highlight a battle that students don't typically learn about (at least I didn't).

I loved the alternating perspectives in Refugee; they were so necessary for that book because they helped hammer home the point that history keeps repeating itself. I honestly would have preferred for Grenade to be solely from Hideki's point of view. Ray's story serves a purpose; it shows that both sides really don't want to be fighting and that they all had identities separate from being a soldier. However, I felt like his chapters disrupted the flow for me; I read part two much quicker because it was only in Hideki's point of view. While Grenade may not be as thought-provoking or self-convicting as Refugee, it does offer a front-row seat to the destructive nature of war.


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Review: The Reckless Club

The Reckless Club by Beth Vrabel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you loved The Breakfast Club, you will love this book. If you are too young to know what The Breakfast Club is, ask your parents. Five extremely different students find themselves spending the last day of summer vacation volunteering at a local assisted living facility as punishment for things they did on the last day of school. At first, each student seems like a cliche; there's the drama queen, a flirt, an athlete, a rebel, and a nobody. As the story unfolds, we learn there is much more depth to each character. They are all suffering in their own ways. From the outside, each character may seem to have their stuff together or like they don't care about anyone else's opinion, but they are all just trying to hide their insecurities. These kids have parents who have walked out on them or who are verbally abusive. They feel pressure to be perfect, liked by everyone else, and to be someone other than who they actually are.

After first meeting the characters, readers may be annoyed with their behavior or lack of empathy, but they will quickly fall in love with each character when they learn more about "the Reckless Club's" backstories. This book will provide readers with a chance to think more deeply about bullying and how one's actions affect others. It would work well in an empathy unit or text set. Vrabel's novel could be a perfect mentor text to use in a writer's workshop on character development as she does an excellent job at slowly unraveling their personalities. This book is a must-read for students in 5th grade - 8th grade.

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