Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Co, 2009. Print. ISBN 978-0-316-01368-0; Hardcover; $20.00. Annotation: Junior leaves the reservation to attend the all-white high school 20 miles down the road. Will he survive tragedy and illness to get the girl and graduate? Book Talk: Junior is a nerdy, sickly, reading and drawing obsessed Spokane Native who leaves his friends and family behind on the reservation to attend a racist all-white high school in the next town. Despite meeting the girl of his dreams, Penelope, and making new friends, like Gordy, tragedy strikes and one horrible thing after another happens, until Junior isn't sure if he can go on. Does being Native destine him to a life of drunken poverty, unhappiness and early death? He says, "I used to think the world was broken down by tribes...By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not." Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to discover if Junior is willing to change everything in order to change his life. When given the choice, which tribe will he choose? Available in paperback, hardcover, eBook and audio CD. Awards: 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature 2008Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Fiction and Poetry 2009Odyssey Awardas the year's "bestaudiobookfor children or young adults" 2010California Young Reader Medal, Young Adult Book
Myers, Walter D, and Christopher A. Myers. Monster. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. Print. ISBN 9780060280789; Hardcover; $15.89. Annotation: Steve is in prison awaiting trail for murder and his own lawyer isn't sure if he's innocent. Book Talk: 16 year old Steve Harmon has landed in prison and is awaiting trial for felony murder in a robbery gone wrong. In order to deal with life behind bars and what awaits him before a State Prosecutor who refers to him as a "monster" Steven writes in a journal and creates a screenplay of his experience. Check out this notebook entry: "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment." Read Walter Dean Myers award-winning book tofind out whether Steve is destined to spend the rest of his life behind bars, whether his lawyer truly believes he is innocent, and whether he can figure out for himself whether or not he's a monster.
Available in paperback, hardcover and on audio CD. Awards: Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award 2000 Nominated for the National Book Award 1999 Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book 2000 Nominated for the Edgar Award 2000
