All We Have Left by Wendy Mills

The date is September 11, 2001. High school junior Alia is torn between the professional expectations of her family and the graphic artist she longs to be. While she tries to maintain traditional Muslim customs she is at constant odds with her parents. After a particularly bitter blowup, she is grounded and won't be allowed to attend a special art program at NYU. Rather than talking to her mother, she decides to talk to her father to convince him to let her go. That morning, she skips school and heads over to the World Trade Center where her father works...

Fast forward to 2016. Jesse is a bright high school junior. Her dysfunctional family hasn't come to terms with her older brother Travis's death in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Her father is angry and bitter for something Travis did, and has deep hatred for all Muslims. Her mother tries to move on, but will not talk about the details. Her older brother can't deal with his parents, and leaves the country. Jesse feels like she doesn't exist. Becoming attracted to classmate Nick, she gets caught up with the wrong crowd, a racist group of taggers. Tagging the wall of the Muslim Peace Center, she gets caught and arrested. She now has to perform community service at the Peace Center. To make amends, she needs to face her past, motivating her to search for the truth about her brother's death.

Alternating the voices of Alia and Jesse, the story peels away Alia's experience, her connection to Travis, and the truth that tore Jesse's family apart. The start was a slow one. The character building takes us through the teenage angst of Alia, and the misguided romance for Jesse. Once the real story of the two girls gets started, you will not put the book down. There is much to learn here in terms of tolerance, understanding, and the human spirit.

Mark's Book Picks Score: 4.5

Reading Level: 5.6 • Interest Level: 7-12 • AR Points: 12 • Lexile Level: NA • Publisher: Bloomsbury • Pages: 362 • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-1-681-19432-5 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

CYRM 2020/21 Nominee, Young Adult

All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson

This book made me squirm. Not because it is scary, but because of my empathy for the main character Imogene. Imogene's parents have regular jobs, but are seasonal characters in a Renaissance Faire. The moment is exciting for Imogene. She has been home schooled, and now, will go to public middle school. The faire is starting soon, and now Imogene for the first time, gets to be a full character in this year's faire. Exciting times! So one would think.

Imogene now has to navigate the academic and social norms of middle school. Daunting for any 6th grader, but especially one who has never attended school. How will she handle the academic load? Studying for exams? Making up missed work? How will she navigate her friendships between the social girls, the "nerds", as well as boys? How will she manage all of this, while devoting most of her spare time with the faire? Then there is her little bother, her parents, and other adults at the faire? How she does this, you'll have to read the book, but discovering how she handled all of this made me squirm with the memory of all the awkwardness that is middle school!

This is a fun graphic novel. The artwork is humorus and simple, while the text moves you through the story smoothly. There is a lot that middle schoolers will relate to here. Ties in especially well with the 7th grade history curriculum.
Marks Book Picks Score: 4

Reading Level: 3.4 • Interest Level: 4-7 • AR Points: 3 • Lexile: GN460L  
Publisher: Dial • Pages: 247 • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-0-525-42999-9 • Available in Perma-Bound binding.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Russell Pickett, billionaire, has been missing, disappearing before his arrest for bribery. Now there is a $100,000 reward for him, and Daisy Ramirez is going to tap Aza Holmes to help find him and collect the reward.

Daisy and Aza are juniors in high school and best friends. Daisy learns that years ago Aza was a camp friend of Davis Pickett, Russell Pickett's son, and recruits Aza to find Russell Pickett and split the reward money. The problem is, Aza suffers from invasive thoughts...thoughts that spin out of control subjugating her life.

When they wade through the White River, running through the Russell estate trying to find evidence, they get caught by security. Aza tells them she is a friend of Davis, so security takes them to Davis to verify. Davis immediately remembers Aza. As they talk, Aza can see the pain Davis is in, as his mother has passed, his father's missing and he is left caring for his younger brother Noah. Davis welcomes this friend from the past, and trusts her. As their friendship grows into attraction, Aza's issues start spiraling out of control....especially when they kiss. "...billions of people kiss and don't die, just make sure his microbes aren't going to permanently colonize you come on please stop this he could have campylobacter he could be a nonsymptomatic E. coli carrier get that and you'll need antibiotics and then you'll get C. diff and boom dead in four days..."  Aza must deal with school, her friends, her mom, her relationship with Davis, all while trying to deal with these thoughts that paralyze her.

Solving the mystery, the budding relationship with Davis, Aza's relationship with Daisy, her visits with her therapist, and her thinking spiraling out of control are what drives the plot along, but it plods more than drives. While not my favorite John Green novel, I mostly enjoyed the way he represented Aza's  spinning thoughts, her sessions with her therapist, and learning to live life with what we've been dealt. Fans of Green will demand this and enjoy it. For high school, and sophisticated older middle schoolers with f-bombs sprinkled throughout.
Mark's Picks Rating: 3.5

Reading Level: 5.6 • Interest Level: 9-12 • AR Points: 10 • Lexile: 840L
Publisher: Penguin • 286 pages • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-0-525-55536-0 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Trees and animals that talk? I knew this book was not for me, not my cup of tea.
As it turns out, I loved it!
Red is a Red Oak, well over 200 years old. She has seen much in life and is currently the home to a family of owls, opossums, skunks, and a crow named Bongo. The tree has deep roots in the community. Every May, people write their wish on a scrap of fabric and tie it to the tree. A young girl, Samar,  moves in across the street with her family. Often, Samar sneaks out of her house late at night to come and sit by the tree. One night, Samar ties a scrap with a wish to Red; she wishes for a friend.  Samar is lonely and has no friends because her family is not welcomed by the community, as they are Muslim. The young boy next door, Stephen, takes note of Samar, but will not talk to her. Red has decided that she must do something to make Samar's wish a reality. She schemes with Bongo and the other tree residents to get Samar and Stephen together as friends. Red is motivated to help Samar not only to make her happy, but also because she knows she is going to die. The property's owner has decided that the tree is causing too many problems and has scheduled to have Red taken down.

At first, I was put off by a story told in the voice of a tree, but was immediately pulled in by the beautiful, lyrical writing. It begs to be read aloud. The early chapters are a bit pedantic, but that dissipates quickly. There is much to discuss here with young people. Tolerance, intolerance, acceptance, friendship, and family all come into play. But what touched me, was Red's acceptance of her imminent death. She understands that she has had a long, good life and that if it is her time, then let it be so. As a senior myself, this truly resonated, and expresses beautifully an appreciation of life. Beautifully illustrated by Charles Santoso, the pictures help bring the story to life. For grades 4-7, maybe older if you can pull them in.
Mark's Picks Rating: 4.5

Reading Level: 4.2 • Interest Level: 4-7 • AR Points: 3 • Lexile: 590L
Publisher: Feiwell & Friends • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-1-250-04332-1 • Available in Perma-Bound Binding