Best Teen & Young Adult Violence Fiction eBooks
A National Book Award Longlist title with eight starred reviews! Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. This story is important.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ). “Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) ). “Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s ALL AMERICAN BOYS to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.” (School Library Journal (starred review) ). “Thomas has penned a powerful, in-your-face novel that will similarly galvanize fans of Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down and Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys.” (Horn Book (starred review) ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had originally said I was not going to read this book, I didn't know how well I would like it, and I don't tend to get involved with things that can make life at work harder for me. I hated reading it, I cried my eyes out, Thomas did such an amazing job of making a horrible action into beautiful fiction that made you feel like you were right there. This was really refreshing to read because so many books, YA especially make parents out to be monsters that don't care, that aren't there for their kids. I mean it is like a troupe or something for these stories and it isn't actually the norm and gets annoying to read, so this book did an amazing job with the parents and family. All around though this story just floored me, it gave me a perspective I have never considered before, offered insights into a world I am not a part of, and I loved every minute of it."
"In January, uber popular author, John Green, tweeted that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would become a classic. I can see this book lasting, not because it’s timeless (hopefully the struggles addressed in THUG will be no more, as Starr prophesied), but because it’s a flashpoint in American history that shouldn’t be forgotten even if it’s rectified. Angie Thomas’ debut is the kind of transformative and accessible novel that can touch a variety of readers and have long-lasting effects. They’re vigorous and honest, Angie Thomas’ words giving them breath, blood, and life. If you’ve read the blurb, then you know the Black Lives Matter movement inspires this novel. Experiencing the effects of that moment from Starr’s perspective is gut wrenching, although, I can foresee some readers feeling numb. Her rage over her friend’s murder is the emotion that steals the show, never leading to traditional acceptance. I mean, with all the hype it’s impossible not to go into this book with some expectation and my greatest fear regarding THUG was that it would piss me off."
"This book is amazing. First of all, this is apparently Ms. Thomas' first book, which is mind-blowing all on its own. Ms. Thomas has a way of telling stories which packs an emotional punch."
"This book tells the story of so many of our black kids past, present and unfortunately, future."
"Starr’s story read more like a memoir than fiction, and it revealed so much about contemporary circumstances revolving around race in our country."
But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published. " The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world." Praise for The Outsiders "The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world." "What it's like to live lonely and unwanted and cornered by circumstance...There is rawness and violence here, but honest hope, too." A New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Book. A Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"She is 13 years old and doesn't know about the movie, otherwise I think she'd just skip the book."
"The Outsiders contain everything; family, friendship, love, death, grief and just about anything else."
"My grandkids are reading this book at schools and were so surprised that it was one if my favorite books from my high school days."
"Using this book to teach an 8th-grade language arts class, kids still relate to the characters even after 50 years."
"I read this book in class and at first, I really didnt like it, but honest to God this book changed my life for the better."
"I think is was about 12 when I first read it."
"I am a seventh grade student and this book is by far one of my favorites I've ever read."
"My husband piped up, "It's a book about boys, written for girls!" Although it's not the kind of thing I read now, I still suspect my husband's dismissal of it stems from the fact that, as a kid, he hated reading raw, tear-jerky accounts of the ties between men; and NOT that, once he was forced to read it, he found it phony and unbelievable."
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. This story is important.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ). “Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) ). “Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s ALL AMERICAN BOYS to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.” (School Library Journal (starred review) ). “Thomas has penned a powerful, in-your-face novel that will similarly galvanize fans of Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down and Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys.” (Horn Book (starred review) ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had originally said I was not going to read this book, I didn't know how well I would like it, and I don't tend to get involved with things that can make life at work harder for me. I hated reading it, I cried my eyes out, Thomas did such an amazing job of making a horrible action into beautiful fiction that made you feel like you were right there. This was really refreshing to read because so many books, YA especially make parents out to be monsters that don't care, that aren't there for their kids. I mean it is like a troupe or something for these stories and it isn't actually the norm and gets annoying to read, so this book did an amazing job with the parents and family. All around though this story just floored me, it gave me a perspective I have never considered before, offered insights into a world I am not a part of, and I loved every minute of it."
"In January, uber popular author, John Green, tweeted that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would become a classic. I can see this book lasting, not because it’s timeless (hopefully the struggles addressed in THUG will be no more, as Starr prophesied), but because it’s a flashpoint in American history that shouldn’t be forgotten even if it’s rectified. Angie Thomas’ debut is the kind of transformative and accessible novel that can touch a variety of readers and have long-lasting effects. They’re vigorous and honest, Angie Thomas’ words giving them breath, blood, and life. If you’ve read the blurb, then you know the Black Lives Matter movement inspires this novel. Experiencing the effects of that moment from Starr’s perspective is gut wrenching, although, I can foresee some readers feeling numb. Her rage over her friend’s murder is the emotion that steals the show, never leading to traditional acceptance. I mean, with all the hype it’s impossible not to go into this book with some expectation and my greatest fear regarding THUG was that it would piss me off."
"This book is amazing. First of all, this is apparently Ms. Thomas' first book, which is mind-blowing all on its own. Ms. Thomas has a way of telling stories which packs an emotional punch."
"This book tells the story of so many of our black kids past, present and unfortunately, future."
"Starr’s story read more like a memoir than fiction, and it revealed so much about contemporary circumstances revolving around race in our country."
Best Teen & Young Adult African American Fiction eBooks
A National Book Award Longlist title with eight starred reviews! Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. This story is important.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ). “Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) ). “Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s ALL AMERICAN BOYS to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.” (School Library Journal (starred review) ). “Thomas has penned a powerful, in-your-face novel that will similarly galvanize fans of Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down and Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys.” (Horn Book (starred review) ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had originally said I was not going to read this book, I didn't know how well I would like it, and I don't tend to get involved with things that can make life at work harder for me. I hated reading it, I cried my eyes out, Thomas did such an amazing job of making a horrible action into beautiful fiction that made you feel like you were right there. This was really refreshing to read because so many books, YA especially make parents out to be monsters that don't care, that aren't there for their kids. I mean it is like a troupe or something for these stories and it isn't actually the norm and gets annoying to read, so this book did an amazing job with the parents and family. All around though this story just floored me, it gave me a perspective I have never considered before, offered insights into a world I am not a part of, and I loved every minute of it."
"In January, uber popular author, John Green, tweeted that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would become a classic. I can see this book lasting, not because it’s timeless (hopefully the struggles addressed in THUG will be no more, as Starr prophesied), but because it’s a flashpoint in American history that shouldn’t be forgotten even if it’s rectified. Angie Thomas’ debut is the kind of transformative and accessible novel that can touch a variety of readers and have long-lasting effects. They’re vigorous and honest, Angie Thomas’ words giving them breath, blood, and life. If you’ve read the blurb, then you know the Black Lives Matter movement inspires this novel. Experiencing the effects of that moment from Starr’s perspective is gut wrenching, although, I can foresee some readers feeling numb. Her rage over her friend’s murder is the emotion that steals the show, never leading to traditional acceptance. I mean, with all the hype it’s impossible not to go into this book with some expectation and my greatest fear regarding THUG was that it would piss me off."
"This story follows high schooler Starr and how she deals with losing her friend who was shot by a police officer after being pulled over."
"It also portrays gangs, addiction, non-nuclear families, poverty, and low socioeconomic class (and why it exists)."
"I’m not the target audience for a YA book about the injustices suffered by mostly urban minority youth but I am moved by this story and saddened by the knowledge that it is replicated in news items around the US way too often."
"A young girl witnesses her childhood friend being shot by a police officer."
Best Teen & Young Adult Fiction
The award-winning, genre-defining debut from John Green, the #1 international bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down and The Fault in Our Stars Millions of copies sold! His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. ★ Michael L. Printz Award Winner. ★ Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. ★ NPR's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels. ★ TIME Magazine 's 100 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. ★ An ALA Best Book for Young Adults Top 10. ★ An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers. ★ A Booklist Best Book of the Year. ★ A Kirkus Best Book of the Year. ★ A SLJ Best Book of the Year. ★ A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. ★ “Miles is a witty narrator who manages to be credible as the overlooked kid, but he's also an articulate spokesperson for the legions of teen searching for life meaning (his taste for famous last words is a believable and entertaining quirk), and the Colonel's smarts, clannish loyalties, and relentlessly methodological approach to problems make him a true original....There's a certain recursive fitness here, since this is exactly the kind of book that makes kids like Miles certain that boarding school will bring them their destiny, but perceptive readers may also realize that their own lives await the discovery of meaning even as they vicariously experience Miles' quest.” – BCCB , starred review. Going, author of Fat Kid Rules the World , a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"His books go so into detail and can reach out to young teens with his words through the story."
"I wanted to give this book less stars, but I realized it was for a personal reason."
"The description of Alaska made her a bookworm, however, the antics and social circle she inspired left me thinking of her as less of a reader and more of a leader."
"Vast, beautiful, full of discovery and awe inspiring."
"This author is really worth reading , I was fascinated by his account of these teens lives.There must be something about a prep school that brings out the craziness of teens. Craziness seems to go with being a teen.However I think of my teens and friends and we didn't hide smokes and wine , we liked most teachers and even respected authority."
"I LOVE John Green's writing. This story was very different from what I usually read."
"You are a potential buyer of said book I am reviewing. Because I see no other fit way for the review of this book. You see, by the end of this book, Miles is a changed person."
"A quote Alaska contemplates throughout this book is “how will I ever get out of the labyrinth of misery?” I believe Alaska didn't think she deserved to escape the labyrinth and that’s why she rebelled so much and she wanted Miles to rebel with her because she was so lonely."
Best Teen & Young Adult Bullying Fiction
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER. **THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL, NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES** “Eerie, beautiful, and devastating.” — Chicago Tribune “A stealthy hit with staying power. thriller-like pacing.” — The New York Times “ Thirteen Reasons Why will leave you with chills long after you have finished reading.” — Amber Gibson, NPR’s “All Things Considered” You can’t stop the future. Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Asher’s novel asks us to look at how petty cruelty can deal crushing blows.” — Miami Herald “Wonderfully realistic in his writing, Asher offers teens and parents alike a great story on an important topic.” — Green Bay Press-Gazette “It is a brilliant debut that will leave readers feeling a sense of remorse for Hannah, guilt for Clay, and hope for the lasting lesson of the story.” — Bookazine “Breakneck pace and dizzying emotion.” — School Library Journal “[Hannah’s] pain is gut-wrenchingly palpable. WINNER OF Association of Booksellers for Children’s “Best Books”. American Library Association’s “Best Books for Young Adults” and “Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers”. Heartland Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Florida Teens Read Award. California Book Award. Kentucky Bluegrass Award. Book Sense Pick. International Reading Association’s “Young Adults' Choices” Finalist. Chicago Public Library’s “Best of the Best Books”. Kansas State Reading Circle’s “Recommended Reading List”. New York Public Library’s “Book for the Teen Age”. 16 State Award Master Lists. Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is one of those books, and is at the very top of my personal Must-Read list.” —Ellen Hopkins, bestselling author of Tricks , Identical , Crank , Burned , Impulse , and Glass “A spectacular first novel.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"For the longest time it was the only representation I had for mental illness, I connected with a dead girl because she had so many emotions I also shared sometimes to my own fright. The ending always shook me because she wasn't coming back, you had such a strong narrator for these tragedies but she wasn't going to get up and say ha! Now as an adult reading it, it's still heartbreaking and terribly tragic and I still connect so strongly to this story. Clay was the perfect perspective to put it in because I can't think good things about any of the other characters, as hard as the tv show wants you too. This book will always hold a special place in my heart, and I'm sure once the shock of the show wears off it will too."
"The story revolves around Clay, who finds a box of cassette tapes waiting on his doorstep one day. As he listens to them, he is drawn into the story of Hannah, his crush that committed suicide just a couple weeks earlier. The tapes share the thirteen reasons why she made the choice that she did, one for each person that contributed to that decision."
""Thirteen Reasons Why" is a novel that examines teen angst, bullying, suicide, and relationships, in the context of a story about a conflicted high school girl who chose to end her life, rather than continue confronting classmates whom she perceived to be her tormentors."
""Thirteen Reasons Why" is a novel that examines teen angst, bullying, suicide, and relationships, in the context of a story about a conflicted high school girl who chose to end her life, rather than continue confronting classmates whom she perceived to be her tormentors."
Best Teen & Young Adult Homelessness & Poverty Fiction eBooks
Carmel Fishkill becomes Fishkill Carmel, who deflects her tormenters with a strong left hook and conceals her secrets from teachers and social workers. Fishkill's guilt, anger, and abandonment only intensify as the story unfolds, leaving her desperate and unsure where to turn...Abuse is eclipsed by love in this moving novel. In Lehrer’s engrossing first novel, 12-year-old Carmel Fishkill (named after a highway exit sign her mother, Keely, glimpsed while giving birth in the back seat of a car) decides that starting seventh grade in a new school is an opportunity to toughen up her image...The plot, as well as Duck-Duck and Fishkill’s friendship, twists and turns as Keely reappears and disappears, until a tragic development changes the entire tone of the book, providing a bittersweet resolution. The deep sadness undergirding this story is held in check, rhetorically speaking, by Fishkill’s matter-of-fact, survivalist perspective and a fast-moving plot...Fans of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s rescue dramas are the audience for this. Poet Lehrer’s YA debut is a beautifully written and authentic look at rural poverty, and a great choice for fans of Kody Keplinger’s Run and Sarah Nicole Lemon’s Done Dirt Cheap .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"To me, all great stories are love stories and Lehrer drives this love story straight through the heart."
"She is unlike any other character I’ve met in a book and for that reason alone you should pick up this debut. Lehrer’s debut novel is an intricately woven tale of rural poverty and the will it takes to survive abuse and neglect. Her writing ensnares you as you learn the story of a young girl who endures a loveless childhood—and see her wrestle with the enormous leap of faith it takes for her to trust people after a lifetime of being disappointed, and worse. The two main characters—Fishkill and DuckDuck—are two of the most inspiring, brilliant, REAL kids I’ve met on the page. It is hard to write a review for this book because it is so lovely and so richly crafted, but it is also painful."
"This book is not an easy read, but I think it is an important one, that many should pick up. This book is written in a way that is effortless to read. This book will make you laugh, it will make you cringe, it will make you curse this awful world, and it will most certainly make you cry…but in the end it will make you read every page and cherish the depth and reality that is contained within. I started writing this review when I finished the book, it’s has been two weeks and I still don’t feel my review speaks any additional insight than just reading the book."
"I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I began reading, but as I became immersed in the story of Fishkill, a twelve-year-old girl from a tragically abusive and neglectful family, her friend, Duck-Duck, and Duck-Duck’s mother, Molly, I felt simultaneously heartbroken and hopeful."
"And that's funny, because they're often the books that are so well-written, whose prose is so clear, so honest, so true, and whose characters feel so utterly real that you simultaneously want to just give up at writing because your writing can never be *that* good."
Best Teen & Young Adult Social Issues eBooks
A National Book Award Longlist title with eight starred reviews! Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. This story is important.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ). “Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) ). “Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s ALL AMERICAN BOYS to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.” (School Library Journal (starred review) ). “Thomas has penned a powerful, in-your-face novel that will similarly galvanize fans of Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down and Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys.” (Horn Book (starred review) ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had originally said I was not going to read this book, I didn't know how well I would like it, and I don't tend to get involved with things that can make life at work harder for me. I hated reading it, I cried my eyes out, Thomas did such an amazing job of making a horrible action into beautiful fiction that made you feel like you were right there. This was really refreshing to read because so many books, YA especially make parents out to be monsters that don't care, that aren't there for their kids. I mean it is like a troupe or something for these stories and it isn't actually the norm and gets annoying to read, so this book did an amazing job with the parents and family. All around though this story just floored me, it gave me a perspective I have never considered before, offered insights into a world I am not a part of, and I loved every minute of it."
"In January, uber popular author, John Green, tweeted that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would become a classic. I can see this book lasting, not because it’s timeless (hopefully the struggles addressed in THUG will be no more, as Starr prophesied), but because it’s a flashpoint in American history that shouldn’t be forgotten even if it’s rectified. Angie Thomas’ debut is the kind of transformative and accessible novel that can touch a variety of readers and have long-lasting effects. They’re vigorous and honest, Angie Thomas’ words giving them breath, blood, and life. If you’ve read the blurb, then you know the Black Lives Matter movement inspires this novel. Experiencing the effects of that moment from Starr’s perspective is gut wrenching, although, I can foresee some readers feeling numb. Her rage over her friend’s murder is the emotion that steals the show, never leading to traditional acceptance. I mean, with all the hype it’s impossible not to go into this book with some expectation and my greatest fear regarding THUG was that it would piss me off."
"This story follows high schooler Starr and how she deals with losing her friend who was shot by a police officer after being pulled over."
"It also portrays gangs, addiction, non-nuclear families, poverty, and low socioeconomic class (and why it exists)."
"I’m not the target audience for a YA book about the injustices suffered by mostly urban minority youth but I am moved by this story and saddened by the knowledge that it is replicated in news items around the US way too often."
"A young girl witnesses her childhood friend being shot by a police officer."
Best Teen & Young Adult Prejudice & Racism Fiction
A National Book Award Longlist title with eight starred reviews! Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. This story is important.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ). “Though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted—and completely undervalued—by society at large.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) ). “Pair this powerful debut with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s ALL AMERICAN BOYS to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.” (School Library Journal (starred review) ). “Thomas has penned a powerful, in-your-face novel that will similarly galvanize fans of Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down and Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys.” (Horn Book (starred review) ).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had originally said I was not going to read this book, I didn't know how well I would like it, and I don't tend to get involved with things that can make life at work harder for me. I hated reading it, I cried my eyes out, Thomas did such an amazing job of making a horrible action into beautiful fiction that made you feel like you were right there. This was really refreshing to read because so many books, YA especially make parents out to be monsters that don't care, that aren't there for their kids. I mean it is like a troupe or something for these stories and it isn't actually the norm and gets annoying to read, so this book did an amazing job with the parents and family. All around though this story just floored me, it gave me a perspective I have never considered before, offered insights into a world I am not a part of, and I loved every minute of it."
"In January, uber popular author, John Green, tweeted that The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would become a classic. I can see this book lasting, not because it’s timeless (hopefully the struggles addressed in THUG will be no more, as Starr prophesied), but because it’s a flashpoint in American history that shouldn’t be forgotten even if it’s rectified. Angie Thomas’ debut is the kind of transformative and accessible novel that can touch a variety of readers and have long-lasting effects. They’re vigorous and honest, Angie Thomas’ words giving them breath, blood, and life. If you’ve read the blurb, then you know the Black Lives Matter movement inspires this novel. Experiencing the effects of that moment from Starr’s perspective is gut wrenching, although, I can foresee some readers feeling numb. Her rage over her friend’s murder is the emotion that steals the show, never leading to traditional acceptance. I mean, with all the hype it’s impossible not to go into this book with some expectation and my greatest fear regarding THUG was that it would piss me off."
"This story follows high schooler Starr and how she deals with losing her friend who was shot by a police officer after being pulled over."
"It also portrays gangs, addiction, non-nuclear families, poverty, and low socioeconomic class (and why it exists)."
"I’m not the target audience for a YA book about the injustices suffered by mostly urban minority youth but I am moved by this story and saddened by the knowledge that it is replicated in news items around the US way too often."
"A young girl witnesses her childhood friend being shot by a police officer."
Best Children's Books on Bullies
Soon to be a major film starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay. WONDER is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page. Homeschooled all his life, August heads to public school for fifth grade and he is not the only one changed by the experience--something we learn about first-hand through the narratives of those who orbit his world. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” From The Little Prince and R.J. Palacio’s remarkable novel, Wonder .-- Seira Wilson August, nicknamed Auggie, is a 10-year-old with a facial deformity that causes others to avoid and even shun him.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm a 54 year old grandfather who served in the Marine Corps (just for a little context). Palacio...I can't believe how she so accurately and consistently pegs human nature."
"The most emotional moment for me came toward the end of the book when Auggie's father tells him that he loves the way Auggie looks, because that it exactly how my husband and I feel about our son."
"Author R.J. Palacio writes the book in multiple voices -- Auggie's, some of his friends', his sister's -- and the different points of view are mostly very well-realized and show the inner feelings of the different characters."
"I would recommend all young children to read this book and I would certainly recommend adults to read it because it will certainly change that "judgement of others" into "an acceptance of others.""
"The author did a really good job of putting the reader inside the heads of the characters in the book, helping us to really get to know them and to see different perspectives of the same situation."
"I'm a Special Needs teacher and I love how this book teaches "typical kids" to accept someone who looks different in their school; it makes the child who's different feel special as well."
"On a recommendation from my daughter (35), I read it after I saw the movie."
"Friends said to read the book before seeing the movie."