My Life in…

So I just moved into a new house and am about a month behind on blogging my reading, but I couldn’t resist responding to Edi’s request for suggestions for summer reading books for children of color.

I took these from the high school summer reading list I helped write (though I haven’t heard if they’ve made any changes so they might not all be on the official list.) One or two of these are assumptions so I could certainly be wrong and I wrote the annotations but have not read every book on the list so some of the descriptions might not be perfect (actually a lot of the ones I have read don’t have very good annotations either because writing annotations is very difficult!).

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Spokane Indian Arnold Spirit talks about life on the reservation, attending a rich school, and the tragedies in his life, in this bittersweet, yet humorous novel loosely inspired by the author’s life.

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper
Andy was driving the car when the accident killed his best friend, the school basketball star.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Bobby is sixteen and raising a daughter on his own.

American Born Chinese by Gene Yang (Graphic Novel)
A comic of three interrelated stories about growing up Chinese-American.

Getting Away with Murder: the True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe
Fourteen year old Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman.

We Beat the Streets: how a friendship pact led to success by Sampson Davis, et al.
Three friends get off the streets of their Newark neighborhood and make it as doctors.

My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson
Rhonda is trying to focus on school and forget her past pregnancy when the spoiled rich girl she is tutoring seems to be facing the same problem and Rhonda can’t hide anymore.

Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers
Jesse and Rise are blood brothers who grow apart in the face of street violence and crime.

Flight by Sherman Alexie
Half-Irish, Half-Native American Orphan Zits, goes to jail, robs a bank, and travels through time.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
A fictionalized account of the true story of the Mirabal sisters, who plotted against a dictator in the Dominican Republic and were killed for their participation in the revolution.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The story of geeky, science fiction loving Oscar and his family who believe they are cursed to be unlucky.

Emako Blue by Brenda Woods
After the Emako’s death by drive by shooting, her friends and family reflect on what she means to them.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Graphic Non-Fiction)
In this memoir in comic format, Marjane tells of her youth in Iran during the revolution.

How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez
In reverse chronological order, this is the story of four sisters who adapt to life in the United States.

Tyrell by Coe Booth
After his family ends up in a homeless shelter, Tyrell tries to keep his family together without getting himself into trouble.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Two boys from different classes who grew up together in Afghanistan end up having very different lives.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Kathy reconnects with classmates from her boarding school for “special” children and discovers more disturbing truths about their school and their lives.

Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
In this humorous novel, a werewolf and a vampire run out of gas and end up at a diner in a town infested with zombies.

Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz
This is a coming of age story about Sammy who grows up in the barrio in Las Cruces during the Vietnam War and experiences heartbreak and tragedy.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop : A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang
A long (546 pages) account of the history of hip hop from its roots in the Bronx to the present. Rap music, break dancing and graffiti are all described in detail.

Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
Barack Obama’s life story – written before he entered politics.

Honorable Mention (for being extremely popular with my teens)

The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Andre was great on the court, but after a provocative article he wrote for a national magazine, he’s the victim of a racial attack.

Hip Hop High School by Alan Sitomer
Theresa is smart but wants to fit in at school with her peers. When she meets Devon, a fellow hip hop addict who has aspirations to Harvard, she is inspired by him.

Black and White by Paul Volponi
Two best friends – one black and one white – commit a crime and only one gets caught.