Black
Would it matter?
Saving me
Land of the lost
Street
Or no home
Harsh
Finite
No future.
Fear
Savior or---?
Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1982. ISBN -0374400113. $8.00 PBK. Awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults (1982) YALSA Margaret A. Edwards Award (2003) Booklist Reviewer’s Choice (1982) Annotation: Annie on My Mind, is a story with the same predicament just discussed. Annie's the daughter of blue-collar workers in lower-class New York City, while her best friend Liza is the daughter of upper-class wealthy residents. A kiss surprises both girls for their true feelings until they are discovered by disapproving parents. As the tension of the situation once caught is too much to handle for Liza. After graduating from different high schools they attend colleges on separate sides of the country, and it is only then that Liza allows herself to truly think through her feelings for Annie who is a self-proclaimed lesbian. Can the two work things out or will it be too late? Booktalk: You're 17. You're in love with your best friend and they are in love with you. Neither of you wants anyone else, it seems you should find nothing but support from those around you. But you're best friend is a girl just like you, and not everyone is savvy with it. What lengths will you have to go to be with the one you love and who loves you in return? |
Annotation: The story of a young man who joins the Italian Resistance during World War II in the fight against fascism and Hitler. His journey is dangerous, knowing that every step could be his last and if he or any of his fellow comrades are caught they will be tortured and killed. He changes his name from Roberto to Lupo and joins the good fight despite the danger.
Booktalk:
"A pair of Nazi's came up to check documents. Lupo didn't flinch. His mind was still on the foot of the man in the wagon, on those bodies that might get burned like filth. But then he saw the old man in the crowd. The Jew he'd met in the park months before. Lupo was sure it was him. And he wasn't wearing his armband. Of course not. After the assassination attempt on Hitler, the few remaining jews in town were put on trains north. If these two Nazi's looked at the old man's documents, they'd find out he was a Jew. They'd find out he'd broken the law by no wearing his armband. He was a dead man" (147).
Image courtesy of: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.
Cushman, Karen. Catherine, Called Birdy. 1st Edition. New York, NY: Harper Trophy, 1995. ISBN: 0-06-440584-2. PBK $4.95.
Awards:
1995 Newbery Honor Book 1995 Best Books for Young Adults (American Library Association) 1995 Teachers'Choices (International Reading Association) 1995 IRA Distinguished Book Award for Fiction 1995 Fanfare Honor List (The Hornbook) 1994 Golden Kite Award for Fiction (Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators) 1995 Notable Trade Book in Language Arts (National Council for Teacher Education) 1994"Pick of the Lists" (American Library Association) Outstanding Books of 1994 for Middle-School- Aged Teens
Annotation: A tale written in journal form by a 14 year old young woman during the Midevial ages, the only daughter of a Lord and Lady. Her brothers are rascals, her father barely tolerable and her mother is the salt of the earth. Her father's sole mission in life though seems to be marrying her off and that is what Cathering, called Birdy will do anything to avoid!
Booktalk:
"September 12th:
I am commanded to write an account of my days: I am bit by fleas and plagued by family. That is all there is to say.
Instead I thought to make a list of all the things girls are not allowed to do:
Go on crusade
Be horse trainers
Be monks
Laugh very loud
Wear breeches
Drink in ale house
Cut their hair
Piss in the fire to make it hiss
Wear nothing
Be alone
Get sunburned
Run
Marry whom they will
Glide on the ice"
(p. 1, 83-84).
Image courtesy of: www.readingbackwards.wordpress.com.
