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| AMG's Summer Reading List By: Anna Ziering I was the youngest person in the history of my public library to get a library card. At the age of three, I threw a tantrum when a librarian didn’t believe that I could satisfy the one requirement for a card – being able to write your name. When my screaming was annoying everyone in the Children’s Room, she gave me a chance to prove myself. And I did; until I lost it a few years ago, I had a library card with “Anna Z” scrawled on it in my messy pre-school handwriting. I would follow my mom around the house with picture books pleading, “Read! Read!” I came home crying from my first day of kindergarten because I hadn’t learned how to read in those six hours. So when I was asked to write a reading list for my first issue with AMG, it seemed like fate. I drove to my library, walked the familiar path to the Young Adult section, and scoured the shelves for my favorite books. I’m a big re-reader, so almost every book on this list is one that I have read at least twice. Some of them, like A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, I have read closer to ten times. I’ve written papers about some of them and read others for pure pleasure. But every book on this list is one that I love. So if you’re bored this summer, rather than playing endless games of Snood (which I do) or watching reruns of Gilmore Girls (which I also do), try reading some of the books on this list. If you need a television fix, watch one of the movie versions, although I always suggest reading the book first. And when you go to the library, don’ t stop at this list. Browse for titles or even covers that look interesting – I discovered almost every book on this list just by scanning the YA Fiction shelves. Check out the Children’s Room, where I still go occasionally, or the Adult Fiction, which is sometimes easier to read than the books on the Junior shelves. Fiction: White Oleander, Janet Fitch A hauntingly poetic tale of a young woman’s coming of age in foster care, this novel follows Astrid Magnüssen as she negotiates the demands, desires, and love of the people she meets on her journey from being her mother’s daughter to being her own woman. After you’ve read it, check out the movie – Alison Lohman and Michelle Pfeiffer do one of the best page-to-screen adaptations I have ever seen. Leaving Fishers, Margaret Peterson Haddix Haddix’s down-to-earth depiction of a religious cult and one woman’s relationship to it carries you through a dangerous affair with the cult and the people in it. This book is an emotional thriller. Just Friends, Norma Klein This gritty novel feels like real life plopped onto a page; Klein’s ability to capture details that often escape notice in art will have you thinking in a new way about that romantic-comedy mindset. She underscores the beauty of her subject matter by refusing to cover it up, and you will put down the book feeling like you got more of the truth than you do from most love stories. Dare, Truth or Promise, Paula Boock This book details the relationship between two New Zealand teenagers as they begin to discover their friendship and their love. A wonderful perspective on two women at different points in their journey to discovery of themselves and their sexualities, this story is a great read for all young women. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood Atwood’s tale of a dystopic society is haunting and mysterious, opening itself detail by detail to the reader’s gaze. It is told with grace and talent that serve to underscore the pain and dehumanization that are present in its pages. Little Altars Everywhere, Rebecca Wells This novel watches Siddalee Walker as she comes to terms with her chaotic childhood and a difficult relationship to her often-unstable mother. It tells a different version of The Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood, a companion novel that was made into a movie of the same name. The Necessary Hunger, Nina Revoyr A book that spans many areas, this story of two young women in love also deals with their parents’ romantic relationship, the tensions between African- and Asian-American communities, and the pressures of high- school athletics. Classics: The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald This book is worth reading just for the writing. But there is more to recommend it – an intense story with suspense and drama, its characters have such a developed humanity that the reader feels the pull of the storyline like gravity, fighting to save the men and women in the pages but aware that their very reality forbids their salvation. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey Set in an old mental institution, Kesey’s novel has a wide range of detailed characters that somehow feel familiar in their particularity. It tantalizes you with the questions of reality and sanity, moving between the narrator’ s clear descriptions of life and events on the ward and his nightly fears and attempts to explain the sinister forces that he sees at work in the world. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith One of my all-time favorite books, Smith’s novel follows Francie Nolan from birth to young adulthood, sharing all the stories of growing up that are often left out. By the end of the book, you will know Francie as well as you know yourself. Diaries: Go Ask Alice, Anonymous This diary of a teenage drug addict follows its narrator from her first experience with drugs to a life on the streets. The book does not preach; it shares all sides of the narrator’s experience, and leaves you ultimately to draw your own conclusions. Zlata’s Diary, Zlata Filipovic Sometimes called the modern day Anne Frank, Zlata Filipovic wrote during the civil war in Sarajevo, where she lived. Filipovic’s works is descriptive and moving, and an interesting introduction to a war that often escapes the notice of outsiders. The Freedom Writers Diary, The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell This collection from a high school English classroom is comprised of diary entries by a group of students who call themselves The Freedom Writers. Recently made into a movie, the collection follows the lives of these students for the year or years that they were taught by Erin Gruwell. Fantasy: Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine A retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Levine’s novel deals with Eleanor, a girl with an unfortunate curse laid upon her. The story is reworked in a fun and refreshing way. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey (The Harper Hall Trilogy) The story of Menolly, a fisherman’s daughter who longs to be a musician, starts with her life in her home on Pern, a planet with a deadly menace feared by all its inhabitants. In the course of three books, Menolly leaves her unsupportive family, finds a new home among Pern’s greatest musicians, and discovers talents of which she had not dreamed. Alanna: The First Adventure, Tamora Pierce (The Song of The Lioness Quartet) This story follows Alanna, a young noblewoman, as she fights to avoid living the life to which her gender and her heritage confine her. Determined to become a warrior maiden, she embarks on a journey of illusion, self-discovery, war, and magic. Mental Health: Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson This book is written in the voice of a young woman who has stopped speaking. All her pain and pathos live on the page, and you will get caught up in her story and her silence. Kissing Doorknobs, Terry Spencer Hesser About a girl with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, this book deals with the effects of OCD on both the person with the disorder and those around her. Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, Marya Hornbacher A powerful novel by a woman who spent her life from the age of nine plagued by an eating disorder, Wasted is a raw and honest look at the destructive powers of such an illness. But Hornbacher takes it to another level, presenting theories as to why her disorder raged so out of control, and doing it all with a level of artistry that can rarely be found. Science Fiction: The Hitchhiker’s Guide, Douglas Adams The first in a series of five, this book blends science fiction and comedy with a good-hearted cynicism and the ability to find humor in the smallest of details. With a zany cast of characters and a cross-galatical setting, this book will keep you laughing. Foundation Series, Isaac Asimov This series moves across time and space telling the stories of Foundation heroes who struggle to survive crises and lessen the Dark Ages into which humanity falls as the galactic empire begins to stagnate and decline. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card The story of a young boy upon whose shoulders sits the fate of the human race, this book is also warmly human. Readers can identify with Ender, an intelligent child forced to grow up too fast, as they support his struggles to make the best of it and balance his ability to fight with his need to love. Social Justice Pay It Forward, Catherine Ryan Hyde A novel following a young boy with a utopian plan, Hyde’s novel deals with the best and worst of Trevor’s life with a loving, alcoholic mother, and damaged but inspiring teacher. Red Scarf Girl, Ji Li Jiang A story of a young girl during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, this book deals with the author’s struggle to understand and reorient herself as her society turns on her family and on her. |
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