The Friends-- Rosa Guy

Phyllisia Cathy moves from the West Indies to East Harlem in the early 60's. At first glance, her family appears to be doing well-- her father has a restaurant, they have an apartment full of nice things. Phyllisia is equipped to do well in school, but is not prepared for a place where students are mocked by their teacher and left to brutalize each other. Phyllisia doesn't think she can survive another day when she is befriended by scruffy and ever-truant classmate Edith. Even after Edith saves Phyllisia's life, Phyllisia is ashamed to be seen with her. Combined with messed-up homelife (Phyllisia's terminally ill mother and violent father; Edith's long-dead mom and deadbeat dad), you've got altogether Too Much Sadness.

I am all for books that are realistic in their portrayal of friendship in all its fickle immaturity, but this book is pretty heavy-handed. In scene after scene, Phyllisia is horrible and Edith forgives her--extreme even for an age where kids spiteful like that. Phyllisia also has a series of unbelievable confrontations with her father, especially at the end.

Overall, the book struck me as a rough first cut of a narrative and themes that have been handled much artfully as they have gone mainstream in later works of young adult literature. The Friends is admirable for the boundaries it crossed for young readers, but may be more at home in a literary survey class than a middle-school one.

Warriors Don't Cry-- Melba Pattillo Beals

Better late than never! This is a nonfiction classic that I wish had been required reading for me in school.

Certainly, in any sort of study the civil rights movement or 1950s history, you've seen the famous pictures of the Little Rock Nine: standing in front of the doors in Central High School, one student clasps his or her books, smiling nervously, surrounded by federal troops. The image is familiar, but doesn't tell the whole story.

Melba Pattillo Beals' account about her year at Central High School is remarkable. I did not realize, for example, that the nine students were actually unable to enter the building for the first several weeks of school. Upon finally being admitted, they were hardly able to finish out the school day due to armed mobs invading the schoolyard or roaming the halls of the building. When federal troops were eventually stationed at Central High, students were actually transported from the premises via helicopter. The pictures I had seen were not from the first day of school, nor did they reflect the daily struggles of the students.

I deeply appreciated the tone of Beals' narrative-- I have never read anything about this historical period written with such love. She writes affectionately of the other eight students and of the support from her family, and compassionately about the friends from her old school and the neighbors who distanced themselves from her. I was also struck by the forgiveness she shows to herself at that young age-- forgiveness for her moments of weakness, of resignation, and of misjudgment.

Highly recommended. This is our history.

The Skin I'm In-- Sharon G. Flake

Friends, it has been so great to get your recommendations! I have a whole new stack of books from the library and I am very excited to dig in. The wonderful L passed on this recommendation to me from some kids she works with (thanks L... and kids!).

There are certain books that every teen seems to have read, like the Twilight and Hunger Games series. After I read a book, I look it up on online to add the cover design to the blog and check out reader ratings. I am ashamed to say I had never heard of Sharon Flake, but there was unequivocal praise for The Skin I'm In, and almost all of it from young readers themselves. Why is there not a reading campaign for this book?!

The Skin I'm In speaks deeply to those adolescent fears of standing out, not being accepted. Maleeka, the protagonist, is so easy to identify with. I am sad to say that I think this book hasn't gone mainstream on account of race issues-- Maleeka is harassed by her classmates on account of the deep blackness of her skin, a point of self-consciousness that might not resonate with some readers. The book's themes, however, are universal. Maleeka sees herself as ugly, ill-dressed in her homemade clothes, pushed around by her "friends" and put down by her classmates. In Maleeka's journey towards self-acceptance, the book shines a light on what teasing is really about: envy and control. Meanwhile, Maleeka grows to recognize her own potential, stand up for herself, and see who her true friends are.

The themes in this book were so powerful, it only occurred to be later that this would be great for reluctant readers. A strong recommendation for all the middle-reading girls in your life-- at that age, everyone can use a little push.