City of Beasts by Isabel Allende

Location: Chile

 

Awards:  Locus Award, 2003 Finalist United States

 

Open this book and travel to the wilds of the Amazon rain forest with 15 year old Alexander Cold and his grandmother Kate.  This novel has it all--mythical beasts, villains, adventure and the supernatural.

Symphony for the City of the Dead - By M.T. Anderson

Location: Russia 

 

Award: YALSA 2016 Finalist 

Leningrad during German siege and forced starvation, among the cannibalized and dying, amidst the bombing and destruction, Shostakovich completed his seven symphonies. In M.T. Anderson’s first nonfiction work, Symphony for the City of the Dead, a tale of Russian suffering and beauty emerges. The World War II menace of Nazi Germany affected the East as well as the West, and in this story, we see the war from the Russian perspective. Anderson tells the story of Shostakovich struggling to write music to inspire the masses, trying to avoid the ire of Stalin, a man well known for his brutality, and to maintain the socialist orthodoxy, where even music is scrutinized for signs of bourgeois sympathies. Anderson embraces the Russian spirit of tragedy and beauty in his tale of soviet art and salvation. Experience the hardships and joys of the Symphony for the City of the Dead.       

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, Mattias Ripa (Translator)

Location: Iran 

 

Awards: ALA Alex Award 2004, YALSA Best  Books for Young Adults 

Growing up is hard to do, now imagine growing up during a revolution in your own
country. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood is the story of a young girl named Marji
who is just ten years old, and after ten years of a fairly modern life, she is plunged into the conservative, misogyny of the Iranian revolution. The Zoroastrian heritage of her country is replaced by Islam. Her education, her wardrobe, and her possibilities for a future are all being taken from her. Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel explores the relationship between the individual and society, freedom and control. Explore the Iranian revolution at the end of the 20th century with this award winning graphic novel.

Life of Pi - By Yann Martel

Location: India, Middle of the Ocean

 

Awards: Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2002, 2003 Boeke Prize, a South African novel award. In 2004, it won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature 

Life of Pi is a stunningly beautiful tale set in an Indian zoo. Zoologist and Religion
scholar Pi Patel recounts his childhood experience as a cast away in the middle of the ocean, trapped on a boat with a Bengal tiger. This is a story about survival and finding meaning in life even in the face of the apparent indifference of the universe. Martel’s exotic metaphors challenge our standard concepts of God and religion. Travel with Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi and explore new possibilities.

Interview with Author Yann Martel

 

Kenower, Bill. [Bill Kenower]. (2010, May 13). Yann Martel Interview. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B29tigyBJlQ 

 

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Location: Pakistan

Awards: Amelia Bloomer List, 2014 ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT), YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2015 YALSA-ALA, Children's Choice Book Award, 2015 Finalist United States 

Thirteen years old, Malala Yousafzai was living a peaceful life in Pakistan- until the Taliban took over the land.  Fighting for her right to an education, Malala was shot and not expected to survive.  She recovered and became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.  Open the book and be inspired.

Activities

Malala has a fund focused on helping girls go to school and raise their voices for the right to education.  Visit a blog about the fund.   Watch a book review by a teen reader.

 

Malala Yousafzai's 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Speech

Yousafzai, M. (2014). Malala Yousafzai's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech. Malala Fund. Retrieved from: https://www.malala.org/malalas-story

Lafcadio Hearn’s “The Faceless Ghost” and other Macabre Tales from Japan: A Graphic Novel

Location: Japan

Awards/Press: ALA 2016 Great Graphic Novels Pick

Crawl under your covers, but leave the lights on as you step back in time to the ghostly past of Japan to read six mysterious and weird tales told in this graphic novel.   Prepare to get creeped out by encounters with the Snow Woman and other bewitching apparitions.

Learn more about Manga

Acclaimed manga creator Sean Michael Wilson retells traditional Japanese horror stories in The Faceless Ghost.  What is manga?  Watch Why Read Manga to find out.  Manga is read differently than graphic novels- watch this video on How to Read Manga.  Interested in reading more manga?  Look here for suggestions.

Saving Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith

Location: Australia 

 

Awards: AU & NZ iBooks Best of 2013 Breakout Book Of The Year 

 

Charli Blake is a trouble teen living in Pipers Cove, a small coastal town by Tasmania.  Her wish is to travel the world and all she has to do is finish high school.  But then Adam shows up.  Adam is the despised French teacher’s cousin from New York City chasing a post card picture.  In the process of his search, he turns Charli’s life upside down by helping her realize her true destiny.  Take trip down under with Saving Wishes.  It will be a trip you never want to end.  

Booktalk on Saving Wishes

 

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose

Location: Denmark

 

Awards: Sibert Informational Book Honor 2016

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler is an exhilarating tale of how Danish boys fought back against Hitler and the Nazis that wanted to take over their small hometown. The book offers a true account of Knud Pedersen and his involvement with the Churchill Club.  The story tells about how the club became and what their rules and acts of sabotage were.  We even learn about what happens to the boys after they have been caught.  The author combines Knud’s memories and his description effortlessly to allow young readers and insight that they do not have to give in without a fight.  See teens like you standing up for their beliefs and changing the world!

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

Location: Amhearst, Massachusetts

 

Awards: Printz Honor Book 2015

Emily moves into a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where the famous poet Emily Dickinson was raised.  Through her poetry, Emily struggles to contain a plethora of emotions--anger, guilt, relief, sadness, and fleeting moments of joy.  The combination of narratives and poetry will capture your attention.  Take a trip to Massachusetts with this great quick read!

 

The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

Location: Ireland

 

Awards: 2015 Printz Honor Winner, ALA 2015 Top Ten BFYA, William C. Morris Award Finalist, Kirkus Reviews' Best YA Book

 

Love music and enjoy a little romance peppered with adventure in your reading?  This book is for you!  Sixteen year old Maggie lives in Chicago with her mother and 10 year old sister.  Her grandmother and her cool uncle Kevin live in the apartment upstairs.  All that changes when her mother falls in love with Colm and the family moves to Bray, Ireland.  There, Maggie struggles to make friends and adjust to a new country and community, while profoundly missing her uncle and grandmother.  Enjoy the mystery, lyricism and beauty of this fun read!

The Carnival At Bray from jessieannfoley on 8tracks Radio.

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

Location: Antarctica

 

Awards: Michael L. Printz Award 2008

Get ready for a wild adventure in formidable Antarctica with The White Darkness.  14 year old Symone steals away with her Uncle Victor to the desolate white of the land of ice.  She finds herself on a perilous expedition and must rely on her inner strength. Revel in the suspense and beauty of this thrilling book!

The Boy Who Helped Harness the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Location: Malawi, in Southern Africa

 

Awards: Teachers' Choices,2013 International Reading Association, Kirkus Book Award, 2015 Nominee, Nautilus Book Award, 2010 Gold 

Growing up in Malawi (in Southern Africa), William Kamkwamba faces daily hardships of poverty and famine that are widespread in his rural community.  Unable to afford to continue to go to school, the 14 year old collects discarded junk and begins trying to build a windmill.  This powerful biography inspires us to examine our world and, like Kamkwamba, use our creativity to solve the problems we find.

TED Talk by William Kamkwamba

Kamkwamba, W. (July 2009). How I harnessed the wind. TedTalk Global. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind?language=en