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Title: When Breath Becomes Air

Rating:4/5
Summary: This book is an autobiography of a neurosurgeon named Paul Kalanithi. The book starts with him finishing his residency, when he finds out that he has cancer. It takes him a while to come to terms with it and the reader watches as he fights through his own denial, tries to save his relationship with his wife, and comes to terms with his own fate: death.

Review: The book was a little slow, but it's sad and really puts your life in perspective.

I ordered the book through Amazon.com

Strategy:  This is a tough one. Maybe for a Bio-Med class or is someone is working on a theme of reliable narrator.

Awards: Goodreads Choice Awards Best Memoir & Autobiography

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Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
**
I really didn't like this book that much.  I thought I would as it is a Civil War story, and I love reading about the Civil War.  Basically it is about a Confederate deserter who wants to return to Cold Mountain to find his love.  Meanwhile, the woman he loves is dealing with the struggles of life during the Civil War and having things taken by the Union.  Overall, I just really didn't like the story.

Because I was unimpressed by the story I don't really see using this in the classroom.

The library does have a copy.

I own the book

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By S.E. Hinton

5 Stars

The narrator of this story is Ponyboy Curtis and the story takes place in Oklahoma in 1965. It is about the Greasers and the Socs  and how they battle socioeconomic status, death and loss, violence and family life.

Strategy: I used this when I worked in impatient. I would show the movie to the kids and have them discuss how they relate to the different characters, situations and how violence has affected them. This could be used in history or English classes.

I read this in paperback.

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By Morgan Rhodes
Award: Nominated for a Colorado Blue Spruce Award

Recommendation: 4.5/5
As the title suggest the three kingdoms  of Mytica have fallen apart. Auranos has been conquered by the mad king of Limeros, King Gaius. Princess Cleo's Auranian family is either dead or has been murdered in the conflict and Cleo is forced to marry Prince Magnus of Limeros . However, Jonah of the kingdom Paelsia also has his eye on Cleo. The three kingdoms are at each other's throats and the three rebels and conquerors are at odds, but can they overcome their differences to save Mytica from destruction.

I really like this series as it is full of intrigue and conflict. I love the complex characters and their connections to each other.

Strategy: You could use this book to study monarchies, corrupt governments, power struggles. It could be linked with a study of the middle east and the conflicts there.

Availability: FHS Library

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By Judy Blume

Award:

Nominated for GoodReads Choice Awards 2015 for Best Historical Fiction

Recommendation:
4/5

Summary:  Its set in the 1950s when a small town experienced three plane crashes in a row (actually happened in  the town Blume grew up in).  Main character is actually coming back to the town  for the 35th anniversary of plane crashes.  Then it goes back to her childhood and the summer of the accidents.  Blume tells the story of three generations all living through the 50s and the summer of the plane crashes.

Strategy:  The book is during the time of the Cold War and the Korean War.  Could possibly be used as historical fiction, but doesn't really relate all that much to the War or the 1950s.

Availability: I got it on Amazon on my kindle.

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By Scott Westerfeld

Recommendation: 5/5

Awards:
American Library Association for Best Book for Young Adults.
Road Island Teen Book of the Year.
Philip K. Dick Award
New York Times Notable Book

Summary:  Tally is turning 16 which is an important time in life but not for the reasons we think.  She is about to undergo an operation that all 16 years go through that turns them from ugly to pretty.  Everyone under 16 is ugly until they get this procedure and go to the shiny city.  She is excited but her friend does not trust the operation and runs away.  Tally's own operation is put on the line until she finds her friend and instead she finds out what really happens when people become "pretty" and the true definition of ugly.

Strategy:  This could be great for English, science, sociology and social studies.
I would use this as a class novel that we read together and create mini Socratic seminars and debates on the topics that are brought up such as plastic surgery, cloning, definitions of beauty, government control and discrimination.

This is available in print or on the Overdrive.

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Sarah Moore

by   ML Stedman

Recommendation 4 out of 5 stars

Awards
Goodreads choice awards for best historical fiction 2012
Barnes and Noble best books of 2012
Hudson Booksellers best books of 2012

Summary
Tom is a World War I veteran who maintains a lighthouse with his wife Isabel. Isabel is devastated when she is unable to carry a baby to full term, and experiences 2 miscarriages and a stillbirth. However, her prayers are answered when an infant washes up on shore in a rowboat. Tom thinks they should notify the authorities but ultimately gives in to Isabel's wish to keep the girl. Unfortunately, they are found out and the biological mother fights for her baby back.  The decision that they made affected many lives of the people on the mainland.

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by Rita Williams-Garcia

Recommendation 5 out of 5

Awards
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the Coretta Scott King Award and was a National Book Award Finalist and a Newberry Honor award

Summary
The book tells the story of three sisters who travel to Oakland, California, in 1968 to meet the mother who abandoned them.
She does not want them and sends them to a day camp run by black panthers. It is the story of the month they spent in her neighborhood.

Strategy
This is a short book that would be great for any literacy class. As well as brief look at the black panthers in history.  You could use the whole book or just chapters of it.  Any kid who has ever felt unwanted by a parent would get something out of this book.

Availability
St vrain overdrive has it as a digital book.

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Book: Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Award: Michael L. Printz Award

Recommendation: 4 out of 5 stars.

Summary: This is a post-apocalyptic novel about how human civilization has declined due to ecological reasons. The Ice caps have melted and large areas of land is underwater. Humans have reverted to survival mode and a small economy has evolved by scavenging old oil tankers for parts.

Strategy: This book would be a great addition to a geography or science class. It could be used to emphasize the impact of population, global warming or economics. It could be used in small chapters or as the whole book depending on time and purpose.

Availability: it is currently in the FHS library in print format.