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All books posted on this page are highly recommended by ASTAL. Visit this page often as we will be updating frequently. Share your teaching ideas for these books by clicking on the Contact ASTAL button. Looking for Alaska
Before going to Culver Creek, Miles' life was boring. When he becomes friends with the Colonel and Alaska, life begins to perk up for him. The three friends spend their free time smoking cigarettes, eating junk food, drinking
strawberry wine, and notoriously pulling pranks on the headmaster and the "weekend warriors" who are the rich kids that go home on the weekends. Miles, the narrator of this coming of age story, uses a countdown such as
"one hundred days before" to lead up to the major event in the story, creating an element of suspense. The novel is at times comic and at other times painfully serious, but that contributes to how believable the
characters and their circumstances are. This lets us understand Miles as he grows and develops throughout the novel. This fantastic novel is reminiscent of Salinger's Catcher in the Rye in the sarcastic tone, the
relationships, and the "coming of age" element, but Green creates a fresh modern look at the lives of today's teenagers. Green crafts a memorable novel for young adults that they can relate and connect to
and ASTAL recommends it for grades 10 and up.
The title of Anderson's novel is fitting when Kate decides to only apply to one college. She applies only to MIT because she feels it is her right because her mother attended there. She struggles throughout the novel to
tell her father that she did not apply to any safety schools. Her struggle intensifies when she receives her rejection letter from MIT. In shock and disbelief, Kate tries everything to change the outcome of the decision,
including calling the college as if she were her mother to inquire about her daughter's acceptance. In addition to Kate's rejection from MIT, her life continues to spiral out of her control when her neighbor
Teri Litch's house burns down and the family is left with nowhere to live. Having bullied Kate in the past, Teri is Kate's worst nightmare when she first comes to live with the Malones. Throughout the novel, the
two girls begin to grow close to one another even though Terri remains at a safe distance from Kate. Anderson's talent shines through in Catalyst through Kate's search to find acceptance of herself as only
human with doubts and questions about life. This novel is too captivating to miss and ASTAL recommends it for grades 8 and up.
Lakshmi's life is altered when a monsoon wipes away all that the family had
for crops. Left with no crops and no way to make money, Lakshmi's stepfather announces that she will have to leave home to go work. At first, Lakshmi is excited and more than willing to help her family through the hard
times. Readers see in her a hardworking, loyal, and compassionate daughter who cares immensely for her mother. Her world is turned upside down when her stepfather takes her to a
stranger that tells her that she will be a maid in India in the "Happiness House." Lakshmi's excitement soon disintegrates when she realizes that at
the Happiness House she will be sold into prostitution. Once there, she quickly learns that there is no escape from the life that her stepfather has thrown her into. Lakshmi creates close bonds with the other
girls and women to help her through the harsh reality of her new world. Told in a series of vignettes, Sold is a powerfully harrowing account of strength, love, and endurance.
This is a must read and ASTAL recommends it for grades 8 and above.
Junior's determination to receive a good education drives him to leave his school on the reservation and attend an all-white high school. When he
cannot find someone in his family or on the reservation to give him a ride, he walks 22 miles to school. He is seen as a traitor by his best friend Rowdy when he plays basketball for his new school against his old school. Junior
continues to work hard in school and at basketball. It's at his new school that Junior finds love, new friends, and becomes a famous basketball legend. For Junior, changing schools brings him a world of
conflict. He tries to remain a part of his community on the rez, while, at the same time, he tries to get along with the white people of his new school. Cartooning and finding humor in difficult situations
becomes his salvation. Alexie's novel is sure to make readers laugh and cry, as they root for Junior as he tries to find a better life for himself.
Alexie's authentic language and humor bring Junior's character to life. This novel is too good to miss and ASTAL recommends it for grades 8 and above.
The novel revolves around Jesse and the project he is completing that tells the story of his best friend Rise through words and artwork. From the
beginning of the novel, at Bobby's funeral we see many of the friends are touched by the terrible loss. Rise sees things through a different lens. He remarks to Jesse that "went out like a man." Rise seems to embrace the
idea of danger in his world is seemingly. Jesse continues his project on Rise with the hope it will help his friend to turn away from a dangerous lifestyle. Myers refrains from clichés in this novel by having Jesse, Rise, and their
friend C.J. all have families that are very much a part of their lives. As the novel progresses, a gang war begins to heat up around Jesse with the group the "Diablos." Jesse
begins to feel his world around him collapsing. When Rise begins to tell him about the benefits of selling drugs, he realizes that he cannot save Rise and he isn't sure that anyone else can help either.
Autobiography of my Dead Brother is a journey that readers experience with Jesse. Myers honest depiction of a world that is a reality for many teens, will keep Jesse and Rise with readers
long after they finish the novel. This novel is a milestone in YA literature and ASTAL recommends it for grades 8 and above. Mirroring the fluidity of space and time apparent in Obaachan's gift of sight,
this story follows several different paths at once. We follow Lin from the age of five to her graduation from high school. We see Lin and Obaachan's relationship blossom and evolve. We hear the story of a defining moment in
Japan's history and how it shaped the woman Obaachan is now. We travel the path of various immigrants as they make the journey to the United States. Lin is the constant in all of them, keeping them all on a parallel plane. Filled with lyrical language and beautiful imagery, Hiroshima Dreams is certainly too good to miss and highly recommended for grades 7 and above. ASTAL selected as the 2008 Book of the Year (for Middle Grades).
By using multiple narrators in this novel-in-poems, Bryant effectively presents a range of issues and concerns as well as the emotions that
divided the community and reflect the national spectrum of thought and belief. Her four youthful narrators, present both sides of the issue as they ponder their own beliefs. The three community members address the issue
while illustrating its impact on the community. The two remaining narrators are observers who come to the trial and report the action and nuances of it.
With her characteristic attention to detail, Bryant captures the tenor of the community as it is transformed by the influx of media and the curious. Its circus-like atmosphere injects life and cash into the quiet town.
The ongoing debate about the teaching of evolution makes the book particularly relevant to today students. ASTAL highly recommends Ringside 1925 for grades 7 and above. The book could be used in
English language arts, social studies, or even in science classes to provide a context for the debate about science versus religion. Teachers might also use it as a bridge to the play Inherit the Wind by
Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee that focuses on the courtroom battle between Darrow and Bryan. On a snowy night after a party celebrating their basketball team's important
victory, the brothers are passengers in car that hits a pedestrian. Duane, the driver, is a drunken bully who flees the scene, leaving the brothers and opening a door on the long standing antagonism and dislike between not
only Kyle and Duane but also their families. Duane's father was in love with Kyle's mother, but she rejected him and his wealth and married Kyle's father.
Duane's wealthy, arrogant father is a man who needs to feel his is in control first by trying to keep Kyle from dating his daughter Emily and then by planning to cover-up the truth of the accident. His idea is to make the
damaged car and the events of that winter night just go away, but the brothers challenge his plan. The 16-year-old narrator struggles with all these events and fabricates a series of lyrically crafted
scenarios to explain and resolve the circumstances of his life and to reset his moral compass. While the resolution is never as satisfactory in reality as it is in imagination, the narrator manages his fears and
begins to heed Emily's advice: "Believe. Believe." In this 133-page volume, Peter Johnson has created a remarkably complex and appealing protagonist. His
fluid shifts between the retelling of the events and his speculative endings are seamless, but do demand a thoughtful and relatively sophisticated reader. ASTAL highly recommends What Happened for grades 9 and above.
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The recipient of the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award, John Green's first YA novel captures the life of Miles Halter, a student at Culver Creek, a
prestigious boarding school. He is a sixteen year old teenager whose hobby is learning the dying words of famous people. Miles is given the nickname of "Pudge" from his roommate Chip; otherwise known as "the Colonel." It is at
Culver Creek that Miles meets the Colonel's friend Alaska Young. She has a sharp attitude and hypnotic personality. Miles instantly feels attracted to Alaska and the two become close friends.
From the author of the New York Times best seller Speak, Anderson's novel
Catalyst chronicles the life of Kate Malone, the daughter of a minister. Readers learn quickly that Kate is an honor roll student, a great long-distant runner, and a science fair winner. It is also learned that there is another
side to Kate. Since her mother's death, she has adult responsibilities in her household. She cares for her father and younger brother by cooking meals, doing the laundry, and keeping track of her brother and his medication
schedules. Readers see Kate attempt to organize her life the way that the periodic table is organized in science; she needs her life to make logical sense.
A finalist for the National Book Award in 2006 for Young People's Literature, Patricia McCormick's novel Sold
is an exploration into the world of sexual slavery. Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl living in the mountains of Nepal with her family. Though her family is extremely poor, Lakshmi's life is like any
ordinary girl from her village. She spends her days tending to the family goat and completing her schoolwork in the evenings.
The 2007 recipient of the National Book Award for Young People's
Literature, Sherman Alexie's first YA novel captures the life of Junior, a Spokane Indian living on the "rez." We first meet Junior when he tells readers that he has "water on the brain." He explains to us how he is
different and recounts the story of his losing his only friend: his dog. Junior enjoys playing basketball and drawing cartoons. Through his cartoons, we see him piece his life together. He uses his drawings to make sense of the
people and situations that surround him.
Walter Dean Myers' Autobiography of my Dead Brother was a finalist for the National Book Award. The book resonates with an honesty depicting the
difficulties of young African American men growing up in dangerous neighborhood. Readers first meet Jesse, a young teen, while he is at his friend Bobby's funeral. We learn that Jesse belongs to a group of teens
called the "Counts" who are supposed to do good for their community.
In a story that weaves together tales of multiple generations, continents,
and lives, we meet Lin, a young Japanese-American/Irish-American girl, a gifted cellist, a prized daughter, a bright student, and a keeper of the gift of sight, given to her by her grandmother the day she arrives from Japan.
Obaachan, meeting Lin for the first time, takes one look at her and knows she is the one to whom the gift must be bestowed. As Lin grows, so does her bond with Obaachan and her talent. While her painfully shy
temperament keeps her from forming connections with her peers, she understands much more than she lets on and they realize. Through Obaachan's guidance and Lin's own development, she begins to carve out
her own little niche in the world, unencumbered by space or time, and perfectly suited to her.
In her third YA novel, Jen Bryant weaves historic events with fiction to produce a wonderfully ironic tale. She transports readers to rural Tennessee
for the infamous Scopes "Monkey" Trial in 1925 where the ACLU orchestrated a test case against Butler Act of Tennessee that banned the teaching of any theory that did not support creationism. She creates nine,
distinctly individual voices to tell the story of the inaugural chapter of the continuing battle between evolution and creationism, science and religion, theory and faith that continues to resonate even today. Two of the most
famous men in the country were recruited to try the case: William Jennings Bryan, a highly regarded minister, argued the state's case while the nation's most highly regarded attorney, Clarence Darrow defended high school
science teacher John Scopes.
In his striking and highly acclaimed debut novel,
What Happened, award-winning poet Peter Johnson creates an unnamed protagonist/poet who struggles with losses: his mother's death, his father's abandonment of
both him and his brother Kyle, and his personal sense of loss and direction.