Postcards from No Man's Land

Chambers, A. (2004). Postcards from no man's land. NY, NY: Speak, Imprint of Penguin Group, (USA) Inc.

These are two stories that roll into one. The first one took place fifty years ago with a torrid affair between a woman and the wounded soldier she was nursing back to care. The second one is now, when seventeen year old Jacob learns the truth about his family's secret. Finding out this truth about his past is not easy on Jacob, especially learning about a "grandma" who is about to die. Well, I guess stepgrandma?  For Jacob, this visit to Armsterdam was supposed to be a simple visit to his granfather's grave. Finding out that his grandfather had an affair with Daan's grandma, Geertrui while he was a convalescent wounded soldier who left her pregnant before he died was probably something that Sarah, Jacob's grandma, would not take too good either so he debates telling her the truth. While there, his attitude about Armsterdam changes because after all, it isn't as boring as people made it out to be. While there, he finds a girl that he likes, and well a boy, too, it gets a bit complicated. He sets off on a trip to Armsterdam because his sick grandma can't make it and definitely finds out more about his past than he bargained for but something that in a strange way makes him happy because he meets a cousin he didn't know he had and learns about the remarkable love a woman had for his grandfather.

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Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

The heartbreaking story of a shattered home and an abused young girl is revealed as Eric visits his catatonic friend at Sacred Heart Hospital. Sarah is an outcast, and so is Eric. Sarah because she has bad burn scars on her face and Eric because he is fat. They were good friends but are constantly picked on by their classmates. They enlist the help of Dale so that he can protect them. Eric and Sarah were a team and they survived because they had each other. Eric even makes an effort to not lose weight when he starts swimming so that he can still be Sarah's friend. When Sarah goes into catatonic state, it is suggested to him to talk to her to see if his conversations trigger her memories and bring her out of this state. During the course of this process, Eric realizes that the burns on her face are not an accident and that her father had been abusing her. This leads to Sarah "come out" of this catatonic state and Eric realizes she's been faking her condition so that she may stay away from her father in a desperate attempt to escape from the abuse which had increased in violence. Desperate to get help to try and protect his friend, Eric confides in his teacher and coach who tries to help out. When he confronts Mr. Byrnes, things get a little out of control. Will he be able to save his friend Sarah Byrnes?

The students that come into our classrooms each have a story, unfortunately not every story is a good one. It is heartbreaking to think that some of these kids have to fear the people that are meant to protect them. So who are they supposed to run to if the ones that have this responsibility to protect them are the ones who are being abusive? It makes you think about the unfairness of life and I'm sure that we have more of these kids than we should. Unfortunately so...

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Mexican Whiteboy

De la Peña, M. (2008). Mexican whiteboy. New York: Delacorte Press.

The struggle of a boy, a Mexican Whiteboy is outlined in this novel where Danny Lopez lives in San Diego with his father. His father is Mexican and his mother is white. Being that his father is away and he lives with his white complected and blue eyed mother, Danny, who is a shade darker than the rest of the white kids in his school. As a  "Mexican Whiteboy," who doesn't speak Spanish Danny undergoes a sort of identity crisis. One summer Danny goes to Mexico to visit his father's family. If being a non-Spanish speaking Mexican living in San Diego made him feel like an outsider, imagine the feeling of being a non-Spanish speaking Mexican visiting relatives in Mexico made him feel. His arrival was a bit bumpy since immediately he gets beat up by a kid named Uno, who ironically enough ends up becoming his friend. The summer he spends in Mexico sparks a greater love for baseball and brings him closer to finding his identity.

This somehow made me think of my children because their mother is Mexican and their father is white. Although my kids live with both parents and speak both English and Spanish, I have had my ten year old son ask me that if he were to be interested in joining the Mexican Military, would he be able to? The answer to that is that if by the time he reaches 18 and he wants to do that, he can because both my boys have dual citizenship. When we visit Mexico both my boys are aware that we are visiting my country of birth and ask me a million and one questions about how it was living there while growing up. It makes me happy to see how my kids feel like they belong in both countries. 

I'll Meet You There

Demetrios, H. (2016). I'll meet you there. New York: Square Fish.

Realistic and hopeful, romantic and filled with despair, this is what realistic fiction is. I'll Meet You There is a novel where the issues of the real world toy with the future that has been dreamed of by Skylar Evans. Not wanting to be another number on the statistics, Skylar is only three months away from starting the journey that will make her dream come true. She has planned to work the entire summer, however; her mom loses her job and this jeopardizes her plans.Josh has a different route to escape the statistics. He joined the Marines. However his plans are cut short and is forced to come back when he loses his leg in Afghanistan. So why does everyone want to leave this town? Becuase this is where dreams go to die.

Skylar and Josh work together and develop a friendship that turns into something a little bit stronger than just a friendship. And although they had worked together before he went to Afghanistan, their relationship was almost non-existent. Now, because Josh came back a different man, this relationship naturally turned into something more. With a strong support group of friends, they make up for the flawed mother that basically chooses to be a mediocre part of Skylar's life. This novel is filled with beautiful moments that both lead to despair and are created as a part of despair.

To say this novel is realistic would be an understatement. This is the type of novel that young kids can relate to because out there there are many kids whose dreams of a prosperous future too often become crushed. As a senior teacher I often see how many kids have no choice but to enroll in a junior college because they can't afford to go off to a four year university. This novel hit home. Both because of the unfortunate lack of money for these kids, and the fact that they don't give up on making their dreams come true.

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Annie on My Mind

Garden, N. (1982). Annie on my mind. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

This is the story of how Liza, a student at Foster Academy lined up to attend MIT and student body president met Annie, a student in a public school with dreams of being accepted into Berkeley in Californita in order to pursue a singing career. Coming from two very different social classes, these two girls were not meant to be friends. They met at a museum and they became great friends. Great friends that eventually fell in love. This love was probably not meant to be, however it grew as it did with their friendship. 

A series of events bring the girls even closer together. The most prominent of these events is when two of Liza's teachers have Liza housesit for them. When school officials find out about this Liza is put under scrutiny and is in danger of being expelled. However she is given a second chance. However; the teachers, who obvioiusly do have a lesbian relationship are fired from their jobs. One thing leads to another and Liza somehow feels pressured to end her relationship with Annie.

The girls each go their seperate ways but annie is obviously constantly on her mind Liza's mind. Unhappy at feeling she owed it to society to end her relationship with Annie, Liza begins writing to her love. Painfully realistic in the sense that in this society homosexual relationships are still frowned upon. However, the question is, is this love strong enough to last through the storm brought upon a close minded society?

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Banned Books Read Out

Lily and Dunkin

Gephart, D. (2016). Lily and Dunkin. NY: Delacorte

Timothy grows up following the rules set by his father that state that when  he is Lily Jo, he can't go outside the house. As he starts preparing for the eight grade, Timothy is preparing to start the year as Lily Jo. However, we soon find out that his father most certainly does not agree with this. At the same time we meet Norbert, who is starting his life over in a new place and he seems to be hiding a hard truth about his father. The first time they see each other, Norbert sees Lily and believes Lily is a girl, which she is, despite her father's mixed feelings about it. The next time he sees Lily, she's Tim and accepts the "I was dared into wearing a dress by my sister" answer to his confussion.

As the school year starts Lily's truth and Dunkin making it to the basketball team and unwillingly becoming a part of Vasquez's club. On a daily basis Lily struggles at home with his unaccepting father and Dunkin with the truth about his father. Eventually Lily's father accepts that he gets the treatment that she needs to stop the nature of his body change its course and redirect it and although Lily doesn't seem to understand what prompts the sudden change, she is glad he changes his mind. Unfortunatley, Dunkin stops taking his pills and eventually lands in the hospital. He is released right before the big dance at school, dance to which Lily goes dressed as herself. 

Dunkin shows up at the dance and reveals to Lily that his father is dead because he committed suicide. They dance the last dance. Lily's father shows up to the dance wearing a shirt that says "I love my daughter" and finally reveals what made him change his mind about her treatment. The doctor tells him the statistics of transgender teenagers and the alarmingly rate of suicide amongst these kids. He chose to love a daughter than to mourn the death of a son.

This book is heartwarming. It makes you hurt for the trials Lily encounters and it makes you feel for the unaccepting father who we know loves his kid, he's just having a little bit of a hard time accepting his daughter's preferences. It is something that is not spoken off really, at least not where I'm from, but it makes us wonder how many of the kids in our schools struggle with these truths. The powerful message was my favorite: It's best to love a daughter than to mourn a dead son. 

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It's Perfectly Normal

Harris, R. (2009). It’s perfectly normal. Boston, MA: Candlewick Press. 

Informative to say the least, this is a book that can definitely not replace parents doing their job and giving their growing children "the talk"; however, it serves as an excellent guide in the topics that need to be addressed, and perhaps even the order in which these topics should be addressed. The 29 chapters are divided into six parts:

1) What is Sex?

2) Our Bodies

3) Puberty

4) Families and Babies

6) Decisions

7) Staying Healthy

Each of these sections addresses the doubts a growing child/teenager can have. It is never too soon to start considering these topics with our children because we never know how soon their little minds work. The way that this book is put together is helpful and the language is simple to understand. The language is also age appropriate and everything is explained in a responsible manner. Like I said, this book should not replace "the talk" and I probably would not give it to a child to look at it alone, but is something that I would definitely go over, together with my husband, with my boys when they are good and ready to learn a little bit more about things. 

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