Bibliography:

Bolden, T. (2020). Facing Fredrick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, :A Monumental American Man. New York, NY. Harry M. Abrams, Inc.  

Summary: 

Frederick Douglass, an African American slave living in the 1800s, and how his life unraveled from being a slave to becoming a civil rights speaker and activist.  

Critical Analysis: 

This novel written by Tonya Bolden is a biography that depicts the early life of Frederick Douglass and his accomplishments throughout his life. Bolden was able to capture historical facts about how Frederick became a free man and how he was a natural speaker and writer. Although Frederick struggled with his reading and writing, he was able to have his own printing press and how he used that platform to voice his concerns about the treatment of African Americans. Bolden is able to depict Frederick’s determination and perseverance in a time when racism was at its highest. This is a great novel that can be used to conduct inquiry research. 

Strengths: The author was able to give factual accounts of Frederick’s life. The use of text features and graphic features was very useful to understand the factual events. 

Weaknesses: The novel was well written and no weaknesses were found. 

Review excerpt (Booklist)

By Angela Leeper

https://www.booklistonline.com/Facing-Frederick-The-Life-of-Frederick-Douglass-a-Monumental-American-Man-Tonya-Bolden/pid=9069528

Review excerpt (SLJ)

Review by Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY

https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/facing-frederick-tonya-bolden-slj-review

 

Bibliography: 

Crowe, C.  (2012). Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case. New York, NY. Phyllis Fogelman Books.    

Summary: 

Chris Crow the author of this novel was able to give factual information about what happened to Emmitt Till. Emmitt Till was an African American boy living in Chicago. Emmitt was a happy boy living with his mother until the Summer of 1955, when he left Chicago to go with his uncle to Mississippi. It was in Mississippi where Emmett was kidnapped and brutally killed by two white men. His vicious murder was the start of the civil rights movement.   

Critical Analysis: 

This novel has the characteristics of being a biography that depicts the suffrage of African American people in the times of the Jim Crow laws in the South. The biography informs the readers of how the North and the South were divided in regards to the treatment of African Americans. The readers are given factual information about the trial that was held in Tallahatchie County. By providing factual information, photographs, timeline and captions the reader is able to make connections on how the murder of Emmett made an impact on society. This is a great novel that can be used for inquiry research on the civil rights movement. 

Strengths: The novel provides chronological order of events of the life and death of Emmett Till and how his death impacted society by contributing to the civil rights movement. 

Weaknesses: The novel was well written and no weaknesses were found. 

Review excerpt (Booklist)

https://www.booklistonline.com/Getting-Away-with-Murder-The-True-Story-of-the-Emmett-Till-Case-Chris-Crowe/pid=285176

Bibliography:

Ogle, R. (2021). Free Lunch. New York, NY. Norton Young Readers. 

Summary:

Rex Ogle tells his own life story of being a young boy living in Birmingham and being part of the welfare system. As a middle school boy he was embarrassed to be in the free lunch program at school and tried very hard to hide the fact that he was poor. Rex also experienced physical child abuse by his mother because of their economic situation. 

Critical Analysis:

This title can be classified as an autobiography. Rex Ogle is able to tell his story from his own perspective of when he was a young boy. He is able to deliver his feelings and thoughts about being part of the welfare system. For example, he gives great detail about the time when his mother had to pay for groceries with food stamps. He is also able to give his experience of when his mother signed up for the free lunch program at his school. He details how he tried very hard to hide the fact that he was poor and had to have free lunch at school. He didn’t want his friends and others to make fun of him because of that. Although he tried hard to hide that he was poor, the other boys still made fun of him and called him racial slurs. 

Strengths: The novel is able to give details about the author’s young life. Feelings and experiences were given with great details. 

Weakness: The novel was well written from the perspective of the author’s life. No weaknesses were found. 

Review excerpt (Kirkus)

“A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism”.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rex-ogle/free-lunch-ogle/

Review Excerpt (SLJ)

Review by Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA , Oct 04, 2019

https://www.slj.com/review/free-lunch

 

Bibliography:

Condie, A. (2010). Matched. New York, NY. Knopf Books for Young Readers. Dutton Books for Young Readers.  

Plot Summary: 

Seventeen year old Cassia, lives in a Society where everything is controlled. She lives an ordinary life until the day of her match. She is excited to see Xanders face on the screen when it is her turn, but everything changes when she sees Ky’s face on her microcard. Cassia is then sent into a world of secrecy and fighting for the love of her life.  

Critical Analysis: 

This title’s genre is Fantastical Fiction with a subgenre of Science Fiction. The setting is depicted as a futuristic world where technology is advanced. For example, the people in this world travel by an air train and air car, food is brought by a chime system and people communicate using a portscreen. The plot of the novel was set as a dystopian element. This is because in Cassia’s world every aspect of the people’s lives in the novel are being controlled by the Officials. The Officials control everything and everyone in the novel. The plot follows that narrative throughout the novel and that is what gives the novel its raising action. 

Strengths: The ability of the author to create a dystopian world was an excellent plot. This novel also has two more books that follow Cassia’s journey. Crossed and  Reached are the next two novels. 

Weaknesses: The novel was well written and no weaknesses were found. 

Connections: This novel follows the same dystopian element as the novel titled The Giver by Lois Lowry. 

Review excerpt (Booklist)

By Courtney Jones 

https://www.booklistonline.com/Matched-Ally-Condie/pid=4136696

 

Bibliography: 

Alexander, L. (2012). Time Cat. New York, NY. Square Fish.   

Plot Summary: 

Gareth is a black cat that is owned by a young boy named Jason. When Jason gets in trouble at home he gets sent to his room and asks Garth about his nine lives. This is when the cat speaks to him and tells him that he doesn’t exactly have nine lives, but that he can travel to different places at different times. This is where Gareth and Jason’s adventures begin. 

Critical Analysis: 

This novel is definitely high fantasy. The author gives Garth, the cat, the ability to talk and gives him the power to time travel to different destinations in the past. The plot is set on the abilities of Garth, the cat. The plot also takes the reader to other ancient countries, where Jason is able to learn about ancient history. The author also gives the reader a glimpse of historical practices in regards to the characters' cultures. For example in Egypt, they learn that the cat is worshiped but in Germany they were considered wicked creatures. The author was also able to give the novel enough suspense to keep the reader wondering where Garth would go next and what type of treatment was given to cats. The overall theme of this novel is that animals like humans also have problems and have to find ways to survive. 

Strengths: The novel is able to keep the reader's attention and focus on the adventures of Garth and Jason. 

Weaknesses: The novel was well written and no weaknesses were found. 

Review excerpt (Goodreads)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/822630.Time_Cat

 Bibliography:

Okorafor, N. (2017). Akata Witch. New York, NY. Viking Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 

Plot Summary:

Sunny Nwazue is a young albino girl that lives in Nigeria with her two brothers and parents. At a young age she endured bullying because of her appearance, but her life changed when she met Orulu, Chichi and Sasha. She discovered the world of magic and spells that was kept a secret from her by her mother. All four of them were then trained to use their magic and spells to prevent  Black Hat Otokoto, the serial killer, from conjuring the evil Ekwensu.

Critical Analysis:

This title depicts supernatural characteristics which give purpose and life to the characters in the novel. Sunny, Orulu, Chichi and Sasha all have the ability to perform magic and spells that help the novel build on the plot. In the plot the young characters need to know how to use their magical powers to defeat the evil Black Hat Otokoto. The introduction of the characters and how the characters learned about one another led to the rising action, climax and finally the resolution of the novel. The novel also depicts other creatures that are in character with the sub genre of supernatural stories. The creature that they ultimately want to destroy is the evil Ekwensu. The author was able to create a bizarre world with magic, spells and not earthly creatures. However, the author was also able to retain the reality of the setting, which was Nigeria. The use of Igbo mythology also gave the novel a realistic aspect. 

Strengths: The novel had a strong plot with the characters giving life to the supernatural. There was enough suspense to keep wanting to read the novel.   

Weakness: The novel was well written and I found no weaknesses. 

Review excerpt (HornBook)

https://www.hornbookguide.com/site/?reviewDetail=akata-witch-94099

Review Excerpt (Booklist)

https://www.booklistonline.com/Akata-Witch-Nnedi-Okorafor/pid=4642653

 Bibliography: 

Sepetys, R. (2011). Between Shades of Gray. New York, NY. Thorndike Press.  

Plot Summary: 

Lina is a fifteen year old Lithuanian that lives with her brother, mother and father. Everything in her life was perfect, until the day that they were taken by the Soviet Police. Her father was imprisoned and they were taken to different camps throughout Asia. Even Though the three of them stayed together and endured harsh treatment and conditions, her mother perished in the last camp. She was able to continue and tell her life story with the drawings that she kept during her imprisonment.   

Critical Analysis: 

This novel has many historical fiction characteristics. The plot was set during the 1940's. This time period in history was the time when the Jews and Polish people were being prosecuted and enslaved in different camps. The author was able to display a map and timeline of the areas in which Lina and her family traveled. This graphic was able to give the reader a clear picture of where they were taken. The events also depict the feelings, sights and treatment that Lina and the other characters had to endure during their captivity. The chronological order structure gave the reader a clear timeline of the events. 

Strengths: The novel was told from the perspective of a teenager that endured great hardships during the invasion by the Soviet Union. The novel takes the reader back in that time and is able to visualize and feel everything that Lina experienced . 

Weaknesses: The novel was well written and no weaknesses were found.

Connections: This novel has a strong connection to the novel titled The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank. In the novel Between Shades of Gray, Lina was able to express her experience by drawing and Anne Frank was able to express her experience by writing. 

Review excerpt (Booklist)

By Michael Cart (02/01/2011)

https://www.booklistonline.com/Between-Shades-of-Gray-Ruta-Sepetys/pid=4560113

Review excerpt (Horn Book)

https://www.hornbookguide.com/site/?reviewDetail=between-shades-of-gray-93480

 

Bibliography:

Zusak, M. (2006). The Book Thief. New York, NY. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 

Plot Summary: 

Nine year old Liesel Meminger was given away to her foster parents in 1939 by her mother. She had to watch her younger brother die. During her young life, while with the foster parents, she had to endure harsh poverty but she was also able to experience love, friendship and compassion during World War II. Even Though she was not able to read and write, books attracted her attention and then she became known as the book thief. 

Critical Analysis: 

This title has characteristics of Historical Fiction because the narrative takes place during the 1940’s during World War II. It was during a time with great conflict and harsh treatment towards the Jews. During that time people were afraid to speak ill about Adolf Hitler. Everyone had to follow strict rules in regards to honoring him and showing great respect towards the Nazi regime. The narrator (Death) described the death and destruction during that time period. He described it as a busy time for collecting souls. The setting also depicted places in Asia like Munich. The novel also tells the narrative of the bombing that happened in Munich in 1944, in which many people died. 

Strengths: The novel depicts the plot during World War II and is able to retell certain events in history.   

Weaknesses: The novel was well written and no weaknesses were found. 

Review excerpt (SLJ)

By Angela Carstensen (06/03/1914)

https://www.slj.com/story/on-top-of-his-game-slj-interviews-margaret-a-edwards-award-winner-markus-zusak

Bibliography:

Boyne, J. (2006). The Boy in The Striped Pajamas. New York, NY. David Flicking Books. 

Plot Summary:

Bruno was an eight year old boy and was the son of a Nazi commandant during the occupation of Poland. He lived a comfortable life in Berlin, until his dad was commissioned to go to Auschwitz. It is there that he befriends a boy named Shmuel (The boy in the striped pajamas). They create a beautiful friendship and ultimately that friendship ended tragically with both of their lives. 

Critical Analysis:

This title is a historical fiction novel because it takes the reader back into the past. It depicts many events that occurred in history. For example, the occupation of Poland by the Nazi. The treatment and living conditions of the Jews during that time period. The novel describes the concentration camp (Auschwitz). Although the characters are fictitious, the novel refers to the character of Hitler, which was a real character in history. Although the plot of the novel is fictitious, it may have a realistic aspect. The novel gives a glimpse of how life was like for the Jews during that time period. The novel is able to describe the physical aspect of the Jews that were kept in the concentration camp.  

Strengths: The novel has many characteristics that make it historical fiction. The setting and events transport the reader back in history. It teaches the reader about the harsh conditions that the Jews had to endure during that time period.  

Weakness: The novel was well written and I found no weaknesses. 

Review excerpt (Booklist)

By Hazel Rochman (07/2006)

https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Boy-in-the-Striped-Pajamas-A-Fable-John-Boyne/pid=1695378