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Sunday afternoon I went off exploring. Found my way to the Chester Valley Trail and walked (and walked). Found my way to a bookstore. Found myself driving home with a copy of
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe in hand.
Hours before, I'd had no plans. Suddenly I had a walk and a new book.
A book I loved.
Because this novel comes from such an honest, non-exploitative place. Because I believed in these two Mexican-American boys, finding their way into a deep friendship. Because there are no gimmicks here, no oft-returning tropes, no Big Concepts that flash like advertisements in the pages. Because both Aristotle and Dante have parents who love them, parents who look out for them, parents who give them room but also make them talk, parents who care most for their children's well-being. No schmaltz. No simplifying. No plot just for the sake of plot. A real, believable story about kids trying to learn about themselves.
I was reading, and I was saying Yes. Yes. Yes. I was reading, and I was thinking: Mr. Saenz, you deserve every award you have received for this book.
Here is Aristotle (Ari) talking to Dante's mom. We have companionship. We have compassion. We have love, but we have as well the fact that love is hard. Love is ridiculously hard. To give. To receive. To keep. Saenz knows that. He doesn't have to scream it, tag it, trick it, cute it. He just calls it like it is.
"You're a part of this family," she said. "There's no use fighting it."
"I'm sure I'll disappoint you someday, Mrs. Quintana."
"No," she said. And even though her voice could be so firm, right then her voice was almost as kind as my own mother's. You're so hard on yourself, Ari."
I shrugged. "Maybe that's just the way it is with me."
She smiled at me. "Dante's not the only one who missed you."
It was the most beautiful thing an adult who wasn't my mom or dad had ever said to me. And I knew that there was something about me that Mrs. Quintana saw and loved. And even though I felt it was a beautiful thing, I also felt it was a weight. Not that she meant it to be a weight. But love was always something heavy for me. Something I had to carry.
By: Samantha McGinnis,
on 6/17/2014
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In the last week of our series of great summer reads, we’re bringing you our favorite titles for high schoolers to dive into as the days become ever warmer.
Be sure to check out our summer book lists from past weeks for great reads for kids of all ages!
Sign up to receive more great book lists, tip sheets and summer reading facts from First Book!
If you work with kids in need, you can find these titles on the First Book Marketplace by clicking on the pictures next to the publisher descriptions of each book.
“Mare’s War” by Tanita S. Davis
Meet Mare, a grandmother with flair and a fascinating past.
Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn’t your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she’s too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there’s more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.
Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC member and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, this novel introduces a larger-than-life character who will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
“Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood” by By: Benjamin Alire Saenz
It is 1969, America is at war, “Hollywood” is a dirt-poor Chicano barrio in small-town America, and Sammy and Juliana face a world of racism, war in Vietnam, and barrio violence. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood is a Young Adult Library Services Association Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Young Adults.
“Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he thought he was destined to live.
“Maze Runner” by James Dashner
The first book in the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series–The Maze Runner is a modern classic, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade–a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.
Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up–the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.
Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
“Tall Story” by Candy Gourlay
Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.
Then Andi’s biggest wish comes true and she’s minutes away from becoming someone’s little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he’ll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he’s tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact–plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth.
In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.
The post First Book’s Summer Book List: High School appeared first on First Book Blog.
BFFs. Buddies. Besties. Guy pals. Call ‘em what you like, I see a slow going trend in YA of male authors of color writing stories that explore male friendships.
Most often, YA male characters are either loners or involved with a female character, either as a friend or love interest. The following books not only have male characters who are friends, but they explore the friendship and what makes it tick.
Are there others?
Surf Mules by G. Neri (Putnam Juvenile, 2009) When Logan goes searching for the Perfect Monster Wave, he doesn’t expect his former best friend to be killed by it. Add to this a deadbeat dad who bankrupted his family and the possibility of college going down the drain, and Logan is suddenly in a tailspin.
So when small-time dealer Broza offers Logan and his dropout pal, Z-boy, a summer job that could make them rich, it seems his problems might be solved. But between Z-boy’s constant screwups, a band of Nazi surfers out for blood, and a mysterious stranger on their tail, Logan is starting to have some serious doubts about hauling contraband across country, and hopes just to make it home alive.
Aristle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (Simon and Schuster, 2012) When Aristotle and Dante meet, in the summer of 1987, they are 15-year-olds existing in “the universe between boys and men.” The two are opposites in most ways: Dante is sure of his place in the world, 
while Ari feels he may never know who he is or what he wants. But both are thoughtful about their feelings and interactions with others, and this title is primarily focused on the back-and-forth in their relationship over the course of a year. Family issues take center stage, as well as issues of Mexican identity, but the heart of the novel is Dante’s openness about his homosexuality and Ari’s suppression of his. Sáenz (Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, 2004) writes toward the end of the novel that “to be careful with people and words was a rare and beautiful thing.” And that’s exactly what Sáenz does—he treats his characters carefully, giving them space and time to find their place in the world, and to find each other. This moves at a slower pace than many YA novels, but patient readers, and those struggling with their own sexuality, may find it to be a thought-provoking read.
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth (Arthur A. Levine, 2012) Lewis “Shoe” Blake is used to the joys and 
difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he’s not used to is white people being nice to him — people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family’s poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan’s side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis’s home — will he still be his friend?
Darius and Twig by Walter Dean Myers (Amistad, 2013) Darius and Twig are an unlikely pair: Darius is a writer whose only escape is his alter ego, a peregrine falcon named Fury, and Twig is a middle-distance runner striving 
for athletic success. But they are drawn together in the struggle to overcome the obstacles that Harlem life throws at them.
The two friends must face down bullies, an abusive uncle, and the idea that they’ll be stuck in the same place forever in this touching and raw new teen novel from Walter Dean Myers, award-winning author of Monster, Kick, We Are America, Bad Boy, and many other celebrated literary works for children and teens.
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2-4 April, Forever My Lady by Jeff Rivera is free to download on Amazon. Please take the time to download it. Please!! Take the time to download and have your friends download it, too! You don’t have to have a Kindle or plan to read the book. You do have to take the time to show your support for books by Latinos. Download free here.
A synopsis of the book from Amazon:
Dio Rodriguez grew up on the streets and knew all too well the hard, cool feeling of the barrel of a gun tucked down the back of his jeans. But his hard exterior softened when he met Jennifer. Jennifer understands Dio like no one else and makes him want to be a better man. Suddenly a drive-by shooting lands Dio in a prison boot camp and sends Jennifer to the hospital. When Dio learns that Jennifer is pregnant, he realizes that he must find a way to turn his life around and return to his lady. But can trainee Rodriguez get his act together among the hardcases in prison? And will Jennifer be waiting for him if and when he does?
Literature by authors of color is definitely worth supporting. Have you read any of Benjamin Alire Saenz’s books yet? His YA novels include Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, Last Night I Sang to the Monster and Aristotle and Donte Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I loved Aristotle and Dante and was not surprised after it won so many awards at ALA Midwinter. I was able to speak with Saenz at ALAN last November and when our conversation was done, he actually offered me the copy of Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club which he had been carrying with him. I should have had him autograph it.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz has been awarded the prestigious 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his book Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club!The PEN/Faulkner Award is America’s largest peer-juried
prize for fiction, and past winners have included Phillip Roth, Sherman Alexie, John Updike, Julie Otsuka, Ha Jin and others. As winner, Sáenz receives $15,000. Each of the four finalists—Amelia Gray for Threats (FSG); Laird Hunt for Kind One (Coffee House); T. Geronimo Johnson for Hold It ‘Til It Hurts (Coffee House); and, Thomas Mallon for Watergate (Pantheon)—receives $5,000. Sáenz is the first Mexican-American and the first Texan to win the award. It’s been 15 years since a small press published a PEN/Faulkner Award Winner. Cinco Puntos is wonderfully happy for Ben and extremely proud to have published his book. 
Read more about the award in the El Paso Times.
(quoted from email from Cinco Puntos Press)
Yes, I should have had it autographed!!
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 3/8/2013
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The Lambda Literary Foundation revealed the finalists for the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. The “Lammy” awards honor the best lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) published works from 2012.
The nominated works in the 22 categories were picked by more than 90 booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, and previous Lammy Award winners. The winners will be announced on June 3, 2013 at a ceremony in New York City. We’ve listed a few of this year’s nominees below.
Here’s more from the release: “Lambda Literary Foundation set a new record in 2013 for both the number of LGBT books submitted for Lammy consideration, 687, and the number of publishers participating, 332. This beats the record-setting numbers in 2012 of 600 titles by over 250 publishers and is the fourth consecutive year of growth in submissions and publishers.”
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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Aline Pereira,
on 1/28/2013
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Earlier today the American Library Association announced the 2013 Youth Media Awards Winners. Click here to read the press release.
Highlights include:
John Newbery Medal Winner (for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature):
The One and Only Ivan written by Katherine Applegate (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2012)
Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner (for the most distinguished American picture book for children):
This Is Not My Hat, illustrated and written by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press, 2012).
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award Winner (recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults):
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America, written by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Disney/Jump at the Sun Books, 2012).
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award Winner (recognizing an African American illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults):
I, Too, Am America, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Langston Hughes (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012)
Pura Belpré (Author) Award Winner (honoring a Latino writer whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience):
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012)
Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award Winner (honoring a Latino illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience):
Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert, illustrated by David Diaz, written by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2012)
I can't explain how much I loved this book. Plain and simple, I thought it was absolutely beautiful and I want to read it over and over again...and if I do, I think I'll learn something new each time I read it. It's a story of an incredibly close friendship, a love story, and a story of hatred, of prejudice, and of wars within one's self. Aristotle and Dante are two of the most pure and honest characters I have ever come across and their story is one that needs to be read.
So I renamed myself Ari.
If I switched the letter, my name was Air.
I thought it might be a great thing to be the air.
I could be something and nothing at the same time. I could be necessary and also invisible. Everyone would need me and no one would be able to see me." (pg. 84)That's all you'll get from me on this one. You need to read it. Both
Debi and I say so.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseBenjamin Alire Saenz368 pagesYoung AdultSimon and Schuster9781442408920February 2012Review copy
Today marks the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month. So I figured I should post a review to kickstart HHM for the rest of the 335 days of the year (I think that math is right????) We have recommended this book before but now I detail why exactly you should read it.
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz 2004
HarperCollins
IQ "'Sometimes dreams come true, don't they Sammy?' [Elena]
I wanted to tell Elena that the bad ones. They're the ones that come true. [Sammy]
But I just said 'Yeah, sometimes dreams come true.'" pg. 213
Sammy Santos does not enjoy living in Hollywood in the 1970s. Hollywood, New Mexico, a small town where the majority of people who live there are Mexican or Mexican American and looked down upon. His mother died of cancer and he takes care of his younger sister (Elena), and at times, his father. Sammy dreams of going to college, so he works hard in school and takes on various jobs. The summer before his senior year, Sammy falls in love with gorgeous, vulnerable, aloof Juliana. But what would a love story be without some tragedy? Sammy introduces us to his family, Juliana, his friends and their stories of love and loss, suffering and triumph.
This was a re-read for me and I don't remember much about it. Which is mind-boggling because upon re-reading it, I absolutely LOVED it. I remember that I really liked it and I remember being relatively young when I read it. I bought it somewhere that was selling it for a bargain price ($4) when I was in 5th or 6th grade, and there are two things I vividly remember from the book. I remember that it was the first book I read that had so many Spanish words. I learned many curse and slang words and I'm oddly appreciative of that. I also recall it being one of the first books I ever read to candidly discuss homosexuality (I also learned about the awful slur "queer"). Upon re-reading this book I think both of those points are important. There is no glossary in this book, no italics to show that it is a Spanish word. The reader must figure that out from themselves and use the context in order to translate it. I encourage readers to not just skip over the Spanish words, but to learn them (especially if you are pretty good at Spanish, you need to know the slang too, not just the formal talk. My friends who speak Spanish laugh at Spanish students "proper" Spanish). As for the look at how gay people were treated, I don't think many current students know how bad homosexuals had it in the '60s and '70s, even though that was supposed to be a "liberating and accepting" time. Sammy says it best concerning what love is deemed acceptable "It's funny, everyone had always told us love was another word for belonging. No one, no one had ever told me that love was another name for exile." (pg. 212) I wish it was funny because it was untrue, but it's not funny, and it's true.
The nice thing about re-reading is you find new things to appreciate. I was enthralled by how Sammy described people. I wanted to meet him just to hear how he would describe me. When talking about Juliana he says, "Sometimes, she could look at you and you could see what she was trying to tell you don't screw with me because I've been through things, and you don't know a damn thing about what it's cost me to be here, right here, right here on this worthless piece of ground, so don't treat me like I'm some crack on a sidewalk because if y
As a way to kick-off Hispanic Heritage Month, I would like to suggest the young adult book The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans, by Carmen Tafolla (reviewed by Marjorie and also mentioned in her answers to Stacy’s questions for today’s BBAW’s Blogger Interview Swap). The winner of the 2009 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award (tied for the honor with Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s YA novel, He Forgot to Say Goodbye), the book offers a collection of 16 short stories that explore the human spirit inherent in the bilingual, bicultural world of the Texas-Mexico border.
We hope this and the many other books we have highlighted on the PaperTigers website and blog through the years can help children and young adults understand more about the rich and important tapestry we call Hispanic America.
So much to read from here. I like the sound of these books.
I have heard of one coming out soon (August 27) that will probably fit this “guy pal” designation. The title is Jumped In. Here is the author’s page http://patrickfloresscott.com/
Jumped In definitely fits!