A Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is a fantastical story about Meg and her "baby" brother, Charles Wallace. Their father has been gone for a couple years, and no one knows where he is. When a stranger enters their house one night while Charles Wallace, Meg and their mother are enjoying a midnight snack, the children's lives are turned upside-down, and they face dangers that force them to tap into strength they've never before tested.

A Wrinkle in Time is a tale about the power of love, and what one will do for the precious people in one's life. I can't see how I would use this in my classroom, but it's a classic and a great story (I couldn't put it down), and it will certainly be in my classroom library, recommended especially to those who enjoy fantasy and science fiction.

Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs

I read Mary E. Lyons' Letters from a Slave Girl a couple times when I was younger; historical fiction was something that always interested me. This time around, however, I read the real-life account --the authentic version of Harriet Jacobs' life--in American Texts, right alongside Letters. It was so interesting because in her account, Jacobs uses a pseudonym and changes the names of all the characters to protect all --her goal was to educate and make readers aware of the ways of the South's "peculiar institution," not to blow the horn on specific individuals. Lyons', however, safely used everyone's real names in 1992 when she presented Jacobs' story in letter form for young readers. At the end of her novel, Lyons steps up as the author and tells us what happened to Jacobs after she reached the Northern Free States; she also shares pictures of Jacobs' home town and Dr. Norcom.

I would definitely recommend and teach this book in my classroom: similes and foreshadowing abound. It could also be used for its cultural aspects, at least in terms of language --Harriet doesn't always use the correct verb tense, and sometimes there isn't a verb at all! Since it's written in the first person via letters, I'm sure I could do something with that; as of right now, I don't know what, but it's at least an aspect of the book I've thought about. Letters would be great to teach alongside a social studies/history class working on a pre-Civil War unit; the integration would surely serve to strengthen and deepen student understanding.

Cut

Cut by Patricia McCormick is a very real, heartfelt story about a young girl in a rehabilitation facility that the "guests" dub "Sick Minds." She refuses to talk to her counselor, to any of the other "guests," or her parents.

It is written inside Callie's head; she thinks as if she is speaking to her counselor. Slowly, this is how we as readers discover why she doesn't speak to anyone about anything, and why she began cutting herself. When she witnesses another of the "guests," who is there with an eating disorder, throwing up what she eats, she doesn't tell anyone. This girl eventually gets so sick she is sent to the emergency ward, and Callie's guilt brings her out of her silence. She finally begins to share her story with her counselor and develop relationships with the others.

Cut was certainly an eye-opener to me; I consider it one of my "challenge" books. I didn't really enjoy it, but I read it to expand my knowledge. I've never been exposed to anything like Callie's story, and it was a serious crash into reality for me. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone, just because the subject is a sensitive one, but it is certainly an eye-opener, and any teen surrounded by or at least exposed this situation should read it to gain a better understanding of the possible reasons why.