The running dream

Van Draanen, W. (2011). The running dream. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Interest level: Grades 7+

Reading level: 4+

Sixteen-year old Jessica is a runner. She can't really remember a time when she hasn't been a runner. It's not just what she does, it's who she is.  After setting her personal best record at an away track meet the school bus she's on is involved in an accident. One of her teammates died in the crash. Jessica's leg was crushed and 3/4 of it has been amputated. She wishes she were dead instead. Upon returning home from the hospital everything is a challenge. She can't get to her upstairs room, she can't shower on her own, and she can't run. Jessica spirals into depression, pushing everyone out as she learns to navigate on crutches and eventually on a prosthesis. When she returns to school she is behind on everything and to add to it, her math teacher puts her in the back of the class with Rosa- the girl in the wheelchair who has cerebral palsy and can hardly be understood. Jessica has to confront her own prejudices about the handicapped and figure out her place in the world.

Van Draanen has crafted an amazing story here. Readers can't help but empathize with the loss, pain and depression Jessica experiences even if they themselves aren't athletes. Rosa is a great addition to the story, tutoring Jessica in math and helping her to strive for all with handicaps to be seen as more than that. Jessica's discomfort at becoming a poster child so that she can get a runner's prosthesis is also realistic, but in the end she accepts it with grace and inspires many. This is a good book for anyone in need of inspiration, and aren't we all? It isn't preachy, just a real story about real like. Readers who enjoyed Sorta like a rock star by Matthew Quick will enjoy this one as well.

Slog's dad

Almond, D. (2011). Slog's Dad. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Interest level: Grades 5-8

Reading level: 3+

Slog's dad is dead, but he promised Slog he'd return in the spring. Having both legs amputated due to cancer Slog's dad soon dies. When Slog spots a man who resembles his dad on a park bench the first spring after his father's death he's certain it really is his dad who's come back to fulfill his promise. Slog's best friend David is not so sure about that. If this isn't really Slog's dad, how can he possibly know all the things he does about their life, such as what his job had been before he died, his wife's name, the songs he used to sing, and that he always said he'd follow the garbage smell back to their house from heaven?

This brief volume, written by David Almond and illustrated by Dave McKean, is part novel and part graphic novel. The two forms serve almost as alternating chapters rather than as one cohesive piece, offering a unique format similar to that of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This is a touching read, with Slog's grief quietly but profoundly felt both through Almond's words and McKean's illustrations. There is no neat wrap up here. In the end we are left to wonder whether Slog's dad really did return or if it was possible a missing man suffering from amnesia who had read about Slog's dad's passing instead. In the end it really doesn't matter. What matters is what Slog believes. Some may find the dialect hard to follow. Recommend to more mature readers who are interested in questions about death and afterlife.

Side effects

Koss, A.G. (2006). Side effects. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook Press.
Interest level: Grades 5-8
Reading level: 4+

Fourteen and a half year old Izzy Miller is a fairly typical teenager. She argues with her mom, swears, would rather be anywhere but school, and has a crush on a certain someone. When she notices that he neck glands are swollen she figures a visit to her pediatrician (really Mom? I’m not a baby anymore!) will be nothing more than a way to miss school. Then they receive the phone call. The one saying that her X-ray results came back and that she needed to go to Children’s Hospital. Immediately. The one that says that Izzy has lymphoma. In that moment her entire world changes. Now Izzy’s days are filled with blood tests, IVs, chemo and puking, but the one thing that doesn’t change is Izzy’s outlook on life. She continues to draw everything around her, she’s still sarcastic and her morbid spin on everything that’s happening really bothers her mom. But she’s a fighter and there’s no way she’s going to let this cancer thing beat her.

Side effects offers a glimpse into the life of a teen with cancer and rather than focus solely on the disease it focuses on the people. This is a difficult book to read because it’s so raw. There is no whitewashing or candy-coating the realities of cancer, but that is exactly what makes this such a powerful book. Izzy deals with her illness through drawing, the support of her best friend Kay, and by refusing to join in anyone’s pity party. This book clearly shows what it is to be a survivor. Readers who can handle the bluntness regarding the medical side effects associated with cancer will be glad that they stuck it through to the end and will likely hand it right over to a friend.

Negative body image

By Edward Willett

This 64-page book provides a general overview of the dangers of negative body image. Readers are told about marketing and the unrealistic ideal of the perfect body, emphasizing that everyone has a different ideal body type. There is a chapter devoted to the causes of negative body image, another that deals with the effects and finally chapters dealing with finding peace with one's body and creating awareness about the effects of negative body image.

This book contains good, factual information, but I feel that the focus is off-base. This book seems to start with the premise that only thin people can develop negative body image issues and then end up with anorexia, bulimia, and/or cutting. It never directly addresses that these same issues may affect a healthy weight or overweight person as well. This idea is reinforced by the photos of what I assume are the afflicted teens who are all poster children for the "ideal" rather than having a more diverse representation.

Willett, E. (2007). Negative Body Image. New York:NY: Rosen Publishing Group.

Sam Stern's real food, real fast

Sam Stern's real food real fast 
Interest Level: Grades 6+

Sam Stern is a teen cooking sensation and this is his second cookbook. It has a unique format in that it is divided not by course or even ingredient, but by how long each item takes to prepare. There are five tabbed sections in this cookbook with cooking and preparation time taking anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. Sam does give the disclaimer that the times stated are how long it would take him to complete, but that he's been cooking since he was 3. Each recipe is accompanied at least one attractive color picture of the final product and sometimes a prep picture is included.

The format of this cookbook is well suited to tweens. Instructions are not extensive and are easy to follow. Sidebars are plentiful offering suggestions for substitutions based on dietary preferences or market availability. The choices are all quite healthy and Sam emphasizes the importance of real food over fake, encouraging the reader to take the time to prepare healthy and tasty fares rather than "eat fast food rubbish." This is a great cookbook for budding chefs and more experienced ones alike.

Stern, S., & Stern, S. (2006). Sam Stern's real food, real fast. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Notes from the dog

Notes from the dog

By Gary Paulsen

IL: Grades 6-9

RL: 4+

14 year old Finn has a goal this summer. His goal is to not speak to more than 12 people because talking to people stresses him out. He's happy to spend time with his one true friend, Matthew, who is staying with Finn and his dad for the summer as his parents settle into their new divorce.

Enter Johanna. Johanna is a graduate student (Library and Information Science, woohoo!) who is house sitting next door. We quickly learn that Johanna has breast cancer- is a survivor in her words because as she says, "In my book, if you live one split second after hearing news like that, you're a survivor."

There are lots of things growing in this story. The garden Finn is supposed to be growing for Johanna, which is quite a challenge since he seems to have a black thumb. But most importantly is the growing of relationships across many generations.

Notes from the dog is a story of  growth, of community, of caring, and of commitment. In a short 132 pages, Palusen does it again and weaves a story worth reading. 

Paulsen, G. (2009). Notes from the dog. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books.