If I grow up

Strasser, T. (2009). If I grow up. New York: NY. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Interest Level: Grade 7-10

Reading Level: 4+

DeShawn lives in the Frederick Douglass housing project in New York. This is a place where drugs, gang violence and teen pregnancy are commonplace and twelve year old DeShawn doesn't want any part of that. DeShawn is a good boy, a smart boy who wants to do the right thing. DeShawn's best friend Terrell sees it differently. He's looking forward to being accepted by a gang so he can start making some money to get all the things he can't afford. Unfortunately, no matter how hard DeShawn tries to resist, circumstances change and becomes involved with the Disciples. By fifteen life is about becoming daddy's, drugs and guns. And by the time the book ends DeShawn is no longer recognizable as the young boy determined to live a clean life.

This is an eye opening book for anyone not raised in the projects. The drugs, violence, teen pregnancy and poverty are overwhelming to an outsider, even in this book that seems to tone things down so that it's acceptable for the audience intended. You can't help but feel for all the players in this game, where gunshots and death are the norm and where the chance of escaping the drug and gang lifestyle are low. At times the novel sounds preachy, but in the end this book accomplishes what it intends to- opening the eyes of outsiders on to the gritty reality of the urban life. This book is especially appropriate for urban kids who sometime idealize "ghetto" life due to their exposure to rap music.

Code talker

Bruchac, J. (2005). Code talker: a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two. New York, NY: Dial Books.

Interest Level: Grades 5-9

Reading Level: 6+

Ned Begay, grandfather, recounts to his grandchildren the story of his life as a Navajo Code Talker in this novel. At sixteen, Ned enlisted in the U.S. Marines after spending ten years in a White boarding school where he was taught to shed everything Anglo. Ironically, what America needed most to help win the war is the Navajo language. The Japanese had been successful in breaking every code that the U.S. Troops use to transmit messages, until the Navajo come along. Their language is complex and has not been written down. The military realizes that they need this edge and recruit not only Ned, but over 400 Navajo men to aid in the transmission of messages. This enabled messages to be relayed across the Pacific, including at Iwo Jima, and helped win the war.

This novel covers a little known portion of World War II history. It's well written and will attract reluctant readers as well as history enthusiasts. Ned's tenacity at the White school, continuing to preserve his Navajo heritage despite the fact that he will get in trouble for it is an admirable quality. The tone of the novel, one of a tradition of storytelling, exposes the reader to a tradition that many may not be familiar with. The recommended reading section at the end will encourage readers to learn more about Navajo tradition in general, World War II in general, and Navajo Code Talkers specifically.