OCDaniel by Wesley King is a much needed added addition to Young Adult collections, as it puts a frequently taboo subject (mental illness) at the center of the story. OCDaniel is about a middle school boy suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but he does not quite know what it is. He feels progressively frustrated with his strange obsessions and his inability to let go of things he knows are not reasonable. Enter a strange girl from his school who has her own mental disorders that make daily life miserable. She needs help, and since she recognizes Daniel’s issue, she believes he is one that is able to help him. Together, Daniel learns a little bit what a true friend looks like, and he is able to come to a recognition of the fact that he needs help in overcoming his unique condition.Continue Reading
Tru and Nelle by G. Neri
Tru and Nelle by G. Neri is a book about a young Harper Lee and a young Truman Capote. In this book, however, Harper Lee is known as Nelle and young Truman is Tru. I often heard that the book To Kill a Mockingbird and the characters in that book were based on the childhood friendship of Harper Lee and Truman Capote; this is a children’s book that fictionalizes their friendship.Continue Reading
DNA Detective by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
DNA Detective by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and illustrated by Lil Crump is a information-packed book to explain the basics of forensics with the frame of a robbery that needs to be solved. I enjoyed reading the story, and since I love crime shows, I loved the forensics in it too!
DNA Detective jumps right in to the cartoon mystery: jewels have been stolen! But the majority of DNA Detective tells the true story of how evidence left on the scene can tell the story about what happened.Continue Reading
Iqbal by Francesco D’Adamo
Iqbal by Francesco D’Adamo (translated by Ann Leonori) is a young adult novel based on the true story about a boy who, as a child slave in Pakistan, changed the outlook for the hopeless children who work at the rug making factory he has been transferred to. As told from the fictionalized perspective of a young girl who has also been in slavery in the rug making factory for years, the story is an emotional and heart-breaking roller coaster for the young reader.
The book is realistic harsh chapter book care for children able to handle the concepts presented therein, such as child slavery. I read this book a few months ago, and I believe I may have been in a very emotional part of my pregnancy because I cried from the very beginning to the end of the book! Continue Reading