Back to School, Part III

​For our final back to school blog, Crystal and I wanted to feature books that deal with the dreaded topic of high school.  

​Reluctantly Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
            Reluctantly Alice is about a girl named Alice starting junior high. She has one goal starting the seventh grade: She wants everyone to like her. She doesn’t need to be popular, but she want everyone to think well of her. Unfortunately that is going to be harder than she thought with Dennis Whitlock hating her. This book is filled with all the dramas of staring middle school. Reluctantly Alice is told in a realistic way that makes it relatable and entertaining.   

​Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
            Eliza and Her Monsters is a great read about a girl named Eliza, who in school doesn’t fit in, doesn’t talk to anyone, and is dreaming of the day she gets to go off to college and never look back. Eliza online however is LadyConstellation, the anonymous maker of the comic Monstrous Sea. Her friends are online. Her story is online, and her life is online. She doesn’t see what the big draw of the real world is until she meets Wallace Warland. He is the new kid in school and an avid writer of Monstrous Sea fanfiction.
This book definitely has strong language and touches on some serious issues such as depression and suicide. It also has the parents in the book talking casually about sex.   

​Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks
            Evil Genius is a book about Cadel Piggott, a genius, who at seven already knew how to hack into computers and through some devious tutoring he learns all sorts of mischief and how to not getting caught. When he is fourteen he is invited to study at Axis Institute to earn his world domination degree. He studies classes for embezzlement, forgery, misinformation, and infiltration, but when he meets a girl online, a girl outside of his evil genius life, he starts to question what he is doing. Evil Genius is a really great read with humor, a few twists, and a bit of a dark side.
            While it doesn’t go into a lot of detail, the book does have violence to look out for, and strong language.

​Alive by Chandler Baker
            Alive, when you read the back seems like just another teen romance, but it end up taking a bit of a twist that made it a really surprising read. The main character Stella has been waiting of the list for a heart transplant for years. She is running out of time and starting to think she won’t reach 18, when it finally happens. She gets a new heart and throws herself into her new life. She meets a new boy named Levi and has never been so drawn to anyone as she is him. She literally aches when he is away. Her recovery is complicated however by hallucinations and recurring pain and soon leads to some unsettling complications.  
            This book, while sounding mild and cute, has thrilling moments and darkness to watch out for. 

​Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
           Anything but Typical is a wonderful story about a twelve year old boy named Jason Blake. Jason has autism and the story is a first person narration of his struggles to understand and fit in a neurotypical world, and of him finding his first friend through on online site where he posts his writing. Throughout the story you see the world through Jason's experiences, and his difficulty with interacting with people, his family, and at school, and it really endears you to the character. It is really a worthwhile read.  

​The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky is a love letter to teens who feel like they don’t quite fit in (who among us hasn’t at one point, especially in high school?). Throughout the schoolyear, former shy kid Charlie is taken under the wing of an eccentric group of older friends who help him to be less afraid of being himself and all the good and trickier parts that come with that. (This book deals with abuse and suicide, but with an ultimately positive outcome).   

Scrawl by Mark Shulman goes beyond the typical behind the bully narrative to delve into what life is truly like Todd “pops” Munn. With humor, wit, and laugh out loud vivid description, this unique book is perfect for anyone who wishes that others would take more time to get to know their real story. 

​Other High School Reads:
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Yearbook by Ally Condie
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
Monster High by Lisi Harrison