Review of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saenz, Benjamin Alire. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013. ISBN 9781442366411

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Aristotle and Dante are two 15-year-old boys living in El Paso, who feel like they don't fit in anywhere, when they meet each over the summer at the local swimming pool. Aristotle is the youngest of four children in a Mexican-American family that is still reeling from the pain of having a family member in prison and a father who emotionally disconnects after serving time in the military during war time. In comparison, Dante's home life appears all sunshine and light to Aristotle, but Dante's openness about not feeling Mexican enough, about not fitting in socially, and about needing to communicate his feelings at all times touches Aristotle deeply. The two boys become close friends and help each other survive adolescence and more importantly, they both find a place in the world where they fit perfectly. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I'm going to say this up front. I feel like I cheated with this book. I didn't read it. I let Lin-Manuel Miranda of the Hamilton the Musical fame read it to me on the audio book, but I loved every moment of the audio experience. It was seven discs of ups and downs in the lives of two teenage boys, who felt alone and unsatisfied with their lives. 

Aristotle is the youngest of four children. His two older sisters are married with kids of their own and the sisters annoy him with their criticisms. His older brother Bernardo he barely remembers because Bernardo was arrested and sent to prison when Aristotle was only a small boy, and much to his dismay, no one in his family talks about his brother — ever. His pictures aren't in the house, and it is an assumed family understanding that he is not to be brought up. But Aristotle feels angry about this, because he wants to know more. There are a lot of things that his family doesn't discuss, like his father's perpetual silence about his experience in the military. It was clear that his experience changed him, but Aristotle always feels like his father keeps him at arms length emotionally. Is it because of the war or is it because of Bernardo? 

Meanwhile, Dante's family shares everything. As an only child, Dante's needs are often met immediately. His father, Sam, the professor, has impressed book after book upon Dante teaching him a passion for literature, philosophy, art, and history. Dante is a walking, talking ball of questions, and when the two boys meet at the swimming pool one summer day when Dante offers to teach Aristotle how to swim, the two connect in ways they never thought they could connect to anyone. 

There are lots of emotional ups and downs in this book. Author Benjamin Alire Saenz does his best to keep the dramatic rises and falls of teen life as realistic as possible, and any slow bits are pulled together in the audio version by Miranda's efforts to inflect emotion and use subtle changes in voices for the characters. There's even a joke about how boring studying Hamilton is that makes him the perfect voice actor for this book. 

The story takes place in 1987 in El Paso, Texas, before cellphones and the Internet. The boys are walking around town freely, and their neighborhood can get a bit rough. But they stick up for each other through thick and thin, which makes the families grow close and helps them both heal in wonderful ways. 

My 11-year-old son's favorite part of listening to the book was hearing Miranda curse. In the book, Dante does a lot of swearing as a form of rebellion, but only when he talks to Aristotle. To my 11-year-old swearing is taboo and something you do with your friends or when you drop a can of soup on your toe putting away groceries. To hear Dante use the words loudly and openly just to say them as part of his everyday "older boy" vocabulary lured my son in. He was also glad when the boys stuck to each other through accidents, moving away from each other, and when facing discrimination. Aristotle's ability to fight physically scared him a bit, but in the story, it scares Aristotle, his parents and Dante a bit, too. 

The theme of the book is friendship, but it progresses into love, when the characters are both ready. The support from the boys' parents throughout their relationship is a giant safety net for both boys, one that I wish existed in all families. The boys' conversations were very advanced, but Saenz backs up their depth in thought by both boys having a strong interest in reading and figuring out how the world works and why. 

Overall, I'm glad I decided to listen to the story. The performance made it feel more compelling. I felt like I was intruding from time to time on the characters' more intimate moments. It was a story that had to be told through characters who talked a lot, sometimes too much, about what they were thinking and feeling. Dante was a perfect catalyst for seeing a side of boys that books don't often show. Boys who are perfectly willing to ask hard questions, be vulnerable and not sacrifice who they are for anyone. And to see Aristotle react to that vulnerability and protect it and cherish it was breathtaking.

Better yet, there's a sequel in the works according to the author's Twitter feed. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
ALA Notable Children's Book, 2013
Printz Award 
Kirkus Best Young Adult Book
Pura Belpre Award
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2013
Stonewall Book Award

From Publishers Weekly
"A tender, honest exploration of identity and sexuality, and a passionate reminder that love—whether romantic or familial should be open, free, and without shame." 

From Kirkus Reviews
"Meticulous pacing and finely nuanced characters underpin the author's gift for affecting prose that illuminates the struggles within relationships."

5. CONNECTIONS
Other novels by Benjamin Alire Saenz: 

• He Forgot to Say Goodbye. ISBN 971416994343
• The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. ISBN 9780544586505
• Last Night I Sang to the Monster. ISBN 9781935955092

Other books with gay or LGBTQ characters for young adult readers:

• Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig. ISBN 9781250085634
• Openly Straight. by Bill Konigsberg. ISBN 9780545798655
• The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. ISBN 9780062348708

When I was growing up, there weren't a lot of books that I read in high school with gay characters. There were equally few with any kind of racial diversity. It wasn't until I got to college that books like Aristotle and Dante were on my radar. I don't know if it's because they didn't exist or because my educational experiences put little emphasis on diverse books. 

As an adult and parent and educator, I understand that it is important to identify and respect people's choices about how they raise their children, but it is also inexplicable to me that groups of people in our country exist without any kind of understanding of people who have lives different from their own. Studies show that reading fiction teaches children empathy and understanding when discovering people different from themselves for the first time. It gives readers a broader window in which to view the world from and opens their minds and hearts to all of humanity. These books deserve to be in your library. Better yet, they deserve to be read. 

Take a look at your collection, is it diverse? How can you improve it? Look at the diversity of your classroom, does it reflect everyone in the room? Children need books they can relate to as well as books that push their boundaries. When was the last time you read a new book that was at the same level as your students or the children visiting your library? Is continued reading in your professional development plan? If not, it really should be. 

Summer is coming, make a list of children's books to read that may be outside of your comfort zone or different from typical canonized literature and discover a new author or series so that you can discuss and recommend books to your students and patrons more effectively. 

Review of The Crossover

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. ISBN 9780544107717

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Josh "Filthy McNasty" and Jordan "JB" Bell are the most skilled players on their middle school basketball team. The twins love the game, but are super competitive on their court and with each other. When JB begins a relationship with Alexis, and develops priorities other than basketball and his family, Josh does not know how to deal with the change in their relationship and acts out violently, causing Josh to lose his spot on the team and risk everything he has worked so hard for. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Chuck "Da Man" Bell is raising twin 12-year-old boys, Josh and Jordan, in his basketball image of greatness. They love the game and are highly competitive players on their middle school basketball team, but the boys are growing apart, as Jordan begins to focus on girls in a way that Josh can't contemplate —yet. 

In this moving free verse novel, author Kwame Alexander introduces readers to what it's like when the main focus of play in childhood shifts and changes our peer and family relationships in the most uncomfortable ways. The novel is told from Josh's perspective. In his poetry, he and his alter ego,"Filthy McNasty," are unstoppable on the basketball court. He is the only member of his team that can dunk the ball. He has the fastest, most dominant moves. Off the court, the twins' mother has reinforced that education comes first because basketball can't last forever. The family understands this fact firsthand, as Chuck's promising career was ended early due to knee injury and now, in his late 30's, Chuck is trying to live his life with his boys while balancing a scary heart condition. 

The poetry in Alexander's story is sharp, moving, and rhythmically aggressive, like Josh's moves on the court. In the poem "Conversation" Josh is direct with his father about his health issues. "In the car/ I ask Dad/ if going to the doctor/ will kill him./ He tells me/ he doesn't trust doctors,/ that my grandfather did/ and look where it got him:/ six feet under/ at forty five/" (p. 123). 

Alexander balances many coming-of-age themes including: competition, romance, team work, practice, and independence throughout the book. He also addresses common issues with being black in America, like when Chuck is pulled over for a broken taillight while taking Josh to a basketball game. His fame makes the uncomfortable stop more tolerable, but for the reader it resonates with the fear African Americans feel when they are often pulled over for driving while black. 

My favorite portrayal of the book though comes from the way Alexander has Josh describe both his mother, who happens to be his assistant principal, and her no nonsense way of putting school, health and family before basketball, and his descriptions of Alexis, his brother's girlfriend, otherwise known as "Sweet Tea," whom he likes because she's a basketball junkie, but also hates because her relationship with Jordan has created an emotional distance between the brothers. In the poem "Things I Learn at Dinner" you can feel the apprehension Josh feels about disliking Alexis. "She knows how to do a crossover./ Her AAU team won a championship./ She's got game./ ... She smells like sugarplum. She has a sister in college. HER SISTER GOES TO DUKE" (p. 172). 

Most of the book is set either at the twins' home or at their school or on the court at local schools and the gym. Alexander focuses on what brings people to their "Tipping Point" when, as adolescents, they have difficulty regulating their emotions, and how the action they take after emotional faltering is an important part of learning how to grow up. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Honor Award, 2015
School Library Journal Best Book, Middle Grade, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Best Book
An ALA Notable Children's Book, Older Readers, 2015

From Booklist
"An accomplished author and poet, Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond." 

From Kirkus Reviews
"This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells."

5. CONNECTIONS
Other novels by Kwame Alexander: 

• Booked. ISBN 9780544570986
• He Said, She Said. ISBN 9780062118981

Additional books by Kwame Alexander:

• Crush: Love Poems for Teenagers. ISBN 9781499364781
• Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. ISBN 9780763680947
• The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life. ISBN 9780544570979

Kwame Alexander has been a lot of things in his career: a former high school English teacher, a former radio show host, a music producer, but foremost, he is a poet and a writer. According to his website, Alexander has written 24 books and his characters are often wonderfully smart, strong and represent the complexity of social issues surrounding being black in America.

The Crossover is a wonderful access point for middle grade and middle school readers to discover the power of poetry in contemporary fiction, as well as gaining insight into the American experience of diversity outside of what is typical in canonized literature. 

Alexander's books do something not a lot of other authors have done. They connect the past with the present. They link non-fiction with fiction, and they use both to inspire and tell stories without being preachy or righteous. They cradle humanity while confronting bigotry in a real and honest way. An author study on Kwame Alexander is a win-win situation for any classroom. And if you're really lucky, you may even be able to get him to visit... 

Review of Roller Girl

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jamieson, Victoria. Roller Girl. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015. ISBN 9780803740167

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Astrid's mother takes her and her best friend Nicole to see a roller derby bout. Astrid is excited about the athleticism, the attitude, and the creativity of the sport, but her friend Nicole, does not share her enthusiasm, and they have a falling out. Astrid spends the summer in roller derby camp learning the basics of the sport while also learning more important lessons about friendship and how to be a team player. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Like most tweens, when 12-year-old Astrid's mother takes her and her best friend Nicole out for "an evening of cultural enlightenment" full of "strong, positive female role models," Astrid is afraid she's in for another long night of poetry reading or opera, but instead, her mother takes the girls to roller derby, and a passion in Astrid's heart awakens. She just knows she has to play roller derby, so she signs up for a summer camp. Much to her dismay, Nicole does not share her interest and it drives a large wedge in their relationship. Nicole befriends a girl named Rachel, whose very existence makes Astrid green with jealousy. Her feelings toward Nicole turn even uglier when Rachel begins to bully Astrid.

On the rink, Astrid realizes she has a lot to learn. She's a terrible skater. She doesn't have a lot of balance, coordination, or endurance. But she is compelled to continue, particularly when she seeks out the guidance of a professional player named Rainbow Bite. Rainbow Bite becomes her mentor and the two communicate through notes left in Rainbow Bite's locker. In addition, Astrid feels not quite so alone when she befriends another novice player, Zoey. The two of them train together and even color Astrid's hair blue (much to her mother's dismay).

By the end of the summer, Astrid realizes she's made progress as a player, but that it may or may not be enough to start as the "jammer" in the last bout of the summer. Children, particularly tweens, will identify with Astrid's difficulty managing relationships with her peers while she struggles with a sport that requires her dedication and patience as well as learning to be a supportive member of a team.

Jamieson does a wonderful job developing Astrid's psyche. Readers can identify with the anxious feelings that go along with trying to make your own way in the world. Specifically, Astrid struggles with lying to her mother, creative expression, hard work, physical and athletic development, emotional regulation, friendship building, feeling sorry for herself, a desire to be independent, dealing with bullies, and coping with the asynchronous development in regard to sexual maturity when Nicole and Rachel are clearly becoming more interested in spending time with boys, when Astrid is not. Any of those issues are difficult for a child, but Jamieson does a great job laying out all of the struggles over the duration of Astrid's summer camp experience, without the drama feeling like it is unnecessarily weighing the book down.

Astrid's humanity makes her an approachable character for everyone, even boys, or so says my 11-year-old son, who chose this as his favorite book of the year, and wrote a five paragraph essay about the themes of friendship and self-reliance for his language arts class.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Publishers Weekly Best Book
School Library Journal Best Book
Kirkus Reviews Best Book
Chicago Public Library Best Book
New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing
Texas Bluebonnet Book Winner 
An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2016

From School Library Journal
"While this graphic novel provides interesting information about the sport, at its heart is a story of friendship, exploring the tensions which test the girls' relationships as they move from childhood to adolescence. Astrid learns to be honest with herself, her mother, and her friends through a series of stressful events. The graphic novelist employs several excellent visual devices: angles to denote action and effective placement and space within panels. Jamieson's clever use of imagery is noteworthy." 

From Kirkus Reviews

"Jamieson captures this snapshot of preteen angst with a keenly decisive eye, brilliantly juxtaposing the nuances of roller derby with the twists and turns of adolescent girls' friendships. Clean, bright illustrations evince the familiar emotions and bring the pathos to life in a way that text alone could not." 

5. CONNECTIONS
Other books by Victoria Jamieson: 

• Olympig. ISBN 9780803735361
• Pest in Show. ISBN 9780803737013

Additional graphic novels with female, pre-teen protagonists:

• Chmakova, Svetlana. Awkward. ISBN 9780316381307
• Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm. Sunny Side Up. ISBN 9780545741668
• Telgemeier, Raina. Drama. ISBN 9780545436995

The last 10 years has seen an extraordinary growth in graphic novels for children ages 8-14. These books are both wonderful as a way to entice reluctant readers from picture books into longer books that require more endurance and as a phenomenal way to appeal to readers of all levels to engage with the art of illustration through more emotionally complex stories.

Graphic novels also offer children an excellent advantage to become more emotionally savvy. When a child reads words that describe emotion, they may not fully understand the impact of the description, but when the words correspond to a drawing, readers can zero in on the facial expressions of the characters. The art can also be critical for readers who process things visually, like children on the autism spectrum.

A great way to engage children is to have them try to create their own graphic story. Introduce children to india ink and brushes, art materials they might not usually use. They can draw panels and pictures and then use regular markers to color in, just like a real graphic artist. Also, plan a field trip to the roller rink. If it's possible, make a connection with your local roller derby team and see if they can come out and skate with the students. If a field trip isn't possible, be fun, wear skates to school, sport a blue wig and rainbow socks in solidarity with Astrid.

Astrid spent a summer completely outside of her comfort zone. That's a lot of what adolescence is -- not feeling comfortable while a great transformation takes place both physically and emotionally. Help children make that transition by recognizing how difficult the process can be and letting them know you are there for them.