Author: Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN)

ALAN Picks: Navigating Racism, Society and Mental Health

This month’s ALAN Picks features books that honor Asian American and Pacific Islander Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. For fantasy fans, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axi Oh is based on a Korean folktale where the main character embarks on an underwater adventure. Diversity plays a big role in Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park as the main character navigates community, microaggressions and grief. Set in a Midwestern small town, two Chinese-American sisters must deal with racism in This Place Is Still Beautiful  by Xixi Tian. With a new diagnosis for having Bipolar Disorder, a teen figures out what her new identity will be through art in The Art of Insanity by Christine Webb. Set up as an enemies to lovers trope, humor abounds in Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert, where the main characters have anxiety and OCD, respectively, but are in a competition where they have to work together.

Looking For Teen Reviewers: If you know students who are interested in writing book reviews of recently published young adult and middle grade books, let them know they can write for ALAN Picks too! 

ALAN Picks Book Selections: ALAN Picks accepts reviews of books published from spring 2020 to present-day, including soon-to-be-released books. This gives ALAN members who are interested in reviewing books more great titles to choose from, as well as accommodate some great books released during the beginning of the pandemic that still deserve highlighting. If you have some books in mind that you would like to review, please reach out to me!

Let Us Know How You Use ALAN Picks! If you read an ALAN Picks review and end up using the book with your students, let us know! We want to hear all of your great stories and engaging ways you are using young adult and middle grades literature in your classrooms. Remember, ALAN Picks are book reviews by educators for educators! Click on the archives to see previous editions. 

Submit a Review: Would you like to submit a review? Check out ALAN Picks for submission guidelines and email ALAN Picks Editor, Richetta Tooley at richetta.tooley@gmail.com with the book title you are interested in reviewing. Rolling deadline.

–  Richetta Tooley, ALAN Picks Editor

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Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Synopsis: In this book, Axie Oh retells a Korean folktale through an underwater journey of self-discovery in the spirit realm. Mina, the main character, has always had a close relationship with her grandmother who tells her stories of the sea god. For the past 100 years, their village has been plagued with unrelenting storms, offering a tribute every year to appease the sea god. This year’s tribute is her brother’s first love. To preserve her brother’s relationship, Mina takes the place of the tribute to the sea god, to protect their homelands from storms. What she finds under the surface is a land with spirits, curses, and rivalries over a century old. Worst of all, she finds herself attached to the sea god with a soulmate ribbon and has one month to break the curse he’s under or stay stuck in the spirit world for the rest of her days.

Review:

Oh uses her childhood fairytales as inspiration for this mystical world. If you like Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away you’ll love this book. In this tale, we observe the separation between the physical human world, and the underwater spirit world, and the consequences of disturbing the balance that exists between them. This book brings awareness to Korean folktales, as it is a retelling of “The Tale of Shim Cheong,” bringing new cultural experiences and fantasy to those who might not have heard about it otherwise. The language is friendly and the story is exciting, the reading level of this book would be good for children grade four and above.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Analysis: The themes in this book could be used more to get students interested in reading for fun, while also introducing them to a potentially unfamiliar culture or cultural story, to make a connection to their own life. Teachers could do this as a group read just to get students to talk about it, or have them read and discuss in small groups.

• Cultural Awareness
• Self-identity
• Budding romance
• Staying true to yourself

Assessment Possibilities:

Formative: Students can create an art project depicting how the spirit realm appears to them based on the details of the story. This could be done in any media they chose. Just a way to visualize the spirit realm and compare how they’ve pictured it.

Summative: Students can compare and contrast this story with a tale that they learned or heard about in their childhood. Ideally, they are focusing on either the plot or character development, but the teacher could come up with their research question for the students to build off of. This could be done through a presentation, essay, or any other format they chose. We would do one to two checkpoints before the final project was due, maybe an idea and a rough draft submission. Then they could summarize their project for the class.

Reviewed by: Vairo Venkatesh, Neurobiology Student at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

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Synopsis: Alejandra Kim is ready for a change. Born in Queens, her Korean background and Spanish name oust her from Latinx communities. The wealthy, woke high school she attends in Manhattan considers her an outsider to the mostly white community. Alejandra and her mother navigate grief together at home after her father is found dead on subway tracks. This would be enough for the high school senior to navigate, but a microaggression sends Alejandra on a winding path where she navigates friendship, identity, and healing. 

Review

Imposter Syndrome illustrates the reality of grief, racial trauma, and adolescence through Alejandra’s story. While the book does not shy away from tackling more difficult topics, such as death and microaggressions, the story was written with lighthearted humor that allows readers from all backgrounds to connect with the novel in some way. Park sheds light on harsher truths by incorporating characters from many backgrounds, including mostly POC and women throughout the novel. By addressing sexism, racism, and grief through the difficulties and challenges of a teenage girl, Imposter Syndrome becomes an educational tool for navigating reality. This novel reveals the value of friendship, community, and healing within identity.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections:
This book revolves around racial identity, feminism, and social justice. Some prevalent themes include:

• Microaggressions
• Race/racism/racial identity
• Immigration
• Family life
• Friendship
• Feminism
• Performative activism
• Class consciousness

Essential Questions:

• How might our history impact our present?
• How do others’ perception of us alter our reality?
• How might our language and actions impact others?
• How does our identity change when we move environments?
• How does our community support or limit our identity?

Teaching Strategies and Activities: 

• Writing activities to allow students to explore their own racial and gender identities. 
• Research historical and current immigration practices and movements. 
• Class discussions based on racial stereotypes and microaggressions, and how to identify microaggressions. 
• An exploration of how students’ identities change from home life versus school life through writing activities, letters to oneself, etc.

Assessment Possibilities: 

Formative Assessments:

• Students will keep a journal while reading the novel in order to identify aspects of race, gender, sexuality, class, and/or family dynamics 
• Within the journal, students will note topics they are unfamiliar with (such as historical context with immigration) and research said topics accordingly 
• Students will be expected to write about how their racial and gender identity shaped their reading of the novel 

Summative Assessment: 

• For their summative assessment, each student will be expected to research how immigration has impacted their upbringing and cultural awareness. This can be done through historical journals, news articles, trips to local libraries, etc. Each student will be expected to research a particular aspect of culture, such as music, literature, art, or education. Students will then form small groups and perform an activism project, such as creating a program that the school can use in order to combat microaggressions within the classroom. The goal is to shed awareness and light on the multidimensionality of immigration and how pervasive racist tendencies have attempted to cover this history.

Reviewed by: Kaitlin Marshall, a senior at Colorado State University majoring in philosophy with a minor in creative writing in Fort Collins, Colorado.

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Synopsis: Two sisters from a small town in Illinois have very different views about navigating the world. Annalie is very go with the flow and keeps to herself, while Margaret has big ambitions and does anything necessary to reach them. The two sisters have butted heads their whole lives, however when a shocking event befalls their family Annalie and Margaret have to figure out a way to work together and continue on with life. Their differing personalities create conflict between each other that ensues throughout the book. While tackling the event both girls take on issues in their own lives and learn just how much their small town is connected.

Review

This Place is Still Beautiful is a layered text that integrates race and relationships in a complex and creative way. It’s a powerful text that brings up an often overshadowed reality of hate wielded against Asian-Americans. The novel shares a very realistic relationship between two sisters and the trials that get brought up when the sisters differ. Tian shares the emotional experiences when racism attacks a person or a group and provides different reactions. The relationships, both romantic and platonic, within the book provides a juxtaposition to how outsiders react to hurtful words and actions done towards marginalized people.  While the racial slur used against the main characters is a focal point of the book, Tian does a beautiful job of uplifting the characters through their relationships. Both sisters have strong aspirations for their life and progress towards them through the book. Their relationship with each other as well as people within their inner circle ebb and flow throughout the book. While being entertaining there’s a reality in them that makes

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections:

• Racial connotations behind words or actions that may have gotten lost in history. 
• A look at pressures brought on by expectations. 
• Share the difference in relationships from person to person.

Essential Questions:

• How does the book address and contribute to the conversation around racism? What are the different reactions towards racism within the book? 
• How does the book challenge or affirm the expectations within your life? (Either brought on by yourself or other people in your life.)
• Does the social environment shape the way you see yourself or the people around you? 
• How does this book challenge you to think about microaggressions? 

Culturally Responsive and sustaining teaching strategies and activities:   

• Find supplemental reading that talks about the history of the word “chinks,” as well as go into the history of Chinese immigration to teach about the background of racism towards Chinese Americans. 
• Have students examine the similarities and differences between their lives and the lives of Margaret or Annalie. Carry out with an artifact.  Examples: Venn Diagram, picture collages, write an interaction with either character; include how you think the character would interact with you. 
• Analyze how the book portrays relationships. Between Margaret and Mama, Annalie and Mama, Margaret and Annalie, Annalie and Todd, Annalie and Daniel, Margaret and Rajiv, Annalie and her classmates, Margaret and her classmates, Daniel and his grandpa. 

Assessment Possibilities: 

Formative Assessments:

• Teachers might use a jamboard type activity where students share one thing they’re enjoying or grappling with in the book as attendance. 
• Teachers might create weekly journal assignments based on a question. Teachers could make the reading a three week long section of the course and have each journal assessment be based on an essential question. 

Summative Assessments:

The character development is a huge part of the book. Students could look at the trajectory of a character’s development throughout the book and provide a presentable artifact. It could be a slide show, timeline, poster, a letter to the character, something creative. With this activity it tests how much students have read: has a requirement of at least 4 quotes from different parts of the books. Students can demonstrate their understanding of the book’s themes but conceptualize how the character changed throughout the book. 

Some ways to encourage students to interact with the book through this assessment is to incorporate the usage of similarities and differences. Along with examples from the book (quotes or just descriptions with the page number attached) students should provide their own commentary, add a personal connection or even just a mention of what they thought of the moment in the book.

Reviewed by: Emma Woody, English Education and Creative Writing, Colorado State University

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Mental Health Awareness Month

Synopsis: Natalie Cordova faces her high school senior year with new perspectives in a heartfelt coming-of-age story. When Natalie gets into a car “accident,” she discovers the pressure and stigma of mental health within her social circles. After struggling with whom to confide in after her bipolar disorder diagnosis, Natalie meets Ella, an eccentric student who convinces Natalie to care for her estranged dog. As Natalie relies on art to cope with her emotions and new medication, she meets a boy who complicates her life further. As Natalie balances friendships, family, and herself, she navigates her own mental health and learns whom to trust.

Review

This book brings cultural awareness to mental health and specifically what happens when this is neglected. This journey dives deeply into the mental health of adolescents from a first-person perspective and handles the psychological effects of mental health as Natalie tries to find herself and who her true friends are. The Art of Insanity tries to highlight the stigma behind mental health and how this may influence adolescents both psychologically and socially, in interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. This book felt like watching a high school student handle their problems by themselves, as any high school student would. I watched a teenage girl formulate her own opinions outside of her family’s perception, truly a feat. It was an experience of finding one’s self through the turmoil and misconceptions of the world around them through the eyes of an adolescent girl.  This book does challenge any premature conceptions or unfounded conjectures that adolescents do not face serious mental health issues as the story follows how real and merciless mental health struggles are.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections and Analysis:

Students may interact with the book by researching the development of mental health treatment to gain a better understanding of the stigmatization of mental health. Students may also examine the similarities and differences between Natalie and her family members, which could be done in the form of a graphic organizer. The book allows for discussion on mental health, but it is important to note that Natalie identifies as a cisgender, heterosexual teenage girl and that mental health issues will affect other identities differently. The book does not discuss Natalie’s identity or race beyond the mental health aspect. Establishing mental health and identity as intersectionality may be beneficial and promote healthy classroom discussion.  

Thematic Analysis: 

• Family structures 
• Substance use 
• Friendship and social pressures 
• Mental health 
• Individuality and growth 

Essential Questions:

• Why is mental health stigmatized?  
• How do families impact an individual’s identity? 
• Does society exclude those facing mental health struggles? 
• How do friends and family influence one’s outlook on both mental health and identity? 
• How can schools create a safe environment for students struggling with their mental health? 

Assessment Possibilities: 

Formative: 

• Students may track the characters and how their own personal perceptions of mental health influence either the main character or the storyline.  
• Students could also assign themselves a character and see how their beliefs in mental health treatment either change or stay the same.   
• Students may also create a one-pager to capture their thoughts and feelings in the book, or even abstract art to connect to Natalie and draw inspiration.  
• Students may journal their response to Natalie’s journey from a third-party perspective but also may write a journal entry as Natalie or just as a reflection from their own perspective. 

Summative: 

• Students could combine all their one-pagers and take elements from each to create a final poster of their understandings, thoughts, and beliefs on the book and the topics within it.
• Students could write an extended final chapter on how they think the story would play out. 

Reviewed by: Mary Kusbel is an English Education Major at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

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Synopsis: Celine Bangura is a high school senior wanting to go into law with a big TikTok following. Her archenemy, Bradley Graeme, is pretty much perfect. A star football player with (pretty well-managed) OCD. Celine and Bradley used to be best friends but ever since one day in freshman year, they hated each other. Celine is informed of a chance to win a full scholarship through a survival course created by her role model, Katherine Breakspeare. When Bradley learns about the full scholarship, he also decides to join the course. Forced to work together trying to win the grand prize, Celine and Bradley finally talk about why they stopped being friends. Eventually, they attempt to rebuild their friendship but they both feel that maybe… they want to be more than just friends.

Review

This book is a classic enemies-to-lovers trope that tells a cute and quirky love story and discusses mental health struggles, mainly anxiety, and OCD. I really loved this book because it accurately depicts anxiety triggers and how those with mental illness deal with them daily. Celine’s father abandoned her family, and her anxiety boils over whenever she interacts with or witnesses him. Bradley lives with OCD and having him go camping in this book was a wildly truthful scene. This book also made me laugh quite a bit as the characters are written so well and are realistic. With the mix of character personalities, a heart-racing romance, and a survival course in the woods, this book is a perfect recommendation for high schoolers and up.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Analysis: The themes in this book connect to teenagers of all genders as well as anyone looking for a diverse love story. Some themes represented are: 

• Enemies-to-lovers 
• Parental abandonment 
• Mental Health  
• Social Pressures 
• Young Adult Fiction 

Essential Questions: 

• How does mental illness affect people daily and how do they overcome it? 
• Why are texts with BIPOC main characters important to include in the classroom? 
• How does this story represent the importance of communication with friends and family? 
• How does Celine’s mental health diagnosis and race intersect with her identity?  

Teaching Strategies and Activities to Use: 

• Writing activity with prompts surrounding friendship where students reflect on their past/current relationships with friends and possibly family. 
• Have students create an informational pamphlet (loosely based on the pamphlet from the book) that represents their identity. 

Assessment Possibilities: 

Formative: Students share their experiences while reading the book each week through mini-writing activities. With an optional prompt for inspiration, ask the students to write about anything they connected to or found relatable in the book. If students are having trouble, a group/small group discussion may be useful to go over the recent reading as well as have students share what in the book they related to. This could be related to a character’s identity, feelings, experiences, events in the book, etc.  

Summative: Students write a personal narrative surrounding a time when they had an issue with a friend, family member, or significant other. Group discussions and workshops can help students identify what they want to write about as well as how to tie it back to the text. In a reflection, they will then share how their story/experience relates to the text. 

Reviewed by: Ellie Miller, a sophomore at Colorado State University, English Creative Writing major, Fort Collins, Colorado.

ALAN Picks: An Exploration of Girlhood Through Fantasy

This month’s ALAN Picks features books that focus on poetry, fantasy and grief. For those looking for a series to hook their students, check out The Mermaid, The Witch and the Sea by Maggie Takudo-Hall. Continue your celebration of National Poetry Month with the verse novel We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride. Discuss tough topics while reading a ghost story in Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline.

Looking For Teen Reviewers: If you know students who are interested in writing book reviews of recently published young adult and middle grade books, let them know they can write for ALAN Picks too! 

ALAN Picks Book Selections: ALAN Picks accepts reviews of books published from spring 2020 to present-day, including soon-to-be-released books. This gives ALAN members who are interested in reviewing books more great titles to choose from, as well as accommodate some great books released during the beginning of the pandemic that still deserve highlighting. If you have some books in mind that you would like to review, please reach out to me!

Let Us Know How You Use ALAN Picks! If you read an ALAN Picks review and end up using the book with your students, let us know! We want to hear all of your great stories and engaging ways you are using young adult and middle grades literature in your classrooms. Remember, ALAN Picks are book reviews by educators for educators! Click on the archives to see previous editions. 

Submit a Review: Would you like to submit a review? Check out ALAN Picks for submission guidelines and email ALAN Picks Editor, Richetta Tooley at richetta.tooley@gmail.com with the book title you are interested in reviewing. Rolling deadline.

–  Richetta Tooley, ALAN Picks Editor

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Synopsis: When Whimsy meets Faerry while in the hospital for depression, Whimsy is quick to find connections between herself and the fae boy. For in their world, magic exists, hidden in plain sight. Developing a close friendship, both characters reveal they are searching for similar people, with the same questions, about the same place–The Magic Garden. Whimsy and Faerry find themselves battling against more than just the typical goblin or vampires, but the very monsters that plague some of us everyday.

Review:

As someone who does not read a ton of fantasy, We Are All So Good at Smiling is not one that I would typically gravitate to. However, this book is such a magical, adventurous read! Filled with lots of lore, laughs, a few tears, and some silent headshakes from myself, it is action packed. Additionally, the characters are relatable and fun! Whimsy is witty and funny, while Faerry is loveable and loyal. The combination of the characters really makes for a thrilling adventure between two friends in an alternate reality.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections:

• Mental health 
• Depression and Anxiety 
• Trauma 
• Racial stereotyping 
• Grief and sudden loss 
• Friendship between two genders 

Essential Questions:

• How does the formatting of text impact the tone?
• In which way do we use stories to convey more than one message?
• Does genre have an impact on the theme of a book?
• How does setting impact the main idea of a text?

Activity:

In We Are All So Good at Smiling, the crux of the plot begins when Whimsy and Faerry are stuck in the magic garden, facing all of Whimsy’s greatest fears. While reading the text, it is evident that the fictional characters Whimsy has chosen to put into the magical garden are representations of Whimsy’s inner struggles. A good activity for this text would be to have students draw their own characteristics of their struggles. They could be already existing, or a new representation. To level up this assignment, ask students to look into different mythologies around the world, and choose one of those creatures to represent a struggle they may have experienced. Otherwise, you could always ask your students to include some of Whimsy’s monsters they may relate to into their drawings. 

Assessment Possibilities

Formative:

Throughout reading the text and creating their monsters, have students find the moments where we are introduced to the various characters Whimsy has created within her forest, and mark it. This could be inside or outside of the actual forest itself. You could have these serve as inspiration for the “monster” project. 

Summative:

After the completion of the book, have students pair/group together to compare their  findings of these creatures in the text, and decide which possible internal struggle(s) Whimsy was representing with these such characters. Be sure to point out power differences between characters, and how that may guide their interpretations of the text.

Level Up:

 As an additional mindfulness measure–after proper feedback has been given to the students for their hard work, have them crumple their monsters up, and throw them away in fun ways (a fake snowball fight is always fun!). Point out to students that this may serve as a way for them to “throw away” their more negative mindsets toward themselves, and help settle any internal struggles they may be facing.

Reviewed by: Cassie Bickford, Pre-Service Teacher, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

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Synopsis: Funeral Songs for Dying Girls follows Winifred, a 16-year-old girl who lives with her father and obese dog in the Winterson Cemetery. She’s an outcast, “weird,” and determined to save the cemetery so she and her father can stay in their apartment on the property. After a few accidental “ghost sightings,” in which Winifred was mistaken for the ghost, a local ghost tour expresses interest in adding Winterson to their route. Winifred believes this may be the key to saving her home, especially after befriending a real ghost, Phil, on the property. Winifred must decide to exploit her new friend to save the cemetery or risk losing everything. 

Review

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls is a beautifully written and haunting story. Winifred’s goals are realistic and understandable. She reads exactly like a teenage girl just trying to figure herself out. Winifred’s recurring grief for her aunt and her mother (among others) and the loss of an important friendship are both portrayed with care and gentleness. The pacing is slow as the story is more focused on character development than on plot. Overall, deeply personal, and poignant, with writing that conveys the trials and beauty of growing up as a girl. This novel would be perfect for book clubs in a classroom.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections: 

The themes in this book can resonate with all teenagers but would be best suited for teenage girls. They touch on grief, loss, and death, while also incorporating the issues of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls and cultural appropriation within the storyline. 

• Grief and Loss
• Coming of age
• Belonging
• Identity
• Mental Health
• Sexuality, LGBTQ+

Essential Questions

• How does our sense of self develop based on where we live and where we grow up?
• How does a sense of belonging factor into identity?
• How does belonging to a specific culture or community shape our identity?

Teaching Strategies and Activities to Use:

• Research and discussion about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIW)
• Discussion about the issue of cultural appropriation in the novel, how it’s used and by whom.
• Pair with texts that address grief, loss, and coming-of-age.
• Discussion and research about OCD and mental illness; encourage students to explore how the character’s condition influences her actions, decisions, and behavior, especially in terms of coping strategies. 
• Create a ghost tour advertisement based on the new addition of the Winterson Cemetery.

Formative/Summative Assessments

Formative: 

• Reading Journals: reflections on passages, scenes, characters, and/or how students feel while reading the novel. Possible prompts could include character analysis, theme exploration, chapter summaries, symbolism analysis, theme exploration, personal connections, author’s craft, and/or predictions for the story’s resolution.

Summative: 

• One-Pager
  • Identify themes, important concepts, and quotes and give a review of the book.
  • Epilogue Expansion: What is Winifred’s new home and life like?
  • Alternate Universe: What would Phil’s life be like if she made it back home? OR What would Winifred’s life be like if her mother didn’t die?

Reviewed by: Mackenzie Pfund, English Education Student at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI

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Synopsis: This novel is about an orphan turned pirate Flora, going by the name Florian to fit in with a crew of all men. She sails under false pretenses to ensure a safe voyage on a ship on a journey to distant islands. But she is surrounded by marauders, thieves, and even murderers and rapists.  At the time of departure at the start of the novel, Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, a highborn Imperial daughter, is on board as well and is accompanied by her own casket as tradition for her colonizing home country. She is sailing to an arranged marriage in the Floating islands, months of sailing away, and has to leave everything she holds dear behind. Everything except for her parents, who had arranged this trip to get rid of her for good, as she is an embarrassment to the home. The books are full of stolen memories, magic,  illicit mermaid’s blood, double agents, and haunting mythical creatures, and as the trip continues on over the sea to the final destination when the guests will be sold into slavery, Flora and Evelyn begin to fall for one another. Both their lives are at risk as they attempt to stay together when everything seems to be pulling them apart and controlling their identities. 

Review

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea is a fantasy fiction novel told in alternating perspectives from the different characters including Flora and Evelyn, with three distinct sections included. Readers can find it easy to relate to or understand one or more of the concepts or personal struggles that the characters experience and encounter within the text. The author, Maggie Takudo-Hall creates a vivid and expansive world that almost feels real when reading through the text, with its complicated history of the world and distinctive appearances and specialists of the different colonies and nations discussed throughout. The novel demonstrates the power of fate, and what it truly means to take fate into your own hands. The use of the mermaid, the witch, and the sea within the title of the novel is also unique and plays a significant role for many of the characters and in the ending of the novel. 

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections and Analysis:

Identity – Everyone has their own unique and personal identities, and Flora/ Florian and Evelyn have complex personalities that clash through this novel. Identity is very important not just between these two characters, but also for everyone living in this world. For a lot of time, the physical attributes of people are pointed out as being different and connected to a certain area or group, and this can be connected back to how people see others in our world and group them based on preconceived beliefs and bias. 

Class – There is this underlying theme of rich vs. poor or upper class vs. lower class and colonies. Back in the history of the world, colonizers terrorized other nations and it has left big scars and conflicts even in today’s world. In this novel, there is a lot of hate towards colonizers and we get to see how a colonized person and a colonizer interact and clash. 

Addiction –   There is an addiction to drugs and alcoholism within this novel, and for many of the sailors it is their only escape from the past and the crimes they commit. Mermaid blood is one of those addictions, and although it is against the law for sailors, it is used to forget painful memories and can even lead to forgetting your own name like the captain of the Dove does. But there are other addictions in this story, such as freedom and escape from the natural or traditional cycles of life, and power. Power over others is something everyone is constantly fighting for, as a system of hierarchy exists in this world. 

Right vs Wrong –  The lines between right and wrong are constantly being blurred within the text, and for characters such as Evelyn and Flora what is right versus what is wrong is especially hard to discern in the face of love. For many other characters, what might be considered wrong has become their way of life, such as murder and robbery. Colonialism and rebellion are sides of the same coin in this novel, and while one is seen as gracious and upper-class, the other is looked down upon. 

You can also discuss: Race and Racism; Sexism and Hierarchy; Power; Homophobia 

Essential Questions:

• Flora questions her gender identity throughout the book. Why and how does she struggle with this?
• In what ways are Flora and Florian alike? In what ways are they different? Do their two different identities help or hurt them?
• Why does Flora choose the name Florian and why does she seem to hide behind it and its reputation? 
• Most of the men in The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea neither treat women as their equals or believe that women are as smart as men. Why is this the case? 
• Why would Alfie use years of savings on Mermaid’s blood, even if it was against the law, at the beginning of the story? Why would he try to forget his own memories, with everything that was at stake for him and Flora?
• How is destiny and duty different? Are they ever similar? Why or why not?
• What is power in the world of The Mermaid, The Witch, And The Sea and how is it important? How do people use their power once they obtain it? What does power really entail for those who hold it? 
• What is the role of the sea in The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea? Is it significant? Are there those who value these things, and those who do not? Why?

Strategies

• Symbolism is an important part of this novel. An example of this in The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is how the Pirate Supreme’s ship is named the Leviathan. Look up the definition of the word leviathan and explain how the ship’s name is used as a symbol throughout the book. Then, choose another example of symbolism and explain its significance.
• Discussion on racism within the text, as well as how it relates to race and racism outside of the text. 
• Flora sings a song at the beginning of this novel, and it comes up throughout the novel in unexpected places. Reread the lyrics to the pirate anthem Flora first sings on page 22. Then explain how the song foreshadows events of her own life.
• Taking fate into your own hands is an important part of this novel, and the definition of fate is important to understanding how it affects different characters. Discuss how fate is perceived by the various characters that experience it directly. 
• The title of this novel holds plenty of meaning to the rest of the novel, and each part of the title comes up again and again throughout. Discuss how the mermaid, the witch, and the sea are all utilized within the novel and affect the ending. 

Assessment Possibilities:

Formative:

• Make a list/map/paper/etc on how Fate affects each of the characters of the novel, as fate plays a big role from many of the main characters
• Lead a class discussion on how racism, homophobia, and sexism all affect the reading of the story and how it affects the different character within the story, including how the choose to respond

Summative:
Pick a concept found within this story such as poverty, racism, colonialism, etc. and form some type of project such as a drawing, a paper, a map, etc to apply these concerts found in the book into real life situations. You can use real world examples such as impoverished countries, news articles or reports about any concept, and even photos from history and currently relating to your concept. 

• There is no page or word limit for the project, but try not to go over 20~ pages for this project 
• You can turn it in online or in person depending on the project
• Make sure to use a least one element from the book outside of real world examples, including your concept, different characters, or even quotes  

Reviewed by: Caroline Collignon, student, Colorado State University

ALAN Picks: Women’s History Month-Past to Present

This month’s ALAN Picks features books that focus on the experience of teenage girls coming of age in different time periods. Beginning in the 1930s, For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome shares the experiences of a Black family in Jackson, Mississippi. Set in the 1950s, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo tells the story of a Chinese-American girl navigating her sexuality. In a contemporary setting, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson is about one summer in the life of a Métis girl living on the Canadian prairies dealing with race, trauma and coming of age. 

Looking For Teen Reviewers: If you know students who are interested in writing book reviews of recently published young adult and middle grade books, let them know they can write for ALAN Picks too! 

ALAN Picks Book Selections: ALAN Picks accepts reviews of books published from spring 2020 to present-day, including soon-to-be-released books. This gives ALAN members who are interested in reviewing books more great titles to choose from, as well as accommodate some great books released during the beginning of the pandemic that still deserve highlighting. If you have some books in mind that you would like to review, please reach out to me!

Let Us Know How You Use ALAN Picks! If you read an ALAN Picks review and end up using the book with your students, let us know! We want to hear all of your great stories and engaging ways you are using young adult and middle grades literature in your classrooms. Remember, ALAN Picks are book reviews by educators for educators! Click on the archives to see previous editions.

Submit a Review: Would you like to submit a review? Check out ALAN Picks for submission guidelines and email ALAN Picks Editor, Richetta Tooley at richetta.tooley@gmail.com with the book title you are interested in reviewing. Rolling deadline.

–  Richetta Tooley, ALAN Picks Editor

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Synopsis: For Lamb takes place in the 1930s in Jackson Mississippi. Told primarily from the perspective of a brother and sister, Lamb and Simeon, with excerpts from their mother Marion. Simeon is the ambitious older brother with big dreams determined to leave the South and attend college. Lamb, as her name entails, is quiet as a lamb and a bit naive. The novel also follows Marion’s attempts to navigate her lesbian sexuality. Their lives will change drastically when Lamb takes part in a biracial friendship that leads to horror and obstacles in the Jim Crow South.  

Review:

Lesa Cline-Ransome’s, For Lamb, highlights the many injustices and trauma of a Black family living in the Jim Crow South. Ransome’s writing makes it an emotional and intriguing read. The motivations and perspectives of the different family members invite an intriguing reading experience. While Simeon fights against white supremacy, Marion finds it best to avoid conflict and be submissive. Although there is mention of sexual assault and lynching the book has a much-needed mix of sensitivity.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Character Analysis

For Lamb has a rich display of characters and their development. Allow students to engage in a deeper look at characters through the use of diagrams. There are two examples provided above because students should have a choice in how they display their creative knowledge. With the text being told through different lenses we get a deeper look into who each character is and how they think. We then allow students to keep track of these perceptions to consider how this functions with their own identities.

Essential Questions

• For teachers: How can we approach topics such as lynching with young adults?
• How does this text create a conversation about racial bias?
• How do the differing lenses in the text cosign with how you read it? Who do you relate to most?

Formative/Summative Assessments

Formative:
Since the story is told through different lenses, I would have students make a diagram, as displayed above, that displays the similarities and differences between characters as they read. This can pertain to physical attributes, opinions on controversial topics, personality traits, etc. These diagrams can be checked at certain points throughout the reading of the novel to ensure progress. This will set the framework for the summative assessment.

Summative:
Now that students have been analyzing how the characters in For Lamb function within each other, I want to encourage students to consider how their racial identity fits into their reading of this novel. Students will first examine their characteristics, identities, physical attributes, etc. Looking at the diagram they have made through the reading they will write a paper responding to how their similarities and differences with the characters impacted how they read the text.

Reviewed by: Cayden Clark-Johnson & Maddison Rumrey

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Synopsis: Lily Hu is a seventeen year old girl in 1950’s San Francisco. Coming from the cultural background of a Chinese-American girl and growing up in the 1950’s being gay or showing support for the LGTBQ+ was something that was not only frowned upon, it was practically illegal to be gay. This was not a problem until Lily Hu met Kathleen Miller and developed feelings for her, a relationship that only fueled the public perspective of the ‘lavender scare.’

Review

Last Night at the Telegraph Club focuses on the journey of Lily Hu. It delves into love, career, family and cultural environment and looks at how those are all drastically impacted by the time and setting of being Chinese-American in San Francisco in the 1950’s. Historically the Red Scare and the Lavender Scare are happening around them. This leads to everyone who is not ‘white’, ‘heterosexual’ or ‘normal, to be considered ‘other’. ‘Others’ are considered to be high risk in terms of being Communists. Now while Lily’s parents were regarded very highly in the community prior to the increase of the ‘Red Scare’, now they are seen as high risk. Lily Hu has dreams of being a rocket scientist. Lily and her friend Kathleen develop a common interest in STEM and ‘flying’ to an extent. Kathleen wants to be a pilot, another career of which there are very few women. The two grow close to one another and after a few instances where Lily feels as though this is a little more than just friendship. This book develops a sense of what Lily is going through in terms of seeking education, shelter, and representation after finding out about what it means to be queer. From sneaking around and being confused to cultivating a new part of herself, the book encapsulates a lot of growth and historical meaning to what it is like to be a queer woman of color during a tumultuous time in history. 

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections and Essential Questions

• The connection between Lily and Kathleen wanting to be involved in the sciences that both require elevation-  a rocket scientist and a pilot, going up and into the sky. What does this mean and how can it connect to the time frame and cultural implication?
• The Telegraph Club is a safe haven for the two young women. What aspects can we see besides providing a safe space for Lily can we see the Telegraph having? What does this say about the community and the implications it might have for both queer people and people of color?

Teaching Strategies and Activities to Use:
I am a big fan of storyboarding or scene scaffolding. Taking out a scene from the novel and picking parts of the scene to discuss the significance of a character or environment within the novel. Like taking the first introduction of the telegraph club and drawing it and providing a paragraph or maybe a scene of Lily and Kathleen meeting and dissecting their first conversation to hunt for allusions or foreshadowing.

Formative and Summative Assessment Suggestions:

For an assessment I would recommend a written response, short answer essay. I have written the following prompts:

• What voices does this text include?
• Are certain people or groups glaringly absent or given an insubstantial role?
• Does the text include stereotypes or misrepresentations of people? How are those stereotypes or misrepresentations treated?
• Does the text accurately reflect lived experiences and cultures? If so, please explain. 
• Are certain questions or issues related to the topic left out/glossed over? If not explain how they are supported or promoted main-stream?
• Does this text promote a healthy self-concept?
• Does this text foster intergroup understanding?

Reviewed by: Kathryn Zahnke-Gant, Student, West Lafayette, IN

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Synopsis: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet is a realistic fiction young adult novel that covers topics such as coming of age, sexuality, race, and family life. The story centers on the life of Lou, an aspiring academic who hides her ethnic identity to fit in socially. Lou and her family are the proud owners of the local ice cream shop in town. The story tells all about Lou’s summer, her friendships, and her struggle with sexuality and life as a teenage girl.

Review

Jen Furguson created a story that displays adolescent adversity with respect and maturity that is often lacking. What we appreciated about her storytelling is that there was little bluffing and an accurate representation of the teenage mind. Ferguson highlights reality by adding the sort of struggles Lou faces with the potential reappearance of her father, financial issues in the family, and difficulty in her relationships. The story maintained a sense of realness because it was not trying to hide struggles or romanticize them. Despite this, there were moments throughout the text that felt quite chaotic. There was a point where as a reader it felt as though the author had introduced conflict in too many aspects of Lou’s life that the reader felt overwhelmed just as much as Lou was. In some fashion that may be an effective use of theauthor’s story, but it forces the reader to have to take a step back in multiple instances. Nevertheless, the text overall accurately represented the adversity that is being an adolescent which could be appreciated more from an adolescent perspective rather than that of a college student.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Activity: Draw a diagram with different ice cream bins on it and let the flavors represent different themes. Then have an ingredient list where the students can write in different ways the theme is shown. Students can incorporate textual evidence in order to create rigor, then have a group discussion after. Example: An ice cream bin labeled “race” and on the ingredient list they would write down for example the convenience store scene where Lou’s ID gets taken and include page numbers.  

Formative and Summative Assessments:
Students can be formally assessed on the components of this novel by creating a visual poster showing how the different parts of Lou’s life intertwine. There are a few significant parts to this novel which are Lou’s battle with being both Métis and white, Lou’s relationship with both of her parents and other members of her family and Lou’s internal struggles with her romantic interests and friendships. To effectively gauge whether students understand all the different concepts presented in the novel as well as test their ability to process what these ideas could mean further regarding concepts such as race and different cultures.

Reviewed by: Cailyn Davis, Student, Lafayette, IN and Lauren Crisci, Student, Carmel, IN

ALAN Picks: Celebrating and Exploring Black Experiences

This month’s ALAN Picks features books that explore the diversity of Black experiences in America. Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and artwork by Jason Griffin is a three-sentence book accompanied by powerful images that reflects on the isolation many of us felt in 2020. Friday I’m In Love by Camryn Garrett tells the story of a Black queer teen who wants to host her own coming out party in place of the sweet sixteen she never received. This is My America by Kim Johnson follows a young girl who is fighting to get her brother cleared of a crime he has been falsely accused of while confronting the racism rooted in her community. In Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams, a teen fights back against the attempts of a new neighbor using social media to romanticize and glorify southern plantations despite their dark history.

Looking For Teen Reviewers: If you know students who are interested in writing book reviews of recently published young adult and middle grade books, let them know they can write for ALAN Picks too! 

ALAN Picks Book Selections: ALAN Picks accepts reviews of books published from spring 2020 to present-day, including soon-to-be-released books. This gives ALAN members who are interested in reviewing books more great titles to choose from, as well as accommodate some great books released during the beginning of the pandemic that still deserve highlighting. If you have some books in mind that you would like to review, please reach out to me!

Let Us Know How You Use ALAN Picks! If you read an ALAN Picks review and end up using the book with your students, let us know! We want to hear all of your great stories and engaging ways you are using young adult and middle grades literature in your classrooms. Remember, ALAN Picks are book reviews by educators for educators! Click on the archives to see previous editions. 

Submit a Review: Would you like to submit a review? Check out ALAN Picks for submission guidelines and email ALAN Picks Editor, Richetta Tooley at richetta.tooley@gmail.com with the book title you are interested in reviewing. Rolling deadline.

–  Richetta Tooley, ALAN Picks Editor

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Synopsis: Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds is an easy-to-read book set in 2020. The protagonist is a young person who feels the fear and confusion in his environment surrounding the events of 2020 including COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement surrounding George Floyd. The book is a poetic piece with a lot of artwork that allows readers to make their own connections to the events of 2020. 

Review:

I personally enjoyed this book as a short read. It captured a lot of the feelings I had during 2020 especially regarding the fear and confusion. 2020 was a very isolating time for everyone and Reynolds did an excellent job of capturing this. The use of cutout words and the artwork really helped to tie the central theme of 2020 together. There was a heavy reliance on the media during 2020 and the use of the author’s own media to tell his own story was reminiscent of that time period. Overall, this was a very captivating and easy to follow story. 

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections /Essential Questions:

• Strategy of using multimedia art with poetry:
  • Does it distract from the general theme?
    • To what extent is the art distracting?
    • In what ways can the art change the understanding of the theme?
    • Are there any points that the art may even challenge the theme?
  • Does it support the general theme?
    • To what extent does the art support the main point of the chapters?
    • In what ways does the art support the theme?
    • Are there any points when the theme is more easily understandable with the art?

Teaching Strategies:

• Using magazines or newspapers to collage a new form of this book relating to something the student feels strongly about to help understand the use of multiple forms of art (multimedia art combined with poetry in this case). Students will be given in-class time and optionally home time to complete the assignment. There should be a focus on creating formative poetry first with an easily identifiable theme or lesson. The students should not worry about the layout of the poem during this first period. Once the poem is constructed, then students can decorate a page or a few pages using multimedia art to support the main themes/messages of the stanzas or whole poem. 
• Writing small poems to try to convey a central point (like haikus) would also be a relevant teaching strategy for younger students. This would help younger students to be able to holistically focus on the poetry aspect without adding the complexity of multimedia art. If this is easily grasped by students, then the above strategy would be helpful for keeping engagement high.

Summative Assessments

• Understanding of central theme
  • Students can be asked to analyze the theme of Ain’t Burned All the Bright either through a class discussion or through personal essays for more advanced students. Students should be able to make the connection to Covid-19 and the BLM movement; any other minor themes should be addressed with evidence from the book. 
• Using context clues found in the art to support central theme
  • Students can be split into small groups and asked to analyze a few pages from the book and address the essential questions above. This will likely lead to a lot of discussion regarding interpretation of the art and the theme. Students should be careful not to focus too much on the artwork and should keep the general theme in mind. Evidence from the book should be used when addressing how the art affects the central themes. Alternatively, this could also be done individually in the form of an essay.

Reviewed by: Michaela, Student at Purdue University West Lafayette, IN.

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Synopsis: Mahalia’s sixteenth birthday has already passed and she never got the movie-esque sweet sixteen of which she had always dreamed. After her best friend’s sweet sixteen and an encounter with a new student from Ireland named Siobhan, Mahalia decides she is going to make her own party happen: a coming out party (and hopefully she will get to be there with the pretty new girl)! With attempting to plan and pay for her own party, working through strong emotions, on top of Junior year stressors like the SATs, college and scholarship applications, and ignorance of those around her, Mahalia experiences the hardships of finances, life balance, relationships, identity, and being in high school all at once.

Review

Garrett’s writing feels like reading scenes straight out of a modern teen dramedy, from the screen to the pages! Mahalia’s story explores the hardships of struggling financially and needing to help family, while still being true to the desires of what people want to do, especially when things seem unfeasible. Garrett shows readers the microaggressions Black students may face in school, from ignorant classmates to white savior teachers, yet she never makes the story feel like one of misery, but rather one of Black joy, queer joy, and self-love! With a deeply realistic feeling of youthful thought processes and the real struggles that come from the identities we hold, Garrett has written a novel readers can connect to instantly and read through before they know it’s done.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Elements: The novel features many themes throughout that students can analyze and discuss in various ways throughout the novel.

Essential Questions:

• What is a way you can celebrate your identities?
• How does intersectionality affect identities?
• How does socioeconomic standing affect goals and goal planning?
• In what ways can we attempt to understand perspectives different from our own?
• Why should we take varying perspectives into account when interacting with people, both those we are close to and not?

Teaching Strategies and Activities to Use:

• The story is blooming with identities and an honest perspective on experiences, which gives teachers the opportunity to have students participate in self reflection on their experiences with diverse views, perspectives, and identities and work on critical thinking skills when faced with new or even old challenges that arise.
• Positionality is also a large theme in the novel. Teachers can provide further information on the concepts of positionality and use activities like short prompt writing to have students think about ways in which positionality can affect reaction and action in various scenarios.
• Teachers can also ask students to create character summaries/maps as a way to develop deep reading skills. Focusing on one character, whether it be the protagonist or any side characters, teaches students to pay close attention to how characters change or interact throughout the course of the story and have dimension beyond their obvious traits.

Formative and Summative Assessments:

Formative Assessments:

• Students can make a creative assignment that has the student identify their identities and how those identities shape their perspective in challenges they have faced or may face in the future.
• Students can create a one page “plan” on how they intend to celebrate who they are, just as Mahalia creates her budget plan for her party. This can be done like Mahalia, with a budget for items one would desire for an event to celebrate themselves and their identities, with an attached plan of action on how they would achieve obtaining the items for said celebration, OR students can create their own “plan” on how to celebrate who they are in a way they propose and get approved by the teacher.

Summative Assessment:

• Students can write a literary analysis, stating how they feel the novel is representative of their actual modern youth experiences. This essay must include at least three different, direct moments in the story for their analysis and be compared to their real life experiences.

Reviewed by: Ian Horn, Undergraduate English Education student at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.

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Synopsis: This Is My America is centered on the Beaumont family, who is forever changed seven years prior when the father James Beaumont was wrongfully convicted and held on death row for a double homicide. Tracy Beaumont, a journalist for her school’s paper, dedicates her life to seeking justice for her father. While Tracy is fighting for the freedom of her father, her brother Jamal is accused of killing Angela Herron, head of the school paper and secret lover of Jamal. Tracy refuses to believe her brother could have had any involvement with the murder so she seeks to find the truth. In the midst of fighting for the fate of her family, she discovers the roots of white nationalism and racism in her community which has made her brother, Jamal, its latest target.

Review

This is My America is a compelling read that tackles the critical issues of our time. The author, Kim Johnson focuses on the protagonist, Tracy Beaumont who passionately fights to save the lives of her family. This novel is an emotional roller coaster that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Generational cycles of racism, the effects of systemic racism on justice, and incarceration are all prominent themes explored throughout the novel. From her first-person perspective, readers will go on a journey with Tracy and watch the effects of her father’s incarceration on her and her family.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Connections:

• Incarceration and its effects on families 
• Systemic and Interpersonal racism 
• The generational cycle of racism

Essential Questions:

• Within the world of the text, what role do generational belief systems play in upholding racist ideologies?
• How do systemic and interpersonal forms of racism affect the execution of justice in the text?
• How does each family member cope with James’ incarceration? And how does this illustrate the effects incarceration has on families?

Engagement Activities:

• Have students create a mini art project depicting a main theme, or scene from the book
• Students must be creative and think outside the box 
• Example depictions: poem, song, diorama, video, choreography, drawing, painting, comic strip, etc.

Formative and Summative Assessments:

Formative: 

• Each student can have a weekly journal entry, answering questions that pertain to each week’s reading
  • Ex: How does author Kim Johnson use real-world events and injustices to shape the events and themes of This Is My America?

Summative: 

• Once students have finished reading the book, they choose a prominent theme expressed within the theme. Students then should construct an essay that supports the chosen theme.

Reviewed by: Alazah Goodloe, Student, West Lafayette, IN.

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Synopsis: Set in the present-day southern United States, protagonist Harriet Douglas educates her characters and readers on the atrocity of romanticizing the Antebellum South. As a tour guide at Westwood, an enslaved museum on former plantation grounds, she is passionate in educating the guests on the inhumane and unjust realities that have been lost, distorted, or obscured. Sometimes purposefully through the narratives written by predominantly White historians. Harriet soon discovers that the neighboring Belle Grove plantation has been purchased by an actress with a teenage influencer daughter. The purpose for which is to rent out the ‘big house’ for high profile and luxurious celebratory events such as weddings and proms. It becomes Harriett’s mission to educate people on the violent, horrifying history of plantations, and advocating that they instead be turned into enslavement museums through her social media posts. Throughout her activism, Harriett also has to grapple with the grief of her mother’s death, her father’s respectability politics, and the betrayal of friends. 

Review

Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay is a compelling novel that provides a tight, engrossing storyline on America’s distorted, messy, and ugly history of enslaved people and how relics of the past-not just in the South, are open wounds that must be addressed for healing to begin. This is a must-read for continued learning and discussion in order to further grow empathy and understanding, and to encourage a better, more cohesive civil society. Systemic racism is addressed through the negligent medical treatment her mother received while battling cancer. Microaggressions are also woven throughout, especially in the instance of Harriet’s treatment by a thoughtless White male teacher. She also has to navigate in a world where the beliefs and ideals of the older generation often clash with those of the younger generation. Her father’s respectability politics and pacifist behavior, especially for the sake of Harriet getting into a prestigious university, is a point of contention woven throughout. His way of dealing with pivotal situations grates against her activist approaches. From the onset of the text, the reader witnesses (and often feels) Harriet’s righteous energy and visceral emotions due to America’s past as well as what still needs to be addressed. She is an advocate whose drive and advocacy strengthens as the story unfolds, helping to bring awareness and a call for change.

Suggestions for Curriculum & Classroom Use

Thematic Analysis Topics:

Essential Questions:

• How do our parents or guardians impact how we interact with the world? How do our parents or guardians impact our future? 
• How do our parents or guardians impact how we see ourselves? 
• How does our culture impact one of the aforementioned questions? 
• In texts, it is common for characters to have a desire to escape. They believe that by moving away from where they are living, their life will suddenly change for the better. What are your thoughts on this? 
• After reading the text, what information, knowledge, and insight did you gain? What factual information did you find to be the most compelling? 
• What would you like to know more about? 
• In Wes Moore’s book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (2011), he states that “Fighting for your convictions is important, but finding peace is paramount. Knowing when to fight and when to seek peace is wisdom” (168). Thinking about his statement and applying this to Harriet, what thoughts do you have? 

Teaching Activities:

• Prior to reading the book, alert students that they will be creating a blackout poem. While annotating they need to also mark any page(s) for the blackout poem assignment. Students will find and take virtual tours of enslaved museums and plantations, comparing and contrasting the information that is shared-specifically when it comes to enslaved people and the enslavers. What information overlapped from the text and what information was new? 
• As an extension of the factual information shared in the text, students will select an area to research for further understanding, while also bringing awareness to the continued use of systems of oppression. *Suggested topics: forced labor including picking cotton in Angola prison, America’s prison system, plantation tours and events, how enslaved people built and contributed to America and if and how they are credited. 

Formative Assessment Suggestions:

• Literature Groups. In preparation of discussion, annotate the text. When annotating, also include factual information Harriett shares, Harriett’s character evolution, and Harriett’s desire to move up North where she believes she will be mentally healthier once she leaves the South.
• Based on current issues and events, discuss how Harriett’s dad handled the altercation between Harriett and her teacher and argue for or against his approach. 

Summative Assessment Suggestions:

• Analyze and discuss the differences between Harriett’s relationship and Layla’s relationship with their mothers. 
• Harriett was asked to write an apology letter to her teacher. Instead of writing an apology letter, write an informational letter to her teacher, educating and informing him of how he was insensitive to the situation. Or write a letter to the editor of Harriett’s local paper on why holding a prom at a plantation is not okay. 
• Argue for or against Harriet’s final decision on what she chose to do after her senior year of high school. 

Compatible Texts:

• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler 
• “at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south carolina, 1989” by Lucille Clifton

Reviewed by: Natalie Zook is an 8th grade English Language Arts teacher at Ladue Middle School in Ladue, Missouri. She is a certified reading specialist (K-12) who earned her M.S. Ed. in Reading from Illinois State University, and she is currently earning her M.Ed. in English Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia.