Not Your Average Librarians Book Blog - Jessica Martinez

Book 3: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green BIBLIOGRAPHY: Green, J. (2012). The Fault in Our Stars. Dutton Books. PLOT SUMMARY: The Fault in Our Stars is a story about two teenagers Hazel Grace, who is terminally ill and Augustus Waters, who is in remission. In the novel, Hazel joins a support group where she meets Augustus, and there is a rollercoaster of emotions throughout this novel as the relationship between Hazel and Augustus develops. Hazel and Augustus initially fight their love of each other because of their illnesses, but they eventually decide to have a romantic relationship and allow themselves to fall in love. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: John Green does a beautiful job of showing resilience and tenacity through extremely hard circumstances. Green allows readers to feel the deep emotions of the characters and makes you feel as if you were the one experiencing them through intense heartbreak. The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful portrayal of what it means to be alive. I enjoyed an...

Book 2: Sadie by Courtney Summers  1.BIBLIOGRAPHY Summers, C. (2018). Sadie. Wednesday Books. 2. PLOT SUMMARY Sadie is a 19 year old young woman who lives in a small town in Colorado that does not offer many opportunities to live, grow and flourish. Sadie’s mother has abandoned her and her young sister and another woman in the town has offered to help care for Sadie and her younger sister Mattie. Early on in the story, Sadie’s sister is murdered and Sadie believes she knows who the killer is. The story jumps back and forth between Sadie’s journey and “The Girls” podcast whose investigation retraces Sadie's steps. Sharing two different perspectives from Sadie’s and West McCray’s podcasts. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Courtney Summers does a remarkable job with themes of  trauma, revenge, and justice. The novel is structured with alternating chapters between Sadie's first-person narrative and transcripts of West McCray's podcast episodes. This format allows readers to see both Sadie...

Book 1: Dear Martin by Nic Stone  1.BIBLIOGRAPHY Stone, N. (2017). Dear Martin. Crown. 2. PLOT SUMMARY Dear Martin is about a 17 year old boy who has big goals for his life and attends an ivy league school. The story shares a wrongful arrest of Justyce due to the police wrongly accusing him of a crime. Following his wrongful arrest Justice decides to start living his life similar to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by recording his thoughts and feelings about his journey.  3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Nic Stone did a wonderful job of packing many intense, real and emotional topics into a short chapter book. Nic Stone uses a very blunt style and does not seem to sugarcoat the situations that Justyce was enduring. I felt for everything Justyce went through and felt like it was such a realistic look at how people, specifically high school students, honestly think and feel when it comes to racism in our country. Dear Martin seems to be an appropriate book for upper high schoolers as it deals wi...

Book 3: Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff BIBLIOGRAPHY: Wolff, V. E. (1993). Make Lemonade. Henry Holt and Company. PLOT SUMMARY: Make Lemonade is a story about a 17 year old mom of two, Jolly, who is in desperate need of a sitter for her two little kids from two different, absent fathers. When a 14 year old girl, LaVaughn, sees her poster on the school bulletin board, she decides to check it out to help get herself away from her current living quarters and to raise money for college for when she is older. When she goes to meet the kids she notices that their apartment is in a very unsafe neighborhood, and is quite a mess. Despite LaVaughn’s mothers concerns and warnings about working for Jolly, LaVaughn decides to stay to help Jolly out, but as time is spent babysitting LaVaugn’s grades slowly start to slip downhill like Jolly’s life. When Jolly comes home after being fired from her job LaVaughn tries to help her get her life back in order. Then LaVaughn takes the first steps towa...

Book 2: SPEAK By Laurie Halse Anderson 1.BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 9780374311254 2. PLOT SUMMARY In the book Speak a teenage girl , Melinda experiences an unnamed, traumatic incident that leaves her emotionally devastated and a social outcast at school. After Melinda calls the police during a summer party, her friends, including her best friend, Rachel, abandon her. The reason behind her actions is initially unclear, but as the story unfolds, readers learn that Melinda was raped by an older student at the party. The trauma of this event has left her unable to speak about it, leading to her social isolation and deteriorating mental health. As Melinda navigates her way through the school year, she struggles to find her voice and express her pain. She is constantly haunted by the memory of the assault and is unable to confide in anyone about it. By the end of the book, Melinda has transformed from a silent victim to a survivor. She completes he...

Book 1: The Outsiders by Hinton, S.E 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Hinton, S.E. 1967. THE OUTSIDERS. New York, NY: Dell Publishing. ISBN 0044967694 2. PLOT SUMMARY The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a novel set in the 1960s that follows the lives of two rival groups of teenagers, the Greasers and the Socs. The story is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks, who belongs to a gang of “Greasers.” The book explores the tensions and conflicts between the Greasers and the wealthier “Socs” (Socials), recalling themes of socioeconomic class, friendship, and cycles of violence. The book displays examples of social and economic struggles of their time. The Outsiders captures the essence of teenage rebellion, friendship, and the search for identity in the face of societal expectations. After a violent confrontation between the two groups, Ponyboy and his friend Johnny go on the run, leading to a series of events that force Ponyboy to confront the harsh realities of the world aro...