A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Characters: Mia, Zach, Beth, and parents Winchell. Jenna, Roger, and Adam her friends.

This book is about a young girl who has a special gift. She can see colors when she looks at numbers, hears music, looks at people. The story is told in such a way that you are able to watch the secret unfold and work through the changes with Mia. She changes with the support of her family, her friends, and eventually a group of people that also have synesthesia. Mango is her cat that she has a special bond with thanks to her grandpa. He wheezes and with every wheeze she sees the mango colored whisps of colors. I really enjoyed the imagery and the story telling of this book. Highly recommended!

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

By Mark Haddon

This is the story told from the point of view of a teenager on the autism spectrum. Christopher talks about going to a special school and knowing that he is different. From the way he chooses the chapter numbers (primes) to the way the story makes tangents, he is writing about an incident that happens to the neighbor's dog. Through the story, you find out that he lives with his father in Swinton, England. His mother died from a heart attack years earlier. When he decides to investigate the incident he uncovers many other truths about himself. Good story with a realistic view of what it is like to be on the spectrum.

I Am an Artichoke

By Lucy Frank

The story takes place in New York City and is current in time. Sarah is a 15 year old girl who gets a job as a mother's helper for the Friedman's. They have a 12 year old daughter who is not handling the divorce well between her parents: she refuses to eat. Sarah must figure out what is going on and find the best way to help this family. While there, she does some growing and changing. She meets a nice guy and even realizes that she is like an artichoke with the prickles on the outside, but a heart full hope and love. 

I Hadn't Meant To tell You This

By Jacqueline Woods on

The story takes ace in the 90's in Chauncey, Ohio. Marie lives with her father, a college professor, in a mostly black community. One day at school a new girl arrives. Lena is white and poor and Marie was asked to escort her that day. It only took a few days for them to figure out they would be good friends, despite the rest of the world. They both had lost their mother's: one to cancer and the other to wandering. Their friendship was good for both of them. One day Lena tells her a terrible secret. The kind that no one wants to hear or believe. The story is a good one with the struggle of fitting in and being accepted. 

Ruby Lee and Me

Author: Shannon Hitchcock

Characters: Sarah Beth, Ruby Lee, Robin, the grandparents

The story starts off in 1969 at the beginning of the summer. There is a car accident where Sarah's younger sister gets hit by a car. Sarah goes to stay with her grandparents where she learns about patience through baking. She has spent time there before and has a friend named Ruby Lee, the granddaughter of the black woman that works with her own grandmother. This is occuring during the days of integration where Ruby Lee finds she will be attending a mostly white school with a new black teacher. With hospital bills piling up, Sarah's parents need to sell their house and move to the farm with the grandparents. Sarah finds she will also be attending the newly integrated school. The main idea behind this book is forgiveness and strength. Both of which Sarah must find from her family and her friend Ruby Lee. It is a heart-warming story about a twelve year old girl grappling with difficult topics and growing up.

Hidden Like Anne Frank

by: Marcel Prins & Peter Henk Steenhuis

This book is such an interesting and intriguing read. With fourteen individual stories, it would be impossible to list all of the main characters.

I am so glad that I read this book! I have been to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. and have read many books about other Holocaust experiences, but I never really realized there were so many Jewish people that were sent into hiding. These stories are real and very well put together. As the author states at the beginning, he started out writing down the story of what his mother experienced during her being hidden in World War II. He found more stories and was intrigued at how different each story was. I am amazed at these stories; the trials and tribulations of each of the children and their families during this tumultuous time.

I had a thought of using this book in my classroom where the students choose one of the stories to document and follow on a map and make connections to the people in the story. There is one story when the person says the word hell and another of the stories where the young lady talks about being forced to have sex with one of the older boys in the home she was hiding. 6th graders may be a little young for those two parts...they are, after all, what really happened and I don't fault the writer for leaving those parts in the book. So just be aware and make your decision whether to use this book in the classroom. (By the way, the book I have is from Scholastic and I did buy it at a school book fair).

Wonder

by: R.J. Palacio
Main Characters: Auggie, his mom and dad, Via, Jack, Summer, and many others.

This story is about a boy who is born with a craniofacial deformity. He was sheltered from the world by his family, as he was home-schooled. Auggie did not know how hard the world could be because his family protected him from it. There comes a time when every child must learn the harsh realities of the world; Auggie entered a private school for 5th grade. In reality, he always knew that people reacted to seeing him. He felt it with every look, every whisper, and every time he saw people hurry away. Even though he knew this reality, he was unaware of just how little he actually knew of it. His fifth grade year started out as the most difficult thing he could imagine. By the end of the year however, he got to experience the other side of the harsh reality: the good in others. Truthfully, there is more good in the world than bad. Even if it is hard to see sometimes. For the most part, most people do choose kind.

I highly recommend this book for any age, but middle school is the best target for this book. This is an incredible book. Read it.