Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Doug's life is not fun. Home life consists of his amazing mom, his distant and abusive father, his bully older brother, and another brother who is off fighting in Vietnam. School consists of bullies and a few close friends. When Doug's father decides to move the family to Marysville in hopes of a better job (one that won't fire him), Doug even loses those few friends. Now school consists of students and teachers who think that Doug's brother is a thief and that Doug's no good either. Good thing for Lil Spicer or life might be just about the most miserable that it could be.

You might not think that a pretty girl, Audubon's Birds of America, baseball, and Jane Eyre have a whole lot in common, but in this case you might be wrong. Those few things might be the best things in the whole wide world. At least for one teenage boy who is just trying to find some good in the world.

Recommended to all middle grade readers. This title is great for boys who might not love to read, and who also aren't necessarily into sports or cars or other "guy stuff." But all ages and all interests are sure to get something out of Doug's experience and his perseverance.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow

Karl Stern is a skinny kid who gets bullied by his high school classmates more than he would like, but he's always been able to hide in the background of life for most part. He's living in Berlin during the reign of Hitler and the Nazis, but having been raised in a family of no practicing religion, he certainly does not consider himself a Jew. And his fair looks do not broadcast his ethnicity either, something that separates him from his younger sister and her dark features.

But it doesn't take long for the fact that he is a Jew to get him expelled from public school, beaten, and even left for homeless. For a while he still has his boxing as a refuge, but even that gets taken from him eventually. Along with his parents and his sister, he must figure out how to survive even when it becomes harder and harder to believe that the injustice against Jews won't last forever . . ..

Recommended to mature middle grade and high school readers. Here is portrayed a unique perspective of Nazi-era history. The Berlin Boxing Club was named the 2012 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers and was placed on the YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Scrawl by Mark Shulman

Tod Munn is a bully.  And this time he got caught doing something really bad, landing him in after-school detention.  He's stuck with Mrs. Woodrow writing in a notebook every single day for a whole month.  His friends - Rob and Rex - are mad because they are outside the school picking up garbage every afternoon, while Tod gets to stay inside, writing stories.  

Through Tod's "stories," the reader (and Mrs. Woodrow, who reads his entries every day, sometimes making comments) gets to know the bully.  We learn more about his home life with his struggling seamstress mom and his angry stepfather.  We learn more about his life in school:  how the rich kids look down on him, how he uses his size and his power to beat up on smaller kids for their money, and how he manages to maintain Honor Roll every quarter.  We learn about his unsolicited involvement in the school play, and we get to be his eyes and ears when the world seems to turn against him.  There may not be a lot of sympathy for this story's bully-hero, but his story will elicit unquestionable empathy.

Recommended to middle school and high school readers.  One of the best ending "punch lines" I've ever seen in YA fiction.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

Paige Turner (yup, her parents are writers; no pressure) is missing the natural beauty of her Virginia home and isn't immediately digging the craziness of her new New York City lifestyle.  Her parents are concerned that she's having trouble adjusting to the new environment, but Paige really just wants to be left alone. Armed with her sketchbook, she begins to follow her own rules for survival, starting with an actual social life.  And luckily there is a small group of independent-thinking friends willing to take her under its wing.

The story and illustrations found within the pages of this graphic novel are absolutely gorgeous.  Getting to know Paige is a pleasure, and the inspiration to find your own way within your unique circumstances is unmistakably endearing.  Recommended to all readers, young and old, artist, writer, and observer.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

My Name is Jason. Mine too: Our Story. Our Way. by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin.

My Name is Jason. Mine Too. tells the genuine story of two men -- black/white, poet/artist -- struggling to get by and find some food and some happiness in a world of creativity. Drawings and words mingle together to lead the reader through a real life experience of what it's like to have a dream, but not necessarily a plan.

This is my favorite poem from the pages in this book; it reminds me of an artist friend of my own, and sometimes of myself, too:

It's so hard

To explain to people

The beauty in brokenness

The scarring in sweet salvation

The lovely lacerations

Of the unlimited

Unlaminated

Illuminated

Few

Who dare to do don'ts

Miss a few meals

But will to do won'ts

While well-to-dos

Whisper questions

Regarding

Who I think I am

And who they think I should be

I laugh and hope

They leave

Me alone

Because it's just

So hard

To explain to people

That my life

Is not unhard

But not unhappy

--[from My Name is Jason. Mine Too: Our Story. Our Way.]

Visit the authors online, too.