A Child Called "It" by David Pelzer

Pelzer, David (1995). A Child Called “It.” Florida: Health Communications, Inc.

Young David lived the dream life until his mother slowly started to change and began abusing David. This is David’s story and how he finally escaped the abuse of his mother.

This book is a stirring narrative about the author’s childhood years and the abuse he endured at the hands of his mother. David Pelzer does go into a lot of detail about the tortures he was made to endure as a child, but the most heart-wrenching part of this book is when he describes how his father and brothers stood by and let his mother treat him like a slave. It is interesting how this family descends from a happy and loving family to an abusive family. It was a slow descent, but never plateaued and continued to get worse and worse for young David.

At the end of the book, there are some testimonies from those involved in David’s case. Their purpose is to help people become aware of the very real problem of child abuse. It is sad to think there were so many people came into contact with who did not recognize his situation, possibly because they ignored the signs (tattered clothing, sickly thin, and bruises on his body and head). Young David was able to overcome his situation and hopefully this book can show others who find themselves in physically, emotionally, or sexually abusive situations that they can overcome their past and move on to a brighter future. No one should have to endure what David Pelzer went through, but those who have or are can read this book to get perspective and hopefully realize their situation is not their fault and there are people they can turn to for help (listed at the end of the book).

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

O'Brien, Tim (1990). The Things They Carried. Boston: Mariner Books.

Vietnam was a time that men had to carry many things - physical and emotional. This slightly scattered account tells stories of a group of men weighed down with physical and emotional burdens during the Vietnam War.

The Things They Carried was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and won the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger.

The Things They Carried is a work of fiction by Tim O’Brien about “his” experiences as a soldier in Vietnam. This book can become somewhat confusing at times as the author jumps around chronologically while telling a story about one of the soldiers he served with (or his own stories) while also intermixing his own ideas from the “present” (1990 - when the book was written). However, this fact is what makes The Things They Carried so intriguing. The scattered organization of the book seems like a metaphor for war and how the men would have been telling stories waiting to go on an ambush or after coming under fire.

O’Brien goes through his experiences of the war retelling the time when he was drafted and almost fled to Canada; stories of Mary Anne - a woman who came to visit her boyfriend and never left Vietnam; a fellow soldier dying in the village latrine they camped in for one night; his own experiences of being shot twice; and many other little stories throughout. O’Brien takes a lot of time explaining how to tell a proper war story, because the true stories are so outrageous no one believes them. Therefore, white lies are included to make the story seem more realistic or to help the listener (or reader) understand what the soldier had been experiencing. This is not a book of facts on the Vietnam War, but is instead a book about one group of men and the awful situations they had to live through. Whether the stories are true or not may never be known, but that is not the point of this book. The point is to try and help the reader to feel what those soldiers may have felt camping in the countryside of Vietnam.

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Anonymous (1971). Go Ask Alice. New York: Simon Pulse.

Go Ask Alice is based on the journal of a fifteen year old girl who gets pulled into the world of drugs and can't seem to ever pull herself out as hard as she tries.

Go ask Alice is based on the journal of a 15-year-old girl who is uprooted from her hometown when her father gets a new job at a university. The book starts out with Alice trying to adapt to her new surroundings and missing her old life. When she returns to stay with grandparents in her old hometown for the summer, she gets invited to a party by the popular group. Unbeknownst to Alice, she is given a drink with drugs in it, and her downward spiral into a new world of drugs begins. Alice returns home to her parents at the end of the summer only to get caught up with a group there who use and deal drugs. After running away from home with her friend Chris, Alice becomes miserable and eventually returns home. She makes the statement “I will never, ever, ever, under any circumstances use drugs again. They are the root and cause of this whole rotten, stinking mess I am in...” (Nov 5, pg. 69).

Alice makes similar statements throughout the book until she is put admitted to the State Mental Hospital and appears to make a complete recovery. However, the epilogue states that “The subject of this books died three weeks after” her last journal entry. It is unknown how or why she died. This book is interesting not only because of Alice’s struggles, but because of the attempts she makes to change her life and her desire to help others. This book can be used as a resource to help show young adults the misery of getting mixed up with the wrong crowd, and could be used as a teaching tool as a way for young adults to figure things out on their own time and in their own way.

The Sone of Neptune by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan (2011). The Son of Neptune. New York: Disney, Hyperion Inc.

Percy Jackson is on the run of his life, trying to make it to Camp Jupiter while trying to avoid all sorts of monsters. Percy teams up with Romans in order to help them save their camp.

The Goodreads choice award 2011

The second book in The Heroes of Olympus series finds Percy Jackson making the trek south to Camp Jupiter in San Francisco. Here he meets some new friends (and an old friend). Percy teams up with Frank and Hazel to journey to the Land beyond the Gods (Alaska) to free “Death.” The only problem is, he doesn’t remember who he is. He only has one vague memory: Annabeth. Travel with Percy and his new friends as he travels north for a quest with Frank and Hazel while trying to recover his muddled memories.

Once again, we have a fabulous story by Rick Riordan that combines mythology and adventure. Following the quest north, we learn about the differences and similarities between the Greeks and the Romans and wonder, will they ever be able to fight together, instead of against each other? Secrets are revealed and memories stir and then begin to fade as the trio travel to Alaska to battle another son of Gaea, Alcyoneus.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan (2010). The Lost Hero. New York: Disney, Hyperion Books.

Camp Half-Blood returns in a new series, The Heroes of Olympus where Rome and Greece will have to come together to save the world.

Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2010

Some of your favorites from Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians return in this new series which will ultimately unite the Greeks and the Romans in an attempt to stop Gaea, mother earth, from taking over and destroying the world as we know it. In this first book of The Heroes of Olympus series introduces three new characters: Jason, Piper, and Leo. We follow these three friends on their quest to save Hera and help Jason get his memory back.

This book, although appears large, is a fast read and enjoyable for any young adult. It is a mix of fantasy and adventure and introduces the reader to Greek and Roman mythology. Join the world of Olympus as it exists today - in America. This is a fantastic book and will make you want to learn more about mythology, or at least pick up the next book to see if you can find another lost hero.