Life as We Knew It

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Nominee for the California Young Reader medal: 2008-09

After an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it out of its orbit, weather on earth becomes chaotic. Tides wipes out the east and west coasts of the United States, volcanoes start erupting and block sunlight from reaching earth, mass communication is disrupted and organized society is virtually gone. High school student Miranda narrates how her family in rural Pennsylvania tries to cope with these massive upheavals. Schools close, neighbors leave and she and her family become increasingly isolated. Miranda records details of how they try to survive in the face of no contact with anyone other than themselves.

Written by Ms. Goldstein-Erickson

Sold

Sold by Patricia McCormack

Nominee for the California Young Reader medal: 2008-09

In a story that could have come from current news headlines, 13 year old Lakshmi leaves her isolated village high in the mountains of Nepal for what she thinks is a job as a maid in a big city. When she arrives she learns her stepfather has sold her to people who force her into a life as a prostitute. When she resists, even through beatings and starvation, she is finally drugged to break her will. Even though she suffers humiliation and physical pain, she holds onto a hope of returning home. How Lakshmi tries to maintain her hope of escaping a life of degradation provides a gripping story.

Written by Ms. Goldstein-Erickson

Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi

Daniel Half Human : and the Good Nazi by David Chotjewitz

This book is a California Young Reader Medal nominee for 2008-2009.  It is an interesting addition to what most of us call Holocaust Literature, the book tells the story from an unusual perspective, a teenager who never realized that he’s half Jewish until the Nazis were in full control of Germany.  In fact, he tried to join the Hitler Youth, but his parents refused to sign the papers.  When he finds out that his mother is Jewish, his universe turns upside down–suddenly he is the  “half-human,” the outcast, the one who is kicked off the soccer team and whispered about behind his back.

The “good Nazi” in the title refers to Daniel’s best friend, Armin.  He does join the Hitler Youth behind his father’s back, and eventually finds himself faced with the choice of being loyal to his friend, or following orders from his superiors.  Read Daniel Half Human to learn the unexpected ending to this unusual story.