You Don't Even Know Me by Sharon Flake

“I sit in your class, I play by your rules. I’m young, I’m fly, I’m Black. So, of course I think I’m cool…”



This companion to Who Am I Without Him: Short Stories About Girls and the Boys in Their Lives will challenge all who read it to consider if they really do know boys after all. Through short stories and poems, Flake introduces readers to a wide range of boys. One sixteen-year-old is set to married his pregnant girlfriend while another is desperate to find the person responsible for killing his beloved grandfather. There’s also a boy who is seduced by his neighbor and one who is scared to tell his uncle he’s HIV positive so he writes a touching letter instead. Flake also takes on other heavy topics such as suicide, obesity and gangs. Each story and poem is written the way teens speak, making it easily accessible to them without being too preachy. I really enjoyed this book and I think many teens will too.

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

“Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin still fascinates.”

Generally, biographies written for teens can be boring. They often contain a few black and white photographs with information presented in such a stale way that teens will only want to skim through them to attain information needed for school reports. Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing certainly breaks the mold of humdrum biography. First of all, each page border is beautifully decorated with colorful swirl patterns making it an attractive book to explore. Furthermore, author Angel writes in a conversational style that is sure to appeal to teens. Using quotes from various interviews by and about Joplin during her heyday, helps to make this an engrossing read. Angel tackles Joplin’s Texas childhood, college days and drug use as well as her various relationships, and concludes by discussing her untimely death caused by an accidental drug overdose. For those who want an honest look into 1960’s rock and roll, as well as intimate details on music icon, this is not a book to be missed.

A Boy Called Twister by Anne Schraff

“Finally, he had nothing to hide. He was just another kid in the class – a boy called Twister.”

Kevin Walker, the new kid at Tubman High School, is determined to remain a loner so that other students won’t ask him too many questions. He’s scared of how his classmates will react if they find out his family secrets. He doesn’t want to be judge or treated differently. To ease the burden he carries, he likes to run. It helps him to blow off steam. Once others notice how awesome a runner he is, he’s asked to join the track team. He immediately has a huge impact on the team, helping them to finally win track meets. Because Kevin is as fast as a tornado when he runs around the track, he earns the nickname “Twister.” However, being a successful member of the team draws a lot of unwanted attention Kevin’s way. Will he decide to open up to his new friends and reveal his secrets, or will he keep them bottled up inside?


As part of Saddleback Educational Publishing’s Urban Underground series, this book is designed specifically for reluctant teen readers. Coming in at just under 200 pages, it focuses on issues many teens deal with such as bullies, self-esteem, drugs, and dropouts, just to name a few. Although I believe the author hits you over the head one too many times with the message, I still enjoyed this book. It is a good, clean read that I would enthusiastically recommend to any teen or tween who wants to read realistic, urban fiction.