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.

Maxine Banks is Getting Married by Lori Aurelia Williams

“So we really gonna do this? You’re sure?”

Seventeen-year-old Maxine Banks has her mind set on marrying her long-time boyfriend, Brian, after her best friend Tia gets married and moves away. Maxine thinks of marriage as a way of escaping her mother – a woman who neglects her while only paying attention to whichever man she happens to be involved with at the moment. After convincing Brian to become her husband, she fabricates a pregnancy to persuade her mom and Brian’s dad to give them their blessing. Married life for Maxine and Brian is short-lived after she finds out he was unfaithful. After kicking him out of the house, she is frightened at the prospect of having to move back in with her mother. A seemingly perfect solution comes about when Brian’s dad offers to let her stay in a house he owns and provide her with money if she agrees to look after his wayward thirteen-year-old niece, Demonee. Maxine has her hands full as she struggles to keep Demonee in check while trying to finish up her senior year of high school.

This book is full of drama and tackles a variety of issues affecting teens. If you seek a quick read with a unique storyline and well-developed characters, then this is the book for you. It is sure to generate a lot of discussion among those who give it a try.

A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes

First it was Mary, then it was M.R. Mister is all anybody calls me now.

Mary Rudine, nicknamed Mister because of her initials, has always been a “good girl.” She attends church every Sunday, sings in the choir, and does well in school. When she meets Trey the feelings she has for him throw her for a loop and she forgets the promise she made to God to save herself for marriage. She thinks she loves Trey and has sex with him. After she ends up pregnant, he abandons her. Feeling all alone, she begins to question whether God still loves her. She discovers a book of poetry about the Virgin Mary which helps her to truly discover the depth of God’s love. This quick and easy read is a novel written in verse and is sure to be inspirational to its intended audience.