Bryce Courtenay, _The Power of One_

Buster, one of my freshman English Award winners and an astute, avid reader, gifted me with this novel, his "favorite book", before school let out for summer.  Indeed, a terrific, affirming page-turner on every account.  Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One is a classic bildungsroman, chronicling the life of Peekay (short for "Pisskopf", the derogatory moniker conferred by school bullies), a precocious white English intellectual growing up in Boer-dominated, apartheid South Africa.  A classic "underdog defies odds" novel, the story celebrates Peekay's resistance against the forces that break the human spirit and his efforts to forge his identity as a pugilist, free-thinking intellectual, and activist for social justice.

Greg Mortensen, _Three Cups of Tea_ and _Stones Into Schools_

In these two non-fiction accounts, Greg Mortensen, head of the Central Asia Institute, documents how a failed mountaineering expedition serendipitously led to his life-changing grassroots mission to educate the impoverished girls of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in doing so, promoting peace and stability in the region.  Although the pace of both books occasionally bogs down in blow-by-blow details and you'll undoubtedly find yourself reaching for a map to track the peripatetic wanderings of Mortensen and his energetic staff, the narratives are full of wonderful cross-cultural moments, at turns poignant, dramatic, and humorous.  Most importantly, Mortensen's work kindles the hope that idealistic individuals can indeed change the world for the better and go where governments and armies fail to tread, one relationship at a time.

Neal Shusterman, _Unwind_

The setting: the United States, in a future not so distant from now. After the violent Second Civil War, pro-life and pro-choice sides have reached a compromise. From 0-13, life is sacred. From 13-18, however, parents may retroactively abort or "unwind" undesirable minors.  And why not transform societal dross into the good and useful, especially because medical science can use 100% of their bodies for organ transplants? Connor is a rebellious teen whose parents have decided, once and for all, to erase his existence.  Risa, a ward of the state and once promising piano prodigy, has fallen short in her musical studies, and due to budget cuts, has been slated for termination.  And Lev's devoutly religious family has groomed their youngest son his entire life as a human sacrifice for God and the greater good.  Together, the three fight for survival in Neal Shusterman's dark, Swiftian dystopia.  A fast-paced, discussion-provoking read, sure to engage even reluctant readers.

Alice Hoffman, _Incantation_

Alice Hoffman weaves an elegant, poetic tale of love, betrayal, and secret identity, set during the Spanish Inquisition.  Sixteen year old Estrella deMadrigal believes the bond between herself and best friend, Catalina, can never be severed--that is, until she kisses Andres, Catalina's betrothed, and falls in love.  Their covert romance ignites a series of harrowing events which unearth the shadowy history of Estrella's family.   A novella--only 166 pages long--this is a captivating story, one well-suited for teens: simple and a quick read, yet alluring: rich in passion, emotional intensity, and authorial craft.

H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream, by H.G. Bissinger, is a title often mentioned by students when lauding must-read books.  Not being much of a football fan--horrors! that's a heretical confession for a teacher at a college-prep school famous for its academics, but also for its pin-up status in the pages of Sports Illustrated--I never did get around to reading it.  But, I finally did, and thus far, my students, as usual, are batting a thousand when it comes to good recommendations.

Mixed sports metaphors aside, Bissinger offers up a reflective, documentary journalism-style examination of one fateful season in the history of the Permian Panthers, a small-town Texan high-school football team.  Bissinger lovingly documents the obsessiveness surrounding the sport  and highlights the dramas on the athletic field and in the locker room.  Yet Friday Night Lights is so much more than a non-fiction book about football and the adolescents who play it; rather, Bissinger reveals the integral role that the sport plays in the life of Odessa, Texas, and how it is inextricably interwoven with the town's socioeconomics, race relations, and educational context.  

Libba Bray, _Going Bovine_

What do you get when you cross Cervantes with The Catcher in the Rye, and toss in the deadly Creutzfeldt-Jakob pathogen, a pink-haired angel in combat boots, a talking yard gnome, physics, a time-traveling Inuit rock band, and kitschy snow globes? In her latest novel, Going Bovine, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature, Libba Bray delivers a hallucinogenic mix of social satire peppered with allusions from literature, mythology, and pop culture. This dark, brilliantly crafted page-turner is, by turns, laugh-out-loud hysterical, sublimely surreal, and poignantly philosophic.

The basic premise:
When alienated 16 year old slacker, Cameron Smith, is diagnosed with mad-cow disease, he and his "Sancho Panza", a hypochondriac, video-gaming dwarf, Gonzo, embark on a wild road trip to find a cure, with stops in Mardi Gras New Orleans, the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack-n-Bowl, the Ya! Party House in Daytona, and Disney World.  Yet their long, strange journey is a metaphoric one, as well: one of self-examination, discovery, and love.

Don't hurt your happiness.  Borrow this addictive book now.

Sue Monk Kidd, _The Secret Life of Bees_

Several students of mine recommended Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, to me over the past few years, and as usual, I am glad I took them up on it, for it is truly a taste of honey: a compelling, lovely narrative which marries gorgeous, lyrical language, authorial crafting, symbolism, and substance. In fact, I liked this novel so well that I successfully convinced the Hogwarts English I subdepartment to adopt it as one of our required novels.

Without revealing any spoilers, here's the premise. It is the summer of 1964, South Carolina. Resilient 14 year old loner, Lily Melissa Owens, lives with her abusive father, T. Ray; she is haunted by a traumatic childhood incident which has left her motherless. Shortly after the Civil Rights Act is passed, Lily's nanny, Rosaleen, goes to town to register to vote, taking Lily with her. When Rosaleen spits snuff juice on the shoes of a notorious town racist, however, it sets in motion a dramatic chain of events, which get both in trouble with the law. The two fugitives seek refuge in Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily hopes to unlock her dead mother's mysterious past. A trio of African-American women take Lily and Rosaleen in, and as the novel unfolds, Lily confronts civil rights issues, discovers love, and comes to terms with her troubled past.