Classroom-use YA Books

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip

Official Description / Back cover: "Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her gates. In her exquisite stone mansion, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. Sybel only lacks the exquisite and mysterious Liralen, which continues to elude her most powerful enchantments. But when a soldier bearing an infant arrives, Sybel discovers that the world of man and magic is full of both love and deceit, and the possibility of more power than she can possibly imagine."

Personal book review: It was a like reading a ancient, half-forgotten myth, full of fabled creatures and a Kingdom in conflict in which love, hate, revenge, the nameless fear that men die of spell an ending one could never have imagined - forgiveness and a beautiful white bird.

Where I found it: In any number of bookstores and public libraries, but also my own shelf since Father and I have read all of McKillip's Fantasies and have been saying to each other for years that her work should be used in the classroom.

Why I am highlighting it: For three reasons, the first of which is because it is an award winning Fantasy by a critically acclaimed titan of the genre. The second is because The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is short enough to be employed and analyzed in a literature curriculum, since, despite its short length, the book examines key questions that define the human condition. What is love? What is hate and is revenge worth pursuing over it? What happens when we betray a trust? How can trust betrayed be regained? Is there ever redemption? How do we forgive others and ourselves? How do couples survive after the fairy-tale wedding? The third reason is that McKillip is a master of metaphor and breathtakingly elegant writing which invokes, in the old sense of the word, awe. She has a way with words similar to Tolkien – who was a linguist himself – but different in that she glories in their sounds as well as meanings; to the extent that I call her a word-jeweler as opposed to wordsmith. While reading her books one feels the instinctual need to read more slowly, and I think it would avail countless students to experience such a writing style and epic tales.

Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan

Official Description / Back cover: "Charlotte Parkhurst is raised in an orphanage for boys, which suits her just fine. She doesn’t like playing with dolls, she can hold her own in a fight, and she loves to work in the stables. Charlotte has a way with horses and wants to spend her life training and riding them on a ranch of her own. The problem is, as a girl in the mid-1800s, Charlotte is expected to live a much different life – one without freedom. But Charlotte is smart and determined, and she figures out a way to live her dreams with a plan so clever and so secret – almost no one figures it out."

Where I found it: In the school library where I work.

Why I am highlighting it: Because the book tackles the cross-eyed monster that is sexism by showing the students what girls faced before women's rights, and now some males were determined to keep them down but, ultimately, failed. Also, I know the book works well in a classroom because my sixth grade teacher used it for us when I was in school.

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake

Official Description / Back cover: "Hazel Bly used to have the perfect family. But when a kayaking trip goes horribly wrong, Mum is suddenly gone forever and Hazel is left with a jagged scar on her face. After Mum's death, Hazel, her other mother, Mama, and her little sister Peach needed a fresh start. So for the last two years, the Bly girls have lived all over the country. They travel from town to town, never settling anywhere for more than a few months or so. But when the family comes to the town of Rose Harbor, Maine, a small fog-draped beach town full of roses and rocks, Hazel senses a wildness to it that feels like magic. And when Mama runs into an old childhood friend Claire, suddenly Hazel's tight-knit world is infiltrated. To make it worse, she has a daughter Hazel's age, Lemon, who can't stop rambling on and on about the Rose Maid, a local myth a hundred and fifty years old about how a local girl was so heartbroken she turned into a mermaid. Soon, Hazel finds herself just as obsessed with the Rose Maid as Lemon is—because what if magic were real? What if grief really could change you so much, you weren't even yourself anymore? What if instead you emerged from the darkness stronger than before?"

Where I found it: In any number of bookstores and public libraries.

Why I am highlighting it: Because it is a highly acclaimed book by a bestselling author about topics which everyone can empathize with, especially those who have lost family. Also, the book as a reputation as soul-searing, heart-burning novel, so even the most reluctant student readers will likely find themselves gripped by it. Beyond, it shows what trauma and grief can do to middle schoolers, so it will build empathy in addition to sparking it.