Young Adult (ages 14-18)

Material appropriate for young adults

Sworn Enemies

Aaron and Zev have been protected from serving in  the Czar’s army for very different reasons–Aaron’s  father has always paid to keep his scholarly son  free. Zev takes the job of khapper, kidnapping  other poor, young Jewish boys to fulfill the czar’s  army quotas. Zev’s jealousy of  Aaron turns to hate when he discovers that the girl  he loves is to marry Aaron. When Zev decides to  rid himself of Aaron forever, he kidnaps him and  turns him over to serve in the army. He knows  Aaron’s fate is sealed–few survive the forced labor. A  trick of fate, however, pits the boys against each  other face-to-face. Sworn enemies, they must  endure the cruel captivity together. Will they join  forces to survive or will they destroy each other?

A Moment Comes

a momentAs the partition of India nears in 1947 bringing violence even to Jalandhar, Tariq, a Muslim, finds himself caught between his forbidden interest in Anupreet, a Sikh girl, and Margaret, a British girl whose affection for him might help with his dream of studying at Oxford.

Torn

Only eighteen when she is sent to Afghanistan, British army medic Elinor Nielson is continually at odds with her hardnosed bunkmate, Heidi Larson, but connects with a mysterious Afghan girl and local children, as well as an American lieutenant.

The Language Inside

Raised in Japan, American-born tenth-grader Emma is disconcerted by a move to Massachusetts for her mother’s breast cancer treatment, because half of Emma’s heart remains with her friends recovering from the tsunami.

This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Featured in Volume VI, Issue 1 of WOW Review.

Kids Of Kabul

Since its publication in 2000, hundreds of thousands of children all over the world have read and loved The Breadwinner. By reading the story of eleven-year-old Parvana and her struggles living under the terror of the Taliban, young readers came to know the plight of children in Afghanistan.But what has happened to Afghanistan’s children since the fall of the Taliban in 2001? In 2011, Deborah Ellis went to Kabul to find out. She interviewed children who spoke about their lives now. They are still living in a country torn apart by war. Violence and oppression still exist, particularly affecting the lives of girls, but the kids are weathering their lives with courage and optimism: “I was incredibly impressed by the sense of urgency these kids have — needing to get as much education and life experience and fun as they can, because they never know when the boom is going to be lowered on them again.”The two dozen or so children featured in the book range in age from ten to seventeen. Many are girls Deb met through projects funded by Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, the organization that is supported by royalties from The Breadwinner Trilogy. Parvana’s Fund provides grants towards education projects for Afghan women and children, including schools, libraries and literacy programs.All royalties from the sale of Kids of Kabul will also go to Women for Women in Afghanistan. Aftermatter includes a map, glossary, a short history of Afghanistan and suggestions for further reading/resources.

Featured in Volume VI, Issue 1 of WOW Review.

Waiting For No One

Taylor Jane Simon is an eighteen-year-old girl with Asperger’s Syndrome who has a refreshingly different view of the people she encounters and the life she wants to have. Young adult readers will identify with Taylor’s struggle for independence and self-control, and empathize as she outlines the ways—both positive and negative– that her Asperger’s Syndrome affects her daily life. Connecting with a play by Samuel Beckett, Taylor explores a fear of solitary existence while reaching out to a world at times perplexing. Most important, Taylor wants to be seen as an individual, not as a stereotypical “person with special needs,” or a rare wild flower—images that haunt her from the past. A cameo performance by Taylor’s new gerbil — Harold Pinter– adds further emphasis to themes of existentialism and humour.

See the review at WOW Review Volume 5, Issue 4

The Rogues (Stuart Quartet)

After his family is evicted from their Scottish farm, fifteen-year-old Roddy forms an unlikely friendship with a notorious rogue who helps him outwit a tyrant landlord in order to find a family treasure and make his way to America.

A Knot In The Grain And Other Stories

Lily. A woman with power to heal, but no powers of speech. Then she meets a mage—a man who can hear the words she forms only in her mind. Will he help her find her voice?Ruen. A princess whose uncle leaves her deep in a cave to die at the hands of a stagman. But when she meets the stagman at last, Ruendiscovers fatehas a few surprises in store for her.Erana, As a baby, she is taken be a witch in return for the healing herbs her father stole from the witch’s garden. Raised alongsidethe witch’s troll son, Erana learns that love comes in many forms. Coral. A beautiful young newcomerwho catches the eye of an older widowed farmer. He can’t believe his good fortune when Coral consents to be his wife. But then the doubts set in—what is it that draws Coral to Butter Hill?Annabelle. When her family moves, the summer befre her junior year of High School, Annabelle spends all her time in the attic of their new house–until she finds the knot in the gain which leads her on a magical mission.