The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Matteo Alacran was not born, he was harvested in a Petri dish and placed in the womb of a cow where he went from embryo to baby. His DNA came from El Patron, a 140 year old lord of country called Opium- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. The fields are worked by “eejits,” clones controlled by brain implants. Matt is a boy but most people view clones as monsters so he endures many struggles, psychological and physical, and has to escape evil hands more than once. It’s an action packed sci-fi futuristic thriller with major ethical issues brought to light and I LOVED IT. It’s thought-provoking and imaginative plot that looks at the social implications of technological advances is also an inspiring coming-of-age story.
Certain aspects of the story will be relevant to our Mexican-American students who will recognize the land areas and many of us will relate to the border issues like drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Farmer's sci-fi twist on these real-life issues gives readers many interesting ideas to ponder. It makes this book an excellent choice for literature circles or book clubs!

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

This book about the afterlife is really about a whole lot more. The author addresses other very deep, heavy topics besides what happens to us after we die like: love, drugs, mental illness, animal rights, friendship, marriage, right and wrong, and good and evil. But, she does it in a light-hearted and meaningful way with beauty and humor. The main character, Liz, is easy to relate to and pretty much has issues like your average teenage girl. Here’s a quote from my favorite part of the book- it’s spoken by a woman explaining “Elsewhere” to Liz who just arrived by boat after getting hit by a taxicab on her bicycle. She is watching her family on earth from an “observation deck.”

“How can these binoculars see all the way back to earth?”
“Maybe that’s the thing. Maybe Earth’s not so far at all. I think of it like a tree, because every tree is really two trees. There’s the tree with the branches that everyone sees, and then there’s the upside-down root tree, growing the opposite way. So Earth is the branches, growing up to the sky, and Elsewhere is the roots, growing down in opposing and perfect symmetry. The branches don’t think much about the roots, and maybe the roots don’t think much about the branches, but all the time, they’re connected by the trunk...”

This book will definitely give you a lot to talk about.

Almost Dead by Charlie Huston

Another vampire series but this one by crime fiction author, Charlie Huston, is strictly for adults and mature readers only. Huston's preference for the hardboiled style of crime fiction make this a popular read with fans of hard-core or pulp fiction. Joe Pitt, an anarchist detective of sorts, is the main character who happens to be a Vampyre with no affiliation to the Zombies, or Clans, or Coalition of Mahattan in New York City. This makes his life a roller coaster of non-stop action with fear and violence. Since the language and content of this book are so rough it can be found in our Faculty Collection. If you think you can handle the graphic nature of this story, there are two other books in the series owned by Metro Tech: Half the Blood of Brooklyn and No Dominion.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Murakami is one of my most treasured authors and this is my favorite work from him so far. Wind-Up Bird is a surreal mystery woven with history and Murakami's characteristic realm of mysticism. When the main character's wife goes missing, Toru finds himself looking for her in a netherworld of Tokyo filled with bizarre characters and events. Murakami's art of intrigue keeps the pages turning with anticipation of the next mysterious event. I recommend this book for more advanced readers or for those with a taste for the surreal.

The Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

I was struck by the significance of the message in this story and how it could be used by English teachers at all levels to encourage writing. This little mouse inspired the kids in his library to write by helping them “see” that they too could write and tell stories. While it is a children’s book featuring primary and elementary aged children, the message is clear- reading, writing, and sharing can be relevant, genuine, fun, and joyful. And, even high school kids like to be read to. I hope you enjoy it too.

the nature of jade by Deb Caletti

I found the "Fundamentals of Animal Behavior" at the start of each chapter more compelling then the story itself but it's not a terrible book choice if you have a penchant for pachyderms. It's about a girl named Jade who falls in love with an unlikely choice- a boy raising his baby alone. His story has a little twist which keeps you intrigued for a few chapters but overall Jade feels contrived and too perfect even with her panic attacks and anxiety issues, she's high-maintenance. But, I do like this author's style and I loved the elephant anecdotes.
This title is another Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee for the 2010 Teen List. Even though I wasn't switten with this story, I would try her other books, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, The Queen of Everything, and Wild Roses. Her website is www.debcaletti.com if you'd like more info.