Annotated Bibliography- Multicultural, Diversity, Identity

Ellis, D. (2012). My Name is Parvana. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books.
Reading level: Grades 6-12
Themes: Truth, Fear, Perseverance, Power of the mind vs. Authority, Survival, Freedom
Summary: The final book of "The Breadwinner" series, Ellis writes of the recurring main character Parvana, an Afghani girl living under Taliban rule in the original trilogy. Now 15 years old in an Afghanistan no longer ruled by the Taliban but still victim to the regime's violence, Parvana is being detained at an American military base because she is a terrorist suspect. She was brought into custody because she was found in the ruins of a bombed school, but refuses to speak.  As Parvana suffers through harsh interrogation, the book flips between past and present. Flashbacks include Parvana's memories of her widowed mother building a school amid oppressive circumstances in tribute to Parvana's late little sister. She reflects on her older sister Noori, who used Parvana's essay to earn a scholarship to an American college. Amid threats that the girls' school is in danger, the school celebrates its one-year anniversary. Threats turn to tragedy when Parvana's mother is killed and her body dumped on school grounds. She was captured retrieving belongings of her father's at the school site. During an attack on the American base, Parvana helps a wounded soldier rather than escaping. Having been suspected of blowing up the school, Parvana is set to be transferred to a more strict prison, but a family friend, Mrs. Weera, helps free Parvana with the backing of the Afghanistan Parliament. In the end Parvana and her friend Shauzia returns to "more of the same"-- the familiar hunger, fear and work as Shauzia laments there are no happy endings in Afghanistan (198). 

Leyson, L. with Harran, M. and Leyson, E. (2013). The Boy on the Wooden Box. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Reading level: Grades 6-8
Themes: Hope, Courage, Perseverance, Innocence, Abuse of Power, Freedom
Summary: Leyson's memoir details his survival and life in Nazi-occupied Poland. At age 10, when the Nazis stormed Poland, Leyson and his family were forced to live in the Jewish ghetto in Krakow. Following the invasion, Leyson and his family overcomes his father's arrest and weeks-long jailing, hunger, bankruptcy, and anti-semitism. Leyson chronicles the war's progression from the ghetto to concentration camp in Plaszow. By a stroke of luck, Leyson is allowed to leave the camp due to Oskar Schindler, a factory owner who hired Leyson's father after his release. Schindler's list allows Jewish workers to survive the Nazis' purge as the war is coming to a close. Leyson goes on to America, to serve in the military, study, and teach. He has a family, and as he learns more about his hero Schindler, who did "everything in his power to protect us," he decides it's time to tell his own story (204). 

Myers, W.D. (1999). Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins. 
Reading level: Grades 6-12
Themes: Prejudice, Fear, Justice, Innocence, Race, Truth
Summary: In this movie script-like novel filled with journal entries, Steve Harmon struggles with the internal question of is he truly a monster? Harmon describes his own trial, along with James King, for the robbery and murder of a drugstore owner. The text intertwines moments in the courtroom with flashbacks from his life. Labeled a monster by the prosecutor, Harmon flashes back to memories of film club at school, visits from his father, his arrest and subsequent reaction by his mother, while providing details of courtroom arguments and testimony by Richard "Bobo" Evans and Osvaldo Cruz, who accepted plea deals, along with other witnesses. Eventually, Steve is viewed as only a possible lookout in the crime. With James is found guilty, Steve is found not guilty. His lawyer, Kathy O'Brien, refuses to hug him when the verdict is read, and five months later, as Steve is out of prison and working on film-making, he still wonders "what did she see?" to make her turn away (281). 

Senzai, N.H. (2010). Shooting Kabul. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster,
Reading level: Grades 6-8
Themes: Guilt, Freedom, Perseverance, Courage
Summary: In 2001, prior to the 9/11 attacks, 12-year-old Fadi and his family are hoping to leave Afghanistan for America for a better life. When the transport from Kabul to Pakistan cannot wait for Fadi's sister, Mariam, the family is forced with other refugees to make the voyage without her. Along with his parents and sister, Noor, Fadi and his family reach the United States without Mariam. With financial and cultural troubles, Fadi and his family struggle in America, and are unable to move on without accounting for Mariam's whereabouts. Fadi finds a rare friend at school, Anh, who shares an interest in photography. As the guilt-stricken family attempts to adjust and assimilate, Fadi hatches a plan to return to Afghanistan to look for his abandoned sister. The photography club he was initially unable to join due to finances has a contest with a prize trip to India. As Fadi as his family suffers from ridicule and stereotyping stemming from the September 11 attacks, Fadi focuses on the contest. He comes up short, however, earning honorable mention. Luck finds its way to Fadi though when a judge takes interest in his photography and shows Fadi a war zone picture he took at a refugee camp at the Pakistani-Afghani border. Fadi recognizes a girl in the judge's photo as Mariam, and she is flown to San Francisco to reunite with her family, giving Fadi a "warm, satisfied fullness" (253). 

Woodson, J. (2007). Feathers. New York, NY: The Penguin Group.
Reading level: Grades 6-8
Themes: Hope, Faith, Friendship, Family, Race, Fear, Truth, Prejudice
Summary: Frannie, an African-American sixth-grader at an all-black school in the 1970's, narrates the story of a new classmate, dubbed "Jesus Boy," who becomes the only white kid at the school. "Jesus Boy" is able to calmly avoid the school bully, Trevor. Some believe, or hope, he is truly Jesus Christ. With the Emily Dickinson poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers" on her mind, Frannie struggles to fully embrace "Jesus Boy." The fact that he knows sign language (Frannie has a deaf bother), yet is from the white side of town, gives Frannie's mixed feelings on how to approach him. Trevor struggles with his family life and continues to take it out on "Jesus Boy." Following an accident that results in Trevor breaking his arm, he tries to fight "Jesus Boy." The ensuing scrum sheds light on how Trevor and "Jesus Boy" should be viewed as individuals and gives Frannie hope that there's "a little bit of Jesus inside all of us" (109). 

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