Diary of a Chav, Grace Dent

Dent, Grace (2008).
Diary of a Chav
New York: Little Brown
9780316034838
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Fifteen-year-old Shiraz tries to imagine a life for herself beyond the limited expectations of family and peers in her working-class English neighborhood.
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Done in diary form as Shiraz has received a diary from her grandmother for Christmas, the author presents us with a very strong and realistic teen voice in the form of Shiraz. Through her diary entries, we see Shiraz and her family and friends for what they are ....“Chavs” (Chavs are the British term for what Americans would call "trailer trash"). But slowly through the persistence of a new English teacher, Shiraz begins to realize that she is capable of much more than smart ass remarks she makes in class. Interestingly, the change comes about realistically with set backs and Shiraz questioning herself and her teacher along the way. It is mostly a two week stint at a food processing plant that causes Shiraz to open her eyes and see what her life would be like if she did not stay in school to further her education and increase her chances of making a better life for herself. Light-hearted at times, Diary of a Chav is pure entertainment; the cover begs the reader to pick it up and check it out!

headlong, Kathe Koja

Koja, Kathe (2008).
headlong
New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
9780374329129
Genre: Realistic Fiction

High school sophomore Lily opens herself to new possibilities when, despite warnings, she becomes friends with “ghetto girl” Hazel, a new student at the private Vaughn School which Lily, following in her elitist mother’s footsteps, has attended since preschool.
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Lily Noble has attended the Vaughn School since preschool, and now as a junior, she seems restless and unhappy. She’s built a stellar reputation at the wealthy private school and when she meets and befriends Hazel, a girl from a urban public school, Lily’s teachers and parents warn Lily about the friendship and its effects on her reputation. The novel hopscotches back and forth between the beginning of Lily’s junior year and the end of the years. Readers witness the beginning of the friendship as well as its end. The author also includes memos written about the school and Lily’s progress. Readers will be more intrigued by subversive, sarcastic Hazel who initially doesn’t want to attend the Vaughn School. Later Lily and readers will think that Hazel has transitioned and become a representative of Vaughn- yet Koja surprises readers as the two girls drift apart. At points, Lily seems to idolize Hazel and gets caught up in the idea of Hazels’ family which consists of her gay brother and his partner. Astute readers will identify with Lily’s longing to fit in and find her place; superficial readers will probably think that Lily has a crush on Hazel! Koja deftly portrays the life at a boarding school; she captures the tone of the wealthy headmaster and the included memos allow readers to decide who is the best judge of character- the school staff or Lily or Hazel? Ultimately, both Likely and Hazel recognize and embrace their different backgrounds as they drift apart. Readers who look for Disney-type endings will have to look elsewhere!

The Chosen One, Carol Lynch

Williams, Carol Lynch (2009).
The Chosen One
New York: St. Martin's Griffin
9780312555115
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Raised in an isolated polygamous community where she secretly reads mobile library books and wonders about her father's three wives and her twenty siblings, thirteen-year-old Kyra is forced to make a desperate choice when she is selected to be her sixty-year-old uncle's seventh wife.
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Kirkus claims this book is “intensely gripping and grippingly intense,” and I have to agree. Williams’ thirteen-year-old protagonist, Kyra, opens the novel with the statement, “If I was going to kill the Prophet, I’d do it in Africa.” Williams then maintains the readers’ attention as Kyra’s predicament unfolds. Traveling back and forth in time (before the decree and after), Kyra describes her life amid The Chosen Ones. Her father, three mothers and 21 siblings live among others of the same belief system of which Prophet Childs is the leader. Kyra believes her secret visits to the bookmobile, the books she’s guiltily and hungrily read as well as her innocent relationship with Joshua, a teen member of her cult—all of which are illegal—have led to the proclamation that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle. While she tries to resist the decree and begs her non-violent father to help her, Kyra also begins to notice her family’s situation: Why does her mother have to have so many children? Why can’t her mother get medical help? Why is Dr. Seuss so bad? and where have the other members, the members who questioned the Prophet, disappeared to? When Joshua appeals to the Prophet, Joshua is beaten and given time to escape; Williams alludes to violent torture and murder as the boy, with others, runs for his life. Williams increases the tension as readers wonder if Kyra will have the strength to escape, knowing her family will lose everything, or if she will dutifully carry out her obligations.
Williams’ final harrowing 30 pages will hold the attention of even the most reluctant reader: will Kyra live with the fact that she knows the Elders killed the bookmobile driver? Can she, will she, try to escape once more? Will she be successful? While there have been many cult novels, Williams’ offers a very real and positive ending for Kyra.

Prom, Laurie Halse Anderson

Anderson, Laurie Halse. (2005).
Prom.
New York: Viking.
0670059749
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Chick-Lit

Eighteen-year-old Ash wants nothing to do with senior prom, but when disaster strikes and her desperate friend, Nat, needs her help to get it back on track, Ash's involvement transforms her life.
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Starred in Booklist, Anderson’s Prom offers a warm and amusing story about practical eighteen- year-old Ashley who lives in a working class Philadelphia town that is obsessed with the prom. The catch is Ashley is completely anti-prom; she’s more focused on graduating and getting an apartment with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend, TJ who happens to be a high-school drop out. In an authentic voice, Ashley shares the details of her humdrum and, at times, mortifying life: her job as a character at EZ-CHEEZ-E, her gorgeous but loser boyfriend TJ, her wacky family, including her pregnant mom. When the math teacher at her high school steals the prom fund and Ashley’s prom-obsessed best friend Nat breaks her leg, the true bonds of friendship become clear: Ashley pairs up with Nat (who heads the prom committee) to make prom happen in just eleven days! If that isn’t enough, Ashley’s detentions and grades may keep her from attending the prom she is so desperately trying to plan. Anderson’s energetic, quick-paced novel is sure to keep anti-prom and pro-prom readers enthralled as they witness Ashley’s heroic behavior and success at saving the prom. Readers will appreciate Ashley’s realistic perspective as she realizes that living with her boyfriend is not her only option after high school. Young adults will enjoy this modern, realistic, fun take on a fairy tale.