Miss Gilpin's books of the summer

This summer I took a class for my Master's degree which asked me to read, watch, and listen to A TON of different books, movies, shows, podcasts, etc. for young adults. Here is a list of the things I chose and a little bit about them!

Books:

• American Royals
  • Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have an American royal family? Would we still care so much about Harry and Meghan? How would our country be different and what would it be like to be part of the royal family? This book is a chance to have some insight into the lives of the American royals.
• Darius the Great is Not Okay
  • What is a clinically depressed teenage boy who just wants to drink quality tea and fit in for once supposed to do when he is suddenly pulled from his life in Portland, Oregon to visit the grandparents he's never met in Yazd, Iran? Darius just hopes he doesn't disappoint his Persian family as much as he seems to disappoint his own father. 
• Educated: A Memoir
  • Tara Westover lives in a house with her mother, father, and her six older siblings. This all seems perfectly normal until you know that Tara doesn't actually exist in the eyes of the government. She didn't have a birth certificate until she was nine. She never visited the doctor (despite several injuries at the hands of her father and brothers), and she didn't see a classroom until she was seventeen years old! Despite it all, Tara Westover went to college, earned a PhD in history, and became Educated​.
• Five Feet Apart
  • Stella and Will are not supposed to fall in love. For real, they might die if they do. But will their health stop them from getting closer or will they decide love is more important?
• Frankly in Love
  • Frank Li has been given high expectations from his Korean parents. He must get top marks in school and he must find a nice Korean girl to fall in love with (not like his sister who broke the rules and married a Black man). But, Frank Li likes a white girl in his class and he thinks he may have done poorly on his SAT, and his best friend is African American. Frank cannot tell his parents any of this, so he finds a fake girlfriend and hides parts of his life from his parents. Can he get away with it until he leaves for college?
• Gut Check
  • What would you do if your brother probably had a concussion, but was the star player on your school's football team? For Wyatt, keeping his brother's secret and making his father proud is the most important thing, until one day it isn't.
• Jackpot
  • What would you do if you sold the winning lottery ticket, but you had no idea who that woman was or if she even realizes she won? For Rico, this means asking the most popular guy at school to help her find this woman and make sure the money is claimed before the deadline. Will there be a reward for her efforts? Probably not, but Rico knows she has to try to find this woman.
• Just Mercy: Adapted for Young Adults
  • Did you know that until the year 2012, teenagers could still be sentenced to life in prison without parole? Several laws and systems are still in place today that affect the quality of life for prisoners in the United States. People of color, especially, are wrongly accused or convicted and sentenced to unfair punishments by the court. This book discusses some of the most atrocious cases Bryan Stevenson has fought in his career.
• Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe
  • What's a guy to do when his brother is dead, his father is abusive, everyone bullies him, and the most popular guy at school says God wants Cliff to help him fix the school? Just go along with it, I guess. 
• Serpent & Dove
  • A witch and a witch hunter, suddenly thrown into a marriage against their will. This sounds like a story destined for success. Yet, somehow, this pair of enemies turned lovers seems to be on track for success, until Lou's secret is exposed. Will Reid be able to ignore the fact that his new wife is the very person he's been trying to find (and kill) this whole time?
• Slay
  • Kiera is sick and tired of the discrimination against Black people in her favorite video games...so she makes her own! All is well in the world of Slay, until a boy winds up dead as a result of an in-game conflict. Can Kiera (and the police) figure out who the culprit is before anyone else gets hurt? Can Kiera keep her identity a secret from her classmates at school? Read Slay to find out.
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (CHS library does not yet own this title)
  • ​Getting arrested for drugs is a felony. Prisoners arrested on felony charges lose their right to vote. More BIPOC than any other races are arrested on drug charges. Is this a coincidence or is it a carefully plotted political scheme to maintain a system of racism? Stamped dives into this topic for you.
• The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
  • We all know about Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, but have you ever heard about Elizabeth? In this book, we get to hear her story about how she came to live with the Frankenstein's and the actions she has taken to remain part of their family despite everything that has been done to her.
• The Music of What Happens
  • Max and Jordan are complete opposites in personality, interests, everything. Well, everything except that they are both gay. ​​Can they learn to trust and open up to one another or will their secrets get in the way?
• The Poet X
  • What is a Catholic girl who is pretty sure she loves teenage boys more than she loves Jesus supposed to do when her mother makes her start confirmation classes? For Xiomara, it means writing poem after poem to work through her emotions and try to build bridges between herself and the people she has alienated in her drive to find herself. Presented through poems, get inside Xiomara's head and discover how she deals with all the conflicting emotions of disobeying parents, questioning her religion, and falling in "like" with a boy.
• Unnatural Disasters
  • We all know about the hole in the ozone layer and the polar ice caps melting and we know about terrorism. But what will the world look like when the these things start to work together, causing the world to fall apart around you? Lucy Weaver is about to find out.
• Truly Devious
  • In 1936, Dottie was minding her own business until she wound up dead at the hands of the mysterious Ellingham family murderer. With her death, the knowledge of who was behind their murders died as well. Decades later, Stevie is invited to the Ellingham Academy and becomes determined to solve their case, until one of her own friends ends up dead as well! Can Stevie solve this case and stay safe doing it?
• Vincent & Theo
  • If you are interested in art history and the story of Vincent van Gogh, look no further than to Vincent & Theo. This book tells his story through the narrative of his relationship with his brother Theo.
• What if It's Us?
  • Would you put a want ad for a boy you met once online to try to find him again? Not many would, but Arthur could not stop thinking about the boy from the post office. Follow along as Ben and Arthur fall in love with each other, with New York, and with Hamilton in What if it's Us?
• What the Night Sings
  • We have all heard about the terrible, tragic events of the Holocaust, but how did it affect the minds and lives of its survivors once they were freed? Gerta's story shows how difficult it was for Holocaust survivors to recover from their torture and trauma at the hands of the Nazi's. In this illustrated story about a teenage girl's journey to recovery, learn about her experience as a prisoner and about how she finally became free from her captivity.

Graphic Novels

• Hey, Kiddo
  • Hey, Kiddo tells the story about a teenage boy who's mother is addicted to heroin, father is completely MIA, and is being raised by his grandparents (who were supposed to be done raising children). Yet, author Jarrett J. Krosoczka managed to pull through and become a bestselling author and illustrator! This is his story.
• Pumpkinheads
  • Fall is a well-loved time of the year for many people. If you are looking for the feeling of fall in book form, look no further than Pumpkinheads. This book provides a happy romance story wrapped up in the reds, oranges, and yellows of October.
• Speak: The Graphic Novel
  • Melinda was just starting high school when she was raped at a party. How does her experience with sexual assault affect her freshman year and will she ever recover?
• The Faithful Spy
  • Have you ever heard about the guy who wanted to kill Hitler? His name was Dietrich and he worked for most of his adult life on defeating this super-villain. The Faithful Spy​ tells his story.

Audiobooks

• On the Come Up (CHS has this in book form)
  • Bri's father was a rapper before he was killed. Bri wants to be a rapper too, but will she get famous for the right reasons? When Bri's angry rap about the discrimination she faces as a teenage girl in a white neighborhood goes viral, suddenly Bri has to navigate a whole new world and make decisions about her career she never expected to be faced with.
• Sadie (CHS has this in book form)
  • He killed Sadie's sister. She knows he did. Now she just has to find him so she can avenge Mattie's death. When Mattie is found dead, Sadie knows she can't stay home anymore, so Sadie takes off into the night to find the man who killed her sister and return the favor. West McCray, a radio personality, is following a few months behind, to try to find Sadie and figure out exactly what happened to the The Girls.

Movies

• The Sun is Also a Star (CHS has this in book form)
  • Natasha's family is being deported...tomorrow. Daniel's parents are insisting that he go to college and become a successful doctor. Neither Natasha or Daniel are convinced these are good ideas. When Daniel sees Natasha on the train, he decides he has to know her and convince her that love is real (and they have it). Through a series of fated events in a single day, the two teens become closer. Can they make it through and follow their dreams? Or is destiny just messing with them?
  • This movie is rated PG-13. It is available to stream on HBO Now/Max, or to purchase on Amazon video.
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before (CHS has this in book form)
  • Lara Jean Covey has loved 5 boys in her life (not counting her father). Every time she has big feelings for a boy, Lara Jean has written them a letter and saved it in a special box in her closet. What happens when one day all of those letters get mailed and suddenly Lara Jean needs to confront the feelings she once had for these boys? Will she be humiliated or will she end up finding love with one of them? And, what on Earth will her sister say when she hears about all of this?!
  • This movie is rated PG-13. It, and its sequel, can be streamed on Netflix.

Music

• Chromatica - Lady Gaga
  • Lady Gaga is best known for her electronic pop hits and this album has no shortage of them. With two hits off the album already, more are definitely on the way. The lyrics are relatable and the beat is strong. Dance the night away to Chromatica!
  • This album can be streamed from Apple Music/Spotify.
    
• Lover - Taylor Swift
  • If you're looking for a good song to show someone you love them, you are bound to find it on Taylor's new album, Lover. Whether you just want to tell your friend its nice to have them in your life or your want to demonstrate for your partner that you would die without them in your life, there is a song here for you! Don't forget that she existed, Taylor is here to help you show everyone how you feel! (This was originally written for my assignment, before the release of the truly amazing newest album, folklore.)
    • This album can be streamed from Apple Music/Spotify

Podcasts

• Let's Be Real with Sammy Jaye
  • Sammy Jaye interviews celebrities that she is interested in learning about as a 17 year old girl and talks about subjects that are important to her as a 17 year old girl. In her podcast series, Sammy Jaye interviews musicians and actors to discuss their careers, but doesn't stop the conversation from moving on to real topics. She is willing to discuss her own fight with anxiety and how it affects her in order to make connections with and "humanize" the celebrities she meets.
• Stuff You Missed in History Class
  • I don't know about you, but I feel like there is still so much I don't know about the world, even after finishing school! This podcast helps me bridge that gap by teaching me (in a fun, entertaining manner) about the smaller, lesser-known pieces of history, things they didn't have time to teach me in school

Television Shows

• Riverdale
  • In a town full of murder, crime, and mystery, is there anyone that can be trusted? Watch Riverdale to follow the adventures of Archie and friends while they try to navigate high school and figure out what happened to Jason Blossom on the night of July 4th. Will Betty and Archie ever get together? What exactly did Veronica's dad do, to lose the trust of the entire town and cause his family to flee New York? Who killed Jason?
  • This show is rated TV-14. Seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Netflix. Season 5 premieres in Jan. 2021 on The CW.