Email this review to a friend.

Down the Mississippi, through the nightmare vision of decaying, feudal Dixie float Huck the runaway boy and Jim the runaway slave. Intended to be the sequel to Tom Sawyer, this masterwork of picaresque is anything but a boy's book - though it works remarkably in that capacity. Seminal to the development of American literature, it is perhaps fitting that this most American of novels is also America's most controversial. Controversial early on because one of the main characters is black, today mostly because of one offensive word. One of the greatest moments in American literature, however, is Huck's agonized decision to help Jim escape. This, coupled with Jim's equally noble resolve not to abandon his orphaned friend, reveal Twain's anti-racist intent.

Reviewed by Jim B., Main Library

See more titles featured in American Classics

See more titles featured in Freedom to Read

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

See more titles featured in Banned in the U.S.A.

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

We are now residents of the Twenty-First Century, but it never hurts to look back on the century before. Gallo's anthology is a fascinating collection of stories, each of which is set in a different decade of the Twentieth Century. Especially interesting are "The Electric Summer" by Richard Peck, based on his aunt's experiences at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, and "Fourth and Too Long" by Chris Crutcher, about a young man who is kicked off his high school football team in the 1960's because his hair is too long. All together these stories offer a compelling look at the century we have just left behind.

Reviewed by Wildsmith S., South County Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Sarny lives on the Waller plantation. One day a slave named Nightjohn comes to the plantation with Mr. Waller. In exchange for a lip of tobacco, Nightjohn begins teaching Sarny how to write letters. After a while, it is revealed that he was free at one time, but returned to the South to teach slaves to read and write. But slaves caught reading and writing are punished severely. So when Mr. Waller catches Sarny writing, he looks for someone to blame. The punishment he inflicts has a permanent result. This book is filled with meaningful dialogue and characters. Written from Sarny's point of view, it powerfully portrays injustice, wonderment of the written language, and a spirit of hope.

Reviewed by Jeanenne R., Steele Creek Branch

See more titles featured in Black History Month

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Reader's comments about this book

It was a great book!
-Sam, New York

Gary Paulsen has written a wonderful story about the brutal history of slavery. I have enjoyed the novel very much.
-koula, Queensland

It was so action packed.
-Des, KY

I had to read this book in 5th grade an i didn't understand it as well, but now I read it in the 9th and I am well informed about what happen back then. This was a wonderful book.
-Shaishai, Mobile, Alabama

This book was really good, and I enjoyed it a lot.
-Lila, Milwaukee, WI

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Guided by a flyer advertising a musical group that had mysteriously upset his mother before her death, ten-year-old Bud (not Buddy) sets off on a journey to Flint, Michigan to find his father. Although Bud's mission and discovery is serious, the story begins with a comical scene when a son in a foster home attempts to jam a pencil in Bud's nose. This will make a great read-aloud with slapstick and laugh-out-loud humor.

Reviewed by Nancy S., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in Black History Month

See more titles featured in Young Adult Books for Boys

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

See more titles featured in Award Winning Books for Teens

Reader's comments about this book

A very moving story about a young, orphaned boy who vows not to give up until he finds his family. A simple but touching story.
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

A feel-good book that will warm your heart.
-Michelle, Charlotte, NC

This book is actually really good!
-Keenah, Toledo

This book was touching. I really liked it a lot!!!!!
-Lydia, NY

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Set in rural Vermont in 1855, Jip is abandoned by the roadside at the age of two, where he works contently on a poor farm for 8 years. But his life changes when he befriends a lunatic, Put, who helps him face his questionable ancestry. The readable, foreshadowing plot eventually evokes a story full of revelations and surprise. Readers of Lyddie will be surprised to discover that Jip's teacher is Lyddie, from Paterson's earlier novel.

Reviewed by Nancy S., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in NOVELLO Festival of Reading

See more titles featured in Young Adult Books for Boys

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Reader's comments about this book

JIP:HIS STORY is a down-to-earth, simple story of a young boy searching for his past and for a future.
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Fourth grader Kenny Watson, who lives in Flint, Michigan, tells about his African-American family which consists of his strict but loving parents, little sister, and his older brother, Byron. Because Byron is in so much trouble, the family decides to return to Birmingham hoping his grandmother can shape him up. Curtis has succeeded in writing a hilarious, heart-warming, and thought-provoking book. A laugh out loud scene occurs when Byron freezes his lips to the mirror of the new family car. Readers will gain some insight into the Civil Rights Era and the senseless bombing of the Sixteenth Avenue Church in 1963.

Reviewed by Nancy S., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in Black History Month

See more titles featured in Young Adult Books for Boys

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Reader's comments about this book

I really liked the book because it shows you what African Americans go though each and every day.
-Trabrissa, Charlotte, NC

I absolutely LOVED this book. It keeps you reading till the end, and you can't put it down. You gotta read it!
-Sarah, Matthews, NC

I am in the Sixth grade and my teacher got a class set of this book that we are all are reading in class right now! The book really gets me into reading because I usually do not like to read at all! But the book is really interesting and I enjoy reading. It shows how black or white families' lives are really the same. The book is the best. I love it!
-Jessica, Sachse, TX

I am a ten year old in fifth grade and my class read the book together. I enjoyed the book because it was exciting and had a lot of hooks where I couldn't stop reading.
-Bryn, Ny, Ny

I absolutley loved this book! I love how this book brings history into real life situations and events. I learned a lot about the civil rights movement from this book.
-Megan, Oshkosh Wi

This book was very good, I couldn't put it down for anything in the world. It was sad at times and funny at others. My 5th grade teacher Ms.Okolo wanted me to read it and I'm glad she did.
-Kristina, Houston, Txas

I loved this book! I am now doing a time capsule on Kenny and it should be a lot of fun. I will tell everyone to read this book because I really enjoyed it!
-Alanna, Joliet, Illinois

I love this book I could read it all day long! It is so cool it just feels like you are actually there when you start to read it. I actually thought I was not going to like it at first, but then it came to me I like Byron the most. He sounds like a nice character and he is funny. I love this book, it is one of my favorites!
-Ra, Indianapolis, IN

I think this book was GREAT! It was funny and you would always think, "What's going to happen next?" For me, this book was so good I could hardly put it down.
-Kate, Gastonia, NC

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Which Way Freedom? is full of exciting historical events that took place during the Civil War. The main character is Obi, a slave who joins a black Union regiment after escaping his evil slave master. Obi is involved in many bloody battles with the Confederate soldiers while still worrying that he will be caught and forced back into slavery by his vengeful slavemaster. The book contains quotes from real people involved in the Civil War and is both fun and educational to read.

Reviewed by Amy H., Steele Creek Branch

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Through the narrator Paul-Edward Logan, the author tells the stories of her African American family in the Deep South after the Civil War. The son of a white, prosperous landowner father and a black slave mother, Paul-Edward struggles between black and white worlds to fulfill his dream...to own land. Readers will experience the private pain and pride of Paul-Edward through his many adventures, his relationships with family and friends, and even his love for Caroline. It's a long journey, but it's difficult to leave this remarkable and determined young man. This 2002 Coretta Scott King award winner is the prequel to Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, but The Land certainly stands alone.

Reviewed by Nancy S., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Reader's comments about this book

I loved this book, and I hope others will read and love this book too.
-Katie, Ruskin, Florida

I think that The Land is a wonderful and insightful book. I recommend everyone of all ages to read this!!!
-Maddie, Jesup, GA

I like this book a lot. It shows the orgin of the Logan family. It's a really good story to read to learn a little of your history. I give it three thumbs up.
-Jennifer, Charlotte, NC

I read this book in middle school and it was the first book I ever read in less than a month's time. I never liked to read, but this book changed my outlook on literature. It takes place during a time that many people my age don't have a clue about. It shows you what actually happened back then and still keeps you entertained.
-Nagaria, Birmingham, AL

This was an excellent book. I stayed up 'til the wee hours reading it.
-Elizabeth, Germantown, MD

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

An African-American teenager's life dramatically changes in the late 1700s during the American Revolutionary War. One terrible day, Willy Freeman watches her father die in a battle while fighting on the American side, and when she returns home, her mother is missing. Dressed in an outfit that makes her look like a boy, she sets off on a journey towards New York City, because she believes that British soldiers may have taken her mother there. Will she ever find her mother? And will she ever be able to live as a girl again? A story that reads easily and quickly, but is packed with adventure and many characters. In the author's note, readers will find out about the fact and fiction of this novel that is part of a three book series by the Colliers.

Reviewed by Jeanenne R., Steele Creek Branch

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

See more titles featured in Banned in the U.S.A.

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Having Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly as your next-door neighbors would make anybody nervous, so it's no wonder Moose is less than thrilled to move to that 12- acre rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay: Alcatraz. His father took the prison guard job so they could afford to send Moose’s autistic sister to an experimental school where she might have a chance at a normal life. But good motives do not make it any easier to deal with the warden’s gangster-loving daughter and her crazy schemes to capitalize on their convict contacts. When the new school rejects his sister, Moose has no one to turn to – except maybe Scarface himself.

Reviewed by Ginger J., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in Young Adult Books for Boys

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

See more titles featured in Laugh Out Loud

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

I, Dred Scott is a fictional slave narrative based on the life and legal precedent of Dred Scott. Shelia P. Moses recreates the emotional hardships, love, and quiet dignity of Dred Scott and his family. They change owners, and travel into Illinois and Wisconsin, where Congress prohibited slavery under the rules of the Missouri Compromise, which became the basis for Dred Scott's later plea for freedom. The Dred Scott Case is one of the most infamous in US Supreme Court history. This was an excellent book and I recommend it for people who enjoy Historical Fiction.

Reviewed by Ursula J., Independence Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

15-Year-Old Amari has been stolen from her village and thrown into slavery. She is both raped and tortured. Finally, she decides to run away from the South Carolina plantation where she lives. Will she make it safely to Fort Moses, Florida, a safe haven for slaves? Read and find out!

Reviewed by Ben, Cookeville, TN

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroes

Reader's comments about this book

This book was fabulous. The author is just phenomenal. I was really pulled in emotionally and it gave me a whole new understanding of slavery and what it did to all those innocent people. Susan M. Draper created beautiful life-like characters and real life situations that could be understood. I give nothing but praise to this book!
-Erica, Portland, ME

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.