20 BOOK CHALLENGE

NON FICTION

FOR QUARTER 3: Choose a MEMOIR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, or BIOGRAPHY to read as part of your independent reading requirement.

10 Nonfiction Books for Teens That Are Total Page-Turners | BrightlyThese amazing nonfiction books for teens span all kinds of interests and curiosities and are captivating, thought-provoking, and even worldview-affecting.

Red Scarf Girl is one of my favorite memoirs and I would highly recommend it to you! It reads like a narrative, even though it is nonfiction, and takes place during a horrific time period in China's history that many young people today are not aware of. Read the summary from the back of the book below, and see Mrs. Hickman if you'd like to borrow a copy...

In 1966, twelve-year-old Ji-Li Jiang had everything: brains, the admiration of her classmates, and a bright future in Communist China. But that year China's leader, Mao Zedong, launched the Cultural Revolution, and Ji-Li's world began to fall apart.

Over the next few years, her family was humiliated by former friends and neighbors. They lived in constant terror of arrest, and when her father was finally detained, Ji-Li faced the most difficult dilemma of her life.

This is the true story of one family's courage and determination during one of the most terrifying eras of the twentieth century.

The photo to the left is me with of the author of Red Scarf Girl! She now lives in the Bay Area and came to Blach to speak a few years ago; it was such an honor to meet her after reading her book!

Goodreads is a terrific website in general to search for book recommendations and reviews. You can create an account, or simply use it to search. Check out their teen nonfiction recommendations.

You can also use Goodreads to look up any of the titles below to learn more and find that just-right nonfiction book for you.

www.goodreads.com/genres/teen-nonfiction

REALISTIC FICTION

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Some of my favorite realistic fiction books; you may recognize some of these covers from the beginning of the year book browsing!

1. Paper Towns by John Green

2. Ghost by Jason Reynolds

3. Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica

4. The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds ... READ THIS!

5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

6. Crossover by Kwame Alexander

7. The Misfits by James Howe ... READ THIS!

8. Flush by Carl Hiaasen

9. Keeper by Mal Peet

10. Tangerine by Edward Bloor

Goodreads.com is one of my favorite sources for book recommendations; they seen to have book lists for every category of book you could imagine. Here's their list of Popular Middle Grade Realistic Fiction

Middle grades realistic fiction that either I personally love, or I've seen students read and highly recommend. To learn more about any of these books, go to Goodreads and search the title of the book for a summary and reviews.

Flipped by Wendelin van Draanen is one of my all-time favorite books! In fact, I used to begin the year with my 7th graders reading it together as a whole-class novel. It's light-hearted and funny, a he said-she said story narrated by two main characters, Bryce and Juli. The author does an excellent job showing how two people can experience the same moment, but see it so differently. The book is loaded with "golden phrases" that really stuck with me long after I finished the story. READ IT!