5. Mississippi Trial 1955

Crowe, Chris. Mississippi Trial 1955. Speak: New York. 2002.

Annotation: Can you imagine growing up in 1955, a grandson to a cotton plantation owner being forced to stand by while African Americans are mistreated just for being darker? A visitor to Greenwood, MS, Emmett Till, befriends Hiram not long after Till's body was found floating in the river. Hiram plans to find the truth but at what cost? What would you do if you hid a big secret that could change your life forever?

Justification for Nomination: This book was written well, here and there had twists and turns that kept me wanting to read more. It had vivid details, I felt I was submerged back in time to 1955 in the deep south when blacks were owned by whites. Within the pages I could sense and feel the emotions that the characters were feeling. The characters throughout the story were well developed. The reader could develop connections to them, and tie emotions to them. The story would switch between the past and the present. At first I thought the main character was African American but as I read he was Caucasian and the grandson to a cotton plantation owner. His father couldn't stand racism and taught his son that hatred wasn't to be tolerated. It makes the reader think, makes you want to ask questions but in order to get the answers it draws you in and it leaves you to ask more question. The different perspectives of the father, grandfather and Hirman made for an interesting story. It's not what I would have expected. The story is built up well from beginning to end. There is no confusion and it's clear what the intention of the author was. It gave insight to life back then and how not all Caucasians supported racism. It provided information connected to Emmett Till murder. What a way to capture an unfortunate event in a young boys life. I would also recommend this book to those who have an interest in knowing or learning more about segregation, equality, and The real life murder of Emmett Till. There is a follow up book this author wrote in regards to Emmett Till's murder. I think because this event happened to Till I believe it's important to share. While I didn't like the language they used to refer to blacks I did think this book had a powerful message.

Genres: Historical Fiction, fiction, ALA, romance, mystery.

4. Hole in my life

Gantos, Jack. Hole in my Life. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2004.

Annotation: Young adult, Printz award winner reflects on trying to improve his writing skills and his life both in and out of prison.

Justification for Rejection: Throughout the pages the author mentioned a lot of well known books. This book reflected a lot from his teenage youth to being in prison amd his present age was hard to read, and it didn't hold my attention. I am surprised this book won the Printz award. While it holds some interesting points of taking risks, the thrill of being arrested and not realizing the consequences it overall didn't have a nice flow. I really didn't enjoy reading it as it seemed a bit disorganized as it went on. However, I did like how he discussed his need to practice writing and to improve you need to challenege yourself.


Genre: autobiography, memoir, fantasy, realistic/edgy/problem novel.