Text Messages: Recommendations for Teen Readers

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Episode 1—Teen Identity and Tough Situations
In this episode, Scott discusses the graphic novel American Born Chinese as well as five other recommended titles by a diverse array of authors. Each book explores characters who struggle to know when to stay true to themselves in the face of a challenging situation—or when to compromise, change, and grow.

Featured Title: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second, 2006)

Winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, American Born Chinese is a graphic novel, a book that tells a story using both words and pictures. Adolescent readers will love the bright, colorful panels and the humorous story of Jin, the son of Chinese immigrants, who struggles to understand how to fit in at his American school without rejecting his Chinese heritage.

Podcast listeners also hear tips to share with adolescent readers before, during, and after reading this fantastic graphic novel.

Additional Recommendations

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown, 2007), Winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
• How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles (Flux, 2006)
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (Random House, 1989)
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Anchor, 1958)
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Plume, 1970)

About the Host

Scott Filkins, who firmly believes that reading a good book is one of life’s great joys, worked with a diverse group of teens for nine years as a high school English teacher.

Committed to finding the right books for the readers in his classes, Scott worked with his school librarian to provide engaging reading material for all his students and would frequently buy popular books for independent reading time in his classroom. He started an after school book club called Readers and Leaders to encourage reading outside the classroom. Scott also volunteers for an organization that provides free books to prisoners in the state of Illinois.