Discrimination

Absolutely True Diary

Posted on September 20, 2013 by webmaster

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie

Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a decent jumpshot, spends his time lamenting life on the “poor-ass” Spokane Indian reservation, drawing cartoons (which accompany, and often provide more insight than, the narrative), and, along with his aptly named pal Rowdy, laughing those laughs over anything and nothing that affix best friends so intricately together.

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When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one. He weathers the typical teenage indignations and triumphs like a champ but soon faces far more trying ordeals as his home life begins to crumble and decay amidst the suffocating mire of alcoholism on the reservation.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
600L	Middle School	288	Autobiography	2009	0316013692

Fade to Black

Posted on September 12, 2013 by webmaster

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Fade To Black
by Alex Finn

HIV-positive Alejandro Crusan, a Florida high-school junior, is the target of bullying at his school. After being attacked in his car by a baseball bat-wielding teenager, Alex is hospitalized to recover from his injuries. Clinton Cole, prejudiced and afraid of catching AIDS, hates Alex and is responsible for tormenting him on several previous occasions. Now he claims he’s innocent. However, Daria, a teen with Downs syndrome, saw Clinton at the scene of the attack; she also witnessed one of the earlier assaults. The teens alternate telling their stories and sharing their secrets, as Alex struggles with the truth about the attack and about the origin of his HIV-positive status.

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Daria’s narration unfolds in free verse, a form that effectively shows both her halting, repetitive speech and the disparity between her inner thoughts and her ability to communicate them.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
590L	High School	208	Realistic Fiction	2006	00060568429

To Kill a Mockingbird

Posted on April 16, 2013 by webmaster

To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

This book takes place in small-town Depression-era Maycomb, Alabama. The story centers on the trial of Tom Robinson, a black worker who is falsely accused of rape by a young white woman. The small Southern town is bitterly divided over the racially fueled charges.

We see this ugly scenario play out through the eyes of a child. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is the young daughter of Atticus, the civil rights lawyer who takes up Tom’s defense. She is spunky and bright and believes in the basic goodness of everyone, although the trial causes her to reexamine her beliefs. By the end of the novel, Scout learns about the evils of racism and the courage of one man (her father), who stands up for what he believes is right in the face of widespread public contempt.

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Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
870L	Young Adult	288	Drama	1960	0446310786