Reading -So illness and jury duty set me back a little from posting.  I did do some reading, so here goes...

Unwind by Neal Shusterman -In the not-too-distant future, after a terrible war between the Pro Life and Pro Choice fronts, new laws are enacted that outlaw abortion. The catch is that parents may choose to "unwind" their children between ages 13 and 18. "Unwinds" have 99.4 % of their bodies harvested, with their parts going to hospitals for transplants. Some children of religious families, also known as "tithes", are conceived and raised for the sole purpose of unwinding at age 13.

Connor has just found out that his family plans to Unwind him in a few months. He decides to run away before he can be sent away to a Harvest Camp. The book follows his adventures as he narrowly eludes capture and befriends other Unwinds.

I found this book to be gripping and suspenseful. It was very hard to put down. It raises a lot of philosophical questions about the soul and religious fervor. I would recommend this to mature teens. It is fairly violent and may turn out to be controversial. To me, its message is that blind faith is dangerous - we need to question established orthodoxy/doctrines and decide for ourselves what is truth.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie- Arnold Spirit lives in a place without hope on an Indian Reservation in rural Washington State.  Inspired by his sister, who suddenly moves to another state, and a white teacher who tells him to get off the rez if he wants to live a more hopeful life, Arnold decides to go to the white public school in the nearest town.  Arnold experiences some hostility from his fellow tribe members and has some difficulty coping with life in a white high school.  But he makes some friends and eventually finds a way to coexist with his Native American family and friends.  Chock full of tragedy and hardship, along with mature language and violence, this is not for the young or fainthearted.  But Arnold's voice is funny and endearing.  Along with the cartoons sprinkled throughout, Arnold's spirit makes me laugh, even if it's not always the most appropriate response.  Anyone who grew up with brothers will also appreciate this peek into the adolescent male mind.

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth - The Roth family lives in a Jewish area of Newark in the early 1940's.  They encounter "perpetual fear" and paranoia when Charles Lindbergh, a Nazi sympathizer, defeats Franklin Roosevelt's bid for a third term as president.  Told from the point of view of 7 year old Philip, we follow his family's travails as they watch the war unfold in Europe, and ever more restrictive policies are enacted against American Jews in the United States.  Philip tries to make sense of it all as best he can, as his brother idolizes Lindbergh, his father seems to go off the deep end, and his mother almost cracks from the strain of keeping the family together.  This book is dense with detail and description.  It creates an alternate history that feels real.