Every year I like to read one or two Red Maple books to my grade 7 and 8 classes. This year I've really struggled to pick one of the ten that I could read out loud to a class. The nominees this year seem to be a bit more mature than other years. I thought I would pre-read The Truth Commission to see if it might be a good read aloud. Definitely not!
The Truth Commission is about three friends that attend a special art high school. Normandy Pale is writing a story for a school assignment and The Truth Commission is that story. Norm has two best friends Neil and Dusk. The trio decide to seek out the truth among their fellow students. Eventually the truths begin to unravel within the group. Norm has some major family issues that no one talks about, including her parents. When Norm's sister moves back home from college though it may just be too much to handle.
I found The Truth Commission to be very mature for a grade 7 and 8 level. I thought some of the truths were way too mature. One guideline that I try to use when picking books for that level is making sure that the characters are at the most 14 years old. Norm and friends are 17 years old. Because this book is a Red Maple book I will purchase it for my school library but I will probably let borrowers know that it's pretty mature before they start reading.
Last week I had the great pleasure of attending my first OLA (Ontario Library Association) Super Conference. It took me about two hours to get the lay of the land and figure out what all those line ups lead to. Free books!! Author signings! When I was talking with the students about my plans for the PA Day there request was that I try to meet Susin Nielsen. Well mission complete!!
Although my moment with Susin was brief given the long line of others waiting to also meet her it was awesome! First, I was given a copy of her yet to be released We Are All Made of Molecules and second she gave me a shirt advertising the same book. Awesome!!
We Are All Made of Molecules is scheduled to be published May 2015 but I had the great pleasure of already finishing reading it. This is the story of Stewart and Ashley. Stewart is in grade 9 although he's younger and smaller than his classmates because he's gifted and skipped a grade. Ashley is also in grade 9 and not near as bright as Stewart, but she's quite a few rungs higher on the popularity ladder; actually she's at the top.
When Stewart's dad and Ashley's mom decide to take their dating to the next level and move in together both kids have a hard time adjusting. The story is quite funny overall but does a great job of dealing with quite a few teenage issues such as bullying, social media use, alcohol, puberty and more. I was quite impressed how Nielsen covers so many issues and still manages to make this book appeal to both boys and girls.
Susin Nielsen is a Canadian author that is a favourite in my YA library section. Her previous novels Dear George Clooney, Please Marry my Mom, The Reluctant Journal of Henry P. Larsen and Word Nerd were previously nominated for the Red Maple award as part of the Forest of Reading. I suspect We Are All Made of Molecules will be on the 2016 nomination list. When it's released I will proudly wear my We Are All Made of Molecules shirt. I think they will be in great demand. I love the connection to the story.