On My Bookshelf: Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

The basic plot from Amazon: In this Mean Girls meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower tale, narrator Anika Dragomir is the third-most-popular girl at Pound High School. But inside, she knows she’s a freak; she can’t stop thinking about former loner Logan McDonough, who showed up on the first day of tenth grade hotter, bolder, and more mysterious than ever.

Logan is fascinating, troubled, and off limits. The Pound High queen bee will make Anika’s life hell if she’s seen with him.

So Anika must choose—ignore her feelings and keep her social status? Or follow her heart and risk becoming a pariah. Which will she pick? And what will she think of her choice when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, changing her forever? An absolutely original new voice in YA in a story that will start important conversations—and tear at your heart.

Why I liked it: Anatomy of a Misfit's narrator, Anika has a unique voice; she is funny, but also incredibly blunt. Growing up in an incredibly not diverse area of Nebraska, Anika is labeled an "immigrant" because she is half Eastern-European. The social hierarchy of her high school is not too different from the plot of Mean Girls and Anika is #3 behind Becky, the cruel beauty queen of her high school, and Shelly, her sexually promiscuous, but weak-willed best friend.

Throughout the novel, Anika really comes into her own. She distances herself from Becky, her supposed friend who is a constant source of drama and negativity. She chooses Logan, the remade "dork" who adores her, over Jared, the suave older hottie. She takes comfort in her relationship with her mother, whose intuition about Anika's feelings and troubles is always spot on.

One of the things I likes most about the book was its message about gun violence. Logan's father has a large, unsecured gun collection, and he ends up killing Logan in an attempt to kill his wife and all three of his children. When Anika visits Logan and his father shows off this collection, her strong negative reaction sends a message to teens that you are never too young to recognize the danger of guns in the home.

Classroom application: I had this in my 6th grade classroom library, but after reading it myself, I decided it was definitely not staying there. The themes are relevant and important ones, but the language in the book, particularly some of the vulgar sexual comments made by the narrator, just isn't appropriate for middle school. If you are in a conservative school, district, or area, I highly recommend reading this one before you put it on your shelves.

Guns and domestic violence are extremely important issues and students can begin to learn more here and here.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Anatomy of a Misfit for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

The basic plot from Amazon: "Never go into the forest, for there are many dangers there, and they will ensnare your soul."

Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. There's plenty to explore in Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt's vast and opulent home, but she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa have lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. She has learned to prowl through the darkened corridors at night, to sneak and hide, using the mansion's hidden doors and secret passageways.

But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows the clues to follow. A mysterious man in a black cloak stalks Biltmore's corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of Biltmore's owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's true identity before all of the children vanish one by one.

Serafina's hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear, where she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must not only face her darkest enemy, but delve into the strange mystery of her own identity.

Why I liked it: Serafina and the Black Cloak was a slow start for me, particularly because all of the talk about catching rats creeped me out. Fantasy isn't my favorite genre and because this is a cross between fantasy and mystery/thriller, this was a bit stranger than my usual reads. Eventually I was drawn into the mystery surrounding who the Man in the Black Cloak might be and where he might strike next.

Perhaps because I was listening to the book via audiobook rather than reading it, at times I found Serafina to be self-centered and hung up on her past. In fairness, she doesn't have a pretty amazing origin story, part of which she learns from her "father" and part of which she learns from her mother, a catamount (a woman who can take the form of a mountain lion). There were also parts of the novel where the passage of time and the occurrence of events didn't seem to match up realistically.

Classroom application: Serafina and the Black Cloak is the first book in a series (the fourth installment was released July 2019) that I would recommend for middle school. There is some violence, but mostly of the fantastical kind.

After reading, students could research the Vanderbilt family and the Biltmore Estate (both real!) and  mythological creatures like the catamount. Discussions could also be held about the difference between being an extrovert or an introvert (like Brayden) and the misconceptions about these personality types, i.e. introverts are often thought to be aloof.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Serafina and the Black Cloak for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.