#5 - They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

 Just The Basics

    Published: September 5, 2017

    Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, LGBT 

    Pages: 373

    Acknowledgements: Flicker Tale Children's Book Award for Older Readers Winner 2021

        "But no matter what choices we make - solo or together - our finish line remains the same… No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end".

    "They Both Die at The End" is a science fiction-LGBT romance novel told from a collection of first person narratives, all surrounding a new service called Deathcast. Deathcast calls every person at midnight on the day they will die, with totally accuracy, however with no additional details on time of death or how they will pass. The novel focuses on the "last-friends" Mateo and Rufus, as they spend their last day together in New York City. In a novel about grief, loss, free will, fate, seizing the day, and social media, young readers of Silvera's work embark on a hollowing journey about what one does when they know they have no more life to live. From Mateo (a shut-in, an aromantic loner), to Rufus (an orphan with a violent streak), the many characters in this story all deal with their own death or the death of others. coming to understand how loss changes one fundamentally. All packaged in a queer romance between the two Last Friends Mateo and Rufus, "They Both Die at the End", doesn't pull any punches in creating an often brutal, yet tragic-and-beautiful love story about two young men learning to seize their final day alive together. 

    Why "They Both Die at the End"?

    At the school I currently teach at, this book is read in 10th grade English class. One day when I was subbing we listened to some passages on audiobook, and I was struck with the power in teaching both a queer love story and a novel so centered around grief in a general education classroom.  This book has become absurdly popular: hundreds of copies on shelves at Barnes and Noble, and even a Netflix series on the way. As I read this story, I was touched again and again by how this novel treats hardship with tenderness and love. I can see why we teach this book at my school; this novel is written in a way that's both relatable and understandable by students, however always fulfilling its promise: death regardless of how ones lives. This novel feels like a realistic-dystopia, the only change to the world being Deathcast. The characters all use real social media cites, live relatively normal lives, and cope with grief and loss in realistic ways. Yes, the main romance is between two boys (the rough-around-the-edges Rufus more openly queer than Mateo), however their tragic romance is not the main focus-- their eventual death is. This novel humanizes its characters without focusing too much on their sexuality. The world of this novel is close enough to realism that students can easily relate, yet still allowing for analysis of free will, fate, and the entropy of death. 

     Teaching Considerations

     I think it's smart of my school to teach "They Both Die at the End" as a whole-class novel, as its themes of both LGBT sexuality and loss giving several entry points for relatability for students. However, I think Silvera's work would also be a great addition to a Book Club unit. This novel would be a great fit in a unit on fate/free-will, coming-of-age, or a unit on the romance genre. Something also noteworthy is the plot and structure of all the first person narratives. Each story connects in some way, even if the character narrating is only seen briefly. The plot may function around Mateo and Rufus, but the world of Deathcast is explored indirectly by every narration. This novel would be a great fit for both individual study, and whole group study, for students in the 9th-10th grade. Its an accessible and powerful read, with enough substance to be dug into by a class, even if a lot of the language used in the novel lacks complex metaphor and deep subtext. 

`      Sections to Read Aloud  

1. The Plutos 6:33 PM (Pages 333-334)

• "Entire lives aren't lessons, but there are lessons in lives".

1. Maeto 5:48 PM (Pages 320-324)

• “I cannot tell you how you will survive without me. I cannot tell you how to mourn me.  I cannot convince you to not feel guilty if you forget the anniversary of my death, or if you realize days or weeks or months have gone by without thinking about me. I just want you to live.”

1. Mateo 3:14 AM (Pages 72-79)

• "But no matter what choices we make - solo or together - our finish line remains the same … No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end.”

    Overall Thoughts

        While this novel isn't perfect, it's a great look into grief for young queer kids. There are moments that made me cringe, from forced slang used by Rufus to pretty basic authorial-voice. I do think there is solace in this novel for kids who are struggling with difficult adult issues. This novel reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, where the dramatic actions of our doomed-lovers might not always be realistic, but instead serve as a vehicle for young adult readers to consider how free will and fate are intertwined. I understand the purpose of this novel, and there is power in how it would deliver its message to the right group of young readers. I think queer kids, who statistically will face more death and loss in LGBT communities than their cis/heterosexual classmates, would find solace in this story and its message about finding love, even if that love may only last a day. This novel is a brave conceptual choice to teach in a classroom: death is portrayed as sudden and tragic, the effects of loss lasting a lifetime. Where this novel comes up short can be easily overlooked by how it would encourage young readers to think about how they live their lives and how they deal with loss. 

    Future Explorations

     A part of me wants to read this books prequel, "The First to Die at the End" and would watch the Netflix series if it comes out. I enjoyed how Silvera constructed an intertwining story a lot, and found this novel a breath of fresh air in a genre saturated with dystopia-focused YA literature. In the future, I am excited to read more LGBT YA literature and see how queerness is used as a characterization method. I liked how in "They Both Die at the End" the characters were queer, and they fall in love, however this was not the absolute center of the narrative. I think I still groan a bit when thinking about how much science fiction I will read as I continue through the YA genre, but I enjoyed this book enough to not be discouraged as I read more stories thematically like this one. 

#4 - Twenty-four Seconds from Now... by Jason Reynolds

   Just The Basics

    Published: October 8, 2024

    Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance 

    Pages: 239

    Acknowledgements: 2025 Coretta Scott King (CSK) Author Award

        "But this ain't no movie. This is real life. And the beginning of a special regular story where two people meet and help each other make something beautiful, at the risk of making a mess".

    "Twenty-four Seconds" is a teenaged romance story told in reverse, the story of Neon and his long-term girlfriend Aria starting twenty-four seconds before they lose their virginity together. Jason Reynolds constructs their story, starting in an intense moment of doubt as Neon debates whether or not he is ready for this moment with Aria. Then, tracing their romance back to its starting point two years earlier on the day of Neon's grandfather's funeral. This story focuses on the couples family and friends, as the people in Neon and Aria's life shape and nurture their romance, on the edge of graduating high school and going to college. While some stories about romance between Black characters might focus on stereotype or hardship, "Twenty-four Seconds" focuses on what Reynolds calls a "regular love story", where the struggles of adulthood and budding sexuality are more than enough to push the narrative forward. The families in this novel are whole, with each mother and father sharing words of wisdom with their kids, both supporting them as well as cautioning them on the risks of sex. Surrounded by a unique cast of friends of varying sexualities, Neon and Aria are shown as kids before all else, both learning themselves that they are people over sex objects, even as they learn what romance in adulthood looks like. This novel is a close look at the characters first intimate moment and lovingly enshrines Neon and Aria's coupling by showing the context and familial situation that lead these two teenagers to be young adults first, giving their trepidations and nervousness a deep emotional impact. 

    Why "Twenty-four Seconds"?

    "Twenty-four Seconds" is the 2025 winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Young Adult Literature, and as I perused the list of winners, this title stood out to me. The topic of first sexual encounters seemed important for adolescents audiences, and is something I have not seen explored in YA literature without being wrapped in trauma of some sort. I was reading "Unboxing of a Black Girl: at the time and was acutely aware of the adultification and over sexualization Black youth face, and wanted to try a novel that took another angle. I was surprised how wholesome Reynolds story was, and even more tickled in the Pulp-Fiction-style reverse narrative structure (a perfect fit for protagonist Neon who has aspirations to attend films school after high school). This novel was simple, but still compelling in its approach to telling a first-time love story between two Black teenagers. The cast of characters in this relatively short story are all likable right away, the novel centering all types of relationships-- and all types of love-- thematically at the center. 

     Teaching Considerations

     Obviously, this book is about sex, and might be an awkward read-aloud with the wrong group of students. This novel would be best suited for individual reading, as the topics addressed are personal, and even awkward on purpose, to help young readers understand the complications of dealing with first loves, first sexual experiences, and talking about sex with one's family. That being said, "Twenty-four Seconds" would be a great novel for high schoolers in diverse school communities. This book shows that being Black doesn't have to look one way, all Black characters mold-breaking in their individuality and interests. This book would be a nice fit in a unit about sexuality, but also units focusing on coming-of-age novels, Neon and Aria experiencing a right of passage not often addressed in units of this kind. 

`      Possible (less awkward) Sections to Read Aloud  

1.  Chapter 4 (Pages 77-83)

• "I still don't know if Dodie knows anything about sex. If he's ever even had it. But he loves to talk about it, and he especially loves to sing about it. Scream about it" (pg. 83). 

1. Chapter 7 (Pages 205-214)

• "Yeah, well, one of these days your daddy's probably gon' tell you some stupid shit about sowing your oats. His daddy taught him that, and his daddy before that."

    Overall Thoughts

        I have never read anything like "Twenty-four Seconds", both because I am not the type to read romances, but also because this is the type of book I would have shied away from as a kid. Talking about sex is hard for kids, and especially hard in a classroom setting. This novel was filled with so much optimism, optimism aimed directly at what it means to be a Black teen in a world that sexualizes and adultifies these kids in so many ways. I think while some students might shy away from a romance novel, especially with one with this structure and theme, however those who are brave enough to explore this novel will find a story full of true, humanizing, love. Its clear that Reynolds wanted to write a novel to go against other White-centered teen romances, packaging the tropes of the genre in a way that lets Black boys in particular allow themselves to be nervous-- not letting themselves grow up too fast. This novel is as interesting in its structure as it is loving and pure. 

    Future Explorations

    This novel makes me want to explore the genre of YA romance more. While love stories have a connotation of being pulpy or overly smutty, this novel proved to me that romance can be a powerful genre to communicate a message. This novel made me think a lot about how media shaped how kids (especially Black kids) are exposed to sex in media. This novel takes such time to humanize both Neon and Aria, both kids never being pressured into sex, all deciding when it was the right time for their love to move to a physical place. In the future, I want to read more YA romance and see if more of these works can reach the bar set by "Twenty-four Seconds", in terms of both the treatment of sex in these works, as well as the overall treatment of the characters who are involved. 

#3 - Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town That Looked Away by Candy Cooper

  Just The Basics

    Published: April 2nd 2024

    Genre: Nonfiction 

    Pages: 192

    Acknowledgements: 2025 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist, CCBC Choices 2025, 2025 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book Winner

        "'Although most memories fade over years", Judge Conner wrote, "certain events are so punctuated by overwhelming circumstances and emotions that no ammount of time can erase their mark'".

    "Shackled" is a nonfiction book, the culminating work of Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist Candy Cooper that highlights the transgressions of Pennsylvania Judge Mark Ciavarella in the notorious "cash for kids" scandal in the early 2000s. Ciavarella and his cohort of crooked lawmakers, president judges, lawyers, land developers, and even mafia bosses, construct a criminal conspiracy in northeastern PA juvenile courts, where the overly-convicted minor crimes committed by adolescents was turned for profit. "Shackled" chronicles the history how mafia-ties and the Zero-Tolerance Policy of post-Columbine shooting America set the stage for the surrounding community to turn a blind eye to the use of the juvenile penal system for the purchase of luxury yachts and private planes. The victims of Ciavarella's abuse of power were force into the prison pipeline (sometimes as early as eleven years old) where they faced hardship in private juvenile correction institutes, and were branded for life as criminal for minor, childish, offences like minor vandalism, flipping off cops, speaking out to teachers, or driving down the wrong side of the street. In this 192 page account, Candy Cooper describes how injustice was committed, while humanizing the victims of the Cash For Kids Scandal in a way that is equally impactful and understandable by young readers. 

    Why "Shackled"?

    "Shackled" stood out to me on the 2025 YALSA Excellence list by its name alone. In the age of ICE raids, forced familial separation, and judicial abuses of power against marginalized groups, this book felt relevant, even if the Cash for Kids scandal has been settled legally since 2020. The transgressions of Ciavarella was not something I knew about, however I was familiar with the Zero-Tolerance movement in the wake of the Columbine high school shooting. What I did not know however, was how this act of violence was used an excuse to penalize young adults on the other side of the country in order to fill the pockets of a select group of mostly elected men. I think everyone remembers getting in some trouble as a teenager, rebellion a hallmark of the age range. For most of us however, when we were caught smoking a cigarette or drawing on a stop sign, these misdemeanors did not result in eight months in a juvenile correction institute. What is most shocking was Ciavarella's nonsensical methods and crass attitude. He would give less serious punishments to kids if Penn State had won a football game, or would give teenagers a sentence based on the amount of pigeons on the courtroom window. What started off as a relatable book to current political tensions, turned into an exposé on how cruel the penal system can be on children, all at the whim of one judge. 

     Teaching Considerations

    While Cooper's language is suitable for high schoolers, this book is very much about the legal process, contains difficult legal jargon, and depends on some preexisting knowledge of how the American penal system is structured. Beyond this, this book is difficult thematically. The reader sees the lives of dozens of children decimated for minor crimes and childish pranks. Once institutionalized at Ciavarella's whims, these children then face the hardship of the prison pipeline: they are beaten, sexually abused, taught how to sell drugs or steal cars, and are fundamentally changed from the kids they were before being forced into the system. This book would be suitable for kids in 11th-12th grade, and would also be a great choice for a cross curricular unit between ELA and Social Studies. The more a students could be supported in understanding topics like the structure of government and institutional racism, the stronger the reaction to this already shocking book may be. When teaching this book, opening up the floor to whole group discussions would be ideal. This book encourages young readers to question judicial systems, the power of individuals in positions of power, and makes them see how in certain circumstances-- one mistake in the wrong courthouse might lead to a lifetime of consequences. 

`    Selections to Highlight 

1. "Four Men and Two Buildings" (Page 45-51)

• "They flushed out a plan. Powell would create a new juvenile detention center for the county to lock up law-breaking youth. It would operate for profit".

1. "Divergence" (Page 69-76)

• "The school district sent her to the alternative learning school and three months later the young, geeky girl, the straight-A student, her father's "little brain", dropped out of high school". 

1. "Branded" (Page 155-163)

• "His friend opened the machine and pressed a button and the cash box began spewing coins like a slot-machine. "What are we doing?" asked Matthew. "We came here for toys.'". 

    Overall Thoughts

    Cooper's work highlights both excellent journalism and excellent writing in the YA genre. The importance of this situation and the horrors of Ciavarella's abuses are not neutered when explained to younger children, however they are edited to land with their target audience. This book is about how adolescents can be abused by powerful systems around them, and serves as a warning to young readers. Not a warning to commit small crimes, or participate in peer-pressure, or pranks-- but a warning that sometimes elected officials have only their wallets in mind, even when handling the lives of the people they were elected to protect. This book highlights injustice while directly explaining how the system should work properly. With the right student group, I can see this book leading to fruitful discussions about power, abuse, racism, and how over policing and malpractice in judgement has the real power to ruin lives. 

    Future Explorations

    I am excited to read more modern nonfiction about the rights of children. Again, there is an urgency in our current age to be hyper-vigilant about how laws are used to do wrong. I love the mirror "Shackled" provided to current issues of injustice proliferated by the judicial system. I am encouraged by Cooper's ability to translate legal battles into understandable language for young adults who really need to hear about scandals like Cash for Kids. This book effectively shapes how movements like the zero-tolerance policy was further expanded to do more harm than good. I am impassioned to read more YA nonfiction, myself as an adult finding power in the simplicity and explanation books like 'Shackled" give to difficult-to-dissect social issues. 

#2 - Homebody: A Graphic Memoir of Gender Identity Exploration by Theo Parish

 Just The Basics

    Published April 23rd 2024

    Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir 

    Pages: 216

    Acknowledgements: CYBILS Award Nominee for Young Adult Graphic Novels (2024), YALSA       Award Nominee for Excellence in Nonfiction (2025)

 

    "Homebody" is a graphic memoir, where author and illustrator Theo Parish enshrines their journey of gender-self-discovery, spanning from their childhood into young adulthood. This memoir lovingly holds the readers hand as Parish not only tells of their own journey to coming out as gay and nonbinary, but also what being nonbinary means, what being transgender means, and what dead-naming is. The extended metaphor of this work is Theo's journey through the wood of gender dysphoria to eventually find their home: "coming home to myself, wherever that may be" (pg. 24-25). Through cosplay, tabletop games, and by building a beautiful queer community around them, Theo is able to mold their identity as an AFAB child to the truest version of themselves while always honoring who they were. While the actual story of the memoir takes place in London, Parish's work navigates their interior turmoil throughout their coming-of-age. This book, both in its heart warming story and adorable illustrations, is a love letter to self-love through sharing the truth of one's identity. While Parish's work doesn't avoid the hardships of being gender nonconforming (both inside Parish and when dealing with the outside world), the love for themselves and their love for the LGBT community overflows from this heartwarming book. 

    Why "Homebody"?

    I have been on my own journey of gender self discovery over the past year, myself finding comfort in the use of they/them pronouns and the nonbinary label. I have seen graphic novels tell queer stories, especially in the success of the Heartstopper series and Netflix show; however, I still think there are still far to little stories that put gender nonconformity at the forefront of the narrative (Heartstoppers has a nonbinary character, but in the side cast). Parish's art style reminded me a lot of Heartstoppers, however with a topical focus I find very important. My nonbinary identity however is not the same as Parish's, however, in Parish's own words "there is no one way to be transgender, just like there is no one way to be cisgender". Parish's voice as the narrator and their voice through their artwork and symbolism makes their journey clear, cute, fun, and oh-so charming. Their struggle with gender identity is the plot above all else, a plot that combines nonfiction and memoir in an reading experience that would be illuminating for young queer kids in general.

    Teaching Considerations

        "Homebody" was a very easy read, and for those kids who identify with Parish's story would probably finish this book in one sitting as I did. I think teaching this memoir would be best for kids from 8th to 9th grade, however would thematically resonate with any kid struggling with their own sexuality or gender identity. I do, however, think this book would work best as an individual read. The graphic novel format does not lend well to whole groups, but even more so I think this book is most impactful as a moment of self-reflection. From an instructional lens, I think this book would fit well in a unit about gender identity, sexuality, or even a unit on self-acceptance and self-love. One of the immense powers of this book is its radical optimism. Parish emphasizes the freedom in exploring one's gender identity, the freedom to make decisions with the freedom to unmake them, to play and explore one's self without feeling the need to look inward with finality. 

    Selections to Highlight 

• Pages 130-157 (Theo's first pride, their time coming out)
• Pages 161-196 (How Theo chose their name) 

    Overall Thoughts

         Being transgender, or being nonbinary, are new to the collective lexicon. "Homebody" educates and highlights the experiences of queer individuals in a way that makes me wish this book was published ten years ago. This book is not only wholesome, but its cute, optimistic, and impactful in its radical joy. Instead of focusing on the hardship queer individuals face, this memoir focuses on the power of self-exploration, the love of building community, and the power of language in being nonbinary. This book puts attention on the macro-aspects of being genderfluid, instead of staying in gritty realism. The extended metaphor of "coming home to yourself" is as easy to understand as it is universal, even to those who are cisgender. All highlighted by Parish's soft-around-the-edges art style, this books is both a love letter to queerness as well as an open invitation for those who identify with Parish to start their own journey of discovering how to best decorate their "homes" to make themselves feel authentic and true. 

    Future Explorations

     This book give me hope more literature will come out about being nonbinary (pun intended). I think works like this work to normalize being nonbinary in an important way to adolescent readers. Parish mentions multiple times that sometimes being nonbinary can seem like a trend because the language is so new. While LGBT YA works are on the rise, I think its important to give specific attention to each letter in the acronym. In the future I am excited to explore works that deal with the details of queerness. Especially in the form of graphic novels, I think symbolic and metaphorical themes of self discovery can be even more powerful visually. This book is an impressive crossroads of LGBT memoir, graphic novel, and coming-of-age story, that I think should be celebrated in the YA category. 

#1 - The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté

Just the Basics:

    Published May 7th 2024

    Genre: Poetry, Novel in verse, Vignettes  

    Pages: 135 (160 with the discussion guide at the end)

    Acknowledgements: 2025 National Book Award for Young People's Literature Finalist 

"The boxes we see, the ones we don't, and the ones we shed..."

    From Angela's own mouth, often in spoken word-- encouraging the reader to feel what she's saying, the "The Unboxing of a Black Girl" is a mosaic of Shanté's childhood in New York City in the late 90s. Told in a multitude of spoken word pieces, vignettes, haiku's, free-verse, and contrapuntal poems, Shanté illustrates the "unboxing" of her struggles as a Black girl in a White world. While this book is heavily critical of whiteness, and how systemic racism makes Black and Brown children feel continually alienated, less-than, objectified, and abused; her collection of work presents a love letter to much of the world around her: The Bronx, Hip-Hop, literature, and most of all her family (even with their complications). From the darkest moments of Shanté's adolescence, as her innocence is eroded by the adultification faced by Black girls in America, to her eventual success found in college and career, Shanté creates a safe space for other kids of color to begin their own unboxing of beliefs. She nurtures kids that think like she thought, kids who have single parent household, kids who were sexually assaulted, and kids who loved Hip-Hop and The Wiz. She encourages them to begin the lifelong process of building themselves back up after a society that marginalizes them beats them back down. 

    Why "The Unboxing of a Black Girl"?

    Honestly? My selection of this book was a bit selfish. I found this novel on the finalist list for the 2025 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and on further research found that Shanté is a former elementary school teacher. In the Young Adult literature scene, I thought that any education experience from the author/poet could only make for a more culturally responsive, relatable, and even personable book for children to read. As I read, I found some kinship with Shanté, both being about the same age. I had lived in New York City, and loved when I had to travel uptown to the Bronx. However, the power of this book came from where I did not relate to Shanté. The experience of being Black, even more so being a Black girl, is something I as a white man can only empathize with. Shanté's voice rings out of these poems and narratives with power and clarity; where I can never truly live the same experiences described by Shanté in her works, this collection allowed me a moment to sit back, listen, and ponder the selected moments of her life and the struggles of identity she had persevered through. 

    Teaching Considerations

    "Unboxing" would be a great text choice for diverse learners of color, especially in large groups of female students. Although I think all students of high school age can gain something by allowing space for Shanté's story and perspective, I think getting Black and Brown students connected with this story would be most impactful. Often, when teachers show Black literature (especially poetry) they will limit their text selection to the Harlem Renaissance. Teaching "Unboxing" centers Black voices without just elevating voices from fifty years ago. Especially if an educator was teaching a poetry unit with emphasis on haiku, free-verse, spoken word, or contrapuntal poems (a style of poem I had never even seen before this reading), this book would be a valuable resource. This book combines contemporary topics known by the students with masterfully crafted, and very impactful, poetry and short narrative writing that encapsulates the essence of Black liberation seen in the Harlem Renaissance, without putting the entire curricular load on the back of Langston Hughes. Everything in this book, down to the use of footnotes, allows for easy access to Shanté's ideas, however never does she pull punches in her commentary, reflection, or systemic critique. 

    Poetry To Be Read Aloud

1. "I Used To Love H.I.M" - Free Verse Poem (Page 109-110)
• "I met him on the corner of blues and jazz / I let him read my poetry while he spit his scat / on Loves Migration we floated upward"
2. "Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself" - Spoken Word Piece (Page 4)
• "I was a meek girl / out of place / in my neighborhood / too soft / for the sharp edges / that outlined my world" 

    Overall Thoughts 

    This book would be a great place for high schoolers to begin to understanding how systemic racism, sexual trauma, and familial struggles can leave a lifetime of impacts. Shanté's prose and poems are both optimistic and biting, never shying away from her truth in the face of adversity of many kinds. The works of this collection link together in a way that paints a clear picture of what Shanté is trying to say. Its been a long time since I have read a poetry collection, and this book stood as a reminder that there is power in brevity, in choosing the right words, in telling the right story at the right time. Where this book need to be strong-- it is. However, there are so many moments where Shanté expresses to her readers of color (again, mostly women) that you do not need to be strong all the time. 

    Future Explorations

    I am excited to read more novels-in-verse like this one. Most of the poetry collections I have read have been anthologies, where the pieces are more of a high-light reel for the poet rather than a cohesive commentary from work to work. I found it a powerful experience to read, and most importantly to feel and understand. This book really felt like I was giving space to Black voices. My voice didn't matter, what mattered was what Shanté had to say. I am excited to read more poetry from BIPOC poets in the future, to hopefully continue this one-sided dialogue that my voice really has no place interrupting.