The Color of Water by James McBride

    
I decided to read this book because several of the students and teachers at Tallwood said they really loved it. It is a story about a young black man who was raised, along with his eleven siblings, by a mother who was white. The story is told in alternating chapters, one about the young man's life and the next is from the mother about her life. She was raised as an Orthodox Jew in Suffolk, VA and left her family for the glitz of New York. When she married a black man her family disowned her, and she became a devout Christian. This book is a tribute to her from her son. I have found it very interesting both for the fact that the mom was raised Jewish and because they lived in Suffolk. This is a true story about an amazing woman. I hope you will give it a read.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Connor, Risa and Lev are running for their lives. This story is set in a futuristic society and centers around three teenagers who have been scheduled to be "unwound."  The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights and the chilling resolution: life can not be violated from the moment of conception until the age of thirteen. However, parents are allowed  to sign an order for their children between the ages of thirteen and eighteen years old to be unwound—taken to "harvest camps" and having their body parts harvested for later use. Kids can be unwound for many reasons. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control, Risa is a ward of the state and not talented enough to be kept alive, and Lev was conceived and raised for the sheer purpose of being unwound. Together, the teens take on society as they run for their lives. They discover an underground system saving countless teenagers from being unwound. Will they survive to the age of 18 when they can no longer be unwound? Read UNWIND along with me to find out!