Memoir Unit Book Choices

Collection One

We All Need Somebody

To Lean On

Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo

by Zlata FilopovicLexile: 850

Nightby Elie Wiesel

Lexile: 570

A scholarly, pious teenager is wracked with guilt at having survived the horror of the Holocaust and the genocidal campaign that consumed his family. His memories of the nightmare world of the death camps present him with an intolerable question: how can the God he once so fervently believed in have allowed these monstrous events to occur?

From September 1991 through October 1993, young Zlata Filipovic kept a diary. When she began it, she was 11 years old, concerned mostly with friends, school, piano lessons, MTV, and Madonna. As the diary ends, she has become used to constant bombing and snipers; severe shortages of food, water, and gas; and the end of a privileged adolescence in her native Sarajevo.

Don’t Tell The Girls: A Family Memoir

by Patricia Reilly GiffLexile: 700

The Lost Childhood: A World War II Memoir

by Yehuda NirLexile: 920

Readers follow Giff as she tries to uncover information about the paternal grandmother whom she never knew. She tracks down her Irish ancestors and travels the road to unraveling their past, culling out the fiction from the facts, honoring the sacrifices they made, uncovering mysteries, and reconstructing family skeletons.

A Jewish adolescent trapped in Nazi Poland, Nir managed to avoid capture for four long years--years marked by forged papers, disguises, and numerous close calls.

The Lost Boy

by David Pelzer

Lexile: 720

juvenile detention, and how he eventually made it into the Air Force. He was a defiant, rebellious boy who, despite his background and personality, managed to endear himself to many guardians, social workers, and teachers.

Following A Child Called It, this is the second in a planned trilogy Pelzer. Here he tells his story from the time he left his abusive mother and alcoholic father, through his experiences in five foster homes and

This autobiographical account charts the abuse of a young boy as his alcoholic mother first isolates him from the rest of the family; then torments him; and finally nearly kills him through starvation, poisoning, and one dramatic stabbing.

A Child Called It: A Child’s Courage to Survive

by Dave PelzerLexile: 850

ADHD and Me

by Blake Taylor

Lexile: 750

The Privilege of Youth

By Dave Pelzer

Lexile: 900

Even years after being removed from his abusive mother, Dave Pelzer continued to struggle through his teens. Life was better for Pelzer but still very traumatic as he approached the dreaded age of 18 when foster children are cut loose and must go it alone in the world. Pelzer was determined to succeed, after all he had been put through he refused to be complacent and let life beat him.

Blake Taylor's memoir, written when he was 17, offers, for the first time, a young person's account of what it's like to live and grow up with this common condition. Join Blake as he foils bullies, confronts unfair teachers, struggles with distraction and disorganization on exams, and goes sailing out-of-bounds and ends up with a boatload of spiders.

Marley and Me

by Josh Grogan

Lexile: 760

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

By Rhoda Janzen

Grogan, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife, Jenny, were newly married and living in West Palm Beach when they decided that owning a dog would give them a foretaste of the parenthood they anticipated. Marley was a sweet, affectionate puppy who grew into a lovably naughty, hyperactive dog.

Labrador retrievers are generally considered even-tempered, calm and reliable;and then there's Marley, the subject of this delightful tribute to one Lab who doesn't fit the mold.

Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Rhoda packed her bags, crossed the country, and returned to her quirky Mennonite family's home, where she was welcomed back with open arms and offbeat advice.

Model: A Memoir

by Cheryl Diamond

Lexile: 780

Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up with Diabetes

by Andie DominickLexile: 780

Two sisters grow up with diabetes, and one loses her life to the condition.

As the title suggests, the author is graphically frank about the medical necessities of living with juvenile-onset diabetes, and squeamish readers may find her memoir harrowing. In its essence, however, this is a story of emotional growth and healing.

Twenty-year-old author Diamond describes the trials and triumphs of breaking into the New York modeling market, which she entered at 14.

Lone Survivorby Marcus Luttrel & Patrick Robinson

Lexile: 800

Katie.com: My Story

by Karherine Tarbox

Lexile: 810

"Mark" was actually Frank Kufrovich, a man in his forties with a history of pedophilia. Katie.com is Katherine Tarbox's true story of how Kufrovich used the Internet to manipulate and molest her, and how she fought back by prosecuting him under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 and sharing her experiences so that other teens might avoid a similar situation.

In June of 2005, Luttrell led a four-man team of Navy SEALs into the mountains of Afghanistan on a mission to kill a Taliban leader thought to be allied with Osama bin Laden. On foot, the team encountered two adult men and a teenage boy. A debate broke out as to whether the SEALs should summarily execute the trio to keep them from alerting the Taliban. Luttrell himself was called upon to make the decision.

Fourteen-year-old Katherine Tarbox wasn't sure how things had gone so wrong. She had planned to slip away during a school trip to meet 27-year-old Mark, whom she had corresponded with on the Internet for the last six months. Instead, she discovered that

Stori Telling

by Tori Spelling

Lexile: 850

Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother.

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

When reality got "too dense" for 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen in 1967, she was hospitalized. Her observations about hospital life are skillfully included; often darkly funny. Her clarity about the complexity of brain and mind, of neuro-chemical activity and something more, make this book of brief essays an exquisite challenge to conventional thinking about what is normal and what is deviant.

It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey

by Lance ArmstrongLexile: 890

The House of a Million Pets

by Ann Hodgman

Lexile: 870

Hodgman goes way beyond the standard pet story in this anecdotal memoir about her family and its myriad animal members. Owls, raccoons, hedgehogs, prairie dogs, sugar gliders, voles, and pygmy mice are among Hodgman's menagerie.

People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity.

No Limits: The Will to Succeed

by Michael Phelps

Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion

by Amy S. WilenskyLexile: 900

Growing up is difficult enough without the added stress of an unattractive and little-understood neurological condition that causes one to twitch, pick at one's skin, hoard rotten food or step six times on each stair and manhole cover one passes. No wonder Wilensky, who didn't realize she had Tourette's syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder until she was in college, tried so hard to pass for normal.

Gold medalist Michael Phelps discusses his path to record-setting performances as a swimmer in the 2008 Olympics.

Warriors Don’t Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High School

by Melba BealsLexile: 930

One of the nine black teenagers who integrated Little Rock's Central High School in 1957 here recounts that traumatic year with drama and detail. This memoir tells not only of the ugly harassment she was subjected to but also of the impressive dignity of a 15-year-old forced to grow up fast.

Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph

By C. Vivian Stringer

Since 1995, Vivian Stringer has been the head coach for the Rutgers’ Women’s basketball team.

When she arrived in New Jersey, her three children in tow, and the loss of her husband heavy in her heart, she had to contend with

picking up a lackluster team and rebuilding a life for her family

Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board

by Bethany HamiltonLexile: 960

When I Was a Soldier

by Valerie Zenatti

Lexile: 942

In Israel, all 18-year-olds are required to join the army. Zenatti chronicles two years of growing up in the Israeli army between 1988 and 1990. With teen self-absorption, she describes the end of her high school years, her initial excitement with the uniform and gun, and grueling training.

Readers may not recall the name Bethany Hamilton, but after a glance at the cover photo, they'll recognize her as the girl who lost her arm to a shark while surfing. It begins with the moment a giant white shark chomps off her arm.

Bad Boy: A Memoir

by Walter Dean Myers

Lexile: 970

Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard

by Mawi AsgedomLexile: 970

This superb memoir begins simply with an account of Myers's family history and his boyhood. Vivid detail makes the Harlem of the '40s come alive, from the music and children's games to the everyday struggle for survival.

When he was four years old, Asgedom's family left their war-ravaged home in Ethiopia. They spent three years in a Sudanese refugee camp before coming to the U.S. in 1983, where they were settled by World Relief in a wealthy white suburb near Chicago. He later earned a full scholarship to Harvard, where in 1999 he delivered the commencement address.

Rosa Parks: My Story

by Rosa Parks

Lexile: 970

Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

Lexile: 780

.This well-known story is considerably refreshed by Parks's personal narrative, punctuated by numerous black-and-white photographs. In simple, gracious, compelling language she describes her childhood, family life, and elusive educational opportunities.

This is a rare personal glimpse of the upheaval China suffered during the 1960s, and twelve-year-old Ji-li's point of view is firmly maintained-the point of self-dramatization.

Death in the Long Grass

by Peter Hathaway Capstick

Eleven Seconds

by Travis Roy

Lexile: 1000

Tony Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl victory on February 4, 2007, the first such win for an African American coach. Dungy had taken eight of his previous ten teams to the playoffs. With this victory, he joined Mike Ditka and Tom Flores as the only individuals to win the Super Bowl as a player and head coach.

In this, his first book, Capstick shows us why he became a legend in the world of big game hunting. Capstick makes a field of ten foot high grass (and the angry fauna that no doubt reside there) the most terrifying thing on planet earth, but also the most exciting.

Girl Soldier

by Faith J.H. McDonnell

Lexile: 1000

Rocket Boys

by Homer Hickam

For several decades a brutal army of rebels has been raiding villages in northern Uganda, kidnapping children and turning them into soldiers or wives of commanders. More than 30,000 children have been abducted over the last twenty years and forced to commit unspeakable crimes. Grace Akallo was one of these. This is her story.

A coal miner’s son is inspired to build rockets and becomes a NASA

engineer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHyWE7s_lGA

Borderlines

by Caroline Kraus

The Story of My Life

by Helen Keller

Lexile: 1090

What if your best friend was also your worst enemy? Caroline moves in with Jane after her mom dies. At first Jane is great, but soon she becomes a nightmare with manipulative behavior, blackmailing, and threats.

This memoir has many common elements of young adult literature appear–cutting, sexual identity, the loss of parents, and sibling rivalry.

Helen Keller would not be bound by conditions. Rendered deaf and blind at 19 months by scarlet fever, she learned to read (in several languages) and even speak, eventually graduating with honors from Radcliffe College in 1904, where as a student she wrote The Story of My Life. She went on to become a famous author and activist for women and the disabled.

Going Solo

by Roald Dahl

Lexile: 1080

The Bullpen Gospels:

Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran

by Dirk Hayhurst

Going Solo is the action-packed tale of Roald Dahl’s exploits as a World War II pilot. Learn all about his encounters with the enemy, his worldwide travels, the life-threatening injuries he sustained in a plane accident, and the rest of his sometimes bizarre, often unnerving, and always colorful adventures.

Dirk Hayhurst’s memoir has hilarious minor-league antics and touching tales

of stepping out of his uniform to act like a real person … raw honesty regarding

offseason life back in Ohio and the nagging self-doubt that regularly

accompanied the pitcher everywhere, including the mound.

Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper’s Memoir of Fighting Wildfire

by Murry TaylorLexile: 1090

Dreams From My Father

by Barack Obama

Lexile: 1100

Son of a white American mother and of a black Kenyan father whom he never knew, Obama grew up mainly in Hawaii. After college, he worked for three years as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side. Then, finally, he went to Kenya, to find the world of his dead father, his "authentic" self.

Murry Taylor describes the life a a smokejumper – a firefighter who parachutes into wildfires to help contain them. Jumping Fire focuses on the day-to-day tasks of an Alaskan smokejumper (including the tale of that summer's doomed love affair) and memories from three decades of smokejumping.

Lucky Man

by Michael J. Fox

Lexile: 1100

Angela’s Ashes

by Frank McCourt

Lexile: 1110

adoring father who was forever drinking what little money the family had. He recounts the painful loss of his siblings to avoidable sickness and hunger, a proud mother reduced to begging for charity, and the stench of the sewage-strewn streets that ran outside the front door.

Actor Michael J. Fox begins with the first symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the incurable illness that led to his retirement from Spin City (and acting) in 2000. And yes, he assures us he is a better, happier person now than he was before he was diagnosed.

McCourt paints a brutal yet poignant picture of his early days when there was rarely enough food on the table, and boots and coats were a luxury. In a melodic Irish voice that often lends a gentle humor to the unimaginable, the author remembers his wayward yet

My Life In Dog Years

by Gary Paulsen

Lexile: 1150

King of the Mild Frontier

by Chris Crutcher

Lexile: 1180

Paulsen reveals bits and pieces of his own life story through his experiences with eight of his dogs. After a heartfelt dedication to Cookie, the sled dog who saved his life, the author introduces readers first to Snowball, the puppy he acquired when he was seven years old and living in the Philippines, and then follows chronologically with profiles of other canine companions.

Crutcher's autobiography is full of heartbreak, poignancy, and hilarity. Candid and casual, Crutcher shares stories from his childhood and adolescence in Cascade, Idaho. Reminiscences of some of his youthful rites of passage are laugh-out-loud funny, such as his humiliatinginitiation into his high-school athletic club. On a

more serious note, he discusses his occasionally rocky relationships with his parents and siblings. He talks openly about his struggles with a bad temper that constantly got him into trouble, how he came to terms with questions about God, how he confronted intolerance, and how he found his own place in the world.

Three Cups of Tea

by Greg Mortenson

Lexile: 1210

Infidel

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Lexile: 1220

that, with a few different twists, really could have led to a wretched life and a lonely death, as her grandmother warned. But instead, Hirsi Ali escaped -- and transformed herself into an internationally renowned spokeswoman for the rights of Muslim women.

into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way.

Dangerously ill when he finished a climb of K2h in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew

The extraordinary story of a woman born into a family of desert nomads, circumcised as a child, educated by radical imams in Kenya and Saudi Arabia, taught to believe that if she uncovered her hair, terrible tragedies would ensue. It's a story

Into Thin Air

by Jon Krakauer

Lexile: 1320

Heroism and sacrifice triumph over foolishness, fatal error, and human frailty in this bone-chilling narrative in which the author recounts his experiences on 1998’s ill-fated, deadly climb.