THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND by William Kamkwamba

Hunger and famine are common occurrences for William and other people living in Malawi, Africa.  Forced to drop out of school at the age of 14 because his father could not afford the tuition, William haunts a local library.   Inspired by a book and his experiences fixing radios with his cousin, William decides to provide power to his home by creating "electric wind"--a windmill.  He scavenges parts--his father's broken bicycle, his mother's clothesline, pipe from his uncle's abandoned outhouse.  Locals think he's crazy, but when his windmill actually works, the media discovers and soon William is a local and international sensation.

This true story details William's life in Malawi.  Interesting details about how the people live, including the politics of famine, make the book larger than one young man's life.  A good read.

MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney

Alex, a 17-year-old student at a boarding school, wakes up naked in bed with a boy she cannot remember.  Fragments of the night before begin to return to her.   Going to a concert, drinking, playing a game, drinking, leaving with a boy she just met and returning to his room with him.... She knows they had sex, but also knows that she did not want to.  It was date rape.  Alex's life changes.  She doesn't eat because she can no longer face the smirks and knowing smiles from the boy's friends in the cafeteria.  She skips classes for fear that she might see him.   With the encouragement of her roommate and her older sister, she decides to bring  this case to the "Mockingbirds"--a student created justice system inspired by the Harper Lee novel TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.   The boy claims the sex was consensual; Alex claims that she was too drunk to give consent.  The Mockingbirds will decide.

The opening scene of Alex waking up in the boy's room and realizing what happened is one of the most disturbing and powerful beginnings in a young adult novel that I've read in a long time.   The references to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD are good and will resonate with students who have read that book.  But it did get a little teachy, preachy in places. 

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

Lena is about to turn 18, when she will have the surgery that will cure her from "delirium"--that is, falling in love.   Seems the government has decided that all ills in our society stem from this one emotion.  Lena is satisfied to have the government choose her husband and her job and is looking forward to leaving the home of her aunt and uncle with whom she has lived since her mother committed suicide.  Then Lena meets Alex.  He exposes her to love and a way of living in freedom that Lena never knew existed.  Suddenly, Lena does not want the required "cure" and must decide if this rebellion is worth the price she and her family will have to pay.  Discovering the truth  about her parents also complicates her decision.

This book is another in the current trend of dystopian fiction, and, I must admit, not one of my favorites.  I found the plot to be predictable and the dystopian world not as fleshed out as it could have been.  At around 400 pages,  the book dragged a bit for me.