Memoir Unit Book
Choices
Collection One
We All Need Somebody
To Lean On
Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in
Sarajevo
by Zlata Filopovic
Night
Lexile: 850
Lexile: 570
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.
by Elie Wiesel
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?
Don’t Tell The Girls: A Family
Memoir
by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Lost Childhood: A World
War II Memoir
by Yehuda Nir
Lexile: 700
Lexile: 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.
A Child Called It: A Child’s
Courage to Survive
The Lost Boy
by David Pelzer
by Dave Pelzer
Lexile: 850
Lexile: 720
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.
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
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.
The Privilege of Youth
By Dave Pelzer
ADHD and Me
by Blake Taylor
Lexile: 900
Lexile: 750
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
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress
By Rhoda Janzen
Lexile: 760
Labrador
retrievers are
generally
considered eventempered, calm
and reliable;and
then there's
Marley, the
subject of this
delightful tribute
to one Lab who
doesn't fit the
mold.
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.
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
Twenty-year-old author Diamond describes
the trials and triumphs of breaking into the
New York modeling market, which she entered
at 14.
Needles: A Memoir of Growing
Up with Diabetes
by Andie Dominick
Lexile: 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.
Lone Survivor
by Marcus Luttrel &
Patrick Robinson
Katie.com: My Story
by Karherine Tarbox
Lexile: 800
Lexile: 810
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
In June of 2005, Luttrell led a four-man team of "Mark" was actually Frank Kufrovich, a man in
Navy SEALs into the mountains of Afghanistan
his forties with a history of pedophilia. Katie.com
on a mission to kill a Taliban leader thought to be is Katherine Tarbox's true story of how
allied with Osama bin Laden. On foot, the team
Kufrovich used the Internet to manipulate and
encountered two adult men and a teenage boy. A molest her, and how she fought back by
debate broke out as to whether the SEALs should prosecuting him under the Communications
summarily execute the trio to keep them from
Decency Act of 1996 and sharing her experiences
alerting the Taliban. Luttrell himself was called
so that other teens might avoid a similar
upon to make the decision.
situation.
Stori Telling
by Tori Spelling
Girl, Interrupted
by Susanna
Kaysen
Lexile: 850
Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloidworthy 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.
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 Armstrong
The House of a Million Pets
by Ann Hodgman
Lexile: 890
Lexile: 870
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.
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.
No Limits: The Will to Succeed
by Michael Phelps
Passing for Normal: A Memoir
of Compulsion
by Amy S. Wilensky
Lexile: 900
Gold medalist Michael Phelps discusses his path
to record-setting performances as a swimmer in
the 2008 Olympics.
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.
Standing Tall: A Memoir of
Tragedy and Triumph
By C. Vivian Stringer
Warriors Don’t Cry: The Searing
Memoir of the Battle to Integrate
Little Rock’s Central High School
by Melba Beals
Lexile: 930
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
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-yearold forced to grow up fast.
Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith,
Family, and Fighting to Get Back on
the Board
by Bethany Hamilton
Lexile: 960
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.
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.
Bad Boy: A Memoir
by Walter Dean Myers
Lexile: 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.
Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s
Remarkable Journey from a Refugee
Camp to Harvard
by Mawi Asgedom
Lexile: 970
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
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the
Cultural Revolution
Lexile: 970
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 twelveyear-old Ji-li's point of view is firmly maintainedthe point of self-dramatization.
Death in the Long Grass
Eleven Seconds
by Travis Roy
by Peter Hathaway Capstick
Lexile: 1000
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.
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.
Girl Soldier
by Faith J.H. McDonnell
Rocket Boys
by Homer Hickam
Lexile: 1000
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=q
HyWE7s_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
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.
The Bullpen Gospels:
Major League Dreams of a Minor
League Veteran
by Dirk Hayhurst
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 Taylor
Lexile: 1090
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.
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.
Lucky Man
by Michael J. Fox
Angela’s Ashes
by Frank McCourt
Lexile: 1100
Lexile: 1110
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
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.
My Life In Dog Years
by Gary Paulsen
King of the Mild Frontier
by Chris Crutcher
Lexile: 1150
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-outloud funny, such as his
initiation into his high-schoolhumiliating
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
Infidel
Lexile: 1210
Lexile: 1220
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
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
that, with a few different twists, really could have
into the Central Asia Institute, which has since
led to a wretched life and a lonely death, as her
constructed more than 50 schools across rural
grandmother warned. But instead, Hirsi Ali
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin
recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, escaped -- and transformed herself into an
internationally renowned spokeswoman for the
presenting compelling portraits of the village
rights of Muslim women.
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
Into Thin Air
by Jon Krakauer
Lexile: 1320
Heroism and sacrifice triumph over foolishness,
fatal error, and human frailty in this bonechilling narrative in which the author recounts
his experiences on 1998’s ill-fated, deadly climb.