Pinned by Sharon Flake

Autumn is the only girl on her high school wrestling team, and she’s good.   A younger boy, Roland, would like to get to know her better, but Autumn only has eyes for Adonis.  In fact, Autumn is in love with Adonis, a fellow student who manages her wrestling team when he’s not teaching her math class, volunteering to tutor and mentor other students, taking visiting dignitaries on tours of his school, and speaking at school assemblies.  Adonis, however, disdains “regular” people who are not differently-abled (as he is in his wheelchair), and he cannot stand the way Autumn flails in academics,  nor her relentless pursual of him.  Will Autumn graduate on time, succeed in the face of mean wrestling opponents, and win Adonis’ heart?  This novel in two voices (chapters alternate between Adonis and Autumn’s different perspectives and voices) explore differences in abilities and becomes heavy-handed, at times, but will still appeal to fans of Flake and developing middle school readers looking for a bit of a love story.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Flake, Sharon.  Pinned.  New York: Scholastic Press, 2012.  Print.

He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander

Omar has just been named Mr. Football of South Carolina and can’t wait to announce his plans to play for Miami when he crosses paths with Claudia, a.k.a. Beyonce, the hottest Harvard-bound senior in his high school.  Omar bets his friends that he can win over Claudia, who has declared her absolute disinterest in high school boys, especially anyone with a reputation as a “panty-dropper.”  This novel, narrated by Omar and Claudia in alternating chapters, includes text messages and Facebook posts to tell a story of teenage romance intertwined with an activist-themed plot involving a fight against budget cuts to arts and library funding.  Recommended independent reading for high school students looking for a love story like Dana Davidson’s sadly out-of-print Played. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Alexander, Kwame.  He Said, She Said.  New York: Amistad, 2013.  Print.