[LM_NET] HIT - sexual abuse books

[Blythe Allison Bennett <babennet@SYR.EDU>]

Sorry for the late hit and many thanks to those of you who responded with great 
resources. Lots of repeat titles, so if you were wondering about these for your own 
library, some are mentioned several times. At the very end of the list, there is a 
Wikipedia link (I know, I am not usually a Wikipedia fan, but this list is great) 
with a long list that is very informative.

If you don't already have some books on your shelves about sexual abuse of children 
by adult family members, teachers, clergy, strangers, or any other adult, please 
consider purchasing some. Children need to see themselves reflected in the books in 
the school library, especially if there is information about how the child learned 
to tell a trusted adult, how to start to move from victim to survivor. 
Unfortunately, each of us has children in our schools who have been sexually 
abused, and this topic would be especially beneficial for bibliotherapy. Think 
about doing a book talk to your teachers on the topic, any maybe some of them will 
read these books with extra interest due to their own histories.

My original post was:

If you have suggestions for young adult (or even younger) novels where sexual abuse 
is part of the story, please send them along and I'll post a hit. I am looking more 
for books where the abuser is an adult, rather than a peer, as in Laurie Halse 
Anderson's Speak. (great book, just not the age/power situation as with an 
adult/child abuse)

COMPILATION OF SUGGESTIONS:

Jumping the Scratch by Sarah Weeks.  A wonderfully written story about an 11-year 
old boy who is coping with past abuse by an adult and struggling to keep that 
terrible secret. I have this in my collection and find it appropriate for 5th and 
6th grade and above.


perks of wallflower chobsky (aunt/nephew)
doing it  burgess (teacher-student)
boy toy  lyga  (teacher-student)
why caged bird sings angelou (I think incest--parents)

I have just finished reading "Living Dead Girl" by Elizabeth Scott.  It is the 
horrible story of a 10 Year old girl abducted and held five years by an adult male.


"A Deep Dark Secret." (Kimberla Lawson Roby)  the actual book will be available for 
sale in October. It has an African American "theme" to it--don't know if that 
matters or not.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott.
It's about a girl who is abducted at the age of 5 or so and kept by her abductor 
and sexually abused for 10 years.  Very good read, but heart-wrenching and 
potentially too graphic for some. I'd recommend reading it first-hand before 
suggesting it to teens.

Woodson's I hadn't meant to tell you this

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson, Boy Toy, The Perks of being a Wall Flower, 
Circle the Soul Softly, Story of a Girl, Freaky Green Eyes,

Margaux with an X / Ron Koertge
Claiming Georgia Tate / Gigi Amateau
Bait / Alex Sanchez
Because I Am Furniture / Thalia Chaltas
Boy O'Boy / Brian Doyle
Dirty Liar / Brian James
Friction / E.R. Frank
The Beggar's Ride / Theresa Nelson
I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This / Jacqueline Woodson
Jumping the Scratch / Sarah Weeks
Never So Green / Tim Johnston
Silver / Norma Fox Mazer
The Storm's Crossing / Reanne S. Singer
When Jeff Comes Home / Catherine Atkins
When She Hollers / Cynthia Voigt
Missing Girl / Norma Fox Mazer
Shut Up! / Marilyn Reynolds
When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune / Lori Aurelia Williams

The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Chbosky
Counterfeit Son-Alphin

I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This by jacqueline woodson

Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher is a good one.  Also, The Rules of Survival by 
Nancy Werlin is another good choice.  Both are middle school/high school age.


I really liked Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg. I think it deals with sexual 
abuse as an abuse of power very well.


TELLING by Marilyn Reynolds.  The abuser is the father of children the girl 
babysits.

F ALP   Alphin, Elaine Marie. Counterfeit son.    San Diego : Harcourt, 2000.

F CHALTAS       Chaltas, Thalia. Because I am furniture.    New York : Viking, 2009.

F COM   Coman, Carolyn. What Jamie saw.    Arden, N.C. : Front Street, 1995.

F CRU   Crutcher, Chris Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes.    Greenwillow Bks [c1993]

F CRU   Crutcher, Chris. Chinese handcuffs.    New York : Greenwillow Books, c1989.

F DESSEN        Dessen, Sarah. Lock and key : a novel.    New York, N.Y. : Viking, 
2008.

F FLI   Flinn, Alexandra. Breathing underwater.    New York : HarperCollins 
Publishers, 2001.

F IRW   Irwin, Hadley. Abby, my love.    New York : Atheneum, 1985.

F KLA   Klass, David. You don't know me.    New York : Frances Foster Books, 2001.

F SCHREFER      Schrefer, Eliot, 1978- The school for dangerous girls.    New York 
: Scholastic Press, 2009.

F WERLIN        Werlin, Nancy. The rules of survival.    New York, NY : Dial Books, 
2006.


Bait, by Alex Sanchez.  I blogged it at http://pettushs.blogspot.com   LOVED this 
book!
Draper, Sharon.  Forged by Fire
Hunt, Irene.  The Lottery Rose
Voight, Cynthia.  When She Hollers
Woodsen, Jacquelin.  I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This
Wynn-Jones, Tim.  The Maestro


Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas


Ellen Hopkins book Burned. The book is written in free verse. the father is the 
abuser, physically and emotionally.

When She Hollers by Yolen, Jane


One of my favorites is WHEN SHE HOLLERS by Cynthia Voigt.  That's definitely young 
adult.  JUMPING THE SCRATCH by Sarah Weeks is more subtle.

Chris Crutcher's Chinese Handcuff. A great read-- father is abusing daughter

Identical by Ellen Hopkins


I just finished reading a YA book about sexual abuse.  It  is called, Identical by 
Ellen Hopkins.  It's actually about twin sisters being abused by their father.  
Pretty heavy stuff.

What Mr. Mattero Did by Priscilla Cummings.
Three seventh-grade girls accuse their music teacher of having touched them 
inappropriately and sexually.

Not in Room 204 by Sharon Riggs

I LOVED Sarah Weeks' book Jumping the Scratch!!!  Awesome book!  Very sad, scary, 
and makes you think twice.

Have you considered Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

Bastard out of Carolina, and the author is Dorothy Allison.

The newly released Bait, by Alex Sanchez is riveting. The protagonist's stepfather 
abused him for years before committing suicide. Now the kid is trying to deal with 
his anger.

I was just looking into getting some fiction on this topic for my 7-12 library and 
here are a few I'm considering:
Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block
When Jeff Comes Home by Catherine Atkins
What Mr. Mattero Did by Priscilla Cummings
Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher
First Time by Meg Tilly (Orca Soundings, so it's hi-lo)
Boy O'Boy by Brian Doyle
Stained by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
This Side of the Sky by Marie-Francine Hebert
I haven't read any of them, though, so I haven't made decisions on them yet.
Wikipedia has a list up on this topic, too: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_portraying_paedophilia_or_sexual_abuse_of_minors


Blythe


Blythe Allison Bennett
Assistant Director, School Media Program
Director Summer Institute
School of Information Studies, Syracuse University
114 Hinds Hall, Syracuse NY
babennet@syr.edu
(315) 443-5445




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