Andre the Giant: Life and Legend

Brown, B. (2014). Andre the Giant: Life and legend. New York, NY: First Second.

One of the early professional wrestlers, Andre the Giant, was faced with a rare disorder where his body produced too much hormones causing him to be such a large man. As fame came, so did the drugs, alcohol, and the rollercoaster of downfall. As the years went by, Andres body begin to crumble from his syndrome and he dealt with a lot of pain. With physical pain came emotional conflicts, such as a daughter that Andre did not see much of. While in town to attend his father’s funeral, Andre the Giant passed away in his sleep and the legend live on in wrestling fans today.

This graphic novel is intended for adolescents of 15 years old and up due to the images of alcohol, aggressive language, and violence portrayed outside of the wrestling ring.

This graphic novel would be for those individual boys who are interested in wrestling already and want to research one of it’s greatest celebrities. Students could also research his syndrome and have a better understanding of how it works and takes ahold of the body and emotions, as well as treatments or cures for it.

The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown. When the opportunity comes for Junior to step off the reservation, he is both excited but filled with guilt. As a Spokane Indian, he is faced with abandoning his heritage and faces ridicule for it from his peers on the reservation. With support from his parents, Junior decides to attend another school that is 22 miles away from home. With daily challenges of getting to and from school, being accepted by his peers at his new school, his peers on the reservation, and most important being rejected by his best friend, Junior emotionally journeys through high school knowing he did the right thing in making a bad situation better for himself.

This books is intended for ages 12 year-old and up. While going back and forth between the reservation and his new high school, Junior deals with alcoholism, death of a loved on, tragic accidents, acceptance of his peers and locals, and poverty, while also trying to figure himself out like any other teenage boy, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Junior handles a lot in this realistic fiction.

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian would be a good novel for adolescent boys to read as they begin to discover who they really are and learning to do and doing what makes them happy.