Read, Write, Repeat.

In this its fourth season, Glee has added a bunch of new characters.

And, despite my role has a self-appointed librarian for William McKinley High School, I’ve held off on recommending books for them for two reasons.

1. I wanted to get to know them so I could make the right suggestions.

2. I wasn’t sure I liked them that much.

After all, I was pretty happy with the cast of characters that made Glee successful:

Kurt. Rachel. Finn. Tina. Artie. Mercedes.

With some of my favorites having limited screen time this year, I wasn’t set to welcome Marley, Jake, Kitty and Ryder to the fold.

 And, frankly, some of the new characters’ personalities bugged me.

Take Kitty, who’s portrayed by Becca Tobin. So far, she’s just been mean.

And, other than confessing her love for The Spice Girls, she hasn’t shared any frailties or sympathetic traits that might help viewers understand why she’s so difficult.

How has Kitty been heinous? Let us count the ways.

She convinced rail-thin Marley that she was fat and told her that boys wouldn’t like her and she wouldn’t be successful as the New Directions’ new Rachel unless she lost weight. She even secretly took in Marley’s costumes for Grease so Marley would think she was gaining weight even as Marley starved herself and made herself throw up.

Then, when Marley collapsed onstage at a show choir competition and all the other Glee clubbers blamed her for costing them the title, Kitty said nothing. Meanwhile, she acted like she was Marley’s best friend while saying terrible things about her behind her back.

I’m not sure there’s a book in the world that could help someone like this.

But, if I were a Glee librarian, I’d suggest Kitty read Poison (Hyperion, 2013) by Bridget Zinn. Why?

Because it’s a beautiful, funny story of a 16-year-old girl named Kyra who also throws poison darts. But unlike Kitty’s verbal jabs, Kyra’s darts are real. And she throws them for a noble purpose.

Kyra is a highly trained potioner. Someone who specializes in chemical concoctions. Some are relatively harmless. They clean clothes or alter someone’s appearance temporarily. Others are dangerous. Like powders that put people to sleep, force them to tell the truth or kill them instantly. Besides being trained in how to make potions, Kyra is a an attack expert. She can scale the side of a house, take down a pack of goblins with her bare hands and use an array of wicked weapons with pinpoint precision.

In short, she’s got skills and tools Kitty probably wishes she had.

But Kyra uses them to protect her kingdom. And her loyalty to the safety of everyone in the kingdom is so great, she’s willing to turn those tools on her best friend, the princess, when Kyra becomes convinced that she will lead the kingdom’s downfall.

Is she right? That remains to be seen.

But when Kyra throws a deadly dart at the princess, the unthinkable happens. For the first time ever, she misses. That makes her a wanted woman. The whole kingdom is set to hunt her down while she’s searching for the now-hidden princess. (Besides being Kyra’s best friend, the princess is also her cousin. Did I mention that?)

Kyra could give up. She’s met a handsome stranger on her travels and a pack of gypsies who have offered to protect her. She could start a new, calmer life. But that would mean allowing her kingdom to fall to ruin. And Kyra would never let that happen. So — cold, homeless and hungry — she perseveres.

She’s battling several foes. The most notable are: The toughest villain in the kingdom who wants to turn her talents to evil, a witch who wants to enslave her, a former boyfriend who’s almost as good a potioner as she is, and a few inner demons of her own. And then, there’s her quest to find the princess and save the kingdom.

Kitty could learn something from all of this.

She too has formidable weapons. Intelligence. A sharp tongue. The ability to manipulate people and get what she wants. An exalted position as a Cheerio. Beauty. She could use those tools for good to help New Directions succeed. If she were willing to do that — and even maybe sacrifice herself and her goals a little — she’d be a much better, happier person.

Maybe Kitty has good qualities that are buried deep inside her and just need the right situation to draw them out. She did briefly defend Unique from a pack of angry girls before returning to her usual self.

This book might be just the thing to encourage her to find something she believes in and fight for it.

As a Glee librarian, I’d be happy to put it in her hands.

Want more GLEE-ful reads?

Here are the books I’ve recommended to other Glee characters:

• Sugar Motta — Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly.
• Wade Adams – Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright.
• Mike Chang – Good Enough by Paula Yoo.
• Artie Abrams – Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson.
• Noah Puckerman - So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow.
• Brittany Pierce – Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John.
• Mercedes Jones – Dramarama by E. Lockhart.
• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

I have been immersed in a writing retreat for the past week at beautiful, 60-degree Port Ludlow, Washington with a bunch of very talented writers from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

There were readings. There was singing. There was a lot of information about foreign rights, school visits and other authorly topics. There was a lot of good food. Glow sticks and hats even made an appearance.

There may indeed be future blog postings about what I learned at the retreat, but for now I’m still processing everything.

But that could take a while. And meanwhile, I don’t want this blog to go as dry as the grass in my rain-deprived front yard.

So, to keep everyone busy reading while I ponder, here is a list of book recommendations from my aunt, Faye Clow, who was the director of the Bettendorf, Iowa, public library.

These are books she suggested in the library’s annual Staff Favorites bibliographies. (These are adult titles, but in the photo to the right, she’s holding a picture book she loved — The Little Green Goose by Adele Sansone.)

• Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
• The Dower House by Annabel Davis-Goff
• Lost Lake by Mark Slouka
• From the Holy Mountain by William Dalyrymple
• Taking Retirement: A Beginner’s Diary by Carl H. Klaus
• Discovering the Body by Mary Howard
• The Huntsman by Whitney Terrell
• The Good German by Joseph Kanon
• The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
• Warriors of God by James Reston
• The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf
• Buxton: A Black Utopia in the Heartland by Dorothy Schwieder
• Crusade: Chronicles of an Unjust War by James Carroll
• The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power by Marina Belozerskaya
• Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews by Poopa Dweck
• The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh in Love and War by David Lebedoff
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

What are you reading now? Or what’s next on your to-be-read list?

As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a big fan of Glee.

I like the storylines.

I like the songs.

I like the underdog factor.

I like the romance.

In fact, this may be the first time I’ve ever said anything critical about the show. So pardon me, but …

I just don’t see the point of Sugar Motta.

I’ve got nothing against actress Vanessa Lengies, who portrays Sugar. She seems very likable. And Sugar herself could have been a pivotal character.

So, I guess my complaint is more directed to the writers. Because here’s how it played out:

1. Sugar Motta shows up after a food fight, says she’s the best singer in the school.
2. She auditions and is hideously horrible.
3. Mr. Shuester tries to let her down easily.
4. She doesn’t buy it, saying, “I worked that song like a hooker pole.”
5. Her wealthy father pays to create a glee club molded around Sugar to trample New Directions.
6. But then, Santana, Brittany and Mercedes defect to the new club and Sugar disappears.

Sure, she’s still technically around.

You’d see her for a millisecond here or there when the camera panned the second glee club. And then, when the two clubs merged, as you knew they would, Sugar came along. And there was no mention about her wanting to be the star, no word on whether she had suddenly somehow learned to sing, no complaints from her father, no anything. Just the occasional brief appearance in background of the choir room. (It was enough to make you wonder why Glee even kept Lengies under contract to do essentially nothing.)

Until Valentine’s Day where Sugar got her own episode and had Artie and Rory unexpectedly fight for the right to date her. And then, after that, she basically disappeared again and the storyline was dropped.

I have no idea if Sugar Motta will grace the halls of William McKinley High in Season 4 of Glee. But a good librarian is always prepared, and just in case she does, I have the book I’d recommend she read — Harmonic Feedback (Henry Holt and Company, 2010) by Tara Kelly.

Why? Because of a few comments Sugar made in her first episode.

She’d say something rude and then say, “Sorry! Self-diagnosed Asperger’s!” This seemed like a reference to Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. People with Asperger’s sometimes have difficulty with social interaction. Sugar, however, seemed to feel that saying she might have this condition gave her license to say whatever she wanted with no repercussions.

So I think Sugar might benefit from meeting Drea, the main character of this book. Drea, who’s 16, has been officially diagnosed with “a touch of Asperger’s.” Drea knows she’s different than other people and tries to blend in and lurk in the background. She’s wary of making friends because she hasn’t always interpreted their behavior correctly and history has taught her that once other teens discover she’s different, they don’t hang around her anymore.

And while Drea would like to have friends, she’s not always sure they’re worth the effort.

Drea has a hard life in other ways, too.

Her mom has just moved her to yet another town for a new beginning. Money is tight, so they’re staying with Drea’s grandmother, who is a horrible cook and has very particular ideas about how Drea should behave.

Drea starts making friends with Naomi. Drea doesn’t say she has Asperger’s Syndrome and works hard to blend in. Naomi treats Drea like anyone else, although she’s sometimes confused by her.

Meanwhile, Drea is equally fascinated by and worried about Naomi. Naomi has a beautiful voice and wants to form a band with Drea. (Drea builds band equipment and generates computerized music tracks.) But Naomi is also experimenting with drugs and dating a dude she probably shouldn’t be.

Drea gets caught up in Naomi’s world but is scared to do many of the things Naomi does. She also meets Justin, a boy with a past who seems to understand her too. As the school year progresses, Drea realizes she can connect with other people, but she cannot save them from themselves.

In the brief time we’ve seen Sugar, she seems pretty self-absorbed and clueless about how she comes across — and a bit too willing to use her father’s money to get what she wants. Meeting Drea — who has no money and some challenges — might help Sugar realize that she leads a pretty sheltered life and has no idea what it’s like to struggle.

And in case Sugar wanted to understand her classmates a little better, here are some other books I’ve recommended to Glee characters:

• Wade Adams – Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright.
• Mike Chang – Good Enough by Paula Yoo.
• Artie Abrams – Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson.
• Noah Puckerman - So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow.
• Brittany Pierce – Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John.
• Mercedes Jones – Dramarama by E. Lockhart.
• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

Books tell stories.

That seems pretty simple.

Sometimes, those stories are wild flights of fancy that take readers someplace they never dreamed could exist.

Other times, those stories are based on the lives of real people who did something interesting or extraordinary. That’s where today’s book, Tomás and the Library Lady (Dragonfly Books, 2000), fits in.

It tells the story of a boy named Tomás who is part of a family of migrant workers. They travel the country picking crops. While his parents work one summer in Iowa, Tomás visits the town library and becomes friends with the librarian. She finds books he’ll like. He teaches her some Spanish.

It’s a sweet story. And then, at the very end, we find it’s based on the life of Tomás Rivera, a man who started out as a migrant worker and ended up being an author and chancellor at the University of California at Riverside. Mr. Rivera died in 1984, but the library at the college he led now bears his name.

Publishers Weekly described the book saying, “A gentle text and innovative artwork depict a pivotal summer in a boy’s life.”

What did today’s guest reviewer think? Let’s find out.

—————————–

Today’s reviewer: Gwen

Age: 7

This book was about: This kid named Tomás and the library teacher. He spent a lot of time in the library and they became friends. Then he had to leave. It was sad.

The best part was when: When they met, because it felt like they were going to be friends.

I smiled when: Tomás was imagining the dinosaurs and stuff.

This book taught me: About dinosaurs and stuff. I like science books.

Three words that best describe this book: “Cool.” “Arty.” “Fun.”

My favorite picture in this book is: When he imagined all the dinosaurs.

Other kids reading this book should watch for: The author who made it.

You should read this book because: It’s fun to learn from.

—————————–

Thank you, Gwen!

If you’d like to learn more about author Pat Mora, you can visit her website or watch this video interview with her where she discusses her Mexican culture and how it’s influenced her writing.

If you’d like to learn more about illustrator Raul Colon, visit this website to see examples of his marvelous work. Or, listen to this podcast interview with him on Just One More Book.

And, if you’d like to learn more about Tomás Rivera, the man this book was based on, read this biography.

You also can learn more about the library named for him, which is pictured at the left.

Any way you look at it, it’s been a rough senior year for Glee’s Mike Chang so far.

He got yelled at by Sue Sylvester on the third day of school. He had to convince some reluctant football players that dancing would help their sports skills. He watched several New Directions members leave the group and start a competing club. And then, just as he was helping whip the remaining glee clubbers into tip-top dancing shape, he received an A- on a chemistry test.

Brittany would have been thrilled, but Mike was devastated.

Turns out an A- is considered an “Asian F” in Mike’s family. In fact, the grade was low enough for his dad to call an emergency meeting with Principal Figgins to discuss Mike’s future.

It also turns out Mike’s parents want him to go to an Ivy League college and become a doctor or a lawyer. Mike, who’s played by Harry Shum Jr., wants to dance, but is afraid to tell his parents. He tries to improve his chemistry grade and secretly try out for the school musical, but there are too many schedule conflicts. His mother finds out he’s been cast as Riff and is supportive, but his father confronts Mike and ultimately disowns him when Mike admits he wants to perform.

And you thought your life was complicated.

Mike’s girlfriend, Tina, tries to help by visiting Mike’s father at work and sharing a DVD of his performance in “West Side Story.” But Mr. Chang is unmoved and accuses Tina of having unrealistic expectations and fostering the same in his son.

This is the point in the story where, if I were a librarian at William McKinley High School, I would have given Mike a copy of Good Enough (Harper Teen, 2008) by Paula Yoo.

Because it’s not an assigned English literature text and wouldn’t appear on a recommended reading list for the SATs, Mike probably would have had to read it on the sly, but I think the benefits would have been worth the risk.

It’s the story of Patti Yoon.

And her story is not unlike young Mr. Chang’s. Patti’s parents expect nothing but the best from her. But only if the best will look good on her applications to Harvard, Princeton or Yale. Straight As are an expectation and extracurricular activities are carefully chosen.

In fact, Patti was introduced to the violin as a young child so it could be her “hook.” Something that would help her stand out from the many other talented, college applicants with 4.0 GPAs and high standardized test scores.

But for that to happen, Patti has to be a good violinist.

Fortunately, Patti has a natural aptitude for the instrument. That coupled with private lessons and a rigorous practice schedule have turned her into one of the best high school players in the state. But her practice SAT scores aren’t as high as her parents would like them to be, so Patti finds herself on a strict schedule of studying, test-taking and violin playing.

There are breaks for her to attend church, where Patti’s youth group is made up of other Korean teens whose parents expect similar success. But there aren’t any breaks when a cute trumpet/guitar player invites Patti to jam with his band or attend a rock concert. And when she tries to juggle her schedule and secretly do a few fun activities, her parents find out and react pretty much like Mike’s dad.

Meanwhile, Patti is enjoying music more and more, and her private instructor is encouraging her to apply to Julliard. But that involves finding the time to master new music, send in an audition tape and then audition in person. This leads to more secret activities for Patti.

Things reach the tipping point when Patti gets accepted to Princeton, Yale and Julliard. (She’s wait-listed at Harvard.) She thinks her parents will be happy, but they’re more upset that she applied to Julliard without telling them.

Parents of struggling students everywhere are rolling their eyes right now.

But Patti’s parents want the best for her and are truly upset. And despite their high expectations, Patti loves her parents. But, like Mike, she gathers the courage to share her true feelings. Her exact words are, “Stop giving me such a hard time.” And, frankly, I wanted to put the book down and applaud when she said them.

Patti ends up deciding to go to Princeton, not Julliard. Some people might be frustrated by this ending, but it’s a choice she makes based weighing all the things that make her happy (violin, English lit, her church group friends) and choosing the school that gives her the most options. She does enroll in a special program there for musicians.

Ultimately, Patti’s biggest revelation in the book isn’t which college she’ll attend, but learning that success and happiness aren’t the same thing. And by choosing Princeton and its music program, she’s taking steps to a future that she thinks has the best chance of making her happy.

And that’s what Mike Chang needs to do, too. He took the first step when he talked with his parents and persisted in his goals even after his father stopped speaking to him. In “Hold on to Sixteen,” Mike’s father watches Mike perform at Sectionals and says he’ll support Mike if he decides to study dance in college.

So things seem to be looking up for Mike Chang now. But it’s a long season. And as we know with Glee, almost anything can happen.

But knowing that they’re good enough, just the way they are, is a good starting point for all the kids at William McKinley.

Here’s the list of books I’ve recommended to Glee characters so far:

• Mike Chang – Good Enough by Paula Yoo.
• Artie Abrams – Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson.
• Noah Puckerman - So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow.
• Brittany Pierce – Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John.
• Mercedes Jones – Dramarama by E. Lockhart.
• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

I grew up going to libraries. They were universally accessible, well-stocked, well-staffed and free.

So, sometimes, I forget that not everyone grows up with such easy access to books.

But I never forget that everyone should.

That’s why I was thrilled to hear about author Jean Reidy’s online auction to support the library at the Musana Children’s Home in Iganga, Uganda. Eighty orphaned children live there full time. Another 120 come each day from surrounding communities to attend school.

The home makes a difference, providing food, shelter, medical care, education and safety to people who desperately need it. But resources are tight. And the children’s needs increase each day.

Here’s what Jean has to say about the home.

“The Musana community was founded and is run by three young women from my hometown here in Colorado. In addition to dormitories and classrooms, the school has a small library badly in need of books … I hope you will join me at the auction and reach beyond our borders to celebrate literacy and a love of reading ─ as well as earth, space and a kid’s sense of place.”

Jean visited the home in 2010. (That’s her with some of the children in the picture.) She decided to use the publication of her most recent picture book Light Up the Night to raise awareness and funds for the library. She rallied other authors, artists, businesspeople and creative folk of all kinds to donate items that you can bid on, with proceeds going toward the library.

There is something for everyone.

Especially if you’re a reader, a writer, a librarian, a teacher or a parent. A partial list of items includes:

– Manuscript critiques by published authors and agents.
– Classroom visits by published authors.
– Signed books.
– Artwork by professional children’s book illustrators.
– Handmade jewelry.
– Home decor.
– Handmade baby blankets and quilts.
– And more, more, more.

It’s easy to leave a bid.

Visit the auction anytime between now and Nov. 18. And if you promote the auction via Facebook, Twitter or your blog, you can be entered in a separate contest to win a $100 gift card for — what else? — books!

If you’ve ever been grateful for being able to pick up a book and read it, this is one way to help someone else grow up with the same gift.

Stop by Jean’s auction today!

Glee’s resident bad boy, Noah Puckerman, doesn’t have to work on his image.

He’s already got it down. Witness his mohawk haircut, his wardrobe of jeans, boots and T-shirts, and his awesome guitar. Then, there’s the street cred he obtained by a stint in juvie and his history of romantic liaisons with many of the girls at William McKinley High School — and possibly even some of their mothers.

So at first glance, Puck doesn’t seem to have much in common with Ari Samuel Abramson, the main character in So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) written by Micol Ostow and published by Flux in 2009.

Puck is cool and plays music. Ari plays music because he desperately wants to be cool. But, if I were a librarian at McKinley High, I’d still give Mr. Puckerman, who’s portrayed by Mark Salling, a copy of this book and encourage him to read it.

Why? Let me count the ways:

1. It would get Puck in the library. I know from previous episodes that Puck is not a regular library user. When he was in the library with Lauren Zizes last season, he looked around in awe and asked, “What IS this place?” My job would be to help him realize libraries serve as more than a place to pick up girls.

2. It wouldn’t intimidate him. My guess is that Puck is not a voracious reader. So giving him a big, heavy or otherwise off-putting book wouldn’t work. This book doesn’t look overwhelming. It’s got a cool cover and parts of the story are told in comics and illustrations (done by David Ostow), which give it a graphic novel feel. I think it might suck Puck in and compel him to keep turning pages. I’d make sure to give Puck the paperback version, because it would be easier to him to carry around. (And because, frankly, the library would be out less money if he never returned it.)

3. It covers topics that relate to Puck’s life. Ari is Jewish and attends Leo R. Gittleman Jewish Day School. His family is very focused on Ari’s achieving good enough grades and SAT scores so he can attend Brandeis University and become a doctor or a lawyer. Ari is pretty sure he doesn’t want to attend Brandeis, although he isn’t really sure what he wants to do instead. What he does know is he wants to impress Sari Horowitz and thinks forming a band is the best way to do this. Of course, it has to be a secret band. Ari’s parents aren’t too excited about things that don’t show up on standardized tests. How does this relate to Puck? He’s Jewish and has said he thinks Jewish girls are hot. And, he plays guitar like Ari.

4. It would remind Puck of his strengths. And show where he could improve. I think Puck would laugh at the trials Ari’s fledgling band, The Tribe, goes through. There’s Ari’s best friend, the cool and popular Jonas, who attracts fans but has little musical talent. There’s geeky, ultra-conservative drummer Yossi Gluck who’s chosen merely because he owns drums. And, there’s Yossi’s younger sister, Reena, who isn’t supposed to be part of the band at all but who can, surprisingly, sing. I’m sure Puck would feel he could create a better band in five minutes. But if he paid attention, he’d also notice that being “cool” doesn’t solve all of Ari’s problems and actually creates some new ones for him.

I’d especially encourage Puck to read the scene on page 237 where Ari’s parent’s find out about the band the night after Ari finds out Jonas and Sari aren’t who he always thought they were — and neither is Yossi Gluck. Which leads Ari to ponder the inevitable question, “Who is he?”

The answer just might be that Ari’s an idiot. But once Ari realizes that, he also realizes that he can make choices to fix that. Is Puck an idiot? Sometimes. Could he benefit from some self-reflection? Probably. Might an innocent book get him started thinking?

A good librarian would argue that it could.

And all for only $9.95.

Here’s the list of books I’ve recommended to Glee characters so far:

• Noah Puckerman - So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow.
• Brittany Pierce – Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John.
• Mercedes Jones – Dramarama by E. Lockhart.
• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

Glee cheerleader Brittany Pierce may be best known for not being the brightest bulb in the choir room.

But that’s not why I’d give her Antony John’s new book Five Flavors of Dumb (Dial, 2010) if I were a librarian at William McKinley High.

I’d give it to her because there’s more to Brittany than initially meets the eye.

Sure, Brittany can be a bit dim. She’s known for comments that make the rest of the Glee Club do a double take like, “Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?”

She struggles knowing her left from her right, is pleased when she can sound out the word “L-O-V-E” written on the choir room white board, and she still believes in Santa Claus. She even proudly wears a T-shirt reading, “I’m with stoopid” featuring an arrow pointing toward her face.

But Brittany, who’s played by the multi-talented Heather Morris, can also be one of the wisest characters on the show. She alone can call Santana Lopez out when she’s hiding her true self behind a wall of false bravado. She stands up to Sue Sylvester when Sue wants to shoot her out of a cannon — leading Quinn and Santana to do the same — and she showcased her uncommon knowledge of cat diseases to help the Brainiac academic decathalon team win an important match.

Perhaps most importantly, she’s not ashamed of who she is.

Of all the Glee characters, Brittany is, oddly enough, one of the most secure. She doesn’t seem bothered by the perception that she’s dumb and she seems to be quite good at standing up for what she wants, whether it’s refusing Artie’s prom proposal because he called her stupid, telling Santana off for hiding her true self by pretending to date Karofsky or starting a fashion trend by wearing leg warmers on her arms. She’s not hiding a deep secret, and she’s not ashamed of who she is. What you see is usually what you get.

That’s why she reminds me of Piper, this book’s main character.

Like Brittany, Piper has a challenge that seems obvious. She’s deaf. But Piper doesn’t let that define her. She succeeds in regular high school classes thanks to her excellent lip-reading skills, her ability to speak, a pair of hot-pink hearing aids and a refusal to give up. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she’s very smart.

Unlike Brittany, Piper doesn’t have many friends. There’s Ed Chen from the chess club. And then there’s her brother, Finn, who alternately annoys her and helps her. In fact, Piper is counting down the days in her senior year until she can graduate and attend Galludet University a college for deaf and hearing-impaired students where everyone knows sign language.

But Piper’s life takes an unexpected turn when she sees a band called Dumb perform on school grounds. She can’t hear the music, but she’s drawn to its energy. And when she gets into an argument with the self-satisfied lead singer about how the band should market itself, she finds herself facing a challenge — get the band a paying gig in a month.

No one thinks she can do it.

Several band members aren’t pleased that she’s meddling in their affairs. Her father thinks she should find another hobby and her mother thinks the band is just a passing fad. But quicker than a sound check, Piper puts her mark on the band. She gets them interested in writing original songs (some of which are good and some of which are, well, like Brittany’s “My Cup”). She also helps them salvage a disastrous recording session, books them on a local radio show and even gets them on TV.

But the band doesn’t make it easy. The lead singer adds a beautiful but untalented guitar player to the group. The other guitarist is secretly in love with the bass player. And the drummer — Piper’s friend, Ed, who’s the most musically talented of the group — doesn’t get the respect he deserves because he looks like an accountant. When all the tension spills over into an actual brawl, on live TV no less, Piper’s life gets really interesting.

Suddenly she’s in trouble at school and at home, and everyone in the band expects her to fix things. Plus her feelings for her best friend, Ed, might be turning romantic. Can she decide what she wants, dish out a little justice and save the band from itself in time to give its members the big break they say they want?

Only if she can channel her inner rock star.

If I were a Glee librarian, I’d give the book to Brittany (after making sure it’s within her reading-comprehension range). I’d ask her to pay special attention to page 234 where Piper gets some really good advice:

Don’t worry about wanting to change; start worrying when you don’t feel like changing anymore. And in the meantime, enjoy every version of yourself you ever meet, because not everybody who discovers their true identity likes what they find.

Brittany does seem pretty content with who she is, and that’s good. This book would reinforce that. It also would help her realize that others shouldn’t be allowed to label her or limit what they think she can accomplish.

Most importantly, it would also help her see that although there might be five flavors of dumb, there many, many more ways to be smart.

Here’s the list of books I’ve recommended to Glee characters so far:

• Brittany Pierce – Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John.
• Mercedes Jones – Dramarama by E. Lockhart.
• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

Glee’s Mercedes Jones has a lot of fine qualities.

• She’s a good friend. When her classmate Kurt’s father is hospitalized, she provides support and encouragement.

• She fights for what she believes in. When cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester bans tater tots from the William McKinley High School cafeteria, Mercedes stages a Norma-Rae-like protest.

• And, she’s a good songwriter. Her anthem “Hell to the No” was my favorite of all the student-penned songs in Season Two.

But Mercedes can be a bit of a diva.

That shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Nearly every character on Glee has been a diva at one time or another. But Mercedes’ divahood is different.

It’s not a constant state. It only bursts out when she feels overlooked by Mr. Shuester or overshadowed by other Glee Club members.

Unfortunately, those things happen frequently.

Mercedes, who is played delightfully by Amber Riley, joined Glee Club expecting to be the star. Early on, when she was asked to sing backup, Mercedes announced, “I’m Beyonce! I ain’t no Kelly Rowland.”

Later, when she realized her solos would be few and far between thanks to the oversized voices of Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry, she lamented, “You guys only trot me out to wail at the end of a number.”

Things came to a head when the Glee Club held a fundraising concert. Mercedes decided she wanted the closing number that Rachel was slated for, so fellow overlooked Glee Club member Lauren Zizes offered to be her manager.

Lauren had Mercedes command respect by listing her demands, which included being carried onto the stage and having fresh puppies to dry her hands on.

Frankly, it was all a little much.

Around this time, if I had been a librarian at William McKinley High School, I would have gently suggested Mercedes read Dramarama by E. Lockhart (Hyperion, 2007). In fact, I would have handed it to her personally.

Why? It’s the story of a muscial-loving girl who’s overshadowed by her superstar best friend.

And while the book isn’t an exact retelling of Mercedes’ life, there are some pretty strong parallels.

Let’s start with the basics.

Sarah Paulson is a gawky, white, “Cabaret”-obsessed adolescent. Her best friend is Demi, an African-American gay teen who likes Liza Minnelli just as much as she does. If you change the races around and substitute Patti LuPone and Aretha Franklin for Liza Minnelli, you have Mercedes’ relationship with Kurt Hummel.

Demi christens Sarah “Sadye” (pronounced SAY-dee) to reflect his belief that she has what it takes to be famous. He encourages her to not try to be like petite, blonde Kristin Chenoweth, but to focus on “being Sadye” and bringing her own talents to light.

Sadye knows Demi is gay right from the start, but she still has a small crush on him and spends time with him instead of with boys who might be interested in her romantically. This also echoes Mercedes’ crush on Kurt and her feelings of being overlooked when he starts dating Blaine.

Things fall apart when Demi and Sadye go to summer theater camp.

Demi and Sadye are convinced they’ll nab fabulous lead roles and be best friends forever. They even make recordings of their thoughts and observations to look back on once they’re both Broadway stars.

So Sadye is disappointed to find that while Demi is a shining light at camp, she’s just … average. As Demi’s star rises, he becomes more popular — especially among some of the gay boys there. This success, along with the freedom not to have to hide who he is, pulls Demi away from Sadye.

Sadye, meanwhile, is struggling with not being as talented as she had previously assumed and with the teaching methods of some of the plays’ directors.

She’s smart and opinionated, just like Mercedes, so she shares her ideas, which does not endear her to the camp staff or her fellow campers.

So, what happens?

Many writers would have Sadye discover her own way to shine at the camp and have her end up knocking everyone’s socks off with some recently developed or previously undiscovered talent.

But E. Lockart doesn’t take that path. She lets Sadye struggle and even make a decision that benefits Demi greatly, but hurts her.

Ultimately, Sadye has to go back to Brenton, Ohio and decide how to move on with her life if being a Broadway star isn’t a likely option.

Mercedes is undoubtedly a better singer than Sadye.

But, she still has to make some of the same decisions. With Kurt and Rachel not going away, how will she adjust to being out of the spotlight? Will she continue to be friends with them, or let her own hurt feelings stand in the way of all their successes? And, will she focus on what’s best for the Glee Club or what’s best for her?

If I were a Glee librarian, I’d ask Mercedes to pay special attention to the scene where Sadye doesn’t congratulate Demi when he gets the lead role in “Bye Bye Birdie” and she finds she was cast in a small part in the camp’s only nonmusical production. I’d also ask her to focus on the page where Sadye uses the talents she does have to make a positive impression.

Other things that make this a GLEE-ful read include:

The insanely awesome references to musicals from “Bye Bye Birdie” to “Cabaret” to “Wicked” to “Guys and Dolls” to “Funny Girl” and many more.

The fact that it’s set in Brenton, Ohio, which Sadye and Demi want to leave just as much as Rachel and Kurt want to leave Lima, Ohio. As Sadye put it, “In Brenton, Ohio, where I’m from, committing suicide would be redundant.”

The goofy songs Sadye makes up about meatball sub sandwiches, cheating boyfriends and knee socks. They’re reminiscent of Brittany’s song about the styrofoam cups in the Glee kids’ New York hotel room.

At the end of the book, Sadye and Demi reunite outside a Broadway theater in a scene similar to the one where Rachel and Kurt meet at the Gershwin Theatre that is home to “Wicked.”

There’s also a playlist of songs referenced in the book. To find it, you need to visit E. Lockhart’s Dramarama Web site. It’s worth a visit for the song list and also for the video links she’s included for musical theater fans. My favorite is the one of Broadway’s Alan Cumming singing “Taylor the Latte Boy.” It rocks.

Here’s the list of books I’ve recommended to Glee characters so far:

• Mercedes Jones – Dramarama by E. Lockhart.
• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.

I have a confession to make.

Not too long ago, I had bright purple streaks in my dark brown hair.

It was fun.

My children’s classmates thought I was the coolest mom ever, and convenience-store clerks with multiple piercings gave me compliments.

So … I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Glee’s Tina Cohen-Chang with her slightly goth look, colorful make-up and ever-changing hair.

I think she’s cool.

But I’m not sure Tina would agree.

She seems to want to change herself to put up a specific image. In season one, she revealed she didn’t really stutter, she had just done it to get attention. And in season two, she wore blue contact lenses so she’d look more like the models she saw in magazines.

And while I totally admire her hair, nails, make-up and clothes, Tina (who’s played by Jenna Ushkowitz) doesn’t strike me as a true goth. She’s a little too cheerful. A little too eager-to-please.

And, she’s shown a lack of confidence — whether it’s bursting into tears while singing “I Follow Rivers” at the poorly attended Glee Club fundraiser or worrying that she wasn’t as good as Rachel when Mr. Schuster asked her to sing “Tonight” from “West Side Story.”

So, if I were the librarian at William McKinley High, I’d pull Tina aside and give her My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher (Wendy Lamb Books, 2011).

Because it’s about a girl who discovers what’s under her make-up and day-glo hair.

Vanessa is a high school artist with big dreams. She doesn’t just want her art to stand out, she wants to stand out as well. As she says early on in the book, “All the talent in the world doesn’t equal an actual personality. It’s not enough only to make the art. You have to be the artist.”

So her look is always changing. Her friend, Nick, colors her hair whenever she asks him to and does her make-up to match.

And Vanessa plans outfits that help her stand out.

For example, on the day she has a job interview at an art supply store she wears a purple net top, short, black pleated skirt and hot pink fishnet stockings. She considers wearing something else, but decides this look is “more professional.”

As the book proceeds, Vanessa gets so caught up in reinventing who she is and finding newer, cooler, more artistic friends that her focus on her art wanes. She saves her project for the school art show until the very end and then spray paints a wall and a nearby park in a misguided attempt at public art. Meanwhile, she pushes her two long-time friends — Nick and Holly — to do things they’re not ready to do because she thinks they’re not taking enough risks. And, Vanessa almost does something she’s not ready for either.

It takes temporarily losing their friendship for Vanessa to see that she may be pushing herself and them too hard.

So she decides to back off.

She dyes her hair its natural brown (a color it hasn’t been since sixth grade), cleans up her public art and eventually learns that, as she puts it, “There’s a shock to not being shocking.”

I don’t think Tina pushes other people to do things they’d rather not. But, like Vanessa, I don’t think she’s 100 percent sure of who she is beneath the colored extensions and pink eyeshadow. I think spending some time with Vanessa would encourage her to think about what really makes her special.

So, if I were a librarian at William McKinley High, I’d give Tina the book and ask her to pay special attention to page 134 where Nick talks to Vanessa about her desire to be larger than life.

Because once Tina is clearer about who she is on the inside, her attempts to decorate her outside will be even more effective.

And, if I may just digress, I hope Tina gets a little more time to figure these things out in season three. She didn’t get much screen time in season two — her only two attempts at solos ended with her sobbing. And her featured moment in “Born This Way” was way too brief. (So was her role in the “Glee 3-D” movie, but it’s probably best if I don’t get started on that topic.)

If you’d like to see which books I’ve recommended to other Glee characters, they are:

• Tina Cohen-Chang – My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher.
• Santana Lopez – Sister Mischief by Laura Goode.
• Blaine Anderson – Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin.
• Finn Hudson – Struts & Frets by Jon Skovron.
• Sam Evans – Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.
• Quinn Fabray – Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.
• David Karofsky – Dairy Queen and The Off Season both by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
• Rachel Berry – Theater Geek by Mickey Rapkin.
• Kurt Hummel – Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan.