Looking for Alaska

Green, John. Looking for Alaska. ISBN-10: 0142402516, ISBN-13: 9780142402511. Graphia. 2007.

Plot Summary
"Pudge" has left his friendless life behind in Florida in hopes of a better life at the Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. Things are immediately different when his roommate shows up and introduces Pudge to Alaska. She's beautiful, funny, rebellious, sexy and a mess. She fascinates him and makes him crazy with lust. That was all before what came after.

Critical Evaluation
All teens envision leaving behind bad times for what Pudge calls the "Great Perhaps" (from Rabelais). At his new boarding school, Culver Creek, he is able to shuck the boringness of the first 16 years of his life for the drinking, smoking and prank-pulling life with his roommate "the Colonel" and the Colonel's best friend, the beautiful Alaska. The two of them drag Pudge into the world and give him experiences beyond his wildest dreams. Interestingly, the book is in two parts (before and after), and further divided into the days "before" and the days "after." As the number of days before dwindles, readers wait with breaths held for what will happen. And when tragedy does strike, the characters and readers will realize that you can never go back, knowing what you now know. John Green weaves a story rich with the feelings young men have toward sex and love and friendship and how the three are vastly different. He ties humor into lives that are lacking any, and empathetic emotion where you least expect it.

Reader's Annotation
Pudge goes to boarding school to escape his boring life. He never expects to find the friends he does, or to fall in love with the funny, smart and {yet} sad Alaska, or to have to learn how to deal with losing her.

About the Author
John Green worked as a publishing assistant and production editor for Booklist during the years he wrote his first novel, Looking for Alaska. It was published in 2005 to excellent reviews—it went on to win the Michael L. Printz award in 2006, among many other accolades. His second novel for young adults, An Abundance of Katherines, was published in 2006, and followed by Paper Towns in 2008. Green also is working with David Levithan on the novel Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Green's books are full of feeling and hilarity while facing deep topics.

Genre
Boys/Men
Dating/Sex
Death/Dying

Curriculum Ties
no applications

Booktalking Ideas
Would you leave this life you're living now behind for another…
How would you cope with a friend's death…

Awards
Michael L. Prinze Award (2006)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
I have always heard good things about this book—it's a good one.

Shiver

Stiefvater, Maggie. Shiver. ISBN-10: 054512367, ISBN-13: 9780545123266. Scholastic Press. 2009.

Summary
As a child, Grace was attacked by wolves. She survived and has been drawn to the wolf pack in the area ever since. She has interest especially in one wolf, the one with yellow eyes that seems to watch her. Sam is watching Grace as he is caught between his two lives—a warm weather human, and a wolf when the temperatures drop. When the wolf pack comes under fire, literally, Grace and Sam meet and fall in love. But the weather is getting colder in Minnesota, and they both come to realize what their future holds.

Critical Evaluation
A town in Minnesota has a big problem with wolves. Grace was attacked by the wolves when she was a child. So was Sam. Unlike Grace, Sam's is a part-time member of the pack. When the weather changes and temperatures drop, he and the others return to their wolf form. Now a local rich kid has been killed by the pack, but his body is missing and the wolf pack is one more wolf stronger. Amidst the mystery of the missing body, and the influx of wolves on the town, Grace and Sam have finally been brought together after years of watching each other from afar. Their relationship is intense because winter is closing in with colder temperatures. The immediacy of the relationship gives this paranormal romance its spark. Readers will turn the pages as quickly as they can to find out if Sam can be saved.

Reader's Annotation
Loving a werewolf is difficult. Grace loves Sam, but Sam is about to turn back to a wolf as winter draws near. They fight to keep him warm, human, and alive.

About the Author
Maggie Stiefvater is a renaissance woman. In addition to being a fairly new author of young adult novels, she has worked as an artist and can play the piano, Celtic harp and the bagpipes. In fact she has just begin her writing career, as her first novel—Lament—was published in 2008. It was the first book in her Books of Faerie series. The series is about homicidal fairies and thus far has just the second book, Ballad (2009). That year was busy, as the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series (Shiver) was also released in 2009. She's continued the series paranormal romance with publishing Linger (2010) and the soon to be released Forever (2011). On her website, she alludes to working on a collection of short stories and a "super secret" stand alone novel.

Stiefvater (pronounced as steve-otter)lives in Virginia with her family and a collection of animals.

Genre
Paranormal Romance

Challenges
Absent Parents
Sexual Content

Curriculum Ties
no applications

Booktalking Ideas
Would you keep dating someone who often "changed" into something else…
If you did keep dating that person, how far would you go out of your way to help that someone to fight the change…

Awards
Australia's Silver Inky award for Best International Book (2010)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+

Why I included this title...
Because I couldn't get into the Twilight series, I thought I'd try a paranormal/werewolf romance.

Slam

Hornby, Nick. Slam. ISBN-10: 1594483450, ISBN-13: 9781594483455. Riverhead Books. 2008.

Summary
Sam is a skater—not on ice, but on a board—which could be why Sam turned to Tony Hawk for someone to talk to. He "talks" to his poster of Tony and references the skater's autobiography when his life falls apart. He had this amazing girlfriend, then they broke up and now she's telling him that she's pregnant with Sam's baby. Sam was raised by a single, teen mom and he doesn't want that for his baby. But he's not sure he's ready to be dad either. He knows that he's got to do something, though.

Critical Evaluation
Sam is a normal fifteen year old. He was in love with a girl, then they weren't doing anything but having sex, and then they broke up. He was over her and thought everything was going great. That was until his whole life was upset with the news that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his baby. Without anyone else to talk to about this predicament, Sam channels the wise words of his skateboarding mentor, Tony Hawk, through the skater's autobiography. Mix that with the odd visions into his future, Sam starts to make very adult decisions. Nick Hornby gives us an inside look into the heart of boys and men. Teen girls will love knowing some of the things that go through a guys mind, and guys will be thankful to know that they aren't alone in their thoughts of fear and insecurity. The backcover of the book says, "Nick Hornby has made a career writing about men who act like boys. Now he gives us a boy who acts like a man…" Sam is very likable, unlike some of his other characters.

About the Author
English author Nick Hornby is another author who began his working life as a teacher. The Cambridge educated Hornby taught, worked for Samsung, and was a freelance journalist before becoming a novelist. He is better known for his books for adults. He started his career with the memoir (Fever Pitch) of his "support" for the Arsenal football (soccer) team. It was made into two movies: a British version with Colin Firth and the American version with Jimmy Fallon as the fervent fan of the Boston Red Sox. High Fidelity and About a Boy subsequently followed, and they were also made into major motion pictures starring John Cusak and Hugh Grand, respectively. In the last decade, he has written three other adult books (How to Be Good, A Long Way Down and Juliet Naked); in addition to Slam, his first young adult effort. Also, in the decade Hornby has collaborated with other authors to contribute to two short story collections—Big Night Out (2002) and Click (2007), edited an anthology (Speaking with the Angel, 2000), wrote several non-fiction books, and penned the Oscar nominated screenplay for "An Education."

Genre
Dating/Sex
Boys/Men

Curriculum Ties
Health: safe sex
Sociology: studying the value and effects of "family" on today's society

Booktalking Ideas
How would you react to being a teen mother/father…
How do you think your life would change…
Awards
Young Adult Library Services Association's Best Book for Young Adults (2008)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
I was lucky to meet Nick Hornby while at a YALSA luncheon! As a fan, I was excited to read his young adult book, but it sat on my shelf unread for three years. I read his new book (Juliet, Naked) this summer and couldn't agree more with the quote "Nick Hornby has made a career writing about men who act like boys. Now he gives us a boy who acts like a man…" I plan to leave this book out in hopes that my boys will read it in a couple of years.

More information
Nick Hornby's Official Website: http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/nickhornby/

The Hunger Games

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. ISBN-10: 0439023483, ISBN-13: 9780439023481. Scholastic Press. 2008.

Summary
In another time, the United States as we now know it has become Panem. It's divided into twelve districts with one Capitol, and Katniss lives with her mother and sister in the poorest part of the poorest district. Since her father died, she has been providing for and protecting her family. And she continues to shelter her sister when Primrose's name is called to be a gladiator-type "tribute" in the Capitol's annual Hunger Games. The games are a brutal, bloodthirsty battle to the death that are televised across Panem. As Katniss steps into the games for her sister and her district, she knows that she is facing death armed with little more than her strong street smarts.

Critical Evaluation
Suzanne Collins has created a terrifying look into the future of the United States. Twelve districts ruled by one harsh and cruel Capitol. It's the same Capitol that institutes the Hunger Games—a gladiator-esque battle, where there can only be one winner. Each of the twelve districts sends a boy and a girl (known as Tributes) to the Games, and the point is that the one winner outlives their 23 competitors. Katniss has volunteered to be a tribute in efforts to spare her little sister from a certain death. Katniss has been providing for her family with her illegal hunting and bartering on the black market for years, and she takes those skills with her to the Games. The one thing that she didn't think about was her companion Tribute—Peeta. They have history, and the authorities in the Games have made that distant friendship into a romance. Do her past feelings of indebtedness to Peeta blur her goal, or does the sensationalism help her to admit true feelings? Collins gives us a complex character set in a complicated situation. Readers who enjoy science fiction will love this series, and the readability will draw in reluctant sci-fi readers. Katniss is a wonderfully strong character, but so is Peeta. They each bring something different to the Games and to their relationship—and that question of romance will attract readers too.

Reader's Annotation
The Hunger Games is more than a story of kids killing each other. Suzanne Collins brings us to a chilling future society that pits teens against each other in a battle to the death, as well as telling us an adventurous tale of friendship, romance and survival.

About the Author
Suzanne Collins has been writing for children for the past two decades, although mostly for children's television programs. She worked with Nickelodeon on projects such as Clarissa Explains it All, Oswald and Little Bear, and Scholastic Entertainment for Clifford's Puppy Days. She was approached by another children's author who persuaded her to try her hand at writing children's books. Gregor the Overlander was published in 2003 and kicked off The Underland Chronicles series, which includes three other following books. Then in 2008, Collins released The Hunger Games and began that trilogy which contains Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Genre
Science Fiction
Girls/Women

Curriculum Ties
Government/History: the effects of war, violence, and poverty on societies

Booktalking Ideas
Would you put yourself in the danger of possible death to protect your sibling from certain death…
Do you think you could kill another person to save your own life…

Awards
Publisher's Weekly's Best Book of the Year (2008)
Golden Duck Award in Young Adult Fiction(2009)
Cybil Wonner for fantasy and science fiction (2008)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
Thankfully this was required reading. I said repeatedly: why would I want to read a book about kids killing each other!? Now I know why…

Deadline

Crutcher, Chris. Deadline. ISBN-10: 0060850914, ISBN-13: 9780060850913. Greenwillow Books. 2010.

Summary
Ben is going to die. Not some day, but within the year. He's decided to keep that "little" secret to himself. Armed with this knowledge, he's decided that he's going to live the last months of his life to the absolute fullest—he's going to give up the safety of cross-country for the dangers and glory of football, he's going to speak up in class and press his opinions, and most importantly, he's going to ask the gorgeous Dallas Suzuki out on a date, rather than love her from afar. Unfortunately, not everything goes exactly to Ben's plans. He learns that keeping secrets isn't necessarily the best method to keep from hurting people.

Critical Evaluation
Deadline is a touching book that addresses the question of what would you do if you knew you had nothing to lose. Ben wants to make the most of his last days. While he enjoys the chances he's taking, he sees that withholding the truth to those he loves the most, hurts them just as much as the truth could. Young adults will like the idea Ben's philosophy of "having nothing to lose" during his last days, and will see how honesty improves Ben's short life. It's a book that could be very sad, and whereas it is sad, it's also got humor at work at the same time.

Reader's Annotation
Deadline is a book about living one's life to the fullest, as Ben is faced with his death during his senior year of high school.

About the Author
Chris Crutcher one of those rarities: an Idaho author. He was raised near Boise, in a small logging town that is similar to the town of Trout that appears in some of his novels. He holds a degrees in psychology and sociology, and a teaching certificate. He's taught in California and Washington, where he ending his teaching career at an alternative school for at-risk kids. He then started another career as a therapist and child protection advocate while looking for a way to help support his writing habit in Spokane.

He's still in Spokane, and he relies heavily on the experiences as a teacher and family therapist to give his fiction life. His writing style brings reality to the forefront with amazing humor. He's written ten novels for young adults in the last three decades; as well as a small series called Stotan, a short story collection, Athletic Shorts and a memoir, King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography. He is also often challenged and/or banned due to the real subjects of which he writes and the real language of teens. His book Whale Talk (2001) deals with issues of child abuse and drug abuse, and was 41^st on the American Library Association of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged books for the last decade. Coming in at 44^th on the same list, is his collection of short stories (Athletic Shorts, 1991), and at 85 is Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes (1993).

Crutcher was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award for a lifetime contribution to young adult literature in 2000.

Genre
Death/Dying
Frienship
Boys/Men

Challeneges
Death
Sexual Abuse
Language

Curriculum Ties
no applications

Booktalking Ideas
If you knew you had a fatal condition, would you tell everyone or would you keep it to yourself…
If you knew you had one year to live, what would you do…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
I heard Chris Crutcher speak at the Idaho Library conference, and couldn't believe I had never read his books.

More Information:
American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009/index.cfm

Boy Toy

Lyga, Barry. Boy Toy. ISBN-10: 0547076347, ISBN-13: 978547076348. Graphia. 2007.

Summary
Five years ago, Josh learned several things about himself—mainly that he knew how to please a woman. Sadly, five years ago, Josh was 12 years old and was having a very adult relationship with one of his teachers. Eve, the teacher, is now being paroled while Josh is trying to finish high school, improve on his already amazing baseball statistics, and start a relationship with Rachel. But he's still really angry—he flies off in violent rages; he can't commit to a relationship with Rachel because he's unsure of how to be in a real relationship, and he's holding on to a secret that everyone already knows. It's just time for him to know the truth too.

Critical Evaluation
Barry Lyga has taken a headline that is being seen more and more commonly, a teacher having a sexual relationship with one of her students. Josh is one of those students, and Eve was his teacher. He was seduced and convinced that he was in a loving relationship where this kind of behavior was acceptable. Five years later, he's still stuck in a mire of self-doubt, while searching for a little control in his life. The story is told in a flashbacks that he calls flickers where his mind drifts back to his time with Eve. The flickers slowly build up from grading papers, to kissing and then much more. Lyga's descriptions of Josh and Eve's relationship are honest, explicitly so. Older teens will understand many of Josh's feelings about relationships, ending high school and moving on. And all readers will get a better inkling into the mind of the silent male victim.

Reader's Annotation
Josh has been keeping a secret—but everyone already knows that he was a victim of molestation by his history teacher in seventh grade. He also needs to come to terms with the relationship, and the truth may release him.

About the Author
Barry Lyga is the popular author of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, as well as a collector and activist of comic books. After he graduated from Yale (with a degree in English) he went to work in the comic book world, and he was a major player in the development of Free Comic Book day*. He served as spokeperson for industry and is quoted in numerous publications as well as penning a book on the topic on incorporating these graphic materials into schools and school libraries.

Lyga changed gears a bit, and jumped into the realm of young adult novels. He used his vast comic book knowledge to write the rave-reviewed young adult book The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl in 2006. Boy Toy followed in 2007, and it was garnered enthusiastic reviews. In 2008, Hero-Type was released, and then in 2009 Goth Girl Rising the sequel to The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl was published. He's also written books for middle schoolers, short stories, a film and copious articles and essays. Lyga was named a "Flying Start" from Publisher's Weekly for his strong debut in 2006.

Genre
Sexual Abuse
Dating/Sex

Challenges
Sexual Content

Curriculum Ties
Sociology: abundance of sexual abuse with female teachers and young male students

Booktalking Ideas
When you think about a female teacher having a sexual relationship with a male student, who do you think is to blame…
If you knew your best friend had been molested by a teacher, what would you do to be a friend and support him?

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 16+

Why I included this title...
I stumbled on this one by accident... and as Bob Ross used to say, "it's a happy accident". I'm very glad to have found Barry Lyga.

*On the first Saturday in May, participating stores join in to the industry-wide promotion.

Bob Ross was a painter, who created beautiful landscapes and entertained many for years on PBS channels.

Beast

Napoli, Donna Jo. Beast. ISBN-10: 0689870051, ISBN-13: 9780689870057. Simon Pulse. 2004.

Summary
In Beast, we see that the prince of Persia has made a bad choice on the Day of Sacrifices and a fairy turns him into a beast. This retelling of the The Beauty and The Beast fairy tale is made fresh because it is told through the eyes of the beast, the heir to the Persian throne. His journey through the Middle East and into France includes his efforts to embrace his life of a beast. This proves complicated because his mind is still that of an Islamic man, and he struggles to stay true to those moral principles. The end of his travels bring him to find an abandoned chateau in France, where he plants a rose garden and waits for a woman come to love him. But who can love a beast?

Critical Evaluation
Mixing Persian settings, Islamic moral codes and the beautiful fairy tale of The Beauty and the Beast, Napoli weaves an inspired retelling from the beast's point of view. The readers get to see first-hand how Prince Orasmyn is changed as a result of a fairy's punishment, his outward journey to the safety to the French chateau and his inward journey as an Islamic man trapped in a lion's body, as well as preparing himself for the woman—he hopes—who will come love him to set him free. Although the book is appropriate for younger readers, older readers will have the patience to relish in the story

Reader's Annotation
Prince Orasmyn has made a terrible choice on the Day of Sacrifies, and is punished by a fairy. He's been turned into a beast until the love of a woman can break the spell. Donna Jo Napoli rebuilds this traditional tale with the opulence of Persian and Islamic cultures.

About the Author
The Pennsylvania author, Donna Jo Napoli holds degrees in mathematics (BA) and romance languages (PhD) from Harvard, and has taught linguistics at several institutions over the years. In additions to gaining degrees, teaching, and writing and speaking on the topic of linguistics, she has written over 50 books for children of all ages—19 specifically for young adults.

Genre
Myth, Legends, Fairy Tales
Historical

Challenges
Sexual Content

Curriculum Ties
Sociology/Religions: the conflict an Islamic man would have as living as a lion
English: traditional fairy tales
English: rewriting of fairy tales
Geography: Persia

Booktalking Ideas
When you think about The Beauty and the Beast, do you think about the beast or the beauty's point of view…
What if you were a vegetarian, and were transformed into a carnivorous beast with your human powers of reason and reckoning—how would you handle a hungry tummy…

Awards
Carolyn W. Field Honor Book Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 13+

Why I included this title...
I'm a newly devoted fan to Napoli, and a long-time fan of the tale of The Beauty and the Beast.

Swoon

Malkin, Nina. Swoon. ISBN-10: 1416998012, ISBN-13: 9781416998013. Simon Pulse. 2009.

Summary
No one in Swoon, Connecticut is prepared for Sin when he arrives in town. Sinclair is the ghost of a colonial era boy who is summoned to town by the slightly psychic Candice (Dice), in her efforts to dispossess her cousin, Penelope (Pen) from his clutches. As soon as Sin comes to town in his physical form, he causes problems by seeking revenge on the descendants of people from his time that sent him undeservedly to the gallows. This revenge often comes in the form of helping the town's teens expose their suppressed urges. Dice needs to send Sin back to from where he came, but when finds she's also under his powers.

Critical Evaluation
Swoon is a book ripe with sexy seduction. The town of Swoon, Connecticut is caught up in the potent effects that Sin, a golem-like character, has unleashed on the town. His aim is to settle a centuries old wrong where he was hung unjustly. Only the psychic-ly inclined Dice is able to stop Sin from the havoc he's creating all over town. But she's also under his lusty spell. Paranormal romance readers will love this book. Because it is more than a bit steamy, this book is not for those looking for a clean Twilight series read-alike.

Reader's Annotation
What to do when Sin arrives in town? He comes to wreak sexy (very sexy) havoc with the lusty locals. The only one who can stop his mischievous seductive behavior is Dice, but can she free herself from his grasp first?

About the Author
Nina Malkin is currently writing a sequel to Swoon from her home in Brooklyn, NY. She is the author of three other books for young adults, contributed to Mistletoe, a collection of short romances based around Christmas, and a non-fiction book called An Unlikely Cat Lady. Before she became an author, Malkin was an entertainment/pop culture journalist. At Cosmopolitan, Elle and Teen People, she worked as a writer and editor. She has has other work published in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Real Simple and several other notable publications.

Genre
Paranormal
Romance

Challenges
Sexual Content
Language

Curriculum Ties
n/a

Booktalking Ideas
If you created your own golem-like creature, what would you do when it started to misbehave…
How would you handle a ghost-like creature who was extracting revenge on the descendants of the people hung him centuries ago…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
This book was given to me by an angry parent. She was irate that this book was in the YA collection of the library. After I explained the steps involved to have the book reconsidered, she was frustrated and said, "You read it, and you'll see what I'm talking about." So I did. I loved it. It's still in the YA collection.

Mississippi Jack

Meyer, L.A. Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and the Lily of the West. ISBN-10: 0152060030 , ISBN-13: 9780152060039 . Harcourt Children's Books. 2007.

Summary
Jacky Faber is in the wilderness of America, hoping to avoid capture by the British… again. She has acquired a boat, has made it a casino/showboat where she is heading south on the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Unfortunately, nothing for Jacky is as easy as it should be because along the way she finds herself dealing with bandits, British soldiers and a multitude of scoundrels. But Jacky wouldn't have it any other way, would she?!

Critical Evaluation
In the fifth installment of the Bloody Jack series, Jacky has just escaped a slave ship, runaway from her proper school in Boston, and is now working her sneaky wiles through the American wilderness and down the Mississippi River. She's fooled a man out of his boat, and with her friends (and enemies) she's the talk of the Mississippi River with her casino/showboat. Young adults will enjoy Jacky's adventures and suspense of the scrapes she finds herself narrowly surviving.

Reader's Annotation
Again, Jacky Faber is on the run, but she's in America now and finding exciting times on the Mississippi River.

About the Author
Louis A. Meyer, also known simply as L. A. Meyer, is the author of the eight outstanding books in the Bloody Jack Adventures series. Since his birth in 1942, Meyer has traveled the world with is Army family, graduated from the University of Florida-Gainesville, joined the navy, received his Master's of Fine Arts in Painting from Boston University, he taught school, published two children's books, married and raised two boys, and now he splits his time writing about the infamous Jacky and running his Clair de Loon gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine.

The inspiration for the series came from listening to British and Celtic folk music in his gallery. The radio station was featuring songs about the tales of young girls dressing up as boys to follow their boyfriends out to sea. One of the most famous of these is Jackaroe. Sadly, the girls in history didn't have the spunk of Jacky Faber, as most were thrown to sea. But it was Meyer's vision that Jacky not go following her heart, rather going to fight her certain death by starvation. After eight books, Jacky is still cheating death.

Genre
Adventure
Girls/Women

Curriculum Ties
History: America during the 1800s

Booktalking Ideas
How would you feel if a young girl swindled you out of your boat…
Do you think you could survive the wilds of America in the 1800s…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
I was happy to have a chance to read more in this fun series.

Tiger Eyes

Blume, Judy. Tiger Eyes. ISBN-10: 0440984696, ISBN-13: 9780440984696. Laurel Leaf Library. 1982.

Summary
When Davey's dad is shot in a random hold-up at their family's New Jersey shore convenience store, her world is in upheaval. Her mother can't cope, her little brother is behaving improperly, her aunt and uncle are too overbearing in her own house, and her boyfriend… she can't think about what she and Hugh were doing the backyard when her dad was shot. On top of all of that, her mom has let her aunt push the family into moving to New Mexico, where things get much worse and much more confusing. With the help of a stranger, Davey is able to pull her family back together.

Critical Evaluation
Not many young adults will experience something as brutal as this, but some will face losing a parent, an upheaval of their lives and even just moving to another high school, another town, another state. But in this often challenged book, Davey is alone in her misery as her mother is unreachable in her own desolation. Her younger brother has been completely absorbed by her aunt and uncle and doesn't feel like her brother anymore. Davey has to come to terms with her dad's death, the disappearance of her mother and the fear and isolation that threatens to consume her. She finds help in a canyon, from a quiet man who gives her strength to fight back.

Reader's Annotation
Davey's dad has been fatally shot, and now she's being forced to move from her home. A mysterious man she meets in n New Mexican canyon gives her the confidence and strength to pull her family together and work toward healing.

About the Author
Judy Blume was born in New Jersey, and has said that she was always making up stories in her head. It wasn't until her own kids were in school did she start putting them on paper. She has written more than 20 books over the years. In the last 40 years, she has written for children (The Fudge and Pain and the Great One series), for teens (Are You There Go? It's Me Margaret, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, and Forever) and for adults. (Smart Women and Summer Sisters).

To no one's surprise, her adult books have all spent time on the New York Times bestseller's list, while her books for children and young adults are often are challenged and/or banned. Five of her books (Forever, Blubber, Deanie, Tiger Eyes and Are You There God? It's Me Margaret) were on the American Library Association's list of Top Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-09. Because of that scrutiny, she became an advocate for intellectual freedom working with writers, teachers and librarians to protect the freedom to read.

Genre
Banned/Challenged Books
Girls/Women
Death/Dying
Romance
Violence

Curriculum Ties
no applications

Booktalking Ideas
Could you forgive yourself if you were making out with your boyfriend in the backyard, when your dad was fatally shot in a convenience store hold-up…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
This is one of those books I love to share with young adult readers, and I couldn't wait to reread it!

Before I Fall

Oliver, Lauren. Before I Fall. ISBN-10: 006172680x, ISBN-13: 9780061726804. HarperCollins. 2010.

Summary
Samantha is one of those popular girls, with perfect boyfriends and amazing friends, but she's also one of those girls so easy to hate because she is also very self-centered and ruthlessly mean. Unfortunately, she's dead. It seems her perfect life came to an abrupt end and she is given a chance—seven chances, actually—to change things in her life, to change the events that lead up to her death, and maybe to change her legacy for those she leaves behind.

Critical Evaluation
In the beginning of Before I Fall, Samantha is too perfect and too plastic. Most young adult readers will know someone like her, and will probably hate her. And that's why they should keep reading this book because, after her death, Samantha get a chance to become a better sister, better daughter, better person, as well as becoming a person that can die knowing she made better choices on the second, third… seventh time around. Readers will enjoy watching her mature and learn as her week progresses.

Reader's Annotation
Samantha is about to live the last day of her life again, and again. In one week, she will seduce a teacher, realize her dreamy boyfriend is less-than-dreamy, spend a ton of money using her parent's credit card, spend the day with her little sister and understand how actions and the reactions eventually lead-up to her death.

About the Author
Lauren Oliver is a person, and the actual writing of novels came after she received her Master's in Fine Arts from New York University. She worked in a major publishing house in New York before her debut novel, Before I Fall, was published in 2010. Oliver has written an second novel, Delirium, and it's slated to be released in early 2011.

Genre
Death/Dying
Girls/Women
Friendship

Challeneges
Alcohol Abuse
Sexual Content
Language

Curriculum Ties
n/a

Booktalking Ideas
How would you handle knowing you died, and had to live your last day over and over…
If you could one day over and over, what day would it be and what would you do different..

Awards
Silver Prize in the German Audiences Book Award (2010)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
Before I Fall was "recommended" to me by a young adult reader.

Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. ISBN-10: 014131088X, ISBN-13: 9780141310886. Puffin. 1999.

Summary
Melinda is now the most hated person at her school because she is responsible for busting a huge end-of-summer party by calling the police. No one will talk to her, so she's retreated into herself where she can keep her secrets deeply hidden. If the truth got out about what really happened, Melinda would have to speak about it, and that would destroy the safety net she has built for herself.

Critical Evaluation
There always are those kids at school who seem very happy to withdraw from everything and everyone all of the sudden—and no one reaches out to them. Usually they are teased and tormented. The story of Melinda is no different from many stories of girls who go to parties as one girl and leave as a very different girl. And similar to many girls like her, she fades into the background without offering answers. Young adults will be caught up in the mystery of the "whys" of Melinda's disappearance, as well as gaining some understanding of the actual situation.

Reader's Annotation
Rather than speak about the unspeakable, Melinda silently absorbs the insults and harassments from her old friends as well as people she never met when she is responsible for calling the police and busting up a party.

About the Author
Laurie Halse Anderson is a native to New York state, and is where she currently lives and writes. The bestselling author writes books for kids of all ages, but is possibly best known for her young adult novels. Her debut novel Speak was a National Book Award finalist, a New York Times bestseller and a Printz Honor book. Catalyst followed in 2003, Prom in 2006 and Twisted in 2008—all of which touching on tough subjects with delicacy and the right amount of humor.

Anderson is also very well known for her American History picture books that highlight the women who also helped shape our country. Vet Volunteers is a chapter book series written for elementary readers. While Anderson alternates between her projects, she is often recognized for her outstanding efforts. She was presented with 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award for Catalyst, Fever 1793 and Speak. In 2008, she received the ALAN Award for her "outstanding contribution to the field of adolescent literature. And in April 2010, she was chosen to be the School Library Month spokesperson by the American Association of School Librarians.

Genre
Girls/Women
Sexual Violence

Curriculum Ties
n/a

Booktalking Ideas
If your best friend changed her personality over night, how hard would you try to figure out what brought about the change…
Would you be able to forgive your friend if she called the police to a party and basically committed social murder to you and her other friends…

Awards
Margaret A. Edwards Award (2009)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+

Why I included this title...
I heard Laurie Halse Anderson speak about her books, and to hear her talk about them makes you want to read the books… immediately!

Second Helpings

McCafferty, Megan. Second Helpings. Performers: ISBN-10 0609807919, ISBN-13 9780609807910. Three Rivers Press. 2003.

Summary
Second Helpings is obviously the second book in the Jessica Darling series. This sequel picks up with Jessica as a senior, but in addition to her problems with her parents, her sister and her annoying so-called friends, Jess is realizing that high school is almost over and is college looming in her future. Marcus is becoming more of a distracting reality that is becoming harder to ignore. But does he fit into Jess's future, or does she fit into his?

Critical Evaluation
Jessica Darling is back and is as hilarious as ever, and yet is still struggling to cope with her life. Her parents aren't going to pay for college, her sister is newly married and newly pregnant, her so-called friends are still annoying her, she's still missing her best friend Hope… and she's still just as confused over her feelings for the new and improved Marcus. Again, Jess's truthful struggles will strike a chord with young adults who are facing their own high school days coming to an end, as well as those who lived through it and can look back and laugh.

Reader's Annotation
Angst-y Jessica Darling is finishing her high school days, still plagued with the ridiculousness of it, facing college life and still wondering what Marcus is thinking.

About the Author
Megan McCafferty worked for Cosmopolitan as the senior articles editor, and has written for Glamour, CosmoGIRL! and several others before setting down to write. McCafferty, like Jessica, lives in New Jersey.
The Jessica Darling series includes five books, all chronicling Jessica through high school, college and grad school. McCafferty is also working on another book that's set in a dystopian world where only teen girls can reproduce. She has worked as editor and/or contributor on several fiction and non-fiction anthologies, such as Everything I Learned About Being a Girl, I learned from Judy Blume.

Genre
Girls/Women
Dating/Sex

Curriculum Ties
n/a

Booktalking Ideas
Are you ready to leave high school for the unknown-land of college…
At the end of it all, would you change anything about your high school experience…

Challenges
Sexual Content
Language
Parental Angst

Awards
Booklist Editor's Pick for one of the best novels of 2003

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+

Why I included this title...
After Sloppy Firsts, I was hooked on the series.

Sloppy Firsts

McCafferty, Megan. Sloppy Firsts. Performers: ISBN-10 0609807900, ISBN-139780609807903. Three Rivers Press. 2001.

Summary
Sloppy Firsts is the first book in the Jessica Darling series, and we meet Jessica as she has been left to face her New Jersey high school without her best friend, Hope. Without Hope, {plenty of irony intended} Jessica has no one to discuss all of her issues like her parents, her sister's wedding, her track meets, stupid school stuff, her other so-called-friends and their boy-craziness… and Marcus Flutie.

Critical Evaluation
Jessica Darling is a hilarious every-girl type of a character because most readers will have had been in her shoes at some point in high school and wear the same battle scars. Watching Jess navigate her way through high school without her best friend, Hope, and her new found feelings for the puzzling and smart Marcus Flutie who worked his way into her thoughts endears her to you. She is full of clever and funny insight, and tells her story with poignant honesty. Young adults will immediately both sympathize and commiserate with this one of a kind heroine!

Reader's Annotation
Jessica Darling travels the perilous days of high school missing her best friend, hanging with her other so-called friends and crushing on one of the last boys she ever thought about.

About the Author
Megan McCafferty worked for Cosmopolitan as the senior articles editor, and has written for Glamour, CosmoGIRL! and several others before setting down to write. McCafferty, like Jessica, lives in New Jersey
The Jessica Darling series includes five books, all chronicling Jessica through high school, college and grad school. McCafferty is also working on another book that's set in a dystopian world where only teen girls can reproduce. She has worked as editor and/or contributor on several fiction and non-fiction anthologies, such as Everything I Learned About Being a Girl, I learned from Judy Blume.

Genre
Girls & Women
Coming of Age

Curriculum Ties
Music: Seattle's Grunge

Booktalking Ideas
How would you tell your best friend that you're crushing on one of the guys that was with her brother when he overdosed…

Challenges
Sexual Content
Language
Parental Angst

Awards
ALA Top 10 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+

Why I included this title...
In 2001, I picked this book up because of the lime green cover, and now I chose it because it's one of my favorite series.

To The Sea (Music CD)

Johnson, Jack. To The Sea. Performers: Jack Johnson, featuring G. Love and Paula Fuga. ASIN B003C1QIO6. Label: Brushfire. 2010.

Summary
To The Sea is Jack Johnson's fifth solo album. Johnson has said that the title is "a reference to a father leading this son to the sea with the water representing the subconscious. So it's about trying to go beneath the surface to understand yourself." This album is very much an epistle about the ocean, and the relationship between it and us all.

Critical Evaluation
This CD from Jack Johnson is as easy-on-the-ears as his previous four offerings. His songwriting and singing make listeners feel like they are on the beach listening to him casually strum on his guitar with his friends.
The CD includes the following tracks: 1. You and Your Heart, 2. To The Sea, 3. No Good With Faces, 4. At Or With Me, 5. When I Look Up, 6. From The Clouds, 7. My Little Girl, 8. Turn Your Love, 9. The Upsetter, 10. Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology, 11. Pictures of People Taking Pictures, 12. Anything But The Truth, and 12. Only The Ocean. Young adults will like the change to Johnson's new electric guitar skills, while older listeners will enjoy the laidback surfer style.

Reader's Annotation
Surfer-turned-singer/songwriter, Jack Johnson's fifth solo album is taken up a notch with some electric guitar and more anthems to the oceans.

About the Performer
Jack Johnson is a native to the Oahu's North Shore in Hawaii. He is the son of a surfer (Jeff Johnson) and was the youngest invitee to the Pipleline Master surfing finals on the North Shore at the age of 17. After an accident at the said Pipeline, his career as a pro-surfer ended with several stitches and missing teeth.

Johnson then graduated from high school, and attended college at University of California, Santa Barbara where he found music. In 2001, he released his first solo album, Brushfire Fairytales. In the last nine years, he has worked on several movie soundtracks and with many different musicians on various compilation albums. Through the solo albums, compilations and soundtracks, especially for the Curious George movie, Johnson's music appeals to all age groups.

Genre
Folk Rock

Challenges
n/a

Curriculum Ties
Music: ties with his musical influences—Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Bob Marley and Neil Young

Booktalking Ideas
How does Jack Johnson's folk music for the 21^st century differ from folk music from other decades? How is it the same…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+

Why I included this title...
My family has enjoyed Jack Johnson since his first album.

Graphic from Amazon.com. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/To-The-Sea/dp/B003NJPOAQ/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292426534&sr=301-1 on December 14, 2010.

Summer Sisters by

Blume, Judy. Summer Sisters. ISBN-10: 0440226430, ISBN-13: 9780440226437.Dell Publishing Company. 1999.

Summary
Victoria's life is forever changed when in the summer of 1977 when very privileged Caitlin invites her to spend the summer with her at her dad's house on Martha's Vineyard. Vix, as she is soon known by, becomes enmeshed in the luxurious world of Caitlin's family on the island, where the friends become forever summer sisters.
Over the years, things begin to change as the girls grow into women and different choices are made that expose the darkness within the friendship that haunts the both of them as they drift apart.

Critical Evaluation
Although, the book was published as an adult novel, it will appeal to young adults because of the fact that it's told in a series of flashbacks. The majority of the book is set during the summers of Vix and Caitlin's teen years on Martha's Vineyard. As with most of Judy Blume's coming-of-age stories, this crossover novel deals with friendship, sex and tragedy. Both young adults and adults will be sucked into the carefree summers of Martha's Vineyard with Caitin and Vix.

Reader's Annotation
Over several years of summers on Martha's Vineyard, Caitlin and Victoria grow up and and grow into summer sisters.

About the Author
Judy Blume was born in New Jersey, and said that she was always making up stories in her head. It wasn't until her own kids were in school did she start putting them on paper. In her more than 20 books, she has written for children (The Fudge and Pain and the Great One series), for teens (Are You There Go? It's Me Margaret, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, and Forever) and for adults. (Smart Women and Summer Sisters).

Although, her adult books were all New York Times bestsellers, her books for children are challenged. Five of her books (Forever, Blubber, Deanie, Tiger Eyes and Are You There God? It's Me Margaret) were on the American Library Association's list of Top Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-09. Because of that scrutiny, she became an advocate for intellectual freedom working with writers, teachers and librarians to protect the freedom to read.

Genre
Crossover
Adolescence
Girls and Women
Death and Dying

Challenges
Sexual Content

Curriculum Ties
n/a

Booktalking Ideas
Could one of your friends talk you into doing something you didn't want to do…
Would you do anything for a friend?

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 16+

Why I included this title...
I love Judy Blume, and Martha's Vineyard... couldn't get my hands on this book fast enough!

Hush

Napoli, Donna Jo. Hush: An Irish princess' tale. ISBN-10: 0689861761, ISBN-13: 9780689861765. Atheneum Books. 2007

Summary
Hush is about the haughty Irish princess Melkorka. She is kidnapped by a slave trader, and forced into a life completely foreign to her. The princess learns her survival rests in her vow of silence, and it's her silence that captivates her fellow slaves, captors and masters.

Critical Evaluation
Napoli creates a world that very few readers are familiar with, but she takes a legend and makes an enthralling novel. The novel follows the growth of the Melkorka from an indulgent princess to a strong, silent character that grows to endure a life she was never meant to live. Readers may struggle with the Gaelic and Norse words interspersed in the story, but not to distract them from this enthralling story.

Reader's Annotation
This book is based on a historic Icelandic legend, Napoli weaves a story from general facts about life in Scandinavia, Russia and Ireland to create the world of Irish Princess Melkorka. She is a spoiled Irish princess that is kidnapped and sold into slavery. She takes a vow of silence, finds her silence gives her power over her captors, and is the key to her survival.

About the Author
The Pennsylvania author, Donna Jo Napoli holds degrees in mathematics (BA) and romance languages (PhD) from Harvard, and has taught linguistics at several institutions over the years. In additions to gaining degrees, teaching, and writing and speaking on the topic of linguistics, she has written over 50 books for children of all ages—19 specifically for young adults.

Genre
Historical
Myths and Legends

Challenges
Sexual Content

Curriculum Ties
History: Vikings
English: Myths and Legends

Booktalking Ideas
What if you were kidnapped and taken from your country…
Could you stop talking? What if your life depended on it...

Awards
American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 12-17

Why I included this title...
I've shelved books by Donna Jo Napoli for years, without ever reading one. Hush caught my eye because of its root in Irish legend.

Easy A (soon to be DVD)

Easy A. Actors: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Dan Byrd, Thomas Haden Church. ASIN: B0036TGSIK. Studio: Sony Pictures. 2010.

Summary

Olive says that even "Google Earth couldn't find her if she dressed up as a ten-foot tall building." But once she tells a little lie about losing her virginity, her status changes… quickly! Before she knows it, Olive is the talk of her high school as either "the girl" to go to, "the slut" to hate, or "the cause" for which the on-campus zealots to pray. Ironically, she sees many similarities to her life and the book she's studying at school, "The Scarlet Letter", and plays upon the parallels to her benefit until it overtakes her life and flows onto others.

Critical Evaluation

Easy A is a smart teen movie, because it doesn't rely of gross-out or physical humor to get the laughs. The main character, Olive, is confident, smart and funny. She makes fun of herself and those who are so caught up in her life, rather than dealing with their own secrets. She is realistic in her expectations, but still references the John Hughes' movies from the eighties when she talks about finding love in high school. Young adult will appreciate her strong sense of self as well as her wicked sense of humor. Adults will like the family dynamic and the unpredictability of the plot.

Reader's Annotation
Smart-girl Olive is a student who tells a little lie about losing her virginity, and watches her life change because of the school's reaction.

Genre
Humor
Romance

Challenges
Sexual content

Curriculum Ties
English: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Booktalking Ideas
What if you didn't, but said you did…
At what cost would you help boost your popularity…

Awards
n/a

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 13 +

Why I included this title...
Easy A looked funny and smart to me, and my husband owed me a movie. Neither of us was disappointed.

More Information
Easy A will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 21, 2010

Graphic from Craveonline.com. Retrieved from http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=56045 on December 14, 2010.

Bait

Sanchez, Alex. Bait. ISBN-10: 1416937749, ISNB-13: 9781416937746. Simon & Schuster. 2009

Summary
Diego is angry. Lately he has been letting his anger get the best of him when teased or looked at funny, and so he punches a couple of guys out. In the juvenile courts, Diego is faced with serving time or probation. He is assigned a probation officer with Mr. VIdas—a man who Diego doesn't trust nor like. But because he has no choice, Diego must open up to Vidas to face the issues that are the root of the anger, deal with the pain and escape his personal demons.

Critical Evaluation
Based on Alex Sanchez's time as a parole officer, Bait is a powerful story of of discovery and self-acceptance that will appeal to most readers—not only young adults. Diego's inner struggle: need for love and acceptance and his self-loathing will pull and keep readers in the book until the very end.

Reader's Annotation
Diego is a teen with anger issues that end him up in court and with a probation officer. But it is Mr. Vidas, the probation officer, who helps Diego find the root of his anger, and how to overcome the anger to move past it.

About the Author
Alex Sanchez is the author of seven books, with his eighth being published in 2011. Sanchez writes books that deal with the pressures of high school; as well as being scared of being gay and coming out in high school. His books have received many awards, more specifically Rainbow Boys was selected as a 2002 "Best Books for Young Adults" by the American Library Association, finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, and is said to be the book {Sanchez} wanted and needed when he was a teenager.

Sanchez was born in Mexico City to German and Cuban parents, immigrated when he was five, and now lives Florida. When he was little, he was ashamed that he was Mexican and spoke no English: and as he grew up, he became ashamed of the fact that he was gay. Today, he is a strong advocate to young gay people, encouraging them to accept who they are and to embrace their differences.

Genre
GLBTQ

Challenges
Sexual content

Curriculum Ties
not applicable

Booktalking Ideas
If you feared sharks, would you go swim with them to overcome that fear...

Awards
not applicable

Reading Level/Interest Age

Ages 12 +

Why I included this title...
When looking at my genre list, I noticed I was lean on GLBTQ books. So when I then browsed several on the shelf, Bait hooked me with the fact that the probation officer's name was Mr. Vidas—because "vida" in Spanish translates to life, existence and living.