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"New Book" Archive -- titles from previous years

Titles featured 2008-2009

Titles featured 2007-2008

Titles featured 2006-2007

Titles featured 2005-2006

Titles featured 2004-2005

 

2008-2009

 

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

“The last normal moment that Mia, a talented cellist, can remember is being in the car with her family. Then she is standing outside her body beside their mangled Buick and her parents' corpses, watching herself and her little brother being tended by paramedics. As she ponders her state, Mia is whisked away to a hospital, where, her body in a coma, she reflects on the past and tries to decide whether to fight to live … Mia's singular perspective (which will recall Alice Sebold's adult novel, The Lovely Bones) also allows for powerful portraits of her friends and family as they cope … Intensely moving.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her, by Robin Gerber.

“Cofounder of the Mattel Company, Ruth Handler and her husband, Elliot, turned the toy industry upside down, not only with the 1959 creation of Barbie and the subsequent introduction of boyfriend Ken but also with Hot Wheels and prescient advertising tie-ins to the Mickey Mouse Club. Yet the behind-the-scenes journey is just as fascinating as the public persona: born the tenth child of Polish-Jewish immigrants, Ruth was raised by her sister—and, early on, recognized the talent of her husband as a designer …  A fascinating account of entrepreneurial ups and downs.” (Booklist)

 

No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row, by Susan Kuklin.

“[In this] compassionate and eye-opening inquiry, the prisoners’ words, drawn from Kuklin’s interview transcripts, form the bulk of the narratives, but Kuklin’s voice frequently cuts in with details about the events leading up to the alleged crime, legal issues, and the prisoners’ backgrounds … Kuklin presents, with signature frankness, the men’s memories of their young lives; the murders, for which some claim innocence; and the brutal realities (including rape and other acts of extreme violence) of incarcerated life … In unforgettable later chapters, families of prisoners and victims both speak about their grief and loss … [This] is a searing and provocative account that will touch teens’ most fundamental beliefs and questions about violence, punishment, our legal and prison systems, and human rights.” (Booklist)

 

Something Happened, by Greg Losted.

" ‘All around me I see people laughing, joking, and walking around with these huge, goofy smiles plastered on their faces. I've begun to wonder how they do it, and more important, will I ever be able to be like that again?’ Five months after his dad's unexpected death, Billy Romero is still struggling with the loss. Billy's mom spends more time talking to her Bluetooth than to him, and his best friend, Ziggy, just doesn't get it. There's no one who understands how alone Billy feels...except his new English teacher, the young and beautiful Miss Gate. Miss Gate offers support and friendship, even giving Billy extra help with his writing outside of school. Billy isn't really sure how he feels about spending so much time with his teacher … But the closer they get, the more Billy wonders what kind of friendship this really is....” (Product Description)

 

The Brothers Torres, by Coert Voorhees.

“Frankie Torres Towers knows his older brother, Steve, is endangering his college scholarship by staying out all night with the local cholos and picking fights with his soccer teammates … Frankie figures Steve is just looking for respect and covers for him, deflecting his parents' questions and picking up the slack at Los Torres, the family's New Mexican restaurant. Frankie's primary obsession is getting a date with Rebecca Sanchez for the Homecoming dance. When he exhibits some bravado against rich kid and soccer jock John Dalton, he only hopes to win her attention, but he unintentionally incites a series of incidents that forces his brother to defend him [and] soon learns what these warring factions of older boys are willing to risk.” (School Library Journal)

 

The Best American Short Stories, edited by Salman Rushdie.

“This brilliant collection edited by the award-winning and perennially provocative Salman Rushdie, boasts a ’magnificent array’ (Library Journal) of voices both new and recognized. With Rushdie at the helm, the 2008 edition ‘reflects the variety of substance and style and the consistent quality that readers have come to expect’ (Publishers Weekly).” This edition features stories by A. M Homes, Nicole Krauss, Steven Millhauser, Alice Monroe, Tobias Wolff, and more. (from the Product Description)

 

The Nightingales of Troy, by Alice Fulton.

‘Every element in this collection of scintillating linked short stories is surprising, pleasurable, and stealthily affecting … The ‘Nightingales’ (as in Florence Nightingale) is the name bestowed on the nurses in the Garrahan sisterhood––which also includes a waitress, a Melville scholar, true-grit mothers, and stalwart spinsters … The book opens in 1908 with a do-it-yourself childbirth story, and the final tale, a daughter’s good-bye to her mother, takes place in 1999. In between, Fulton displays extraordinary verve in the originality of the predicaments she creates for her irresistible characters, her evocation of the majesty of the land and the rise and decline of the town, and her ravishingly inventive language.” (Booklist)

 

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell.

“Through case studies ranging from Canadian junior hockey champions to the robber barons of the Gilded Age, from Asian math whizzes to software entrepreneurs to the rise of his own family in Jamaica, Gladwell tears down the myth of individual merit to explore how culture, circumstance, timing, birth and luck account for success—and how historical legacies can hold others back despite ample individual gifts. Even as we know how many of these stories end, Gladwell restores the suspense and serendipity to these narratives that make them fresh and surprising.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons from a Dog Named Lava, by Jay Kopelman.

“In From Baghdad, with Love (2006), Kopelman told the story of Lava, a stray puppy who was discovered in Fallujah by a marine unit and, against regulations, transported back to the States, where he was adopted by Kopelman after his return from Iraq. This follow-up chronicles Kopelman and Lava’s postwar transition into civilian life, and its most touching element is the story of how the author was able to learn valuable things about himself through observing his dog. Kopelman recognized, for example, that Lava’s increasingly aggressive, almost dangerously protective behavior was a clear sign of post-traumatic stress—and that if Lava was suffering from PTSD, then perhaps Kopelman needed to stop denying his own psychological symptoms and seek some help. It’s an inspiring story, one that will connect even with readers allergic to ‘life lessons.’ ” (Booklist)

 

Like Eating a Stone: Surviving the Past in Bosnia, by Wojciech Tochman.

“During four years of war in Bosnia, over 100,000 people lost their lives. But it was months, even years, before the mass graves started to yield up their dead and the process of identification, burial, and mourning could begin. Here we travel through the ravaged postwar landscape in the company of a few survivors (mostly women) as they visit the scenes of their loss: a hall where victims' clothing is displayed; an underground cave littered with pale jumbles of bones; a camp for homeless refugees; a city now abandoned to the ghosts of painful memories; a funeral service where a family can finally say goodbye. These encounters are snapshots and memorials, a feat of powerful reportage told from the viewpoint of people who have lost nearly everything. With the sensibility of Philip Gourevitch or Ryszard Kapuscinski, Tochman captures a painful moment in history, as an entire community comes to terms with its raw and recent past.” (Product Description)

 

The Mercy Papers, by Robin Romm.

“Romm presents a wrenching chronicle of the three weeks before her mother’s death from cancer. Her skills as a poet are obvious in the lyrical language she uses to describe her sadness and fury as her mother grows increasingly weaker. Though Romm still sees flashes of the bright, witty civil rights attorney her mother was, she cannot avoid detailing her rapid decline. As Romm’s mother succumbs, Romm relies on her dog, Mercy, for comfort and support. She fights attempts by Barb, a nurse, to speed her mother’s passing with drugs and turn it into some sort of strange theater with CDs for the dying and other trappings. All the while, she knows that the clock is moving inexorably toward her mother’s death. Romm’s piercing and personal look at loss will speak to anyone who has coped or is coping with the death of a loved one.” (Booklist)

 

The Road of Lost Innocence, by Somaly Mam.

“Sold into slavery as a young girl—first as an indentured servant to a surly, violent older man, then, at 16, to a brothel—Mam could have lived a life of misery and defeat. Instead, she found freedom and security while keeping her remarkable spirit intact. This unflinching, searing memoir tells Mam’s story, from her early childhood as an orphan in the mountains of Cambodia to her current role as cofounder and president of the AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Circumstances) and the Somaly Mam foundations, which have rescued more than 3,400 women and children throughout Southeast Asia. Mam’s voice is humble, matter-of-fact, and wrenchingly real. Her passionate refusal to let other girls suffer as she did spurs her to action …” (Booklist)

 

Scorcese by Ebert, by Roger Ebert.

“Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, is an unabashed fan of Scorsese, whom he considers the most gifted director of his generation. To prove it, he's compiled his reviews of every Scorsese film … Along the way, Ebert pays special tribute to five masterpieces, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Mean Streets, which he calls one of the source points of modern movies …  Citing the director's strong collaboration with actor Robert De Niro and screenwriter Paul Schrader, Ebert says all three men seem fascinated by the lives of tortured, violent, guilt-ridden characters … Of special note are interviews with Scorsese over a 25-year period, in which the director candidly discusses his body of work.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott

“Alice has not always been Alice. Five years ago, Ray abducted her during an aquarium visit and everything changed. Now she is too old, and Ray is looking for a little girl - a new Alice - to take her place. Alice has found the perfect girl, but it may not mean the freedom for which Alice has been longing. Scott creates a heartbreaking and shattering novel that goes deep into a terrifying world … There are no happy endings here; readers learn the horrors Ray himself faced that shaped him into the monster he is, and they see in Alice how easily transformation can happen. Scott does a tremendous job of showing the pervasive sexual and physical abuse Alice suffers without being graphic. If anything the subtly of the descriptions is even more haunting than a detailed description would have been. This book is one of those rare novels that is difficult to read but impossible to put down and should not be missed.” (VOYA)

 

Patron Saint of Butterflies, by Cecelia Galante

“Inspired by her childhood in a religious commune, Galante's swift-moving debut novel may hold a ripped-from-the-headlines fascination for readers … Secluded at the Mount Blessing compound under the rule of the manipulative Emmanuel, 14-year-old Agnes strives for sainthood. Her best friend, Honey, however, questions Emmanuel's tactics and authority, and secretly longs for a normal life with TV, fashionable clothes and fast food. An injury to Agnes's younger brother sets in motion a daring escape from Mount Blessing orchestrated by the siblings' grandmother, with Honey along for the ride. As relationships strain and new situations arise, no one is sure what move to make next ....” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Truancy, by Isamu Fukui

“Fifteen-year-old Tack struggles to survive in a dystopian City where the Mayor and his band of goons, the Educators, rule with absolute power. Tack, his sister, and most other young people are locked into the deadly educational system where they are bullied by some of the most vicious and sadistic teachers in teen literature. Some former students, calling themselves the Truancy, have actually managed to get out. Under a charismatic leader, Zyid, these urban guerillas have pledged to bring down the system by any means, at any cost … When Tack's sister becomes collateral damage in a firefight between Educators and Truants, he joins the Truancy, seeking revenge … [This]  is a big, raw, sprawling action film of a book, combining martial arts, street fighting, midnight raids, rooftop flights, and a high body count.” (VOYA)

 

Confessions of a Not It Girl, by Melissa Kantor

“Jan Miller's senior year seems to be turning into a tragedy. It is not enough that her best friend has been named an ‘It Girl’ by a fashion magazine and is having an adult relationship with a recent college grad while the fashion-challenged Jan gains the unwanted attention of romantically clumsy Tom … Instead of attracting Josh, the new student in their New York high school, she seems to be doing everything guaranteed to drive him away. And then there are those dreadful college applications and essays to worry about … Kantor uses humor and vivid description to capture all the insecurities and angst of senior year [and] readers who enjoy the work of Meg Cabot and Louise Rennison will find Kantor's book filled with the same wry wit that has made those authors so popular.” (VOYA)

 

Ink Exchange, by Melissa Marr

“Broken by terrible trauma, Leslie finds salvation—or so it seems—in a strange tattoo that gives her power and strength like she's never felt before. But Leslie's euphoria is short-lived, and the tattoo comes with a shocking price. Its ink has been laced with the blood of Irial, king of the fey's Dark Court. Upon the tattoo's completion, Leslie will be bound to Irial as if a slave, with Court rules forbidding even Aislinn, the new Summer Queen, and Summer King Keenan's guard, the handsome Niall, to sever this dark attachment … Readers will find a love triangle that simmers among Leslie, Irial and Niall—all of whom face choices that could cost them everything they prize. Compulsive enough to give the Twilight series a run for its money, and dizzyingly more sinister.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams, by Jennifer Sey

“Sey writes of her career in internationally competitive gymnastics, which culminated when she won the 1986 U.S. national championship at age 17. From the start Sey was an underdog, ever the second-best athlete on the team hoping to prove herself with tenacity and toughness. She endured numerous injuries—including a broken femur, which could have ended her career—as well as an eating disorder, depression, isolation and tremendous strain on her family. With each new sacrifice that her parents and brother made to support her, the stakes crept higher, inuring them all to gymnastics' inherent physical and psychological trauma. After claiming the U.S. title, Sey was ‘shell-shocked and exhausted,’ suddenly robbed of her lifelong motivation … Overall, she has written a courageous story befitting a comeback kid.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq, by Richard Engel

“NBC News' Middle East bureau chief Engel (A Fist in the Hornet's Nest) tags along on marine patrols and survives his share of ambushes, truck bombs and kidnapping attempts in this riveting memoir of the Iraq War. His worm's-eye reportage of the spiraling carnage exposes the grisly details omitted from nightly newscasts-a dog carrying a severed human head, a massacre scene in a bakery redolent of sweet aromas and the merry trilling of a victim's cellphone-along with his own numbed reactions. His battles with network suits and right-wing bloggers who insist that he find good news to report are a leitmotif, as is his scrupulous discernment of the big picture beneath the chaos of war. Fluent in Arabic, with access to Iraqi prime ministers and insurgents as well as American leaders (including George W. Bush), he deftly elucidates the bitter rivalry between dethroned Sunnis and rising Shiites and, behind that, Iran's skillful consolidation of power in Iraq as the United States flounders. Engel's fine, heartfelt but disabused account of this bewildering conflict renders the suffering in Iraq with understanding and compassion.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration, by Dilys Evans

“Who better to ‘show and tell’ how children's book illustrators work their magic than Evans, whose life mission has been to advocate for their status as fine artists. Twelve contemporary artists are covered in as many chapters … Evans relays their education, favorite artists, approaches to specific composition problems or texts, and serendipitous moments, subtly revealing a picture of the individuals behind the images. The strength of this book lies in the depth of the author's understanding regarding how decisions about formal qualities and design affect narrative and in her ability to articulate their effectiveness … An enlightening must-read for all picture-book enthusiasts.” (School Library Journal)

 

This Land is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation, by Barbara Ehrenreich

“Ehrenreich's vicious, hilarious and striking tour de force of American culture and society today addresses a range of issues from class warfare to health care, higher education to feminism to religious institutionalization and political power. She weighs in with wit, clarity and authority that few authors can match. Loosely knitted together, this collection of essays paints a disappointing picture of the world today.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Band of Sisters, by Kirsten Holmstedt

“Holmstedt started studying the experience of women marines when she lived near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Her research became a master's thesis in creative writing and the most up-to-date discussion of women in the current war. Unblushingly in favor of women in combat, she doesn't whitewash their experiences or exaggerate their achievements. Their male colleagues aren't universally accepting, but many of them admit that the women are performing effectively; since 20 percent of the troops currently in Iraq are women, they must be. [They] are flying F-18s into enemy ground fire, driving Hummers and trucks that may be ambushed at any moment, and playing invaluable roles in intelligence operations and in the nation building that is one of the more positive aspects of a seemingly interminable and frustrating conflict ….” (Booklist)

 

The Private Life of Spiders, by Paul Hillyard

“With more than 100 different families and 40,000 individual species, spiders are among the most successful creatures on Earth. Highly adaptable, they live almost everywhere, from equatorial rainforest to Arctic tundra. And they come in a huge range of shapes and sizes, from the tiny Patu digua, measuring less than half a millimeter, to the immense bird-eating tarantula, which can reach a span of eleven inches. In The Private Life of Spiders, spider expert Paul Hillyard takes the reader on a fascinating and richly illustrated tour of the lives of some of the world's most remarkable spiders.” (From the Publisher)

 

Six Innings, by James Preller

“[A] perceptive group portrait of boys who play Little League baseball. The structure couldn't be more hackneyed--a championship game with everything on the line--but Preller makes it fresh with insightful sketches of each member of the (underdog) Earl Grubb's Pool Supplies team … The outcome is predictable but the journey is nailbitingly tense. Kids will be nodding in agreement at the truths laid bare. If Judy Blume could write a book about Little League, about its players' deepest fears and secret dreams, it might come out something like this.”  (Publishers Weekly)

 

Trouble, by Gary D. Schmidt

“Tautly constructed, metaphorically rich, emotionally gripping and seductively told, Schmidt's novel opens in the 300-year-old ancestral home of Henry Smith, whose father has raised him to believe that ‘if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.’ With such an opening, it is inevitable that Trouble does find the aristocratic Smiths: Henry's older brother, Franklin, is critically injured by a truck. A Cambodian refugee named Chay, who attends the same school as Franklin, acknowledges responsibility, but over the course of Chay's trial it occurs, to Henry at least, that it was Franklin who sought Trouble … At the same time, a storm exposes a charred slave ship long buried on the Smiths' private beach: it emerges that their house has been close to Trouble all along.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Paper Towns, by John Green

“Quentin has been in love with his next-door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, since early childhood. Their connection was forever bonded when they discovered a dead body together at the age of nine. Now they are ready to graduate from high school. Although Margo has not been part of Quentin's life for many years, she shows up at Quentin's window late one night, enlisting his help with a wild scheme of revenge against her cheating boyfriend. Despite his natural reluctance to break the law, Quentin goes along with her, imagining that this teamwork will signify a new, more romantic turn to their relationship. But then Margo disappears, leaving only wisps of clues to her whereabouts and a tormented Quentin in her wake … The writing is stellar, with deliciously intelligent dialogue and plenty of mind-twisting insights.” (VOYA)

 

My Most Excellent Year, by Steve Kluger

“Three teens complete an English assignment detailing their ‘most excellent year’ in this big, warmhearted tale. T. C. [and] Augie have been self-declared brothers since age six, when T.C.'s mother died. Entering high school, everyone but Augie knows that Augie is gay, which finally dawns on him when he falls for another student. Meanwhile, T.C. develops an intense crush on Alé Perez, daughter of a Mexican diplomat … The essay segments are spliced with diary entries; e-mails from and between parents, teachers and Alé's former Secret Service agent; reprints of Augie's mother's hilariously excoriating theater reviews [and] transcripts of IM sessions … the results are unexpectedly positive, opening up the audience to adults as well as the target reader.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Hurricane Song, by Paul Volponi

 “Feeling crowded out of his mom's Chicago apartment following her remarriage, 16-year-old Miles goes to live with his dad in New Orleans. He's only been there for two months when Katrina hits. Attempting to flee the city on Sunday with Uncle Roy, who, like his dad, is a jazz musician, they take refuge in the Superdome after their car breaks down. With this ‘ripped-from-the-headlines’ premise, Volponi effectively portrays how too many people in one space with too little food, supplies, and basic services quickly deteriorates from mere displacement to human suffering on a massive scale … A sprinkling of common vulgarities realistically punctuates the fast-paced story of unprecedented unease in the Big Easy.” (School Library Journal)

 

Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri

“The gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American-raised children-and that separates the children from India-remains Lahiri's subject for this follow-up to Interpreter of Maladiesand The Namesake. In this set of eight stories, the results are again stunning. In the title story, Brooklyn-to-Seattle transplant Ruma frets about a presumed obligation to bring her widower father into her home …  A grief for mothers lost at different stages of life enters many tales and, as the book progresses, takes on enormous resonance.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

My Letter to the World, by Emily Dickinson

“Of the many collections of Dickinson's poetry available for young people, this one is unique in that most of the selections deal with death and loss. The first poem, ‘There's a Certain Slant of Light,’ sets the tone for the volume … [The] masterful mixed-media illustrations reflect the book's mood. The angular and shadowy pictures are either black and white or black on sepia, with only an occasional hint of color. A representation of Dickinson, in her characteristic white dress with her hair pulled back in a severe knot, haunts nearly every page. Because of its mature theme, this volume will interest older teens …” (School Library Journal)

 

Impossible, by Nancy Werlin

“Werlin (The Rules of Survival) melds fantasy and suspense in a contemporary setting for a romance with plenty of teen appeal. Lucy Scarborough, raped on prom night, is pregnant. Committed to keeping the baby, she nonetheless sees disturbing parallels to her mentally ill mother, Miranda, who had Lucy as a teen, then left her in the care of a nurse-midwife and her husband. Boy-next-door-type Zach happens upon Miranda's teenage diary, which outlines a curse placed on Lucy's family generations earlier by the evil Elfin Knight: the women all give birth as teens before descending into madness. Lucy can break the curse only by performing three impossible tasks …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Facts of Life, by Gary Soto

“A set of amiable stories involving Hispanic youth … Each tale is a beautiful little snapshot of a small moment in the characters' lives--some tragic and others hopeful. In ‘Where Did I Go Wrong?,’ Mickey Cortez unwittingly aids a possible theft, while Rebecca Martinez must contend with a classmate who is trying to get Rebecca's parking enforcement mother to forgive a citation for her father in ‘The Ideal City.’ … Soto's characters walk with grace and quiet dignity … There is not a weak story in the bunch.” (VOYA)

 

Noman, by Michael Nicholson

“In this conclusion to the trilogy, Seeker, a Noble Warrior, is using his extraordinary powers to track down and kill the last two remaining savanters, evil creatures that drain the lir (life) out of their victims in order to prolong their own. Seeker has tracked them from the ends of the Earth, and to kill them is his final mission … Each of the three Noble Warriors is presented with both an external battle of swords and flesh and an internal battle of faith and understanding ...” (School Library Journal)

 

One Secret Thing, by Sharon Olds

“Olds works in a demotic free verse, driven by rough enjambments and shocking comparisons: she devotes much of her energy (three of five sections here) to sex, remembered pain and parenthood--the dramatic, abusive household in which she grew up and her tender relationship with her own daughter … Olds can also offer high-volume poetry of public protest, as in the set of sonnet-sized poems against war with which the book begins. What seems new here are Olds's reactions to her mother's last years, and to her mother's death. On an antidepressant, briefly ‘adorable,’ and then in failing health, ‘my mother sounds like me,/ the way I sound to myself-one/ who doesn't know, who fails and hopes.’ Both the failures and the hopes find here a voice that takes them seriously.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg

“What sets Hurry Down Sunshine apart from the great horde of mediocre memoirs, with their sitcom emotions and too neatly resolved fights and reconciliations, is Greenberg's frank pessimism, dark humor and fundamental incapacity to make sense of his daughter's ordeal, let alone to derive an uplifting moral from it … beyond family drama, Hurry Down Sunshine is a very New York book, filled with the kind of characters increasingly rare in a city where real kooks can no longer afford to live.” (The New York Times)

 

Bone: Crown of Horns

“In this ninth and final volume of Smith's award-winning Bone series, Thorn and her loyal friends must defeat not only the evil Briar Rose but also free the land and its inhabitants from the Locust spirit. Beaten by tyrant Tarsil's soldiers, Thorn and faithful Fone Bone are locked in the dungeon, as Briar Rose and her army storm the castle. Spurred on by a recurring dream, Thorn is determined to break free and find the Crown of Horns, which will destroy the nightmare spirit known as the Locust but may also kill Thorn herself … Smith expertly combines all the best elements of fantasy epics like Lord of the Rings—a plucky hero(ine), all manner of creatures and a kingdom rich in mythological history—with enough humor to appeal to readers young and old.” (Publishers Weekly). Note: We have all the Bone books at the library!

 

Born Digital, by John Palrey and Urs Gasser

“In this critical but optimistic overview, Palfrey and Gasser share their concern about the legal and social ramifications of the Internet with regard to the generation of ’Digital Natives’ born after 1980 … most young people fail to recognize the vulnerability of their information—that internet posts are never really private—and suggest tactful parental and school oversight. They find a more serious problem in the failure of the U.S. to regulate data mining by search engines, which even now have the potential to create cradle-to-grave dossiers on individuals, including online medical and financial records; they compare the U.S. system with Europe's policies, which have put in place much more effective data protection." (Publishers Weekly)

 

City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

“Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go … In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.” (From the Publisher)

 

With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child, by Keiko Tobe (Volume 1)

“One of the most significant mangas in years, this engrossing book is certainly one of the most unusual: a long, realistically drawn narrative about a young couple coping with the discovery that their infant son is autistic … The official diagnosis of autism confuses and devastates the parents. Masato dives headlong into his career to avoid home; Sachiko is angry at Hikaru's behavior, but also tormented by guilt that she's somehow to blame. As they learn and experience more, they become closer to Hikaru and each other … As this volume ends, the three of them are adjusting to a new family member—Hikaru's normal little sister … With the Light offers a moving, artistically successful experience.” (Publishers Weekly) Note: We also have volumes 2 and 3.

 

Best American Poetry 2008, David Lehman and Charles Wright, editors

“In his bullet-pointed introduction to this year's volume in this popular annual anthology series, prolific Pulitzer winner Wright makes it known that he is interested in emotional intensity, and its capacity to give poems shape and beauty, more than in any particular aesthetic camp: ’cleverness is not what endures. Only pain endures. And the rhythm of pain.’ Poems here might be called confessional, hip, avant-garde, edgy and conservative [and] some of the most exciting poems come from writers whose stars are still rising …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Moving to Higher Ground, by Wynton Marsalis

“Famed trumpet player, jazz composer, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Marsalis … explains in lay readers' terms how jazz works as a diverse musical genre and, more important, how an understanding and appreciation of jazz can enrich one's life. In engaging prose, Marsalis discusses jazz as an expression of both personal identity and American identity as well as the role of race in jazz ... Including a nice mix of autobiography, musical explanations, sociology, and advocacy for jazz in a culture that, according to Marsalis, is far too focused on the least common denominator in music, this work is highly recommended … ” (Library Journal)

 

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer

“In this tantalizing SF thriller, planet-hopping parasites are inserting their silvery centipede selves into human brains, curing cancer, eliminating war and turning Earth into paradise. But some people want Earth back, warts and all, especially Melanie Stryder, who refuses to surrender, even after being captured in Chicago and becoming a host for a soul called Wanderer. Melanie uses her surviving brain cells to persuade Wanderer to help search for her loved ones in the Arizona desert. When the pair finds Melanie's brother and her boyfriend in a hidden rebel cell led by her uncle, Wanderer is at first hated. Once the rebels accept Wanderer, whom they dub Wanda, Wanda's whole perspective on humanity changes. While the straightforward narrative is short on detail about the invasion and its stunning aftermath, it shines with romantic intrigue, especially when a love triangle (or quadrangle?!) develops for Wanda/Melanie.” (Publishers Weekly)

Duma Key, by Stephen King

"A terrible construction site accident takes Edgar Freemantle's right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. A marriage that produced two lovely daughters suddenly ends and Edgar begins to wish he hadn't survived the injuries that could have killed him … His psychologist, Dr. Kamen, suggests a ‘geographic cure,’ [so] Edgar leaves Minnesota for a rented house on Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily undeveloped splinter of the Florida coast. The sun setting into the Gulf of Mexico and the tidal rattling of shells on the beach call out to him, and Edgar draws … He paints, sometimes feverishly, his exploding talent both a wonder and a weapon. Many of his paintings have a power that cannot be controlled. When Elizabeth's past unfolds and the ghosts of her childhood begin to appear, the damage of which they are capable is truly devastating." (Book Jacket)

 

Soldier Boys, by Dean Hughes

“Parallel stories follow teenagers Spence Morgan, a farm boy from Utah, and Dieter Hedrick, a farm boy from Bavaria. Stirred by complex feelings of patriotism and adolescent insecurities, both young men find themselves fighting for their respective countries in World War II … [When] both teens are thrust into the chaos and carnage of the Battle of the Bulge, Dieter has his eyes opened somewhat by a disillusioned and embittered corporal in his unit [and] Spence learns of war's truths when his best friend dies. The novel comes alive in these final chapters, capturing the soldiers' struggles to stay warm and to overcome their fear, and the battle scenes place readers in the center of the action … Soldier Boys rises above the cliches of standard World War II stories and serves as a reminder that wars are often fought by young people like those we see every day.” (School Library Journal)

 

Fates Worse Than Death, by Kurt Vonnegut

“In this revealing collection of essays, Vonnegut examines the issues and events (both personal and social) that shaped the last decade. Ranging from an intimate portrait of his family to a biting commentary of ex-son-in-law Geraldo Rivera to the 1945 firebombing of Dresden, Germany, where he was a POW, this book "offers a rare insight into an author who has customarily hidden his heart.” (New York Times)

 

Skinny, by Ibi Kaslik

“In her first year of med school, 22-year-old Giselle Vasco seems to have it all together. But a lifetime of bitter relations with her deceased father is slowly catching up, and she falls into a downward spiral that her mother and her younger sister, Holly, are powerless to stop. Skinny, though, is much more than a study of one young woman's battle with anorexia. What starts as Giselle's story quickly develops into a rich and powerful tapestry of a whole family ...The chapters alternate between the sisters' voices, and the ability to see the events unfolding through their eyes adds a depth and a poignancy that would not have been possible with a single narrator.” (School Library Journal)

 

Career Opportunities in the Armed Forces, by C. J. Henderson

“A complete, up-to-date guide for those wondering if a career in the armed forces is right for them. Profiled here are more than 80 jobs from all branches of the service, with emphasis not only on the career opportunities available in the military, but also on how military experience can be applied to a career in the civilian world. Career profiles include: Airplane pilot, Cardiopulmonary and EEG technician, Combat engineer, Counselor, Dentist, Electrical and electronics engineer, Management analyst, Military police officer, Nuclear engineer, Photographer, and more.” (Product Description)

 

Pagan’s Scribe, by Catherine Jinks (Book IV of the Pagan Chronicles)

“There have been few characters in recent historical fiction more vibrant than the street-smart, fast-talking protagonist of this series … In this fourth volume, a young, bookish clerk, Isidore, takes up the narrative. Pagan is 20 years older, now Archdeacon of Carcassonne, and enlists Isidore to serve as his scribe. Pagan's acerbic wit and sharp logic are needed by local lords to argue their case before a marauding army of frustrated Crusaders, turned against their own countrymen to search out heretics. Isidore's breathless description of the often-violent and chaotic world around him creates a page-turning epic. Readers who already know Pagan will be fascinated to see him as an adult, with the same fierce loyalty for his friends and caustic anger that he exhibited as a teen. He develops a protective fondness for Isidore, helping him cope with the epilepsy that is too little understood in medieval France.” (School Library Journal). Note: All Pagan books are available in the library.

 

American Shaolin, by Matthew Polly

“In this smoothly written memoir, 98-pound weakling Polly makes the age-old decision to turn his nerdy self into a fighting machine. Polly's quest for manhood leads this guy from Topeka, Kans., to the Shaolin Temple, ancient home of the fighting monks and setting for 10,000 chop-socky movies. As much a student of Chinese culture as he is a martial artist, Polly derives a great deal of humor from the misunderstandings that follow a six-foot-three laowai (white foreigner) in a China taking its first awkward steps into capitalism after Tiananmen Square. Polly has a good eye for characters and introduces the reader to a Finnish messiah, a practitioner of "iron crotch" kung fu, and his nagging girlfriend. We get the inside dope on Chinese dating, Chinese drinking games and a medical system apparently modeled on the Spanish Inquisition ...” (Publishers Weekly)

 

I Lost My Love in Baghdad, by Michael Hastings

“In his powerful debut, a young Newsweek reporter details two tumultuous years covering the war while falling in love with his long-distance girlfriend Andi, who would join him in Iraq only to be killed in a botched kidnapping. Largely concerned with describing on-the-ground conditions, Hastings reports with insight and grim humor from the front lines, embedded with soldiers in ‘a world with its own language and geography.’ Hastings handles the grisly particulars directly, the way he talks with the troops; the account is pocked with their tales, short bursts of heart-stopping sadness … The chaos is given shape by Hastings' romance with Andi, who remains in New York for a year before joining him in the Green Zone; dates, emails and instant messages provide a welcome reprieve, and drive the narrative toward its devastating conclusion like a tightly-plotted thriller. Like Mariane Pearl's A Mighty Heart, this is a tragic love story with broad appeal married to an unflinching account of wartime violence and brutality …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Warrior Girls, by Michael Sokolove

“Amy Steadman was destined to become one of the great women's soccer players of her generation … Instead, by age twenty, Amy had undergone five surgeries on her right knee. She had to give up the sport she loved. She walked with a stiff gait, like an elderly woman, and found it painful to get out of bed in the morning. Warrior Girls exposes the downside of the women's sports revolution that has evolved since Title IX: an injury epidemic that is easily ignored because we worry that it will threaten our daughters' hard-won opportunities on the field. From teenage girls playing local soccer, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, and other sports to women competing at the elite level, female athletes are suffering serious injuries at alarming rates …

Well-documented, opinionated, and controversial, Warrior Girls shows that all girls can safeguard themselves on the field without sacrificing their hard-won right to be there.” (Product Description)

 

The Dreamrider, by Barry Jonsberg

“Michael Terny is at his seventh school in four years and he knows that whatever he does, he will be ridiculed and pushed around. Michael is the fat kid. But Michael is also a lucid dreamer–he can recognize when he is dreaming and make the dream unfold exactly as he wants. Here he is safe and completely in control. Safe that is, until he finds the dream world and real world colliding . . . and a passage between the two promises more power than he has ever imagined. With the help of an unexpected friend at his new school, Michael plans how to use his power–to reward the good and wreak vengeance on the wicked. . . . But is Michael really in control?” (Product Description)

 

City of Thieves, by David Benioff

“17-year-old Lev Beniov is caught looting a German paratrooper's corpse [and] the penalty for this infraction (and many others) is execution. But when Colonel Grechko confronts Lev and Kolya, a Russian army deserter also facing execution, he spares them on the condition that they acquire a dozen eggs for the colonel's daughter's wedding cake. Their mission exposes them to the most ghoulish acts of the starved populace and takes them behind enemy lines to the Russian countryside. There, Lev and Kolya take on an even more daring objective: to kill the commander of the local occupying German forces … Benioff blends tense adventure, a bittersweet coming-of-age and an oddly touching buddy narrative to craft a smart crowd-pleaser.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult

“Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans … The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Streams of Babel, by Carol Plum-Ucci

"The lives of small-town teens with a mysterious illness and a Pakistani boy working as a virtual spy for the Americans intersect in this gripping story … The seemingly straightforward death of Cora's mother causes gossip but no suspicions until others develop similar deadly symptoms. While government officials debate the likelihood of a bioterror attack in an insignificant suburb, 16-year-old language expert and Internet café proprietor Shazad Hamdani uncovers hints of a plot that may kill thousands. Plum-Ucci excels in making her characters seem real and skillfully captures the voices of a variety of youth … Fans of suspense will discover a thrilling ride.” (VOYA)

 

Breathe My Name, by R. A. Nelson

“To most people who know her, Frances appears to lead a quiet, happy, sheltered life. She has a loving but overprotective family; a strong, opinionated best friend; and a budding relationship with the new boy in town. Beneath the surface, however, lies a dark secret that has tormented Frances for eleven years: One morning, her biological mother took each of her four daughters upstairs and smothered them with pillows. Only Frances survived. The arrival of a stranger carrying a message sparks a journey to face the monster and put an end to her nightmares … This coming-of-age story is told in a sensitive but not sentimental or sensationalized manner.” (VOYA)

 

After Tupac & D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson

“As they search for their Big Purpose in life, one of the three girls who call themselves Three the Hard Way narrates the tale of Neeka, D, and herself in a Queens neighborhood during the mid-1990s as they become teenagers. The music and tribulations of Tupac weave in and out of the narrative, but most of all it is the story of D … She has been bounced among foster homes, her mother taking her when she is able. D feels a connection with Tupac, whose songs about pain echo the craziness of D's life … As always, Woodson's lyrical writing rings true. Not only does she understand the beauty, confusion, and pain of growing up but also the impact of important music as adolescents search for answers to life's conundrums.” (VOYA)

 

Drawing the Light from Within: Keys to Awaken your Creative Power, by Judith Cornell

“Creativity is a learnable skill. Everyone is an artist -- if only because each and every day, people actively create their lives. All great geniuses of the world have one thing in common, the ability to visualize powerful images … Judith Cornell teaches readers how to visualize their own creative potential so they can develop inspired creativity, self-esteem, and optimism. Drawing The Light From Within is for teachers, philosophers, scientists, psychologists, designers, visual artists, and non-specialist general readers wanting to overcome personal barriers that stifle their creative power and thus enable themselves to give voice to their full range of creative expression.” (Midwest Book Review)

 

Scottsboro, by Ellen Feldman

“Alice Whittier, an ambitious, crusading journalist at the left-wing New York City publication The New Order, covers the arrest of nine young African-American men in Scottsboro, Ala., for the alleged rapes of two white prostitutes. Four days later, the Alabama courts have tried and sentenced eight to die. [As] worldwide indignation grows, and the case bogs down in appeals and retrials before an eventual hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court, Alice, the only woman journalist on the story, reports the events in gruesome detail … She emerges as a satisfyingly fleshed-out character, as does syphilitic, guilt-ridden accuser Ruby Bates. But the best thing about the novel is the detailed, matter-of-fact way in which it recreates Alice and Ruby's milieus—both of which are removed, in very different ways, from the world of the accused …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Cowboy Stories

“This collection of 20 stories by well-known writers features the most American of icons, the cowboy. There are tales of cattle drives, gunfights, ranching, Indians, and battling the environment. Some of the selections are excerpts from well-known novels such as Shane and The Virginian. Others are short stories by Western authors including Annie Proulx and Louis L'Amour. Actual cowboys, Nat Love and ‘Teddy Blue’ Abbott, offer exciting accounts of their lives. A significant feature here is Moser's artwork. Twenty-two stunning black-and-white engravings offer up the true grit of their cowboy subjects and galvanize readers. Appropriately, the book ends with the words to ‘Home on the Range’." (School Library Journal)

 

Skinny Boy: A Young Man’s Battle and Triumph Over Anorexia, by Gary A. Grahl

“Challenging the assumption that anorexia is an exclusively female affliction, this compelling memoir is the first to describe how a young man overcame this often fatal disorder. Handsome and popular, Gary had baseball abilities that had attracted the attention of the big leagues, until a shaming inner-voice convinced him that he needed to be thinner, leading to an out-of-control compulsion to exercise and starve himself, causing multiple hospitalizations. Providing strategies for tackling the recovery process and examples of changes in the thinking needed to take those steps, this important narrative comes at a time when eating disorders are at an all-time high in America, afflicting more than 8 million men.” (Product Description)

 

Enlightenment, by Maureen Freely

“A journalist known only as Miss M returns to Istanbul in 2005 after a long absence at the request of Jeannie Wakefield, whose father, William, was an American spy. Jeannie hopes that Miss M will write an article to help her husband, who's been detained in the United States and sent to Guantánamo. A few months later, Jeannie disappears, leaving behind a long letter detailing events from the 1960s. The main narrative threads—extracts from Jeannie's letter; Miss M's memories of Istanbul from that same period and her present-day account of investigating Jeannie's long-ago indoctrination into a Communist cell, which was at one point charged with the infamous but possibly apocryphal Trunk Murder—interweave toward a quietly stunning conclusion.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Lying With Strangers, by James Grippando

“Beautiful doctor Peyton Shields, head resident at Boston's Children's Hospital, and handsome lawyer husband Kevin Stokes would appear to have bright futures [but] mutual suspicions of infidelity and the fundamental failure of either partner to trust the other pave the way for the misunderstandings that make Peyton and Kevin ripe pickings for a psycho obsessed with Peyton. First Peyton nearly dies during a snowy accident that only she believes was deliberate. Then she and Kevin are ensnared in a web of escalating circumstances that drive them further apart …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Redemption Falls, by Joseph O’Connor

“[Set in] Redemption Falls, a tumultuous frontier town in the Mountain Territory (presumably in present day Utah or Montana), [the] narrative follows acting governor James Con O'Keeffe as he feuds with his ravishing wife, Lucia-Cruz McLelland, about the mute 12-year-old drummer boy Con takes in and wants to adopt. The boy, Jeddo Mooney, is in a bad way and unaware that his tenacious older sister, Eliza Duane Mooney, is hiking from war-ravaged Louisiana to find him … Con's past as an English criminal who barely escaped the noose and his behavior as an American politician demonstrate his noble but flawed character, while a chorus of minor voices add texture to a narrative already rich with a medley of languages, dialects and clashing cultural mores.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

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2007-2008

 

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart

“Back at her elite boarding school after a summer vacation in which she has grown from duckling to swan, sophomore Frankie starts dating cool, gorgeous senior Matthew and instantly becomes a part of his charmed social circle. Hanging with Matthew and his crowd is a thrill, but Frankie begins to chafe as she realizes that the boys are all members of the secret society to which her own father belonged, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hound, and that not only will they never let her join, Matthew will not even tell her about it ..." (Publishers Weekly)

 

How Toyota Became # 1, by David Magee

Magee “chronicles the rise of leading auto manufacturer Toyota and the underlying principles that led to its ascendancy. From lean production to a long-term focus to specialized philosophies like kaizen (a system of continuous improvement in which instances of waste are eliminated one by one) and genchi genbutsu (a belief in practical experience over theoretical knowledge), Magee documents each contributing factor in Toyota's success. Going back as far as Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda's father Sakichi Toyoda, a successful inventor who inspired and financed the car company's first operations, Magee takes the reader through the company's current challenges and achievements.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Converting Kate, by Beckie Weinheimer

“Having moved with her mom to Puffin Cove, ME, to live and work at her Great-Aunt Katherine's B & B, 16-year-old Kate has, in her own mind, already left the Church of the Holy Divine. But she hasn't yet told her mother, whose belief in the church is resolute … As Kate makes new friends and shares new experiences, she begins to express her ‘conversion’ away from the church to her shocked and angry mom. She experiences something of a crash course in the wide world that exists outside her mother's church's cloistered confines through her loving Aunt Katherine; Will, the outgoing young lobsterman she likes; Jamie, her X-C teammate; Richard, an enigmatic rich kid; and [others] …” (School Library Journal)

 

Teen, Inc., by Stefan Petrucha

“Legally, a corporation is a person, so why shouldn’t they be able to adopt a child? 14-year-old Jaiden’s family is a corporation and his home is an office building. When his parents are killed in an accident caused by a faulty piece of equipment manufactured by NECorp, the company adopts him and raises him in its headquarters. Now as a teenager, Jaiden, is longing for a normal life—attending high school, living in a house, having a girlfriend—and is starting to rebel in search of it. With the help of his new friend, Jenny, he uncovers some disturbing and scandalous information about NECorp and must make the tough decision to stay loyal to his ‘family’ or to follow his instincts …” (Book Description)

 

The Ministry of Special Cases, by Nathan Englander

“The time is the mid-1970s, and the place is Argentina. The widow of Juan Peron (Isabella, that is, not his 1940s wife, Eva) has just been given the boot from the presidential office by the military, which has inaugurated an internal terrorist program that came to be known as the dirty war Kaddish Pozman, a Jewish resident of Buenos Aires, works for hire as a midnight eraser of names from tombstones of Jews whose living families do not want any connection to their dear departed's past dubious behavior, now that an uncertain regime governs the land. Of course, one of the major characteristics of the military government is its widespread program of making people who just might be revolutionaries or insurrectionaries or even free thinkers disappear into the regime's system of detention centers, and Pozman's son becomes one such desaparecido. The bulk of this overwhelming novel is Pozman's and his wife's attempt to locate their missing son.” (Booklist)

 

Faerie Lord, by Herbie Brennan

“It has been two years since Henry left the Faerie Realm and he has still not adjusted to life back in the Analogue World. But when Henry finds a middle aged Pyrgus in Mr. Fogarty’s backyard, he is compelled to return to the world he left so suddenly. A mysterious plague is spreading throughout the Realm causing faeries to age rapidly. No one knows what is causing it or how to cure it. Pyrgus has a plan that Henry must be a part of but can’t include his sister, the Faerie Queen, no matter how much she persists. However, almost immediately upon Henry’s return, an unlikely person transports him away from the Realm and he is forced to fend for himself in a hostile land.” (Book Description)

 

Song of the Sparrow, by Lisa Ann Sandell

“The year is 490 AD. Fiery 16-year-old Elaine of Ascolat, the daughter of one of King Arthur's supporters, lives with her father on Arthur's base camp, the sole girl in a militaristic world of men. Elaine's only girl companion is the mysterious Morgan, Arthur's older sister, but Elaine cannot tell Morgan her deepest secret: She is in love with Lancelot, Arthur's second-in-command. However, when yet another girl--the lovely Gwynivere--joins their world, Elaine is confronted with startling emotions of jealousy and rivalry. But can her love for Lancelot survive the birth of an empire?” (Book Description)

 

 666: The Number of the Beast

“Tales of Evil. Tales of Darkness. Tales of Beasts. There's the... Vampire who visits the same girl every night. Dangerous rumor that turns all too deadly. Zombie who couldn't look more innocent. Boarding school plagued by a tortured ghost. And so much more in this spine-tingling, bone-chilling collections of 18 stories from 18 masters of horror. So lock the door. Turn on the lights. Don't answer the phone. Open the book...if you dare...” (Book Description)

 

Strays, by Ron Koertge

“16-year-old Ted prefers animals to humans; animals ‘never lie,’ and unlike the kids at school, he understands them. When Ted loses his parents in a car accident, he particularly identifies with strays--after all, as a foster kid, that's what he is. Ted lands in a new home … where he coexists with Astin, his older roommate, and C. W., who has had 19 placements in six years. Ted also starts a new school, and with Astin and C. W. at his back, he learns to express himself and to rely upon people as well as animals.” (Booklist)

 

This Is My Funniest 2: Leading Science Fiction Writers Present Their Funniest Stories Ever, Mike Resnick, ed.

“Resnick provides further demonstration that science fiction, fantasy and horror clichés can be turned into rich comedy with just a teensy, absurd twist. Terry Bisson's He Loved Lucy depicts the tragic romance between a man and an underwear-obsessed computerized voice-recognition system. Gene Wolfe and Brian Hopkins's Rattler presents a pickup truck possessed by a canine ghost. Ron Goulart's The Robot Who Came to Dinner is a hard-boiled detective story, but the detective is a human character's ex-husband downloaded into a robot body … The overall humor quality ranges from mildly amusing to fall-out-of-your-chair, making it a pleasant companion for light reading.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

The Vampire of New York , by Lee Hunt

“Enoch Bale stalked the streets of New York City nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. He is long dead. He is long forgotten. But he is not long gone ... Archaeologist Carrie Norton makes a startling find in a historic New York City site: the remains of a Civil War-era murder victim. Detective Max Slattery sees something more-uncanny parallels to a recent series of brutal slayings. What seems impossible becomes terrifyingly real as Carrie and Max's investigation unearths a conspiracy between the living and the dead nearly two centuries in the making-one that has yet to claim its final victims.” (Product Description)

 

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, by Sid Fleischman

“Freddie's career isn't exactly taking off as he wanders postwar Europe—until he opens a closet and discovers smart-mouthed Avron, who offers to put a better line of patter into Freddie's mouth in exchange for help finding a certain murderous SS officer. Countering Freddie's understandable reluctance with both gags and gut-wrenching war stories, Avron moves in, and Freddie begins to display stunning vocal tricks to ever-larger audiences. Avron then cajoles his host into keeping kosher, and even undergoing an ersatz bar mitzvah. Ultimately, the search takes the two to America, where they find their quarry standing trial for a new crime …” (Booklist)

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, by Gabrielle Zevin

“After high-school junior Naomi conks her head, she can't remember anything that happened since sixth grade. She is by turns mystified and startled by evidence of her present life, from the birth-control pills in her bedside table to her parents' astonishing, rancorous split. Eventually, the memories return, leaving Naomi questioning the basis of a new, intense romance, and wondering which of her two lives, present or former, represents her most authentic self … Pulled by [a] heart-bruising love story, readers will pause to contemplate irresistible questions: If the past were a blank slate, what would you become? Does the search for one's truest identity necessarily mean rejecting all that has gone before?” (Booklist)

 

No Speed Limit: The Highs and Lows of Meth, by Frank Owen

“As Owen notes early and often, methamphetamine is merely the latest drug to threaten the very fabric of American society. He chronicles the rise of meth and concludes that its popularity has peaked, despite the news media continuing to flog it as today's foremost assassin of youth. Owen finds that meth use became widespread after an amateur pharmacist, Bob Paillet, perfected a greatly simplified way of cooking the drug and passed the technique on to friends and customers. Carefully detailing the disjunction between media scare stories and actual statistics … Owen still offers a sobering look at a very addictive drug and the paranoid hoopla it has generated.” (Booklist)

 

Before I Die, by Jenny Downham

“Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of ‘normal’ life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.” (Book Description)

 

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman

“In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would ‘unwind’ them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed--but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.” (Book Description)

 

My Mother, the Cheerleader, by Robert Sharenow

“When her mother pulls Louise, 13, out of class to protest the forced court-ordered integration of her school in New Orleans in 1960, Louise never gives the political issues a thought. Everyone knows segregation is the way things are. Sure, she does feel bad that first-grader Ruby Bridges has to endure the vicious racist insults from the white crowds outside the school every morning. Louise's mother, Pauline, is one of those jeering ‘Cheerleaders.’ Then New York editor Morgan Miller comes to stay in Pauline's run-down boardinghouse, and his quiet outrage makes Louise begin to raise doubts and questions. But he is a Jew and he may be a Communist, and the Klan goes after him.” (Booklist)

 

The God Box, by Alex Sanchez

“High school senior Paul has dated Angie since middle school, and they're good together. They have a lot of the same interests, like singing in their church choir and being active in Bible club. But when Manuel transfers to their school, Paul has to rethink his life. Manuel is the first openly gay teen anyone in their small town has ever met, and yet he says he's also a committed Christian. Talking to Manuel makes Paul reconsider thoughts he has kept hidden, and listening to Manuel's interpretation of Biblical passages on homosexuality causes Paul to reevaluate everything he believed. Manuel's outspokenness triggers dramatic consequences at school, culminating in a terrifying situation that leads Paul to take a stand.” (Book Description)

 

Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr

“When Deanna's father catches her having sex in a car when she is 13, her life is drastically changed. Two years later, he still can't look her in the eye, and though Tommy is the only boy she's been with, she is branded the school slut. Her entire family watches her as though she is likely to sleep with anyone she sees, and Tommy still smirks at and torments her when she sees him … Deanna learns to protect herself by becoming outwardly tough, but feels her isolation acutely. Her only outlet is her journal in which she writes the story of an anonymous girl who has the same experiences and feelings that she does … This is a heartbreaking look at how a teenager can be defined by one mistake, and how it shapes her sense of self-worth.” (School Library Journal)

 

Gym Candy, by Carl Deuker

“Having grown up in the shadow of his father's failed NFL career, high-school football player Mick Johnson is determined not to make the same mistakes. But when he's tackled just short of the goal in a pivotal game, he decides that vitamin supplements aren't enough and begins purchasing ‘gym candy,’ or steroids, from the trainer at his local gym. His performance starts breaking records and his father couldn't be more proud, but along with gains in muscle, he suffers ‘roid rage,’ depression, and unsightly acne. When his secret finally comes out, he attempts suicide. Even after therapy, Mick is left wondering if he'll continue to be tempted by steroids.” (Booklist)

 

Busted, by Phil Bildner

“In high school, anyone can get busted. It could be the senior class ski trip, or maybe it's the way you cope with the school bully, or how you entertain yourself in the world's most boring class. Every kid has some secret crime, something that they are afraid they'll get in trouble for. In Busted, four different stories take place throughout one year at Coldwater Creek High School and intertwine to show that no one, whether you are an honors student or the best athlete in school, is safe from getting busted.” (Book Description)

 

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott

“Twin 15-year-old siblings Sophie and Josh Newman take summer jobs in San Francisco across the street from one another: she at a coffee shop, he at a bookstore owned by Nick and Perry Fleming. In the very first chapter, armed goons garbed in black [storm] the bookshop, take Perry hostage and swipe a rare Book (but not before Josh snatches its two most important pages). The stolen volume is the Codex, an ancient text of magical wisdom … Mayhem ensues, as Scott draws on a wide knowledge of world mythology to stage a battle between the Dark Elders and their hired gun—Dr. John Dee—against the forces of good, led by Flamel and the twins …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Slam, by Nick Hornby

“Sam is a disarmingly ordinary 15-year-old kid who loves to skate (that's skateboarding, to you and me). But then he is blindsided: his girlfriend gets pregnant, and he lands in the middle of his mum's nightmare (she had Sam when she was 16). This may sound like an old-fashioned realistic YA problem novel, but it's a whole lot more. Sam, you see, has a sort-of-imaginary friend: the world's greatest skater, Tony Hawk, whose poster Sam talks to when he has problems. And the poster talks back, maybe, or maybe Sam is just reciting quotes from Tony's autobiography. And is it really Tony who is ‘whizzing’ Sam into the future for glimpses of what is to come?“ (Booklist)

 

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

“What happens when two witty, wise, but vulnerable teens meet by accident at a chaotic punk rock club? They fall in love, of course … Told in alternating chapters over the course of a single night, the narratives create a fully fleshed-out picture of both teens, informed by their love of music, their devotion to their friends, and their clear-eyed view of the world … Norah explains the Jewish concept of tikkun olam the responsibility to heal a fractured world and Nick comes up with an original spin on it. There are many heart-stopping, insightful moments in this supremely satisfying and sexy romance.” (School Library Journal)

 

Beaufort, by Ron Leshem

“In this gritty war novel, Leshem chronicles the tumultuous year leading up to Israel 's 2000 withdrawal from Southern Lebanon . The story is told through the eyes of 21-year-old squadron leader, Liraz Liberti (aka Erez), who is tasked with shepherding a motley group of 13 ‘kids’ through their military tours at the historic Israeli outpost, Beaufort. As the violence at Beaufort increases and the day of the withdrawal approaches, those stationed at the outpost try to ward off ‘eatenness’ (fear) and a nagging sense of the futility of manning an outpost about to be closed down. Rather than dwell on the politics behind Israel 's conflict with Hezbollah, Leshem focuses on the [soldiers'] camaraderie to give readers remarkably visceral access to the isolated outpost. The anxiety and fear are palpable throughout Leshem's vivid novel--you can practically feel the shells explode.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Blaze, by Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King)

“Blaze—Clayton Blaisdell Jr.—is a big dummy, very big: six-seven, 2700 … He was a smart little boy until his drunken father threw him downstairs three times in a row. He relearned to read a bit, mostly comic books, but was thereafter an otherwise learning-challenged ward of the state with a horrendous dent in his forehead. Now a mid-twenties adult, he has just lost his bosom buddy and partner in petty cons, George, who still speaks to him somehow, especially about the big score, the one to retire on … In honor of George, he decides to do the big one, the kidnapping of a wealthy couple's baby. He succeeds, albeit imperfectly enough that the state cops and FBI know whodunit within a day ...” (From Booklist)

 

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming, by Al Gore

“In this youth-focused adaptation of Gore's 2006 adult book and Oscar-winning documentary, Gore and O'Connor distill the material, creating an eye-opening story that targets kids' concerns … The sturdy pages are filled with color photographs and charts, and the images are riveting. Like the pictures, the personal stories bring the facts close, and in addition to the urgent science, Gore's book shows how mentors can change lives … Gore's research continues to raise controversy, but few, if any, books for youth offer such a dynamic look at the climate issues threatening our planet.” (From Booklist)

 

A Field Guide to High School, by Marissa Walsh

“When Claire heads off to Yale (early admission), she leaves her eighth-grade sister a book entitled A Field Guide to High School. In it, she explains the key to running the social and academic gambit at their private school, and discusses the elements of each social group and the importance of knowing what not to wear. She stresses the need to choose the right people from the very start of school, and tells her how she was so successful … Claire's voice is witty and wry and easy to read … The numerous pop-culture references and even top 10 lists enable readers to connect with the novel but it reads just like a field guide with minimal character/reader interaction.” (From School Library Journal)

 

 Notes from the Teenage Underground, by Simmone Howell

“17-year-old Gem feels as if she's beginning to drift away from her best friends, Lo and Mira, with whom she's formed an alliance against the ‘sucker peers’ they call ‘barcodes.’ In the spirit of Andy Warhol and his Happenings, Gem comes up with the idea to make an edgy film to screen at an underground party she thinks this project will bring the three girls back together again. As scriptwriting and production begins, however, she starts to feel that the project is getting out of control. When Lo and Mira plan a series of final-exam pranks without her, Lo rewrites Gem's admittedly heavy-handed but heartfelt script, and Mira hooks up with her crush, Gem knows it's time to break ties with her so-called best friends …” (From School Library Journal)

 

Fast Company: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Motorcycles in Italy, By David M. Gross

“In the economic boom of the mid-1990s, Gross was a corporate lawyer working nonstop for a Wall Street law firm. Miserable, his life ‘a prison of routine,’ he instantly accepts his friend's proposal to revive the legendary motorcycle company Ducati Motor Holding in Bologna , Italy . Equipped with only a backpack and the basic knowledge of how to ride a motorcycle, Gross meets a wacky array of fellow employees, learns about Bolognese life and feels the thrill of the open road. His book is filled with insight on the city and corporate color, especially the chapters devoted to his co-workers, who include the World War II–obsessed company historian and the volatile, eccentric chief of design …” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

Someone like Summer, by M. E. Kerr

“Tall, blonde, blue-eyed Annabel, 17, is in love with Esteban, a Latino immigrant, who turns out to be part of an undocumented group of workers in her town in the Hamptons . The love is intense [but] Prejudice is rough from all sides, including the town's powerful benefactor, who targets the illegals, and Esteban's older sister, who calls Annabel "flour face" and thinks all white girls are loose … As things build to a searing climax, Annabel realizes she has asked little about Esteban's dad, who was assassinated back "home" in Colombia. And Kerr crosses other romantic boundaries. Esteban is short--he stands on his toes to kiss.” (From Booklist)

 

The Flip: Turn Your World Around, by Jared Rosen & David Rippe, eds.

”Imagine two worlds. One is an upside down world where people feel frenzied and fearful, their thoughts fragmented, their lives in disarray. The other is a world that is right side up. People know that in this ever-more connected global landscape their individual choices affect the lives of everyone. Neither of these worlds is difficult to imagine because both of them exist today. Humanity stands on a bridge in between these worlds and we must make a choice to go in one or the other direction. Which side do you choose?” (Book Description)

 

When the Heart Cries, by Cindy Woodsmall

"In this debut inspirational novel, Woodsmall takes readers inside a contemporary Amish family where the eldest daughter, Hannah, has fallen in love with her neighbor Paul. The trouble is that he's a Mennonite, and if those two faiths look similar to outsiders, they don't to Hannah's father, who would never permit his daughter to marry outside the Amish community. Yes, this is a familiar setup, with shades of the movie Witness. But the star-crossed romance is only the backdrop to the central events of the novel: in the very first chapter, Hannah experiences a trauma, setting in motion a chain of events …” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

Falling Man, by Don Delillo

“DeLillo's new novel begins with Keith Neudecker standing in a New York City street covered with dust, glass shards and blood, holding somebody else's briefcase, while [the World Trade Center collapses] in a sickening roar behind him. On that day, Keith … returns to Lianne, from whom he'd separated, and to their young son, Justin. Keith and Lianne know it is Keith's Lazarus moment, although DeLillo reserves the bravura sequence that describes Keith's escape from the first tower—as well as the last moments of one of the hijackers, Hammad—until the end of the novel … No other writer could encompass 9/11 quite like DeLillo does here …” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

The Night my Sister went Missing, by Carol Plum-Ucci

“A shot rings out at a beach party. A girl falls backward--or dives forward--into the water and disappears. Her older brother, Kurt, remains in the police station all night anxious for word and spying on those who come to give their statements. The thread running through the speculations and accusations is Stacy Kearny, a poor little rich girl, whose explosive family secrets make her a prime suspect in the shooting. Plum-Ucci returns to a familiar topic--a missing young person and the questions raised by the disappearance--to explore class prejudice, teen cruelty, and loyalty between friends. There's no doubt [she] can tell a heck of a story …” (From Booklist)

 

Little Polar Bears, by Thorsten Milse

“There are few animals quite as appealing as a polar bear cub--black shoe-button eyes and nose in a fluffy white face, outsize paws--and noted wildlife photographer Milse is one of the best at capturing the first weeks of these little bears' lives … Milse has photographed the cubs as they venture from the den for the first time, hesitantly peering out into the snow of February in the Arctic. Almost as white as the drifts, the cubs are seen negotiating snowbanks, nursing from their immense mothers, clambering on her sleeping form, and play fighting … Milse's text describes the bears' journey, but it is the exquisite images that sell this book.” (From Booklist)

 

Ultimate Special Forces, by Hugh McManners

“A riveting exploration of the world's most highly trained military units, from the ancient Spartans to modern-day US Navy SEALs, Ultimate Special Forces offers over 700 illustrations of equipment and techniques used by today's special forces- from intelligence-gathering methods to special vehicles and survival gear. In-depth accounts of the background, organization, and landmark operations of famous military units such as the US 's Delta Force and Britain 's SAS make this gripping and essential reading for both casual readers and military history enthusiasts.” (Book Description)

 

Pendragon Book 8: The Pilgrims of Rayne, by D. J. McHale

“When Bobby Pendragon first arrives on the tropical world of Ibara, he finds paradise. As he works to uncover clues about the turning point this seemingly idyllic territory will soon face, all he can determine is that the people of Ibara are blissfully happy. It's not long before Bobby discovers, however, that they are also blissfully...oblivious. The leaders of Ibara are keeping a devastating secret from their people, one that gives Saint Dane all the opportunity he needs to launch his final assault on Halla. While Bobby struggles to learn the truth in time to thwart Saint Dane, Courtney Chetwynde desperately searches for Mark Diamond … It's up to Courtney to find Mark and stop him from making a grave mistake that could change the future of all existence.” (Book Description). NOTE: All the Pendragon books are now available in Fiction.

 

I Believe in Water: 12 Brushes with Religion, Marilyn Singer, ed.

“In these ‘twelve brushes with religion’ written by leading young-adult authors, teens from a wide range of beliefs search for answers to the hard questions of faith at crucial points in their lives … I Believe in Water approaches God from surprising angles. Virginia Euwer Wolff shows us three different girls confronting unwanted pregnancies, praying in the contexts of Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. Jacqueline Woodson shares a glimpse of her own childhood as a Jehovah's Witness, while Joyce Carol Thomas takes us into the shivery practice of religious snake handling … Other very different stories by M.E. Kerr, Naomi Shihab Nye, Nancy Springer, and Margaret Peterson Haddix make this an audacious, unforgettable collection that will reach out to teens pondering spiritual realities in their own lives.” (From Amazon.com)

 

Parrotfish, by Ellen Wittlinger

“As in Hard Love, Wittlinger tackles GLBT issues, introducing readers to Grady McNair, formerly known as Angela. This fast read follows Grady through the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas as he comes out as transgendered, faces issues of acceptance and rejection at school and at home, and falls in love with the hottest girl in school … Flaws aside, the book is an excellent resource for building awareness about, and serving the increasing number of, transgendered teens.” (School Library Journal) *NOTE: Another terrific read on this theme is Luna, by Julia Ann Peters.

 

What are you afraid of: Stories about Phobias, ed. by Donald R. Gallo

“These 10 short stories present glimpses of what it’s like to be considered irrational and to face an invisible fear that disrupts ordinary life. The selections are by notable authors, some of whom explain how their stories came about. Neal Schusterman’s eerie ‘Fear-for-Al’ is about a boy who has no compassion for those who are so afflicted. Gavin receives his just deserts when he becomes the community’s phobia magnet, absorbing the collective fears like a sin-eater and experiencing the terror that has plagued members of his therapeutic school. In Nancy Springer’s ‘Rutabaga,’ Lydia avoids knives because of what they can do–or what she might do. She’s the quiet, obliging daughter who won’t utter a sharp word against her control-freak perfect mother. Only when she stands up to her mother is she free of fear of the kitchen weapons. This is an excellent collection on a topic that holds a strange and fascinating allure.” (School Library Journal)

 

Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Leavitt

“The romance is intense, the writing is startling, and the story is spellbinding--and it is as difficult to turn away from as the tales beautiful Keturah tells to the people of her village, Tide-by-Rood. But one day Keturah must use her storytelling skills with quite a different audience. Lost and hungry after following a stately hart through the forest, Keturah encounters Lord Death, who is ready to take her. Like Scheherazade, Keturah spins a story that she leaves unfinished and extracts from Lord Death a promise that if she finds her true love in a day, she can go free. But Lord Death is falling in love with her …” (Booklist)

 

Led Zeppelin IV, by Barney Hoskyns

“Hoskyns cleaves to how the Zep did what it did, especially on the focal album, relegating remarks on its members' notorious drugging, drinking, and carousing to the end of the book ... The many casual admirers of the band's big numbers may be surprised to learn how scrupulously guitarist Jimmy Page, in particular, crafted each recording, and by the variety of musical styles and treatments the group essayed on each album. Often credited with launching the oafish heavy-metal style, Led Zeppelin was, Hoskyns argues, a serious, conscientious musical group.” (Booklist)

 

Faith & Doubt: An Anthology of Poems, ed. by Patrice Vecchione

“As she did with Revenge & Forgiveness (2004) and Truth & Lies (2001), Vecchione explores weighty topics in a wide-ranging anthology. Here she touches on faith and doubt of all kinds. Will teens believe as their parents do and as their friends do? Will they believe what their teachers or ministers or president tells them? Will their beliefs change during their lifetime? Is doubt something that can hurt them or make them more thoughtful? … Many of these poems will prompt thought and conversation. While some do deal with religion, others touch on everything from self-esteem to parents to nature. It's a diverse and well-rounded collection.” (School Library Journal)

 

Grief Girl: My True Story, by Erin Vincent

“At age 14, Vincent lost both parents in a traffic accident. This is a gripping memoir of the aftermath of their deaths. Although her loss took place more than 20 years ago in Australia, her use of the present tense and a wholly authentic adolescent voice lend her retelling palpable immediacy … The author captivatingly portrays her journey through the stages of grief, which she aptly points out take place in no discernible order … Teens will sympathize with her 18-year-old sister's anger at the crushing responsibility of parenting her younger siblings. At the same time, the author's own feelings of rejection, abandonment, and self-blame will resonate with many readers.” (School Library Journal)

 

Genesis Alpha, by Rune Michaels

“Josh is bewildered when his older brother, Max, is arrested for the murder of a beautiful young woman. This is the Max who fixed his bike and plays online games like Genesis Alpha with him. … it's gradually revealed that the murderer developed a relationship with Karen through Genesis Alpha, carefully aggregating snippets of information about the pretty teen until he knew exactly who and where she was. Yet the deeper, more philosophical questions of free will, good and evil, and the ethics of reproductive science are at the core of this fascinating, troubling thriller.” (Booklist)

 

The Sixth Extinction: Journeys among the lost and left behind, by Terry Glavin

“Five major epochs of mass extinction have marked the past 440 million years, but in this striking and original work, Glavin argues that the most devastating is today's ‘sixth’ extinction—in which the world is losing many of its cultures, languages and local traditions along with its wildlife. In a fresh and eloquent synthesis of diverse phenomena, Glavin describes some of the consequences … Glavin finds a few bright spots, such as in Costa Rica , where nearly extinct birds survive because land is protected, and a village in the eastern Himalayas that consciously fosters diversity. He argues that humanity's only hope lies in places like these, where diverse ideas, choices and living things are allowed to flourish.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

All-in, by Pete Hautman

"Denn Doyle is not a gambler. Gamblers come to Vegas to throw their money at people like Denn, a prodigious investor in his own ability to read ‘tells’ and calculate odds. Armed with a fake ID, the 17-year-old is up nearly a quarter million and almost unbeatable at the table. That is, until he falls for Cattie Hart, a troublesome redhead whose nimble bottom-dealing soon lands Denn in dangerous financial and emotional straits. Can Denn stick it to his old enemy, Artie Kingston, in a million-dollar Texas Hold 'Em tournament, or will he have to skulk back home penniless? … A quick, slick read for wannabe sharks.” (Booklist)

 

Peak, by Roland Smith

“After 14-year-old Peak Marcello is caught climbing the Woolworth Building , an angry judge gives him probation, with an understanding that Peak will leave New York and live with his famous mountaineer father in Thailand . Peak soon learns, however, that his father has other plans for him; he hopes that Peak will become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. Peak is whisked off to Tibet and finds himself in the complex world of an Everest base camp, where large amounts of money are at stake and climbing operations offer people an often-deadly shot at the summit. This is a thrilling, multifaceted adventure story.” (Booklist)

 

Sofi Mendoza’s Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico, by Malin Alegria

"What's the harm in a little white lie?" wonders Mexican-born, Orange County resident Sofi Mendoza, who attends a classmate's house party near Tijuana against her parents' wishes. On the 17-year-old's return, she's stopped at the border and learns the impossible: her green card is false. Barred from reentering the U.S. , she takes refuge with a Mexican aunt she's never met, and while her parents fight legal battles, she gradually shifts from terror and sneering disapproval of her relatives to openhearted love and gratitude … Alegria combines chick-lit elements with a girl's struggle to define her Mexican American identity." (Booklist)

 

Rat Life: a mystery, by Tedd Arnold

“14-year-old Todd entertains his classmates with gross-out tales [but] goofy boyhood preoccupations fade early in this ambitious first novel, in which Todd's friendship with Rat, a soldier recently returned from Vietnam , awakens the adolescent to ethical ambiguities and often-cruel realities, and pushes his writing hobby in new directions. As details about Rat's background emerge, and incidents suggest he may fit the ’ticking time bomb psycho’ profile of a Vietnam vet, Todd reluctantly begins to trace links between his friend and an unsolved murder.” (Booklist)

 

The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural, by Deborah Noyes

A “collection of terrifying stories from some of the most well-known authors writing for teens, including M. T. Anderson, Holly Black, Libby Bray, and Annette Curtis Klause. From vampires to vindictive ghosts, this diverse anthology has it all, and then some ... Many readers who may typically avoid short story collections will grab this one, provided that they are horror fans. The creepy cover, depicting a black-and-white photo of hands crawling out of the earth, and the evocative title aptly describe the contents and will deter the faint of heart, who probably aren't the best audience for many of these seriously scary tales.” (Booklist)

 

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

“Death is the narrator of this lengthy, powerful story of a town in Nazi Germany. He is a kindly, caring Death, overwhelmed by the souls he has to collect from people in the gas chambers, from soldiers on the battlefields, and from civilians killed in bombings. Death focuses on a young orphan, Liesl; her loving foster parents; the Jewish fugitive they are hiding; and a wild but gentle teen neighbor, Rudy, who defies the Hitler Youth and convinces Liesl to steal for fun. After Liesl learns to read, she steals books from everywhere … Then the book thief writes her own story.” (From Booklist)

 

Marley & Me, by John Grogan

“Labrador retrievers are generally considered even-tempered, calm and reliable; and then there's Marley, the subject of this delightful tribute to one Lab who doesn't fit the mold … Marley was a sweet, affectionate puppy who grew into a lovably naughty, hyperactive dog. With a light touch, the author details how Marley was kicked out of obedience school after humiliating his instructor (whom Grogan calls Miss Dominatrix) and swallowed an 18-karat solid gold necklace (Grogan describes his gross but hilarious "recovery operation") … Dog lovers will love this account of Grogan's much loved canine.” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

Lisey’s Story, by Stephen King

“The bestselling author proves he's still the master of supernatural suspense in this minimally bloody but disturbing and sorrowful love story set in rural Maine. Lisey's husband, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Scott Landon, has been dead for two years at the book's start, but his presence is felt on every page. Lisey hears him so often in her head that when her catatonic sister, Amanda, begins speaking to her with Scott's voice, she finds it not so much unbelievable as inevitable. Soon she's following a trail of clues that lead her to Scott's horrifying childhood and the eerie world called Boo'ya Moon, all while trying to help Amanda and avoid a murderous stalker …” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

The Pursuit of Happyness, by Chris Gardner

“Gardner chronicles his long, painful, ultimately rewarding journey from inner-city Milwaukee to the pinnacle of Wall Street. Born in 1954, he grew up like too many young blacks: poor and fatherless, with a mother strong on children and church, yet soft on men … By his own account, Gardner was a good kid who got into trouble occasionally, but stayed on a steady, upward track. [His] own weakness was women, and when one of them left him with a son, it led to a period of homelessness on the San Francisco streets. Determination and resourcefulness brought father and son not merely to safety but to the top.” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

The Road of the Dead, by Kevin Brooks

“14-year-old Ruben Ford is sitting in his father's junkyard when he knows--knows--that his older sister, Rachel, has been raped and murdered. Perhaps it is his Gypsy blood that gives him second sight; Ruben can see and feel things others can't. He knows, for instance, that his ice-cold brother, Cole, is going to get into--and cause--trouble when he decides to go to desolate Dartmoor, where Rachel met her end. Brooks … makes readers see, feel, and smell all that Ruben does--most of it coarse, disgusting, and ugly.” (From Booklist)

 

In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster, by Susan Zakin, Bill McKibben, and Chris Jordan

“With a keen eye for contrast and color, [photographer] Jordan can't help but discern and capture a catastrophic beauty in scenes of devastation, bizarre juxtapositions (a refrigerator in a tree), and the unexpectedly compelling patterns etched, smeared, and bashed into myriad surfaces natural and -human-made by violently churning waters and blasting winds … Jordan's poetic images are accompanied by clarion essays by environmental writers Bill McKibben and Susan Zakin, making this an exceptionally artistic and thought-provoking response to a never-to-be-forgotten calamity. Book proceeds go to hurricane relief.” (From Booklist)

 

Thieves Like Us, by Stephen Cole

“After being plucked from a juvenile prison facility in the middle of the night, Jonah Wish is initiated into a group of teenage thieves, headed by Nathaniel Coldhardt, who coordinates a lavish lifestyle for misfits and sends them on assignments around the globe. Each team member has a special talent; Jonah, initially held against his will, quickly perceives that he has been tapped for his computer savvy … Somewhat reminiscent of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books, this novel relies on fast action, cool gadgets, and clever problem solving rather than dialogue or character development.” (From Booklist)

 

Psyche in a Dress, by Francesca Lia Block

“If the Greek gods lived today, would Psyche be a film star, compelled by her father to act however he directed her? Would Hades have been abused by his parents? Would Aphrodite own a dress shop selling clothing made of petals and butterfly wings? Would Orpheus be a rock musician who hides his talent by working as a bartender until after hours, when he plays for strippers? It is Block's genius to cast the gods with all their beauty and horror, manipulativeness and self-destructiveness, cruelty and tenderness into a modern society that feels a lot like California. This novel in verse, which begins with Psyche's (sometimes graphically described) affair with Eros, spirals down through Hades, and flows up again to Joy, will hook readers with its vivid imagery and the immediacy of its emotions … Riveting and brilliant, this is a must for most YA collections.” (From School Library Journal)

 

All the Wild Horses: Preserving the Spirit and Beauty of the World’s Wild Horses, by Dayton O. Hyde, Rita Summers, and Charles G. Summers

“As founder of the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary and a lifelong rancher, Hyde offers heartfelt, passionate essays that perfectly complement the work of photographers Rita and Charles Summers. Internationally renowned for their images of wild horses, they present work here that is nothing short of astonishing … Hyde peppers the text and photo captions with fascinating information about wild horses and explains the history behind federal laws governing wild-horse herds and his own efforts to maintain a place for them to safely roam. There is no better book for horse lovers or anyone interested in the horse as an icon of the American West.” (From Booklist)

 

Go Long! My Journey Beyond the Game and the Fame, by Jerry Rice, with Brian Curtis

“Jerry Rice has been called the best pro football player ever. In spite of Rice’s legendary gridiron skills, or even his ability to transform himself into an instant ballroom-dance prodigy on ABC’s hit TV series Dancing with the Stars, the surprising fact is, a guy like Jerry Rice is made and not just born. In Go Long! Rice shares the inspirational lessons and empowering practices that have helped him attain success, both on the football field and off. Through the ups and downs of Rice’s life and incomparable career, we discover how self-motivation, determination, and humility are the keys to achievement and true fulfillment.” (Book Description)

 

A Fire in My Hands, by Gary Soto

“These simple, free-verse selections skillfully capture that which is commonplace and transforms it into something mesmerizing and lovely. A first date, the embarrassment of belching root beer out of one's nose, the joy and the intricacies of the proper way to eat Mexican food, and a lost dog are just a few of the topics that Soto addresses … these selections depict Latino characters but will resonate with readers of all ethnicities. This revised and expanded edition will delight creative-writing teachers who are looking for a book that demonstrates the genesis of a poem as well as the compelling universality of the human experience.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Army 101: Inside the ROTC in a Time of War, by David Axe

“Recounting the experiences of University of South Carolina cadets, particularly those of two men and two women, Axe presents ROTC functions, such as Ranger Challenge, a competition involving skills and actions required of special forces soldiers, and Airborne School, which teaches jumping out of planes at low altitudes. He also discusses ROTC culture, which is disproportionately African American (three of the four focal students are black) and, like the professional military, biased toward men; one woman is sidelined because she can't do a pull-up suited up, and the other, an ace soldier who matches the men even at drinking, must realize she probably can't have an infantry career. Axe's concrete prose, his lack of prejudice and partisanship, and his respect for every cadet and army educator he limns, as well as for the ROTC itself, make this massively informative little book great reading.” (From Booklist)

 

What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, by John L. Esposito

"An excellent primer on all aspects of Islam. The question-and-answer-format allows readers to skip ahead to areas that interest them, including hot-button issues such as 'Why are Muslims so violent?' or 'Why do Muslim women wear veils and long garments?' In his answers, which are anywhere from a paragraph to several pages long, Esposito elegantly educates the reader through what the Quran said, how Muslims are influenced by their local cultures, and how the unique politics of Islamic countries affect Muslims' views.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

The Oracle: The Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi, by William J. Broad

“The oracle at Delphi influenced politicians and slaves with her prophecies, yet her life and practices are shrouded in mystery. In a fascinating story that is part detective tale and part science report, Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times writer Broad unveils the oracle. In order to prepare for her encounter with Apollo, the oracle descended into a chasm near the temple, where she would breathe the holy pneuma. She would then deliver her prophecies in a trance, sometimes foaming at the mouth and sometimes in a frenzy. When the temple was unearthed in the 19th century, archeologists and geologists searched for the mysterious chasm. Broad traces the history of these efforts and the conflicts they produced … Broad's lively prose and fast-paced storytelling conduct us on a breathless adventure of religious mystery and scientific discovery …” (From Publishers Weekly)

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2006-2007

The Audacity of Hope, by Barrack Obama

“Illinois's Democratic senator illuminates the constraints of mainstream politics all too well in this sonorous manifesto. Obama castigates divisive partisanship and calls for a centrist politics based on broad American values. His own cautious liberalism is a model: he's skeptical of big government and of Republican tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization; he's pro-choice, but respectful of pro-lifers; supportive of religion, but not of imposing it … Obama writes insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the media and legislative horse-trading.” (From Publishers Weekly)

 

Sold, by Patricia McCormick

“As this heartbreaking story opens, 13-year-old Lakshmi lives an ordinary life in Nepal, going to school and thinking of the boy she is to marry. Then her gambling-addicted stepfather sells her into prostitution in India. Refusing to be with men, she is beaten and starved until she gives in. Written in free verse, the girl’s first-person narration is horrifying and difficult to read … The spare, unadorned text matches the barrenness of Lakshmi’s new life. … When an American comes to the brothel to rescue girls, Lakshmi finally gets a sense of hope.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Grab on to me tightly as if I knew the way, by Bryan Charles

“Vim Sweeney takes his place in the long list of fictional characters is search of themselves. His journey centers on Kalamazoo, MI, in the summer of 1992, after his high school graduation. He works as a dishwasher, plays in a band, lusts after his best friend's girl, and tries to figure out his relationships with those around him, including his father and stepfather … The dialogue is filled with bravado and expletives, which the characters use to mask their insecurities and uncertainty about their future, and even, perhaps more so, their present.” (From School Library Journal)

 

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, by Barry Lyga

“On good days, Fanboy is invisible to the students at his high school. On bad ones, he's a target for bullying and violence. When a classmate is cruel to him, Fanboy adds him to The List and moves on … Reading comics and writing his own graphic novel are the only things that keep him sane. He dreams of showing his work to a famous author at a comic-book convention and being discovered as the next great graphic novelist. When Goth Girl Kyra IMs him … he's skeptical. Why does she care what happens to him? He learns, though, that she's as much an outsider as he is. The two form a tentative friendship …” (From School Library Journal)

 

Harlem Hustle, by Janet McDonald

“In this wonderful novel about the hip-hop lifestyle, [McDonald] takes readers on a journey with Eric Hustle Samson, 17, in his search for money and fame. Abandoned by his druggy parents, not in school, on probation, taken in by a friend's family, and hustling for money by shoplifting, the teen dreams of becoming a successful rapper known as Harlem Hustle. True, he has talent, but what he doesn't have is a real sense of who he is. What he does have, though, is a couple of friends and some other people who care about him. The author nails the hip-hop lingo and the street slang, and her characters strike just the right attitude.” (From School Library Journal)

 

The Braid, by Helen Frost

“Teenage sisters Jeannie and Sarah are separated when the Highland Clearances of the 1850s tear their family away from the only home they've known. Jeannie sails to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, with their parents and younger siblings to start a new life, while Sarah decides to remain in Scotland with their grandmother. In an age when distance and illiteracy prohibit communication, the girls remain connected solely by pieces of a braid intertwined with one another's hair … the easy flow of the verse and its emotional impact that will carry even reluctant readers into the windswept landscape and the hardships and dreams of these two girls.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Upstate, by Kalisha Buckhanon

“Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father? So begins Upstate, a powerful story told through letters between two young, star-crossed lovers. Seventeen-year-old Antonio and sixteen-year-old Natasha face tragedy when Antonio finds himself in jail, accused of a shocking crime. While he fights to stay alive on the inside, Natasha must makes choices that could change her life forever. Over the course of a decade, they share a desperate correspondence. Despite being apart, they keep turning to each for support, advice, and love. All the while, they can only wonder if they will ever be reunited. Startling, real, and filled with raw emotion, Upstate is unforgettable ...” (Book Description)

 

The Marryin’ Kind, by Nancy J. Parra

“Madeline just isn't interested in getting married. She enjoys her freedom. But her kid sister is worried because their father mandated that the younger sisters can't be courted until Maddie is safely wed. Then, in a stroke of impish genius, their brother suggests that Maddie claim to be secretly engaged to Evan Montgomery, one of his friends who went off to fight in the Civil War, never to be heard from again. Maddie moves into Evan's abandoned cottage, and for two years, this works out just fine. Then Evan's brother, Trevor, comes home, and he is not so sure about Maddie ...” (From Booklist)

 

Rooftop, by Paul Volponi

“Clay, 17, a pot abuser, and his cousin Addison, 18, a crack dealer, both attend Daytop, a day-treatment program in New York City. At one time close, then separated by a family feud, the teens are now working through their problems together. Their parents have just begun to put their dispute behind them when Clay sees Addison shot by the police on the rooftop of the projects where he lived and the incident becomes the focal point of a campaign for racial justice … Delving into the psychological trauma of Clay and the comparison of how he and Addison's younger brother deal with the killing, the author gives readers a realistic look at individuals, family dynamics, and moral dilemmas.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Trigger, by Susan Vaught

“17-year-old Jersey Hatch returns home after a year in a brain-injury treatment center. Having no memory of the event, Jersey has been informed that he shot himself in the head. With no internal points of reference, he is compelled to confirm through those around him that he really pulled the trigger, and more importantly, to discover why. Plagued by numerous physical challenges, and struggling to think sequentially and to avoid inappropriate vocalization, this proves difficult. Worse yet, Jersey has returned to parents broken by his actions and to peers who despise him … ” (From Booklist)

 

The Hoopster, by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

“On the neighborhood basketball court, Andre Anderson jockeys for position among his multicultural group of buddies, but, off the court, the African-American teen's writing talent puts him in the spotlight. Given the opportunity to write a feature article on racism for the national magazine where he works as an intern, he addresses his feelings honestly. As a result, he is brutally attacked by a group of racists, hoping to silence his pen by symbolically crushing his hand in a car door. The incident incites a gamut of responses among his friends, his Latina girlfriend, and his family.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Why Pandas do Handstands: and other curious truths about animals, by Augustus Brown

“Many people are endlessly fascinated with animals--their methods of communication, mating rituals, how they build their homes and nurture (or not) their offspring. Augustus Brown panders to this near obsession in this delightful book, offering snippets of information such as … ‘snakes indulge in heavy petting,’ and ‘an elephant's trunk contains 40,000 muscles.’ … Brown entertains while he educates his audience on such subjects as animal intelligence, how animals live together in peace or wage war, which animals use tools, and what species eats their siblings …” (From Booklist)

 

Notes from the Midnight Driver, by Jordan Sonnenblick

“While his mother is out on a first date, 16-year-old Alex decides to get drunk, steal her car, and drive to his father's home, hoping to catch him romancing one of Alex's former teachers. His goal? Revenge. Reality? A damaged car, a decapitated gnome, a drunk driving charge, and community service. He is ordered to serve his 100 hours visiting Solomon Lewis, the meanest, crankiest resident at Egbert P. Johnson Memorial Home for the Aged. Alex discovers that Solomon is also witty, intelligent, and a fighter--an old man who has lived all the joys, sorrows, and regrets of a long life …" (From Booklist

 

Man of My Dreams, by Curtis Sittenfeld

"Sittenfeld's second novel is as sharply written as her first, Prep, which chronicled one girl's experiences at an elite private high school. Hannah Gavener, at age 14, is grappling with her mother's decision to stand up to her controlling father. The storyline follows Hannah through college and afterwards as she tries to find the kind of romance she believes she's looking for. Her glamorous, beautiful cousin, Fig, never seems to have trouble finding guys, and it is one of Fig's on-again, off-again boyfriends, Henry, who captivates Hannah and becomes her ideal … As is often the case in life, things don't work out quite according to plan …” (From Booklist) **Note: Prep is also available at the library!

 

Bitten & Smitten, by Michelle Rowen

“Blind dates can be bad, but Sarah Dearly's date is a true contender for worst ever. His neck nibbling didn't just leave a bruise; it turns her into a vampire, and the newest target for a pack of zealot vampire hunters. With her date now their latest victim, Sarah runs for her immortal life--straight into Thierry de Bennicoeur, a master vampire who is just a wee bit suicidal. Thierry can't resist a damsel in distress and agrees to teach Sarah how to live the vampire life if she'll help him end his own. But as it turns out, Sarah may be his best reason for living …” (From Booklist)

 

The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop, by Saul Williams

“Williams is not the first to take hip-hop diction and rhyme to the page and make beautiful stanzaic poetry [but] he creates, in this third book, a kind of "In Memorium" for hip-hop's redemptive promise, trying, as Tennyson did, to find light shining through the wreckage of hope. If this effort falls short of that great poem, the ambition behind it is not the less for it … The sly way in which the speaker simultaneously inhabits and repudiates male rap clichés and effects sonic sneak attacks (one hears ‘kill her’ in ‘killer’) gets worked out over 33 ‘chapters’ of anywhere from three to 10 stanzas, giving a fierce, assured tour of hip-hop history and contradiction." (From Publishers Weekly)

 

Music for the People: Dave Matthews Band, by Nevin Martell

“Their albums enter the charts at #1. Fans follow them around the country, soaking up the incredible energy of their sold-out live concerts. From gigging at an Earth Day celebration and more frat parties than anyone can remember, Dave Matthews and his phenomenal band have electrified rock 'n' roll America. Now a music industry insider takes you to the heart of the Dave Matthews Band—their meteoric rise to superstardom and the most extensive listing ever published of their tours and smash recordings, including the bootlegs that the band encourages.” (Book Description)

 

The World Made Straight, by Ron Rash

“High-schooler Travis Shelton steals one too many marijuana plants from vicious tobacco-farmer-turned-drug-dealer Carlton Toomey and ends up caught in a bear trap, his foot so mangled he needs surgery. Travis' stern father kicks him out, and he ends up bunking at the rundown trailer of bookish Leonard Shuler, a low-level drug dealer and former schoolteacher who lost his job and his family because of false charges … Just as Leonard starts to get his own life in order and talks Travis into making plans for college, he becomes enmeshed in a confrontation with Toomey. Part melancholy historical novel and part high-voltage thriller …” (From Booklist)

 

Catch, by Will Leitch

“During the summer between his high school graduation and leaving for state college, Tim Temples works and drinks hard and discovers that he is not alone at the center of his own universe … Daytimes are spent working in a food packaging plant, hauling boxes, and noticing that his old high school friends are quickly fading into the old men who staff the plant year round. Only belatedly does Tim realize that he is different from most of his friends, most of his family, most of the town. He's leaving to be a college guy, in a world just down the highway but very far away in terms of prospects …” (From School Library Journal)

 

Magic or Madness, by Justine Larbalestier

“Reason Cansino has spent her life with her unusual mother in the bush, moving frequently, keeping to herself, and learning how to guard against her bizarre grandmother, Esmeralda. When her mother goes insane and 15-year-old Reason is sent to live with Esmeralda, she starts to question all the stories her mother has told her. … When Reason digs up a dead cat in the cellar and finds the key to a locked (magic) door, she escapes her increasingly frightening grandmother only to find herself halfway around the world in New York City, weak, in danger … By turns a fantasy adventure and a thoughtful examination of relationships, this radiant gem stands alone, but expect readers to be impatient for the rest of the trilogy.” (From School Library Journal) *Note: Part II will be available soon!

 

Just Ask: Diary of a Teenage Girl, by Melody Carlson

“Kim, 16, struggles with religious questions and ultimately tries to live a Christian life while she writes a teen advice column for her dad's newspaper. Then, a family tragedy occurs and her faith is shaken. Kim is a realistic young woman trying to make sense of her world in the context of her religion. She makes mistakes and experiences the consequences of bad decisions, but, in the end, faith and friends pull her through. Though the theme is heavy, the writing is breezy and fun.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Search and Destroy, by Dean Hughes

”Rick, a recent high school graduate, has no direction … After a fight with his father, he decides to join the army, realizing that he needs some discipline. He is selected to join the Special Forces and attend jump school in preparation for going to Vietnam. There, Rick is challenged by the heat, the smell of burning sewage, and jungle training … This is an involving story about the Vietnam War from the viewpoint of a young soldier. Hughes captures the danger, tension, pain, and small triumphs of the conflict … A well-written, realistic, and engrossing book. (From School Library Journal)

 

Cromartie High School, by Eiji Nonaka

“Tokyo's Cromartie High is famed for having the dregs of humanity as its students. Takashi's classmates spend an inordinate amount of time trying to discover which one of them is the strongest, and the teen has to use his wits to avoid being pummeled … In addition to the usual incorrigible students, there's also a gorilla, a robot, and a strong silent type who looks like a cross between Freddie Mercury and Deadwood's Al Swearengen … This is a witty, surreal, and entertaining read.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Kipling’s Choice, by Geert Spillebeen

“First published in Belgium, this fictionalized biography begins as Lt. John Kipling, age 18, lies dying in France in World War I. The narrative contrasts the gruesome details of his personal injuries and the slaughter around him with his glowing memory of how his beloved father, the world-famous writer, used his influence to get the authorities to overlook John's poor eyesight so that he could fight in a glorious adventure for the British Empire against ‘barbaric Huns’ … the power of this story is in the contrast between the war and the home front. [The] family story is heartfelt--the letters, the memories, and the loss.” (From Booklist)

 

Some Fun, by Antonya Nelson

“Nelson is a superb storyteller preternaturally attuned to the wildness in our hearts. She is particularly versed in the courage and recklessness of teenage girls, whose penchant for risk casts a blazing light on the pain and hypocrisy of adult life. Two girl renegades stand out with striking fierceness in Nelson's fifth fiction collection, a gathering of seven stunning short stories and a novella, all tales of fractured family life, trauma, and redemptive transformation.” (From Booklist)

 

Angels of Death, by Julian Sher & William Marsden

"Sher and Marsden reveal the worldwide crime cartel constituted by the Hell's Angels motorcycle club. Chronicling worldwide misdeeds and mayhem, they focus on how [head Angel Ralph ‘Sonny’] Barger personally directs a crime organization that has successfully represented itself as a bunch of hard-drinking mischief makers guilty only of loving freedom and hedonism too much. Telling tales of murder and revenge at the hands of chopper pilots in the Netherlands, Australia, the U.S., and elsewhere, they cite control of the drug trade as the root of a criminal empire that also embraces prostitution and sundry other interests. … Sher and Marsden bring readers up to speed with an ace true-crime saga.” (From Booklist)

 

Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution, by Heather Chaplin & Aaron Ruby

“This thorough history in eight essay-style chapters begins at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2001 with CliffyB, a 26-year-old who already had nine years of experience in the industry. The story goes back in time to MIT in the late '50s and the development of the first video game. Moving onward to the present, readers meet developers at Nintendo, the creators of Doom, the developers of the Sims series, and players of Massively Multiplayer Online games … This immensely readable book will have great appeal with gaming teens.” (From School Library Journal)

 

Twins, by Marcy Dermansky

“A beguiling story of the powerful ties between identical twins, Dermansky's lively debut also takes on bulimia, lesbian relationships, and the pressures of high-school academics and sports. In the alternating voices of Chloe, who is four minutes older, taller, smarter, and prettier, and Sue, who is always playing catch-up, Dermansky weaves the ever-changing story of the twins' lives from eighth grade through high school … With the ability to blend humor with these sometimes sad and lonely lives, Dermansky has crafted a memorable novel.” (From Booklist)

 

My So-called Digital Life, by Bob Pletka

“Pletka, a director of technology for Southern California's Covina-Valley School District, organized a project with high-school students in his region: the students' charge was to capture, with words and images, their lives during a month at school. Grouped into categories, the powerful student essays and photos address the trip to and from school, learning and the ways students play after school. The intimate images reach far beyond the headlines and hype about teen trends and emphasize the enormous pressures students face… Equally affecting are the students' frank critiques of ‘dull, lifeless’ teaching methods and the joy they find in dynamic classrooms.” (From Booklist)

 

The Prop, by Pete Hautman

“Patty ‘Peeky’ Kane works as a ‘prop’ at an Arizona Indian casino, which means she fills out shorthanded poker games on behalf of management but plays—and wins—with her own stake. A cop's widow who was briefly on the force herself, Peeky is cruising into middle age when she notices a couple of dealers scamming jackpots. She keeps quiet, but then an insane posse of clowns steals a million bucks from the cage and kills several people in the process. Signs point to an inside job, and Peeky finds herself both under suspicion and roped into investigating the crime …” (From Booklist)

 

The Geography of Girlhood, by Kirsten Smith

“This novel in verse follows Penny as she navigates the unpredictable and often harrowing waters of young adulthood, and her episodic narration reverberates with authenticity. She is a sensitive girl deeply affected by her mother's abandonment when she was six. Though many of the hurdles that Penny encounters are representative of typical small-town teens, she has an insight into other people and even into her own feelings that make this a penetrating portrait of growing up female … The everyday pain of adolescence rings true throughout this readable and honest story.” (School Library Journal)

 

Hard Hit, by Anna Turner

“Mike, 16, has the perfect life–star baseball player, cute girlfriend, and loyal best friend–until the phone call that turns his life upside down. His father has pancreatic cancer. While his friends continue to live their lives, time stands still for Mike. His dad suffers through and begins the wasting away that cancer causes. A short period of remission brings a brief period of celebration. In the end, however, Mike finds that his bargains with God and his attempts to get along better with his sister are all for naught … Teens who have experienced serious illness and/or death in their family or with close friends will relate to Turners profound novel." (School Library Journal)

 

Cell, by Stephen King

“Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous … In Cell King taps into readers fears of technological warfare and terrorism. Mobile phones deliver the apocalypse to millions of unsuspecting humans by wiping their brains of any humanity, leaving only aggressive and destructive impulses behind. Those without cell phones, like illustrator Clayton Riddell and his small band of 'normies,' must fight for survival; their journey to find Clayton's estranged wife and young son rockets the book toward resolution.” (Amazon.com)

 

Skin, by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

“Donnie, 14, has a dysfunctional family. His parents, completely ineffective, constantly rage at one another. His sister, Karen, 16, is anorexic and storms around screaming profanities and lying. Donnie is simply becoming invisible. The outcast at school, he suffers from ear infections and lays low, watching his sister starve herself … Readers know from the first page that Donnie finds Karen dead; his recounting of the preceding years is heartbreaking because of his sincere love for the sister who has been his keeper, and because of the anger and betrayal he feels during her physical and emotional descent …” (School Library Journal)

 

Inside Delta Force, by Eric L. Haney

“The first part of the book gives an overview of Haney’s military career and his association with the force and describes the red tape and planning that was required of those who wished to create a new, secret military unit that officially did not exist. It also includes a description of the physical challenges required of those who were chosen to participate in what was a preliminary round of qualification tests. Those who were successful in all the tests were then eligible to participate in the actual selection process. The second half of the text shows the sometimes brutal challenges the successful candidates were required to complete and details some of the actual training sessions …This is an excellent choice for students with military interests.” (School Library Journal)

 

The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece, by John Harris

“[An] account of the talented people behind an enigmatic album that has sold so many copies (30 million) that, Harris notes, one British magazine speculated it was ‘virtually impossible that a moment went by without it being played somewhere on the planet.’ The author triumphs at using research and interviews with the Pink Floyd members to bring to life the dilemmas they faced while making the 1973 album, including the incapacitating mental illness of original leader Syd Barrett and the arrival of new member David Gilmour. Given Pink Floyd's dramatic, often challenging music and its undeniable air of mystery, the book also excels in humanizing the musicians through candid portrayals of their everyday highs and lows.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, by Paul Gravett

“Presents an accessible, entertaining, and highly-illustrated introduction to the development and diversity of Japanese comics from 1945 to the present. Featuring striking graphics and extracts from a wide range of manga, the book covers such themes as the specific attributes of manga in contrast to American and European comics; the life and career of Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy and originator of story manga; boys' comics from the 1960s to the present; the genres and genders of girls' and women's comics; the darker, more realistic themes of gekiga—violent samurai, disturbing horror and apocalyptic science fiction; issues of censorship and protest; and manga's role as a major Japanese export and global influence.” (Book Description)

 

Mixed: My Life in Black and White, by Angela Nissel

“ ’Are you black or white?’ That question has plagued Nissel, a light-skinned child born to a white father and black mother, since birth; she tackles it with honesty and aplomb in this witty memoir about the years she spent in West Philadelphia during the 1970s and '80s. Whether recalling an oral report on fellow ‘mulatto’ David Hasselhoff that she gave in the third grade (‘He's half black because my mother said he is!’) or the way she ‘act[ed] like a 'tard’ to escape bullies or her descent into depression (and stay at a psych ward) during her first year at U. Penn, Nissel—a former staff writer for the NBC sitcom Scrubs—infuses her coming-of-age tale with humor and pathos … Nissel's writing is very funny and very sharp.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Crunch Time, by Mariah Fredericks

“After skipping out of an SAT prep class, juniors Leo, Daisy, Max, and Jane agree to meet regularly at Jane's apartment for their own study group. They all work hard, seem to improve their test-taking skills, and forge friendships in the process. Soon, Max reveals to best friend Daisy that he wants more than friendship from her. Daisy, however, falls hard for Leo, who appears to fall back but doesn't know how to be devoted in a relationship, especially when he is drinking. Jane is the rich, beautiful wallflower whom Max could ask out if the idea occurred to him. After the SAT, a senior high scorer confesses that she was paid to take the exam for someone else. The whole school is in an uproar as the senior refuses to disclose the cheater's name. When two members of the study group are among the suspects, things begin to unravel.” (School Library Journal)

 

Your Eyes in Stars, by M. E. Kerr

“In 1934, teenaged Jessie lives in a small upstate New York town where her father is the warden in the state prison … Jessie is pleasantly surprised when the daughter of the German professor who has moved into the neighborhood makes direct appeals for friendship [but] their friendship is interrupted when the Stadlers abruptly return to Germany … Jessie and Elisa correspond during the next few years, their letters—as well as those from their acquaintances—make up the latter portion of the novel. Years later, in 1946, Jessie learns what really happened to Elisa. Kerr weaves an authentic story in which characters can know only so much at any given moment of their lives, and actually misunderstand much of what they think they know.” (School Library Journal)

 

Gunstories: Life-Changing Experiences with Guns, by S. Beth Atkin

“This book clearly shows the diversity of the American gun culture, contrasting, for example, Ohio 4-H clubs that train boys and girls to target shoot competitively with South Central L.A., where their urban counterparts too often find themselves in the front lines of gun violence. Some of the interviewees have been shot, others have seen the lives of strangers, friends, and family members devastated by shootings. Hunting accidents, unintentional shootings, and suicide are other aspects of the issue that are addressed. … This book should be useful for students involved in the debate about guns in our culture as well as for those with a general interest in the subject.” (School Library Journal)

 

James Dean, by George Perry

“Marking the fiftieth anniversary of James Dean's death, a new book about the star who embodied the live fast, die young, leave a beautiful corpse ethos. Perry offers what is essentially a picture book with text, primarily devoted to Dean's film career. It includes a fine filmography and such other features as a time line, listing of stage and television appearances, and select bibliography, and because it was authorized by the actor's estate, contains many candid photos from the Dean family's private collection. Though it ventures precious little on messy topics, such as the young star's sexuality, its detailed rundown of the various romantic relationships simmering on the set of Rebel without a Cause is a definite asset. Truly wonderful illustration …” (Booklist)

 

Freeing Keiko, by Kenneth Brower

“After he starred in director Richard Donner’s hit film Free Willy in 1993, Keiko gained international celebrity as the most famous marine mammal in the world … With the help of a dedicated team of environmentalists led by the Earth Island Institute and $7.5 million from the deep pockets of eccentric cellular-phone billionaire … he ultimately would return to his native Iceland where a team of keepers would attempt to release him, making the cinematic story that had captivated the world’s children a reality. Award-winning environmental writer Kenneth Brower has created a narrative that is by turns heartrending and exhilarating …” (Book Description)

 

Tabula Rasa, by Shelly Reuben

“Meredith Marmalade Bly lives a charmed life in upstate New York with her doting parents until a school project requires her to research her family tree. Suddenly, Annie and Sebastian Bly and her Uncle Billy, a New York City firefighter, are thrown into a perilous situation where they must lie to protect her. As an infant, she was found by Billy in the charred ruins of a house fire that killed her brother and sister … Unwilling to wreak further emotional havoc on Meredith's life, the three adults decide to create a name and a past for the girl's mother …This exciting suspense story [will] grab teens from its intriguing beginning and keep them reading …” (School Library Journal)

 

A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone

“Three girls succumb to the charms of one sexy high school senior and emerge wiser for the experience … Josie is a self-assured freshman who values her girlfriends over boys until a hot jock focuses his attention on her and her simmering hormones break into a full boil … Next, readers meet Nicolette, a junior who sees her sexuality as power. She's caught by surprise at her own reaction when this popular boy takes notice of her … Finally, Aviva, a pretty, smart, artsy, and funny senior, is stunned when the jock seems to want her. She gives up her virginity, only to be disappointed in both the sex and the boy … Free verse gives the stories a breathless, natural flow and changes tone with each narrator.” (School Library Journal)

 

From Pieces to Weight, by 50 Cent

“The rap superstar known as 50 Cent was born Curtis James Jackson III in 1976. His mother, a smalltime drug dealer, was murdered when he was eight, but that didn't stop him from pursuing her profession. 50 Cent is unflinchingly honest about his mother, his drug past and just about everything else in this raw, literate memoir chronicling his rise from Jamaica, Queens, to the top of the Billboard charts … Opinionated, unrepentant and unabashedly self-promoting, 50 Cent's memoir celebrates the rapper's peculiar brand of the American Dream (and the title of his breakthrough album): Get Rich or Die Tryin'.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Freaks: Alive on the Inside, by Annette Curtis Klause

“Abel, 17, is the normal son of a legless father and an armless mother. He lives with other oddities in a midget village where they put on shows. He is restless and wants his own life. His romantic experiences have been limited to kissing the hairy Dog-Faced Girl. He runs away and joins a traveling circus, unaware that Apollo, 12, the hairy Puppy Boy, has followed him … Set in 1899, this gripping and sensual tale is a fascinating mixture of fantasy and reality.” (School Library Journal)

 

Stuart: A Life Backwards, by Alexander Masters

“The British antihero of this moving biography started with teenage glue-sniffing, petty thievery and gang brawls, then graduated to heroin and major thievery … finally emerging into triumphant semistability as an ‘ex-homeless, ex-junkie psychopath’ with only occasional episodes of violence and suicidal impulses. Masters, an advocate for the homeless, befriended Stuart and found him at times obnoxious and repellent, but also funny and honest ... By eschewing easy answers (the easy answers—don't drink, don't use, don't steal, don't play with knives—are precisely the hardest for Stuart), [Masters] accords full humanity to Stuart's stumbling efforts to grapple with his demons. Hilarious and clear-eyed, the author's superbly drawn portrait of Stuart is unforgettable …” (Publishers Weekly)

 

High School’s Not Forever, by Jane Bluestein and Eric D. Katz

”Many teens find their high school years to be trying, angst ridden, and downright rotten. Culled from the responses of some 2000 high and post-high school students, this title gives voice to young people who have lived through the experience and who offer both affirming and cautionary tales as they attempted to navigate the uncertain seas of friendship, depression, academic achievement, drugs, and sexuality. Of all the observations contained in this unusual book, there has to be at least one that will resonate with readers. No one commentary is more than a page. In addition, there are advice sections and an entire listing of organizations that can provide help with problems.” (School Library Journal)

 

Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld

“19-year-old Cal, a Texas transplant, lost his virginity–and a lot more–when he first arrived in New York City. He became a parasite-positive, or peep … Now he works for the Night Watch, a secret branch of city government dedicated to tracking others of his kind. Unlike the rare natural carriers like Cal, who has acquired night vision, superhuman strength, and a craving for lots of protein, most peeps are insane cannibals lurking in darkness. But now the teen has found the young woman who infected him–and learns that something worse than peeps is threatening the city, and he is on the front lines ... An innovative and original vampire story …” (School Library Journal)

 

Nailed, by Patrick Jones

“Bret does most things the hard way, according to his father, and the teen is sure his dad hates him. He's more interested in acting than sports and covers his long green-tinted hair with a fedora. It takes Bret most of his junior year to understand what his dad always told him: the nail that sticks out the farthest gets hammered hardest as he struggles to deal with the jockarchy at school and their constant taunts (mostly being called a faggot or a homo because he's a born artist) … Issues of free speech, conformity, and the power of the in-crowd all surround Bret as he begins to buck the school's establishment and to stand up for himself …” (School Library Journal)

 

Crackback, by John Coy

“Miles is a likable and talented player who tries to please everyone: coaches, his father, his teachers, and the girl he is interested in. Regardless of his efforts or his talents, he can't seem to satisfy his coach and winds up on the bench where he meets, and likes, the second-string players who have lives outside of football–something that has never occurred to Miles or his father … Through his struggles with his coach and his dad, he begins to learn that life is complicated and that answers don't always come in the form of X's and O's … well-rounded characters [and] some great football action.” (School Library Journal)

 

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: The Real Deal — School

“This isn't a lessons book or straight-talk from adults, but teen-friendly conversation about important topics like gossip, bad haircuts, getting cut from the team, and the pain of breaking up (even if you've only been together two weeks) … From taking tests to dealing with cliques, from teachers to crushes and all the other relationships teens have to deal with on a daily basis, teens will see themselves (and their friends and enemies) in this honest and fun book.” (Book Description)

 

Christ the Lord, by Anne Rice

“Rice leaves the gothic behind and explores the mysteries beneath the childhood of Jesus … Although the historical and cultural details are authentic and well done, it is the character of Jesus that drives this novel. He feels like a typical seven-year-old, but he's also suddenly discovering abilities that no one else possesses. He brings clay birds to life, makes snow fall, and even resurrects a dead playmate. Stunned by these odd happenings, he turns to Joseph and Mary for answers. When they are not forthcoming, he's forced to hunt out clues through local legends, rumors, and a strange spirit that taunts him in his dreams … This new direction for Rice is bound to please fans and newcomers alike.” (School Library Journal)

 

Puppetry: A World History, by Eileen Blumenthal

“In its long history, puppetry has played many parts. It has taken central roles in shamanic rites and been vilified by medieval churchmen as devilry, romanticized as a repository of folk wisdom, infantilized as a mere adjunct to children's theater, and valorized by visionaries [as] a superior, potentially more expressive form of theater. Today some puppets, most notably Jim Henson's Muppets, are so popular that they are no longer recognized as mere puppets. Meanwhile, on Broadway, one of the most elaborate and expensive puppet shows ever fabricated, The Lion King, has been filling the house since 1997 … [A] rich, exhaustively researched, lavishly illustrated history spanning from prehistory to the present.” (Booklist)

 

Heat, by Mike Lupica

“When Michael Arroyo is on the baseball diamond, everything feels right. He's a terrific pitcher who dreams of leading his South Bronx All-Stars to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. It's a dream he shared with his father, one they brought with them as they fled Cuba … [but] Papi died of a heart attack, leaving Michael and his older brother, Carlos, to struggle along on their own … Lupica crafts an involving, fast-paced novel peopled with strong, well-developed characters. Readers will find themselves rooting for Michael as he struggles with the loss of his father, stumbles into his first boy-girl relationship, and yearns to play baseball. The sports scenes are especially well written…” (School Library Journal)

 

Ready or Not, by Meg Cabot

“Samantha Madison is back. She is still a semi-celebrity for saving the president's life and she is still dating his son. She is faced with a huge dilemma when it appears that she not only condemns the president's new Return to Family policy, but also implies that she has slept with David. The ensuing consequences and Samantha's conflicted feelings about sex provide drama. A subplot involves Lucy, Samantha's older sister, falling for her nerdy math tutor, who does not return her feelings … The characters are real, witty, and relatable, and the author has an ear for teen dialogue … [the] book is funny, smart, well paced, and honest.” (School Library Journal)

 

Defining Dulcie, by Paul Acampora

“Strong and quirky characters who see life as an inextricable mix of sadness and humor, sorrow and hope, are the hallmark of this memorable first novel. When 16-year-old Dulcie's beloved dad dies, she and her mom leave her granddad in Connecticut and drive to California to start over. This doesn't work for the still-grieving Dulcie so she takes their truck and drives home to pick up the pieces of her old life and remember her father in all the old places. Her road trip and memories of it, along with events that occur once she arrives home, provide the figurative journey that begins her healing. Rather than being a sad or solemn read, however, the treatment is unexpectedly offbeat and, at times, wonderfully funny.” (School Library Journal)

 

Solstice Wood, by Patricia McKillip

“When Sylvia Lynn’s beloved grandfather dies, she must go to Lynn Hall, the huge, old house that has been the Lynn family's center for generations, and to the frightening, tantalizing wood behind it. Returning, she is surprised when Gram invites her to attend the Fiber Guild, a sewing circle that's been around forever … True shock comes when she learns that the circle is a coven of witches working spells with their knitting and needlework that protect Lynn Hall and the town from the ancient powers of the forest and the evil Fay, and that the spells are unraveling faster than the witches can weave, and paths between worlds are reopening … McKillip dazzles with this lovely tale of fairy and human worlds meeting and melding.” (Booklist)

 

Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper

“Amari is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is happily anticipating her marriage to Besa. Then, slavers arrive in her village, slaughter her family, and shatter her world. Shackled, frightened, and despondent, she is led to the Cape Coast where she is branded and forced onto a boat of death for the infamous Middle Passage to the Carolinas. There, Percival Derby buys her as a gift for his son's 16th birthday. Trust and friendship develop between Amari and Polly, a white indentured servant, and when their mistress gives birth to a black baby, the teens try to cover up Mrs. Derby's transgression. However, Mr. Derby's brutal fury spurs them to escape … [An] action-packed, multifaceted, character-rich story …” (School Library Journal)

 

Endgame, by Nancy Garden

“15-year-old Gray Wilton is in juvenile detention, waiting for his murder trial. In a series of interviews, his defense lawyer slowly uncovers the gradual escalation of physical and emotional bullying that drove the sensitive, musically artistic kid to the point where he takes a gun to school and starts shooting … Gray begins a new school year in a new town, hoping that the bullying he suffered in middle school will be a thing of the past [but] he discovers that there are bullies at Greenford High, and they don't take long to find him … Constant hazing turns into ugly incidents of physical violence … The ending provides an emotional punch that is difficult to forget.” (School Library Journal)

 

Thin Ice, by Mark Bowen

“This book will appeal to mountaineering and climatology buffs, but should be read by everyone concerned about the future of our planet … Bowen frames his story with the exploits of Lonnie Thompson, a professor at Ohio State who pioneered the study of glaciers near the equator. Thompson challenged and eventually changed accepted beliefs on how climate change occurs with his revolutionary lightweight-coring techniques that draw ice cores from glaciers in South America, on the China-Tibet border and elsewhere. Bowen explains how carbon dioxide and water vapor interact to regulate our planet's thermostat and argues that scientific evidence conclusively shows that use of fossil fuels has accelerated global warming; in our lifetimes, he predicts, the snows of Kilimanjaro will be no more.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Eagle Blue, by Michael D’Orso

“Eight miles above the Arctic Circle, there's a village with no roads leading to it, but a high school basketball tradition that lights up winter's darkness and a team of native Alaskan boys who know ‘no quit.’ D'Orso follows the Fort Yukon Eagles through their 2005 season to the state championship, shifting between a mesmerizing narrative and the thoughts of the players, their coach and their fans. What emerges is more than a sports story; it's a striking portrait of a community consisting of a traditional culture bombarded with modernity, where alcoholism, domestic violence and school dropout rates run wild … With a ghostlike presence, D'Orso lends a voice to a place that deserves to be known.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

On This Day, by Melody Carson

“The ‘day’ is given over to a posh resort wedding. Events play out through the eyes of various observers: a family friend, the bride's aunt, the bridesmaid, the bride's grandmother, and the bride's sister. None of these women is entirely secure in her marriage. One is a new mother, weary to her soul; another has financial troubles and is resentful of the wedding's extravagance; another is a snob; and yet another is dealing with her husband's affair. Although the women will appeal mainly to female readers, they all seem quite real, and any story by Carlson is worth encountering.” (Booklist)

 

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2005-2006

Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code, by Bart D. Ehrman

“In his staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown states up front that the historical information in the The Da Vinci Code is all factually accurate. But is this claim true? Did the ancient church engage in a cover-up to make the man Jesus into a divine figure? Was Jesus Christ married to Mary Magdalene?… In his engaging book, Ehrman separates fact from fiction, the historical realities from the flights of literary fancy. Anyone who would like to know the truth about the beginnings of Christianity and the real truth behind The Da Vinci Code will find this book riveting.” (Publisher)

 

After Summer, by Nick Earls

“This summer is different. School is over for Alex Delaney, and he's waiting for his university acceptance, only seventeen days away. The waiting is killing him. He's not expecting much from summer. Bodysurfing, TV, but mainly waiting. So he's not ready for the girl who cuts past him on a wave. Not at all prepared for her perfect balance on the board, the elegant muscles of her shoulders and back. Just a girl. Compelling green eyes, golden skin, something graceful and elusive about her. Summer is about to change.” (Publisher)

 

The Naming, by Alison Croggon

"Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She doesn't yet know she has inherited a powerful gift, one that marks her as a member of the noble School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true identity and extraordinary destiny unfold. Now, she and her mysterious teacher must embark on a treacherous, uncertain journey through a time and place where the forces of darkness wield an otherworldly terror. The first book in a projected quartet.” (Publisher)

 

Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, by Heather Rogers

"From waste basket to landfill, a vertiginous descent into the mysteriously hellish world of trash. Every day a phantasmagoric rush of spent, used, and broken riches flows through our homes, offices, and cars. The United States is the planet's number-one producer of trash; each American discards over 2,600 pounds annually. But where does all that garbage go? Part exposé, part social commentary, this work traces the connections between modern industrial production, consumer culture, and our disposable lifestyle.” (Publisher)

 

Sandpiper, by Ellen Wittlinger

“Sandpiper Hollow Ragsdale has a bad reputation. At first she just wanted a boyfriend, but now she's had a dozen and doesn't know what she saw in any of them. When one of Sandy's exes, Derek, starts harassing her, a mysterious boy called the Walker comes to her aid. Walker spends his days wandering through town. When Sandy begins to walk with him, he evades her questions, unwilling to reveal anything about himself. She's interested but wary -- why is Walker so secretive? As Derek's aggressions turn dangerous, Sandy and Walker are forced to confront the pain of their pasts, which each of them would rather forget." (Publisher)

 

Not the End of the World, by Geraldine McCaughrean

“What was it really like when the heavens opened and the world drowned? Everyone knows the story of the Flood: The man called on by God to build an ark. The animals that came on board two by two. The rain that fell for forty days and forty nights. But what about the rest of the story? What about Noah's wife and daughters-in-law? And what if there was a daughter as well? How would it feel to head into the unknown, with only each other and all those animals? What would it be like to turn away friends and neighbors struggling in the water? Could all of it really be part of God's Plan -- the hunger and pain and fear?” (Publisher)

 

Bird, by Angela Johnson

“Bird, a 13-year-old girl with a mission, has run away in pursuit of her stepfather. She's sure she'll be able to convince him to return, to fill the hole he left in their family. She becomes entwined in the lives of three people who also have holes to fill: Ethan, whose heart troubles have kept him too sheltered from kids his own age; Jay, whose brother has died unexpectedly; and Mrs. Pritchard, whose house has been too empty since her husband was moved to a nursing home. Through the unique voices of the three kids, an eloquent, affecting story unfolds. Bird will leave you thoroughly uplifted.” (Publisher)

 

Johnny Hazzard, by Eddie de Oliveira

“Johnny Hazzard's an American boy living in London for the summer. He's not used to being a foreigner, and even less used to fending for himself. Then he meets an older girl named January and suddenly his quest for experience is taking some unexpected turns. This is a novel about growing up American, growing up in the world, and growing up in the face of love. Eddie de Oliveira writes with vim, vigor, and verve about coming of age in our very uncertain, complicated age.” (Publisher)

 

Crossing Jordan, by Adrian Fogelin

“12-year-old Cassie narrates the dramatic events that unfold when Jemmie, an African-American girl, and her family move in next door. Despite their parents' deeply held prejudice against each other's family, the girls find they share more similarities than differences. But when their parents find out about the burgeoning friendship, each girl is forbidden to see the other. A powerful and compelling story.” (Publisher)

 

Arena, by Karen Hancock

“Callie Hayes grudgingly agrees to participate in a psychology study as moral support for a friend. However, frightened by the examiners' secrecy and evasiveness (one vanishes before her eyes), she tries to escape but finds herself cast into the Arena, a testing ground for participants of the study. Armed with only a guidebook and minimal supplies, she journeys toward the Gate, supposedly her ticket out. However, this path is laid with false trails, traps, and false messiahs eager to destroy Callie and the friends she makes along the way … An allegorical blend of fantasy and sf depicting the tests a soul faces that strengthen or destroy belief in God.” (Library Journal)

 

Cartoon Guide to Chemistry, by Larry Gonick & Craig Criddle

“A refreshingly humorous but thorough ancillary guide to general chemistry from the author of the bestselling 'The Cartoon Guide to Physics' and 'The Cartoon Guide to Genetics'.” (Publisher)

 

A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World, by Stephen R. Bown

"Bown's knowledge of his subject is impressive, and he has interesting things to say about the science and scientists central to the development of explosives; the role these explosives played in Japan, China and India; and positive changes facilitated by the use of high explosives in mining and construction. Bown also has a good eye for the unintended consequences, ironies and contradictions that are the product of social and technological forces of great magnitude. That Alfred Nobel used the proceeds of his vast munitions fortune to fund the Nobel Prizes is perhaps the ultimate example.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Upstream, by Melissa Lion

“Marty’s small town in Alaska is the most beautiful place in the world. There she and her beloved boyfriend, Steven, can walk through fields of fireweed, explore the wild, and tie pink floozy fishing lures to catch the salmon that swim upstream. But when she starts her senior year, Marty must return to school by herself. Without Steven. Something happened during the summer that changed things forever. It’s a small town and people are starting to talk; Marty can feel their stares and hear their whispers. But they weren’t there and they don’t know. Only Marty knows what really happened, and it’s something she must never, ever tell.” (Publisher)

 

Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch

"Keir Sarafian may not know much, but he knows himself. And the one thing he knows about himself is that he is a good guy. A guy who's a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend, and a reliable teammate. And maybe most important of all, a guy who understands that when a girl says no, she means it. But that is not what Gigi Boudakian, childhood friend and Keir's lifelong love, says he is. What Gigi says he is seems impossible to Keir....It is something inexcusable — the worst thing he can imagine, the very opposite of everything he wants to be. As Keir recalls the events leading up to his fateful night with Gigi, he realizes that the way things look are definitely not the way they really are …” (Publisher)

 

A Gathering of Shades, by David Stahler

“Sixteen-year-old Aidan's grandmother has a secret recipe. She feeds ghosts. Her nightly ritual keeps the local lost souls lingering, caught between life and death. When Aidan stumbles upon this knowledge in the wake of his own father's death, the revelation shakes him to the core. Grief-stricken, he is dangerously drawn into the strange and wondrous world of the dead — and away from the living people who love him. This beautifully crafted tale of love and loss is told in shades of otherworldly mystery. David Stahler Jr. spins a chilling story that delves into the depths of grief and emerges as a shimmering celebration of life.” (Publisher)

 

Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue, by Julius Lester

"The book opens as, in Mattie's words, 'The rain is coming down as hard as regret.' Master Butler is about to hold an auction to sell off 429 slaves in order to repay a gambling debt. Other details unfold, as Will mentions how he and Master Butler grew up together ('He used to look up to me like I was his big brother'); Emma mentions that Mistress Fannie left her husband a year before, and an author's note explains that Fannie Kemble, who opposed slavery, married Pierce Butler not knowing that he owned slaves. The ultimate betrayal occurs when Master Butler agrees to sell Emma, the only person whom Sara, his oldest child, trusts." (Publishers Weekly)

 

Bradbury Speaks, by Ray Bradbury

"The grand master's many fans will delight in behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of such science fiction classics as The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes (which began as a film project for Gene Kelly) … We also learn about his encounters with famous men, from Walt Disney to Bertrand Russell; adventures in Hollywood; and even his love for going out in the rain. [But] whether Bradbury is talking about cross-country train trips or manned flight to Mars, his enthusiasm remains as contagious as ever. The intimate connection many readers already feel through Bradbury's fiction will be strengthened by these highly personal reminiscences." (Publishers Weekly)

 

Mystic and Rider, by Sharon Shinn

"Elderly King Baryn sits on a shaky throne, wed to a strange childless queen, and hides his only heir, a daughter. To investigate rumors that Gillengaria's southern noble houses are plotting revolt and fostering a pogrom against mystics born with supernatural powers, Baryn sends out five individuals: Senneth, a female mystic who commands fire; Kirra, an aristocratic healer and shape-changer; Kirra's shape-shifting servant, Donnal; and Tayse and Justin, two elite King's Riders deeply distrustful of mystics … the party undergoes increasingly perilous adventures while a disturbing attraction between Senneth and Tayse builds into profound and forbidden love.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Black and White, by Paul Volponi

"Marcus Brown and Eddie Russo are best friends and basketball stars at a Queens, N.Y., high school, well-known not only for their athletic prowess but also because Marcus is black and Eddie white … Short on cash, the boys stick up a few strangers using Eddie's grandfather's gun, which accidentally discharges during their third robbery … In alternating first-person narratives, the two describe the aftermath of the events. Grand plans of scholarships and pro careers begin to unravel [and] the two teens wrestle with guilt and obligation — to their parents, to their victims and to each other … The fast-paced action, vivid on-court scenes and gritty, natural dialogue make this a page-turner of a tale." (Publishers Weekly)

 

Thunder Run, by David Zucchino

“Thunder Run is the story of the bold assault on Baghdad by the Spartan Brigade of the Third Infantry Division. It was one of the most decisive battles in American combat history, and the biggest armored battle involving American troops since the Vietnam War. With fewer than a thousand men, and facing Iraqi forces dug into bunkers and buildings, the brigade punched a hole through the heart of Baghdad with a high-speed charge to Saddam Hussein's Presidential Palace and Republican Guard headquarters … This is more than just a book about a single battle. It's a candid account of how soldiers respond under fire and stress, and how human frailties are magnified in a war zone.” (Publisher)

 

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar

“This hilarious novel chronicles Scott's freshman year, as he decides that high school would be a lot less overwhelming if it came with a survival manual. Here Scott records his first year of bullies, romance, honors, classes, and brotherhood.” (Publisher)

 

Heavy Metal and You, by Christopher Krovatin

“Boy listens to lots of loud music and hangs with his friends. Boy meets girl. Boy falls dippy-happy-scared-as-hell in love with girl. Friends meet girl — and aren't impressed. Girl meets friends — and isn't impressed. Boy meets big dilemma. Boy plays music even louder. Big dilemma meets big, complicated resolution. With humor and heartfelt observations, debut author Christopher Krovatin strikes some very loud chords about life, love, sex, and friendship.” (Publisher)

 

Jason & Kyra, by Dana Davidson

"Jason, 16, is gorgeous, smart, graceful on the basketball court, and he dates popular, beautiful Lisa. But [then] Jason falls for Kyra, his nonconformist, highly academic research partner from AP English class … only Kyra understands that Jason, whose mother died when he was three and whose father leaves on frequent business trips, experiences his solitude as loneliness, not as freedom to do as he likes; Lisa, furious at being dumped by Jason, gets revenge in a manner that will be familiar to readers of middle-grade and YA fiction. But other story lines advance the narrative, too, such as Kyra's dedication to her project for a Westinghouse-like national science competition." (Publishers Weekly)

 

Stop That Girl: A Novel in Stories, by Elizabeth McKenzie

“From the first story of Elizabeth McKenzie’s beguiling debut collection, we are drawn into the offbeat worldview of sharp-eyed, intrepid Ann Ransom. Stop That Girl chronicles Ann’s colorful coming-of-age travails, from her childhood in a disjointed family through her tender adolescence and beyond … Along the way, Ann discovers the absurdities that lurk around every corner of a young woman’s life, by way of oafish neighbors, overzealous boyfriends, prurient vegetable salesmen, and sour landlords. In these keenly funny, highly original stories, Ann and the people around her are forced to reassess their complex relationships and, along the way, find happiness on the brink of calamity.” (Publisher)

 

Dark Angel, by David Klass

“17-year-old Jeff thought he would never again have to deal with his older brother, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. But after six years, Troy's sentence has been overturned on a technicality and he returns to a family deeply divided. Jeff can't forget how his life was disrupted by his brother, how his family had to move to another state and start over. Still, his parents believe things will be different now. But [when] Jeff 's rival on the soccer field turns up missing, Jeff suspects Troy is involved, and he sets out to prove it. But nothing could prepare Jeff for what happens as he gets closer to the truth. With unexpected flashes of humor, David Klass once again gives readers a gripping, multilayered novel about good and evil and the powerful bonds of family.” (Publisher)

 

In the Shadow of Edgar Allen Poe, by Jonathan Scott Fuqua, Stephen John Phillips and Steven Parke (GRAPHIC)

“When a journal purported to be written by Edgar Allan Poe falls into the hands of Poe scholar Sterling Tuttle, the voice of the long-dead author reaches out from beyond the grave to give a chilling account of his tortured life. Haunted by the ghosts of his tragic past and the burden of relentless alcoholism, Poe soon finds that his creativity may depend on actual demons who have an unsavory agenda of their own...“ (Book Description)

 

Hanging out with the Dream King, by Joseph McCabe

“Neil Gaiman is an award-winning comic book writer (Sandman), novelist (American Gods), children's book author (The Wolves in the Walls), and television screenwriter (Neverwhere) … Hanging Out With the Dream King: Conversations With Neil Gaiman and His Collaborators presents a thorough look at Gaiman's work not only through his eyes, but through the eyes of his many collaborators. Artists, writers, editors, musicians—over two-dozen creators share their thoughts on working with Gaiman and present a unique mosaic portrait of the writer whose name has become synonymous with modern fantasy.” (Book Description)

 

Frek and the Elixir, by Rudy Rucker

“Frek's pretty much an ordinary kid on an Earth with a collapsed biosphere controlled by NuBioCom. Then he receives a message that the Anvil, an alien's ship, is coming for him … Frek and Wow, his dog, run away, and then Frek is taken aboard and away on the Anvil, traveling the galaxy with the alien, who wants exclusive rights to humanity's "branecast" … Of course, branecasting is far more sinister than mere observation, for it allows a viewer to manipulate those who are branecast.” (Booklist)

 

Burned Alive, by Souad

“Souad was a 17-year-old girl living in a small village in Jordan. With a childhood marked by hard labor and physical abuse, Souad is desperate to leave home. Enticed into a relationship with a handsome neighbor, her short-lived romance leaves her pregnant. Forbidden to marry until her older sisters find husbands and having brought shame to her family, Souad faces the only acceptable punishment: death. How her family plots to kill her, her harrowing struggle to survive burns over 90% of her body after her brother-in-law douses her with gasoline and sets her on fire, her dramatic escape from Jordan, and her resolve to build a new life for herself is a tale of heartbreaking drama and remarkable courage.” (Book Description)

 

Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglass Adams, by Nick Webb

”By turns touching, tongue-in-cheek, and not at all timid about telling the warts-and-all truth, Wish You Were Here is summation as celebration– a look back at a life well worth the vicarious reliving, and studded with anecdote, droll comic incident, and heartfelt insight as its subject’s own unforgettable tales of cosmic wanderlust. For the countless fans of Douglas Adams and his unique and winsome world, here is a wonderful postcard: to be read, reread, and treasured for the memories it bears.” (Book Description)

 

Velocity, by Dean Koontz

“A diabolic killer plays a harrowing game of cat and mouse with a reclusive bartender in Koontz's latest gripping suspense thriller. Billy Wiles, a 30-something bartender and former writer, is content with his solitary Napa County existence … but the simple life gets mighty complicated when he finds a note with a deadly, time-sensitive ultimatum: he must choose between the death of a young schoolteacher or an elderly humanitarian in six hours. … Graphic, fast-paced action, well-developed characters and relentless, nail-biting scenes show Koontz at the top of his game." (Publishers Weekly)

 

Guinea Pig Scientists, by Leslie Dendy and Mel Boring

”An easy and interesting read, this book describes 18th-century Italian scientist Lazzaro Spallanzani and his research on himself to explore digestion by swallowing food encapsulated in wooden tubes or cloth satchels and then analyzing the remains of the samples upon their exit from the intestinal tract. Gross enough to capture readers' attention, and startling enough to hold onto it, Spallanzani's story ends with a description of his discoveries and how many of his observations are still valid. Other topics describe guinea-pig scientists who tested internal body temperature in extreme heat and cold conditions, inhaled various gasses to discover one suitable for anesthetic uses (today's laughing gas), and seven more captivating narratives.“ (School Library Journal)

 

Savage Pastimes, by Harold Schechter

“Does violence in movies, on television and in comic strips and cartoons rot our children's brains and make zombies -- or worse, criminals -- of adults at the fringes? In this cogent, well-researched book, American pop-culture expert Harold Schechter argues that exactly the opposite is true: a basic human need is given an outlet through violent images in popular media. Savage Pastimes is a rich, eye-opening brief history that will make you rethink your assumptions about what we watch and how it affects us all.” (Book Description)

 

It’s Not About The Bra, by Brandi Chastain

“When Brandi Chastain famously stripped off her jersey to celebrate her World Cup-winning penalty kick, the gesture represented not only the essence of athletic triumph but the joy of a competitor who knows how to play hard and still have fun. Now, Chastain steps out from behind her iconic image to deliver an important wake-up call to competitive youth sports, which has gone increasingly out of control [and] tackles the thorny issues of sportsmanship, gamesmanship, and parental involvement gone too far … From her struggle to rebound from consecutive knee surgeries to excruciating losses in NCAA, World Cup, and Olympic competition, Chastain discloses both the good and bad ways she's personally dealt with adversity and reminds us what it truly means to be a ‘class act’ on and off the field.” (Book Description)

 

Willoughby Spit Wonder, by Jonathon Scott Fuqua

“Carter Johnston lives on Willoughby Spit Beach in Virginia in 1953. His deepest wish is to be like his comic-book superhero, Prince Namor, who can breathe underwater … Carter thinks his father, who is slowly dying from a mysterious illness, has given up on living. He feels sure that if he can swim across the bay, he will prove to Dad that it's possible to beat overwhelming odds. When the man's condition worsens, Carter rushes to the beach and dives into the ocean during a crushing hurricane. He somehow survives the crashing waves by treading water (his rescuers dub him the Willoughby Spit Wonder), and emerges with a deeper understanding of both himself and his father …” (School Library Journal)

 

Going Going, by Naomi Shahib Nye

“Sixteen-year-old Florrie turns political activist when she takes notice of the changing landscape of her beloved San Antonio hometown. Upset by the loss of small independent businesses to money-hungry corporations, she first begins her grassroots campaign with her family, who own their restaurant, encouraging them to support other local businesses and to avoid the chain stores … The boycott begins strong, but eventually wanes at what seems like an impossible task. However, Florrie never gives up her fight ..." (School Library Journal)

 

Siberia, by Anne Halam

“In a dystopian (though vaguely familiar) wilderness called Siberia, young Rosita and her mother live in a camp as political prisoners. When Rosita excels at the prison school, she is sent away to board at New Dawn School. She is quickly disenchanted, tricked into betraying her mother and sending her to die, and becomes ‘Sloe,’ helping to run a stolen-goods ring in the school ... Halam intertwines issues of ecology, climate change, and nature conservancy with more personal themes of loneliness, identity, and trust … The bitterly cold setting, the hunger, and fear are almost palpable.” (School Library Journal)

 

Far from Xanadu, by Julie Anne Peters

“Mike Szabo must deal with more than her share of problems in this engaging, angsty novel. Her alcoholic father committed suicide, her obese mother has given up on life, and her no-good brother has driven the family plumbing business into the ground. To make matters worse, Mike falls deeply in love with a new girl in their small Kansas town. Bad-girl Xanadu has been sent to live with her aunt and uncle after getting into serious trouble dealing drugs. She befriends Mike instantly, though she's undeniably straight … Despite the multitude of difficulties the protagonist faces, the story never slips into melodrama, and all of the issues are handled with sensitivity and compassion.” (School Library Journal)

 

The Diary of Pelly D, by L. J. Adlington

“Tony V is part of a crew of drillers excavating the ruins of City 5. While working, he finds a diary hidden in the plaza. Although keeping items from the digs is forbidden, he takes it and begins to read during his free time. It belongs to a girl named Pelly D, who is pretty, popular, and wealthy, [until] she turns out to be Galrezi, one of the undesirable genetic strains that society has turned against. Readers witness the shift in Pelly D's life and its inevitable conclusion (the author has clearly based the book on the Holocaust).” (School Library Journal)

 

Godless, by Pete Hautman

“Jason is a smart 15-year-old, an agnostic-leaning-toward-atheism, who resists following in the footsteps of his devoutly Catholic father. Getting clocked under the water tower by the nasty and unpredictable Henry leads Jason and his friend Shin to combine their talents to posit a new religion. "Chutengodianism" sanctifies water, the source of all life, as manifested by the Ten-Legged God, aka that same million-gallon water tower. Creating the creed on the fly, Jason soon gathers a handful of acolytes, including his former nemesis.” (School Library Journal)

 

Bucking the Sarge, by Christopher Paul Curtis

“Luther's mother, ‘the Sarge,’ runs an empire of Flint, MI, slums and halfway houses, and has a loan-sharking business. At age 15, Luther manages one of her halfway houses [and] readies the homes of evicted tenants for the Sarge's next victims. In exchange, she puts his earnings in a college fund, threatens him into submission, and primes him to take over the business. All Luther wants to do is win the school science fair, think deep thoughts, find some action for the vintage condom in his wallet, and do something honest with his life … Any teen who's ever wanted to stick it to the man (or woman) will love this story.” (School Library Journal)

 

Blood Red Horse, by K. M. Grant

“Onlookers scoff when 13-year-old William de Granville chooses Hosanna, a charismatic red stallion with a puny, impractical build, for his first warhorse. But Hosanna earns widespread respect and a celebrated place in the campaign for Jerusalem, which William and his elder brother, Gavin, have zealously joined. Left behind is Ellie, who is promised to Gavin but feels more connected to William. Awaiting the Crusaders is the noble strategist Saladin and his young ward, Kamil, who eventually lays claim to Hosanna--and is similarly inspired by the horse's soulful presence.” (Booklist) This is the first in a planned trilogy.

 

Stealing Henry, by Carolyn MacCullough

" ‘Don't look back. It's bad luck. Never look back.’ Savannah hears her mother's refrain in her head the night she hits her abusive stepfather, Jake, with a sizzling frying pan and leaves town with her 8-year-old half-brother, Henry. Sav is no stranger to the road, having lived a nomadic childhood with her mother, who never looked back as she floated from one state and boyfriend to another in her white Chevrolet. The story of Savannah and Henry's journey to New York City and, eventually, to Maine, is interspersed with Sav's memories of childhood [and] the journey is fascinating.” (Booklist)

 

Finding Lubchenko, by Michael Simmons

“Evan Macalister, 16, never thinks twice about relieving his overbearing, penny-pinching father of a few minor pieces of computer equipment from his high-tech medical company to hock on eBay. But when his dad is arrested for the murder of a colleague and the evidence to clear him just happens to be on a laptop that Evan lifted, the teen realizes that he's faced with two choices. One, turn the laptop over to the police and face the wrath of his father, or two, solve the mystery himself. Of course ever-impulsive Evan chooses the latter, and, with his dad's credit card in tow, he and two friends travel first class to Paris to find Lubchenko, the missing link who supposedly can clear his dad's name.” (School Library Journal)

 

The Gods and Their Machines, by Oisín McGann

“To Altiman teenager and trainee fighter-pilot Chamus, the people of bordering Bartokhrin are just Fringelanders--backward religious fanatics whose women wear geishalike makeup and wigs and whose men occasionally appear in Altima to commit a kind of supernatural version of jihad. But when Chamus crashes his plane near the home of a Bartokhrin young woman named Riadni, the two are thrown into a reluctant alliance, with ramifications that are as personally jolting as they are politically far-reaching.” (Booklist)

 

I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak

“Ed is a 19-year-old loser only marginally connected to the world. But his life begins to change after he acts heroically during a robbery. Perhaps it's the notoriety he receives that leads to his receiving playing cards in the mail. Ed instinctively understands that the scrawled words on the aces are clues to be followed, which lead him to people he will help (including some he'll have to hurt first). But as much as he changes those who come into his life, he changes himself more.” (Booklist)

 

Planet Simpson: How A Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation, by Chris Turner

“Canadian journalist Turner embarks on an encyclopedic exposition of the show's episodes, catchphrases, characters, cultural impact, social commentary, themes and influence ... [He] flavors his straightforward Simpsons study with footnotes and facts on everything from Ayn Rand and Columbine to Y2K and Yeats. Unraveling and analyzing plot threads, he views the series as 'more anti-authoritarian by far than almost anything else that's ever aired in prime time,' and he praises it as a 'cultural institution' comparable to the Beatles. Turner's fannish enthusiasm and tsunami of trivia will appeal mainly to devotees, though cultural historians may value it for its vision of Springfield as a satirical mirror reflecting the trials and tribulations of contemporary life.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Teen Ink: Friends and Family, ed. by Stephanie H. Meyer and John Meyer

“In this third installment of the book series, 12- to 19-year-olds attempt to define unique places in an often tough and lonely world. Their intensity and passion ring resoundingly from each poetry, fiction, and nonfiction segment. A shy girl tries to help her anorexic friend recuperate from near death and learns of her own strengths. A gang member rethinks life habits as he realizes he has narrowly escaped imprisonment. A 15-year-old becomes pregnant and learns the realities of selfless giving. Each piece is clear and lively, and the mix is varied. The black-and-white photographs and artwork express creative experimentation, which adds to the stark, candid voices of the young authors.” (School Library Journal) Note: We have others in this series at the library

 

Rumble Girls: Silky Warrior Tansie, by Lea Hernandez

“Elements of romance, action, sci-fi, as well as social and media criticism come together in this manga-influenced work, which was originally published in serial form. Raven Tansania Ransom is a teenaged outcast in an upscale, futuristic private school. Having once idolized Crimson August, the handsome star of the action soap opera Rumble Girls, her attentions are now turned to Yuji, a teacher who coaches her in the use of hardskins–giant suits of robotic armor. Matters are complicated by the fact that everyone in Raven's world has a secret, particularly Yuji, who has more than one revelatory surprise in store for her ...” (School Library Journal)

 

King’s Mistress, by Terri Brisbin

“Once Lady Marguerite of Alencon was Henry Plantagenet's favorite, but now that the king has grown weary of her, he decides to reward one of his most faithful nobles, Lord Orrick of Silloth, with a wife worthy of his standing. Orrick, however, is not thrilled about being gifted with the king's former mistress but realizes that he has little choice. At first he tries to woo his new wife with kind words and thoughtful gestures, but sharp-tongued Marguerite, who was trained to be the consort of a king, is less than pleased with her new status as the wife of a "barbarous" northern lord. But what begins as a marriage in name only becomes something much more real as Marguerite realizes that despite her objections she is falling in love with her new husband." (Booklist)

 

In Your Face: The Culture of Beauty and You, by Shari Graydon

“In an upbeat, casual style, Graydon looks closely at the concept of beauty, never denying the difficulties of resisting current trends as she exposes the 'sneaky strategies' behind media hype. She starts with a hilarious analysis of fairy tales [and] with the same light touch, she looks at fashion across time and cultures, and analyzes the underlying messages in today's focus, especially in North America, on thinness, long nails, and high heels. Along the way, she warns both young men and women of the very real dangers of eating disorders, plastic surgery, liposuction, and other body-image 'solutions.' ... Graydon will make readers laugh as well as think about the issues.” (Booklist)

 

Clueless About Cars: An Easy Guide To Car Maintenance and Repair, by Lisa Christensen

“Christensen discusses a car's systems, maintenance both by the owner and the mechanic, and emergencies. She explains how and why actions must be taken to insure the safety and reliability of the vehicle. Environmental concerns are also considered ... Catchy chapter titles such as 'Going with the Flow,' 'Gettin' Down and Dirty,' and 'Rude Noises' draw readers into the text. The large, clear, black-and-white line drawings are well labeled, making it easy to visualize each system.” (School Library Journal)

 

Why Read? by Mark Edmundson

“Reading literature nurtures our intelligence, our imagination, and our very soul." Edmundson "objects to the commercialization of higher education as students are recast as consumers and instruction is reduced to job training. Edmundson feels that students deserve, and need, more. He avers, 'The purpose of a liberal arts education is to give people an enhanced opportunity to decide how they should live their lives' and that literature is 'the major cultural source of vital options.' Edmundson's many-faceted argument is forthright, rigorous, and inspiring as he convincingly links literature with hope and humanism with democracy.” (Amazon.com)

 

Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, by Howard Schwartz

“Drawing from the Bible, from the Talmud and Midrash, and from kabbalistic literature and medieval folklore, Schwartz explicates nearly 700 Jewish myths organized around broad themes such as myths of creation, heaven, and the Messiah. Some are familiar, such as the stories about Adam's first wife, Lilith, but most are not well known, although they are linked directly to biblical stories. For instance, one section begins with the Genesis story of Cain and Abel and then follows with myths about various aspects of the brothers' lives.” (Booklist)

 

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, by Marya Hornbacher

“ ‘I fell for the great American dream, female version, hook, line, and sinker,’ Marya Hornbacher writes. ‘I, as many young women do, honest-to-God believed that once I Just Lost a Few Pounds, suddenly I would be a New You, I would have Ken-doll men chasing my thin legs down with bouquets of flowers on the street, I would become rich and famous and glamorous and lose my freckles and become blond and five foot ten.’ Hornbacher describes in shocking detail her lifelong quest to starve herself to death, to force her short, athletic body to fade away … Her bizarre tale includes not only the usual puking and starving, but also being confined to mental hospitals and growing fur (a phenomenon called lanugo, which nature imposes to keep a body from freezing to death during periods of famine).”

 

The Game, by Laurie R. King:

It’s the second day of the New Year, 1924, and Mary Russell is settling in for a much-needed rest with her husband, Sherlock Holmes [when] Holmes’s gravely ill brother, Mycroft, brings news of an intrigue that is sure to halt their respite. Mycroft, who has ties to the highest levels of the government, has just received [an] oilskin-wrapped packet [with] the papers of a missing English spy named Kimball O’Hara … An orphaned English boy turned loose in India, Kim long used his cunning to spy for the Crown. But after inexplicably withdrawing from the ‘Great Game’ of border espionage, he’s gone missing and is feared taken hostage—or even killed. When Russell learns of Holmes’s own secret friendship with Kim some thirty years before, she knows the die is cast: she will accompany her husband to India to search for the missing operative.”

 

So Hard to Say, by Alex Sanchez

“Thirteen-year-old Latina chocoholic-chatterbox Xio can't keep her eyes off blond-haired, steel-eyed Frederick, the intriguing transfer student just in from Wisconsin. At first, the soft-spoken newcomer, unsure of his new Southern California junior high and maybe his own sexuality, doesn't know what to make of her pursuits. Slowly and surely, Xio charms her way into his life and soon absorbs him into her group of fabulous girlfriends whom she dubs the ‘Sexies.’ Content with this new niche, and his position on a pick-up soccer team, Frederick gradually becomes aware of Xio's real agenda: to make him her first boyfriend. All the while he finds he can't keep his eyes off Victor, his soccer buddy …” (School Library Journal)

 

Not the Only One, by Jane Summer, editor

"It has been 10 years since this collection first appeared. That we still need a special anthology for gay and lesbian fiction angers Summers, editor of this new edition, who notes, 'It's segregation pure and simple.' Of the 20 stories, 10 are new, including including submissions by Brent Hartinger, Donna Allegra, and Michael Thomas Ford. The best selections reach out to all readers with elemental coming-of-age themes ... One teen has a crush on his sister's boyfriend. Another must hide her lesbianism at her sister's wedding. Some tell of prejudice and gay bashing. A few stories are sexy, but most are more about romance, friendship, family, and the sudden intimacy of falling in love." (Booklist)

 

Electric Dreams: One Unlikely Team of Kids and The Race to Build the Car of the Future, by Caroline Kettlewell

“The chances of the North Hampton High School-East even getting to Richmond to compete in the first Mid-Atlantic High School Electric Vehicle Challenge were slim to none. All that the team from the poorest county in North Carolina had to do was ‘find a car, take it apart, put it back together, and make it drive’ in five months. But Harold Miller, the auto technology teacher who'd grown up ‘with a torque wrench in his hand and a grease rag tucked in his pocket’; Eric Ryan, a California beach boy working in the Teach for America program; and the Electric Cars of Roanoke Valley team of students actually won the competition with ‘Shocker,’ a twice-totaled 1985 two-door Ford Escort powered by golf-cart batteries. [The unlikely team] worked together to design the engine and build it from the frame up. The tension and drama mount as the car progresses.” (School Library Journal)

 

Black Hawk Down, by Mark Bowden

"Journalist Mark Bowden delivers a strikingly detailed account of the 1993 nightmare operation in Mogadishu that left 18 American soldiers dead and many more wounded ... Bowden does not spend much time considering the context; instead he provides a moment-by-moment chronicle of what happened in the air and on the ground. His gritty narrative tells of how Rangers and elite Delta Force troops embarked on a mission to capture a pair of high-ranking deputies to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid only to find themselves surrounded in a hostile African city ... [Bowden] makes full use of the defense bureaucracy's extensive paper trail [to] describe the combat with great accuracy, right down to the actual dialogue. He supplements this with hundreds of his own interviews, turning Black Hawk Down into a completely authentic nonfiction novel, a lively page-turner that will make readers feel like they're standing beside the embattled troops." (Amazon.com)

 

Brimstone Journals, by Ron Koertge

"Through poems, Koertge creates 15 separate narrators, all seniors at Branston (nicknamed 'Brimstone') High School, struggling with major problems. Boyd, a white supremacist neglected by his alcoholic father, is staging a school shooting spree ... As Boyd prepares a target list (of 'everybody who/ ever blew me off, flipped me off,/ or pissed me off'), the other characters reach their own breaking points; some even consider buying guns from him to solve their troubles ... Kitty is anorexic ("I think if I'm thin enough, I can fly"), Sheila wonders if she's a lesbian because she loves her best friend ("I want to go farther with Monica/ than just good-bye hugs") ..." (Publishers Weekly)

 

(top)

 

2004-2005

A Fast and Brutal Wing, by Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson

“Niki, her brother Emmet, and their friend Doug narrate the somewhat fantastical story via journal entries, e-mails, and newspaper clippings. What REALLY happened on Halloween night in the woods when all three teens awakened to find themselves naked and bloody? As the plot disjointedly unfolds, readers gradually learn that the siblings’ father left the family two years earlier, supposedly with his mistress. When their mother begins dating the famous, secretive, and somewhat sinister author Nicholas Slanger, he disappears as well. Puzzle pieces begin to fall into place as readers realize that Emmet has since been institutionalized and Niki claims that she is able to transform into a cat, while her brother can turn into a hawk. They both have strange dreams of blood and hunting, but what is the reality? Whose story is reliable when even Doug, Emmet’s psychiatrist, and Slanger seemed to turn into animals that fateful night?” (School Library Journal)

 

A Time for Dancing, by Davida Wills Hurwin

“Few YA dramas deal with the issue of terminal illness as intimately as this gripping first novel, which alternates between the points of view of Juliana, at 16 a gifted dancer, and her ‘one-and-only’ best friend, Samantha. The girls’ initial concerns about boyfriends and dance class seem trivial after Jules is diagnosed with histiocytic lymphoma, a deadly form of cancer. Through graphic depictions of what follows—endless sessions of chemotherapy, emergency runs to the hospital and Jules's periodic escapes into a dream state—readers will feel the young victim's weariness as she fights against the body which has betrayed her. They will also experience Sammie’s complex responses as she watches her friend embark on a ‘solo journey’ toward death. The dissipation of Jules's hopes, her growing acceptance of the inevitable, and the reactions of peers and family members are hauntingly true to life.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Pride and Prescience, by Carrie Bebris

“Mr. & Mrs. Darcy, the joyous newlyweds from Pride and Prejudice, have not even left for their honeymoon when they find themselves embroiled in a mystery involving one of their wedding guests. The lovely Caroline Bingley is engaged to marry a rich and charismatic American. Unfortunately this windswept courtship is marred by many strange events such as nocturnal wanderings, spooked horses, carriage accidents, and atypical incidents of mortal consequence. Soon the whole Bingley family seems the target of a sinister plot, with only the Darcys recognizing the danger.” (Book Description)

 

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies, by Sonya Sones

"The sassy title tells readers right away that this book is NOT like one of those hideous books where the mother dies, even if fifteen-year-old Ruby's mom has recently succumbed to cancer … Ruby has turned her grief into anger at her father: because he divorced her mother before she was born, because she has had to leave her best friend Lizzie and her boyfriend Ray to come to Los Angeles to live with him, and because he is Whip Logan, a very famous and rich movie star. She turns a cold shoulder to all his gentle and persistent attempts to relate to her, sneers at the glamour of his Beverly Hills mansion and famous friends, and spends most of her time writing desperate emails to Lizzie and Ray, and her dead mother, from her Dream Bedroom … But an earthquake leads to a surprising revelation that changes everything for Ruby, in an enormously satisfying ending.” (Amazon.com)

 

Private Peaceful, by Michael Morpurgo

“Thomas Peaceful, like many other English soldiers in World War I, is too young to fight, but he lies about his age. Now at the front in France with his older brother Charlie he stands a lonely nighttime vigil for reasons that are not explained until the book's end, watching the minutes tick by and reflecting on his past. Using first-person narration, Morpurgo draws readers into this young man's life, relating memories that are idyllic, sobering, and poignant. Tommo thinks upon the role he played in his father's accidental death, the adventures that he shared with Charlie, his relationship with his childhood friend Molly, and the experiences that he has had since entering the war. Finally, he describes how Charlie disobeyed a direct order to stay with him after he was wounded in action, fully aware of this decision's dire consequences …” (School Library Journal)

 

Have Board Will Travel, by Jamie Brisick

“Whether on water, pavement, or fluffy white powder, the history of surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding is a landscape filled with rugged personalities, exotic locales, wild innovation, and most of all the united dream of becoming one with the oceans, streets, and mountains. Have Board, Will Travel shows the intricate connection between all three sports. Their histories act as the grand foundation, the images serve as divine inspiration, and each page is filled with enough side-stanced glory to summon even the laziest couch potato to pick up a board and ride.” (Amazon.com)

 

After the Wall, by Jana Hensel

"Hensel was born in Leipzig, East Germany, in 1976 and was 13 when the Berlin Wall fell. This [memoir] portrays the disorientation of her generation, whose upbringing under communism ended abruptly with the integration of East and West Germany. Hensel rambles through a wide range of subjects: the erasure of memory; East German youth's alienation from their Western peers; her ambivalence about her childhood; their inability to adjust to the new world, which resulted in a role reversal in which Hensel had to ‘interpret’ Western customs for her parents; and her generation's compulsion to disguise themselves as Western, changing their clothes and even their accents. But the disappearance of the artifacts of her childhood and the lack of value attributed by her Western friends to her memories leave Hensel at a loss.” (Publishers Weekly)

 

Away Laughing on a Fast Camel, by Louise Rennison

"Georgia continues her fabbity-fab ride through adolescence. Pining for her boyfriend Robbie, aka the Sex God, who is in Kiwi-a-gogo land, she finally receives the long-awaited letter. To her dismay, it is anything but romantic and she finds herself with a severe case of heart breakosity. No fear, her attention is quickly diverted by Masimo, an Italian American who is the new boy in town. Even though the teen hasn't matured much, her voice is still fresh. The book will have readers laughing out loud and looking for more. This installment ends with Vati announcing that the family is going to Hamburger-a-gogo land, the USA, on break, leaving one to believe there is a sequel in the works." (School Library Journal)

 

The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts, by Richard Peck

"Russell Culver's narration transports readers back to 1904, when he was 15 years old and still in eighth grade at Hominy Ridge School, 'an out-of-date, unimproved, one-room country schoolhouse in the backwoodsiest corner of Indiana.' Living on a farm with his father, big sister, Tansy, and little brother, Lloyd, he dreams of hopping a freight train for the Dakotas. When the local teacher dies, Russell's sister takes over her position. This alarming development calls for action and even retaliation, but Russell finds Tansy more than a match for his mischief, pranks, and ill-considered plans." (Booklist)

 

The Goth Bible, by Nancy Kilpatrick

"What you don't know about goths could fill a book! An artistic culture that revels in the Victorian romantic movement, The Goth Bible brings to light the traditions and history of all that is goth. The goth culture has been one of the most controversial and maligned in media history. Presented as homicidal, suicidal and socio-pathic, in the national consciousness goths are coupled with everyone from Marilyn Mason to the murderers of Columbine. But this is not who the goths are. The Goth Bible will help bridge the understanding between goths and non-goths. From their historical origins as a Germanic tribe in the sixth century who fought along side the Romans against the Huns to their current incarnation as creatures of the night, The Goth Bible presents the most complete and broad perspective of this society, culled from hundreds of interviews with bands, artist, designers, and goths from all walks of life."

 

The Sea of Trolls, by Nancy Farmer

"At the center of this massive adventure is a small Saxon boy named Jack, who's never been much good at anything until the Bard of his medieval village makes him an apprentice. Then, just as Jack is learning to tap into and control his power, he is kidnapped (along with his little sister, Lucy) and taken to the court of King Ivar the Boneless and his half troll queen Frith. When one of Jack's amateur spells causes the evil queen's beautiful hair to fall out, he is forced to undertake a dangerous quest across the Sea of Trolls to make things right, or suffer the consequences--the sacrifice of his beloved sister to Frith's patron goddess, Freya. Along the way Jack faces everything from giant golden troll-bears to man-eating spiders, yet each frightening encounter brings wisdom and understanding to the budding young Bard. No quester who enters these pages with Jack will go away unsatisfied." (Amazon.com)

 

Girl, 15, Charming But Insane, by Sue Limb
“Life was tragic enough before this spring started. With a distinct lack of boobage and an arse so big that birds of prey could nest within its shadows, Jess Jordan is saddled with the Goddess Flora for a best friend, a Britney Spears look-alike so gorgeous that one grain of her divine dandruff could make the blind see again. Jess knows that her soul mate is Ben Jones, a divine mixture of Leonardo diCaprio, Prince William, and Brad Pitt who oozes mystery and charisma. But the campaign to get Ben to notice her brings on a cavalcade of mortification and disaster ... Meanwhile, Jess’s death-obsessed Granny moves into her bedroom, along with her grandfather’s remains; her hypochondriac dad, who sends her daily ‘horrorscopes’ [acts] strange about Jess staying with him this summer … Jess is determined to make things right ... but with her offbeat sense of humor and her wildly active imagination, things get complicated along the way.” (Book Description)

 

Song Catchers, by Mickey Hart

“Songcatchers looks at our universal appreciation of music and the reasons why, over the past century, technology and curiosity have carried the shamanic chants of Siberia, the dying folk music of isolated European villages, and the ecstatic gamelan sounds of Bali to music lovers all over the world. The personal tales of the songcatchers are full of romance, derring-do, and intrigue: some of them were scholars, others adventurists, and a few full-fledged spies. The machines that made their work possible progressed from the early treadle-powered phonographs that allowed sound waves to imprint wax cylinders to magnetic tape that captured sound in iron oxide particles to the digital domain of today.” (Book Description)

 

The Boy from the Basement, by Susan Shaw

“Charlie's father has banished him to a dark cellar as punishment for some small transgression, and the boy sneaks upstairs at night while his parents sleep, desperately searching the kitchen for food and going outdoors to relieve himself. After he accidentally locks himself out, he wanders until he collapses, then awakens in a hospital. There, the extent of his deprivation and the resulting damage become clear. He doesn't know his last name or age, he has never heard of Thanksgiving or soccer, he has hallucinations about a menacing spider, and he cannot imagine going into the frightening world of the outdoors … “ (School Library Journal). If you liked A Child Called It, you’ll like this!

 

Pirates, by Celia Rees

The author of Witch Child embarks on a new adventure. “Nancy Kington, daughter of a rich merchant, suddenly orphaned when her father dies, is sent to live on her family's plantation in Jamaica. Disgusted by the treatment of the slaves and her brother's willingness to marry her off, she and one of the slaves, Minerva, run away and join a band of pirates. For both girls the pirate life is their only chance for freedom in a society where both are treated like property, rather than individuals. Together they go in search of adventure, love, and a new life that breaks all restrictions of gender, race, and position.” (Amazon.com)

 

Thin Wood Walls, by David Patneaude

“Eleven-year-old Joe Hanada likes playing basketball with his best friend, Ray, writing plays and stories, and thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday. But his world falls apart when Japanese planes bomb Pearl Harbor. His country goes to war. The FBI takes his father away. And neighbors and friends in his hometown near Seattle begin to suspect Joe, his family, and all Japanese Americans of spying for the enemy. When the government orders people of Japanese heritage living on the West Coast to move to internment camps, Joe turns to the journal his father gave him to record his thoughts and feelings. … Thin Wood Walls is a powerful story of a boy who grows up quickly in a changed world.” (Amazon.com)

 

Vote for Larry, by Janet Tashjian

“The topic de jour is politics--the electoral game, campaign financing, crooked politicians, and the power of the vote. The story begins with Larry finding a new girlfriend who has him out shopping and wearing designer clothes, until he is kidnapped by Beth, who wants him to return home and run for state representative. But that's not enough--Larry decides to run for president. Never mind that he is only 18--Congress can change that rule!” (School Library Journal)

 

Gothic: Ten Original Dark Tales

"The generic title of this collection may lead many readers to expect shrieking heroines, dreary castles, lurking vampires, and other tropes of the gothic tradition. They wouldn't be wrong, but they wouldn't be exactly right, either. Sure, many of these original tales, by the likes of Joan Aiken, Neil Gaiman, Gregory Maguire, and Vivian Vande Velde, ape the vocabulary of the genre ("necromancer," "escritoire") and play with its abundant cliches (a house has as many "curses as it has spiders and silverfish"). But the maidens in peril still have to do their homework; twisted events are as likely to transpire in American suburbs as in dreary castles (in M. T. Anderson's exceptional "The Dead Watch," shapeshifting witches eat Triscuits and use ATMs); vampires whine about the garlic in the spaghetti sauce and then attack their babysitters.” (Booklist)

 

Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen

“Juli Baker devoutly believes in three things: the sanctity of trees (especially her beloved sycamore), the wholesomeness of the eggs she collects from her backyard flock of chickens, and that someday she will kiss Bryce Loski. Ever since she saw Bryce's baby blues back in second grade, Juli has been smitten. Unfortunately, Bryce has never felt the same. Frankly, he thinks Juli Baker is a little weird--after all, what kind of freak raises chickens and sits in trees for fun? Then … everything changes. Bryce begins to see that Juli's unusual interests and pride in her family are, well, kind of cool. And Juli starts to think that maybe Bryce's brilliant blue eyes are as empty as the rest of Bryce seems to be. After all, what kind of jerk doesn't care about other people's feelings about chickens and trees?” (Amazon.com)

 

Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta

“Francesca constantly battles with her mother Mia over what's best for her. All Francesca wants are her old friends and her old school, but instead Mia sends her to St. Sebastian's, an all-boys' school that is now co-ed. Unfortunately, the boys who Francesca encounters are weirdos --- or worse. One day, Mia is too depressed to get out of bed. As days turn into months, her family begins to fall apart and Francesca realizes that without her mother's high spirits, she hardly knows who she is. With a little unlikely help from St. Sebastian's, she just might be able to save her family, her friends, and --- especially --- herself.” (Amazon.com)

 

Son of the Mob, by Gordon Korman

“Vince Luca, 17, has always been concerned, embarrassed, and fearful about his crime-family background, though he has sworn never to become involved or to let it keep him from upstanding behavior. During his senior year, all he wants is romance, friendship, and to get through school, just like any normal guy, but things don't go as planned. His new girlfriend turns out to be the daughter of the FBI agent who is bugging his house; his older brother has figured out how to use his New Media class Web-page project for a bookmaking scheme; and he decides to save two lowlifes who owe big bucks to his father from the pains of mob revenge …” (School Library Journal)

 

Offsides, by Erik E. Esckilsen

“When Tom Gray, a Native American, moves to a new town he is forced to make an agonizing decision. He had been a star soccer player at his high school so a starting position is guaranteed. But the symbol of the team is a war-painted Indian-head profile that he sees as an insulting stereotype. Tom becomes the leader of a group of outsiders that play soccer for fun until a wager puts Tom’s future on the line. There’s great soccer play-by-play and an issue to think about.” (Amazon.com)

 

Double Helix, by Nancy Werlin

“Eli has been offered a job at Wyatt Transgenics by famed scientist Dr. Wyatt. The salary is substantial, the work is interesting and Dr. Wyatt seems to be paying special attention to Eli. However, Eli's father is vehemently against his taking the job but won't explain why. Eli knows that there's some connection between Dr. Wyatt and his parents --- something too painful for his father to discuss. As he continues to work at the lab and spend time with Dr. Wyatt, Eli begins to uncover some disconcerting truths about himself, about his very makeup.” (Teenreads.com)

 

Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko

“12-year-old Moose Flanagan and his family move from Santa Monica to Alcatraz Island where his father gets a job as an electrician at the prison and his mother hopes to send his autistic older sister to a special school in San Francisco. When Natalie is rejected by the school, Moose is unable to play baseball because he must take care of her, and her unorthodox behavior sometimes lands him in hot water. He also comes to grief when he reluctantly goes along with a moneymaking scheme dreamed up by the warden's pretty but troublesome daughter...” (School Library Journal)

 

Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson

“Joe Simpson’s harrowing account of near-death in the Peruvian Andes, is a compact tour de force that wrestles with issues of bravery, friendship, physical endurance, the code of the mountains, and the will to live …As the author struggles ever higher, readers learn of the mountain’s awesome power, the beautiful—and sometimes deadly—sheets of blue glacial ice, and the accomplishment of a successful ascent. And then catastrophe …With a smashed, useless leg, he and his partner must struggle down a near-vertical face—and that’s only the beginning of their troubles.” (Amazon.com)

 

The Eye, the Ear, and the Arm, by Nancy Farmer

“In Zimbabwe in the year 2194, the military ruler’s 13-year-old son and his younger brother and sister leave their technologically overcontrolled home and find themselves on a series of perilous adventures. Tendai and his siblings encounter mile-high buildings and other miracles of scientific advance; they also find fetid slums and toxic waste dumps. As they're kidnapped by gangsters, forced to slave in a plastic mine, and accused of witchcraft, they’re pursued by mutant detectives, who are both bumbling and sensitive and who always seem to be just one step behind rescuing the children.” (Amazon.com)

 

Floodland, by Marcus Sedgwick

“In a not-too-distant future where the polar ice caps have melted and most of the planet’s land is underwater, Zoe is alone with one precious possession—a rowboat. With it, she can navigate the few bits of land still visible in search of her parents, from whom she was accidentally separated. That is, until she is captured on one desolate shore by a band of impoverished teenagers who call themselves the Eels. ... The only reasonable person left on the island is its sole adult, ironically nicknamed Mad William [and] Zoe quickly understands that William’s strange mutterings hold the secret to finding both dry land and her parents. Now all she has to do is find her boat, gather provisions, and manage to escape [before] the ever rising water closes over the Eels’ island forever.” (Amazon.com)

 

The Usual Rules, by Joyce Maynard

“Wendy …lives in a happy, haphazard Brooklyn household with her dancer / secretary mom, her jazz musician stepfather, and her eccentric little brother. Life for Wendy is fraught with the usual teen angst until September 11, when her mom heads off to work at the World Trade Center and never comes home. Wendy struggles through the days with stepfather Josh and brother Louis until on Halloween night her estranged biological father shows up and offers to take her home with him to California. On the West Coast, Wendy devises her own healing process …” (Amazon.com)

 

Hole in the Sky, by Pete Hautman

“A fatal influenza has killed off most of the earth’s population, leaving behind the unexposed and the Survivors, who are now immune but suffer losses ranging from sensory impairment to being delusional. Four successive narrators include 16-year-old Ceej; his friend Tim; his spiritual Hopi girlfriend, Isabella; and his mute, Survivor sister, Harryette, all living ‘at the edge of the world’ (near the Grand Canyon) ... The few adults in their lives are being murdered by a cult of Survivors who believe it their God-given purpose to infect people with the flu, offering them up to the ‘Judgment of the Divine’ ... Meanwhile, Isabella follows her unshakable belief in a Hopi portal that will lead her (and Ceej) to another, better world.” (Amazon.com)

 

Realm of Possibility, by David Levithan

“Enchanting collection of linked poems that delve deep and go far beyond the original stereotypes. Twenty teenagers – sensitive outsiders, cruel popular girls, body-obsessed jocks, gay teens in the throes of first love – take turns pouring their hearts onto the pages, detailing their loneliness, heartaches, hopes, and joys. All attend the same high school, and as the book progresses their stories slowly weave together to form a larger view of the school community …” (Amazon.com)

 

Heart on My Sleeve, by Ellen Whittlinger

"The story begins when 18-year-old, Boston-born, singer-songwriter Chloe visits a college in Connecticut as a prospective student and meets the dreamy singer-actor Julian from Florida. Both primed to say good-bye to high school and hello to the rest of their lives, the two share an intense, somewhat smooch-filled weekend that blossoms into an online romance. Inconveniently, Chloe already has a boyfriend. And both of them have prom, graduation, and summer jobs to contend with …” (Amazon.com)

 

Point Blank, by Anthony Horowitz

“Move over James Bond, Point Blank’s 14-year-old hero is also a member of Britain’s secret service. Fresh from his training by MI6, Alex Rider is headed for an exclusive private school in the French Alps because the isolated mountain academy is linked to the deaths of two prominent men. Just like 007, Alex is equipped with special gear such as an exploding stud earring and a CD that doubles as a buzz saw ...” (Amazon.com)

 

Dragon and Thief, by Timothy Zahn

“Orphaned, 14-year-old Jack Morgan, raised to be an assistant to his now-dead con-man uncle, Virgel, is on the run after being framed for a crime he didn’t commit. He is hiding out in his uncle’s spaceship--whose computer program, Virge, is a virtual Virgel--on a remote, uninhabited planet when another spaceship crashes after a fierce battle. The only survivor is the K’da warrior Draycos, a dragonlike being who cannot live apart from a symbiotic relationship with a humanoid host. Teaming up to clear Jack, the boy and Draycos embark on a fast-paced chase across space and into danger.” (Amazon.com)

 

The Afterlife, by Gary Soto

“In a few memorable days, Chuy makes it a point to fulfill all the dreams he's ever had as a 17 year old chico growing up in the barrios of Fresno, California. He asks out a beautiful girl, gets great seats to a Raiders game, and tells his mother how much he really loves her. Why is Chuy doing all this now, when he never had the courage to do it before? Because on page 2 of Soto's daring novel, Chuy is knifed to death on the dirty bathroom floor of a club, and as his spirit begins to float away, Chuy decides to make the most of his quickly dissolving Afterlife. A sort of Lovely Bones for guys (and the girls who love them).”

 

The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud

“Nathaniel is an angry, smart, and somewhat cocky magician's apprentice bent on revenge. Bartimaeus is a bored, brilliant, and somewhat annoyed ages-old djinn (genie) who's bent on getting away from Nathaniel. Except that's impossible. Because young Nat knows the right words to call up and bind Bart, Bart has to do his bidding. Bart, used to being called into service by powerful kings or queens or heads of state, can't bear the fact that he has to listen to a snot-nosed kid barely into his teens. And Nat can't stand the fact that Bart won't take him seriously. And what he wants Bart to seriously do is steal the most powerful object in the alternate land of London: the amulet of Samarkand. Nat wants the amulet so he can lord it over its former owner, a powerful and slimy magician who humiliated him when he was just a baby wizard. But, as you may expect, there's a few snags along the way.”

 

Born Confused, by Tanuja Desai Hidier

“Dimple Lala lives in New Jersey. Her parents are well-educated Indian immigrants who adore her and hover over her anxiously. She is in high school. Her best friend is a Caucasian American named Gwyn, who lives nearby. Gwyn has a rotten home life and spends a lot of time with Dimple's family, admiring the clothes, food, and above all, the loving parents. Gwyn is beautiful and into boys, sex, and the wild side while Dimple looks on admiringly. This lengthy story, filled with characters and situations, tells how the two mature, seeing one another differently. Finally, each girl is able to see herself in a new light. For Dimple, this means accepting all the plusses and minuses of being an Indian in America, finding a way to fit the two cultures together and falling in love with someone who is comfortable in both cultures.”

 

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler

"Virginia Shreves feels like the ugly duckling. In her high-achieving, blonde, beautiful and thin family, chubby, brown-haired, average Virginia sticks out like a sore thumb. Her best friend has moved all the way to Washington State, and Virginia doesn't like any of the shallow, popular girls at her New York City private school. What's more, she is sure that none of the other kids at school—especially the boys—could possibly like someone who's carrying a few extra pounds ... Tired of her family, Virginia decides that she is never going to make anyone else in her family happy unless she makes herself happy first. Soon she's traveling cross-country, getting pierced and dyed, and finding her own ways to feel good about herself and her body. She may never be as thin as the rest of her family, but at least she can find ways to feel good about herself and her talents.”

 

Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes

"Olive Barstow was dead. She'd been hit by a car on Monroe Street while riding her bicycle weeks ago. That was about all Martha knew." Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't -- and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it. Now Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. A family summer on Cape Cod should help banish those thoughts; instead, they seep in everywhere. And this year Martha's routine at her beloved grandmother's beachside house is complicated by the Manning boys. Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. But especially Jimmy. What if, what if, what if, what if? The world can change in a minute.

 

Naked in Baghdad, by Anne Garrels

“National Public Radio correspondent Anne Garrels has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. She is renowned for direct, down-to-earth, insightful reportage, and for her independent take on what she sees. Staying in Baghdad throughout the American invasion of Iraq, she was at the very center of the storm. Naked in Baghdad gives us the sights, sounds, and smells of our latest war with unparalleled vividness and immediacy. At its heart is her evolving relationship with her Iraqi driver/minder, Amer, who becomes her friend and confidant, often serving as her eyes and ears among the populace and taking her where no other reporter was able to penetrate. Amer's own strong reactions and personal dilemma provide a trenchant counterpoint to daily events. The story is also punctuated by e-mail bulletins sent by Garrels's husband, Vint Lawrence, to their friends around the world, giving a private view of the rough-and-tumble, often dangerous life of a foreign correspondent, along with some much-needed comic relief.”

 

A Mighty Heart, by Mariane Pearl

“Mariane Pearl's book focuses on the police story as she searched Karachi in hope of her husband's rescue, and on a reason to love once she'd lost that hope. Instead of playing the part of the helpless, hopeless weeping widow while ‘screaming inside,’ Pearl is both sharp-eyed and practical, and at some points even mordantly amusing. She supplies many vivid details from her romance with Danny: the exuberant way he made the bed (diving face-down onto the mattress so he could reach two corners at the same time) to a list on his laptop computer detailing the reasons he loved her. She wills herself to focus more on reconciliation than anger. The birth of her son provides a fitting close. She recalls that her husband had believed that their son would change the world. At the time, she'd felt this to be too much of a burden. But on the night after Adam was born, she whispered to him, ‘It is fine by me if you want to change the world.’ As she writes in the book's prologue, ‘the task of changing a hate-filled world belongs to each of us.’ ”

 

Tithe, by Holly Black

“Sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny. The drama and action are mostly there, in the faery world, where Kaye must discover everybody's loyalties and try to stay alive. Black creates a believable faery world informed by A Midsummer Night's Dream, with court politics and feasts. Her faery and human characters interact, but seem doomed to misunderstand and hurt each other, and Black leaves us with an ending that begs for a sequel.”

 

The Wish List, by Eoin Colfer

“Fourteen-year-old Meg Finn is in serious trouble – she and her ‘partner in crime’, Belch are dead! Belch is evil and goes to hell, where all the bad guys go but Meg on the other hand has an equal amount of good and evil in her. She has to redeem herself to get into heaven. To do this she must return to the world of Lowrie McCall, the man she and Belch tried to rob and help him do/undo his deepest regrets or his wish list. The story doesn’t end there however as the devil wants Meg in hell and sends back Belch as a Soul man to make Meg fail and to get her soul.”

 

A Poem Traveled Down My Arm, by Alice Walker

“In this illuminating book, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and acclaimed poet Alice Walker reveals her remarkable philosophy of life. Curiously, this labor of love started with the author’s signature: Faced with the daunting task of providing autographs for multiple copies of one of her poetry collections, Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth, Walker turned an act of repetition into an act of inspiration. For each autograph became something more than a name: a thoughtful reflection, an impromptu sketch, a heartfelt poem. The result is this spontaneous burst of the unexpected. A Poem Traveled Down My Arm is a lovely collection of insights and drawings, by turns charming and humorous, provocative and profound, that represent the wisdom of one of today’s most beloved writers.”

 

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