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Gayle Forman
Mia has a lovely life in Oregon. Funky punk parents. Goofy sweet little brother. Her own cello, and skills that mean she has a shot at a Julliard. A great best friend. And a totally awesome boyfriend who really gets her, even if he is a rocker and she is a classical sort of girl. But then one snow day her whole family piles into the car, playing hooky to go visit friends and grandparents, and a terrible thing happens. Mia finds herself outside her body. Witness to the horrible fate of her parents. Following her own body as it goes to the hospital and into surgery. She hovers near death, ultimately pondering if she should stay, or go.
A perfect sappy, sweet teen tearjerker that is sure to be a hit. Light teen drinking and sexual behavior is alluded to, so most appropriate for high school and public libraries, though most middle school students wouldn't bat an eye. I didn't want to like this, but I adored it.
Patricia Wrede
Everyone knows the seventh son of a seventh son is a man destine for greatness, and great magic. But what of his twin sister, who happens to be unlucky child number thirteen? Eff's extended family has encouraged her parents to kill her, banish her, and relentlessly mock and shames her. Finally, her parents can't take it any more, and decide to haul the remaining kids at home out West, to the banks of the great Mammoth River...the last gasp of civilization before the untamed Wild West. Here Eff can grow up under the radar, as a normal girl. Or can she? What if she really is cursed, and starts to bring havoc to those around her? Who will protect her family, and the settlements from the plethora of magical beasts, such as the steam dragons, that seem to come out of now where? Is there a place for a13th child in this new land? Or is she bringing her dark troubles with her?
A delightful alternative fantasy revisitation of the frontier life after the Civil War. But alas, deeply flawed by the complete lack of mention of any native peoples in this brave new world...a glaring gap in an otherwise very enjoyable book. Suitable for ages 12 and up.
Steve Kluger
What makes up a Most Excellent Year? Three Boston high school juniors look back at their freshman year, through journals, emails, and notes. It was the year T.C. decided to woo Alejandra the moment he saw her. It was the year Augie figure out (after everyone else) that he is gay. It was the year Alejandra started to think about what she really wanted, instead of what her father expected. A year filled with romance, friendship, drama, and magic.
Cute to the point of being a bit precious, this book captures Boston in a lovely way, and brings to life a cast of adorable well-intended characters who you will wish were your friends/classmates/students. For any romantic who loves Boston, musicals, baseball, or just cheeseball sweetness.
Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden isn't your typical private investigator. Not only does he break rules and rub people the wrong way with his unconventional methods, he is a wizard. And what does that get him? Not much. He can barely keep up with his rent, and drives around a beat-up old VW bug. Life of glamor this is not. But when you need someone to beat up ugly monsters and supernatural creatures threatening the humans of Chicago, he is the man you want on your side. So when a killing at the zoo is blamed on a beloved gorilla, it is Harry who is called in to see what really is going on.
A bit too gruesome and violent for school collections, but will strongly appeal to teens who love urban fantasy and horror. Recommended for high school and up.
Jim Butcher
Lisa Yee
What can you do with a mother who is totally obsessed with glamor, looks, and makeup...so much that she names you after her favorite brand of mascara? Maybelline, or Maybe for short, can't stand her mother's students...the snobby pretty girls from her school who come over every afternoon to be coached on the fine art of winning beauty contests. And even worst is her mother's newest fiancé, who is a serious creep...who tries to make the moves on Maybe! And when her mother doesn't believe her, what choice does she have but to tag along with her buddy Hollywood as he goes off to film school in L.A. to seek her long lost father? Luckily, her best friend Ted comes along for the ride, and the three of them have an unforgettable summer that will change all their lives forever!
Both hilarious and heartbreaking, Absolutely Maybe is an emotionally nuanced work about a self obsessed teen with a lot of growing to do, who luckily has a great safety net of people who love her to get her back. A great read for misunderstood teens who dream of bigger and brighter things. Recommended for eighth grade and up.
Roland Smith
Fourteen year old Peak isn't looking for fame on the side of the Woolworths Building in downtown New York City. The thrill for him is to leave mysterious tags in ridiculously high and difficult to reach places so that people will be astounded and dumbfounded. But he makes a major mistake when he does this outside a reception the mayor is attending, and is spotted and mistaken for a terrorist! And things only get worst while he is waiting in jail and a kid (with no climbing experience) dies in a copycat climb. Just when things are looking super grim, as the mayor wants to send Peak to jail for years to set an example, something totally unexpected happens. Peak's long lost father who he hasn't seen since he was a little kid shows up and offers to get him out of New York. This offer sounds too good to be true, but next thing he knows Peak is flying across the world to Kathmandu to hang out with his dad for a while. But does his dad really want to get to know him, or does he have his own selfish reasons to bring Peak over?
A super exciting contemporary adventure that teen guys are sure to enjoy. Also a pretty decent audiobook.
Melissa Marr
Aislinn never wanted to be special. She never wanted to see the fairies. But her and her gram were both born with the ability, and it is a curse she has to live with. The trick is not letting the fairies know she can see them. It is bad enough to witness their tricks and cruelty. But to become a target herself is not something she can risk. But then one day it happens. She catches the attention of a fairy. And not just any fairy, but the Summer King. Who has decided she will be his. Or rather, he has decided to convince her to be the next girl who will risk everything for the chance to be his Queen. But Aislinn knows too much about fairies to be tempted by this, no matter how handsome and charming the king may be. But what is a girl to do, when it is looking more and more like she has a destiny she does not want?
Wicked Lovely is a fresh look at fairies of legend, and imagines how they might react and interact with today's rapidly changing world. And how a contemporary female might react to their attentions. A gritty urban fantasy with a good helping of romance many teen girls will enjoy. Sexual situations and fairy court indulgences makes this best suited for public library collections, or maybe fairly liberal high school collections.
Alex Bradley
Jack is a nice guy. Smart. Clean. Friendly. But he has had no luck with the ladies. So now senior prom is just a few weeks off and he has decided he might want to go. So he asks a girl, and she says no. Now what? His friends decide to post a personal ad for him in the school paper, without telling him...and everyone is surprised by the results. How will Jack sort through all of the replies! He can't possibly meet them all. So his friends decide he will go out on 24 dates before prom to decide who the right girl for him will be. Learning how to kiss, who to trust, and how to follow your gut are all important lessons Jack will get in this crazy week, but most of all he will learn how not to be afraid of life.
A very sweet romantic novel, with just enough innuendo and raunchy humor to make it best suited for high school. A fun read for the beach or any other vacation!
Justine Larbalestier
Charlie lives in a big city (in an imaginary country that is a bit of a mash-up between the authors former home in Australia and current home New York) where she attend the top sports focused high school. But she is not your typical jock. Charlie is obsessed with trying to get rid of her fairy. She has no proof that a little being follows her around, but she does know that all her life, whatever car she was in always found fabulous parking, and quickly! Others in her world have similarly charmed existences...great luck shopping, never getting into trouble, or always having perfect hair, for example. But as far as Charlie is concerned her fairy is not lucky at all...she hates cars and is sick of being bullied into riding with folks just so they can take advantage of her fairy. So she decides she will do whatever it takes to get rid of hers...even if it means walking everywhere, trading for a classmates also-loathed fairy, or nearly risking her life. Something has to change, or she will go mad!
A fun and fluffy read, which will have readers wondering what fairy they would want. Just a bit of romance, high school setting, and a bit of risky behavior makes this suitable for middle school and up.
Max Brooks
Nobody knows where they came from, or if they will ever be completely gone, but zombies nearly wiped out life as we knew it. Humanity barely survived the onslaught. World War Z is a fascinating work that is told as a series of interviews with soldiers, politicians, dog handlers, doctors, and other tough and lucky people who were amongst the slim portion of humanity that was not consumed and changed. Sometimes gruesome, often heartbreaking, this book is not for the weak of stomach or the easily spooked.
I was totally sick of the whole zombie trend ages ago, and put off reading this. But boy am I glad I finally did! It takes what could be a tire and lifeless subject and makes you think about how real world politics, geography, and human factors would play into the denial, terror, and eventual triumph if such a situation really could exist. A truly entertaining and engaging book, soon to be made into a movie, and a great read for high school students.
Alex Flinn
Kyle is rich, handsome and the undisputed king of his prep school. All the girls crush on him, and he has his pick of the hottest. He is also a selfish jerk who thinks of no one else, appreciates nothing, and steps all over anyone imperfect who wanders into his path. Until the week he chooses to pull a prank on the wrong girl and ends up having a curse placed on him by a witch. Now he is an ugly, hairy, clawed beast. His newscaster father sends him away to live in out-of-the way Brooklyn. Here the Beast despairs of ever breaking the spell, knowing that no one could love him as ugly as he is. But what he doesn't count on is a desperate junkie breaking into his house and promising his daughter as a bribe in return for freedom. Disgusted, the Beast takes the girl in just to get her away from her creep of a dad. But soon hope blooms in his heart that perhaps she can be the one to break the spell.
A charming, contemporary retelling, Beastly may be predictable, but is enjoyable and entertaining and surprisingly fresh. Somewhat oblique references to sex and drinking probably make this best suited for high school readers, but will resonate with most fans of romantic fairy tales.
Robin Brande
Mena starts off high school in a very tough position. She had been looking forward to it, and to moving forward with all her friends from church. But when a campaign started by their pastor targeting a boy from her middle school become too much for Mena to bear, she writes the kid a letter apologizing for not stopping the harassment. The kid's family turns around and sues her church and the families of her friends. Now everyone hates her and are threatening to sue her family. Friendless and alienated from her parents, Mena despairs starting school. But when she is assigned a kind and funny lab partner by her dynamic science teacher, things start to look up. But once again, Mena finds herself in the middle of a mess when her old church friends start a new campaign...against teaching evolution in the school. Mena must struggle to decide what is the right thing to do, what will make her happy, and how to find where those things meet.
A emotionally nuanced work, with delightful characters, Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature will resonate with teens trying to understand where they fit in as they begin to form individual opinions about the world, faith, and the morality of their own hearts. Recommended for middle school and up.
Low-Life (Irredeemable Ant-Man - Volume 1)Robert Kirkman
So often superhero comics focus on the biggest and boldest of heroes. Those who overcome great obstacles to not just survive, but to find new heights of service to their communities. This version of Ant-Man is not one of those heroes. In fact, it is pretty hard to call him a hero at all. His origin story has him working at a desk job for S.H.I.E.L.D., when through a series of misadventure and falsehoods he comes into possession of the latest technology in hero costumes. After his best friend gets killed, rather than confess to having the costume, he lies to his superiors and pretty much everyone else he speaks with, for his own selfish ends...using cutting edge technology to spy on fellow employees in the womens showers. And continues downhill from there.
While readers who enjoy superhero comics and are familiar with the Marvel universe may enjoy this story of a crude anti-hero, school libraries in probably will want to avoid this story of a scumbag who uses the gifts he encounters to spy on naked women and get laid. High school and up.
Akira Toriyama
Cutesy little vampire hero with a goofy farting ghost sidekick. A killer sumo wrestler. Exciting transformations into a...were-koala? A daring rescue. A crime filled road trip. And ridiculous acts of heroism. Not much more you can say about this silly manga which will have tweens (especially boys) clamoring for more!
Levels of violence will have the more prudish adults pausing, but overall is no worst than the average video game. A bit like Scott Pilgrim for middle school readers, without the pop culture references, and monsters doing kung-fu fighting instead of indie rockers.
Kevin Emerson
As seventh grade begins to come to an end, all Trina wants to do is get along, fit in, and have fun with her friends. But things are not that simple. There is a small, itchy, weird acting boy in her class named Carlos, and sometimes when nobody is around Trina is nice to him. But he is SO annoying, always freaking out and talking about aliens, it is just impossible to be his friend. Then Trina's ringleader friend Thea decides that enough is enough, and it is time to pull a major prank on Carlos to get him for being so annoying. But Trina in her gut knows this is wrong, that Carlos can't help himself and means no harm. But how can she possibly stand up for Carlos, without becoming a victim of endless teasing herself?
A nuanced exploration of middle school friendships and peer pressure that doesn't offer easy answers, Carlos Is Gonna Get It would be an awesome book group pick. Anyone who has faced hard choices from their friends will be able to relate to these great vivid characters who can't always bring themselves to do the right thing. Recommended for middle school readers.
Neil Gaiman
A toddler narrowly escapes the slaughter of his family, and wanders off into a graveyard. Stalked by the murderer, he finds refuge with friendly ghosts, who promise his barely corporeal parents that they will protect him. And so he begins his life as Nobody "Bod" Owens...a most unusual child who has unusual powers due to his special circumstances and run of the graveyard. Life, of course, grows complicated as Bod grows older and yearns for both an education and living friends. Pursued by those who have always wanted him dead, every move outside the graveyard is a risk. Yet, Bod can't stay a small fiercely protected boy forever.
Filled with supernatural beings and exciting adventures this dark yet silly book will appeal to tweens and teens looking for a fun read, who don't mind a wee bit of gruesome. While it hints at deep moral issues of life and death, good and evil, the treatment is gentle as to go virtually unnoticed by those not ready to explore these depths.
Personally, while I very much enjoyed this book (Mr. Gaiman's reading makes the audiobook a lovely experience), I don't quite see why it won the Newbery. That said, it will make generations of school children assigned to read one happy to find a fun choice on the list.
Richard Farr
At 23 years of age, Cherry was bored. A wealthy young British gentleman tired of his comfortable life, he yearned for excitement and adventure. Be careful what you wish for... By luck of acquaintance, Cherry finds the opportunity to go on an Antarctic expedition. Though he lacks skills and experience his enthusiasm and determination helps him prove he can be a valuable part of the team. He develops strong friendships, that soon turn into devastating losses.
Largely based on Cherry's autobiographic tome The Worst Journey in the World, Emperors of the Ice straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction. Packed with exciting tales of adventure, risk, and invigorating tests of human capacity, for the right reader this book will be gold. Lots of great photos and good reference sources will give teens plenty of leads if they wish to find out more about this and other exploration stories. Recommended for 8th grade and up.
Melina Marchetta
Abandoned at a 7-11 at a young age, Taylor has few memories of her neglectful addict of a mother. At the boarding school on Jellicoe Road where she has grown up she has understandable trouble trusting anyone. The closest she gets is to a mysterious woman named Hannah, who has always been kind to her, but kept her at a arms length. When Hannah disappears at the beginning of Taylor's final year at the school, it is almost more than she can bear. Overwhelmed by her responsibilities as a house leader, and her role in an ongoing war game between her school, a group of Cadets that camps nearby, and the teen Townies, she is at wits end. She begins to ask questions, and when answers begin to surface it looks as though her world could be torn apart by what she finds out.
Complex, slow to begin, and mobbed with a small town's worth of characters, Jellicoe Road may be hard for readers to get into at first. But a bit of patience pays off in droves for those who persevere. Heartwrenching scenarios reveal the complex secret stories of a community struck by tragedies and the reprecussions on generations to come. Highly recommended.
Margo Lanagan
After the death of her mother, Liga's life becomes a living hell. Friendly, trapped alone in the woods in a small cottage with her drunken father, she falls victim to his brutal attentions. After he dies in an accident, she hopes she has finally found some peace for herself and her ill-begotten infant daughter, only to have that peace shattered by a group of young men from the nearby town. Just when she thinks she can't take the terrible weight of the world any longer, a magical being takes pity on her and whisks her away to an alternative universe where everything is perfect and safe and benign. And her her two daughters grow up knowing no danger, befriending beasts from the forest, completely innocent of the real world. Until one day cracks begin to appear, and the girls begin to realize that there is more to the world than they have known.
Beautifully written, Tender Morsels is a haunting fantasy which explores how fairy tales are used to help us cope with the darkest sides of our humanity. Through the tragic struggles of its characters, readers will be assured that while you may not always live the happy ending you are dreaming of...hope, friendship, and love are reasons enough to keep living as best you can.
Highly recommended for mature teens and adults who are fans of fairy tales retellings and childhood abuse survival stories.
S. A. Bodeen
Back when he was nine years old, Eli seemed to have it all. Son of a computer billionaire, he lived in a mansion overlooking Puget Sound and wanted for absolutely nothing. But then one terrifying night, his family was rushed into an underground bunker, and his father told the family that bad news they all had been dreading had come to past: nuclear war had broken out. Now, Eli has spent 8 years underground, in contact with only his parents and two sisters, and haunted by the guilt that it is his fault his twin brother was left outside to die. The family faces 7 more years her together before they can dare open the sealed doors, but things are starting to go terribly wrong. The feed animals all died, and the grain has gone bad, and their father has come up with a horrifying Plan B.
A somewhat predictable thriller, teens will none the less be entranced by this dark survival story. Not only does it make one question who really could survive a nuclear war, but who can you really trust to make the decisions that impact future generations? Should make a great booktalk for grades 8 and up.
