Green, John (2006). An abundance of Katherines. New York: Dutton Books.

 

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy, Colin, sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising conclusions in this great novel about reinventing oneself.

 

Bonnie LaForge Fall 2008

 

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Dunn. K. (1989). Geek Love. Portland, OR: Vintage.

A family of freak-show characters travels around the United States as a Circus dealing with the public’s reaction to them as well as their own family dysfunction. This is an intense book with strange monster-esque people, and then there are the freaks! Latter-aged teens looking for a book on Circus workers, or Carnival folk would be very pleased with this recommendation. The emotional impact is as vivid as the horrifying accounts of this freak family.

Will Wagler, Fall 2008

 

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Schutz, S. I don't want to be crazy. New York: Scholastic.

I Don’t Want to be Crazy is a nonfiction biography of the author, Samantha Schutz.  It is written as a memoir in prose form. Samantha begins to experience panic attacks shortly before graduating from high school. This book follows her through four years of college and a painful semester abroad in France.  She recounts experiences with counselors and with medication.  She finally learns how to share this disorder with her friends and finds great support in some of her friendships.  This book realistically describes the feelings associated with anxiety disorders.  A quick read for reluctant readers.

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Contemporary Fiction 2006

Cabot, M. (2006). Sweet sixteen princess. New York: Harper Collins.

Sweet Sixteen Princess is one novel in the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. The story focuses on Princess Mia's sweet sixteen birthday. All Mia wants for her birthday is a quiet dinner alone with her boyfriend. Her friends, especially her best friend Lilly, would like her to have a party. That's why they are excited when they learn that her grandmother plans to throw Mia a giant birthday bash for all of her friends to attend in Genovia and have it filmed by MTV. Cabot once again brings the irrepressible Princess Mia to life in a light-hearted tale about how she can have the celebration she truly wants without hurting the feelings of her friends or family. 

 

Heather Neidenbach, November 2008 

 

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Johnson, Harriet McBryde. Accidents of Nature. Henry Holt, 2006. 229 pages. $16.95. ISBN 0-8050-7634-4

We spend our lives trying to fit in, trying to pass for normal.  We wear the right clothes, and say the right things.  But what if there was something about ourselves that we couldn't "normalize"?  What if you were missing an arm, or lived in a wheelchair, or had epileptic fits?  How would you pass as normal?  Jean spends her summer at "Crip" Camp surrounded by other kids with disabilities.  Observing counselors and administrators she learns how much the normal world wants to force their standards on those who are crippled, mentally handicapped, or just "different." "What's appropriate is to spend our time in a strange mimicry of 'normal experiences'--dancing, playing softball, living the outdoor life….But, of course, we don't really do these things, most of us; we just pretend to. The things we could really, truly enjoy together, freely, of our own choice, are counted worthless. To enjoy our day-to-day lives in our own way is forbidden."  What does it mean when a place that you consider your own, a place where you fit in with all the rest, is really controlled by those who will never see you as equal?

An engaging story told from the perspective of a young woman with cerebral palsy.  Johnson takes the reader to a perspective far from the “norm” forcing one to question the value and judgmental quality of the term “normal.”

-Katharine Miller 8/9/07

 

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Lynch, Tom. (Executive Producer). (2006). South of Nowhere. New York:Viacom International

South of Nowhere on The N is a well written and relevant teen soap opera. The roles are diverse racially and otherwise. This smart and well written show reflects teen pop culture and computer savvy. The characters deals with homosexuality, racism, adoption, sports injury, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, divorce and more with wit and wisdom and pop references. Characters are well rounded and dynamic. Clips of previous episodes are available for free download from the official website with the next season anticipated for Fall 2007.

Robin WIlliams 5/17/07

 

Murdock, C. G. (2006).  Dairy queen:  A novel. New York:  Houghton Mifflin.

Recommended for grades 7-10.

D.J. Schwenk has the weight of the world on her shoulders; she almost single-handedly runs the family dairy farm due to her father’s injured hip and must deal with somewhat dysfunctional family dynamics and a best friend whom she discovers is gay and in love with her.  Despite these challenges, she decides to train Brian, the quarterback of the rival high school’s football team, in secret, develops a crush on him, then decides to try out for her own high school’s team without telling Brian or her father.  D.J.’s romantic mishaps and insightful observations about her life produce many laughs, but the undercurrent of unresolved tension continues to surface.  D.J.’s strength in resolving to meet her challenges head on makes her a formidable force both on and off the field.  This perfect blend of wit, wisdom, and self-discovery is a must-read.YALSA Best Books for YA 2007

Submitted by Anne Snyder 5-5-07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smith, K. (2006). The geography of girlhood. New York: Little, Brown, and Company.

Penny is a girl trying to navigate the minefields of the teenage years without a map. As she goes through high school, she must deal with a wild older sister, a mother who walked out on the family, and all the stresses of friendships. Along the way, she will have her first kiss, see friends drift away, welcome a new stepmother and stepbrother, and learn that life may not be perfect, but it's still pretty good. The story unfolds in free-verse from Penny's perspective, with all her raw emotions in tact. In the end, the story will bring tears as well as laughter as the reader follows Penny's thoughts and feelings. Recommended for Grades 7 and up.

-- Ruth Boyer, April 14, 2007

 

The Higher Power of Lucky

Patron, S. (2006).  The Higher Power of Lucky.  Illustrated by Matt Phelan. New York: Antheum Books.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Time Period and Locale: Present Day, small town, desert

Age or Reading Level: 5th – 8th grade

Description:

Scrotum, shmotum.  I read the first page of this book to a room full of 10 and 11 year olds and they didn’t even react.  So, the book has been reviewed to death because of one word.  But lets not loose sight of the fact that this is a good book.  It is a Newbery that will work for an upper elementary school through middle school student.  It is short, readable, and has a compelling plot and funny cast of characters.  Lucky is looking for her higher power, hoping that eves dropping on 12 steps meetings will help her.  She is ten years old and feels helpless and vulnerable with no control over her life. Mother dead, Father abandoned her long ago and her guardian seemingly on the verge of returning to France.  Lucky makes some stupid assumptions and predictably makes some stupid decisions.  But you want to find out what happens to her and root for her the whole way.  The town of Hard Pan (pop. 43) becomes real with a few simple drawings by Matt Phelan that accompany the straightforward text.  Finally, this is a Newbery that I can recommend to fifth graders.

Author’s Website: http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=1&pid=503504

Ellen Reed 4/13/07

Rosoff, M. (2006). How I live now. New York: Random House. 

This is a disturbing book that takes place during a future World War. A 15-year-old girl, Daisy, is sent by her father and stepmother to London to live with her aunt and four cousins. Shortly after she arrives, an unnamed enemy invades the country and starts committing terrorist attacks, such as poisoning the water supply, bombing public places, and cutting off all electricity and forms of communication.  Daisy and her cousins must learn to fend for themselves, as her aunt was out of the country when the war began and cannot return because all airports have been closed. Eventually, the cousins get separated, and most of the story follows Daisy and her 9-year-old cousin Piper as they face the horrors of war and struggle to survive in this new world.

Megan Fritz. December 6, 2006.

Going, K. L. (2006). Saint Iggy. Orlando: Harcourt.

"You've had a lot to overcome…but… We can all… do something that contributes…" Born to drug addict parents (with dad stoned all the time while mom gets high on meth), Iggy Corso knows that the only way out of this chaos is with a high school education. Unfortunately, he is involved in an altercation that might have him expelled. Before the hearing, he decides that he must do something to change the minds of people around him... In Saint Iggy, Going once again proves what a strong writer she is as she tells the ultimate sacrifice one makes for the sake of others.

Mark Lee, 4 December, 2006.

Friend,  N.  (2006).  Lush.  New York:  Scholastic. 

Thirteen-year old Samantha Gwynn has enough to deal with (like the boys at school who harass her because of her early-bloomer status) but her alcoholic father and enabling mother make her life nearly unbearable. But she has to be strong and protect her little brother Luke from harm. Realizing she needs some advice, she starts writing to an anonymous high school girl by leaving notes in a library book. Just when things are starting to look up--her father claims to be cutting back on his drinking, she's becoming more popular in school, and a high school boy shows interest in her--her life is turned upside down by alcohol once more.

Megan Fritz. December 3, 2006.

Hiaasen, C.(2005). Flush. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

 

Dusty Muleman is flushing the sewage from his gambling boat, the Coral Queen, directly in the waters of the Florida Keys. This has so upset Noah's father that he sunk the bail.  Well, Noah's dad did have a problem with controlling his temper, but Noah needed to find a way to prove that his father is correct. So he enlists the help from some unlikely characters and sets off the prove that Dusty Muleman really is flushing the toilets into the bay. Carl Hiaasen has written an easy to read, fun yarn about protecting the Florida Keys.

 

Lynn McCormick. 15, November 2006

 

Meyer, S. (2006). New moon. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Gut wrenching heartbreak, a vengeful villain, and otherworldly protectors fill the dark, brooding novel New Moon. Meyer takes us into the passions and intensity of young love. In Twilight, readers are introduced to the idyllic love between Bella and Edward. New Mooncontinues their star crossed story. Bella and Edward are still at odds with their human/vampire relationship. Bella is afraid she’ll grow old while Edward stays young forever, and Edward still fears she will miss out on human milestones because of him. An unfortunate event at the eighteenth birthday party the Cullens throw for Bella makes Edward realize how his presence endangers Bella. Readers will miss Edward almost as much as Bella when he leaves. The sensual, descriptive writing is spellbinding, and ensures the reader will forget about a few slow moving areas and unrestrained plot. Older teens will relate to the characters, and forget that there are vampires and werewolves in this tear inducing, heart aching love story.

 

Sarah Fowlie, October 11, 2006

 

Griffin, A. (2006). My almost epic summer. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. Fourteen year old Irene has big plans for LANJ (Life After New Jersey.) She’ll move to LA and open her own shop, Heroine Hairstyles, where she’ll specialize in the hairstyles of literary leading ladies. Her sketchbook is already filled with ideas for the styles she’ll create and her summer job at her mother’s beauty shop gives her plenty of opportunities to fantasize about her future. In the shop, Irene finds her daydreams rudely interrupted by customers less than pleased with shampoo in their eyes or shocked by the hot pink glaze in their hair. Three weeks into the summer, Irene’s mother fires her, and Irene finds herself the unwilling babysitter of two kids who really aren’t so bad, but live in a house without junk food or a TV. While her friends are off on interesting summer vacations, Irene’s most exciting adventure is the daily journey to Larkin’s Pond with Lainie and Evan. Bored on the beach, Irene becomes obsessed with the new lifeguard, a gorgeous drama queen named Starla Malloy who is a year ahead of Irene in school, and who, Irene later discovers, maintains a blog of bad misspelled poetry about her ex-boyfriend “D.”

Even though Starla calls Irene “Nerd” and mocks Irene’s sketchbook, and though Irene recognizes that “the Starlas of the world never become friends with the Irenes,” an unlikely and unhealthy relationship develops between the two girls. Starla decides to make Irene her “witness” for her revenge against "D". Irene finds herself having to make some tough decisions about love, loyalty, and the law.

While the reader won’t become emotionally engulfed in the characters, they are realistic and well defined, and this novel makes a quick, fun, summer read.

Jessica Rothberg, 6 Oct 2006

• Soto, Gary. (2006). Accidental love. Harcourt, Inc.

   

   

   

  Fourteen-year old tough talking Marisa accidentally ends up with the wrong cell phone after punching her best friend’s cheating boyfriend in an elevator.  Rene, the owner of the cell phone, is a nerdy guy from a magnet school. After meeting and falling for Rene, Marisa transfers from her tough run-down Latino school to his high school where she hopes to get closer to Rene, improve her grades and lose weight. This gentle romance between opposites is full of humor and insight.  Soto accurately depicts the popularity and common stereotypes in school. This book is ideal for middle-school-age youth, as it portrays the essence of teen relationships in a sweet, tender and authentic romance.

   

   

  Jill Russell, 9/22/06