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Aguirre, Ann. ENCLAVE New York : Feiwel and Friends, 2011 IL YA ISBN 0312650086 Duece has been chosen to be a Huntress and help keep the Enclave safe. The Enclave is a small community that survives underground. It has been years since a plague wiped out everyone Topside. And now the only world Duece knows is Enclave and other small communities they trade with. There are monsters known as Freaks who live in the underground that attack the communities and the hunters protect the citizens of Enclave. But then the unthinkable happens. Duece and fellow hunter Fade are banished from Enclave. Fade says he used to live Topside and that is where they should go. But what is left there? Duece only knows what she has been told all her life. And she is not so sure that this is a good idea.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Book of the day 12/30/2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Book of the day 12/27/2012
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Wright, Bil. PUTTING MAKEUP ON THE FAT BOY
Wright, Bil. PUTTING MAKEUP ON THE FAT BOY New York : Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2011 IL YA, RL 5.5 ISBN 1416939962 Carlos is 16 and he has all the confidence in the world. He is a wanna be make up artist who is working towards his goal. He lands a part time job at Macy’s and is sure that he is on his way to becoming famous. When a real star comes in and loves what Carlos can do he may just be on that road. But things are not going to be that easy for Carlos. He has a lot to deal with. His sister’s boyfriend is abusive, his boss’s jealousy of Carlos’ talent and his own crush on another boy at school.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Book of the day 12/22/2012
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St. John, Warren. OUTCASTS UNITED : THE STORY OF A REFUGEE SOCCER TEAM THAT CHANGED A TOWN
St. John, Warren. OUTCASTS UNITED : THE STORY OF A REFUGEE SOCCER TEAM THAT CHANGED A TOWN New York : Delacorte, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0385741944 This is the true story of a remarkable woman and the children she touched. When Luma emigrated from Jordan, she wasn’t sure what life in the United States would hold for her. Cut off from her family’s wealth, she needed to make it on her own. One thing she was sure of was her love of soccer and of coaching. Fate brought her to a small town in Georgia and to the parking lot of a run down apartment complex. Here she met the boys that would change her life. They were refugees from many nations bonded together by their love of soccer. Luma threw herself into their lives as a soccer coach, friend and advocate. Learn how this small refugee soccer team changed lives and a whole town.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Book of the day 12/08/2012
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Osborne, Mary Pope. A PERFECT TIME FOR PANDAS
Osborne, Mary Pope. A PERFECT TIME FOR PANDAS New York : Random House, 2012 IL 3-6, RL 3.8 ISBN 0375968261 Jack and Annie are off on another adventure. This time they end up in China at a panda reserve. How cool is that? This should be a fun adventure. But it just isn't meant to be that easy. What are the odds that they land in China the exact day that a major earthquake is about to hit. Is this the adventure where everything goes wrong?
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Book of the day 12/06/2012
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Ness, Patrick. THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO
Ness, Patrick. THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO Cambridge : Candlewick Press, 2008 IL YA ISBN 0763639311 Has anyone ever told you they could read your mind? What if it was true. What if everyone could read minds? In this story, that is what happens. A virus has infected the population of a space colony and now all the thoughts are public. And you can't avoid them. It is a very noisy place. There are no women left and Todd is the only child in the colony. He is one month away from becoming a man and things are getting even stranger. He is told to run and leave the town. When he does, he finds something extraordinary -- a girl. And she has no noise. Now they are being pursued by the crazy preacher, they are on the run and Todd soon discovers the secrets of Prentisstown.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Book of the day 12/03/2012
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Moore, Carley. THE STALKER CHRONICLES
Moore, Carley. THE STALKER CHRONICLES New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0374371806Cammie Bliss is trying to overcome her reputation as a stalker. She’s not like a crazy, dangerous stalker. She just has a tendency to go a bit overboard with her attention. Like slipping notes into lockers. Calling a lot and pretending to need homework help. Taking a few – ok lots – of photos of the boy. But that is all behind her. She is a sophomore now and oh so much more mature. But then she meets Toby. He’s the new boy in school and he seems to like Cammie. Will she end up going overboard again and ruin another relationship.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Book of the day 12/01/2012
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Lowry, Lois. SON New York : Houghton Mifflin, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0547887205 Even if it has been a few years since you finished The Giver, you will be able to pick right up in this new book. During the Ceremony of Twelve, we meet Claire who has been chosen to be a Birthmother. When she gives birth to her first product, she has some difficulties and is deemed not fit to continue. She is reassigned but before she leaves her former assignment, she learns that she has given birth to a baby boy and she learns his number. She knows it is against all the rules to ever have contact with her son. He will be assigned parents at next year’s ceremony. Through a series of events, Claire meets her son and gets to spend time with him. She can’t tell anyone that this is her son or she will be in trouble and probably never see him again. He is a very active baby and screams most of the time. He is deemed not ready for parents at his first ceremony. After another year, he is still not ready so the elders make a decision that will change Claire’s life forever.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Book of the day 11/21/2012
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Cook, Robin.CRITICALNew York : Berkley Books, 2008 IL ADISBN 0425222888Medical Examiner Laurie Montgomery is surprised when she keeps finding cases of a deadly staph infection in patients who have been treated at the Angel surgical hospitals. When she contacts the owner of the specialty hospitals, she finds that they are doing all they can to stop the infections. They even closed down in order to disinfect the surgical rooms and tested all the employees for the infection. But nothing they do can stop the cases from coming. What is going on here? Laurie is determined to find out. But is she putting her own life on the line as she searches for the cause of this outbreak?
Monday, November 19, 2012
Book of the day 11/19/2012
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Burg, Shana. LAUGH WITH THE MOON
Burg, Shana. LAUGH WITH THE MOON New York : Delacorte, 2012 IL 5-8, RL 5.0 ISBN 0385734719 After Clare’s mother passes away, her father thinks he can help her by taking her halfway around the world. They pack up and leave Boston and head to Malawi where he will be working in a hospital. Clare is definitely not happy about leaving all she knows behind to live in a place she knows nothing about. When Clare volunteers to help out in a school, she sees the harshness of life in Malawi. The poverty, lack of food, no running water, no electricity all haunt her. But she also finds a community that is vibrant and full of life.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Book of the day 11/13/2012
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Condie, Ally. REACHED New York : Dutton Books, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0525423664 In the final book in the Matched trilogy, we find Cassia working for the Rising within Society. She is working as a sorter for Society. Ky is now flying airships for the Rising. And Xander is a medical official who is secretly working for the Rising. They are all waiting for the Rising to begin. And to get back to each other. When the Plague strikes, Xander works tirelessly helping patients. The Rising takes the opportunity to strike. They promise a cure for the Plague. They successfully take over and are able to cure those who are affected by the Plague. But then it mutates. And there is no cure. And now people are quarantined and cannot travel. There is no way for Xander, Cassia and Ky to reach each other. And not all of them are immune to the new Plague. Hold on to your hat and be prepared for lots of twists and turns as they try to find a cure for the Plague and most of all, to reach each other.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Book of the day 11/10/2012
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Lopez, Diana. CHOKE New York : Scholastic Press, 2012 IL 5-8, RL 5.9 ISBN 0545418224 Windy Soto sees herself at solidly GP in school – general public. She is not a loser or popular. She just is. When a new girl comes to school, Windy is fascinated and drawn to the girl. Windy joins Nina for lunch and starts hanging around with her. Windy’s ticket to the in crowd comes when Nina asks her to be her breath sister. But that means she is going to have to play a very dangerous game. Will she make the right choice?
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Book of the day 11/08/2012
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Knowles, Jo. PEARL New York : Henry Holt, 2011 IL YA ISBN 0805092072 Meet Pearl. Or as everyone calls her, Bean. She and her best friend Henry both live in dysfunctional families. Bean lives with her mother who has a drinking problem and her grandfather. Henry lives with a mother who is afraid to go out. They are pretty used to the ways things are going but that is all about to change. When Bean’s grandfather dies, Bean is devastated but her mother seems to have been freed from a burden. As the family secrets start to come out, Bean doesn’t know what to believe anymore.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Book of the day 11/07/2012
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Cody, Matthew. THE DEAD GENTLEMAN
Cody, Matthew. THE DEAD GENTLEMAN New York : Knopf, 2011 IL 5-8, RL 5.3 ISBN 0375855963 If you like steampunk literature, this is for you. Tommy Learner is living in New York City in 1900. He is a street kid who supports himself by stealing. One day he steals a magical metal bird from a strange looking man. Now he is being pursued by monsters. He is finally rescued by the Explorers’ Society, a group of dead gentlemen who travel through time. When the Dead Gentleman attacks the Explorers’ Society, Tommy is trapped. He is found by Jezebel but it is now modern time and Tommy is a ghost. And they must work together to save themselves.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Book of the day 11/04/2012
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Gleitzman, Morris. THEN New York : Henry Holt, 2010 IL YAISBN 0805090274 This is the second book about Felix and Zelda as they try to survive during the Nazi takeover of Poland in 1942. The book picks up where the last one, Once, left off. After Felix and Zelda escape from a train on the way to a concentration camp, the two children must hide. They are taken in by a Polish farmwife who dyes their hair and makes them memorize new identities. Will this keep them safe?
Monday, October 29, 2012
Book of the day 10/29/2012
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James, Brian. LIFE IS BUT A DREAM
James, Brian. LIFE IS BUT A DREAMNew York : Feiwel & Friends, 2012IL YAISBN 0312610041Sixteen-year-old Sabrina is artistic and has a very vivid imagination. But is it more than just a case of creating a fantasy world. She ends up in the hospital and diagnosed with a mental illness. Her hallucinations have gotten worse and her family cannot ignore the symptoms. Sabrina has schizophrenia and there is no cure. With treatment, her condition improves but then she meets Alec, a fellow patient. Alec tried to convince Sabrina that they are not mentally ill. It is the people around them that have the issues. She must decide whether to believe Alec and stop taking her meds or to trust her family and doctors.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Book of the day 10/28/2012
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Howse, Emily. ZITFACENew York : Marshall Cavendish, 2011IL YAISBN 0761458301Meet Olivia Hughes. You may think she has everything. She is an actress and appears on lots of tv commercials. She is popular at school. And has some very good friends. All that is about to change. Olivia breaks out in a severe case of acne. She tries to pretend that it isn’t acne. Maybe it’s spider bites. But she will have to accept the truth and all that comes with it. Her acting career may just be in jeopardy. No one wants a zitface to sell their products. And her boyfriend is pulling away as well. And those friends she had – they are just not there for her.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Book of the day 10/25/2012
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Daly, Cathleen. FLIRT CLUB New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2011 IL 5-8, RL 5.1 ISBN 1596435720 Eighth graders Izzy and Annie are drama geeks. And rather clueless when it comes to attracting boys. But they are determined to change that. They start a secret club that they call the Flirt Club and together they set out to study successful flirting techniques that they can employ. Told through notes, lists and journal entries, we follow the girls as the try to find their way in middle school.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Book of the day 10/23/2012
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Crockett, S. D. AFTER THE SNOW
Crockett, S. D. AFTER THE SNOW New York : Square Fish, 2012 IL YA ISBN 1250016762 When he returned home, they were all gone. And all he found was snow - just like always. It has been years since the oceans stopped working and the ice age began. Willo's family escaped to the mountains and scratched out a subsistence by illegal trapping and hiding from the government. But that is all changed now and Willo is alone. He leaves the hut behind on his way to try to find his family. Along the way he finds a young girl who is in worse shape than he is. Her father has been eaten by wolves and her little brother is close to death. At first Willo leaves her behind but his conscious just won't let him. He returns to find her brother has died and the small hut is surrounded by hungry wolves. Willo risks everything to save her but what will he do with her now. Just another mouth to feed. What lies ahead for the two?
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Book of the day 09/02/2012
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Westerfeld, Scott. THE MANUAL OF AERONAUTICS : AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE LEVIATHAN SERIES
Westerfeld, Scott. THE MANUAL OF AERONAUTICS : AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE LEVIATHAN SERIES New York : Simon Pulse, 2012 IL YA ISBN 1416971793 Are you a fan of Westerfeld's Leviathan series? If so, you will love this companion book. It is loaded with details about all the machines and creatures that play a role in the series. The illustrations are color and show the details of the transports, the weapons, the walkers, and the uniforms. Find out more about the the marvels that Deryn and Alek encountered on their journeys.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Book of the day 08/21/2012
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Trueman, Terry. LIFE HAPPENS NEXT
Trueman, Terry. LIFE HAPPENS NEXT New York : HarperTeen, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0062028030 In Stuck in Neutral, we met Shawn McDaniel, a teenage boys with normal teenage boy thoughts and desires. He is a bright, friendly boy who loves music, tv and girls. But no one will ever know that. Shawn has cerebral palsy that renders his body useless. People around him have no way of knowing what goes on inside. And that is why his father decided to end Shawn's suffering a couple of days ago. But he changed his mind at the last moment and now Shawn is moving on. He is madly in love with his sister's best friend but he can't tell her. And when his mother's cousin moves in, he has a lot he would like to say. Debi has Down's and is very direct. Her dog Rusty is not the friendliest dog in the world. But the three of them form an unusual friendship. But how can you form a friendship when you can't talk, walk or even wave hello?
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Book of the day 08/18/2012
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Roth, Veronica. INSURGENT New York : Katherine Tegen Books, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0062024043 This is a sequel to Roth's Divergent. Tris and Four have survived the Erudite simulation and are now determined to try to find out what was behind it. The Dauntless attack has left the factions fighting amongst themselves and Tris is trying to save those she loves. Civil war looms and the quest for power begins. There are even more simulations and the factions thrown together. Tris discovers that there is a secret to protect. A secret that is so important that if known, it may destroy all the factions. Insurgent starts out right into the story and does not give a summary of what has happened in the first book. It is recommended that readers are familiar with Divergent before plunging into this story.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Book of the day 08/17/2012
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Pyle, Kevin C. TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY
Pyle, Kevin C. TAKE WHAT YOU CAN CARRY New York : Henry Holt, 2012 IL YA ISBN 0805082867 Two stories set decades apart. Kyle in 1978 is new in town. And he is bored. He joins up with a few other boys and they start destroying property just for the fun of it. They get their kicks from stealing and breaking up a construction site. When they are caught, Kyle and one of the boys end up in jail. The second story is a wordless story set in 1941. A family of Japanese Americans are shipped off to an internment camp. Life in camp is hard and the family changes in ways they didn't see coming. These two stories come together and the two learn from each other.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Book of the day 08/10/2012
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Hirsch, Jeff. THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE
Hirsch, Jeff. THE ELEVENTH PLAGUENew York : Scholastic, 2011IL YAISBN 0545290147It's hard to look at life now and think that it used to be so different. Before the plague. Before the war. Two-thirds of the population has died and now the ones who are left struggle to survive. Stephen and his family have become scavengers. They move from place to place trying to find anything that they can trade. His mother has died and now his grandfather is gone as well. As he and his father are traveling, they come on some slavers. These are brutal men who sell humans into slavery. As they try to escape, Stephen's father is injured. What is Stephen to do now? His father is broken and in a coma. Fortunately, they are found by the inhabitants of Settler's Landing and taken in. Can a place like Settler's Landing really exist in this world? People live in houses, they go to school, they even play baseball. Is there more to this than meets the eye?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Book of the day 08/09/2012
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Hicks, Faith Erin. FRIENDS WITH BOYS
Hicks, Faith Erin. FRIENDS WITH BOYSNew York : First Second, 2012IL YAISBN 1596435569Starting high school is always an adventure. But what if you were homeschooled all your life and have no friends other than your brothers? Maggie is looking forward to high school but really misses her time at home with her mother. But her mother has left the family and she is now following her three brothers into public school. She just doesn't think she can do it. She does eventually make a couple of friends but they are both considered freaks by the popular boys. Add to this the ghost that Maggie has seen for years, we have a story about adjustment and a bit of a mystery to solve as well.
Hautman, Pete. THE OBSIDIAN BLADE
Somerville, MA : Candlewick, 2012
IL YA
ISBN 0763654035
In the first volume of a new scifi series, we meet Tucker Feye who is living a pretty normal life in a small town in Minnesota. His father is the local minister and his mother is the organist at the church. Everything changes when Tucker's father disappears from the roof of the house when he is fixing it. Tucker thought he saw a floating disk near where he father disappeared but how could that be? When his father returns, he is a changed man. He doesn't believe in God anymore and forbids the family from mentioning Him. He is also accompanied by a young girl who is wearing strange blue boots. She doesn't seem to speak English and there is no explanation as to where she came from. And now Tucker's mother has lost her mind and there is no help for her. Things get even stranger when Tucker's parents disappear. Tucker keeps seeing the strange floating disks but who would believe him if he said he thought his parents went through one of them? Is that even possible?
Hicks, Faith Erin. FRIENDS WITH BOYS
New York : First Second, 2012
IL YA
ISBN 1596435569
Starting high school is always an adventure. But what if you were homeschooled all your life and have no friends other than your brothers? Maggie is looking forward to high school but really misses her time at home with her mother. But her mother has left the family and she is now following her three brothers into public school. She just doesn't think she can do it. She does eventually make a couple of friends but they are both considered freaks by the popular boys. Add to this the ghost that Maggie has seen for years, we have a story about adjustment and a bit of a mystery to solve as well.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Angelini, Josephine. STARCROSSED
New York : HarperTeen, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 0062011995
Helen is growing up on Nantucket and has never really known life off the island. Her mother left soon after she was born but her dad has been great to her. She is a bit too tall and a bit too athletic to really fit in with the other kids so she tries to hide her talents. But when a new family moves to town, she finds that she can't hide any more. There is something about the new boy that makes her go crazy and want to kill him. Well, it turns out that Helen is actually a demi-god and the Fates are trying to keep her and Lucas apart by making them hate each other. But will that work? How will Helen adjust to her new identity? This is the first volume in the Starcrossed series.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Chandler, Kristen. WOLVES, BOYS & OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL ME
New York : Viking, 2010
IL YA
ISBN 0670011428
No, this is not a werewolf/vampire story!
It is set in a ranch town just outside of Yellowstone National Park, and the issue is how or even whether wolves should be protected. KJ, our heroine, is 16, a bit of a spitfire, who lives with her widowed father who is a hunting and fishing guide. She thinks her town is Redneck City USA. When Virgil and his mother arrive for a year while she researches the wolf pack in the park, KJ and Virgil quickly become friends. As they are both on the school newspaper, they decide to start a column on the wolves of Yellowstone.
Very soon their articles stir up a mess of controversy in town. The ranching families experience wolves as menacing predators of their livestock; but as KJ and Virgil observe the wolf pack and their young, their articles increasingly seek to show how they are a crucial part of the local food chain.
This starts to look like an "us against them" story, especially when there are a couple nasty incidents in town. But then Virgil reaches out to help a rancher's family and through his experiences we begin to understand their concerns. This is a thoughtful story that not only offers romance and action, but also seeks to consider the complexities of our environmental concerns. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Mulligan, Andy. TRASH
New York : David Fickling Books, 2010
IL YA
ISBN 0385752148
This story, set in Asia, is about 3 three boys whose families survive by picking through the daily mountains of rubbish at an enormous city dump. ... So, why would our kids want to read this?
One of the boys uncovers something inside a folded newspaper, in the freshly dumped rubbish – a leather wallet with a map, a key, money, and photos. This is real wealth, but also the beginning of real trouble. In just a few hours, the dreaded police arrive asking a lot of questions, for this wallet was tossed in a street bin by a desperate man as he was being chased by the police, and shortly before he died at their hands. It contains clues to an old unsolved murder, and to the man who was sent unjustly to prison for it. The boys are scared. Aside from the money, the wallet's contents are a mystery to them; but, they know the police are corrupt, and trying to cover-up something big. They decide this is one wrong they are going to set right. But they are closing in, and they must disappear, both to protect their families and to ferret out what really happened.
This story not only takes you to a world we know little about, it also is an action packed, tense thriller told by three interesting and very different boys. Hand it to kids who liked the movie Slum Dog Millionaire, or read and liked I am Number Four, Devil’s Breath, The Last Thing I Remember.
The author worked in a school in Manilla that was next to an enormous city dump like the one in his book. So the story is based in reality and started when he wondered what if … (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Oppel, Kenneth. THIS DARK ENDEAVOR
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 1442403152
Viktor and Konrad Frakenstein are identical 16-year-old twins. Their resemblance ends at their appearance, however - Konrad has a sunny, pleasing nature where Viktor is brooding and uncomfortable with his happy, close-knit family, which includes loving parents, two younger brothers, Elizabeth (a distant cousin), and Henry (a family friend close enough to be blood). While exploring the castle, the young people discover a camoflaged panel, leading them to a hidden library, full of oddly titled, old books in strange languages. The books are alchemical in nature and may lead to the fabled Elixir of Life. When Konrad falls fatally ill, Viktor and Elizabeth are consumed with translating and creating the Elixir. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Choat, Beth. SOCCERLAND
New York : Amazon Children's Pub, 2012
IL YA
ISBN 076146249X
Flora’s school is at the top of Northern Maine - Acadia High School, to be precise. She has the honor of being the top player on the team, as her mother was before her. After a disappointing no-show by the Androscoggin team, Flora arrives home to discover her coach has an amazing offer for her - she has been given a tryout slot at the International Sports Academy for the United States U-15 National Women’s Soccer Team - the opportunity of a lifetime! She’s going to be the first Dupre to trade the potato fields for a soccer pitch and a chance to follow-thru on her dream. Flora’s size and strong accent make her stand out among the girls and discovers following a dream may be more work than she had anticipated. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Leavitt, Lindsey. SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD
Leavitt, Lindsey. SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD
New York : Bloomsbury, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 1599904985
Payton Gritas discovered quite accidentally her family had been hiding something from her - her father's case of multiple sclerosis. Her feeling of betrayal and impending loss drive her mother to send Payton to see her guidance counselor. The guidance counselor recommends Payton find a focus object upon which to journal to her help center her emotions. Payton chooses Sean Griswold's head, the boy who has sat in front of her for many classes, but whom she has never gotten to know. Payton finds she and Sean have a mutual attraction, but she fears Sean will no longer want to be around her if he learns the real reason she has gotten close to him. Payton must decide which path she needs to take - does she tell or hide her secret. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Friday, July 20, 2012
Kittle, Katrina. REASONS TO BE HAPPY
New York : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 1402260202
Hannah is an adventurous spirit who delights in making lists of reasons to be happy from "sand under your bare feet" to "getting yourself all freaked out after a scary movie". When her parents who are both actors become movie stars the family moves to LA. The day before school starts Hannah makes a little list of all the great adventures she is going to seek out that first day, but as soon as she enters the building she is met by one of the stylish clicky B-Squad. They want to own the friendship of the new girl whose father is a hot star. Hannah's slightly plump, easygoing presence doesn't make the grade. Increasingly her days are about hiding who she is, and fitting the B-Squad expectations.
Meanwhile at home her beautiful mother has been diagnosed with cancer, and Hannah feels she must not worry her mother with her own problems. She becomes overwhelmed by it all, and one day she gets so tense she throws up; but afterwords she feels really good. Ahhh, she's discovered a secret remedy! At first everyone thinks her weight loss looks good, but her secret remedy is also compulsive. Soon there are side effects which she must also hide. Her mother is too sick, and her father too distracted with grief and work to see what is happening to their daughter.
Then her aunt comes to visit. She was once bulimic, and she sees it all. She is a documentary filmmaker and is heading out to film the plight of orphans in Africa. She convinces Hannah's father to let her bring Hannah with her. There, Hannah reawakens as she befriends a girl her age who is struggling with her own over-whelming problems, and yet brings Hannah a fresh offering of friendship and self worth. It is not a fix, but it is a strong start, and a reaffirmation of who she really is. And that gives Hannah the will to fight back. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Lu, Marie. LEGEND
Set in a Dystopian future, and told in two voices.
The western half of the United States has seceded and is ruled by The Republic, an oppressive totalitarian regime. 15 yr-old Day, who lives off the streets, is one of their most wanted criminals, but to others he's a kind of Robin Hood. When his younger brother is infected with a deadly virus, Day breaks into the regime hospital for the needed medicine. He is discovered on his way out and has to fight a Regime soldier to escape.
That soldier dies before morning, and that soldier has a younger sister in the forces, 15 yr-old June. She is one of their brightest prodigies, and she is now committed to hunting down Day and avenging her brother's death. But when the two meet, they are both undercover and neither knows the other's true identity. As they work together, each one is drawn to the other, for they are much alike. They both are young heroes.
As June begins to experience the darker side of the Republic, and learn more about that fateful night, she becomes convinced that her brother's death may involve some inside treachery. She has to solve this, and, she now is also committed to somehow saving Day from execution. In desperation she devises a plan, but can she make it work?
When the story ends, you want more. Thank heavens it's the 1st of a series! (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Perera, Anna. GUANTANAMO BOY
New York : Albert Whitman, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 0807530778
Khalid is normal English 15-year-old-boy. He loves soccer and video games, school is not his favorite place to be, and he thinks his parents are know-nothings and way out of touch. He and his father see eye-to-eye on very little. He definitely does not want to follow in his father’s footsteps as a cook in their own little restaurant. Unfortunately, Khalid’s grandmother in Pakistan has passed away and the family must make a trip to the country to check on Khalid’s aunts and cousins. While out in the city, Khalid is mistaken for a Muslim insurgent, kidnapped, and sent to a prison where no teen should ever go, accused of crimes he does not understand. Innocent until proven guilty has no place at Guantanamo Bay. (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Bedford, Martyn. FLIP
New York : Wendy Lamb Books, 2011
IL YA
ISBN 0385739907
Ever wake up a bit groggy? 14-year-old Alex, a somewhat geeky aspiring clarinetist wakes up
and finds himself in someone else's body. While he's trying to really wake up - this must be a
weird dream - that someone else's mother tells him to get up and get ready for school! Who is
that? What school?! Soon he is bumbling through Philip Garamond's life, for that's who
everyone thinks he is now, trying to fake it till he can figure out what's going on. And they are
such different people! Philip is a buff athlete and one of the "in crowd", and knows nothing
about music.
Days become weeks. Alex learns that his own body is lying in a coma after a car accident and
that what seemed like one night was actually 3 months.
One of the things I liked about this story is you only learn the answers as to what's happened
through Alex. The tension of the confusion works. You get drawn in and want to know - how is
this going to be resolved? Surely Alex can get his own life back, right? And, if Alex is in
Philip's body, is Philip locked in Alex's body? Along the way he meets Ron, a person with the
same condition, it's called psychic evacuation. Ron tells Alex to adjust to his new life and get
on with it. That's not what Alex wants. How is this going to be resolved? You'll have to read it
to find out.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Falkner, Brian. BRAIN JACK
New York : Random House, 2009
IL YA
ISBN 0375843663
When the story opens Sam is hacking into the White House Security system, well it's there and supposed to be impenetrable, but when he tries to cover his tracks on the way out he accidentally crashes the international computer grid, and that gets him busted. Not long after he is incarcerated, he gets recruited to work for the government in their super secret cyber defense force. As such he essentially joins a select group of elite hackers as they work to track down and outwit cyber terrorists. “Use your skills to keep the world and our country safe!”
In not too long evidence of a deadly neuro-virus surfaces on the web; however, their newest and best weapon, a neuro headset that connects your brainwaves directly to the internet thus ramping up response time, skills, and range, also creates an open door that could expose your very mind to the terrorists you are hunting. So, have fun, and buckle your headset! (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)