Dixon, H. (2011). Entwined. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 978-0062001030 Hardcover, $17.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: A retelling of the classic fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” with a twist. Azalea, the eldest sister, must fight to save her family from an ancient evil and keep a sacred promise made to her dying mother.
Booktalk: What do you love most in the world? What would you fight to keep? For Azalea, the eldest of twelve sisters and crown princess of Eathesbury, the answer is easy: her family. As Christmas approaches, her mother is ill and the hostess duties for her Kingdom’s annual Yuletide Ball have fallen to Azalea. She is excited for the ball, she loves to dance; her mother has taught her and her sisters well. When she’s called to her mother’s bedside just hours before the ball, her mother makes her promise to care for her sisters, always. Just hours later, her mother dies. Her father cannot handle the pain and goes off to war, leaving Azalea and her sisters shocked and reeling from the loss. Mourning traditions require that there be no dancing, or guests, for a year. Azalea tries to help her sisters, but she’s alone and brokenhearted. Azalea’s promise to care for her sisters is put to the test. Fighting against crushing hopelessness and isolation, the sisters finally discover magic in the castle – magic that allows them to dance their sadness away and pulls them out of their despair.
Too late, Azalea realizes that the dancing comes at a very high price. Fighting an ancient dark magic with nothing but her love, her determination to keep the promise she made to her mother, and a silver handkerchief, can Azalea pay that price? Can she keep her promise? Can she save her family from the terror that haunts them?
Condie, A. (2014). Atlantia. New York, NY: Dutton Books. ISBN 978-0525426448 Hardback, $18.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: After getting Rio to promise to stay below in Atlantia, her twin sister Bay chooses to leave and go live in the Above. Rio is devastated and searches out the truth about why Bay left and what is really happening in Atlantia.
Booktalk: Rio has always wanted to leave Atlantia, to go live "Above." She doesn’t remember a time when she hasn’t felt the call of the Above. Her twin sister Bay is just the opposite. She has always known she would never leave; she hears Atlantia breathing and she breathes with it. When their mother dies, Bay pleads relentlessly with Rio to stay. Finally, Rio promises that she will - her love for her sister is stronger than anything else. Choosing day comes and Rio makes the irrevokable choice to stay. Then, Bay does the unthinkable and chooses to leave. Devastated and confused, Rio cannot accept Bay's betrayal.
Rio begins to search for a reason, a message, a clue of any kind that will help her understand why Bay left. What she uncovers is a secret deeper and darker than the one she has been keeping for her entire life. Can Rio figure out the truth before it's too late? Is she strong enough to listen?
"After losing my mother and my sister, I didn't think I had anything left to lose, but I do. You always have something left to lose.Until, of course, you die." (p. 46)
Awards:
This book has not won any awards.
What teens are saying:
"I absolutely loved Atlantia! It was a book with an interesting concept, that made the readers think about sibling betrayal, the importance of having your own freedom, and who really matters in life." ~ Olivia T., age 15
Here's my personal booktalk for Atlantia:
Get to know Ally Condie a little better in this interview done by The Girls in the Stacks:
Howard, A.G. (2013).Splintered. New York, NY: Amulet Books. ISBN 978-1419704284 Hardback, $17.95
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: Alyssa Gardner, great-great-great granddaughter of Alice Liddell, lives in fear of inheriting her mother’s madness. When she learns the truth, she must go down the rabbit hole and save her family from Alice’s curse.
Booktalk: Ever since her great-great-great grandmother Alice Liddell told Lewis Carroll about her dreams of going down the rabbit hole, it’s like Alyssa Gardner's family is cursed. Every woman eventually succumbs to madness. Her own mother, Alison, has been an inmate at Soul’s Asylum since Alyssa was 5 years old. Alyssa herself first began to hear the plants and insects talking when she was in 5th grade. Terrified of ending up in the asylum with her mom, Alyssa has been silently suffering ever since,
Then, during one of her weekly visits to the asylum, something changes. Alyssa and Alison have the same illusion at the same time and it’s trying to kill Alison. Suddenly, Alyssa must admit the reality she’s been denying for the last 7 years. After her mom tells Alyssa that the family is cursed because of what Alice did in Wonderland, Alyssa knows the only way to avoid the madness and save her mother is to go down the rabbit hole herself to undo the damage Alice did.
What Alyssa doesn’t expect is that her best friend and secret crush, Jeb, will follow her down the rabbit hole. Can she find what she’s looking for? Can she protect Jeb and herself? Will Alyssa be the one to break her family’s curse, or will she be Splintered, too?
Awards:
#2 on the 2014 Teen's Top 10 from YALSA
2014 Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award
Watch my personal booktalk for Splintered here:
Watch the author's own book trailer for Splintered:
See what else the author has going on at her website here:
Meyer, S. (2015). Life and death: Twilight reimagined. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0316268394 Hardback, $13.19
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: 17-year-old Beau moves to Forks, WA to live with his dad and falls in love with a local vampire girl named Edythe.
Booktalk: When ordinary high school junior Beau moves from Phoenix to the tiny town of Forks, WA, he falls for the vegetarian vampire Edythe. Thinking she must be completely out of his league, Beau is shocked at her virulent reaction to him. Stricken with a thirst for Beau like she's never experienced before, can Edythe restrain herself long enough to get to know Beau, or will her life mean his death?
Book Review:Are you a fan of the “damsel in distress” motif? Do you appreciate a good vampire story? Do you just wonder what all the hype was about and if it’s worth it? If you were not a fan of Meyer’s original book Twlight, you may still enjoy this one. According to the author’s foreward,
“Bella has always gotten a lot of censure for getting rescued on multiple occasions, and people have complained about her being a typical damsel in distress. My answer to that has always been that Bella is a human in distress, a normal human being surrounded on all sides by people who are basically superheroes and supervillains. ... I’ve always maintained that it would have made no difference if the human were male and the vampire female – it’s still the same story. Gender and species aside, Twilight has always been a story about the magic and obsession and frenzy of first love.”
Meyer’s exercise in role reversal turns out to be an interesting one. Just by their very nature, Beau and Bella are different and being inside Beau’s head was actually much more pleasant for me than being inside Bella’s. Beau, while still having most of the same self-esteem issues and hang-ups as Bella, is somehow not as pathetic. He comes across as less obsessive, but he’s also not nearly as friendly toward others as Bella is. Of course, we had four books to get to know Bella and watch her struggle and we only get one for Beau. Still, Beau is less moody and depressive and has a lot more fun one-liners than Bella ever did. He seems to take himself less seriously, to take life less seriously.
On the other hand, Edythe is not nearly as interesting as Edward. Her backstory is the same so perhaps she’s less interesting because we already know her? Edythe is more fun and less angry than Edward and she doesn’t seem to have the same level of self-loathing. She has the same protective instincts, but they come off slightly less controlling and domineering somehow. (I find myself questioning my own interpretation here).
Which brings me to my main point: reading this book was an interesting exercise in exploring my own subconscious sexist attitudes. I think a case could be made that Meyer has some of the same attitudes I discovered in myself. For example, I was disappointed to see how the scene in Port Angeles where Bella is almost sexually assaulted was changed to be Beau being threatened by a stranger with a gun. [In the original the stranger says to Bella, “Don’t be like that, sugar,” which has sexual implications]. This made the original scene in Twilight feel like gratuitous literary rape, one in which the scene is about fear and/or violence and the only reason it becomes about rape is because there is a woman involved. (See this blog post for a more detailed explanation of what I mean).
Overall, though, I enjoyed reading this book, not because it is great writing or an amazing storyline, but because it made me think about my own attitudes. Is Edward really any more controlling than Edythe, or do I just perceive it that way? Is Beau really less obsessive than Bella, or do I see it that way because we, as a society, see women as being more prone to obsess over men than men over women? Is Beau really any less pathetic than Bella or do my subconscious preconceptions of the “damsel in distress” color my view and make her come off as more pathetic then Beau?
Life and Death was decently engaging while making me examine my own prejudices at the same time. Highbrow, life-changing literature it is not. But, it was entertaining and forced me to think – I consider those to be good things in a book.
Awards:
This book has not won any awards.
Enjoy an in-depth [non-spoiler] video review of the book here:
See all Meyer's work (and get links to fan fiction and contests) on her website here:
Dashner, James. (2014). The rule of thoughts. New York, NY: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385741415 Hardback, $18.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: Michael, Sarah, and Bryson have to find each other in the real world and figure out how to find and defeat Kaine in the VirtNet; all this while eluding capture by the police and searching for Sarah's kidnapped parents.
Booktalk: When Michael and his friends Sarah and Bryson found the cyber-terrorist Kaine in the Sleep, they uncovered a plan that goes far deeper than anyone can imagine. In this second installment of The Mortality Doctrine series, these three teenage hackers are wanted by the police as well as Kaine’s minions. Can they stop Kaine? Can they even survive?
Awards:
This book hasn't won any awards (yet).
What teens are saying:
"Rule of thoughts is the sequel to the Eye of Minds! It is an amazing book with lots of action, suspense, and it really crosses the boundries between what is real and what is technology." ~ Liv J., age 14
Here's my personal booktalk for The Rule of Thoughts:
If you're still on the fence over whether this book is for you, watch this quick trailer for The Eye of Minds, the first book in The Mortality Doctrine series, and prequel to The Rule of Thoughts:
Snyder, S., Capullo, G. and Glapion, J. (2012). Batman volume 1: The Court of Owls. New York, NY: DC Comics. ISBN: 978-1401235420 Paperback, $16.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: Attacked and kidnapped by Talon, the assassin for the mythical Court of Owls, Batman has to fight for his life in this first volume of the "Batman New 52" reboot.
Booktalk: In this installment of the Batman series, Gotham City is as corrupt as ever but, as always, Batman refuses to give up on it. While Bruce Wayne invests millions of dollars to rebuild derelict neighborhoods and modernize the public transportation system, Batman continues his fight against crime. Bright, sharp pictures at the beginning introduce the reader to all the players, including Batman’s support team of Robin, Night Wing, Red Robin of the Teen Titans, and, of course, Alfred. Dark, graphic pictures tell the story of Batman fighting the violence and savagery of Gotham’s underworld.
Following a trail of clues that points to the mythical “Court of Owls,” Batman refuses to acknowledge that the stories might be true. The evidence continues to pile up until finally he is attacked by their legendary assassin “The Talon” and held prisoner for days before being sentenced to die by the Court of Owls. What connection does this secretive court have with Bruce Wayne’s great-great-grandfather, Alan Wayne? Will Batman survive? Will he defeat the mysterious Court of Owls or will this be the end of Batman as we know him?
Awards:
This book has not won any awards.
What teens are saying:
"I'm so excited that they're bringing Batman back! The new artwork is amazing!" ~ Joel W., age 13
My personal booktalk for Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls:
Here's a link to the official DC Comics webpage for Batman where you can find "Batman 101" (a tutorial to catch you up on Batman's world), a link to follow Batman on facebook, and much more:
Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-01368-0 Hardback, $16.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: In search of a better life, Junior decides to attend a white school off the reservation. While learning to navigate the new environment, he must simultaneously battle the resentment of his old schoolmates, the racism of his new schoolmates, and process personal tragedy in his own family.
Booktalk: Fourteen-year-old Arnold Spirit (aka Junior), lives the harsh realities of poverty on the Spokane Reservation every day. He experiences first-hand the tragic effects of alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling, Junior routinely escapes into his drawings, thinking that his only way off the reservation is to become a rich and famous cartoonist. "I draw because I want to talk to the world...I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." (p. 6)
When Junior loses his temper at school and throws a book at Mr. P, his geometry teacher, he gets suspended. But, instead of being furious, Mr. P. encourages Junior to leave the reservation and go to school in a small farming town about 20 miles away. Mr. P tells Junior how smart he is and that leaving the reservation is the only way to have a future. Junior has spirit and fight and wants a better life. The white school, Reardon, has more kids, more resources, and more hope than any school on the reservation.
But going to the white school is considered a betrayal by his old schoolmates, especially his best friend Rowdy. Will Rowdy ever forgive him? Can Junior figure out how to make the other rez kids understand that he just needs some hope? Can Junior find a way to fit in with the white kids and succeed at Reardon?
Filled with humor and fantastic drawings, Junior’s story is filled with tragedy and heartbreak, but ultimately hope.
Awards:
2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
2007 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
2007 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
2008 American Indian Youth LIterature Award for Best Young Adult Book
2009 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honor
2009 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
2010 American Indian Library Association Award
My personal booktalk for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian:
Watch the winning entry for KCLS's 2011 "Read, Flip, Win Contest"
Haddad, S. (2012). Socially awkward. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1466452787 Kindle, $2.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: When Jennifer Smith sets up two facebook profiles as part of her Master's Degree thesis project, she becomes obsessed with reconnecting with her old high school crush. Missing out on every social cue, she struggles to gain perspective and take control of her own life. Booktalk:Bored? Lonely? Wish you lived a more glamorous life? A thesis project away from finishing her Master’s Degree in Sociology, Jennifer Smith feels like her life is as boring and ordinary as her name. She has always lived in the shadow of her beautiful and popular sister Claire, but this project offers her a look at life from the other side – from Claire’s side. To examine the effect of attractiveness on how people respond to women, Jen creates two online Facebook profiles: a real one for herself and a fake one for the person she wishes she were (an exotic, slim, and beautiful model named Olivia). When her long-time high school crush friends Olivia and begins to pursue her online alter ego, Jen is thrust back into those painfully awkward memories. What should she do? How badly does she want to be with Sean? How far will she take the deception?
“Nothing good ever comes from making up lie after lie to get close to someone. Either tell him the truth and get it over with, or just end the project early.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell Claire that I’d already started writing the paper based on what I’d learned with Olivia’’s profile so far. … Was I addicted to the freedom of anonymity? To being someone I wasn’t? Was it Sean that was keeping me online? Without the profile, I’d have no tie to him at all. And then what?” (p. 94)
Simone, N. (2008). Shortie like mine. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN 978-1439590836 Kindle, $7.34
Cover Photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: Seven McKnight fights her own personal demons of body image and abandonment issues while trying to navigate the complicated halls of her local high school.
Booktalk: Seven McKnight, like any normal 16-year-old girl, has issues. She’s worried about her twin sister who’s dating a drug dealer, her dad left and has a new family in California, her mom works double shifts to keep food on the table and pay the mortgage, and her little brother and Uncle Shake won’t stay out of her business. But the most pressing problem is she can’t stop thinking about Josiah, the school’s star basketball player, who just happens to be dating her girl Deeyah. When Deeyah starts playing Josiah, will Seven step up? Would Josiah even be interested in a “thick girl” like her? Or, is he playing his own game? “I didn’t know whether to turn around and face him or not, so I started walking toward my class.
‘Slow up, beautiful. You don’t have to run.’ He grabbed my waist from behind and twirled me around toward him. ‘It’s cool.’ He ran his left hand across my cheek and my dimples lit up.
In a minute, I’ma hyperventilate!
I was cheesing so hard I hadn’t even noticed Deeyah standing in front of us. She tapped the heel of her stiletto riding boot. “My eyes must be deceiving me, Josiah, ‘cause I know you not hustling backwards!” She pointed her finger and rolled her eyes. “What is this, Seven? You tryna be me?”
"And why would I do that?” I snapped. “Then I’d be standing there looking at my man playing me.” (p. 36) How can Seven figure out who’s playing who? Will she figure out what is the right thing to do?
Awards:
Quick Pick for Reluctant YA Readers (ALA/YALSA)
The author's favorite book trailer for Shortie Like Mine:
Riggs, R. (2011). Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.
ISBN 978-1-59474-476-1 Hardback, $17.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: When Jacob's grandfather is brutally murdered, Jacob seeks out the truth behind the stories of his grandfather's early life. What he finds defies reality. Booktalk: Jacob Portman had always looked up to his grandfather, whose adventures included fleeing the Nazis, traveling the world, and fighting monsters. Jacob believes each and every fantastical story Grandpa tells him, including the ones of the orphanage with levitating girls and invisible boys. Grandpa even has the pictures to prove it. Young Jacob dreams of being an explorer and having adventures just like his Grandpa. One day his mom sits him down and explains that everything has already been explored and Jacob’s dreams are crushed. He decides that all Grandpa’s stories must also be made up fantasies, too. There’s no such thing as boys with bees living inside them and girls with mouths on the back of their heads.
One afternoon just a few weeks before his 16th birthday Grandpa calls Jacob in a panic. The monsters are coming and Grandpa can’t find the key to the weapons cabinet. Assuming Grandpa is just getting old and hallucinating, Jacob heads over to his house to calm him down. But, when he gets there, Grandpa’s missing. Following the trail into the woods, Jacob arrives in time to hear his Grandpa’s last words and see the monster that killed him.
“Go to the island. ...Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man’s grave. September 3, 1940.” (p. 33) Mourning and traumatized, Jacob sets out to find out the truth, to figure out what Grandpa’s last words mean. But, when Jacob finally finds Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children, he discovers more than he ever expected.
“Part of me felt like something momentous was about to happen. The other part of me expected to wake up at any moment, to come out of this fever dream or stress episode or whatever it was and wake up with my face in a puddle of drool…and think, Well, that was strange, and then return to the boring old business of being me.” (p. 139)
Can Jacob find the answers he seeks? What made these children peculiar? Were the monsters Grandpa always talked of fighting really the Nazis in the war, or are there others out there?
Awards:
2012 Teen Top Ten - Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
Book Trailer from Quirk Books for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children:
Franklin, E. & Halpin, B. (2012). Tessa Masterson will go to prom. New York, NY: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8027-2345-1 Hardcover, $16.99
Cover photo courtesy of Goodreads.com
Annotation: When Tessa Masterson comes out as a lesbian and buys herself a tux to bring her girlfriend to her Senior Prom, all hell breaks lose in her small Midwestern town. Her best friend Lucas, who's partially to blame for the controversy, tries to figure out how to heal their relationship and stop the chaos. Booktalk: Lucas and Tessa have been best friends since Lucas took the training wheels off his first bike. So, when Lucas realizes he has a crush on Tessa, it’s only natural for him to invite her to their Senior Prom. The problem is, he’s seen too many chick flicks with his mom and knows girls like grand gestures. He goes all out and puts the invitation on a big marquee so now everyone in their small town knows.
Stunned that he never realized that she’s gay, Tessa has to say no, she just can’t keep pretending she’s something she’s not. Hurt that she would keep something so huge from him, Lucas lashes out, unaware of the backlash that’s coming. Now everyone in town is picking sides, reporters are everywhere, and Prom might be cancelled. What can Tessa do? How can she be true to herself and still fix things with Lucas? What is Lucas supposed to do? How can he calm the firestorm he started? How can he make up for the pain he’s caused Tessa? Will Brookfield-Mason High School still hold Prom this year? Will Tessa Masterson get to go to Prom?
Awards:
American Library Association Rainbow Project Selection
Watch a library student booktalk for Tessa Masterson Will Go To Prom:
Check out an interview with the authors about writing books collaboratively.
