Posted by: blogando on: October 26, 2009
McLaughlin, Lauren. (re)cycler. 2009. 273 p. Random House. $8.99 (978-0-375-85195-7). Grades 8-12. There’s no other way to describe Jack and Jill’s relationship other than to say “it’s complicated.” Four days (or so) each month, Jill morphs into Jack with all the male body parts and some of the “male” personality traits. After Jill’s nightmarish prom […]
Posted by: John on: October 25, 2009
Levithan, David. Love Is the Higher Law. 2009. 176 p. Knopf. $15.99. (978-0-375-83468-4). Gr. 8-12. What meaning did the tragic events of the 9/11 bombing of New York’s Twin Towers have for teenagers who lived through them? And what significance and emotional resonance might they have for teens today? These are the questions that Levithan […]
Posted by: John on: October 25, 2009
Peck, Dale. Sprout. 2009. 277 p. Bloomsbury. $16.99. (978-1-59990-160-2). Gr. 9-12. Teenager Sprout has a secret. And it’s not his green hair (duh). And it’s not the fact that he’s gay, though his English teacher, the redoubtable – and occasionally inebriated — Mrs. Miller, who is coaching him for the Kansas State Essay Contest, wishes […]
Posted by: John on: October 25, 2009
Ketchum, Liza. Newsgirl. 2009. 327 p. Viking. $17.99 (978-0-670-01119-3). Gr. 5-8. 1851. California. Twelve-year-old Amelia, her mother, and her mother’s friend Estelle have journeyed to San Francisco in search of fortune and a place where women can be independent, own property, and fashion a new life together. For Amelia, however, it is the disheartening discovery […]
Posted by: John on: October 25, 2009
Sanchez, Alex. Bait. Simon & Schuster. 2009. $16.99 (9-781416-937722). Gr 7-12. How boring it would be if books were perfect; they’d leave nothing for the reader to discuss and debate. Fortunately Sanchez’ latest – about a teenage boy who has been sexually abused by his stepfather — is not perfect and, accordingly, it invites a […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Carter, Timothy, Evil? 2009. 256 p. Flux, $9.95, (9780738715391). Gr. 9-12. Stuart is a gay teen in a small, conservative Canadian town, but that’s not a problem. He summons a demon in his spare time to learn the real deal about God, but that’s not a problem either. But, when his brother discovers Stuart committing […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Katcher, Brian. Almost Perfect. 2009. 360 p. Delacorte. $17.99 (9780385736640) Gr. 10-12 When outgoing and cute Sage moves to his small Missouri town, high school senior Logan is intrigued and surprised. Still reeling from the end of his three-year relationship, he finds himself attracted to Sage even as he becomes troubled and curious about her […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Silag, Lucy. Beautiful Americans. 2009. 308 p. Razorbill, $16.99. (9781595142221). Gr. 10-12. Beautiful Americans, the first novel in a planned trilogy, offers up a slice of Americana, teen soap opera style: drama, a spoiled rich girl, parties, drama, the happy-go-lucky gay guy, drama, a mysterious girl with a scandalous past, parties, drinking, and plenty of […]
Posted by: John on: October 24, 2009
Lo, Melinda. Ash. 2009. 264p. Little Brown, $16.99. (9780316040099). Gr. 8-12. Aisling, better known as Ash, is a haunting and engaging Cinderella in Malinda Lo’s new spin on the fairy tale set in a medieval realm in the twilight of its magical past. Ash spends her days acting as servant to her family while finding […]
Posted by: John on: September 29, 2009
Frazer, Megan. Secrets of Truth & Beauty. 2009. 347p. Hyperion, $15.99. (978-142311711-7). Gr. 9-12. At age seven, Dara was a darling pageant winner; at 17, she has gained too much weight and anger, a fact that leads her to find the sister who ran away from home 17 years earlier on a commune that includes […]