Burned

by Ellen Hopkins

Summary: Pattyn's strict religious upbringing doesn't mesh with the abuse and alcoholism she witnesses every day in her home. She's angry, and lets everyone know it, which lands her a summer with an aunt in a tiny Nevada town. There aren't many people her age there, but she does meet one--Ethan, and it's a connection unlike anything she has ever felt. She also finds an unexpected acceptance and love from her aunt. But things don't ever seem to go well for Pattyn for very long.

My thoughts: This is another high school book, so it's not in our library. Hopkins writes in verse like no one else can, except maybe Sonya Sones (but I prefer Hopkins). The writing is elegant, beautiful, and compulsively readable. This book is like a train wreck--sad, but you just can't bring yourself to look away.

Unwind

by Neal Shusterman

Summary: In this frightening and controversial novel, Shusterman takes us to a futuristic society where abortion is illegal. That is, until you turn thirteen. Then, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, your parents may decide to have you "unwound," where every piece of you will technically still be alive. The catch? Someone else is using those pieces. Shusterman asks the question, if every part of us is separated but alive, where is our consciousness?

My thoughts: Unwind is my favorite Shusterman novel. There is a scene where he allows you to see through the eyes of a person while they are being "unwound." It was so emotional and unsettling that I had a hard time getting through it. This book makes you think about the rules of our society, and where we might be headed.

Breakfast at Bloomingdale's

by Kristen Kemp

Summary: Cat lives with her grandma because her mother is, quite frankly, not up to the job of parenting. She learns the art of sewing from her grandma, and loves fashion with a passion. When she's 17, her grandma passes away, leaving Cat grieving and angry. She decides to get on a bus, by herself, and enter a fashion design contest (a la Project Runway) in New York City. Cat knows no one in NYC except for a guy she stole candy from on the bus on the way there, and obviously, he doesn't like her much. As Cat deals with the drama of the fashion contest, she also learns to deal with the drama in her own life.

My thoughts: I hard a difficult time with this book. My first problem with it is the obvious Breakfast at Tiffany's rip-off. I'm a huge fan of the Truman Capote novel and the Audrey Hepburn movie, and don't think either can or should be imitated! I also found it hard to believe that a 17 year old could survive in New York City they way this girl did, and some of the situations made me very nervous for her safety! Some of the fashion contest scenes were interesting, though, so if you're a fan of shows like Project Runway, you might like Breakfast at Bloomingdale's.

The Subtle Knife

by Philip Pullman

Summary: This book picks up where The Golden Compass left off, so I won't say too much to avoid any spoilers. Lyra and Pantalaimon, still on the search for the mysterious Dust, meet Will Parry in a parallel universe. Will is looking for his father who has disappeared, and their combined quest leads to high adventure.

My thoughts: This is fantasy writing at its beautiful best. Pullman's words read like music. The Subtle Knife is the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

The Lightning Thief

by Rick Riordan

Summary: Percy Jackson thinks he's just a normal kid, living with a single mom, going to school, and battling some serious dyslexia. But when he smokes his math teacher, he realizes he's not quite so normal after all. His mother takes him to Camp Half-Blood, a place where young demi-gods (half Greek god, half human) come to learn how to fight monsters and use their skills. You see, Percy's dad is a major god, (I won't spoil it by telling you which one!) and in this story, the gods still rule from Olympus. Someone has stolen Zeus's lightning bolt, and if it doesn't get recovered, the gods will go to war, possibly destroying both their world and ours. Percy and his friends, other demi-gods and a hilarious satyr named Grover, must try to find the sword and stop the fighting.

My thoughts: Percy Jackson & the Olympians is the best series since Harry Potter! If you haven't read it yet, you don't know what you're missing! I love that each book has a satisfying ending, while still leaving you very excited for the next book in the series. A movie has already been cast and is in the works!

The Garden of Eve

by K. L. Going

Summary: Eleven year old Evie is devastated when her mom dies of cancer, and her sadness deepens when she learns that she and her father are moving to an old house in upstate New York with a cemetery and a dead apple orchard on the property. Her father has decided that he can make the orchard grow again, but the people in the town think it's impossible. They say the orchard is cursed, and has been ever since the disappearance of another girl named Eve many years before. Eve is lonely, and befriends a boy that she meets in the cemetery, but she can't tell her father about him...Alex claims to be a ghost. Everything changes when a local woman gives Evie a single seed which she claims is from the Garden of Eden. Planting the seed not only produces a beautiful tree--it opens a parallel universe. When Evie and Alex enter this world, mysteries are solved and decisions are made that change Evie forever.

My thoughts: The Garden of Eve is a suspenseful page-turner, but more than anything, it's a book about grief. Evie has to come face to face with some difficult facts, and like many of us, she hangs onto to her sadness for a long time before she comes to the other side of her pain. It's a beautiful story about how each of us deals with grief differently, and how the power of believing in the ones you love can help you move on.

Dairy Queen

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Summary: D.J. lives on a midwestern dairy farm, and eats, sleeps, and breathes sports. Her two older brothers are off playing football in college, and her mom is overworked, so when her dad injures his back, most of the farm work is left to her. This causes her grades and sports to suffer. She's a known hard worker, and sort of a track star at her school, so the crosstown rival's football coach asks her to train his lazy, arrogant quarterback and teach him some discipline. Brian drives D.J. crazy, but the more time she spends with him, the more she learns about herself. Her growing crush on him doesn't stop her when she decides she wants to try out for her own high school football team, even though she knows she'll have to face him on the field. Lots of football game scenes and real sports action take this book way beyond typical chick lit.

My thoughts: DJ is such a great character because she just doesn't fit into a stereotype. She's not a girly-girl--she's a tomboy and a jock--but she does have the occasional girly moment. I like that she's just a regular girl who loves football, and who happens to be really good at playing. The sequel is called The Off Season.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

by Rick Yancey

Summary: Alfred Kropp, an overweight lug of a teenager with very little going for him, has just lost his mother and is forced to live with his uncle, who is really, really, not very smart. Uncle Farrell is a security guard at a corporation, and when he is offered $1 million to steal something from an office in the building, he can't refuse, and enlists Alfred's help, threatening to send him to foster care if he doesn't. Turns out that what they're stealing is Excalibur, the famous sword from the King Arthur legends, which gets them into a world of danger. Immediately Alfred draws the attention of an evil descendant of one of the Knights of the Round Table. He wants that sword, and he's willing to do anything, and I mean, ANYTHING, to get it.

My thoughts: This book reads like a movie, with lots of action, comedy, and dramatic (and sometimes violent) moments. It's an edge-of-your-seat, heart-pounding adventure! I love Alfred Kropp! The second book in the series is called The Seal of Solomon, and the third is The Thirteenth Skull.

The Schwa Was Here

by Neal Shusterman

Summary: Calvin Schwa is, well, sort of invisible. Hardly anyone ever really notices him. Teachers ignore him. He doesn't have any friends. But Antsy Bonano has noticed Calvin, aka "The Schwa," and wants to find out if he is really, truly invisible. While he's conducting hilarious experiments to determine this, Antsy gets himself into a little trouble with the local eccentric millionaire, and to keep from getting into trouble with the law, has to walk the man's dogs and hang out with his very cool and very pretty blind granddaughter. Can Antsy ever discover what's really wrong with The Schwa?

My thoughts: I love that this novel can't be classified. Is there something supernatural going on or not? This book will have you laughing out loud at Antsy's antics, but will leave a lump in your throat as you watch The Schwa get ignored again and again. The sequel, Antsy Does Time, is also on the 2009-2010 Lone Star List.

Zen and the Art of Faking It

by Jordan Sonnenblick

Summary: San Lee is an adopted eighth grader with a father who is in jail for fraud. He's had to move around a lot because of this, and invents a new persona for himself at every new school. At this one, he uses his Chinese heritage and the fact that he once did a paper on Buddhism to convince his fellow students that he's a Zen master. This makes him instantly popular, and he hopes it will make him stand out to Woody, the very unique girl who sings folk songs and plays guitar in the cafeteria. The plan works, but now San has a problem--everyone thinks he's someone he's not. How can he ever truly be himself without exposing his lie?

My thoughts: This is nowhere near as good as Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, but Sonnenblick's trademark humor and original plot lines make it another winner!

Give a Boy a Gun

by Todd Strasser

Summary: Gary and Brendan are high school sophomores who have been bullied and picked on for years. They steal guns and stage an attack on students and teachers at a high school dance. This book is written from many different points of view: the boys themselves, teachers, students, neighbors, and parents. Footnotes throughout provide relevant and interesting tidbits and facts on gun control issues, making the story even more disturbing.

My thoughts: This book is terrifying because we all know that the story is modeled after real events like the one at Columbine. Give a Boy a Gun is sensitively written, though, and serves to make us really think about issues like gun control, bullying, and our individual roles in helping put an end to school violence.

Uglies

by Scott Westerfeld

Summary: In Tally's world, ordinary is ugly. When a person turns 16, they are taken away to have surgery that makes them "perfect." Most people can't wait to have the surgery, but Tally's friend Shay decides she doesn't want to do it, and plans to live on the fringes of society with a group called "the Smoke." A top-secret government agency blackmails Tally, telling her they'll never turn her pretty if she doesn't lead them to the Smoke. She agrees, but when she infiltrates the group, she begins to see their point of view, and has to decide what's more important: her conscience, or being pretty.

My thoughts: I liked this book, but not enough to read the sequels. It's an interesting concept, and does really make you think.

Defect

by Will Weaver

Summary: Not only does David look and smell strange, he has a secret... he can fly. After intense bullying, he tricks some of his tormenters by jumping off a cliff. They think he has jumped to his death, but he has actually flown to safety. He changes to a private school for students with disabilities, and finds a fast friend (maybe more?) in a girl named Cheetah, who attends the school because she has seizures. When an accident causes David's secret to be revealed, he is forced to make a very difficult decision.

My thoughts: An original, edgy, and very weird story.

Gossamer

by Lois Lowry

Summary: Have you ever wondered what causes your dreams? In Gossamer, Lowry lets us glimpse the world of dream-givers, tiny creatures who, with the lightest touches, collect memories from household objects and gently place them in head when you sleep. Their job is to bring comfort, and Littlest One, the newest dream-giver, is trying to learn her craft and help a young boy being abused by his father. But the Sinisteens, a group of dream-givers who have gone over to the dark side, bring the boy nightmares. Will Littlest One have the strength to fight back?

My thoughts: This is a very short book, more of a novella. It is almost poetic in its beauty, and the thought of these little creatures protecting us with our own happy memories is a lovely thought.

The Breakup Bible

by Melissa Kantor

Summary: After Jen's first love dumps her for a girl who works with them both on their high school newspaper staff, she doesn't think she'll be able to move on. Her grandmother, in a misguided attempt to help, gives her a self-help book called The Breakup Bible, which offers up cheesy and cliche advice for heartbroken girls. At first she throws it out, but soon decides she needs all the help she can get. The advice is so bad it's hilarious, but sometimes it makes Jen think. An interesting side plot about racial segregation at their high school is well done and thought-provoking.

My thoughts: Not your typical girly book. This one has class and brains!

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith

by Deborah Heiligman

Summary: This is the true story--the love story--of Charles and Emma Darwin. Most people don't know that Charles Darwin's wife was a very spiritual and faithful woman. She was concerned about marrying him because she was afraid she would not see him in the afterlife, and she continued to be afraid of this throughout her life and after his death. Charles and Emma had a beautiful and complex relationship, balancing each other out and helping each other through the raising of seven children and the deaths of three. Charles did have doubts about God, and the deaths of his children didn't help this. He was not, however, an atheist, as most people believe. He was simply a man who had questions, and he dedicated his life to finding the answers. This book provides an unusual glimpse into the private life of a very public, and much misunderstood, historical figure.

My thoughts: Darwin's scientific research on the process of natural selection in species changed the way the world thought about creation. He was terribly nervous about publishing his theory because he knew it would offend many people. He was right, but he also had many supporters, and his ideas are now widely accepted as fact. Even during Darwin's day, people misinterpreted his theories. One in particular is the notion that he believed humans are descended from monkeys. He was very frustrated by this even while he was alive, because he simply believed that humans and apes have a common ancestor, not that we evolved from them. (Other scientists during his lifetime did make this claim, but not Darwin.) I really enjoyed reading about this family. I have always pictured Darwin as a gruff, stern, inflexible person. Instead, I learned that he was a sweet and shy family man with a great passion for science, and for humanity.

I,Q Independence Hall

by Roland Smith

Summary: Thirteen year old Quest (he goes by Q) has just gained a new stepfather and stepsister. His mother, a once-famous singer, has married another musician, and their new duo, Match, has a hit single. Q and his stepsister Angela are set to travel on the tour bus with their famous parents. They're pretty bummed about the year on the bus, but when Angela suspects they're being followed, the tension rises, especially when Q finds out that Angela's dead birth mother was a Secret Service agent.

My thoughts: This book would make a great movie. If you like James Bond, you'll love I,Q. There is lots of action and exciting plot twists. You'll never guess what's around the next corner! The first in a planned series.

Check the book trailer tag for a trailer for this book!

Note: If you're a 6th or 7th grader this year, you will get to meet this author! Mr. Smith is scheduled to visit our library in May, 2010!