Slob

by Ellen Potter

Owen is bigger than your average middle schooler, and it's all his classmates see. He's constantly mocked and bullied for being overweight, and even worse, it's not just by other students. His gym teacher has it out for him. He's the biggest bully of all, and makes Owen's life miserable.

Owen's trying to diet, but it's hard. He gets three Oreos in his lunch, and he looks forward to them every day. Until one day, they're gone. He thinks it's the new guy, Mason. Rumor is, he's a bona fide psycho and carries a switchblade in his sock.

Owen wasn't always overweight. You see, something terrible happened to Owen. He's got to figure out how to deal with it, but it won't be an easy ride. Also, he's kind of an inventor. He has a machine he's working on, and he's hoping it will let him see a moment, just a glimpse, from the past. Maybe, just maybe, he'll get the answers to help him move on.

This book is told in Owen's voice, and he's funny, and cool, and real. You've got several little mysteries here. Who stole the cookies? Will the gym teacher really get away with this? What terrible thing happened to Owen? And what does the green piece of paper with the word SLOB printed on it mean?

The Fault in our Stars

by John Green

Hazel is 16, and she has terminal cancer. Sure, she takes drugs that seem to help for awhile, and the chemo is holding off the inevitable for the time being, but her outlook is grim. Between dealing with treatments, an ever-present oxygen tank, and her already grieving parents, how could she possibly have time for a social life? Then she meets Augustus Waters at a support group meeting. Cancer took his leg, but not his sense of humor, and Augustus becomes an instant fixture in Hazel's life as he relentlessly pursues her.

I don't want to say too much more about the plot of this book, because watching the story unfold is a great pleasure. John Green is one of those rare authors for me--when his new books come out I simply drop everything. Whatever other book I might be reading, no matter how wonderful, is pushed back under the bed. John comes first, and I'm never disappointed. I can guarantee two things when you read John Green. You will always laugh until your belly aches, and you will always bawl your eyes out.

This one is only at the high schools, but there's always the bookstore!

A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness

Conor's dad left him and his mom and now lives across the Atlantic with his new family. He and his grandma don't get along at all. And his mom is sick with cancer. There's a yew tree outside his window, and one night, it turns into a monster, but Conor's not scared. He's seen worse. The monster wants to tell him three stories. Conor listens, but he doesn't get the point of the tales, or understand why the monster is visiting him. Until it's time for him to tell his story.

This book is based on an idea by author Siobhan Dowd. Sadly, she passed away from cancer at the age of 47 before she could turn the idea into a book. Patrick Ness, out of a desire to honor this fine author, took the idea and developed it into A Monster Calls. While the monster is mildly scary, don't expect this to be a horror novel, despite its creepy title and cover. It's really a story about grief, loss, and coming to terms with your own deepest, darkest thoughts and secrets. A touching story, with black and white illustrations throughout that add to the dark atmosphere. It was so sad, though, that I don't even really feel like I can say I "liked" it. Beautiful and emotional, but gut-wrenching.

The Future of Us

by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Emma and Josh are in high school in 1996, in a world where the Internet could only be accessed after downloading the America Online CD, and it was hooked up to your landline. That's right. No one in your house could talk on the phone if you were online. But I digress...

These two WERE best friends, but when Josh tried to kiss Emma a few months ago, it ruined everything. Now they barely speak. Until Josh drops off the AOL CD for Emma's family to borrow. When they download it, something strange appears on their screen. Facebook. It's 1996. They've never heard of this. Because it hasn't been invented. Even weirder? The pages they find are their own--15 years in the future. Emma finds that her future self is married to a lazy bum, and she doesn't seem happy at all, but Josh ends up married to the hottest girl in school, who currently doesn't know he's alive. Will knowing these things about their future selves change their future? And how much stock should you really put in a status update, anyway?

I finished this book in about three hours flat. It's a fast, easy read that's really entertaining. The characters are only a few years younger than me, so it reminded me of what it was like when I was in high school. It was easy to relate to Emma. This book, while mostly just fun, does make you think. Why do we post all this stuff online for the world to see, and more importantly, how does what we write influence what others think about us?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

by Michelle Hodkin

Mara was in a horrible accident. A building collapsed and killed her best friend and her boyfriend. When she wakes up from a coma, her parents move her to a new state to try to make a fresh start. But strange things are happening to her. When she wishes horrible things on someone, they end up dead. At first she doesn't realize she's causing it, until the fact quickly becomes unmistakable. She's also met a guy, Noah, who immediately captures her attention, but he has his own set of secrets.

With such a great cover, and an exciting and kind of original premise, I had high hopes for this book. Really, though, the focal point was the romance, not the mystery, so I was disappointed. I also wasn't aware it was the beginning of a series, so was bummed at the end when a whole new plot line opened. All in all, not terrible, but I won't be rushing out for the sequel. However....if you're one of my girls who just can't get enough supernatural romance, this might tide you over until something better comes along.

Liesl & Po

by Lauren Oliver

Liesl is a little girl who has just lost her beloved father. After his death, her evil stepmother locks her in the attic, alone, barely keeping her alive with tiny bits of rotten food. But she's not alone. One day Po appears to her. Po is a ghost, but it's been a ghost so long it doesn't remember if it was a boy or a girl. Po has another being with it, named Bundle, but Bundle doesn't know if it was a dog or cat when it was alive.

The ashes of Liesl's father are at the undertaker's. A magic dust that grants all things life, created by an evil magician, are with Will, the magician's apprentice. He goes on an errand, gathering items from the undertaker for the magician's spells, but when he leaves, he is tired. He takes the wrong box. And that's when the story gets interesting...

There is no better way to describe this fairy tale than "heartwarming." If you're a fan of books by Kate Dicamillo, (Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane) you'll love Liesl & Po. It's beautiful writing, a sweet story, and characters you'll never forget. I absolutely adored this book.

The Space Between Trees

by Katie Williams

When Evie sees a body being pulled from the woods behind her home, she's already intrigued, but when she finds out her childhood friend Elizabeth (nicknamed Zabet) is the murder victim, she becomes oddly obsessed with the case. While she and Zabet were best friends as kids, she knows little about who Zabet was as a person. She attempts to contact Zabet's current best friend, Hadley, who at first blows her off as a weirdo. But Evie's obsession grows, and at the funeral, a little white lie she tells to Zabet's father gets her closer to her dead ex-friend, and to Hadley, than she ever thought possible. As she and Hadley hunt for the killer, their own frighteningly dysfunctional relationship grows, causing awkward tension up to the very end.

This is a psychological thriller. Don't expect high action, or blood and guts, or a smash-bang ending. The creep-out factor is all about what's going on in Evie's mind, and what Hadley is going to do next. While I didn't love this book, it had an odd appeal for me. Evie's clearly a nut job, but she's sympathetic. You know/hope/think maybe she means well, but you're not really sure, and that makes for a compelling read.