Ms. Bergin’s Summer Reading Book Talks
June 2007
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Twisted. New York : Viking, 2007. 250 p. (F And)
Summary: After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeenyear-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go
bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
Anderson, M. T. The Pox Party (The Astonishing Tale of Octavian Nothing). Cambridge, MA :
Candlewick, 2006. 351 p. (F And)
Summary: Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, a young African
American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years leading
up to and during the Revolutionary War.(Winner of the Printz Award and the National Book Award.)
Blacker, Terence. Boy 2 Girl. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. 296 p. (F Bla)
Summary: After the death of his mother, thirteen-year-old Sam comes to live with his cousin and as a prank, he
dresses up as a girl for school, but it soon gets out of hand.
Bray, Libba. A Great and Terrible Beauty. New York : Delacorte, 2003. 403 p. (F Bra)
Summary: After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many
years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to
see into the spirit world. (Sequel Rebel Angels, and Sweet Far Thing due out 12/26)
Brian, Kate. Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys. New York : Simon & Schuster, 2005. (F Bri)
Summary: While her military parents are stationed in South Korea, high school junior Megan learns a great deal
about boys and herself when she moves to Massachusetts to live with family friends who have seven sons.
(Teen Top Ten nominee)
Cohn, Rachel. Cupcake. New York : Simon & Schuster, 2007. 248 p. (F Coh)
Summary: Former "bad girl" Cyd Charisse moves to New York City to live with her half-brother Danny while exploring
career options and various relationships, including the one with Shrimp, who is surfing in New Zealand.
(Sequel to Gingerbread and Shrimp.)
Corrigan, Eireann. You Remind Me of You : A Poetry Memoir. New York : PUSH, 2002. 123 p. (811 Cor)
Summary: A collection of poetry by a young girl with mental health problems.
Day, Dianne. The Strange Files of Fremont Jones. New York : Bantam, 1996. 243 p. (F Day)
Summary: Overhearing her step-mother’s plans to marry her off, Fremont takes her small inheritance and moves to
California with a new-fangled “type-writing machine” to seek her fortune in Victorian America.
Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light. San Diego : Harcourt, 2003. (F Don)
Summary: In 1906, sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her
father and fiancé, takes a job at a summer inn where she discovers the truth about the death of a guest.
Based on a true story in the Adirondacks.
Ehrenhaft, Daniel. Ten Things to Do Before I Die. New York : Delacorte, 2004. (F Ehr)
Summary: Just after his best friends make a list of things sixteen-year-old Ted should do to live it up, he learns that
he has ingested poison and will be dead in twenty-four hours--which might be enough time to do everything
on the list.
Ellsworth, Loretta. In Search of Mockingbird. New York : Henry Holt, 2007. 181 p. (F Ell)
Summary: On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin receives her long-dead mother's diary, which reveals that she
too revered Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and wanted to be a writer, and Erin impulsively decides to
take the Greyhound bus from St. Paul, Minnesota to Monroeville, Alabama, to visit the reclusive author.
(Teen Top Ten nominee)
Ferguson, Alane. The Christopher Killer. New York : Sleuth/Viking, 2006. 274 p. (F Fer)
Summary: On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her
knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger. (Teen
Top Ten nominee)
Fforde, Jasper. The Eyre Affair. New York : Viking, 2002. (F Ffo)
Summary: SpecOps agent Thursday Next is usually concerned with mundane issues like fake Shakespeare
manuscripts, but when a madman kidnaps Jane Eyre out of her book it is Thursday to the rescue. (Sequels
– Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten.)
Flint, Eric. 1632. Riverdale, NY : Baen, 2001. 597 p. (F Fli)
Summary: A modern town in West Virginia suddenly finds itself transported to Germany, 1632, in the middle of the
Thirty Years War. (Several sequels beginning with 1633 and continuing, some jointly written)
Gantos, Jack. Hole In My Life. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002. 199 p. (921 Gantos)
Summary: The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in
prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer.
Geras, Adele. Ithaka. Orlando : Harcourt, 2006. 360 p. (F Ger)
Summary: The island of Ithaka is overrun with uncouth suitors demanding that Penelope choose a new husband, as
she patiently awaits the return of Odysseus from the Trojan War. Told from the perspective of Penelope’s
handmaiden.
Giles, Gail. What Happened to Cass McBride?.New York : Little, Brown, 2006. (F Gil)
Summary: After his younger brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby decides to exact revenge on the person he holds
responsible. He kidnaps Cass McBride and buries her alive. (Teen Top Ten nominee)
Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. New York : Dutton, 2006. 227 p. (F Gre)
Summary: Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school
graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new
direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships. (Printz Award
Honor Book)
Jaffe, Michele. Bad Kitty. New York : HarperCollins, 2006. 268 p. (F Jaf)
Summary: While vacationing with her family in Las Vegas, seventeen-year-old Jasmine stumbles upon a murder
mystery that she attempts to solve with the help of her friends, recently arrived from California. (Teen Top
Ten nominee)
Johnson, Maureen. 13 Little Blue Envelopes. New York : HarperCollins, 2005. 317 p. (F Joh)
Summary: When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she
leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life. (Teen Top Ten
nominee)
Kakalios, James. The Physics of Superheroes. New York : Gotham, 2005. 365 p. (530 Kak)
Summary: Tongue –in cheek, yet also very technical, evaluation of how superheroes might or might not be able to
function with our current knowledge of physics.
Korman, Gordon. Born to Rock. New York : Hyperion, 2006. 261 p. (F Kor)
Summary: High school senior Leo Caraway, a conservative Republican, learns that his biological father is a punk
rock legend. (Teen Top Ten nominee)
Leavitt, Martine. Keturah and Lord Death. Asheville, NC : Front Street, 2006. 216 p. (F Lea)
Summary: When Lord Death comes to claim sixteen-year-old Keturah while she is lost in the King's Forest, she
charms him with her story and is granted a twenty-four hour reprieve in which to seek her one true love.
Lester, Julius. Cupid : A Tale of Love and Desire. Orlando : Harcourt, 2007. 198 p. (F Les)
Summary: Cupid, the spoiled and mischievous god of love, is attracted to and marries the beautiful mortal, Psyche,
and both learn many lessons about the nature of love.
McCormick, Patricia. Cut. Asheville, NC : Front Street, 2000. 168 p. (F Mcc)
Summary: While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the
reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
McNab, Andy and Robert Rigby. Traitor. New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005. 265 p. (F Mcn)
Summary: A boy who believes his grandfather to be a traitor, a spy who turned against England and then
disappeared, tracks down his grandfather and finds out the truth.
Meyer, L. A. Bloody Jack : Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's
Boy. San Diego : Harcourt, 2002. 278 p. (F Mey)
Summary: Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as
a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates.(Sequels Curse of the Blue Tattoo : Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine
Lady, Under the Jolly Roger : Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber and In
the Belly of the Bloodhound : Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure In the Life of Jacky
Faber. )
Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon. New York : Little, Brown, 2006. (F Mey)
Summary: When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward, leave Forks rather than risk revealing that they are
vampires, it is almost too much for eighteen-year-old Bella to bear, but she finds solace in her friend Jacob
until he is drawn into a "cult" and changes in terrible ways. (Sequel to Twilight. Third book, Eclipse, due out
August 2007)
Muchamore, Robert. The Recruit. New York : Simon Pulse, 2005. 342 p. (F Muc)
Summary: James is recruited into CHERUB, a secret division of MI5 which consists of teenage spies. He successfully
completes his training and goes on his first mission. Reminiscent of an older, more sophisticated Alex
Ryder. (Sequels: Class A, Maximum Security, The Killing, Divine Madness, Man vs. Beast and The Fall.)
Murray, Jaye. Bottled Up : A Novel. New York : Dial, 2003. 220 p. (F Mur)
Summary: A high school boy comes to terms with his drug addiction, life with an alcoholic father, and a younger
brother who looks up to him.
Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. 681 p. (F Pao)
Summary: After successfully evading an Urgals ambush, Eragon is adopted into the Ingeitum clan and sent to finish
his training so he can further help the Varden in their struggle against the Empire. (Sequel to Eragon).
Partridge, Elizabeth. John Lennon : All I Want Is the Truth. New York : Viking, 2005. 231 p. (921 Lennon)
Summary: A biography of John Lennon from his turbulent childhood to rebellious rock'n'roll teen to writing and
recording with the Beatles to life with Yoko Ono.
Picoult, Jodi. Nineteen Minutes : A Novel. New York : Atria, 2007. 455 p. (F Pic)
Summary: In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In
nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of
five....In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can
get revenge.
Ralston, Aron. Between a Rock and a Hard Place. New York : Atria, 2004. 354 p. (796.522 Ral)
Summary: While rock climbing in Utah, a 800lb boulder shifted, pinning Ralston’s arm. After five and half days, he
rescued himself by amputating his arm with his pocket knife.
Roach, Mary. Stiff : The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. New York : W.W. Norton, 2003. (611 Roa)
Summary: In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—
from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a
human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral
directors' conference on human composting.
Setterfield, Diane. The Thirteenth Tale : A Novel. New York : Atria, 2006. 406 p. (F Set)
Summary: A biographer gets caught up in the gothic story of the woman she is writing about – blurring the lines of
fact and fiction.
Shinn, Sharon. Jenna Starborn. New York : Ace, 2003. 369 p. (F Shi)
Summary: A retelling of the Jane Eyre story in a science-fiction setting.
Sullivan, Robert. Rats : Observations On the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants.
New York : Bloomsbury, 2004. 242 p. (599.35 Sul)
Summary: Rats live in the world precisely where humans do; they survive on the effluvia of human society; they eat
our garbage. While dispensing gruesomely fascinating rat facts and strangely entertaining rat stories -everyone has one, it turns out -- Sullivan gets to know not just the beast but its friends and foes: the
exterminators, the sanitation workers, the agitators and activists who have played their part in the centuriesold war between human city dweller and wild city rat.
Volponi, Paul. Black and White. New York : Viking, 2005. 185 p. (F Vol)
Summary: Two star high school basketball players, one black and one white, experience the justice system differently
after committing a crime together and getting caught.
Weinreb, Michael. The Kings of New York : A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who
Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team. New York : Gotham, 2007. 288 p.
(794.109747 Wei)
Summary: Sportswriter Michael Weinreb follows the members of the Robert R. Murrow High School chess team
through an entire season. Along the way, Weinreb brings to life a number of colorful characters.
Wilce, Ysabeau S. Flora Segunda : Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing
Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House With Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red
Dog. Orlando : Harcourt, 2007. 431 p. (F Wil)
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Flora Fyrdraaca, whose mother is the Warlord's Commanding General and whose
father is mad, kindly helps her house's magical--and long-banished--butler, unaware that he draws strength
from the Fyrdraaca will. (Teen Top Ten nominee)
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York : Alfred A. Knopf , 2006. 552 p. (F Zus)
Summary: Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl
whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as
well as their neighbors. (Printz Honor Book and Teen Top Ten nominee)