Sleeping Freshman Never Lie.
By: David Lubar
Level A
Scott Hudson chronicles the ups and
downs of his eventful freshman year in
high school, as he joins the newspaper,
works as a stage manager for the spring
play, learns a lot from his outstanding
English teacher, tries to help a student
who attempts suicide, is beaten up
because of a girl, and goes to the spring
dance. Along the way, he discovers that
his mother is pregnant, and he writes a
series of insightful letters to his soon-tobe sibling. By the end, Scott has outgrown
his freshman insecurities, realizing that
he has carved a place for himself in the
high-school world. The story delivers too
many messages as Scott learns one
important lesson after another. Still, most
readers will find plenty of amusing,
accurate observations about freshman
life, from the insecurities of first dates to
the dangers of walking the hall between
classes. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library
Association. All rights reserved
The Lost Heroes (Series)
By Rick Riordan
Level A
This book will delight fans of The Lightning Thief
(Hyperion, 2005) as Percy, Annabeth, and others
play roles in the new prophecy and its subsequent
quest. A few months after The Last Olympian
(Hyperion, 2009) ends, Jason wakes up on a bus
filled with problem kids from the Wilderness School
who are headed to the Grand Canyon. He has no
memory of his previous life, but seems to be with
his girlfriend, Piper, and his best friend, Leo. The
action takes off quickly: storm spirits attack them
and capture their coach, who turns out to be a
Satyr. Searching for Percy, who is missing, Annabeth
arrives and takes the three to Camp Half-Blood,
where they learn that they are demigods. Their
parents are gods in their Roman rather than Greek
personae. By sunset of the solstice in three days,
the teens must rescue Hera, Queen of the gods, or
Porphyrion, the giant king created to destroy Zeus
and unseat the gods of Olympus, will rise. Their
quest takes them across the United States,
sometimes flying on a mechanical, 60-foot dragon,
as they use their power and wits against Medea,
King Midas, and the giant cannibal Enceladus.
Riordan excels at clever plot devices and at creating
an urgent sense of cliff-hanging danger. His
interjection of humor by incongruous juxtapositionMedea, for example, heads up a New York City
department store-provides some welcome relief.
The young heroes deal with issues familiar to teens
today: Who am I? Can I live up to the expectations
of others?
The House of the Scorpion by
Nancy Farmer
Level A
Fields of white opium poppies stretch away over
the hills, and uniformed workers bend over the
rows, harvesting the juice. This is the empire of
Matteo Alacran, a feudal drug lord in the country
of Opium, which lies between the United States
and Aztlan, formerly Mexico. Field work, or any
menial tasks, are done by "eejits," humans in
whose brains computer chips have been installed
to insure docility. Alacran, or El Patron, has lived
140 years with the help of transplants from a
series of clones, a common practice among rich
men in this world. The intelligence of clones is
usually destroyed at birth, but Matt, the latest of
Alacran's doubles, has been spared because he
belongs to El Patron. He grows up in the family's
mansion, alternately caged and despised as an
animal and pampered and educated as El
Patron's favorite. Gradually he realizes the fate
that is in store for him, and with the help of Tam
Lin, his bluff and kind Scottish bodyguard, he
escapes to Aztlan. There he and other "lost
children" are trapped in a more subtle kind of
slavery before Matt can return to Opium to take
his rightful place and transform his country.
The Skim I’m In
by Sharon G. Flake
Level A
Maleeka suffers every day from the taunts of
the other kids in her class. If they're not
getting at her about her homemade clothes
or her good grades, it's about her dark, black
skin.
When a new teacher, whose face is blotched
with a startling white patch, starts at their
school, Maleeka can see there is bound to be
trouble for her too. But the new teacher's
attitude surprises Maleeka. Miss Saunders
loves the skin she's in. Can Maleeka learn to
do the same?
Cirque du Freak series
by Darren Shan
Level A
Series of Twelve that details the
adventures Darren Shan, the vampire
assistant.
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Level B
A gripping story set in a postapocalyptic world where a
replacement for the United States demands a tribute from
each of its territories: two children to be used as gladiators
in a televised fight to the death.Katniss, from what was
once Appalachia, offers to take the place of her sister in the
Hunger Games, but after this ultimate sacrifice, she is
entirely focused on survival at any cost. It is her teammate,
Peeta, who recognizes the importance of holding on to
one's humanity in such inhuman circumstances. It's a credit
to Collins's skill at characterization that Katniss, like a new
Theseus, is cold, calculating and still likable. She has the
attributes to be a winner, where Peeta has the grace to be a
good loser.It's no accident that these games are presented
as pop culture. Every generation projects its fear: runaway
science, communism, overpopulation, nuclear wars and,
now, reality TV. The State of Panem—which needs to keep
its tributaries subdued and its citizens complacent—may
have created the Games, but mindless television is the real
danger, the means by which society pacifies its citizens and
punishes those who fail to conform. Will its connection to
reality TV, ubiquitous today, date the book? It might, but for
now, it makes this the right book at the right time. What
happens if we choose entertainment over humanity?, When
Katniss is sent to stylists to be made more telegenic before
she competes, It isn't just the contestants who risk the loss
of their humanity. It is all who watch. Katniss struggles to
win not only the Games but the inherent contest for
audience approval. Because this is the first book in a series,
not everything is resolved, and what is left unanswered is
the central question. Has she sacrificed too much? We
know what she has given up to survive, but not whether the
price was too high.
Fallen Angels
by Walter Dean Myers
Level B
Richie Perry, Lobel, Johnson, Brunner,
and Peewee are all in Vietnam. They
came there for different reasons, but
now they share a single dream -getting out alive.
Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just
out of his Harlem high school, enlists
in the Army in the summer of 1967
and spends a devastating year on
active duty in Vietnam.
Someone Named Eva
by Joan M. Wolf
Level B
A gripping tale of one girl’s struggle
against the Nazis.
“Remember who you are, Milada.”
Milada’s grandmother says these
words on the night the Nazi soldiers
come to their home in Czechoslovakia.
But what do they mean? She is Milada,
who lives with her mama and papa,
her brother and sister, and her beloved
Babichka. Milada with the sun-kissed
hair, eleven years old, fastest runner in
her school. How could she ever forget?
Then the Nazis send Milada to a
Lebensborn center in Poland, and
Milada quickly discovers that holding
on to her true identity will be the
greatest struggle of her young life.
Life as We Knew It
by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Level B
It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore
year in high school, and her journal reflects the
busy life of a typical teenager: conversations
with friends, fights with mom, and fervent
hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first
begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a
collision course with the moon, it hardly seems
worth a mention in her diary. But after the
meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and
causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and
volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take
for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas
shortages, along with extreme weather
changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town;
and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry,
and finally resigned, as her family is forced to
make tough choices while they consider their
increasingly limited options. Yet even as
suspicious neighbors stockpile food in
anticipation of a looming winter without heat
or electricity, Miranda knows that that her
future is still hers to decide even if life as she
knew it is over.
Million Dollar Throw
by Mike Lupica
Level B
Nate Brodie is nicknamed "Brady" not only for his
arm, but also because he's the biggest Tom Brady
fan. He's even saved up to buy an autographed
football. And when he does, he wins the chance for
something he's never dreamed of - to throw a pass
through a target at a Patriots game for one million
dollars.
Nate should be excited. But things have been tough
lately. His dad lost his job and his family is losing
their home. It's no secret that a million dollars
would go a long way. So all Nate feels is pressure,
and just when he needs it most, his golden arm
begins to fail him. Even worse, his best friend Abby
is going blind, slowly losing her ability to do the one
thing she loves most - paint. Yet Abby never
complains, and she is Nate's inspiration. He knows
she'll be there when he makes the throw of a
lifetime.
Fire from the Rock
by Sharon M. Draper
Level B
An honor student, Sylvia Patterson is thrilled
when she is chosen as one of the first black
students to integrate all-white Central High
School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. But the
racism in her town is terrifying, and she is not
sure she can go through with it. Unlike her older
brother, she does not want to be a hero and
change the world. Besides, many in her black
community are against integration; why not stay
with her friends, concentrate on academics, and
get to college? With stirring complexity, Draper
personalizes the civil rights struggle beyond
slogans and politics. There is sometimes too
much historical background purposively woven
into Sylvia's narrative, including her diary entries.
But the surprising turnaround in the plot, as well
as the shocking facts, will grab readers and raise
the elemental issue: what would I have done?
Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes
Level C
With more than five million copies sold,
Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic
story of a mentally disabled man whose
experimental quest for intelligence mirrors
that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab
mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie
tells how a brain operation increases his IQ
and changes his life. As the experimental
procedure takes effect, Charlie's
intelligence expands until it surpasses that
of the doctors who engineered his
metamorphosis. The experiment seems to
be a scientific breakthrough of paramount
importance--until Algernon begins his
sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the
same happen to Charlie?
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Level C
A murder in the silent after-hour halls of the
Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to
uncover a secret that has been protected by
a clandestine society since the days of Christ.
The victim is a high-ranking agent of this
ancient society who, in the moments before
his death, manages to leave gruesome clues
at the scene that only his granddaughter,
noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and
Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can
untangle. The duo become both suspects
and detectives searching for not only
Neveu's grandfather's murderer but also the
stunning secret of the ages he was charged
to protect. Mere steps ahead of the
authorities and the deadly competition, the
mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a
breathless flight through France, England,
and history itself.
Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch Albom
Level C
This true story about the love between
a spiritual mentor and his pupil has
soared to the bestseller list for many
reasons. For starters: it reminds us of
the affection and gratitude that many
of us still feel for the significant
mentors of our past. It also plays out a
fantasy many of us have entertained:
what would it be like to look those
people up again, tell them how much
they meant to us, maybe even resume
the mentorship? Plus, we meet Morrie
Schwartz--a one of a kind professor,
whom the author describes as looking
like a cross between a biblical prophet
and Christmas elf. And finally we are
privy to intimate moments of Morrie's
final days as he lies dying from a
terminal illness. Even on his deathbed,
this twinkling-eyed mensch manages
to teach us all about living robustly
and fully.
Malice
by Chris Wooding
Level C
Everyone's heard of it...but nobody's
read it. Luke, Seth, and Kady have
heard all the stories about Malice--a
secret comic about a strange, awful
world full of tricks and traps, and
overseen by a sinister master of
ceremonies, Tall Jake. But if the
rumurs are to be believed, the children
in this comic are real... Luke is the first
to fall into this trap--and Seth and Kady
are the next to follow. They have left
our world and entered the sinister
comic book. The question is--can they
make it out alive? From acclaimed
author, Chris Wooding, a novel that's
half fact, half comic--and all thrills.
Tears of a Tiger
by Sharon M. Draper
Level C
A high school basketball star
struggles with guilt and
depression following the drunkdriving accident that killed his
best friend. Short chapters and
alternating viewpoints provide
"raw energy and intense
emotion," said PW.
The Memory Keeper’s
Daughter
by Kim Edwards
Level D
Edwards's assured but schematic debut novel
(after her collection, The Secrets of a Fire King)
hinges on the birth of fraternal twins, a
healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome,
resulting in the father's disavowal of his
newborn daughter. A snowstorm immobilizes
Lexington, Ky., in 1964, and when young
Norah Henry goes into labor, her husband,
orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Henry, must
deliver their babies himself, aided only by a
nurse. Seeing his daughter's handicap, he
instructs the nurse, Caroline Gill, to take her to
a home and later tells Norah, who was
drugged during labor, that their son Paul's
twin died at birth. Instead of institutionalizing
Phoebe, Caroline absconds with her to
Pittsburgh. David's deception becomes the
defining moment of the main characters' lives,
and Phoebe's absence corrodes her birth
family's core over the course of the next 25
years. David's undetected lie warps his
marriage; he grapples with guilt; Norah
mourns her lost child; and Paul not only deals
with his parents' icy relationship but with his
own yearnings for his sister as well. Though
the impact of Phoebe's loss makes sense,
Edwards's redundant handling of the trope
robs it of credibility. This neatly structured
story is a little too moist with compassion.
Dune
by Frank Herbert
Level D
This Hugo and Nebula Award winner tells the
sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis,
the focus of an intricate power struggle in a
byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the
sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices."
Melange is necessary for interstellar travel
and grants psychic powers and longevity, so
whoever controls it wields great influence.
The troubles begin when stewardship of
Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the
Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides.
The Harkonnens don't want to give up their
privilege, though, and through sabotage and
treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides
out into the planet's harsh environment to
die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe
of desert dwellers who become the basis of
the army with which he will reclaim what's
rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far
more than just a usurped duke. He might be
the end product of a very long-term genetic
experiment designed to breed a super human;
he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the
center of a nexus of powerful people and
events, and the repercussions will be felt
throughout the Imperium.
My Sister’s Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
Level D
The difficult choices a family must make when a child is
diagnosed with a serious disease are explored with pathos
and understanding in this 11th novel by Picoult (Second
Glance, etc.). The author, who has taken on such controversial
subjects as euthanasia (Mercy), teen suicide (The Pact) and
sterilization laws (Second Glance), turns her gaze on genetic
planning, the prospect of creating babies for health purposes
and the ethical and moral fallout that results. Kate Fitzgerald
has a rare form of leukemia. Her sister, Anna, was conceived
to provide a donor match for procedures that become
increasingly invasive. At 13, Anna hires a lawyer so that she
can sue her parents for the right to make her own decisions
about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is
planned. Meanwhile, Jesse, the neglected oldest child of the
family, is out setting fires, which his firefighter father, Brian,
inevitably puts out. Picoult uses multiple viewpoints to reveal
each character's intentions and observations, but she doesn't
manage her transitions as gracefully as usual; a series of
flashbacks are abrupt. Nor is Sara, the children's mother, as
well developed and three-dimensional as previous Picoult
protagonists. Her devotion to Kate is understandable, but her
complete lack of sympathy for Anna's predicament until the
trial does not ring true, nor can we buy that Sara would dust
off her law degree and represent herself in such a complicated
case. Nevertheless, Picoult ably explores a complex subject
with bravado and clarity, and comes up with a heartwrenching, unexpected plot twist at the book's conclusion.
Chinese Cinderella
by Adeline Yen Mah
Level D
Chinese Cinderella is the perfect title for Adeline
Yen Mah's compelling autobiography in which, like
the fairy-tale maiden, her childhood was ruled by a
cruel stepmother. "Fifth Younger Sister" or "Wu
Mei," as Yen Mah was called, is only an infant when
her father remarries after her mother's death. As
the youngest of her five siblings, Wu Mei suffers the
worst at the hands of her stepmother Niang. She is
denied carfare, frequently forgotten at school at the
end of the day, and whipped for daring to attend a
classmate's birthday party against Niang's wishes.
Her father even forgets the spelling of her name
when filling out her school enrollment record. In
her loneliness, Wu Mei turns to books for company:
"I was alone with my beloved books. What bliss! To
be left in peace with Cordelia, Regan, Gonoril, and
Lear himself--characters more real than my family...
What happiness! What comfort!" Even though Wu
Mei is repeatedly moved up to grades above those
of her peers, it is only when she wins an
international play-writing contest in high school
that her father finally takes notice and grants her
wish to attend college in England. Despite her
parent's heartbreaking neglect, she eventually
becomes a doctor and realizes her dream of being a
writer.
Night
by Elie Wiesel
Level D
In Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's memoir
Night, a scholarly, pious teenager is
wracked with guilt at having survived
the horror of the Holocaust and the
genocidal campaign that consumed his
family. His memories of the nightmare
world of the death camps present him
with an intolerable question: how can
the God he once so fervently believed
in have allowed these monstrous
events to occur? There are no easy
answers in this harrowing book, which
probes life's essential riddles with the
lucid anguish only great literature
achieves. It marks the crucial first step
in Wiesel's lifelong project to bear
witness for those who died.