More Award Nominees

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls.
Eleven year old Sam knows he is dying but before that happens he wants to accomplish everything he has always wanted to do. It all started with Mrs. Willis's idea of writing a book, Mrs. Willis is Sam's home school teacher, and is always looking for ways to engage Sam and his side kick Felix.  Soon Sam and Felix start to find ways to make Sam's dying wishes come true. Felix finds a way for Sam to go to a pub, kiss a girl, and have a drink- everything a teenage boy wants to do. Throughout the book Sam finds ways for his family to deal with his death.  I am sure you will find yourself pondering the same questions Sam's wonders about- why do kids get sick? why do they have to die? what happens after you die?  Hard to finish without tearing up.



Legend by Marie Lu.
This boy-girl fighting to survive a dystopian world ruled by a republic using viruses against their own people reminded me of the Hunger Games trilogy. Enough said about dystopian worlds, harsh realities, love and romance against all the odds. I enjoyed the story even with the predictability factor. 



 
I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat History's Strangest Cures by Carlyn Beccia.
We had lots of fun reading and trying to guess which was the correct cure for common illnesses like sore throats or fevers. In the past, people have used all sorts of strange remedies, like wearing a necklace made of live worms to using leaches to bring down a fever.  The illustrations and layout made the guessing game even more fun with a spread from three to six possible cures to one page followed by a page with the correct answers.

Linconlmania

Last week I managed to read several of my YA-Lincoln nominees.  It was a fun week that reminded me how much I  like to read YA stories. 


Every Day by David Levithan Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. I listened to this book and loved the story. The quality of the audio wasn't always consistent with the character voices changing now and then.  I found the story captivating and was a little disapointed at the end when A doesn't get to be with Rhiannon.  A never knows where he is going to be or who he is going to be when he wakes up, every day is a different person- never the same- and by now he has made peace with that. He has figured how to live day by day without getting attached or involved until he meets Rhiannon.  He lets his guard down and falls in love, but this is a love story that can't be, even if he convinces Rhiannon to believe him and what he is. 


Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Henry Holt & Co., 2012. I wasn't particularly crazy about this fantasy story but a few pages into it got me hooked into Alina's story.  Ravka was once a great nation, but the Shadow Fold- a vast impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters- is destroying their nation. This magic world is ruled by the Darkling, a seductive and terrifying magician, who uses the Grisha's unique powers to fulfill his destiny. Alina and Mal, are orphans who grew up together and have been inseparable ever since but all that changes when  Alina discovers  a unique power that can take her into the world of Grisha and make her the Darkling's chosen one.Could she be the key to Ravka's salvation?  Would she risk everything to fulfill the Darkling's destiny? Or would she choose true love and damnation?



Everybody Sees The Ants by A. S. King, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011. I loved this book!.  This is a story with so much happening from Lucky's dysfunctional family with his father not getting over his own father not returning from Vietnam, his mother always avoiding conflict, and the ruthless, over the top bullying from Nader McMillan's. But that all change when things get out of control and Lucky has to stop using his dreams as a hiding place. Because it is only on his dreams that he thinks he can be a true hero and save his grandpa, stand to his bully, and fix his family.  As a reader I could feel Lucky's transformation and kept thinking  this would be a great choice for book club discussion with teens dealing with peer pressure and bullying.

My Lincoln Challenge

This summer I took on the Lincoln Challenge to read 22 books by June 2013.  So far I am doing great progress and the books are amazing. It is going to be hard to decide on a single one.  

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.When Anna's romance-novelist father sends her to an elite American boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high school, she reluctantly goes, and meets an amazing boy who becomes her best friend, in spite of the fact that they both want something more. The story was a bit slow at first but as you get to know the characters- Anna and Etienne St. Clair- you come to like them and love to see their transformation.

Bruiser by Neil Shusterman, I listened to the audio version and it was amazing.Inexplicable events start to occur when 16-year-old twins Tennyson and Bronte befriend a troubled and misunderstood outcast, aptly nicknamed Bruiser, and his little brother, Cody. I listened to the audio version and it was so intriguing to figure what would happen, in a way it was like seeing a car accident in slow motion at times.

Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. In a polygamous cult in the desert, Kyra, not yet 14, sees being chosen to be the seventh wife of her uncle as just punishment for having read books and kissed a boy, in violation of Prophet Childs' teachings, and is torn between facing her fate and running away from all that she knows and loves. This is a very intensive book!

Dark Song by Gail Giles.After her father loses his job and she finds out that her parents have lied to her, 15-year-old Ames feels betrayed enough to become involved with a criminal who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Couldn't put the book down, beautifully written.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project. I finally read the book after hearing so much about the movie (haven't seeing the movie). I felt like I had a chance to meet these women, feel their fear and happiness, their struggles and achievements.

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins.Three teens who meet at Reno, Nevada's Aspen Springs mental hospital after each has attempted suicide connect with each other in a way they never have with their parents or anyone else in their lives. I loved this novel in verse. Each character gives you a personal insight on their lives, fears, dreams, and hopes. They evolve and find hope within each other.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin.When 17-year-old Lucy discovers her family is under an ancient curse by an evil Elfin Knight, she realizes to break the curse she must perform three impossible tasks before her daughter is born in order to save them both. I loved the story, predictable at moments and utterly optimistic but the written pulls the reader into the story until you find yourself connected to Lucy's curse.

 

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, 17-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right. I am currently listening to the audio version and it is amazing! Teens are going to love it, the mix of tech savvy and rebellion is pretty cool.

Matched by Ally Condie.Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her, so when Xander appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate--until Ky Markham's face appears for an instant before the screen fades to black. I liked the book and think it could make a great book club choice. Love to know what teens thought about this futuristic world with no choices.

Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. In 1888, 12-year-old Will Henry chronicles his apprenticeship with Dr. Warthrop, a scientist who hunts and studies real-life monsters, as they discover and attempt to destroy a pod of Anthropophagi. I listened to the audio and really liked the story. I am not a big sci-fi fan but the whole "monster hunting" was just intriguing enough to want to know more.

 

North of Beautiful by Kiersten White.Terra, a sensitive, artistic high school senior born with a facial port-wine stain, struggles with issues of inner and outer beauty with the help of her Goth classmate Jacob. I loved the story. One of my favorites.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. When a dark prophecy begins to come true, 16-year-old Evie of the International Paranormal Containment Agency must not only try to stop it, she must also uncover its connection to herself and the alluring shapeshifter, Lend. Predictable.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. I read this book last spring and while found the futuristic earth approach to be consistent & believable. The under themes of honor, family and doing the right things carried the story beautifully.

 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death. I listened to the audio version and couldn't stop until I found the 13 reasons.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan.  Two teens sharing the same name, one straight- one gay meet, accidentally and their lives become intertwined when one starts to date a friend and producing a high school play about his life.  The audio is  hilarious at points.