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NEW BOOKS 2009-2010
Updated March 2010
Cars: Freedom, Style, Sex, Power,
Motion, Colour, Everything, by
Stephen Bayley
“The ultimate car book … The story of the car is the story of how
objects of industry became a medium of artistic expression. Memorials of
our tastes, yearnings, and capabilities, these machines have layers of
meaning and can (as Henry Ford knew) be read like a book … if only you
know how. Stephen Bayley, car columnist, design authority and cultural
commentator knows how, and in this opinionated volume, presents a
spectacular study of achievements in car design. Bayley's 86 favorite
designs range from the 1908 Ford Model T, to the 1961 Jaguar E-Type, to
the 2003 BMW 5. All presented in chronological order … with hundreds of
photographs (including full-body, interior and detail shots).” (From
the Publisher)
Wake (Wake Series, Book 1), by
Lisa McMann
“Janie Hannagan is
unwillingly sucked into others' dreams and nightmares, and suffers
debilitating side effects … Janie, now 17, seems totally independent,
charting a future that will lead away from her welfare mother's
alcoholism. Her turbulent relationship with Cabel, the unwashed stoner
boy-turned-handsome, pulsates with sexual tension, problematized by
Janie's knowledge of his insistent dreams about killing a man. But then
Cabel learns to communicate his desires to Janie through lucid dreaming
at just about the same time that Janie finds out that she can influence
the dreams she enters. The plot twists keep coming … and the writing has
a Caroline Cooney-like snap that's hard to resist.” (Publishers
Weekly)
(Book
2: Fade and
Book 3: Gone are also available)
Bystander, by James Preller
“Eric Hayes has moved from Ohio to Long Island, NY, with his mother and younger brother. His schizophrenic father left long ago. Eric soon meets Griffin Connelly, a handsome kid with natural leadership, lots of charisma, and a real mean streak. While Griffin is the perfect bully, David Hallenback is the perfect victim: beaten down and willing to do anything to get Griffin's approval. At first, Eric is a bystander, not participating in the bullying but not doing anything to stop it. However, several events move him out of this passive role: Griffin steals from him and reveals Eric's confidences about his father; adults at school address bullying; and Mary, a girl he likes, takes a stand against it. Eric realizes that his silence makes him complicit and speaks out, only to become Griffin's next victim.” (School Library Journal)
Flash Burnout, by L. K. Madigan
“High school sophomore Blake is learning to navigate the galaxy of BF/GF
relationships. Complicating matters is his friendship with Marissa, a
girl in photo class with whom he has become involved because he
unknowingly photographed her meth-addicted mother passed out on the
street. After a particularly emotional episode … Blake and Marissa have
consensual sex. When [his new girlfriend] Shannon discovers this, she
abruptly ends the relationship. ‘Actions have consequences’ is a lesson
that his parents have been teaching him all his life. … All of these
aspects of the story are tied together by appropriate but sensitive
dialogue; beautifully developed, diverse characters; an unblinking pace;
and intelligent humor. An exceptional novel.”
(School Library Journal)
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of
Survival, by Norman Ollestad
“Ollestad's memoir intersperses his harrowing childhood trauma as the
sole survivor of a plane crash that killed his father with his coming of
age in the '70s West Coast culture of surfing, skiing and skateboarding.
A competent and engaging narrator, Ollestad evokes emotional intensity
without descending into sentimentality and creates memorable portraits
of his heroic father and his mother's abusive boyfriend. Granted,
Ollestad presents his 11-year-old self as a tad more introspective and
worldly wise than one might expect, but as the adult Ollestad reflects
on how he was shaped by the hard-living, extreme sports culture of his
family and community, the essence of a young man forced to grow up too
quickly rings true.” (Publishers Weekly)
Purple Heart, by Patricia
McCormick
“In this suspenseful psychological thriller, 18-year-old Matt Duffy, a
private with memory problems following a traumatic brain injury,
receives the Purple Heart in Iraq and gradually unravels the
contradictory events that led to the honor. McCormick sharply draws the
culture of the Green Zone hospital, the camaraderie of the enlisted men
and (via phone calls and letters) the gulf between life at home versus
on the front. Friendship, bravado and juvenile antics counteract the
soldiers' guilt, paranoia and unease around Iraqis … As Matt remembers
more and more, tension builds and he becomes confused about
interpretations of the truth (and when to reveal them) within the chain
of command.” (Publishers Weekly)
Creature of the Night, by Kate
Thompson
“Hoping to pry 14-year-old Bobby away from his Dublin life
of reckless violence, drug abuse, and grand theft, Bobby’s
welfare-dependent mother transplants the family to a creaky old house in
the countryside. Balancing the grittiness of Bobby’s angst and
relentless fights with his mother are the whispered stories of the
house’s previous occupants, a couple who murdered their child, believing
her to be a faerie changeling. Thompson weaves this [so] lightly into
the plot [that] the creepy undercurrent fades away. But never entirely,
as an unseen visitor who comes in the middle of the night continues to
worry at the edges of Bobby’s consciousness … A unique blend of subtlety
and brashness, this is an honest coming-of-age novel in the guise of a
gripping YA thriller.” (Booklist)
Rosie and Skate, by Beth Ann
Bauman
“Sisters Rosie, 15, and Skate, 16, have little in common other than hard
times. Their widowed, alcoholic father is in jail. Rosie is quiet and
reserved and has faith in her dad. In contrast, Skate is tough and
independent and refuses to visit her father. Rosie falls for Nick, who
also has an alcoholic father. Skate … has Frank, 21, to help her pick up
the pieces. The sexual situations are honest but not graphic … The
sisters are believable characters and their dialogue is realistic …
Students who have to do a character analysis will find this novel to be
a good choice. The ending will be no surprise to them. Bauman offers an
honest depiction of the lives of many teens and their relationships.” (School
Library Journal)
Wish You Were Dead, by Todd
Strasser
“When a high school student announces on her blog that she hates Lucy
Cunningham and wishes her dead, no one takes her seriously—until a few
days later, when Lucy disappears. Madison Archer is particularly shaken
by the disappearance, as she was the one who drove the missing girl home
and was the last to see her that night. In addition to her guilt over
not seeing Lucy safely to her door, Madison is also trying to uncover
the identities of a cyber stalker who sends her Facebook messages
lecturing her about her cliquishness and an anonymous "friend" who
leaves her hastily scribbled warnings and pleas for help. When the
blogger posts another name, a second student goes missing. And then a
third. Madison needs to find her missing friends before it's too
late—for them and for herself …” (School Library Journal)
Vampires Today: The Truth about
Modern Vampirism, by Joseph Laycock
“What does it mean to
be a vampire? Is vampirism a religion? Is it a fantasy? Is it a medical
condition? Based upon extensive interviews with members of the Atlanta
Vampire Alliance and others within vampire communities throughout the
United States, Vampires Today looks at the many expressions of
vampirism. In this book the reader will meet ‘lifestyle’ vampires, who
adopt a culture and a gothic ascetic associated with the vampires of art
and legend, and ’real’ vampires, who feel that they must actually
consume blood and/or psychic energy for their well being … As vampires
come ‘out of the coffin,’ [their] confrontation with mainstream society
will raise questions about the definition of "normal" and what it means
to be human.” (From the Publisher)
The Offensive Art: Political
Satire and its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat, by
Leonard Freedman
“The Offensive Art
is an arch and sometimes caustic look at the art of political satire as
practiced in democratic, monarchical, and authoritarian societies around
the world over the past century—together with the efforts by
governmental, religious, and corporate authorities to suppress it by
censorship, intimidation, policy, and fatwa. Examples are drawn from the
full spectrum of satiric genres, including novels, plays, verse, songs,
essays, cartoons, cabarets and revues, movies, television, and the
Internet. The multicultural and multimedia breadth and historical depth
of Freedman's comparative approach frames his novel assessment of the
role of political satire in today's post-9/11 world, and in particular
the cross-cultural controversies it generates …” (From the Publisher)
Just Like Us: The True Story of
Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America, by Helen Thorpe
“By the time Marisela, Yadira, Clara and Elissa—four girls
of Mexican descent from the suburbs of Denver—entered their freshman
year in high school, they were inseparable, but four years later, their
fundamental difference threatened to divide them: Clara and Elissa were
legal residents, but Marisela and Yadira were not. [Thorpe] met them as
the girls without legal status were finding their friends' liberties to
attend college, drive or even rent a movie unbearable. It was hard for
Marisela and Yadira to see why they should labor over their homework if
they were just going to end up working at McDonald's … With striking
candor, Thorpe chronicles the girls' lives over four years.”
(Publishers Weekly)
Funny Business: Conversations with
Writers of Comedy, by Leonard S. Marcus, ed.
“In 12 entertaining interviews (and one equally entertaining e-mail from
Daniel Pinkwater declining to participate), Marcus's compilation
explores the childhoods, writing processes and senses of humor of
well-known writers [such as] Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Daniel Handler,
Norton Juster and Jon Scieszka. Marcus's evident knowledge of his
subjects' writing makes for some intriguing questions and answers …
Photographs, manuscript pages and even e-mail chains between the writers
and their editors add fascinating tidbits.” (Publishers Weekly)
Heroes of the Valley, by Jonathan
Stroud
“Witty and cinematic storytelling propels Stroud's engrossing novel, set
in a medieval world that recalls Norse epics—no gods, but plenty of
heroes to go around. Twelve Houses control sections of a valley. Halli
Sveinsson—at 15, the youngest child of the rulers of the House of Svein—goes
against tradition when he sets out to avenge the death of his murdered
uncle, and his actions result in warfare among Houses for the first time
in generations. Halli, ’a cumbersome stump of a boy,’ is a quick-witted,
appealing underdog and troublemaker … Smart, funny dialogue and prose,
revealing passages about the exploits of the hero Svein, bouts of action
and a touch of romance briskly move the story along.” (Publishers
Weekly)
Daughter of the Flames, by Zoe
Marriott
“Just before she turns 16, orphaned Zira narrowly escapes death when the
temple in which she lives is razed by a tyrannical Sedorne usurper. By
literally passing through the fire, she discovers her true identity as
Zahira, a princess who everyone believed was dead. She immediately takes
responsibility for leading the temple survivors to safety and forging a
political and potentially romantic alliance with a sympathetic Sedorne
Lord … The novel has some feisty fight scenes and a number of reliable
fantasy themes—love between enemy rulers, evil kings who desire
redemption, and rebel forces who arrive at the last moment—and poses
some interesting leadership dilemmas …” (School Library Journal)
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer
“There may be no better example of the tragic aftermath of 9/11 than the story of pro-football player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman, whose death in the wilds of Afghanistan in 2004 created a scandal of government cover-up … Drawing on interviews with family, fellow soldiers and correspondence, Krakauer’s page-turning account captures every detail--Tillman’s extraordinary character, including the ‘tragic virtues’ that led him to give up a comfortable life and athletic stardom for the army; the harshness of military training and life; the rugged terrain of remote Afghanistan, and the ravages of war.” (Publishers Weekly)
The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
“Welcome to a Washington, D.C., steeped in Masonic history that, once revealed, points to a dark, ancient conspiracy that threatens not only America but the world itself. Returning hero Robert Langdon comes to Washington to give a lecture at the behest of his old mentor, Peter Solomon. When he arrives at the U.S. Capitol for his lecture, he finds, instead of an audience, Peter's severed hand mounted on a wooden base, fingers pointing skyward to the Rotunda ceiling fresco of George Washington dressed in white robes, ascending to heaven … This is just the kickoff for a deadly chase that careens back and forth, across, above and below the nation's capital, darting from revelation to revelation, pausing only to explain some piece of wondrous, historical esoteric … Dan Brown has done it again.” (Publishers Weekly)
Going Bovine, by Libba Bray
“Cameron [is] a 16-year-old slacker whose somewhat dysfunctional family has just about given up on him, when his diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jacob, ‘mad cow’ disease, reunites them. The heart of the story is a hallucinatory—or is it?—quest with many parallels to the hopeless but inspirational efforts of Don Quixote, about whom Cameron had been reading before his illness. Just like the crazy—or was he?—Spaniard, Cam is motivated to go on a journey by a sort of Dulcinea. His pink-haired, white-winged version goes by Dulcie and leads him to take up arms against the Dark Wizard and fire giants that attack him intermittently, and to find a missing Dr. X, who can both help save the world and cure him … It's a trip worth taking.” (School Library Journal)
Hamlet, by John Marsden
“The story of Hamlet seems tailor-made for YA literature; it includes angst, unrequited love, drama, obsession, family issues, and self-doubt. In turning Shakespeare's play into a novel, Marsden has made it very accessible. The book is brief and the story moves quickly. Hamlet's indecision does not stall the action, but rather drives the narrative—readers wonder what, if anything, he will do. The setting is contemporary, but feels timeless. Marsden stays true to Shakespeare's text, while modernizing the dialogue. He makes the prince a sympathetic teen who is struggling with his hormones, his grief, and the fact that his uncle is now his stepfather. He is lonely, not only because of his royalty, but also because his drive to avenge his father has caused him to commit murder. Hamlet wants to be a man, but he's not sure if he's quite ready. This is a wonderful treatment of the play: engaging, gripping, dark, and lovely.” (School Library Journal)
City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
“In the two previous books, Clary learns that she is a member of a race of demon-hunters and that she has the special ability to create new versions of the runes that give these Shadowhunters their power. Her mother has been hiding the truth from her for years to protect her from her father, Valentine, a cult-leader-turned-villain who is seeking to gain control over the Shadowhunters by obtaining the three Mortal Instruments. Now, Valentine has only one Mortal Instrument left to find, and the Shadowhunters must ally with the despised Downworlders, including vampires, werewolves, and fairies, to prepare their final defense. The question of whether Clary will be able to harness her unique abilities in time to help–and whether they will let her–is sidelined by the question of whether her love interest, Jace, is really her brother.” (School Library Journal)
Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock History, by Bob Gulla
“Meet rock and roll's party crashers. They are the guitar-wielding heroes who came into an established musical framework, rearranged the furniture, tipped over a few chairs, and ditched—leaving the stragglers to pick up the pieces. Chuck Berry left audience eyeballs in spirals when he blasted them with his patented Chuck Berry intro … Jimi Hendrix made a lasting impression on rock and roll, leaving us all in a purple haze, and sending guitar players scurrying to take a new look at their instruments … Guitar Gods showcases the 25 players who made the greatest impact on rock and roll's long and winding history. All the players profiled in this book threw fans for a loop; their advancements in music left the genre in a different place than when they arrived.” (Book Description)
American Nerd, by Benjamin Nugent
“In his charming and disarmingly serious study of the history of the nerd in popular culture and throughout modern history, Nugent succeeds in crafting a nuanced discussion without resorting to smugness or excessive cleverness ... While there are engaging sections about more obvious nerd subjects like the rise of online gaming and the history of American science-fiction clubs, Nugent takes his book in surprising directions, such as the ethnic implications of the nerd categorization, particularly in regard to Jewish and Asian stereotypes … Another unexpected detour into the intense subculture of high school and college debaters, turns into an extraordinarily poignant meditation on the friendships engendered by shared passions. Swinging ably from personal anecdotes to historical perspective, Nugent's exploration of outcasts is a triumph.” (Publishers Weekly)
The Girls of Room 28: Friendship, hope, and survival in Theresienstadt,
by Hannelore Brenner
“12,000 children entered the [Theresienstadt concentration] camp from 1942 to 1944, but only a few hundred survived to war's end, and a handful of women of Room 28 in the camp's Girls' Home, now scattered around the world, reunited for the first time in 1991. The insights of the survivors and stories of the camp's victims are unforgettable and full of poignant humanity, conveyed through letters, photos, diaries and remembrances. Forced into exile and almost certain death under the Nazi regime, the children confronted hunger, cold, terror and the soul's endurance as many of the girls of Room 28 were slowly eliminated; the small band of survivors is committed to keeping their memory alive.” (Publishers Weekly)
Ash, by Malinda Lo
“Cinderella…with a twist: After losing her mother and later her father, Ash is treated as a servant in the home of an unkind stepmother and two unfriendly stepsisters. She has ties to the fairy world, attends the royal ball in an enchanted dress, catches the eye of the prince, and finds love by the end of the story. However, [this tale] is not about Ash being found and saved by a charming prince; instead, it is about her courtship with Kaisa, the King's huntress, a relationship that burgeons over time and is based on more than just initial attraction. Despite Ash's grief, oppressive guardianship, and dangerous flirtation with the fairy Sidhean, who promises to steal her away from her sadness, the protagonist finds her own salvation and chooses to live and love in the real world and on her own terms.” (School Library Journal)
Swiss Mist, by Randy Powell
“When his parents divorce, Milo has to leave behind his familiar Seattle neighborhood and his kind fifth-grade teacher, Ms. Swinford, who shares her enthusiasm for all things Swiss with her students … When he's in 10th grade, Milo runs into Ms. Swinford again, and revelations about her make him examine his idea of truth. Milo gradually loses his childish innocence and sense of total protection, teeters on the edge of danger, and finally reaches a place where he knows what he wants for himself … This book is rewardingly remarkable for the characters and bits of truth that Milo never stops pursuing, even as he learns that truth is not what matters most.” (School Library Journal)
One Wish, by Leigh Brescia
“When Wrenn, a slightly overweight sophomore, is convinced by her friend Zoe to try out for the school musical, Grease, she decides to go after what she has always wanted: popularity. She is cast as Rizzo and begins a strict diet and exercise regime that gets way out of control when she starts using laxatives. When the in-crowd accepts her, Wrenn spends less time with Zoe and her eating disorder consumes her … When she passes out at the cast party, her family and friends take action. Her mother enrolls her in a rehab program, where Wrenn works on feeling good about herself and learning to do things in moderation … This engrossing novel lets readers see this issue up close without being completely pessimistic.” (School Library Journal)
Back Home, by Julia Keller
“Rachel ‘Brownie’ Browning is thirteen when her father comes back from the war in Iraq. Of course she understands that he has been injured and that he will be a little different, at least for a while. But Brownie doesn’t even know the man with a prosthetic arm and leg who sits in the living room day after day. He’s certainly not the father who helped her build a fort in her backyard, or played basketball with her sister, or hauled her little brother around like a sack of potatoes. Brownie’s mother says that because of his traumatic brain injury, their father needs their affection and patience. In time, he’ll be better–Dad will be back. But Dad doesn’t seem to be making much progress … And Brownie begins to wonder, will her family ever be able to return to the way life was before the war?” (Book Description)
Unbreakable Child, by Kim Michele Richardson
“Richardson, who was raised in a Catholic orphanage in Kentucky in the 1960s, recounts the horrors that she and countless other children endured there and takes readers on her journey to rid herself of the awful memories. Her catharsis comes with a lawsuit, which she and 44 other survivors brought against the order that ran the orphanage … Richardson’s candid accounts are chilling, and the strength she shows—with a very supportive husband at her side—is inspiring. Remarkably, she did not abandon the church and in fact sends her children to Catholic schools. Hers is a beautifully told story about strength and an enduring faith that can lead but one place: to forgiveness.” (Booklist)
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
“Violence has been visited worldwide [leaving] cities and forests burned, birds and fish dead and the earth shrouded in gray clouds of ash. In this landscape, an unnamed man and his young son journey down a road to get to the sea. (The man's wife, who gave birth to the boy after calamity struck, has killed herself.) They carry blankets and scavenged food in a shopping cart and the man is armed with a revolver loaded with his last two bullets. Beyond the ever-present possibility of starvation lies the threat of roving bands of cannibalistic thugs. The man assures the boy that the two of them are ‘good guys,’ but [the] boy that his father has turned into an amoral survivalist, tenuously attached to the morality of the past by his fierce love for his son.” (Publishers Weekly)
Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak Appreciation, by Gregory Maguire
“Published in 1963 to great critical acclaim, Maurice Sendak's Caldecott Award-winning Where the Wild Things Are has sold millions of copies worldwide, garnered countless awards, and been translated into nineteen languages. In Making Mischief, Gregory Maguire examines Sendak's aesthetic influences from William Blake to Walt Disney [and] explores recurring motifs in Sendak's life work—from monsters to mayhem—as well as his profound understanding of children, their creativity, and the breadth of emotions with which they encounter the world. Making Mischief is a gift of the imagination to Maurice Sendak, one of the master mythmakers of our time.” (Book Description)
Vanishing Act, by John Feinstein
“In Feinstein's Last Shot, 13-year-old reporters Susan Carol Anderson and Stevie Thomas uncover a scandal at basketball's Final Four event. In this follow-up, set at the U.S. Open, the teens once again unravel a scandal … [The] friends arrive at the Open and prepare to file stories for their newspapers. Then a young Russian tennis star is kidnapped, and as the teens track down clues, they discover that Susan's beloved uncle may be involved … Sports fans will be fascinated by the insider's view of the tournament, and even teens ambivalent about sports will connect with the memorable kids and the messages about maintaining integrity versus selling out--in sports and in life.” (Booklist)
Dreaming of Baghdad, by Haifa Zangana
“In 1970s Iraq, the Ba'ath Party was at the height of its influence in the Middle East and popularity throughout the West. But a group of activists recognized the disastrous potential of the regime as its charismatic leader, Saddam Hussein, became more powerful. Haifa Zangana was among those resisters, a small group of whom were captured and imprisoned at Abu Ghraib. From the distance of time and place, Zangana writes about the time of her incarceration, the agonizing loss of comrades to torture and death in prison, the haunted quality of life [in exile] so far away from home and family, and the ways in which memory conspires to make us forget what sometimes is most dear to us.” (Book Description)
North of Beautiful, by Justina Chen Headley
“Sixteen-year-old Terra seems to be a typical high-achieving high-school student. Under her heavy makeup, though, she hides a port-wine colored birthmark on her cheek that makes her feel like an outsider. During an attempt to remove the birthmark, Terra runs into Jacob, a gorgeous Goth with a cleft-palette scar. That encounter initiates a transformation in both Terra and her mother. Headley has written an exquisite book that explores the difference between physical and true beauty as Terra and her mother travel from Washington State to China and from the home of a shame-faced, cruel cartographer into the presence of an adventurous, strong woman and her insightful teenage son.” (Booklist)
Liar, by Justine Larbalestier
“Micah Wilkins, 17, is the quintessential unreliable narrator—she readily admits she’s a liar although now she wants to tell her story straight. She’s a bit peculiar, with extra-human speed and sense of smell, and has few friends. After another student, a popular senior named Zach, is found brutally murdered, it comes to light that he and Micah had a relationship outside of school. Now she is considered a suspect … The chilling story that she spins will have readers’ hearts racing as in three sections she goes from ‘Telling the Truth,’ to ‘Telling the True Truth,’ to ‘Telling the Actual Real Truth,’ uncovering previous lies and revealing bizarre occurrences in the process. Micah’s narrative is convincing, and in the end readers will delve into the psyche of a troubled teen and decide for themselves the truths and lies.” (School Library Journal)
Diva, by Alex Flinn
“In Breathing Underwater, Flinn told the story of Nick, a kid who seems flawless but beats his girlfriend, Caitlin. Diva is Caitlin's story. Some time has passed. Nick is abiding by the restraining order keeping him away from Caitlin, and she is still trying to understand herself. She no longer believes she is the fat no-talent Nick insisted she was, but she's still obsessed with her weight and unsure about trying out for a performing-arts high school and exploring her passion for opera … Written partly as an online diary, the story neatly delineates teens' concerns--some contemporary, others ages old … The most interesting relationship is between Caitlin and her mother; Flinn turns a fine eye on the seemingly never-ending mother-daughter dance, in which someone is always out of step.” (Booklist)
Rescue Ink: How Ten Guys Saved Countless Dogs and Cats, Twelve Horses,
Five Pigs, One Duck, and a Few Turtles, by Rescue Ink and Denise Flaim
“The brawny and heavily tattooed bikers constituting Rescue Ink have put a bounty on abusive dog (and other animal) owners. For almost a year, Flaim rode along [on] in your face missions to rescue abused and neglected animals, track down stolen dogs, teach compassion toward animals to high school students, rescue an estimated 180 cats from a house and—in one harrowing account—confront a cruel recluse who was killing squirrels, birds and strays in his backyard for sport. Flaim ably blends colorful profiles of the individual members with journalistic accounts of their interventions with trappers, torturers and garden-variety dirtbags. Starring in a National Geographic reality television show premiering this fall, the all-volunteer group's commitment inspires and endears.” (Publishers Weekly)
Magic and Misery, by Peter Marino
“At 17, TJ has never had a boyfriend, [but] after she bonds with James (Pan), the gorgeous new guy in her small-town high school, she dreams that they will hook up—even after Pan comes out and tells the class that he is gay. And even after she dates Caspar, an interesting, thoughtful football star, she stays close with her ‘nonboyfriend’ and the three form a friendship triangle. There is jealousy and tension: who will escort TJ to the prom? And what’s so great about the prom, anyway? … The story is open about the vicious homophobia among some of Pan’s schoolmates, as well as class differences (she is ashamed to bring wealthy Pan home to her shabby apartment). Best of all is the drama of physical attraction and friendship in all its intensity.” (Booklist)
So Punk Rock … And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother, by Micol Ostow
“Despite his dreams of hipster rock glory, Ari Abramson's band, the Tribe, is more white bread than indie-cred. Made up of four suburban teens from a wealthy Jewish school, their Mötley Crüe is about as hardcore as SAT prep and scripture studies. But after a one-song gig at a friend's Bar Mitzvah—a ska cover of ‘Hava Nagilah’—the Tribe's popularity erupts overnight. Now, Ari is forced to navigate a minefield of inflated egos, misplaced romance, and the shallowness of indie-rock elitism. It's a hard lesson in the complex art of playing it cool.” (Book Description)
Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius, by Colin Dickey
“The word skullduggery finds a new meaning in Dickey's account of those obsessed with owning the skulls of the highly talented and famous. Dickey takes the reader back to the plucky grave robbers who stole the craniums of famed composers Haydn and Beethoven, Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, artist Francisco Goya, the English doctor and philosopher Sir Thomas Browne and others to sell, study or put on public display. The skull obsession was triggered by the infamous Gall system, created in the late 18th century by Franz Joseph Gall, who theorized that the bumps and dents of the skull could provide a measure of intelligence … Blending science with historical drama, Dickey's book illuminates the mystery and controversy of a bizarre tradition throughout the ages.” (Publishers Weekly)
The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams
“Taking a story ‘ripped from the headlines,’ Williams looks inside a polygamist cult and the dangers it poses for one girl. Kyra and her father, three mothers, and 20 siblings live in an isolated community under the thumb of a prophet, who controls every aspect of his apostles’ lives … Then the prophet decrees that Kyra is to become the wife of her 60-year-old uncle. A secret patron of a local mobile library, Kyra knows there’s a world away from the compound she might escape to, but … her family is threatened, and the stakes for her refusal to marry are raised. This is a heart pounder, and readers will be held, especially as the danger escalates.” (Booklist)
Low Boy, by John Wray
“Wray's captivating third novel drifts between psychological realities while exploring the narrative poetics of schizophrenia. The story centers on Will Heller, a 16-year-old New Yorker who has stopped taking his antipsychotic medication and wandered away from the mental hospital into the subway tunnels believing that the world will end within a few hours and that only he can save it … Wray deploys brilliant hallucinatory visuals, including chilling descriptions of the subway system and an imaginary river flowing beneath Manhattan. In his previous works, Wray has shown that he's not a stranger to dark themes, and with this tightly wound novel, he reaches new heights.” (Publishers Weekly)
After the Moment, by Garret Freymann-Weyr
“Leigh Hunter, 17, moves from New York to Washington, DC, to help his stepsister Millie cope with the death of her father. Maia Morland, a recovering anorexic and self-mutilator, eats her meals with the Hunters as part of her recovery. At first Leigh wants only to keep her safe but finds himself falling in love. He eats so that she will eat. She's raped (and filmed) by three prep-school classmates on his one night away from DC. In the background, bombs drop on Baghdad, and Leigh discovers that nations, like preppies, can justify anything. The author's feel for character and voice has never been better, and Leigh narrates with deep intelligence and heightened feeling.” (School Library Journal)
Why I Fight, by J. Adams Oaks
“Ever since he turned 12-and-a-half, Wyatt has been on the road with his cool uncle Spade … For six years his uncle’s Chevy ‘was my house,’ Wyatt tells the reader, and ‘all his ladyfriends was my mom.’ It’s Spade’s idea that Wyatt, who is unusually tall and strong, should start bare-knuckle fighting for money, and the boy, heartbreakingly eager to please, complies, winning fight after fight . . . until the last one. Oaks’ first novel is a breathtaking debut with an unforgettable protagonist … Will Wyatt ever find himself? Readers who meet him will care desperately about the answer.” (Booklist)
Take Your Shirt Off and Cry, by Nancy Balbirer
“It is a fact of life seldom discussed in our celebrity-mad media: most actors do not become either rich or famous. Balbirer revels in her failure in this witty, poignant, exceedingly well-written memoir chronicling the ups and downs (mostly downs) of a trained, hardworking actress who always seems on the cusp of greatness but who nevertheless always fails to make the grade … Balbirer charts her many adventures in off- and off-off-Broadway, on television, and later in Hollywood. Gossipmongers will find her stories of life in La-La Land especially fascinating.” (Booklist)
Dillinger’s Wild Ride, by Elliott J. Gorn
“Gorn presents a solid, unromanticized account of the last year in the short life of famed bank robber John Dillinger … After spending nine years—almost a third of his short life—in jail, Dillinger found a Depression-era America far different from the one he’d left. Less than two months into his parole, Dillinger and the first in a revolving parade of Dillinger gang members robbed the Commercial Bank in Daleville, Ind., making off with $3,500. Between July 1933 and his death just one year later, Dillinger robbed more than 10 banks, killed at least five people (all lawmen) and stole over $300,000, all the while evading capture by local law enforcement and later the FBI.” (Publishers Weekly)
Mother Poems, by Hope Anita Smith
“Smith writes about an African American child’s grief at the sudden death of her mother. The first poems celebrate Momma’s unconditional love and the intimacy of her embrace in daily life, [but] more than half the book is about her shock, sorrow, guilt, anger, and loving memories. Like the poetry, Smith’s simple, torn-paper collages in a folk-art style show the close embraces and vignettes without overwhelming the words. In one unforgettable picture, the child stands tall, her feet in Momma’s shoes. The girl feels bewildered by her friends who hate their mothers … Readers will recognize the regret: the last words you remember, ‘and the words you didn’t say.’” (Booklist)
The Carbon Diaries 2015, by Saci Lloyd
“Laura Brown, a 16-year-old Londoner and punk rocker, documents a year in the very near future, 2015, in diary form. She refers to recent massive storms brought on by climate change that have ravaged the planet and led Britain to be the first country to try ‘carbon rationing.’ Each person is allotted a prohibitively small measure of carbon points to be used each month, essentially obsoleting such luxuries as air travel or even heating one’s home … As [Laura] weathers staggering uncertainty, kill-me-now family crises, and a timelessly confusing dating scene, she finds a release valve in music and her mates … Deeply compulsive and urgently compulsory reading. (Booklist)
Corbenic, by Catherine Fisher
“17-year-old Cal abandons his alcoholic, schizophrenic mother and shabby English town. On the train to his uncle's house in a posh suburb, he gets off at Corbenic, which he later learns is nonexistent. He makes his way to the court of the crippled Fisher King, who knows Cal is really Percival, the last hope to restore the king's wasteland to its former glory. When the teenager fails to identify a vision of the Holy Grail, he is banished back to modern England. Then, as the legend goes, he searches for Corbenic, but can only return when he comes to terms with the mother he's rejected … Both the real and surreal settings are lushly rendered, and Fisher's physical descriptions are especially evocative.” (School Library Journal)
The World’s Shortest Stories of Love and Death, edited by Steve Moss and
John M. Daniel
“Building on the enormously successful World's Shortest Stories, here's an all-new collection of super-short fiction-each story a mere 55 words long! With nearly 150 contributors, including Charles Schulz and Fannie Flagg, these stories offer love, betrayal, passion, and death-in less time than it takes to count the words in this blurb! The perfect gift for those who claim to be too busy to read. For the rest of us, these stories are like literary canapes... Irresistible." (Product Description)
Girls against Girls: Why we are mean to each other and how we can
change, by Bonnie Burton
Firebirds Soaring, by
Nancy Springer, Jane Yolen, and more
“This anthology contains 19 short stories by some of the top writers in this genre. Nancy Springer opens the volume with a story of a precocious young princess with a gift of discernment who unearths the controlling power of the moon goddess hidden in a golden ring … The selections vary in length, with some short stories, some novellas … The variety of styles and themes and a gathering together of so many talented writers in one work offer readers a banquet for the imagination. For fans of the genre, this is a must read.” (School Library Journal
Thirteen Reasons Why, by
Jay Asher
“When Clay Jenson plays the cassette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah's voice (italicized) and Clay's thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions … The message about how we treat one another, although sometimes heavy, makes for compelling reading.” (Booklist)
Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
“In a not-too-distant future, the United States [is] replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem … with all citizens required to watch. [16-year-old Katniss] and her male counterpart, Peeta [are] pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins’s characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.” (School Library Journal) Note: The second book in the trilogy, Catching Fire, will be available later this fall.
1968, by Michael Kaufman
The year 1968 was “was a watershed year with people rising across the globe to assert their own power and voice. Divided into 10 sections, the fluid prose treats topics such as the Tet Offensive; tensions on the U.S. home front engendered by the Vietnam War; [and] the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy … Arranged chronologically, the narrative puts these events and others into their proper sequence and notes how they echoed and influenced one another. Numerous excellent-quality black-and-white photos augment the text, and each section begins with a facsimile of the front page of the New York Times, showing how each event was reported. The full text of each article is appended, along with source notes and an excellent index.” (School Library Journal)
The Collector Car Restoration Bible, by
Matt Joseph
“This ultimate restoration and repair reference has all the answers to restorer's questions! The book delivers authoritative instructions and more than 500 how-to color photos to help restorers avoid costly errors and complete restoration goals. In this guide, restorers are led through various tasks of specific systems and processes that apply to any car, such as engine rebuilding, brake work and bodywork. In addition, this reference includes new procedures based on engine disassembly and assembly, and tips to caring for a completely restored car. From installing clutches to body refinishing this comprehensive resource delivers the details to transform ancient to excellent.” (Product Description)
Trees & Forests of America, by
Tim Palmer
“Palmer, an award-winning photographer, writer, and conservationist … brings readers deep into the woods, the green cathedrals of nature that sustain life on earth. Palmer traveled all across America to contemplate native trees still standing in and supporting healthy ecosystems, which means he went to state and national parks, wilderness areas and nature reserves, of which he avers we need many more. His knowledge of the inner workings of trees, the planet’s most majestic and oldest living organisms, sharpens his eye and underlies the cogent, wide-ranging narration that accompanies his landscapes and portraits of individual trees, each distinct and vital …” (Booklist)
Asta in the Wings, by Jan Elizabeth Watson
"This is a story of what happens when the outside world discovers that a widowed mother in Maine has removed her two children, seven-year-old Asta and her nine-year-old brother, Orion, from any contact with the outside world. Unaware that their mother is delusional, the two children do not feel deprived under her care … When their isolated living situation is discovered, the children find themselves at the mercy of kind yet sometimes misguided adults. Asta emerges as the stronger, more communicative child. Bright and sometimes wily, she remains steadfastly devoted to her gifted yet now mute brother … The narrative is told from Asta's perspective, and initially the tone is eerie and unsettling. As the story unfolds, the situation feels less threatening and even incorporates elements of humor.” (Library Journal)
Clubbing, by Andi Watson (Graphic Novel)
“For using a fake ID at a West End club, Lottie's parents banish her from London to stay with her grandparents on the grounds of a country club. Lottie spends her days learning about golf clubs, decorating ’Goth’ cakes for the local women's group, and getting to know Howard, the only single man close to her age in the vicinity. This mundane existence suddenly changes when an elderly woman [is] discovered dead, with an occult symbol carved on her arm. Howard suspects Lottie's grandfather, but as the two investigate, they discover a more supernatural answer … Lottie is one intrepid sleuth, in her high boots, fishnet tights, and short skirt, and she is not afraid to swing a golf club to protect her loved ones.” (Booklist)
First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won
My Heart and A Third-World Adventure Changed My Life, by Eve Brown-Waite
“College graduate Eve is looking for a meaningful endeavor and settles on the Peace Corps. Though she’s not sure a life without creature comforts is for her, she is certain of one thing: John, the Peace Corps recruiter, is the guy for her … a future with John means a life less ordinary, and soon after their marriage he accepts a job with CARE in Uganda. Once there, Eve finds the people welcoming but the lack of amenities and the persistent insect population daunting. With an appealing, down-to-earth voice, Brown-Waite chronicles her adventures abroad in an accessible, humorous tone …” (Booklist)
Murder in the Name of Honor, by Rana Husseini
“A hard-hitting and controversial examination of honor crimes. Common in many traditional societies around the world, as well as in migrant communities in Europe and the USA, they involve a 'punishment'--often death or disfigurement--carried out by a relative to restore the family's honor. Breaking through the conspiracy of silence, one writer above all others has been instrumental in bringing it to the world's attention: Rana Husseini.” (Product Description)
The Vast Fields of Ordinary, by Nick Burd
“Dade Hamilton is off to college in August, but until then, he must deal with a boring job in a dull city, his parents' failing marriage, and a rocky relationship with Pablo, a boy who publicly denies his homosexuality … When Dade meets Alex, however, the summer begins to improve. Alex is handsome and mysterious; most importantly, he adores Dade and isn't afraid to show it … What results is a series of dramatic interactions and events that force Dade to examine his emotions, his life, and the people in it. Burd addresses the themes of family, unrequited love, bullying, and sexuality in a fresh and believable manner … The Vast Fields of Ordinary is a refreshingly honest, sometimes funny, and often tender novel.” (School Library Journal)
National Geographic’s Complete Survival Manual