Wintergirls

Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publishing Info: March, 2009
ISBN: 067001110X
Pages: 278
Price: $16.99
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 7th grade
Interest Level: 9th grade and up
Awards: ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers (2010), Cybils Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2009), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2010)
Plot Summary: Lia and Cassie are best friends and eating disorder buddies. The two of them are trying to become the thinnest girls in their grade. But soon Lia is hospitalized for her eating disorder and when she comes home the two girls drift apart. The book starts with the Cassie being found dead in a hotel room. Soon Lia is haunted by Cassie and struggles to deal with her death. Lia also struggles with her own personal demons that cause her eating disorder. Can Lia find out what really happend to Cassie in the hotel room? Will Lia ever be able to defeat her demons are will she succumb to her eating disorder.
Critical Review: Wintergirls is a dark and haunting story of Lia and Cassie and their struggle to overcome their eating disorders. Lia goes to great lengths to hid her issue from her parents to she can get thinner and thinner. The book gives an insight into what is going through Lia's mind and she starves herself to death. It also shows her parents struggle with Lia and how they don't really know how to deal with their daughter's disease. The story can be difficult at times to read because it is so real and honest. You find yourself wanting to yell at Lia to eat and to stop her destructive behavior.
Reader's Annotation: Lia and Cassie are best friends and are both fading away as they starve and binge themselves to practically nothing. But when Cassie dies alone in a hotel room Lia struggles to deal with her death. Haunted by Cassie and her own personal demons, Lia slips even further into her eating disorder.
Book Talk Ideas: For a book talk I would focus on the difficult relationship between Cassie and Lia and their destructive path that their friendship leads them.
Issues Present: The book deals very graphically with eating disorders. It also discusses death and drinking.
Main Themes: eating disorders, death, friendship, guilt
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: The book is a frank and at times very dark story of a teens struggle with anorexia. Despite her friends death and her failing health Lia still can't stop her anorexia and is determined to get thinner and thinner. Teens struggling with an eating disorder will relate to Lia's struggle. For others it will give them an idea of how those with eating disorders feel. The story also deals with losing a best friend and the guilt that Lia feels for not helping Cassie.
Read alikes: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, How to Be Popular by Meg Cabot
Author Website: http://madwomanintheforest.com/
Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
Why Include this book? Laurie Halse Anderson writes honest stories about very difficult and often tragic teen issues. This book focuses on the destructiveness of eating disorders which is important for teen girls to be exposed since many teen girls struggle with eating disorders.

Looking For Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

Publication info: March, 2006

ISBN: 0142402516

Pages: 221

Price: $15.99

Reading Level: 10th grade

Reading Interest: 9th grade and up

Genre: realistic fiction

Awards: Printz Honor, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, ALA's Top Ten Books for Young Adults, Booklist Editor's Choice, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Plot Summary: The story exists in two parts: before and after. The before is the story of Miles, who lacks friends and anything very exciting except for his obsession with people's last words. He enrolls in a boarding school in Alabama where he meets Alaska Young. Alaska is beautiful, quirky and unbalanced and Miles falls for her. The before story focuses on how Miles who has never had an exciting life is sudden drawn into the crazy and always exciting world of Alaska. Though Alaska's self-destructive is bound to catch up with her and when it does Miles is left to deal with the after.

Critical Review: Looking For Alaska counts downs to an event that you aren't aware of while reading and this countdown stirs interest, what could possible be the after, what is the before? The reader finally discovers that the book is based on the before and after of Alaska's death. The tragedy that rocks Miles world also rocks the reader. Despite Alaska's faults and her destructive behavior she is an enjoyable character. Her quirky behavior adds to her charm. John Green has the ability to write teen characters that are intelligent and full of depth. He also presents real life teen issues in a way that teens find relatable and believable.

Reader's Annotation: When Miles meets Alaska he finds himself attracted to her despite her obvious unstable mental state and destructive pattern. Alaska is the type of girl who drags you into her crazy world and you find yourself not wanting to leave, or at least that's how Miles felt. But when Alaska's destructive behavior reaches it's tipping point will Miles be dragged down with her?

Book talk ideas: Miles is obsessed with people's last words so I think it would be great to introduce the book by quoting some of the famous people's last words mentioned in the book.

Issues Present: The book as many controversial teen activities such as sex, smoking, drinking and foul language.

Main Themes: friendship, romance, loss, death

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Many teens can find Miles and his so called boring and loner life relatable. He falls in love with a girl who is involved with someone else and whose self-destructive behavior leaves Miles heartbroken. The book is a great coming of age book, in which Miles deals with first loves and loss and experimenting with drinking and smoking and other risk taking.

Read alikes: Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard, A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Author Website: http://johngreenbooks.com/

Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews

Publisher's Weekly

Why include this book? The book has received critical praise and John Green is known for not speaking down to teens and writing smart, witty and honest books centered around the lives of teens.

Ship Breaker

Title: Ship Breaker

Author: Paolo Bacigalupi

Published: May 2010

Pages: 326

Price: $16.99

ISBN: 0316056219

Other books in the series: Drowned Cities

Reading Level: 6th grade

Interest Level: 8th grade and up

Awards: National Book Award Finalist, Printz Award, Locus Award

Plot Summary: Nailer is a young boy who lives in the gulf coast which has been flooded by the rising waters. To make money Nailer scavenges tanker ships for copper wiring and other raw goods. It's a long, tireless and dangerous job but it's how Nailer survives. Everyone in Nailer's village is looking for a "lucky strike" that find that will set them up for life and get them out of their job working on tanker crews. Then one day after a storm Nailer's "lucky strike" happens. An expensive and beautiful Clipper ship is shipwrecked on shore and Nailer is the first to find it. The bought could be scavenged for more wealth than he could possible ever make in a year of tanker scavenge. But it turns out there is something far more valuable on the ship, a young rich girl. He know has two choices save the girl and risk his life or pillage the ship for all it's wealth and the the girl to her fate.

Critical Review: Ship Breaker is a gritty, faced paced dystopia novel filled with violence, bleak surrounding but colorful well developed characters. Nailer's grueling life of stripping tanker ships is nothing compared to the struggles he goes through to save himself and Nita, the rich girl from the boat from her tribes who want her dad and Nailer's drug addicted violent father who wants to exploit the girl for her wealth. At times the violence was almost too much, but it really helps tell the story of the how people lived and survived in the story. Without all the grit the story would seem to clean, too happy and the story line wouldn't feel the same, it wouldn't have that grim and desperate feeling.

Reader's Annotation: Nailer is forced to scavenge tankers and risk his life everyday in small dark holes while dreaming of a better life. Then one day his dream comes to him in the form of a crashed clipper ship, but the treasures on the ship go beyond gold, oh no the treasure Nailer finds is something far more valuable.

Issues Present: The story contains some very graphic violent scenes. There is also drugs and alcohol abuse in the story which some find offensive.

Main Themes: poverty, survival, greed, abuse, addiction, friendship

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Nailer lives a life of poverty, abuse and bleak surroundings. A teen living in similar situations can relate to Nailer's struggles and those who are more fortunate can develop empathy for those who have to struggle to survive.

Read alikes: Ashfall by Mike Mullin, The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd, Trash by Andy Mulligan

Author Website: http://windupstories.com/

Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews

Publisher's Weekly

Why Chose this Book? While the book is set in the future it deals with some very current issues of poverty and survival. The bleak environment shows how rough life is for the children who are forced to salvage inorder to live. The book is an award winner and has an action packed plot that pulls the reader in.

13 Reasons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why 
Author: Jay Asher
Published: 
ISBN: 9781595141712
Pages: 288
Price: $16.99
Genre: realistic fiction
Awards: New York Times Bestseller, YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults
Reading Level: 6th grade
Reading Interest: 9th grade and up
Plot Summary: Clay Jensen is left with a series of audio cassette tapes by a fellow classmate, Hannah Baker. Hannah Baker recently committed suicide and left behind tapes that contain the 13 reasons why she killed herself. The 13 reasons are connected to 13 people and each person is suppose to listen to the tapes and pass them along to the next person on the list. Clay isn't really sure why he is on the list, since he doesn't know Hannah very well. They had worked together one summer at a movie theater and he even kissed Hannah once but things never went anywhere. Clay never got the chance to tell Hannah that he liked her and now he struggles with the fact that he is part of the reason Hannah killed herself. With the tapes is also a map that Hannah has placed stars on to mark different places where things took place. She instructors the listener to go to the places as she discusses her reasons why. As the tapes go along each person on the list is brought up, along with what they did to put them on the tapes. Clay listens to the tapes on a walkman as he travels around town reliving Hannahs life as she talks on the tapes.
Critical Review: The story is told from a unique perspective, in that Hannah, who is dead, tells most the story from the tapes she left behind. The reader also gets to see how Clay reacts to Hannah's story with his thoughts breaking up the tapes. The plot draws the reader in as Clay goes through tape after tape, trying to find out how he plays into Hannah's suicide. Jay Asher does a great job at giving a bit of incite into the mind of Hannah and of Clay. As a reader I wondered, why would a teenager want to kill themselves? While it seems that nothing truly horrible happens to Hannah the story shows how multiple issues combined lead to Hannah feeling depressed and hopeless. I think that the story provides the reader with some great talking points. A teen might not think their one act can impact a person but in the story the one act of many people lead to Hannah's suicide. This idea may prompt teens to think about their interactions with others and how their actions can impact another. I feel this story stands out from other stories on suicides because it feels real. Jay Asher does a great job of not coming across as an after school special or too preachy. The story seems very believable and natural. Also, the uniqueness of a dead character playing such a large role in the story through the tapes is something new and it adds to the realism factor. The reader is able to hear Hannah's voice and thoughts despite her being dead. However, there was times when I found myself frustrated with Hannah. I kept thinking that her suicide could have been prevented and that it was unneccesary, which I think was part of Jay Asher's messsage. All the things that happened to Hannah were things that I think she could have dealt with and moved on. As an adult it was frustrating to read, but I feel that a teen might relate to Hannah's feelings of hopelessness. Often times, teens can't always see that there is more to life than what happens in high school.
Reader's Annotation: Clay Jensen has a crush on his fellow freshman student Hannah Baker, problem is Hannah killed herself and soon after left Clay tapes which contain the 13 reasons why Hannah committed suicide. Why did Hannah send the tapes to Clay? And what secrets are hidden in these tapes?
Book Talking Ideas: A great book talk idea would be to give "13 reasons why you should read this book". The reasons would focus on the great story line, the mystery surrounding why Hannah killed herself and the great characters made by Jay Asher.
Issues: The book deals with a teen suicide, drinking and sex which some may find to be too mature for teens.
Main themes: suicide, friendships, death
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Suicide is a very real thing for many teens and it is one of the leading causes of death for teenagers. Because of this many teens may have thought about suicide or know someone who has committed suicide. This story can shed some light on why teens commit suicide and how it can be prevented.
Read alikes: Stay with Me by Garret Freymann-Weyr, Looking for Alaska by John Green, Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Author Website: http://jayasher.blogspot.com/
Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
Why Include this book? For me personally I have dealt with 2 teen suicides since I started working at my library 3 years ago. The book deals with teen suicide, which is the second leading cause of teens death in the U.S. In Oregon, where I live, teenage suicide is much higher than the national average. Many teens can relate to Hannah's feelings and her issues with school and her thoughts of suicide. 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Title: Will Grayson Will Grayson 
Authors: John Green and David Levithan
Published: 2010
ISBN: 0525421580
Pages: 310
Price: $17.99
Genre: Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ
Reading Level: 10th grade
Reading Interest: 10th grade and up
Awards: YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011), Children's Choice Book Award Nominee for Teen Choice Book of the Year (2011)
Plot Summary: The story focuses on two high school boys named Will Grayson. One Will Grayson is a straight wallflower who tries to get through life by talking as little as possible. Will Grayson believes the more you can blend in the better. Though having your best friend be a giant, loud, flamboyant gay guy name Tiny who often breaks out in song isn't helping Will Grayson keep a low profile. Then there is the other Will Grayson. Will Grayson is also a bit of loner, who spends most of his days struggling with his depression. The only things he looks forward to is talk to a guy namedIsaac online. Will Grayson is gay but has never told anyone. Then one night the two Will Grayson's cross paths outside a porn store in downtown Chicago and their lives are never the same. Can both of them learn to stop out from the shadows and live life or will they both be content to watch things from the sidelines.
Critical Review: The story is told in alternating chapters, going between the two Will Grayson's. John Green is the voice of straight Will Grayson, while David Levithan is the voice of gay Will Grayson. Both characters have a distinct voice and Levithan write's his Will Grayson with no capitalization. This I think helps convey the idea his Will Grayson lives life in a constant feeling of just trying to get by. He is on a number of medicines to battle his depression and the side effect is that he almost seems to never have any emotion, good or bad.The other Will Grayson, told by John Green, is a character who would rather just stay on the sidelines. But this isn't always possible due to his friendship with Tiny, who is always the center of attention. Tiny is one of my favorite characters in the story. He's honest, hilarious and larger than life and when presented next to wallflower Will Grayson he is even more outrageous. His character could have easily been cartoonish or a stereotypically flamboyant gay man but John Green and David Levithan manage to make Tiny believable and very likable. The story moves quickly and the characters deliver humor and honest in a fun and easy read.
Reader's Annotation: The last thing high schooler Will Grayson expected to find in a porn store in downtown Chicago is another high schooler named Will Grayson. But that is exactly what happens. Now their lives seems to be overlapping due to the one Will Grayson's openly gay and flamboyant friend Tiny who is everything but tiny and his musical. But when both Will Grayson's are trying to stay out of the limelight how will they deal with Tiny suddenly thrusting them both into it?
Book Talk Ideas: For this book talk it would be great to represent both voices of Will Grayson with either two people doing the book talk or at least two separate view points. The focus should be on how these two lives intercept and seem to keep meeting up through out the story.
Issues Present: The book has quite a few things that some may take issues with. There is a lot foul language, talk of sex, teens with fake IDs, and there is a big focus on gay teens.
Main Themes: relationships, friendship, homosexuality, sexuality, depression
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: First the book presents gay teens in a way that allows them to be more than just a stereotype. It also shows the complexity of friendship and romantic relationships, whether those be gay or straight. Both Will Grayson's struggle with issues, one with depression and the other with living life on the sidelines. Teens can relate to their struggles and maybe find comfort in their ability to overcome some of the issues they struggle with.
Read alikes: Freak Show by James St. James, Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Author Website: http://johngreenbooks.com/
http://www.davidlevithan.com/
Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews
Publisher's Weekly
Why Chose this Book? Both David Levithan and John Green are popular and critically acclaimed teen authors in their own right. They tend to focus on realistic teen issues and present teens in a way that shows them as emotional, intelligent and complex. This book does a great job of showing how teens interact with both friends and romantic relationships.

Before I Die

Title: Before I Die
Author: Jenny Downham
Publishing Info:  Sept. 2007
ISBN: 0385613466
Pages: 326
Price: $18.99
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 6th grade
Interest Level: 10th grade and up
Awards: AlA's Teen's Top Ten (2008), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults(2008)
Plot Summary:Tessa is dying from leukemia and is given only months to live. So Tessa decides to make a "Before I Die" list with the help of her friend Zoey. The list includes some risky behavior and the number one thing on Tessa's list is to have sex. Tessa's parents are not too thrilled with Tessa's new quest to engage is what they see has negative and risky behavior. Tessa starts a new romance with her neighbor Adam and seems to be living life before it ends. But as Tessa's health starts to deteriorate her list becomes harder to fulfill and the importance of it comes into question as other things become more important.
Critical Review: Jenny Downham gives an honest look at a teenager dying. Because Tessa knows she is going to die she is able to show the emotions that come with facing your death at a young age. Tessa's anger comes across as a real emotion and the book doesn't seem contrived or overly sappy. The idea of Tessa creating a bucket list really helps drive the story and reflects what is important to Tessa. Risk taking and many of the things on Tessa's list are considered rights of passage for many teens and the story shows how much Tessa wants to experience all these things despite the consequences. As Tessa's health really starts to fail you start to struggle with the idea that you will loose Tessa. Even though the book doesn't hid the fact that the main character is facing death it is still emotional when the time comes. It is an ending that has you crying and leaves you emotional after it is over.
Reader's Annotation: Tessa's battle with cancer is ending with the news that she only has months to live. Tessa decides that she must live life in the short amount of time she has left and she compiles a "Before I Die' list. Though, her list is full of risky behaviors and as her health fails will Tessa be able to finish her list or will somethings be left undone.
Book Talk Ideas: The book talk could center around Tessa's obsession with marking things off her bucket list despite some of those things not being the best thing for Tessa.
Issues: The book deals with Tessa engaging in risk taking behaviors including drinking, drugs and sex.
Main themes: Cancer, death, sexuality, friendship, family
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: The story will help teens deal with death and loss. It gives a very honesty look at a dying teen and her emotions. The idea of death at such a young age can be very difficult and many books may not have the honesty that Downham delivers in her story.
Read alikes: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Author Website: http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/authors/jenny-downham
Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
Why Include this book? The book deals with themes of death, family relationships, sickness and dealing with loss.

Grave Mercy

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Other Books in the Series: Dark Triumph
Published: April 2012
ISBN: 054762834X
Page Number: 549 
Price: $16.99
Reading Level: 8th grade
Interest Level: 9th grade and up
Awards: Amazon Best Books of 2012
Genre: Fantasy(high), Romance, historical fiction
Plot Summary: Ismae, the daughter of a poor farmer, is being forced into a horrible arranged marriage. Unable to go through with the marriage Ismae flees to the convent of St. Mortain, the god of death. It turns out that Ismae is a daughter of Mortain and is taken into the care of the women of the convent of Mortain. At the convent Ismae learns how to become a handmaiden of death by learning to be an assassin. She is then sent out to carry out the will of Mortain. Though, Ismae quickly learns that things are not as simple as the convent had taught her and the perhaps Mortain has a different plan than what she was taught at the convent. Ismae's teachings will be further challenged when her latest assignment requires her to take out some one she loves. What is more important love or duty?
Critical Review: Robin LaFevers has created a great fantasy story that has love, assassins, mystery, treason and a strong and smart female lead in Ismae. The love story between Ismae and Gavriel is well written and keeps the reader on there toes till the end of the story. The love between Ismae and Gavriel is not immediate but instead it slowly grows, matures and changes through out the story. Of course there is many roadblocks on their path to love and it often seems it will never happen. Ismae is challenged by what she believes in her heart to be right and what she has been taught to be right. This struggle I think has great appeal to teens who often going through these same type of personal struggles in their own life. Ismae is a great female lead who shows intelligence, strength and perseverance throughout the story.
Reader's Annotation: Ismae is a handmaiden of the god of death, Mortain. She has been trained by nuns in the art of being an assassin and is to carry out the biddings of Mortain. Though trouble arises when she is asked to choose between her god and love. Can she really kill the man she loves or will she betray her duty to Mortain.
Book Talk Ideas: Nuns, assassins, love, intrigue, the book nearly book talks itself! There is so many different ways to draw readers to the book, it could be through Ismae a strong female lead who isn't afraid to question her beliefs or it could be through the mystery behind who is out to take down the crown of Brittany.
Issues: The book deals with the gods of old, assassins, violence and in the first 20 pages Ismae is nearly raped by her would be husband.
Main Themes: betrayal, assassins, gods, faith, romance
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: The book focuses on how Ismea must choose between what she has been taught and what she believes is right. It shows that one must follow their heart and not always take things at face value. It can also help teens realize that not everything you are taught is correct, even when the people who taught you these things are people you may respect and admire.
Read alikes: Graceling by Kirstin Cashore, The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan
Author Website: http://www.robinlafevers.com/
Professional Reviews: Publisher's Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
Why Include this book? Ismae is a strong female lead and the book has received lots of praise from reviewers and the 2nd book in the series is much anticipated.