Sister Wife

Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka is the story of 3 teenager girls trying to find their place in their community.  Celeste is the main narrator who is struggling with her rebellious feelings against the polygamous community where she lives.  Taviana is the newcomer to the community who welcomes the structured environment after living on the streets for several years.  Nanette is Celeste’s half-sister who feels at peace with the way things are and doesn’t understand why Celeste can’t be happy.

 

Each chapter is told from a different girl’s perspective, and they combine together to create a story that grabs your attention.  What will happen to Taviana?  Will Celeste choose her own happiness or the happiness of her family?   

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner was promoted at ALA by a couple of booth reps.  The slang that the characters use takes a little while to get used to.  Once you get the hang of the language, the story is easier to follow.  Thomas wakes up and doesn't remember who he is, where he is, or how he got there.  He gets the Glade and finds other boys like him who don't remember anything about themselves before their arrival.  The boys have created a fairly well-run society and everybody has their place in the Glade.  The Maze Runner changes pace about 1/2 way through the story and is much more action oriented.  The story is part science-fiction, part mystery, part teaser.  

Back Home

Back Home by Julia Keller is the first novel that I've read that deals with the adjustments families have to make when their loved one comes home injured from fighting overseas.  I thought the book was excellent. The story deals with the changes in Rachel’s family, school, and friendships. The feelings expressed by Rachel were totally believable. The book moved me and informed me at the same time. As a reader, I learned about the technical/medical aspects of Rachel’s situation as Rachel learned so many of the new words that became a part of her family’s life after her father’s return.

Savvy

I can see why so many people talk about Savvy by Ingrid Law.  It's a different type of book.  Mibs Beaumont comes from an unusual family.  When family members become a teenager, they get a superpower.  But not the common type of superpower.  No one can leap tall buildings or fly, but some of them can control water or electricity.  Mibs is worried about what power she will gain.  Her plans for a family birthday come to a halt when her dad is involved in a car accident.  Rather than turn thirteen in the relative safety of her family, Mibs winds up gaining her savvy on a wild adventure when she tries to reach her father in the hospital.

after the moment

after the moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr is a unique story told from a male point of view.  Maia and Leigh meet through the efforts of Leigh's little sister, Millie.  Leigh is attracted to Maia, in spite of the fact that he has a girlfriend and that Maia is a girl with a lot of problems.  The book begins and ends with Maia and Leigh running into each other at a party 4 years after their romance ended.  It's what happens inbetween that's the real story.  Leigh learns that love doesn't always do the right thing and that not love story has a happy ending.  

wish you were dead

It feels a little strange to be writing about another book with a hate list.  wish you were dead by Todd Strasser is a different type of book.  Blog postings (and comments on the postings) and kidnapper's conversations are all intermingled with the narrator's story.  The narrator is Madison Archer and she tells the story about what happens when her friends start disappearing.  The story is classic mystery updated with today's technical world, blogs, IM's, facebook, Internet, texting, and other web2.o tools.  

Hate List

Hate List by Jennifer Brown is an amazing book. I cried while I was reading it eight days ago and I cried again tonight when I reread most of it. Valerie Leftman tells her story by alternating between the present, the past, and newspaper articles. The newspaper articles are about the school shootings that Valerie’s boyfriend, Nick, committed and for which Valerie may or may not have been responsible.

Valerie is wounded during the shootings, but the story is about her emotional healing. Valerie struggles with coming to grips with what happened and her part in it. Her family, her friends, and her school all have to deal with some of the same issues that Valerie is working through. The story is emotionally gripping in several places and once the story grabs you, you can’t put the book down.

I wholeheartedly recommend the book to all young adult librarians and I would like to thank Lisa Von Drasek from EarlyWord Kids and Victoria Stapleton from Little, Brown Young Readers for the wonderful opportunity to read this story. Hate List will be available in September 2009 from Little, Brown Young Readers. Please add it to your collections.