Being Sloane Jacobs (327 Pages)

This book by Lauren Morrill is the literary equivalent of a chick flick! Imagine two girls, both named Sloane Jacobs. One is the daughter of a prominent Senator, and lives a rather "comfortable" life in D.C. as she attempts to perfect her figure skating. Her middle name is Emily. Her mother is a rather "pushy" person who expects her children to behave in the socially "correct" way at all times. The other, whose middle name is Devon, comes from the opposite end of the social & financial scale. Sloane Devon lives in a trailer park, she is an aggressive hockey player, with a mother who is in an alcoholic rehab program. I mention both mothers because for both girls there is an undertone of an attempt to escape the family "problems." However, this is NOT a book about slamming mothers. It is a book about two girls and the pressures of athletics. Both are headed towards Montreal for a summer camp on ice, where they are to improve their skating experience.  They meet at a hotel where both are staying the night before checking in to camp. It is there that they decide to switch places. And so the book develops with alternating chapters from Sloane Emily and Sloan Devon.  At first I thought OMG, this going to be so predictable.  But after a while, I realized it wasn't. And furthermore,  I  think girls will really enjoy this book!

The Scar Boys (237 Pages)

Wow!This novel has it all! Len Vlahos has written a book that sounds like kids. It covers it all. There is bullying, family angst, School angst, friends, and it's not only a coming of age novel, it is also a story about self discovery. Written as a college essay, Harry tells the story of his own growing up in the North East of the United States. There are parts that ring with meanness, there are parts that ring with the comfort of a good friend, and tying it all together at the beginning of each chapter is a quote from a song with the song's writer(s) acknowledged. In this book, Harry is horrible damaged by a group of neighborhood boys who tie him to a tree, and then when a thunder and lightening storm develops, they run to the safety of their homes. The tree is hit by the lightening, and Harry's face and neck are burned. And this is in the first six pages. It doesn't lose any steam from that page on. Both boys and girls will enjoy the book. Parents will enjoy it also. Warning: the language is rough in a few parts. But it is so real, so appropriate, that it didn't bother me at all. This is a keeper !

Panic (408 Pages)

Lauren Oliver has written another YA book that has me wondering how kids will respond to the ideas within its pages. The book takes place in a small town in upstate New York and focuses on four teens: Heather, Bishop, Nat, and Dodge. The four have just graduated from high school. Their town, Carp, offers little for teens to enjoy and because of this, a tradition known as Panic has developed. Panic is open only to seniors who have graduated. The summer of their senior year the students meet secretly over the course of the summer and receive messages as to when and where the next step of Panic will take place. It is an elimination process, and students learn about each Panic contest only when they arrive on the scene. The judges of Panic are unknown, and there are specific rules students must follow. Every student who decides to participate puts a set amount of money into the Panic account and the total that will go to the winner is announced at the first scene. It is basically a game of chicken and ends with a final challenge known by all as "Joust." Joust is where the final participants drive cars toward each other until one of the cars swerves to avoid a crash. There are twists and turns to the plot, part of which will be familiar to readers. However, this is a tense, frightening, and realistic fiction. How will our students today respond to this text? With intelligence or with infallible thinking?