Vanishing Girls (357 Pages)

This novel by Lauren Oliver is special and the plot twist even had me fooled! I've read three books by this YA author, and really liked two of them. I didn't enjoy Panic and was concerned that it might put stupid ideas into high school students' minds. However, I loved Before I Fall and really enjoyed Vanishing Girls. In this book two sisters, Nick and Dara, find their close relationship slipping away. Nick is older and more grounded than Dara who becomes a hellion constantly testing the waters. Nick feels obligated to protect Dara, but she is shunned at every attempt. Your girls will enjoy this read.

The Distance Between Lost and Found ( 292 Pages)

This is the first book I've read by author Kathryn Holmes; it is a winner that will appeal to most boys and girls. This book is about survival, faith, friendship, and ownership. The main character Hallelujah, has been plagued by a rumor spreading bully, Luke-the minister's son. Throughout her school year, she keeps silent all the while being tortured by the rumor Luke continues to spread. And does he enjoy her misery! She is grounded by her parents and shunned by her "friends". Finally, she goes on a church retreat hiking in the Smokey Mountains where she meets a new girl, Rachel. Rachel doesn't buy into the rumor(s) and tries to befriend Halle. While on the trip, however, Halle, Rachel and Jonah become separated from the rest of the group. With little on them to aid in survival, the three teens try desperately to cope. In the wilderness they find themselves going in circles as they try to reunite with the group. Days pass, and they have run out of health bars and water. This book will be inspirational to both boys and girls, as they learn about survival and the importance of "owning" your self esteem.

The Scorpio Races ( 404 Pages-paperback)

Maggie Stiefvater has written a Printz 2012 Honor novel that intrigued me through out. It is part fantasy, but with enough reality to make it believable. It is a story about horse races that occur every November on an imaginary island called Thisby. But don't get hooked on the imaginary island bit; Stiefvater has created a believable  world. This idea of creating a world never hit me until I read her acceptance speech for the Printz Honor award.  This would be a terrific assignment for students because it is so much more than setting! This book includes a young girl (Puck Connolly) and boy (Sean Kendrick) who gradually fall in love with each other and with their horses. Both have been orphaned, but Puck has two brothers. In addition to the development of  these two characters, there is also the conflict that the older brother has about staying on the island. He keeps saying he can't take it any more.  I can not end this review without telling about the horses in the Scorpio Race. They are water horses, and I believe they are part of an old Irish, Scottish, or Welsh fairy tale. They're called capall uisce pronounced " CAPple ISHka "- something I could never say correctly and ended just gliding over the name. These were not ordinary horses. They came from the waters surrounding the island, and they were fierce. They were meat eaters so animals and humans were not safe near them, and yet men rode them in the race every November. Men riders that is, until Puck decided to enter the race and became the first female to ride on a horse that was not a water horse. She rode in order to save her family's home. There are, of course two characters that are so mean, the reader can't help but hate them. There is also a wonderful handsome, wealthy man from California- there to purchase a horse. I was so surprised at the way this book grabbed me, and grab me it did!

Althea & Oliver ( 364 Pages)

This is the first book I've read from author  Cristina Moracho. She has written about a real illness called Kleine-Levin Syndrome. Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley are boyfriend/girlfriend and finishing their junior year of high school. The disease Oliver has succumbed to means that he falls into a deep sleep which might last for weeks or months. Then, with encouragement from his mother, Oliver enters a program at a hospital in NewYork City  which is studying other teens with this illness. There are no promises for "cure", yet there are adults who are collecting psychological  data, pharmacological data, and historical data. Oliver falls into a deep sleep at the hospital just before Althea arrives. The result of their "split" is interesting and makes for a wonderful read. This is another example of an author taking a real medical situation and creating a novel around it. Perhaps some of your students might be interested in doing the same thing!