Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen (417 Pages)

I have enjoyed all of Dessen's books, and this is no exception. Peyton is Sydney's older brother, and he has long been their mother's favorite, the golden boy of the family. He has cast a shadow over Sydney who thinks of herself as invisible. She is the good child, over looked by her mother and father as they attempt to deal with Peyton's misbehavior. But when Peyton drives drunk one evening and crashes into a young boy, paralyzing him for life, things become even more dark for Sydney. Their mother has always made excuses for Peyton's drug bust, his breaking and entering arrests and now as unbelievable as it seems, she appears to take Peyton's side as he is sentenced to jail time. And the she pops into Seaside Pizza one afternoon and she meets Mac, son of the pizzeria's owner. She also meets Layla, Mac's younger sister and they become good friend's. I really loved this book and felt a connection with Sydney that made much of the book seem so real to me. Your students will enjoy it also!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (383 Pages)

Aveyard is a new author for me. This book is a really good read covering several genres: Dystopian, Science fiction, and What If. Here is a society divided by two distinctive groups. Reds are the inferior group, who do the "grunt" work and fight for the realm. Silvers are the aristocracy, upper class, superior group. The interesting thing is that the division is based on blood. Silvers' blood is silver, and they have unbelievable "talents". Reds' blood is red! Mare Barow, the heroine, suddenly discovers that she is a cross of both. While her blood is red, she has a talent that she is unaware of until it is brought out during a moment of terror. For those students who enjoyed earlier dystopian novels, this will be a winner, and judging by the ending, it is the first in a series!

Panther by David Owen (230 Pages)

Derrick lives in a suburb South of London. His sister is depressed, and he feels her depression is having a negative effect on the entire family. One evening he hears on the radio that a panther has escaped and is roaming through his neighborhood. He is convinced that the panther is connected somehow to his sister's emotional state, and that if he catches it, everything will be OK. I'm not sure how much of then panther story is imaginary, but for the rest of the story, he plans how he will deal with the panther problem. It's an interesting story, but I don't think it is as good as It's Kind of a Funny Story which I reviewed earlier.

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini (444Pages)

This is a first read of author Vizzini for me, and it was very interesting. I'm interested in mental health and of course, even more so as it applies to teens. Craig is a bright, ambitious young man who is studying hard to get into this exclusive high School. It's important to him because he feels then he'll be able to get into a really good college. He takes the test and he aces it! Then he finds out that his best friend and best friend's girl friend also got in, with very little to no studying. The school is called Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School. How's that for a name? One night, after attending the school for a while, he feels really depressed.  This feeling doesn't go away. His parents arrange for him to see a psychiatrist, and he does. However, the feelings don't go away. Add to feelings of depression the fact that he can't eat without throwing up. His sister knows things are serious, but his parents are reluctant to admit it. One night, he simply goes out the door of his home and walks a few blocks to the psychiatric hospital and checks himself in. He tells them that he feels like killing himself. There is no room in the adolescent wing, so he is put in with adults. How things turn around for him, how he discovers his niche, how he befriends the others in his unit, and how he meets someone and falls in love is what this story is about. It is a must read. I loved it.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares (242 Pages)

Ann Brasheres is well known for her series Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants which I enjoyed, as did my middle school students. So I HAD to pick up this book written by her! This is a fantasy book, but it's also realistic. Is there such a thing as realistic fiction? If so, this book fits the bill! Fantasy, mystery, young love, science fiction, family, values....this book has it all! Your students will really love it, as I did!

The Improbable theory of Ana & Zak by Brian Katcher (326 Pages0

Ana Watson is a good girl. She always does what her over-protective parents expect of her. She is the star of her school's quiz bowl team. Zak Duquette is a bright under-achiever. He hands in a final essay for his health class that is completely copied from Wikipedia. His teacher,  Mrs. Brinkham , has a deal to offer him. If Zak agrees to join the quiz bowl team, his grade on the essay will be erased. He agrees. Then he finds out that the state competition is to take place the same weekend that his annual Wahingcon Sci-fi convention is scheduled. Of course he has also complicated everything by talking non-stop about the convention to Ana's little brother, Clayton. What happens during that weekend is what this book is about. It is a delightful story of two teens and their hilarious versions of he said/ she said. It's a fun read.

No Such Person by Caroline Cooney (246 Pages)

It's been a long time since I've read a Caroline Cooney book, but she is such a master of craft, that I couldn't resist her latest book. It is the story of a family who owns a summer cottage on a river. Two sisters, Lander (the perfect one) and Miranda the younger sister ( who feels she is not as bright, pretty, etc. as her older sister. Lander begins dating this dashing, handsome young man and it looks like the perfect summer romance is forming. However, Miranda is concerned and tries to warn her sister that something about him doesn't seem so good.  Out for an evening of dinner and a romantic cruise around the river, the young man disappears saying he is going after something and will be right back. But he isn't right back and before she knows what is happening, Lander is under arrest for premeditated murder. To say Cooney has not lost her ability to create a page turner is an understatement. The reader feels Lander's desperation as she is in prison, praying for something to break, and her nightmare to end. This is an easy, fast paced read. Really good!

H2O by Virginia Bergin (327 Pages)

What if all of a sudden, rain became poison? Anyone touched by the rain would die.  Drinkable water would quickly run out. The book  is set in England, and Ruby is experiencing this assault on water. She lives with her mom, her baby step brother and her step father (whom she really dislikes). The poison rain is a world-wide occurrence.  As all of her neighbors are dying, and then Ruby's mother and baby brother die, Ruby is left with her step father who makes every effort to protect her with rules that become increasingly difficult for Ruby to obey. She finally leaves home in search of her father  and brother who live in London. Her travel is frightening and constantly testing her ability to survive. The book is fast paced, and in spite of  the reader's knowledge that it is fantasy, there is enough potential truth to cause the reader to think,"What if?"

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (278 Pages)

Obviously, there has been much talk about this book, including some saying To Kill a Mocking Bird wasn't written by Harper Lee.  This book is a prequel to that book, and the writing is different. However, I'm assuming there was a significant age difference between the time she wrote each. This book was written the the 1950's and does a effective job of depicting the time period. I was not blown away by the book, but I can't say I didn't like it. Yes, Scout returns to Maycomb as a 26 year old, and as could be expected finds much has changed. Yes, Atticus seems uncomfortably different than the one we knew and loved in Mockingbird. Much of the book brings to question the role of family when what we thought were the values that the Finch family held true, is questioned. It is very interesting to see Scout as an adult, yet I don't see it as a teaching tool as much as Mocking Bird has been. Mocking Bird has many messages for the reader, while Watchman doesn't seem to have as many "teachable messages."

Uncaged by John Sanford & Michele Cook (407 Pages)

Although this certainly was not written as a Young Adult book, it will appeal to many of today's teens. Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood looking for her brother Odin. Odin is a young computer genius, but he has hooked himself up with a group of radical animal rights activists.The group has hit a research lab in Eugene, Oregon known as the Singular Corporation. The raid was a disaster a girl was shot, Odin was able to escape with a post operated dog and some encrypted flash drives. This book is a real page turner, and your kids will enjoy it. Some of the language is a bit rough. Odin gets in touch with Shay and they are both working to put Singular out of business, with the help of an adult who has a reputation of protecting "runaways."