Ready Player One (372 Pages)

Ernest Cline has written a book that certainly will appeal to any boy or girl interested in technology. Publishers Weekly calls this book "An adrenaline shot of uncut geekdom...the perfect lovable/unlikely hero." The setting of this books takes place somewhere in the United States in 2044. Wade Watts is a young teen, whose mother has died. He has been "living" with his aunt who treats him horribly. They live in a trailer which is stacked on top of many other trailers. The trailer park is called The Stacks. Because his environment is so miserable, he spends most of his time in an abandoned trailer where he has rigged a computer to allow him to go on line to Oasis, a site developed by an adult geek, James Halliday, who has died. Oasis allows Wade to escape reality and play the game Halliday invented. The game offers players the chance to win and become multi-billionaires. Every player wants "to get the egg" which is the winning object. One thing I enjoyed while reading this book is the reference to 1980"s  minutia. TV shows, Songs, Magazines etc. It's a fun read. Science fiction/Fiction/Adventure/Mystery!

The Keeper (428 Pages)

This is the sequel to Baldacci's first YA book (The Finisher). In this book Vega Jane and her best friend, Delph, attempt to escape from Wormwood going into The Quag (a place no one has ever gone before) a dangerous place full of horrible monsters who will constantly test her ability to stay alive. All she wants to know is the truth. Is Wormwood the prison she believes it is? Are there people in Wormwood who control the thinking and behavior of the residents. Vega is a fighter who never gives up, and she and Delph will be tested over and over in this final book.

The Finisher (497 Pages)

This is David Baldacci's first YA book. It's an interesting read, partially because he made up vocabulary to match the imaginary setting. Also because his main character is a young girl named Vega Jane, a feisty young lady who believes that Wormwood, where she lives holds some disturbing secrets. She works alongside Quentin who teachers her his craft of finishing the metal work other workers started. Suddenly, Quentin disappears. Vega knows he was chased, and the strange thing is that no one ever leaves Wormwood. Baldacci weaves a story that grips the reader from start to finish. Any student who enjoyed the Harry Potter series, will find this book a wonderful read- if a bit of a challenge.

the truth about forever (374 Pages)

Sarah Dessen has a knack about writing books that hook readers with believable characters that often remind them of themselves! In this book, Dessen creates a young girl, Macy, who has a summer job she hates. But she's doing it for her boyfriend, who is a complete jerk, in my opinion! But her mother believes it will look good on her resume. After all, she's working the desk at the local library. Then she meets Wish Catering- and more important, she meets Wes! Macy gets very involved working for The Wish, and simultaneously finds herself falling for Wes. This is a wonderful read. My daughter didn't want it to end, and neither did I. But isn't that what happens when you read a book that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go?

Stella by Starlight (320 Pages)

I think I've read every book Sharon Draper has written, so when I saw this, I grabbed it. There was no disappointment as has been true with all of her other writes. I've enjoyed them all! Stella lives in North Carolina  during the time of segregation. She is shocked one night when her little brother wakes her up to come with him to see something. Reluctantly she gets out of bed and is surprised to see a meeting of the Klan.  She makes her brother be absolutely quiet as she observes the proceedings. Then they quickly return home and wake up their parents. The Klan has not been active in their area for years, but Stella is sure she recognizes one of the horses. What happens in this book is that some of the men begin to stand up for their beliefs. There are three of them, and they all go to register to vote. They had to argue to convince the registrar to allow it, but they won. And then the Klan took revenge. This is a book that is important one that teaches about a difficult part of our history. Thanks, Sharon Draper...again!

Every Thing Every Thing ( 306 Pages)

This is Nicola Yoon's first YA book, and I hope it won't be her last! Here is her premise: What if for as long as you can remember, you have been told that you are desperately sick.  Your home, your bedroom, your clothes are all set to accommodate your illness. The air system in your home is set to exchange the air on a regular basis, the entrance is made to accommodate those who are entering by assuring they are not carrying anything dangerous like virus, infection etc. One day a new family moves in next door. That family consists of a mother, father, a daughter and a very handsome boy. Madeline has only seen two other people for her whole life: her mother, who is a doctor, and her nurse, Carla. So when she sees Olly, something interesting develops. Eventually they begin to text each other. And one day, Carla breaks every rule in the book and allows Olly to enter the home while the mother is away. This occurs several times and one night, Maddy overhears Olly's dad yelling at Olly and Olly's mother. She runs to her window and sees the drunken father hit Olly. This breaks her heart, and she runs outside to his side to be sure he is OK. Her mother is furious and says that she could have compromised her own life! After several weeks, her mom allows everything to return to normal in the house. So, eventually Maddy realizes that since nothing happened, she needs to be free to live a normal life. She secretly gets an airplane ticket for both of them to go to Hawaii. She has a hotel reserved, and she realizes that she is living. And then she gets seriously sick. Her mother comes to rescue her, brings her home, and Maddy tries to end all contact with him. And then she gets a letter from the doctor who cared for her in Hawaii, and her life changes forever. Your students will ADORE this book.

Circling Jupiter (183 Pages)

I LOVE Gary Schmidt! Whenever I see his name in the new book section of bookstores, I grab it. His earlier book, Wednesday Wars is one of my all time favorites. This book is a close second. It is a bit of a tear jerker, but there is a happy ending. Joseph is a foster child who comes to live with Jack and his family. He was given some yellow pills with a promise of making him feel better, but instead the pills made him immediately become violent. When a teacher comes into the boy's bathroom to look for him, he flies at her attempting to strangle her. This resulted in his being incarcerated in a juvenile detention center.  Upon his release, he shows up with his social worker at Jack's home, a farm where he learns to milk a cow...eventually. But Joseph has some unusual phobias. He doesn't like anyone behind him- ever. He doesn't like to be touched- ever. It turns out that although he is barely fourteen years old, he is the father of a baby girl. His girlfriend,  Madeline Joyce, had complications during delivery, and died. The baby is named Jupiter, who Madeline and he both decided was their favorite planet. This is a short book, but it is powerful, and will be adored by your students- boys and girls!

Cinder (387 Pages)

My friend, Katie, wanted me to read this ages ago, but I hesitated. I don't know why. This is a great read. I want to read the sequel. This novel is a take on the old Cinderella story we all grew up knowing, but with a twist. There is a mean step mother, and two step sisters (only one of them is mean). There is no fairy godmother, no pumpkin, no mice etc. BUT, there is a prince. Cinder is a cyborg, she has an android, she is a very accomplished mechanic. The prince is told she's the best mechanic in the country and brings his broken android to her to fix. And so they meet....Suddenly, Cinder finds herself swept into an inter-galactic struggle involving impossible attraction. She is faced with everything that makes this such a good read: loyalty, duty, freedom, and betrayal. It's a very good read!