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!

the rules of survival (259 Pages)

The only thing better than finding forgotten money in a pocket, is finding a new book you forgot about for years. When there still was a Borders bookstore, I bought a paperback book that looked "interesting!" the rules of survival by Nancy Werlin, was discovered as I was cleaning and purging. I am so glad I rediscovered this National Book Award Finalist! It is a terrific read and screams for class discussion. Gee, I wish I was still a middle school ELA teacher! But this could be read as a book club read as well. My copy is in paperback and includes bonus material of possible discussion questions- lesson plans ready and waiting! Matt is the protective big brother of his two sisters. His mother is mentally ill/unbalanced, and is constantly varying her behaviors so that the children never know what to expect. PLEASE look into this book as a possibility for your classroom. It is sad, but offers hope at the end, and your students will LOVE it...(Boys & Girls!!)

Girl On Line ( 344 pages)

Zoe Sugg has written a WONDERFUL new YA book! Your Girls will inhale it. So, yes, it is a literary chick flick, but so delightful you will adore it.  It takes place mostly in England, but some of it is set in New York City. Penny has created a blog where she is able to anonymously post her feelings and everything that matters to her  without the fear of being castigated by her "frienemies"! The book is all about family, friendship, coming of age, jealousy, awkwardness, self-doubt, and everything most teenage girls experience. (Just in case I didn't cover it all!) This one is a winner, folks. Grab it and read it before your students get hold of it or you will not see for months- if ever!

Somebody Up There Hates You ( 238 Pages)

Hollis Seamon has written a novel that rivals The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. In this book, a seventeen year old boy meets a fifteen year old girl in a hospice unit. They both have cancer and they both want to make as much of their remaining days as possible. Richard Casey, the seventeen year old, is very funny, a bit of a big mouth, and a general pain in the ass to the nursing staff. He is the only child of a young mother who gave birth to him when she was sixteen. His grandmother had the same experience. In addition to mom and grandmother, Richard also has a talented uncle, Phil, who drives his mother crazy, but provides Richard with great fun.  While in the hospice, Richard meets Sylvie who comes from a family of old money and social status- just the opposite of Richard's family. This book explains much about hospice policies and the experience of living (or dying ) in a hospice. Your student will adore this read.

Grasshopper Jungle ( 388 Pages)

This is the MOST ridiculous book I've ever read. Author Andrew Smith claims to have written numerous short stories and articles. This is apparently his 7th novel. I won't be gracing Mr.Smith with any more of my reads. Are you getting my reaction? Perhaps a horny teenage boy might enjoy this read. However, I'm not able to fit either of those characteristics! Told in 7th grade Austin's voice, the book deals primarily with Austin and his best friend, Robbie. Robbie is gay, and Austin isn't sure if he's gay or not. He loves Robbie, but he also love Shann, his girlfriend. Anyway, Austin and Robbie are skateboarders who skate in this alley behind an almost deserted shopping center. Austin has a part-time job working on Saturdays for Shann's step-father in a consignment shop. This store and the adjoining liquor store are two of the stores still open on one side of the alley. On the other side is a pizza restaurant. Johnny McKeon owns both the liquor store and the consignment shop, where he keeps his office. One night Austin takes the key (hidden above the office door) and goes into the office. There are all kinds of strange bottled things around the office: a bottle holding a two headed baby, a bottle holding what looks like a blue sponge or a blue brain, and bottles holding other body parts. Austin just has to show Robbie what he found. While they are in there, three bullies break in through a hole in the wall between the shop and the liquor store. Robbie and Austin hide under Johnny's desk. The boys think they hear someone in the shop and so they leave, but as they leave, they take the bottle carrying the blue sponge/brain. It breaks in the alley and Robbie later cuts himself on the glass. He bleeds and leaves part of his name in blood on the pavement. It turns out that what was in that bottle was the remnant of an experiment of Johnny's older brother's business. This experiment created horny, 6 foot tall praying mantises who like to do only 2 things: eating and fucking. There is so much of that in the book and this constitutes the end of the world and the end of rest of the book....

The Midnight Dress (277 Pages)

Author Karen Foxlee is an Australian and a new author to me. The setting for this book is a small town in Australia. Rose Lovell arrived in this town with her father with whom she has been traveling around the country ever since her mother committed suicide. Now she is fifteen; she has never had a best friend; she has never had a home. And then she lands in Leonora, Australia where Rose meets Pearl Kelly, another 15 year old in Leonora. Pearl convinces Rose that she needs to join her (and the other young, high school ladies in the town in the annual harvest festival. She will need a dress as it is a competitive event in which one of the girls is crowned queen and two of the girls become princesses in the court. This is not the kind of thing Rose cares about, and she certainly doesn't have money to but a new gown. Pearl convinces her to go to a woman in the town who has made dresses for many of the town's women....however, there is talk about this woman being strange. Rose goes to the woman, Edie, and it is then that the reader learns about Edie's family as Edie teaches Rose how to sew. This is a very different read from most American YA authors. It is a mystery that involves betrayal, friendship, murder, and coming of age for two young girls.