Homeland ( 381 pages + 8 VERY interesting afterword pages)

Cory Doctorow has written a sequel to Little Brother that I reviewed in an earlier post. In this novel, he continues to focus on Marcus as the main character and leader of techie teens in San Francisco. Following a terrorist attack on San Francisco, the city experiences a severe collapse of the economy. Both of Marcus's parents have lost their jobs, resulting in Marcus needing to drop out of college. However, after he attends an annual event in the California desert known as Burning Man with his girlfriend, Ange, he meets some famous gentlemen who were early on technical whizzes. His name is passed along to a man running as an independent in the next California election. He offers Marcus a job as the campaign's webmaster, telling him that he expects some exciting new ideas. This book contains so much excitement and is a fast-paced read. The comment in the book's jacket says the ideas in this book are "as current as yesterday". It also says that Doctorow is encouraging his readers to have courage, be active, and to work to make the world a better place. And all of this being done with computers! Your students will love this book, and both you and they will gain much from reading the information included in the afterwords and the bibliography.  As a matter of fact- I might be very tempted to begin with these!

Paper Towns ( 305 Pages)

Just finished John Green's Paper Towns, and I loved it. Open to some wonderful discussions. I was one of the few people who didn't care for his Looking for Alaska, and thought An Abundance of Katherines was OK, but I adored The Fault in Our Stars. So I gave this one a chance. Boy, would I like to discuss this with some high school kids. First of all, I had never heard of paper towns until I learned that a company produced them as a means of protecting against copyright infringement. A paper town is not a real town, but is put on a map, and that is the only way it exists. In this book, Green also uses it to describe residential developments that were meant to be, but were never finished. Also, Margo Roth Spiegelman, the next door neighbor and love of his life to Quentin Jacobs, describes herself late in the book as a paper doll. If any of you recall paper dolls, you know that they were flat and without much substance. This book traces the final days of senior high school, and how a small group of friends handles the change they are about to face. It is also about friendship and acceptance and understanding ourselves and those we care about.

Little Brother (365 Pages + 2 afterwords & a Bibliography)

Before I begin to talk about this wonderful read, I want to call attention to the two afterwords and the bibliography. One afterword is written by a security analyst and talks about what a FUN job it is. The next afterword is about hacking and is very interesting. Finally, the author, Cory Doctorow, includes a bibliography that allows people interested to look at a number of cites where they can find additional information on hacking, cryptology, and other nerdy ideas. Finally, I just have to mention the author's opening sentence to the bibliography. It is a great thought for all of you budding writers. "No writer creates from scratch- we all engage in what Isaac Newton called 'standing on the shoulders of giants'." So, my friends who are thinking about some serious writing, Climb Aboard!
Doctorow has created a 17 year old character named Marcus, who is smart, a real techie, and who has already discovered how to hack his school's surveillance system. Then there is a terrorist attack on San Francisco. Marcus and his friends, like so many teens today, find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enter the Department of Homeland Security. And they don't fool around- even if you do.
I'm not going any farther in relating the plot, except to say that the events are exciting, realistic, and scary! Boys will love this book, and being a girl myself, I believe girls will enjoy it too!

Hollow City ( 396 Pages)

Ransom Riggs is the author of book two of his Peculiar Children series. It is set in London over a  three day period in September, 1940 (World War II). Jacob Portman continues to be the voice in this book. The ten children spend much of the book trying to safely make their way towards London where they hope to get some help for their beloved Miss Peregrine. They encounter adult peculiars, murderous wights, and stinking hollows, who are sort of like octopuses, that are also trying to kill them. The book includes wonderful photographs of the various characters as did the first book. If your students enjoyed book one, they will also enjoy this one, and will look forward to a soon to be published book three!

No safety In Numbers: Book 1 (263Pages)

Dayna Lorentz has written a "What If..." book in which four teens are imprisoned in a Westchester, N.Y. mall. Now this might sound like a heavenly dream to many teen readers, in this case it is far from heaven! A "bomb" of biological terrorism has been exploded through the mall's ventilation system. One of the teen's parent is a U.S. Senator. Therefore, she becomes the person in charge. The chapters of this book vary from teen to teen. Some kids may enjoy this book. It raised a "meh!" for me.

the impossible knife of memory (391 Pages)

Here is the new novel from Laurie Halse Anderson. I've read all of her YA novels and this is just as terrific as Speak was for me. In this book, Anderson presents us with Haley Kincaid, a high school senior who is attending a school for the first time. That's a really tough thing for a student to face, being a new student in your senior year! But it is made even more difficult for Haley as she deals with her father who is suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He has turned to drugs and alcohol to escape his demons, and Haley  has become his caretaker- a reverse in parent child expected relations. They are living in her grandmother's home, the home her dad grew up in, and where he believed things would improve for both of them. So things are looking pretty grim for Haley, and then she rekindles a friendship with Gracie, a friend from years ago. Gracie attempts to renew past memories from which Haley has escaped.  In addition to Gracie and Gracie's boyfriend, Topher, Haley meets and falls for Finn.  It is Finn, who accepts and soon adores Haley, that she is able to almost cope with the new school and her father's PTSD. I found this book to be a great read, an easy read, and Anderson's ability to build characters who seem so very real, and who matter to the reader only make the reading of her novel better. 

far far away ( 369 Pages)

Tom McNeal is another new YA author to me. I actually fought with the reading of this book, because in the first few pages the reader is introduced to a ghost. I don't do ghosts. I don't do vampires. Sorry, guys. But there was something about this ghost (named Jacob), and I fell in love with him. By the end of the book,  I found myself in tears- not the things one wants to do just before going to sleep. No body present to hear my snores...But I digress. Jeremy Johnson Johnson is the main character along with ghost Jacob. Also Jeremy's school mate, Ginger to become his girl friend as the plot thickens, is an absolute hoot. She is part tomboy, part tease, and is absolutely delightful. The two teens get into some trouble, and as the plot continues, it unfolds and an unbelievable mystery develops. I found myself holding my breath as well as my seat. This is a terrific read. I was very aware of the language(s) used throughout and found myself thinking this author speaks the way people really speak.  Your students will adore it and so will you.