Jory is getting ready to embark on her senior year. But there are a few things that she wants to accomplish over the summer that are essential to senior year success. One is to find her passion. Jory is very uncoordinated and appears to lack grace. She tries yoga, after her mother’s cabbage soup diet…not a good combination. Her second goal is to turn her crush on Tyler into a reality. But Tyler and her friends have other plans. And finally, she has to get a summer job to save up for a nose job. She is convinced that having a more perfect nose will make her more appealing to everyone.
Let’s just say that Salter weaves an intricate tale of “You can’t always get what you want” and “the grass isn’t always greener” through a series of hilarious and heartwarming mishaps all starring Jory and her friends. I read this book in one sitting and have already dug into the next one that Ms. Salter sent me for the library! I was thirty pages into Swoon at Your Own Risk when I realized I was burning dinner! Ms. Salter is an author to watch…check out her website: http://www.sydneysalter.com/.
This edgy first novel written by Brooke Taylor skyrocketed to the top of my favorite books for High School Kids by about the third page! Kori and Serena are best friends and couldn’t be more different. The girls have to make a list of 5 things that they think would never really ever happen, seal it in an envelope and turn it in to their teacher. At the end of the year, their teacher will hand it back and see if any of the things that the wrote down actually come true. Only Serena’s life gets up-ended when Kori’s list finds its way into her hands in the aftermath of tragedy. Can Serena make Kori’s “never happen” list a reality?
I really enjoyed this book. It has quite a bit of profanity, but it isn’t out of place. It fits with the story. To find out more about the author, her website is: www.brooketaylorbooks.com
If you like Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson or if you are a Chris Crutcher fan, Fat Kid Rules the World is y
our book. K.L. Going writes a very powerful novel about the power of friendship in the midst of crisis. Troy is the fat kid that everyone pretends isn’t ther. Heck…sometimes even Troy pretends to fade. But when he meets up with the high school music legend Curt MacCrae, his whole life shifts with a different perspective. All of a sudden, Troy wants to be good at something. He wants to play drums. But being friends with Curt isn’t easy. Troy is pretty sure that Curt steals drugs and money from his parents. But Troy likes the feeling of having friends and a purpose. In Troy’s journey of self-discovery, Curt learns a little about himself too.
This book held me captivated from page one. I had started it before I had to hit the road on my vacation and found that every time I stopped to buy gas or get a soda, my stops got longer and more frequent til I finally admitted to myself that I just needed to stop driving and read! (Fortunately, I was traveling alone and no one was expecting me…) So I holed up at a greasy spoon and dug in. The writing in this book was fluid, funny, sharp and heart-wrenching. More than once I found myself tearing up. I highly recommend this book to all those kids looking for a story that seems like it might not end right…Because who are we to say what is right?
Check out her website at: http://www.klgoing.com/
In the nature of Carl Hiaason’s YA novels Hoot and Flush, Kristen Chandler’s first novel is set in Yellowstone National Park where the wolf population is dwindling after their reintroduction. KJ is an outdoorsy type girl who loves to spend time with her dad leading fishing and hiking expeditions out of their small town of West End, Montana. But when Virgil and his mom show up, life in their peaceful sleepy town get stirred up. KJ finds herself in the midst of a battle between those who want to save the wolves and the ranchers who want them destroyed.
I read this book while I was on a vacation in Kansas and had very little to do in between meetings. I found that I wanted to keep reading because just when I thought I had the bad guys figured out, the plot twisted. I was captivated by the rich characters and innovative plot. The theme for this book would be Team Virgil or Team Ranchers…I am so Team Virgil!!! Her website is awesome! http://www.krischandlerstories.com/
Sami has been fitting in with his friends just fine ever since fourth grade. But it is a slightly tenuous relationship because Sami is Muslim and his father just got arrested for being associated with a known terrorist. Now his life is turned upside down as he tries to figure out how his father is associated with this other man. He not only has to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but determine who he is in the process.
Sami’s friends are a couple of regular teenaged kids with their own life dilemmas, but I like that they stick by Sami through thick and thin. Just when the reader thinks that they are going to take off and leave him to sort it out on his own, they become stand up friends. This was a remarkable book, one every teenage boy should read if they are struggling with trying to figure out just where they stand in the world, no matter their ethnicity.
Check out Stratton’s website at: http://www.allanstratton.com/
Ben Campbell is mad when he and his two dads move from the gritty city streets where temptation to act out is abundant to Rough Butte, Montana where life is as slow as molasses. Ben is even more stymied when they move in and he meets his next door neighbor, Billy.
Billy’s dad is not treating Billy right and Ben is determined to find out what is behind all of the angry words and actions. In the midst of all of the turmoil next door, Ben makes friends, and enemies, in the small town as he lets his hair spikes and guard down and opens himself up to new experiences.
It was difficult to say what I liked most about this book. Ben is a very like-able character who is obviously trying to figure out where he belongs. His dad is struggling with his own identity in this small town. His new Grandma is also one tough old bat, but she is just watching out for Ben. Or if I liked Billy the most. Sweet, misunderstood, obedient Billy who just wants someone to love him. For a first novel, Harmon has done a spectacular job of creating a believable story line with endearing characters. I picked it up and didn’t set it down until I was done! Spectacular!
Check out Michael Harmon on his website at: http://www.booksbyharmon.com
Lifted is Wendy Toliver’s third young adult novel and I must say, edgiest! Main character, Poppy, has just moved to a small town in Texas after having lived in Boulder, Colorado. She is enrolled in a Baptist School and she is not really sure exactly where she is going to fit in. While she is not exactly a bad girl, she isn’t exactly a model citizen either and she makes friends with two of the most popular girls at school. But she finds out that they have a bad habit. One that she takes to like a fish takes to water. She learns the exhilaration and rush that shoplifting gives her. The question is…will she be able to stop and still keep her friends?
I loved this book. Poppy is a believeable character with dynamic personality. I really wanted her to be successful in her attempts to stop lifting. But more, I really wanted her to get with the preacher’s son, David. But more, I wanted to see her and her mom have a real conversation without fighting. Toliver has woven a plot that kept me turning pages til the very end! I didn’t predict how all of it would come to a close, because the ending was so surprising. I want to see more of Poppy and her friends or more edgy characters like her! Great novel.
Look for it on the bookshelves at PVMS and at local booksellers!
Pic from: http://www.wendytoliver.com/lifted.htm
Oh my goodness! I forgot how much I absolutely love summer vacation! I have been reading like a crazy woman and have been so wrapped up in the books that I haven’t been able to get them written up to get out to you! Here are the titles I have finished and will be sending your way in the next few days:
**Lifted by Wendy Toliver
**Zen and the Art of Faking it by Jordan Sonnenblick
**The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
**The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
**Savvy by Ingrid Law
**Wolves, Boys and Other Things that Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler
**Riker’s High by Paul Volponi
**American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Lang
What is sitting on my nightstand still to read?
** Undone by Brooke Taylor
**The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian
**Gifts by Ursula K. LeGuin
**Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
**The Sky Village by Monk and Nigel Ashland
**The Boy who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
**Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
**Names Will Never Hurt Me by Jaime Adoff
**Box Out by John Coy
**Birdwing by Rafe Martin
Plus my buddy Wendy Toliver has let the YA authors out there know that I love to read and tell you about it so they are sending me their names, websites and some of them are even sending me a book (for our library!). In exchange I get to tell you all about them. The authors that have contacted me are:
–Stephanie Hale www.stephaniehale.com
–Melissa Walker www.melissacwalker.com
–Tina Ferraro www.tinaferraro.com
–Jessica Brody www.jessicabrody.com
I should start getting titles from a couple of these authors at the end of the week, the rest I will hunt down on amazon or at the bookstore! Once I read them, they go into the library! (Either mine or PVHS-depending on the content!!) Either way you will be able to get your hands on them! Really looking forward to reading some great titles!
Let me know what you are reading. Is anyone taking the summer reading challenge??
Tending to Grace. It is a lovely story about a young girl, Cornelia, with a stutter who is treated poorly by educators because of her inability to project her thoughts through speech. If her life wasn’t bad enough with the stuttering, then she must overcome her mother. That is a feat in itself. Mom is concerned about herself and the boyfriend she is currently dating. They drop her off with an aunt and it is there that she learns to accept life as it is and speak for herself. I couldn’t put it down.
Jory is getting ready to embark on her senior year. But there are a few things that she wants to accomplish over the summer that are essential to senior year success. One is to find her passion. Jory is very uncoordinated and appears to lack grace. She tries yoga, after her mother’s cabbage soup diet…not a good combination. Her second goal is to turn her crush on Tyler into a reality. But Tyler and her friends have other plans. And finally, she has to get a summer job to save up for a nose job. She is convinced that having a more perfect nose will make her more appealing to everyone.
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