Valentine Princess by Meg Cabot

Mia (now a junior) finds an old journal from February of her freshman year and takes a second look at her first Valentine’s day with Michael. This volume is short (86 pages) and doesn’t have quite as much exciting as some of the series.

[copyright date is 2006 but this is considered volume IV 1\4]

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Ever wondered what the deal is with guys and girls? Why girls always seem to be boy crazy and why guys always seem to want to run away? And how no matter what happened, they always end up seeing a situation differently from each other? In Flipped, you’ll meet Bryce and Juli.
Bryce: All I ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to back off --you know, just give me some space.
It all started the summer before second grade when our moving van pulled into her neighborhood. And since we’re now about done with eighth grade, that, my friend, makes more than half a decade of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.
She didn’t just barge into my life. She barged and shoved and wedged her way into my life. Did we invite her to get into our moving van and start climbing over all the boxes? No! But that’s exactly what she did, taking over and showing off like only Juli Baker can. (pg 1)
Juli: The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic. It’s his eyes. Something in his eyes. They’re blue, and framed in the blackness of his lashes, they’re dazzling. Almost breathtaking.
It’s been over six years now, and I learned long ago to hide my feelings, but oh, those first days. Those first years! I thought I would die for wanting to be with him.
Two days before second grade is when it started, although the anticipation began weeks before –ever since my mother told me that there was a family with a boy my age moving into the new house right across the street. (pg11)
Once Bryce arrived, Juli couldn’t wait any longer. She ran right across the street to help. Bryce, however, saw Juli as a nuisance and ran straight to his room to hide. As so began their “friendship”. Bryce would hide and Juli would always be around. And then 8th grade arrives and both Bryce and Juli start seeing each other in a different light. What is it that has caused them to flip?

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

It’s a tale similar to that of Romeo and Juliet. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Circumstances prohibit boy and girl from being together. One cannot live without the other.

Since Twilight, Bella Swan survived a vampire attack and has settled into a happy loving relationship with her boyfriend Edward. But as fate would have it, Edward himself is a vampire. While Bella has prepared herself and is ready for life as a vampire, Edward will not have it. A paper cut and Bella’s clumsiness at her birthday party almost provide her with her birthday wish, courtesy of Edward’s brother. Edward can’t live with his part in Bella’s close encounter and would rather break up with Bella than risk her human life again. Edward and his family leave town and Bella is so heartbroken that she isn’t herself for months. Four months after the breakup, Bella finally snaps out of her funk and begins spending time with Jacob Black. The pair has become inseparable but Bella can’t allow herself to be more than just his friend. While Jacob seems to understand Bella better than anyone, she can’t explain to him why she is so interested in the adrenaline rush she gets from learning to ride motorcycles and cliff diving. Jacob makes her happy but the rush brings Edward’s voice into her head, warning her to be careful. And if she can’t be with Edward, she’ll have to settle for just hearing his voice. But Bella isn’t the only one with a secret. Jacob senses something strange happening with some of the teen boys in his tribe and soon he is also acting strange and avoiding Bella. The boys are werewolves, protectors who keep the vampires at bay. So it seems, Bella has an attraction for monsters and danger. And the danger Edward was trying to keep Bella from is only beginning.

Emily's Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies is by far one of my favorite books (and when those are things like Jane Eyre, The Master and Margarita, Les Miserables, and The Turn of the Screw, you can tell a lot about my tastes-so if you're not interested in the classics, you can probably stop reading now!)

It's brutal, like Abbie said, it's incredibly dark, gory, and full of death--and, yeah, it's about schoolboys no older than twelve. The dialogue, like Hemingway's, often eschews the "said" tag, so it's confusing! The quality of prose, though, is unparalled. It seems clipped and sparse at points, and rich with description at others. This is definitely a book young writers want to read because of it and the study of human nature within--be warned, though. Just because a book is about children doesn't mean it's for them (Lolita, anyone?).
Rating: 5Q, 3P

Dane's Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

A book that is truly unique in its delivery of a first person style novel. Charlie, a young man, is writing letters filled with some of the most shocking and relateable excerpts from his own life. He is writing simply to a "friend" and just needs to send these letters. While writing about himself and his past, he reveals the people in his life, leaving the reader to piece together bits to see the character in these people he writes about.
This story is very well written and captivating, unique, and exciting, and left me turning pages of this coming-of-age novel. Although some adult themes are found throughout the book, it's definitely worth cracking open and giving some time.
Quality: 4Q
Popularity: 4P

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Colin is a child prodigy and anagramming genius, who wants to be famous. Hassan [not a terrorist] is his lazy best friend who prefers to be a couch potato and has been delaying his entry into college. On graduation day, Colin is dumped by his girlfriend, Katherine the 19th, and Hassan decides it is high time the guys take a road trip. You see, Colin has a thing for girls named Katherine and K-19 was the 19th time he’s been dumped by one. So on this road trip, Colin has decided to use his heartbreaks to design the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, a mathematical equation that will predict the future of any relationship. Colin and Hassan soon find themselves in the middle of nowhere, Gutshot, Tennessee, where they meet Lindsey Lee Wells. She’s not a Katherine but does have a boyfriend named Colin. Colin and Hassan soon realize that the middle of nowhere might be part of the equation for predicting their future.

Mary's Review: I Don't Want to Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz

I freely admit to being a sucker for poetry books. It's true talent to be able to write a narrative in such a form and not have it be boring beyond reason. So naturally this book fell into my grasp. Not a fiction book but a memoir, Crazy is the confidings of a young woman: normal, heading off to college the same as most people her age. However, Samantha also suffered panic attacks (imagine if you will being terrified about nothing-your breathing's shallow, the world goes fuzzy-and unable to stop it or even know why). The book is the trials and tribulations of such a burden through college, a few semesters overseas and finally the sad truth: even if the little pills make it better, some things never really go away. Crazy is written in verse and a fast read, though a few chapter poems seem to be out of place in the narrative. The book reads like fiction, maybe because to think of it in terms of real occurences. Such is life. It's not always pretty.
Final Verdict: 4P, 3Q

Pay the Piper: a rock 'n' roll fairy tale by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

Do you remember the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the rat catcher, who would promise to rid towns of rats in exchange for a great sum of money? He would play his flute, attracting all the rats and micein town, then lead them to the river and drown them. It wasn’t until all the rats were gone that the townsfolk realized that what they had seen were not rats at all, but rather their own children!
But this is just a mere fairy tale, right? And fairy tales are make believe, right? Sheer fiction parents tell their children as bedtime stories. Right! Just ask Callie, a reporter for her school paper in Northhampton, Massachusetts. Real journalism sticks only to the cold, hard facts.
So here are the facts Callie has.
1. Brass Rat, the famous rock ‘n’ roll band, performed last night to a sell-out crowd.
2. She was backstage to get an exclusive interview.
That’s it. It should be easy to write a killer story. However, there’s something troubling Callie, something she just can’t put her finger on, something hypnotic about the music coming from lead singer Peter Gringas’s flute. Why did those rats in the parking lot seem pulled to it? And what did the conversation she overhead the band having with the concert promoter mean?
In order to finish the story, Callie must bail on trick-or-treating with her younger brother Nick. However, when he and the rest of the neighborhood fail to return, the story finally becomes clear.
What happened to Nick and the rest of the neighborhood children on this Halloween night? And what role does the band Brass Rat play? Will Callie be able to uncover the story in time? To discover the facts read Pay the Piper: a rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple.

Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher

Listen up Fish. Gonna give it up about a road dog named Harry Sue. I ain’t being a snitch or a cheese eater. I’m under direct order. So relax and cool your heels while I give you a little back story on Harry Sue. As you might have figured out from the joint jive, Harry Sue knows a little about prison. That’s because her con dad and conette mom have been doing time since she was five and Harry Sue is determined to follow in her family tradition and become a conette herself. There’s something you’ve gotta realize Fish. “Not all prisons have four concrete walls and a steel bunk. I say prison is a lot like home. It all depends on where your heart is (page vi).”

“Language gets out of prison every day, Fish. You may already know some slammer slang from our life on the outs. But just in case you get tangled, here it is: [check out] Harry Sue’s Joint Jive Glossary (page vii).”

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Old Shep, My Pal by Zack Paris is the most boring book I’ve ever read in my entire life. I did not have a favorite character. I hated everybody equally. The most interesting part came on the last page where it said “The End”. This book couldn’t be any lousier if it came with a letter bomb. I would not recommend it to my worst enemy. (page 4)

This is the book report Wallace Wallace gave his English teacher Mr. Fogelman. Before I tell you how Mr. Fogelman reacted, I must tell you a bit about Wallace. Wallace can’t lie. He believes in telling the brutal honest truth no matter what, which explains the book report I just read you. (He hates the fact that the dog always dies at the end of the book). Wallace is also a football player, the player who scored the winning touchdown last season, securing the championship for the Bedford Middle School Giants. He is worshipped by his classmates, which makes the suspension he received after refusing to rewrite the book report a thorn in everyone’s side.
Now let me tell you about Mr. Fogelman. Mr. Fogelman LOVES the book Old Shep, My Pal. Not only does he use this book in his English classes but he’s written it into a play, the exact play that is being performed by the Bedford Middle School drama club. So I bet you can imagine Mr. Fogelman’s reaction to Wallace’s book report. You’re right if you guessed that he was mad. He was so mad and upset that he’s given Wallace detention until he writes an acceptable book review.
In detention Wallace discovers many things. First, detention is in the gym where the drama club is rehearsing for the play Old Shep, My Pal. Second, he cannot play or practice football until he finished the book report, which is NEVER going to happen. Third, someone is trying to ruin the production but continuously pulling pranks, which get blamed on none other than Wallace. Finally, he discovers that while he dislikes the play he has some really great ideas to improve it.
Will Wallace get off of detention and back on the football field? Will Mr. Fogelman and his production of Old Shep, My Pal survive Wallace’s detention?

Abbie's Review: Lord of the Flies by Willam Golding

William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in 1954 and won many prestigious awards. I, however, am not one to give it any type of award. The book follows a group of young boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. The story is simply a way for the author to get his negative views out about the war. The story is somewhat graphic and shows all the evils that people can, and most of the time, do possess! The book is difficult to get into and the ending is awful!

Rating: 2Q-needs more work, 1P-Yech! Forced to read it.

Dane's Review: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

In this classic novel taking place in some future time, the entire world has changed from what it once was. Every job has been assigned before the people who fill them are even born. People are even manufactured! Every part of the world lives in some "cultivated society". Or does it? One high class society man tries to see if he can find any glimpse of "un-sophisticated" culture still around in the world.
This book is fairly old style, making the literature sometime difficult to follow. Adult theme might also make the book kind of arduous at times. But if you can make it, prepare for one of the best endings ever!!
I would rate this book 3Q (Readable) for quality, definitely worth reading. But a 2P (only special interest) for popularity. It's a tough book to break into.

Emily's Review: Sorcery and Ceceila, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Are you a fan of fantasy as well as a lover of the classics? Sorcery and Cecelia combines the best of both worlds. It's an epistolary novel, meaing the two main characters--Cecy and Kate--trade letters. This pair lives in an alternate Regency (the early 1800s) England, with magic. Both are endearing but Kate, I believe, is a character readers can identify with more; the book is entertaining and even mysterious, if a bit too fluffy in points. Also recommended are the two sequels: The Grand Tour and The Mislaid Magician.
Rating: 4Q-Better than most; 3P-Some teen appeal.

Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Imagine a life gripped with fear, fear of a monster that at any time could destroy your world? A life where your only concern is survival and protecting those you love? For Matt (13), Callie (11), and Emmy (5), that monster is their mother and their life is a constant nightmare. They never know when Nikki, their unpredictable vicious mother, will go on a rampage or leave for days. They are always looking over their shoulder and can never breathe easy. Nikki meets Murdoch and life seems to finally be normal, almost peaceful. But really it is just the calm before the storm. Murdoch soon sees the real Nikki and hits the road. But Nikki doesn’t take no for an answer, from anyone. Matt realizes it is his duty to find a way out, for himself and his sisters, before it is too late.

Matthew’s Rules of Survival:
1. Sometimes, the people who mean you harm are the ones who say they love you.
2. Fear is your friend. When you feel it, act.
3. Protect the little ones.
4. If you coped before, you can cope now.
5. Always remember: In the end, the survivor gets to tell the story. (back cover)
Read along as Matthew tells the story of their life, of their survival, to his young sister, Emmy.

Mary's Review: Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

Published in Britain as The Saga of Darren Shan (perhaps a more apt if less horror-oriented title, as at least half the series is spent in other locales) this series has achieved a good amount of fame in the US of A as the bestselling Cirque du Freak series. The hype is more or less deserved: the first novel has the horrendously slow pacing required of all first books in the series: it is required to inform of the 12 year old hero Darren and his best friend Steve, who manage to obtain tickets to the titular traveling show (their parents forbid it, of course making the show all the more appealing). There Darren in enraptured by one performance in particular--Mr. Crepsley and his performing spider, Madam Octa. So enraptured that he steals the rare and very dangerous arachnid. Of course he’s stolen it from a vampire, a fact of little importance until Madame Octa bites Steve, leaving Darren with a choice. He can become a half vampire and Mr. Crepsley’s assistant, or he can let Steve die. Of course Darren makes the choice befitting a hero in making, but is rewarded with something less than gratitude. Steve vows revenge, believing Darren to have stolen his rightful position as a vampire-to-be (Steve, being heavily read in such things, had long since know the truth concerning Larten Crepsley). And so the friends part on less than amiable terms, opening the gateway to the other books of the series.
Shan’s writing is far from complex but the subject matter never shies away from the harder subjects: death, good, evil, destiny, so on. Each book falls under 250 pages and takes no more than a few hours to read. Shan never fails to enchant the reader; occasional disgust with little, welcome touches of macabre, and more than a few time yank out one’s heartstrings. Worth the read, as any among Shan’s quasi-cult with tell you.
Final Verdict-3Q-Readable, 5P-Everyone wants to read it

Abbie's Review: All the Fished Come Home to Roost by Rachel Manija Brown

Rachel Brown describes her turbulent life in a Hindi ashram in her autobiography All the Fishes Come Home to Roost. The story begins when she is an 11-year-old forced to move to a Baba-worshipping ashram. The book continues with hilarious, heart-felt, and sometimes a little graphic stories of her adolescence in India. It is especially appealing to teens because it deals with Rachel's struggle with her parents and her faith. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
Rating: 4Q-Better than most, 4P-Broad general teen appeal.

**This book is not currently owned by NCPL but can be obtained through interlibrary loan.**

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn

Nature vs. nurture. How much of who we are comes from our parents and the environment we grew up in and how much are we responsible for? For example, if you grew up in a house where everyone communicates and loves one another, will you have positive relationships? What if you grew up in a house where violence and anger were king and beating someone up was the answer? Will you end up hitting your significant other and kids, thinking that it is acceptable behavior? Whose fault will it be when you hit that person: yours, theirs, or the generation before you?
These are the questions Nick must struggle with as he fights to take control over his life. Nick has been ordered by the court to attend anger management courses, keep a journal that explains his side of the story, and of course, there is the restraining order that says he must stay away from Caitlin, his ex-girlfriend. But he loves Caitlin and it was only a slap. He didn’t hit her, he didn’t do anything wrong. He loves Caitlin. And taking control of the anger, the emotions, is like Breathing Underwater.

*You can find Caitlin's story in the newly released Diva by Alex Flinn.

Mary's Review: Devilish by Maureen Johnson

For every grain of sand on the beach, there are at least six books written about the gifted misunderstood outcast who saves the day. Yes, you're in for it again. Sort of. Thankfully for the sanity of the reader our heroine is rather more compelling than the average cookie-cutter child so popular in teen lit. Jane is less interested in herself and bemoaning or rejoicing her lack of friends/popularity and more in helping her best friend, who sold her soul for the sake of popularity to the demon Lanalee. Less than a frightening name, but they say that actions speak louder than words. Help and enlightenment come in the form of some monks from Jane's Catholic school, and a young man who died some time around the early 1900s (love interest, naturally!).
Despite rather rough commenting lore, the book actually falls into relatively few of the pitfalls known to go with the demon fighting genre. The writing is slightly on the simplistic side--you'll be done in a few days, if that. But the heroes fail to annoy, the villians hold interest, and the book also features interestingly and somewhat underused secondary characters. It's not for everyone, not as a whole the book receives a final verdict of: 4Q, 4P

How To Be Popular by Meg Cabot

“POPULAR: adj. Widely liked or appreciated; liked by acquaintances; sought after for company.
Popularity. We all want it. Why? Because being popular means being liked. Everyone wants to be like. Sadly, however, not all of us are. What do popular people have in common that makes them all so popular?
They all have: *A friendly way about them. *An eagerness to pitch in and help get the job done. *An interest in everything that goes on at work or school. *A look that’s fresh and neat.
These aren’t traits popular people were born with. They’ve cultivated the characteristics that make them so popular… …and you can, too, by following the tips in this book! (Intro page)”
Steph Landry is tired of being the least popular person in her class, the butt of every joke. Besides that certain Big Red Super Big Glup catastrophe was so long ago, five years to be exact. So she has decided to enlist the help of THE BOOK, a book devoted to helping you become popular. Never mind that the book was written in the 1950s and doesn’t quite fit the times. Steph has used the Book to make choices for a new and improved back to school wardrobe and she has a newfound sense of self-esteem and courage.
Maybe this year will be different. Maybe the student body will like her idea of using a talent auction to raise money for the senior class trip. Maybe Mark Finley, the most popular guy in school, will notice her. Maybe people will forget about her one clumsy mistake and see that she is new and improved. And maybe her friends won’t think she’s losing her mind. Find out what happens when Steph decides to change herself and figure out HOW TO BE POPULAR.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Imagine a world totally based on looks, a society where people are divided into categories based on their appearance, where the ultimate goal is extreme beauty, where anyone normal is ugly. “Everyone gets to be gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?” Uglies are teens age 12 to 15, who are sent away to boarding school and live in dorms, awaiting their 16th birthday, when they are given the surgery to make them one of the Pretties. Pretties have perfect eyes, perfect symmetrical faces, perfect skin, perfect height, perfect weight; they are just perfect and Pretty. Once you are Pretty, life is a big party and you can have whatever you want. Waiting for the surgery is the worst part. Waiting to see your friends again, friends whom you haven’t seen since they were turned Pretty.
Tally is having a hard time waiting the 2 months and 29 days until her sixteenth birthday. She has decided to sneak into New Pretty Town to see her best friend Peris, but is disappointed when he sends her away, making her promise she won’t get into trouble before her surgery. After a highly risky escape, involving a bungee jacket and a fire alarm siren, Tally is on her way back to Uglyville alone. That’s when she literally runs into Shay, another Ugly who happens to share her birthday. Tally and Shay become fast friends and spend the next 2 months and 23 days hoverboarding and exploring the Rusty Ruins. Three days before their surgery, Shay has a change of heart and decides to forgo the surgery and run away to live with friends in a hidden community called the Smoke. She begs Tally to come but Tally refuses, wanting to become a Pretty and finally reunite with Peris.
The day of the surgery finally arrives and Tally is ready to leave her life as a Ugly behind, barely packing anything other than the note Shay left with secret instructions on how to find the Smoke if Tally changes her mind. Tally is taken to the hospital and waits for one long hour before realizing something is wrong. She is whisked away to another location where everyone is strange looking, not ugly but almost a cruel pretty. Here at Special Circumstances, she is informed that her surgery has been postponed and she is interrogated and left with an ultimatum. Help us find Shay or give up your opportunity to become Pretty. So Tally must decide which promise she will keep: her promise to Peris, her old Pretty friend, or her promise to Shay, her new Ugly friend. Which friend, which life will she choose? How much is Tally willing to risk in order to avoid being one of the Uglies forever?

**Sequels: Pretties, and Specials