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Our blog is doing fairly well with 47 visits and 71 total page views in the past 30 days but we aren't stopping there! The JCLC Reader's Advisory Roundtable will soon have a presence on Facebook!
April found a provocative article discussing the idea of book ratings for children's and teen materials. In this article a passage from John Green and David Levithan's book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, is mentioned out of context and used as an example to make the author's case.
On to the list! There is truly something for every reader, serious to silly, on this list so have a look and consider a display of these materials at YOUR library!
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Mondretta Williams, Leeds Library
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Sometime in the future , a 16-year old girl names Katniss Everdeen lives with her older sister and mother in North America in a place called District 12. People in District 12 are poor, and since her father’s death in a coal-mining accident , Katniss has had to hunt game with a bow and arrow to supplement her family’s meager supplies. District 12 is far from the Capitol City, Panem, a place Katniss never expects to visit .
Then comes the day of “reaping” when her beloved sister Prim is randomly chosen to represent District 12 in the annual Hunger Games. Immediately, Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take her sister’s place in the Games, which are held each year in the capitol. The Hunger Games have elements in common with the Olympics (coaches, training, and a spectacular opening ceremony) and with reality TV shows (constant cameras, obstacles, a manipulated environment in the arena.)
The purpose of these games is far more gruesome and terrifying. Of the 24 young people who compete, only one will survive. To win at the Hunger Games you must kill all your opponents, even if they become your friends.
Young adults and older adults will be riveted by Collins’ novel. The Hunger Games combines elements of an intense survival adventure with a story of friendship and love. But the book is more than a page-turner with a strong appealing heroine. The Hunger Games is a powerful and often disturbing story that is sure to spark intense discussion not just about Katniss Everdeen’s world, but about our own.
Mondretta Williams, Leeds Library
If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser
This story begins with a 12 year old boy, who lives in the projects surrounded by guns, drugs and violence. Readers will find themselves drawn to DeShawn’s story and hoping for a positive outcome by the end of the book.
April Wallace, Irondale Library
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Wintergirls is a gut-wrenching story that I highly recommend to anyone who knows someone who has/is struggling with an eating disorder. While reading this book you will live life through the eyes of an anorexic teenager whose thoughts and body image are so deluded she is on the road to permanently destroying her body.
April Wallace, Irondale Library
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Elizabeth Scott’s previous books are much lighter reads – this book takes is a disturbing look at a broken girl. It will haunt you, reading the story of “Alice,” a 15 year old girl who was abducted at the age of ten and has been living with her abusive captor even since.
April Wallace, Irondale Library
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Miles arrives to an Alabama boarding school (based on Pelham, AL’s Indian Springs school that John Green attended as a teen) looking for something to shake up his boring existence. Miles’ life is indeed changed when he meets Alaska Young, an adventurous, beautiful, charismatic yet somewhat self-destructive girl. John Green’s books are very clever and sophisticated; older teens may strongly relate to the stories, but adults can appreciate his writing, too.
April Wallace, Irondale Library
After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
This is a great story of a three 11 year old girls who become close friends in the Bronx in the mid 1990s. This title is a lovely story about friendship that will appeal to adults who themselves grew up in the 90s.
April Wallace, Irondale Library
The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
Sex & the City fans will be thrilled to get their hands on this! This is a YA book that tells about Carrie Bradshaw’s teenage years growing up in a small town. It is a cute story that fans of the show will love but non-SATC viewers would enjoy, too.
April Wallace, Irondale Library
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library
Jason Baker, Trussville Library
100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library
The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library
Vampirates series by Justin Somper
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library
Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Gina Robertson, Gardendale Library
Dragonback Adventures series by Timothy Zahn
Fourteen year old Jack Morgan has been on his own for years and is now on the run after being framed for a crime he did not commit. During his escape attempt, he comes across a crashed spacecraft. Unbeknown to Jack, the only survivor is the K'da warrior Draycos. Draycos can only survive if he finds another host IMMEDIATELY and Jack becomes that host. He agrees to help Jack clear his name if Jack will help him find out who betrayed Draycos' people. Excitement, adventure, and great world building!
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library
C.S.I. Intern At Your Own Risk manga series by Sekou Hamilton
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library
Vampire Knight manga series by Matsuri Hiro
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library
Maximum Ride manga series by James Patterson
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library
Dragon Jouster series by Mercedes Lackey
Maya Jones, BPL West End Library
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
To the outside world, Ed is not much to look at. He is 19 (though his employer thinks he’s 20), unathletic, ambivalent, unmotivated, and drives a taxi for a living. He has three good friends (Marv, Richie, and Audrey) with whom he plays cards occasionally. He has one exceptionally smelly dog, The Doorman. His more successful siblings have all moved out of this tiny Australian town, leaving him to the very strained relationship he maintains with their mother. He works, he sleeps, and he drinks coffee with The Doorman. That’s about it…until the first ace arrives in his mailbox. Three addresses are written on the playing card. Four aces equal twelve mysteries and Ed will find the answer to his questions only after he visits each one. This book, along with all Markus Zusak’s novels, is in our young adult collection but, for this one especially, I would recommend for mature readers only (language, sexual situations, violence, mature theme...does that sound too much like the MPAA?). I have avowed since my first reading of this book that I would place an "I Love Ed Kennedy" bumper sticker on my car just to see who got the reference. A perfect blend of reality and magical realism, I am the Messenger is a feel-good book though the ending does seem a bit forced, like Zusak got all the way to the last couple of pages and just wasn't sure what to do with it. Until that point, I was mesmerized. The language is gorgeous, even the angry bits, and littered with Australian...lingo? Colloquialisms? Whatever the word is. There are beautiful turns on phrase like "their voices slammed and the door shouted shut". I'm pulling that from memory so please allow for mistakes :-) Anyway, imagine a virtual standing ovation sound effect overlaying this discussion and you'll have my opinion!
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library
Marie, Dancing by Carolyn Meyer
Fourteen-year-old Marie van Goethem is only truly happy on the ballet stage. Her family is starving because of her mother's constant drinking and her older sister's chronic selfishness while Marie works herself to the bone to make a living as a dancer. With her little sister coming up the ballet ranks behind her, Marie is desperate to provide both a better example than her older sister AND some income for the family. Her luck just may be changing now that she is posing for a sculpture for Edgar Degas. As she stands before him, Marie dreams of all that she desires from the world: a life without poverty, of being with her one true love, and of becoming a star of the ballet. Will Marie be able to overcome the obstacles before her and rise to fame and fortune on the ballet stage? This wonderful book tackles many of life's toughest choices while still leaving room for hope and dreams. Meyer also brings 19th century Paris to life for her readers, making this an apt choice for fans of Tracy Chevalier and Susan Vreeland.
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Helen has drifted around for the last 150 years haunting various humans for the length of their lives, yet never really bothering them. Today, for the first time in the great span, she feels someone looking at her. No one has EVER seen her since she died and the sensation of his eyes upon her is uncomfortable and disturbing. Helen - terrified, but intrigued - is drawn to the young man. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess. Dark, heartbreaking, gothic, and sexy...this is a great book for older teens and any adult reader, AT ALL, who enjoyed the Twilight books or Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books.
Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal Library
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Sally Sizemore, Hoover Library
Eli the Good by Silas House
Eli, 10, spends the summer of 1976 riding bikes with his friend Edie, reading Anne Frank's diary, talking with his Aunt Nell, and watching his Vietnam-vet father experience flashbacks. He observes his mother trying to ride out various storms: 16-year-old Josie's rebellious attitude; the anger between her husband and his sister, Nell (who protested the war); and the flashes of violence and despair that wrack her spouse. Eli is curious, thoughtful, and not above eavesdropping or snooping through personal letters to find out things that his family would prefer to keep private. He learns that Nell came home with cancer; that he and Josie do not share a biological father; and how his father felt after killing a man in the war. Nell nicknames him Eli the Good, and he is. He is a decent kid, just trying to understand his family and the world around him. He makes mistakes, but he learns from them, and simply wants the best for those he loves. Silas House writes as beautifully and evocatively as he did in earlier adult novels. Atmosphere is lovingly described, the sights and sounds of the summers you experienced in your youth abound. He puts you there physically into the setting of each and every story. He lays out Eli's world in exquisite detail. A Bicentennial celebration, along with mentions of pop songs and clothing styles, sets the stage,and the story flows along, carrying readers and Eli to the end of summer and beyond, into a brief glimpse of his life as an adult.
Leslie West, Vestavia Library
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Theresa Davis, Hoover Library
Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Theresa Davis, Hoover Library
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Theresa Davis, Hoover Library
Angels Trilogy by Lurlene McDaniel
The Angels Trilogy is three stories (Angels Watching Over Me, Lifted Up By Angels, Until Angels Close My Eyes) in one volume by one author. Each story has angels, life issues, English and Amish.
Leah was very alone in her hospital room. Her mother and Leah's new step dad were in Japan on their honeymoon. Even though she just had a broken finger, Leah's doctor admitted her to the hospital. While there sixteen year old Leah met five year old Rebekah, her sister Charity and teenage brother Ethan. Her new friends were Amish -people she had heard of and maybe had seen but did not know. This "chance" meeting would change her world. To them, Leah was "English." Rebekah and Leah were roomies in the hospital and supported each other through difficult times. Both also met Molly and Gabriella. Molly was the nurse who cared and listened to her patients. Gabriella came to them at night and was with them when needed. But no one else knew her. She just was and they liked her. Leah liked Ethan very much as soon as she met him. He was also there when Leah had no family present during medical testing and trying news. Ethan was trying on the English ways but yet knew he was Amish. His identity was blurred and yet not. Leah was unsure of her identity, too, with divorce and abandonment family problems. They were from two very different worlds but both were having similar crises in their lives. When Leah spent a summer visiting Ethan's world she understood even more about being on the edge of Amish and English. Where did she belong? Where did he belong? Could they be together in one world or the other? Cancer appeared in two lives in these stories. This was a truly scary prospect for both and for those who loved them. Plans made were suddenly on hold. Lives were turned upside down. Ethan was there in the English world being a good worker and a calm voice of love and caring. And he must decide where he belongs and what he wants to do with his life. Ethan and Leah are two people very much in love and both searching for meaning and belonging.
Beth Hutcheson, Homewood Library
According to our narrator, Death, Liesl first became a book thief at the gravesite of her younger brother. On the way to the home of her fosterfamily, her brother dies and is buried. Liesl spots a book on the ground in the cemetery and steals it. Life with her foster family in Nazi Germany is certainly not easy. With all the deprivations war brings, not to mention the added drama of a young Jewish man hiding in their basement and her father already not in good standing with the Nazi party, Liesl must continually face challenges. Ultimately, this is a story of human survival amidst very difficult circumstances and a reminder thoughout of the power of words.
Marylin Sessions, Springville Road Library
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Set in the future, Anderson’s novel follows a group of teens in a world where almost everyone has been implanted with a computer chip at birth, a feed, which links their brains to the Internet; along with its constant advertisement-information barrage. The book’s two main characters are Titus, whose personality is like vanilla ice cream – he is easy-going and follows mainstream culture. Then he meets Violet, a home-schooled girl who shows Titus that “the feed” is watching him and he should analyze the feed, his life, and be much more critical of the media and consumerism. Adults will appreciate Feed’s satire, and its Orwellian (Big Brother) and Brave New World (Cloning) overtones. Anderson does a very good job mimicking teen dialogue and inventing his own, futuristic slang (unit = dude, mal = bad, really = meg, a pretty girl is "youch"). As the story progresses, Titus must reconcile his old perceptions of the “truth” and his world views with what he sees as Violet’s reality. The audio book version does an excellent job of re-creating the feed’s “broadcasts” in the character’s brains. The story is plausible enough that the possibility of some of its aspects becoming reality is quite unsettling, highly recommended for mature teens and adults.
Chris Roddy, East Ensley Library
The Navigator by Eoin McNamee
Leigh Wilson, North Birmingham Library
