Monster by Walter Dean Myers

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Steve is 16 and on trial as an accomplice to murder.  This is his first person account of the trial and his time in juvenile detention.

This book is amazing.  Steve tells the story in the form of a film script.  We see everything from his perspective as the court case goes on.  It illuminates the feelings that prisoners have and how they interact with each other without preaching to the reader.  I would recommend this to boys especially those who have trouble staying with a story.  The story is fast and the illustrations help to highlight the action and move the story along.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

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Andi is devastated by the death of her little brother and the end of her parent’s marriage. She blames herself for a lot of what happens and she tries to save her mom from a deep depression while attempting to hide from her own dark feelings of desperation and sorrow. Andi is a wealthy girl who goes to an elite school. When situations start to get out of control at home her father takes her on a business trip to Paris. He thinks she will work on her senior paper and get away from the things that are troubling her. What she finds in Paris is the diary of a girl her own age. The girl lived during the French revolution and was nanny to the last heir to the throne. In alternating stories we hear the events of both girls’ lives as they deal with two separate but oddly similar tragedies.


I usually don’t read said or realistic fiction. I like zombies and ninjas thank you very much, but this book blew me away. The pain is so realistic and not at all gratuitous. Donnelly tells the story so well that you can smell the gun powder from the fireworks, and feel the chill of a New York City night. I recommend this for anyone who likes realistic fiction, historical fiction, or stories about the intricacies of families. If you’ve never read YA fiction this book would be a good place to start. I also recommend Donnelly’s other book, A Northern Light.

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Peak by Roland Smith

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Peak is a fourteen old climber.  Both of his parents are famous mountain climbers.  He lives with his remarried mom is New York city, but when he runs into some legal troubles he soon finds himself out of the city and at the base camp of mount Everest.

This is the thrilling adventure of Peak's climb to the top of Everest. I loved the book and I wasn't expecting to.  I'm not a fan of realistic fiction but this story is so well told and exciting.  The story is told from Peak's perspective and his voice reads true as a teen boy.  All of the supporting characters are fully formed and add something to the story.  It's a clean read and I recommend this book to guys and girls who like adventure.  If you know of someone who doesn't want to read, this would be a good book to give to them.  The action starts on the first page and doesn't let up.  My Teen Book Club loved this book.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

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Kyle is the perfect person. He is beautiful, smart, athletic, and goes to the most prestigious school in New York. His father is rich and famous so he has all of the material possessions a person could ever want. His life is perfect until the curse. Doomed by his own hurtful prank he is transformed into a beast. Now he has two years to find true love or remain a beast forever.

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Set in modern times, and featuring a computer chat room for transformed people the story is fun and exciting. It gives new life to an old tale, while featuring some of the more classical elements of the story. I recommend this for people who like romance, and fairy tales. I can’t wait to see the movie that will be coming out in March 2011. From the movie previews I can see that Kyle is not a beast (with hair and fangs) but he is all scared up and pretty gross looking. I hope the movie is half as good as the book.

Totally Joe by James Howe

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Joe is 12 years old and attending Paintbrush Falls Middle School. He has a great group of friends and a really awesome family. He’s funny, artistic, a great cook, and gay. He’s is doing an English homework assignment to write about his life using the alphabet to tell the story. (A is for apple, B is for bananas, etc.…) He has the whole year to write the story so the reader gets to find out about a year of Joe’s life. He faces bullies, his favorite aunt moving away, and his first real boyfriend all with an amazing sense of humor and style.


This is a truly sweet book. The characters are much more realistic and believable than a lot of other teen novels. Many novels with gay main characters are dark and leave you wondering if there are any normal teenagers with awesome families and friends, who just happen to be gay. This book is suitable for a younger reader (Joe thinks kissing is gross and really wants to hug the boy he likes). It’s a good read for any kids who have been bullied or ignored someone who has been bullied. It deals with tough subject matters in a kind and caring way. There is only verbal violence, hand holding, and no bad language. I recommend it to everyone. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the experts have to say about the book:

" . . . Hilarious and poignant . . . An upbeat and reassuring novel that encourages preteens and teens to celebrate their individuality." —Publishers Weekly



"Howe tells the truth about the pain and anger caused by jeers and name-calling in a fast, funny, tender story that will touch readers." —Booklist, starred review



This book is a companion to The Misfits and there will be another companion novel coming out very soon called Addie on the Inside. All of these books are about being happy with who you are, and dealing with bullies. He is also the author of the utterly amazing and hysterically funny Bunnicula series.

Hero by Mike Lupica

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Zach is a regular 8th grader living in New York City. He has to face pop quizzes, basketball practice, and the school bully. His dad is a save the day, work for the government, secret assignment, real life hero. Together with his mom and dad, Zach is happy. But when his dad is on a special assignment for the president, his plane crashes and changes Zach’s world forever. Now that his father is gone, Zach starts to develop certain special skills, and people all around him want to use those skills. Will Zach be able to tell the good guys from the bad? Who should he trust when everything is changing and it seems that everyone wants something from him?


This book is well written; Lupica puts the reader in the mind of a fourteen year old guy. He includes sports references that many male readers will enjoy. There are also strong and intelligent female characters for the girls who read the book. I liked the way the ending answers some, but not all of the questions and it leaves the story open for sequels without making the reader feel cheated of an ending. I would recommend this book to teen guys and girls. It’s a clean read with no bad language, romance, and only limited violence. It’s a look at the making of a hero (superhero maybe even). Most superheroes start out as adults. We read about their adult lives, with just bare glimpses of how they became who they are. This is the story of a hero from the ground up. A must read!

iDrakula by Bekka Black

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The original Dracula story gets a facelift in this modern retelling. The original was told in letters, journal entries, and telegraphs. This retelling uses up to date technology to tell the story. As an added bonus you can download an app that gives you the story in real time as it happens.




This updated version of the story is interesting and fast paced. (I read it in about an hour). I like the re-imagining, with its strong female characters and innovative use of technology. The app is kind of cool, and if you have the technology to make it work you might like to be fed the story in real time. It offers the bonus feature of voice mails from the various characters that you can listen to.



I liked the book, but that said; DON'T read this if you have an assignment to read the real Dracula by Bram Stoker. This story leaves out many characters and events. It is not a Cliffs notes retelling of the story. You will fail the test if the only thing you know about Dracula is iDrakula. I liked the technology, but other novels that use voicemail features allow people to listen to the features online. Making it an app leaves many people out of the tech loop for the bonus features. (Take a look at Kathy's Book for a good example of a book / tech combo.) As a stand-alone title I enjoyed the book. It is not a substitute for the original, but it is fun!

Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck

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Three “It” girls befriend a lowly 10th grader. They bring Kerry into their circle of friends and allow her share a little of their fame and notoriety. When an accident happens to the girls, Kerry is left reeling from the tragedy and all alone, until she gets a text from one of the girls. Now a dangerous adventure is in front of Kerry, and she has everything to lose.


This is a supernatural story, but it doesn’t become one until the middle of the book. It starts out as a story about a girl who is so desperate to be popular she sits close to the most popular people hoping some of their coolness will rub off on her. I read the book in one sitting and when it was done it’s hard to say how I felt. The book is interesting, and a quick read. It deals with realistic things like peer pressure and popularity. I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure what to compare it to or who I would recommend it to. Read it yourself and post a comment. Let me know what you think.

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

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Ever wonder how Sex in the City’s Carrie Bradshaw became a writer? Who was she before she was in the city? This book is a prequel to the television series. The book opens with Carrie’s senior year in high school. She lives in a small town where the most exciting thing to happen in years is that a new guy has moved to town. Carrie has a group of friends who drink, hang out, and talk about boys.

For fans of the show it’s interesting to see what this character was like in high school and how she becomes a writer. Fans will also like the surprise of discovering how Carrie and another character from the show meet for the first time. (Embarrassingly I squealed). I’m not sure how many teen girls are fans of the show…I don’t know if people who don’t know the character will care that much about who Carrie is or her story. You have to care about Carrie to want to read the book, and the book alone did not make me feel close to her or care about her.

This book is really for fans of the show more than someone looking for an introduction to the character.

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

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          When there is no government, no food, and everything you know is now different what hope can you have. For Miranda and her family living in upstate New York is no longer the quiet country life they have always known. Without electricity and with their food supplies dwindling they are struggling to just survive. The book is told in the journal entries of Miranda and is full of amazing detail and imagery. This was interesting and I enjoyed reading it. I was in the middle of another book, but I got sucked in to the story and couldn’t put it down.

          This is the third book in the series about what happens to the Earth after a meteor collides with the moon knocking it closer to the earth. Because the Moon is closer to the Earth there are tidal waves, tsunamis, earth quakes, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun. In the 1st book we are introduced to Miranda’s family and in the second we meet Alex’s family. The third book unites both families.

This is the second book

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This is the first book

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