Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

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After the death of his grandfather, Jacob, starts seeing odd things and is convinced that he needs to travel to the island where his grandfather grew up in order to reconcile the things his grandfather told him and what everyone else tells him. He finds adventure and a reality that he was not expecting.

It seemed that everyone was reading this book so I resisted for a long time.  A book club that I’m a member of picked this book and I read it.  The book started out strong with an interesting premise and a realistic main character.  As the story went on I found myself predicting what would happen and being disappointed with the way the story was being told.  That said, it is a book for teens so maybe they would not see the ending coming from a mile away.  The pictures are very cool and it’s nice to have an mystery/adventure to give to teen guys. 

Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

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Guy (16) and his best friend Anoop join the forensics club at school soon after Guy’s father’s death.  It is a way to keep his mind off of his dad.  Right from the start Guy makes jokes, slacks off, and is generally a pain in the butt.  To spite his behavior he genuinely likes learning the science, so when a real body turns up Guy and Anoop are determined to solve the crime.

I liked the story but I think it would have been better without the real crime.  There is enough going on with Guy, his mom, the cute girl in forensics, and Anoop that solving the mystery of the body was not really necessary.  The book is funny and sweet.  I would recommend this for guys who like to read humorous realistic stories. 

Curveball: the Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

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Pete is an all-star athlete, and he is set to make a big splash as a great baseball pitcher when ninth grade starts.  Life seems pretty easy until a serious injury leaves him unable to pitch ever again.  Now he has to figure out who he is if he can’t be the star pitcher anymore.  On top of all of that, his grandfather is acting strange and there is a new girl in class whose presence renders him speechless. 

Jordan Sonneblick is a great writer.  That is all there is to it.  He writes some of the best teen fiction I have ever read.  When I read his books all of the characters read true for their age.  This story sounds sad, but it is full of humor and a lot of teens will be able to identify with Pete and his family.  I would recommend this for teens who like realistic stories with lots of humor. 

The Dead Winter by Chris Priestley

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Set in the Victorian England we meet Michael on the worst day of his life; his mother’s funeral. After the service he is told that he has a benefactor and he must move far into the country for Christmas at his benefactor’s county estate. As soon as he arrives he starts to hear and see strange and unusual things. The house and those in it are hiding some great secret that threatens to destroy them all.

This is a horror story with an ending that I saw coming about half way through. I found it predictable, but I really like the characters and the pace of the story. I also liked the ending, which takes place many years in the future. I think a lot of teen guys would like the story. Overall it is a good ghost story without too much gore.

Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

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Alyss is a princess in Wonderland. Her mother is the queen and ruler of the land. When her evil Aunt Redd wants to take over Alyss and Hatter find themselves out of Wonderland and into the mortal realm. Alyss makes friends with a writer who tells her story, but he messes the whole thing up. Alyss told him the truth and he made a book about a girl named Alice who uses her imagination to go on an adventure. She is furious. As she grows up and finally makes her way back to Wonderland she must face many challenges to take her place as the rightful queen of Wonderland.

I liked the retelling of the story from a different point of view. This book is intended for audiences 10 and up. My older teens liked it, but they thought the story might be better for middle school than high school. They didn’t really feel a connection to any of the characters. Overall it was an ok book, but I wasn’t blown away by the story.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

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It’s 1996 and Emma just got her very first PC. She loads AOL and clicks on her favorites. Facebook pops up even though it won’t exist until 2004. She starts seeing what her life will be like fifteen years in the future. At first she thinks it’s a trick, but when she tells her friend Josh they start to take it seriously. Facebook knows things that no one could know, and there are pictures posted that they have not even developed yet. Once they believe Facebook is showing them their future they start to make minor changes that and soon they see the effects of knowing their future.


I have been waiting since 13 Reasons Why for a new Asher book and I’m not disappointed. This book is not deep and gut wrenching like 13 Reasons Why, but it is a fun read and it has an interesting take on the way our lives are shaped. I loved the idea that even the smallest change could have astounding consequences in our lives. Because it’s told in alternating chapters from the point of view of a boy and a girl, I think anyone will like the story.

Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

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Steven is an eighth grade drumming phenom. He practices like crazy and is really big in jazz band. His life is typical, with crushes and homework, until his five year old brother Jeff gets cancer. Steven’s life starts spinning out of control as his brother gets more sick, and his parents try to work out the best treatment. This is the story of the year of treatment that happens and what it takes for a family to deal with sickness.


I liked the book because it’s honest. It’s not all sad or all happy. It is just a realistic look at a family, told from the point of view of the older brother. When his little brother gets sick, the whole world revolves around making him better. Grades slip, parents ignore other problems, the family struggles, because that’s what really happens. Even though the little brother is fighting cancer, this is overall a happy book with a lot of heart. I also really like the sequels, especially Tales of the Midnight Driver!

The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty

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Bindy is an eleventh grader in an exclusive Australian school, but this is not your typical high school story. Told exclusively through notes passed, journal entries, and school assignments you get to find out what is happening to Bindy and her classmates. She is a weird and mostly unsympathetic character. She spies on fellow classmates and writes the oddest things. She is paranoid that someone is trying to kill her, and more than a little obsessed with her classmates. This is the sequel to The Year of Secret Assignments, and readers will see a lot of the same characters, but Bindy is the focus of this story.

I loved this book. When I read it I didn’t know it was a sequel so I read it first. The twist ending is amazing and it fully changes the story. Things that seemed meaningless at the beginning turned out to be really important. I won’t give it away, because I’m against spoilers, but I will say the book is not predictable at all. This book is not for everyone, I know because I have recommended it before and been disappointed, but if you like quirky characters and an unusual story you will enjoy this book. It’s a mostly clean read with not much romance or swearing. If you like it read the first book.

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Dull Boy by Sarah Cross

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Avery has superpowers. He can fly and is crazy strong. There may be other powers but he needs to keep a lid on his abilities because if the wrong people find out, he could end up being dissected by guys in white lab coats. Avery has some trouble controlling his powers, which leads to property damage and parent drama. He even has to quit the wrestling team because he can’t control his strength. As soon as he switches schools things really start to change for him. He meets some other people with abilities. Are they good guys, bad guys, really hot girls with evil plots to rule the world?


I liked the book. It was a fun read, and gave a more realistic look to what might happen if you really did have special abilities. I would recommend it to guys that are looking for something fast and exciting to read. The internal conflict is a little reminiscent of the Smallville T.V. series Superman. I’m hoping for a sequel. You can check out the author’s blog for more info and some cool extras about the characters.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Candor - The quality of being open and honest in expression; frankness


Abnegation - Renunciation of your own interests in favor of the interests of others

Dauntless - Invulnerable to fear or intimidation

Amity - Peaceful relations, as between nations; friendship.

Erudite - Having or showing knowledge

Society is divided into five factions, each valuing a different virtue. The day has come for Beatrice and everyone else who is sixteen to choose which faction she will belong to. Once they choose, they must complete an initiation. If they survive initiation their faction will become their new family. Beatrice make the difficult choice and starts initiation. What she discovers about herself and the world she lives in, threatens to change her way of life forever.

The book is a Hunger Games and Maze Runner read alike; teens in a distant future, trying to survive. The idea of choosing who you will be for all time, when you are so young, echoes reality where teens are meant to choose a college and career before they even know who they are yet. Reality aside, this kind of survival story is exciting to read. The characters are well thought out and multilayered. I’m interested to see where the story will go if there are sequels. I would recommend this for guys and girls who like action and survival stories. There is some romance and the story is slightly more girly than Hunger Games. The movie rights have been picked up so we will be seing it before to long. 

The Detention Club by David Yoo

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Peter and Drew are about to start their first year of middle school. They were the coolest kids in elementary school so they know that they would rule middle school. Peter was not prepared for everyone else changing over the summer, or the harder classes, or detention. As all of his plans to become popular fail, he and Drew try to keep their friendship together and make it through middle school.

This story is funny and cute. The book is full of hysterical supporting characters and it rings true for what happens to a lot of kids as they move from elementary school to middle school. I liked the way that Peter and his sister see the same situations differently, and the way that Drew misunderstands everything. I would recommend this book to 5th and 6th grade boys and girls who like humor and realistic fiction.

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

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Tallulah is off to performing arts school in the country. She will be spending six weeks away from her family at sleep away camp. She is planning on studying the performing arts and boys. Unfortunately no one told her that the camp is all girls. Does she let it stop her? No. She makes friends and finds out a lot about herself and, meets some boys from the next camp over.


For those people who liked reading about Georgia, you are going to love her cousin Tallulah. It starts with Tullulah heading to the country.  We get to meet the crazy family she is staying with, and the tiny Yorkshire village where the camp is located.  This is a whole new English world for readers to enjoy.  The book is cute, funny, and full of the promise of snogging. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a girly story .

Addie on the Inside by James Howe

 

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From the outside Addie is an outspoken know it all.  She cares about the environment, human rights, and preventing animal cruelty.  On the inside she cares about those things, but she is aware of just how much she doesn't know.  This book is told in verse, poems from Addies perspective, about what's going on in her life as a 7th grader in Paintbrush Falls Middle School.  She deals with friends, bullies, gossip, and her very popular boyfriend.

This is a companion novel to "The Misfits" and "Totally Joe".  This time we get to tread the book from Addie's perspective.  I was surprised when I opened the book at it was in verse.  I didn't expect it, but I loved it.  The poems are in various styles, but the voice rings true for a 13 year old girl in middle school.  Howe deals with some difficult topics in the book, and he faces the subjects head on, while managing to keep it age appropriate for a 7th grade reader.  This is a great book and I recommend it for everyone.  

                                                                                                               Read the other books  in the Misfits Universe.

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

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Bobby is a regular teen living in a regular town.  His parents are smart scholarly types and he does just fine in school. Everything is running smoothly until he wakes up one morning and is invisable.  As he tries to figure out how to become visable again he and his parents struggle with the rumers that he is a missing person. 

This book caught me right away.  Bobby and his parents are realistic characters, who deal with his invisability the way most families probably would.  I love the way that everything is normal and true to life, except for the whole invisability thing.  I would reccomend this book to guys and girls who like scifi and realistic fiction. 

Odd Is On Our Side by Dean Koontz

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Odd Thomas sees dead people. He lives in a small town and he tries to help the dead to find rest. Sometimes the dead aren’t just concerned with their own former lives and troubles, sometimes they are trying to tell him about something dark arriving in town. When Elvis (yes, The King) appears to Odd to warn him, Odd and his girlfriend take it seriously and try to save the town.


The story was interesting and I liked the art in this graphic novel. I liked the idea for the story and the characters, but the way it was told left me a little flat. I didn’t feel a real connection to the story and I was skipping stuff to get to the end. Not my favorite graphic novel, or supernatural mystery.

Trapped by Michael Northrop

Scotty and 7 others are trapped in their high school when a record breaking blizzard strikes. Over ten feet of snow piles onto the roof of the school where the kids are trapped. The windows are obscured and the halls are pitch black. There is plenty of food in the cafeteria, but without electricity how can they cook or stay warm? They are buried in the school, and know on knows they are there. They are trapped.

I loved the book. Survival stories are my favorite, especially when the situation is realistic. These are regular students, no geniuses. They are trying to survive it what is a very realistic situation. The teens read true to their age, and the situation, and the description of the events and the weather was so spot on I felt cold while I was reading it. I would recommend this book to guys and girls who like survival stories and realistic fiction. There was no cursing or sex, but there was plenty of longing and death.

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The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

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In 1853 London, Mary is an orphan who is sentenced to be hanged for stealing. She is soon rescued and offered a place in a home for girls. She attends school and becomes a young lady. When she turns seventeen she is no longer satisfied with the life of a school teacher. She wants something more, so she talks to the headmistress of the school and is let in on a secret. The school is a front for an all-female agency that investigates crimes. Mary is soon the newest agent and gets her first assignment. She must find out information about a merchant by posing as a ladies companion to his daughter.


This was not the book for me. I’m not much of a historical fiction reader, and I like books with stories that unfold a little faster than this. That said the book is well written, and historically accurate. The manners, actions, and crimes are realistic for the time period. Mary is a strong and intelligent female character with a quick wit and the ability to fight. I would recommend this book to girls who like historical fiction.

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.

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

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Rene is a typical California girl. Her long hair is wild, she loves the beach, and she wears cut offs and flip flops every day. Her parents are amazing, and her life is a happy one. On her sixteenth birthday everything she knows changes. After a tragedy befalls her parents she is sent to live with her grandfather in Maine, then later to a boarding school. When strange things start happening to the students in the school Rene tries to understand what is happening and help.


The story is a romance. She meets a boy on her first day at school, and they have a kind of love/hate relationship that soon turns to just love. It is a little reminiscent of Twilight with the boy who likes her so much he needs to stay away. Rene is a strong character who tries to solve a mystery and be kind to everyone. I liked the story and would recommend it to girls who like supernatural romances. It’s an interesting take on the genre. Romance is kept PG13, no cursing.

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.