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.

On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming

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This is a collection of short ghost stories.  A guy is driving home late, and he picks up a strange girl.  He dries her home, the notices she left a pair of shoes in the car.  He goes back to deliver them only to find that the girl has been dead for years.  He then meets a series of ghosts who explain how they all ended up dead.

Short stories are a lot of fun.  These in particular take a variety of classic ghost tales and tell them in new and interesting ways.  I liked the book.

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. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

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This book is about a high school guy, Greg, and his only friend, Earl. In order to stay hidden from everyone and have some fun they make truly awful movies. It doesn’t matter that the films are abysmal because no one knows them and no one will ever see the movies. When Greg’s mom makes him become friends with a girl (dying of cancer, but it is not as horrible as it sounds) he starts to make a movie that does not stink, and he plans on showing it.


This is a really hysterically funny book that a lot of guys would enjoy reading. I laughed a lot, in public, while reading this book. I would recommend this to older teen readers looking for realistic fiction with plenty 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.

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

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Matt and his two best friends set themselves a challenge every summer. They choose something that they all must do before school starts. This summer they are 15 and their goal is to see a real, live, in person naked girl. You would think since they are all on a coed swim team it would not be that difficult, but they go to some pretty amazing lengths to get the job done.


This book is so funny! The characters are realistic and well thought out. Sean, Coop, and Matt are amazing, but the really impressive characters are the girls. When you read this story you will recognize girls that you knew in high school. The story is sweet and fun and not at all as racy as the summary would lead you to believe. I would recommend this book for 9th grade and up. It’s a great way for girls to find out what guys are really thinking. This book features Matt as the main character but the other book, Beat the Band tells a story from Coops perspective.

Gone by Michael Grant

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In a quiet town in California, in the middle of class, everyone over the age of 14 disappears. Adults and older teens just blink out of existence. In the world that everyone now lives in there are no rules, no parents, no one to tell kids what to do, fix a broken arm, or make food. Add to that the fact that there are little kids and babies who need to be taken care of and you have a pretty gripping story. But why stop there? Let’s pile on. Some kids have special super abilities and some kids are powerless. When the power hungry kids from the private school come to town and clash with the public school kids anything can happen.


I enjoyed reading this book. I’m reading the sequel right now. I hardly ever read a whole series, because there are too many good stories to get to and I don’t have the time, but I really want to know what is going to happen to these kids. The book drags a little in the middle, and it takes a while to get where it’s going, but the final showdown is worth it, and there are some amazing action sequences that would translate really well to a movie. There is a lot of violence so if you are sensitive to that sort of thing don’t read the book. The main characters are mostly 14 and that is the youngest aged teen I think I would recommend the book to.

Two Books I Really Meant to Read

Have you ever started a book a few times, thought it was interesting, but never really been able to get back to it?  That has happened to me.  I have these two books, with great reviews, that seem really interesting.  I checked them out from the library, renewed them, and now they are overdue again.  I have started reading both of them, and I think the stories are interesting, but I just can’t seem to finish.  It’s time for me to give up.  Maybe I can come back to them or maybe someone else will read them and let me know the endings.

I recommend you give these books a try.  The Predicteds by Christine Seifert is about a girl whose mother made a test that can predict how someone will behave in the future.  (Will you be a good kid or bring a gun to school.)  The other book, Going Underground by Susan Vaught, is about a guy that did something not so bad, but it will haunt him for the rest of his life.  Both are meant for older teen readers because of the situations in the books. 

The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago

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Whatever you do, don’t call them zombies. They are invaders, wearing the bodies of the dead as a disguise. Everyone just sees a regular person, with the exception of a few kids. When Will first sees them he thinks he’s going crazy, but soon he learns that he’s not the only one. He is rescued from his school and taken to a secret place filled with other kids like him who can see the undead for what they really are. Now he is a part of the Undertakers and he has to help fight these hidden monsters before they take over everything.


I liked the book. It’s written for a younger teen audience (ages 11-13). It’s an easy read and boys will really get into the story. There are a lot of fights to keep everyone interested, and no one has any special powers, except the ability to see through the disguise to the rotting corpse underneath. You know typical teenage stuff. It’s a different take on zombies and it’s not a survival story. It’s definitely set up for some sequels and the writing makes me care enough about the characters to want to see what happens next.

Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

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Blink is a sixteen year old runaway who spends his time stealing rich kid’s clothes so he can sneak into hotels and eat left over room service before housekeeping cleans up the hallways. Caution is a runaway living with an abusive, drug dealing boyfriend. When Blink sees a not quite kidnapping, and Caution runs away with some serious drug money their lives are thrown into turmoil. Fortunately they find and try to help each other. Unfortunately they are facing double the trouble trying to solve the kidnapping mystery and stay alive.


Why is it that whenever I read a gritty and unusual urban fiction book it’s almost always set in Canada? Those Canadians know how to keep me interested, even without spells or the walking dead. This book is written in a fast and exciting way. Guys who don’t want to read will be sucked into Blink’s story. There’s no flowery prose here, but somehow the story gets told…and it’s told well. The blunt way the story is told mirrors the blunt and rough way these teens are living, without being to over the top.  There’s some cussing, and drugs, and a whole lot of violence, but what do you expect from a mystery book written about runaways. My advice is to Read It.

Sleepless by Thomas Fahy

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After a school sponsored community service trip to New Orleans goes awry the teens all realize that they are not able to sleep. Emma and her friends, who were all on the trip, join a secret society run by their teacher, Dr. Beecher's. He thinks that by meeting they can talk about fine art and support each other. Soon classmates start turning up dead and they are trying to figure out who is doing the killing and why.


I thought I would love this book. The cover is so cool and I really liked one of Fahy’s other novels Unspoken, but this one just didn’t do it for me. For whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into the story or muster up any kind of sympathy for the characters. I know that a lot of other people really liked it. It is a thriller and if you like books that take lots of turns, and a story that jumps around, you might really enjoy this book. One teen liked it so much he made a book trailer that I have poster below. This book is definitely for an older teen crowd. There is some sexual content and swearing.

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.

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.

The Abused Werewolf RescueGgroup by Catherine Jinks

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Toby wakes up in the hospital after being found in a Dingo pen at the local zoo. His mom and doctors are concerned, but he seems healthy and goes home. Soon strangers come to his door to tell him that he is a werewolf; all of this in modern Australia. Because Catherine Jinks is not Stephanie Meyer, Toby and his mom don't just believe and accept what the mysterious strangers tell them. They do the normal and responsible thing, which is to threaten to call the police and kick the strangers out of there house. As it turns out, that is not the best thing for Toby. Soon he has been kidnapped by bad guys, who like to hold werewolf fights. Toby and a cast of characters come up against the bad guys to disastrous results.


One thing I always like about the Catherine Jinks books is that the parents are never useless. They always play a part in the story. I also like the way that there are crossover characters from The Reformed Vampire Support Group in this book. I loved that book and I ‘m glad to know what’s going on with them. I liked this book, but the story seems to stagnate near the end. We spend so much time in the bad guy’s house it starts to feel like we are really there, and we are never getting out. Maybe that’s what she was going for, because I felt like I could sympathize with Toby. I wanted out too. Some readers may love this story, but it was a little slow for me. I’m not saying not to read it, but be prepared for it to be not as good as The Reformed Vampire Support Group.

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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.

Virals by Kathy Reichs

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Tory moves to a remote island to live with her dad near the research facility where he works. There are other teens on the island and they become friends. After Tory saves a wild wolf dog from an experiment, she and her friends are infected with a virus that gives them heightened senses and reflexes. The virus turns them into Virals. Now they are similar to the wolf dogs that the infection came from; they are a pack. They use their new abilities to try and solve a murder.


This book never took off for me. I read it and kept waiting for the exciting part to happen, but it never did. The beginning was slow, and there was a lot of background and build up about the relationship of the group. Once they were infected and started to have the special abilities, it was still slow. On the front cover James Patterson gives the book an endorsement. I think the book is trying to appeal to fans of the Maximum Ride series, but the book lacks the fast action and believable friendship in the group of teens. It reads less like a teen book, and more like what an adult thinks being a teen is like. This was not the book for me, but it might be for you. Let me know what you thought.

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 Scorch Trials by James Dashner

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This is the sequel to The Maze Runner.  I loved the book.  It has complex characters (including some new people), betrayal, danger, action, and a serious mystery.   This book is about as close to the Hunger Games as you’re going to get these days.  I’m hoping that this will just be a trilogy and that all of the answers will be revealed in the next book.  This book is a must read.  I recommend it for mature 12 year olds and older.  There is a little romance, and lots of violence.   It’s a great survival story and those are my favorite!