What have you read over the summer?

[Patty McClune]

Have you read any titles that you think will appeal to YAs?
I read an ARC of Justin Larbalestier's Liar. There's been lots of controversy over the fact that the girl on the cover looks nothing like the main character...but the main character tell readers she not truthful right up front. I think this book will generate lots of discussion and the supernatural aspect will hook YAs.
Another one I just finished is The Chosen One by Carol Williams. A real page turner about a girl in a polgyimist community who is going to be forced to marry a much older man. I flew through it to see how Kyra would make out and I think YAs will too!
I share lots of books and get ideas from Shelfari and love it!
Also our state reading site...www.payoungadult.wikispaces.com has lots of suggestions from librarians in PA.

[J.Robertson]

I also read the Chosen One and agree with you that it's a page turner. I think YAs would really like it.
I've read a lot over the summer, but the two that stick out in my mind as being loved by YAs would be:
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
and Unwind by Shusterman.
Here's my Library Thing review for Princess Ben
Let me start by saying I loved this story!
Princess Benevolence's parents are lost to assassins and she becomes the responsibility of Queen Sophia, her dead uncle's wife. Sophia intends to marry Ben to Prince Florian, but Ben wants no part of that plan!
I loved the strength of Ben's character, I loved the skillful use of vocabulary throughout the book, and I especially loved that it's the princess that kisses the prince to make things work out "happily ever after."
Great girl book, for those who like books about princesses with a little bit of magic thrown in. I highly recommend you read this story, but be sure you have time to finish, because once you start, you won't want to stop.

Unwind has been in paperback for a while now, and it's a GREAT futuristic novel about a society where adults are allowed to "unwind" their children before they're eighteen. To be unwound basically means to be killed and have every single bit of your body recycled into other bodies that need those parts. The story centers around three children, all of whom are fated to be unwound for totally different reasons, but whose lives intersect in a very tightly woven plot. Highly recommended for those who like stories like The Uglies, by Westerfeld.

[Patty McClune]

Unwind was great! It's on the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award list for young adults. Princess Ben was good too. It's on the list for consideration for inclusion on the list for the next year..10-11. You can check out books that others have suggested for PYRCA YA books and add your suggestions. www.payoungadult.wikispaces.com

[Pam Harland]

I just finished reading How To Build a Robot Army by Daniel H. Wilson. Wilson is a robotics engineer, columnist for Popular Mechanics (writes the popular robot articles), and a very funny writer.

This book will especially appeal to boys, and aren't we always looking for some well-written titles for teenage boys?
I thought it was smart, hysterical, and entertaining.
Highly recommended, along with his other titles: How To Survive a Robot Uprising and Dude, Where's My Jetpack?

[J.Robertson]

Thanks! I haven't heard of this or seen it on the bookstore shelves.
I'm not always looking for books for boys, but I am ALWAYS looking for a book that is funny! At the grade 7 and up level, humour is my hardest genre to fill. I find the stories are either too babyish for the intermediates (especially if they're decent readers) or the content is not really appropriate and is like the content from MAD magazine, which I don't consider appropriate for middle school.
Thanks for sharing.

[bj neary]

34. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins *
35. Willow by Julia Hoban *
36. Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
37. Jumped – Rita Williams Garcia *
38. Columbine – Dave Cullen (6/21/09)
39. Tell No One – Harlan Coben
40. The Woods – Harlan Coben
41. Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott *
42. Rikers High by Paul Volponi *
43. Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott *
44. After Tupac and D Foster by Katherine Woodson *
45. Cut by Patricia McCormick (July 11, 2009) *
Sorry---the author for After Tupac and D Foster is JACQUELINE Woodson!My 44th book.
46. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt *
47. Homestretch by Paul Volponi *
48. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
49. Bloom by Elizabeth Scott *
50. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
51. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
52. Total Constant Order by Crissa Jean Chappell
53. Friction by E.R. Frank *
54. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (August 8, 2009)
55. The Wolf Steve Herrick *
56. Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
57. 154th Street by Walter Dean Myers *
58. Time Traveler’s Wife by Diane Niffenger (August 20, 2009
59. What I saw and How I lied by Judy Blundell *
60. Black Box by Julie Schumacher *
61. Stacie and Cole by RM Johnson
62. Safe by Susan Shaw*
63. Split by Swati Avasthi *
64. Choices by Katrina Burchett *
65. Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas *

I starred * al of the great YA reads I went back in September and booktalked to my YA 10th & 11th grade reluctant readers. If you want more elaboration, I would be glad to give it---but I belong to GOODREADS and I review all my books!

[Patty McClune]

Wow, that's an impressive list! Did you post 1 - 33 and I missed them? Our students are into Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games and Catching Fire and we can't keep them on the shelves. Going Bovine got such good reviews, with comparisons to Catcher in the Rye. I plowed through it, but it wasn't one of my favs either. I have lots of books and reviews posted on Shelfari. Can you please tell me something about the last 3 titles on your list? I'm particularly on the look out for books for guys and reluctant readers. Thanks.

[J.Robertson]

I just wanted to jump in and share a title I just read a while ago - it's called Lockdown and is by Alexander Gordon Smith.
It is absolutely action packed from the very first page! I predict that this book will be worn out before it's been in my library for two months. Can't remember the last time a book held me so tightly in its grip. It is a sensational thriller, which I guarantee will hook a few non readers if you just read the first couple chapters to them. I recommend it for older classes due to the violence - grade seven or eight as a minimum.
Furnace is a juvenile detention prison buried beneath the Earth, accessible only by an elevator which descends deep into the ground. The main character is framed for the murder of his buddy, and receives life in Furnace, but when he sees the horrors that exist, he is determined to escape. The guards and the guard dogs are wonderful creations, and the inmates themselves a fantastic collection of characters. I don't want to say too much... but you're going to want to buy a copy of Lockdown the second you see it. Release date is October 27, 2009. I have NO connection to the publisher or the author... it's just that it has been a long time since a YA book has been so gripping so I thought I'd share it with you since you're looking for books for boys and reluctant readers.

[Patty McClune]

Thanks, I'm definitely getting that book! Turnabout is fair play, so I'll share a recent title that has been popular here is, Gotcha! by Shelley Hrdlitschka. It's about an underground game that the senior class plays. There's romance and teen frenemy drama. It's a real fast read and a great choice for relunctant readers. I find out about a lot of good titles through Shelfari. Have you been on?

[bj neary]

I only posted what I read over the summer; so 1-32 were books from Jan through May. I am on Goodreads and I challenged myself to read 75 books in 2009. I was sorry I didn't like Going Bovine, it was funny but I felt like I was on massive drugs while reading it...Split was an ARC the author gave me to read and she is on Goodreads----father is a judge and abuses wife and 2 sons, one son escapes and 8 years later the younger brother joins his brother far far away when he has enough of his father's torment. Engrossing, sickening at times but redemptive. Choices (I found this author on Goodreads as well) was also reviewed in some other blog I was reading so I ordered it from Amazon. It is about 5 African American girls living in York, PA but it could be any urban setting and the choices they make or have to make. One girl is from an abusive family. Because I Am Furniture was totally awesome---a free verse novel about a father abusing his wife and 2 kids while ignoring the third child ---hence she is FURNITURE. Then she gets on a team in school and when her father tries to attack one of her friends, she decides to stop the secrecy within her family.... Our reading teacher was doing Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn and wanted me to booktalk books with abuse as themes, hence Split, Choices and Because I Am Furniture. They were all extremely well written and get you into the minds of those who live in abusive relationships and don't talk about them and suffer in fear and silence. Split, Bootcamp (any Todd Strasser book),Homestretch (any Paul Volponi book) and Sharon Draper's Hazelwood High books and the Bluford Series and any Gail Giles books all are great guy books and the reluctant reader.

[Patty McClune]

Thanks for the info on Split, Choices and Becasue I am Furniture. If you're still looking for titles on abuse I highly recommend Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin, and another...Black-eyed Suzie - Shaw.

[bj neary]

We love Nancy Werlin's books---you should try Impossible....It stayed with me for a while...compelling and I will see if we have Blacj Eyed Suzie....is this by Shaw that wrote Safe and Boy in the Basement?

[Patty McClune]

I liked Impossible, but it doesn't seem to resonate with students the way Werlin's other titles do. Killer's Cousin and Double Helix are very popular here.
Yep, Susan Shaw wrote both Black-eyed Suzie and Boy in the Basement.
It sounds as though you're really involved with YA Lit. Please feel free to post nominations for the PSLA's PA Young Adult Readers Choice Award on our wiki. It's also a good place to check out newer titles that other PA HS Librarians recommend.
http://payoungadult.wikispaces.com/