2015 High School Sequoyah Smorgasbord The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson Carson, Rae. The Crown of Embers. New York: Greenwillow, 2012. 416p. (Gr.8‐12). Annotation: Resourceful new queen Elisa navigates political intrigue, religious strife, and her own desires on a dangerous journey that uncovers even more powers of the Godstone embedded in her navel. Booktalk: Elisa won the battle over a terrifying magical army in the first book in this series, The Girl of Fire and Thorns. But unfortunately for her (and thankfully for us!), the drama in her kingdom is not over. Her crown is not secure. The threat to her people still exists, and it is growing. Instead of backing down or waiting for the inevitable, Elisa takes charge and embarks on an epic journey to understand her own power… that comes from the holy jewel embedded in her bellybutton since birth. With her on this quest she takes a one‐eyed spy, a traitor in chains, and the quiet, confusing man she just might be falling in love with. Author Websites: http://www.raecarson.com/ https://twitter.com/raecarson https://www.facebook.com/raecarsonbooks Reviews: Booklist 9/1/2012 Publisher’s Weekly 7/30/2012 School Library Journal 9/1/2012 Voice of Youth Advocates 10/1/2012 Awards and Honors: Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly Starred review in School Library Journal Other Books by Rae Carson: The Girl of Fire and Thorns The Bitter Kingdom
Transcript
2015 High School Sequoyah Smorgasbord
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
Carson, Rae. The Crown of Embers. New York: Greenwillow, 2012. 416p. (Gr.8‐12). Annotation: Resourceful new queen Elisa navigates political intrigue, religious strife, and her own desires on a dangerous journey that uncovers even more powers of the Godstone embedded in her navel. Booktalk: Elisa won the battle over a terrifying magical army in the first book in this series, The Girl of Fire and Thorns. But unfortunately for her (and thankfully for us!), the drama in her kingdom is not over. Her crown is not secure. The threat to her people still exists, and it is growing. Instead of backing down or waiting for the inevitable, Elisa takes charge and embarks on an epic journey to understand her own power… that comes from the holy jewel embedded in her bellybutton since birth. With her on this quest she takes a one‐eyed spy, a traitor in chains, and the quiet, confusing man she just might be falling in love with. Author Websites: http://www.raecarson.com/ https://twitter.com/raecarson https://www.facebook.com/raecarsonbooks Reviews: Booklist 9/1/2012 Publisher’s Weekly 7/30/2012 School Library Journal 9/1/2012 Voice of Youth Advocates 10/1/2012 Awards and Honors: Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly Starred review in School Library Journal Other Books by Rae Carson: The Girl of Fire and Thorns The Bitter Kingdom
I Swear by Lane Davis
Davis, Lane. I Swear. New York: Simon and Schuster. 279p. (Grades 9 & up)
Annotation: When Leslie's parents file a wrongful death lawsuit against four of their daughter's classmates, the proceedings expose the cyberbullying and torment she endured and the consequences her bullies face.
Booktalk:
Leslie Gatlin couldn’t believe the words she was reading on the screen.
Of all the emails and all the Facebook messages and all the texts and phone calls she’d received since she’s stepped into Macie Merrick’s crosshairs, this one was the worst.
As the sobs came one more time, she slowly closed the lid of her silver laptop and laid her head down on top of it.
You are pathetic and worthless. You should just kill yourself.
In her heart, Leslie felt something click. Like a door swinging closed. She finally knew one thing for sure: Even if she went to Portland, even if she drove a hundred miles an hour and didn’t stop until she was standing on Aunt Laura’s doorstep, she could never outrun this pain. It would never end, unless she ended it.
Right now.
TOP TEN THINGS TO REMEMBER IN YOUR SUICIDE NOTE
1. Apologize for all the terrible sweaters you wore. 2. A brief rundown of how bad you were at volleyball. 3. How much it hurt that your daddy was never home enough. 4. Tell everyone how sorry you are that you won’t be at prom this year, so someone else
will have to be “worst dressed.” 5. A thank‐you to all your best girlfriends, who were so nice to you. (Oh. Wait. There
weren’t any because you were a slut who stole people’s boyfriends.) 6. Who you’re leaving all your craptstic earrings to. 7. How sad you were that your boobs never grew in. 8. A line from one of those stupid country songs you listen to. 9. Why we shouldn’t be sad now that you’re gone. (Not that we would be.) 10. Tell Jake how you’re doing this for him so that he won’t have ugly babies.
After four years of abuse from classmates, Senior Leslie Gatlin commits suicide. Her parents file a wrongful death lawsuit against the perpetrators. Each chapter is told from the perspective of Leslie’s tormenters and Jake, who was her only friend as they prepare to give depositions.
The story revolves around the depositions that all of the characters are going to have to swear to in court. It is through these depositions that we learn the thoughts and secrets of the circle of popular girls with whom Macie has surrounded herself, the girls who had better support Macie so as to not end up a target. Her tormentors have to scramble to put together a story that will match and put off the blame of them. Beth, Katherine, and Jillian did everything at Macie’s bidding. Now the secrets kept from the “queen bee” are coming to light. Are they going to come clean or are they going to stay silent and under Macie's control forever? Each girl has a secret that they think will ruin them. They all have popularity thanks to Macie and now, they believe Macie will put an end to it if they don't follow her lead. Jake has the burden of dealing with the death of Leslie, who he loved, and his twin sister’s involvement.
Who if anyone will stand up and tell the truth for Leslie so that justice is served?
Reviews:
School Library Journal 10/1/2012
Publisher’s Weekly 10/22/2012
Kirkus 09/4/2012
Awards and Honors:
ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults ‐ Nominee
Author Website:
http://www.facebook.com/lanedavisbooks
Related Books:
Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. New York: Razorbill, 288 p. Clay Jenson receives cassette tapes from his dead classmate and crush, Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who Hannah wants to tell her story to. It tells the circumstances that led to her suicide.
Cohen, Joshua. Leverage. New York: Dutton, 2011. 304 p. Danny a gymnast and Kurt a football player form an improbable friendship as they stand up to the football team, whose arrogance and steroid‐usage have led them to appalling levels of bullying.
Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2009. 304 p. T. J. Jones is infuriated when football star Mike Barbour bullies brain‐damaged Chris Coughlin for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket. He devises a plan for revenge by forming a swim team made up of outsiders with the intent of winning letter jackets.
Other Books by Lane Davis:
This is Davis’ first published book.
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick, Huntley. My Life Next Door. New York: Dial, 2012. 394p. (Gr. 9‐12). Annotation: Seventeen year‐old Samantha has a strict life run by her mom until the summer when she falls in love with the boy next door, who represents everything she and her family are not. Booktalk: It seems like a story you’ve read before. Girl with a perfect life planned out derails and falls for the boy next door, who doesn’t seem like her type. There are lots of things working to keep Samantha and Jase apart: his family drama, her judgmental friend, but mostly Samantha’s mother. When Samantha learns a terrible secret, real life intrudes on the glow of summer love, and tough choices have to be made. Funny, well‐written, with realistic teen characters and dialogue, My Life Next Door is a beautiful debut YA novel about family, first love, and what is really important in life. Author Websites: http://www.huntleyfitzpatrick.com/ https://twitter.com/huntleyfitz https://www.facebook.com/HuntleyFitzpatrickBooks http://huntleyfitzpatrick.tumblr.com/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4660036.Huntley_Fitzpatrick Reviews: Horn Book 10/27/2012 Publisher’s Weekly 4/23/2012 School Library Journal 6/1/2012 Voice of Youth Advocates 6/1/2012 Similar Authors: Sarah Dessen Deb Caletti Other Books by Huntley Fitzpatrick: What I Thought Was True
Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Grant, Michael and Katherine Applegate. Eve & Adam. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2012.
291p.
Annotation Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were given the task to create your perfect mate? After being in a car accident, Evening (Eve), a patient recovering in her mother's research facility, is given the task of creating the perfect boy using detailed simulation technologies. Book Talk What would you do if you were given the task to create your perfect mate? Evening (Eve) badly injures her leg in a car crash. As she fades in and out of consciousness, she is aware of people coming and going. When she wakes, she is in her mother’s biomedical research lab. Solo is a boy who essentially lives at the lab and has brought Eve in. After Even begins complaining about seeing a friend and going home to recuperate, her mother approaches her with a project that she knows will challenge Eve. She tells Eve that she wants her to create the perfect boy. Eve thinks it might be with crayons or play‐dough. Eve tells her mother she will only do it if she can see her friend. The tool Eve will use is actually a program designed to teach genetics using a screen the size of a movie screen. People at the facility nickname the project Adam. In creating Adam, Eve wonders if she should create him a little near‐sighted. Her friend tells her no imperfections. Eve thinks that isn’t what makes us each different and unique and not a carbon copy of each other. She thinks humans should be different. That is the core problem that Eve has with the whole project: the perfectness of it all . Also, along the way she learns that her mother became Solo’s guardian but never told Eve. Solo, Eve and her friend Aislin eventually decide to see if her leg is healed. The leg looks like nothing had ever happened to it. They learn that when Eve was 2, her mother or father injected her with a serum and genetically modified her to save her life. This is why she was rushed quickly from the hospital and taken to the research lab. Learning that her parents broke the law and genetically modified her unnerves Eve, and she begins to wonder what other laws they’ve broken. The longer that Eve works on Adam, the more sinister her mother’s behavior seems. As Eve opens files on Solo’s thumb drive, she learns that her mother plans to begin engineering humans based on Eve’s development of Adam. Once Adam is perfected, her mother will begin engineering humans, and nowhere does it say “simulated.” What should Eve do? Read the book to find out why. Reviews Booklist 09‐15‐2012 School Library Journal November 1, 2012 Publisher’s Weekly August 27, 2012 Kirkus September 15, 2012 Awards & Honors
YALSA 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults Oklahoma Sequoyah Nominee 2015 Websites Katherine Applegate‐http://theoneandonlyivan.com/ Michael Grant‐http://themichaelgrant.com/ Michael Grant twitter‐https://twitter.com/thefayz Michael Grant blog‐http://themichaelgrant.tumblr.com/ Related Books Westerfeld, Scott. Midnighters: The Secret Hour. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Upon moving to Bixby, Oklahoma, fifteen‐year‐old Jessica Day learns that she is one of a group of people who have special abilities that help them fight ancient creatures living in an hour hidden at midnight; creatures that seem determined to destroy Jess. Pearson, Mary E. The Adoration of Jenna Fox. New York: Henry Holt ,2008. 272 p. In the not‐too‐distant future, when medical advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen‐year‐old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence. Shusterman, Neal. Unwind . New York: Henry Holt, 2008. 272 p. In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs‐‐and, perhaps, save their own lives Anderson, M.T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002. 237 p. 24 cm. In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble. Other Books by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate Michael Grant: Gone Novel series, BZRK Series, and Magnificent 12. Katherine Applegate: Everworld series; Animorphs series, The One and Only Ivan.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton/Penguin, 2012. 337 p. Annotation: Hazel and Augustus are two teenage cancer patients who meet at a cancer support group and despite Hazel’s best efforts to remain platonic, the two fall in love. Booktalk: Hazel Lancaster is a 16‐year‐old stage IV cancer survivor. She’s content to keep herself isolated from the world, with books and America’s Next Top Model marathons for company. Her parents want her to get out of the house and live life so they encourage her to attend a cancer support group which Hazel does begrudgingly. At one such meeting, Hazel is surprised to find herself on the receiving end of a gorgeous guy’s gaze. He approaches her afterwards and perplexed but intrigued by his attention, Hazel agrees to watch a movie with Augustus Waters. They end up exchanging their favorite books. Augustus’s favorite is a novelization of his favorite video game, The Price of Dawn and Hazel’s, a book about cancer entitled An Imperial Affliction. She’s obsessed with the book due to its ambiguous ending and the author has never written another. The book becomes a bonding point for them and they soon begin spending more time together. But despite Gus’s obvious interest, Hazel has no intentions of becoming romantically involved for she claims she is a “grenade” about to go off and destroy everything around her. However, Hazel soon finds herself unable to resist and she realizes “I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” Funny and endearing, you might just fall in love with this book. Reviews: Booklist starred 01/01/12 Kirkus starred 01/15/12 School Library Journal starred 02/01/12 Publisher’s Weekly starred 01/09/12 Awards and Honors:
Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2012 Booklist Editors' Choice ‐ Books for Youth ‐ Older Readers Category: 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards: 2012 Indies' Choice Book Awards: Young Adult Fiction Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards: Young Adult Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award ‐ Best Young Adult: 2012 School Library Journal Best Books: 2012 Thumbs Up! Award (Michigan) WAYRBA ‐ Western Australian Young Readers' Book Awards : Older Readers Westchester Fiction Award (California) YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2013 Websites: Author's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnGreenfans Author's Tumblr: http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/ Author’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/realjohngreen Author’s YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers Related Books: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic Deadline by Chris Crutcher Before I Die by Jenny Downham If I Stay by Gayle Forman Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin Would You by Marthe Jocelyn Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder Other Books by John Green: An Abundance of Katherines Let It Snow (with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle) Looking for Alaska
Paper Towns Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co‐wrote with David Levithan)
Annotation: Nicole, beautiful and popular, has acid splashed on half her face and her life is changed. Jay, a loner, becomes the one person Nicole will talk to and he sets out to find who did this to her.
Booktalk: Nicole Castro: gorgeous, rich, model, smart, very popular, sweet, kind Jay Nazarro: ridiculed, quiet, computer hacker, outsider, loner, epilepsy, bullied, good guy, smart
What would bring these two students together?
Due to an act of shocking cruelty these two characters are brought together as they try to discover who it was that splashed acid on the left side of Nicole’s face while she was at her locker. The story is told through the main points of view of Jay and from entries from Nicole’s diary. Jay understands what it is to feel like a freak. He had a bad situation one day during a seizure at school and kids started calling him Spaceman. As a result of the incident he left school and was homeschooled for a year and had come back to finish high school at the school. Nicole has people that want to see what happened to her face and she hears comments like “she was so beautiful”
Jay decides to try and figure out who did this to Nicole. He finds many possible suspects and as he works with Nicole there is a friendship that develops between them. The deeper he digs, the more danger he puts himself in—and the more he falls for Nicole. He sees beyond Nicole’s wounds realizing there is lot more to her than her lost beauty and he helps her to adjust to her life as it is now.
Burning Blue is an intriguing mystery with an unpredictable plot that you don’t want to miss out on.
Author Website:
http://paulgriffinstories.com
Reviews: Kirkus 9/15/2012 School Library Journal 10/20/2012 Horn Book 9/1/01/2012 Publisher’s Weekly 9/24/2012 starred review Booklist 1/31/2013
Awards: VOYA* (5/5P, 5/5Q) Perfect Ten List Junior Library Guild 2012 selection YALSA 2014 Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers
Other books by Paul Griffin: Stay With Me The Orange House Ten Mile River
Related Books: The Space Between Us by Jessica Martinez Live Through This by Mindi Scott The Suburban Strange by Nathan Kotecki Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean Skinny by Donna Cooner
If you LIKE: My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend
Then TRY: Burning Blue
Here’s WHY: Beauty to self‐hatred, dealing with new reactions from others, unlikely friendships, acceptance
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Henry, April. The Night She Disappeared. New York. Henry Holt, 2012. 229 p.
Annotation: Kayla makes a routine pizza delivery at her part‐time job and never comes back. It would be easy to give up when everyone else does, but Drew and Gabie will never stop until they find her: dead or alive. Booktalk:
Kayla wakes up in a dark, tomblike room. She screams, shrieking, “Help me! Somebody help me!”but, nobody comes. Nobody shouts back. Nobody hears except the man who has kidnapped her. The man who will kill her because the person he really wanted was Gabie, the girl who drives the Mini Cooper. But, Gabie wasn’t working the night he had the three meat lover’s pizzas delivered to the fake address. Kayla was the one who made the delivery. She never came back and everyone believes she is dead. The memorial proves that the community has given up finding Kayla alive. This nail biting thriller/mystery succeeds in giving the reader insight even as death closes in on Kayla. Will Drew and Gabie discover the prison that holds their friend in time to save her life? April Henry based The Night She Disappeared upon a true story of a teenage girl who disappeared never to be found after making a pizza delivery.
Reviews:
Booklist Reviews 2012 May Horn Book Guide Reviews 2012 Fall Kirkus Reviews 2012 February Library Media Connection Reviews 2013 January/FebruaryPW Reviews 2012 February SLJ Reviews 2012 April VOYA Reviews 2012 April Awards and Honors:
Texas Tayshas High School Reading List Missouri Gateway Readers Book Award Nominees 2013 IRA Young Adult's Choices Master List
Trafficked by Kim Purcell Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga Burning Blue by Paul Griffin Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf Other Books byApril Henry:
The Body in the Woods. 2014 The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die. 2013 Girl Stolen. 2012 Torched. 2009 Shock Point 2008
Butter by Erin Jade Lange
Lange, Erin Jade. Butter. Bloomsbury USA, 2012. 396p. (Gr. 9+) Annotation: After creating a website announcing his plans to eat himself to death via a live webcast on New Year’s Eve, a lonely, morbidly obese teenager nicknamed Butter suddenly becomes popular with his classmates and finds new reasons to live. Book Talk: “You think I eat a lot now? That’s nothing. Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal. Death row inmates get one. Why shouldn’t I? I can’t take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you’re invited to watch . . . as I eat myself to death.” ‐‐‐Butter Sixteen year‐old Butter is morbidly obese, has no friends, and feels misunderstood by his parents. The only escapes he has are playing his saxophone and chatting online with his dream girl, Anna, who doesn’t know he exists and thinks he’s a tall, athletic guy named J.P. After a humiliating incident at school, he’s so fed up he decides to create a website announcing his plans to eat himself to death on a live video stream on his computer on New Year’s Eve. Before he has a chance to figure out if he’s serious or not, he suddenly begins getting the attention of his classmates and is invited to hang out with the popular crowd, which includes Anna. Even though he knows they’re not his friends—they’re betting on his final menu and whether he’ll go through with it, he’s having fun and enjoying the popularity. As New Year’s Eve draws closer, Butter has to decide whether to follow through with his plan or deal with the social fallout if he doesn’t. Reviews: School Library Journal, 12/1/2012 (*Starred Review) Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, 12/01/2012 Booklist, 10/15/2012 Horn Book Guide, 05/01/2013 Kirkus Reviews, 09/15/2012 Library Media Connection, 01/01/2013 VOYA, 10/01/2012 Publisher’s Weekly, 12/03/2012 Author’s Website: http://www.erinjadelange.com http://www.butterslastmeal.com Related Books:
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher Inexcusable by Chris Lynch Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger Other Books by Erin Jade Lange: Dead Ends, 2013 Awards and Honors: Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, February 2014 Named a YALSA 2013 Teens’ Top Ten pick, October, 2013
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Barry Lyga. I Hunt Killers. Little, Brown. 368p. Annotation: Jazz, who is seventeen, the son of a serial killer, and has spent his life trying to prove he’s not like his father, finally gets the chance to prove it by trying to help the police when a new murder happens in his hometown. Book Talk: Being a serial murderer isn’t difficult if you have a father that grooms you for the kill your entire life, but figuring out how not to become was is almost impossible. His father’s first lesson for him“…find a run‐down old shack out in the woods where you can plan your crimes and bring your victims without anyone knowing.” The lessons started at a very early age, so young that he couldn’t remember exactly when they began. He remembered some big things, and some bits and pieces; a memory of blood running into a sink, the teacher his father dismembered on his seventh birthday, and cutting through something that felt like cutting up a chicken. He knew he had blocked out many things, but still so many other things stuck with him. “Struggling is what makes it worth doing, Billy said. Jazz closed his eyes, trying to chase away his father’s voice, but it was no good. Billy was on a roll, dispensing what he thought of as honest fatherly wisdom, caring what passed for his soul. Sometimes I can't tell the difference between living and dead. Sometimes I look at a pretty little girlie and I think to myself, Is she a living, breathing thing? Or is she just a doll? Are those actually tears she's crying? Are those real creams coming out of her mouth? And it's like a fog in my mind, like I get all confused and frustrated and mixed up, so I start doing things. Start small at first, like maybe with the ears or the lips or the toes. And then move on to the bigger things, and there's blood, so I keeping going and my hands are wet and my mouth is warm and I keep going and then something magical happens, Jasper. It's real magical and special and beautiful. See, they stop moving. They stop struggling. All the fight just goes away and that's when it's all clear to me: She's dead. And if she's dead, then that means that she used to be alive. So then I know: This was a living one, a real one. And I feel good after that 'cause I figured it out.”(p.36‐37) Although his father was now in jail, Jazz spent every waking hour trying to make sure he was different, and not anything like his father. No matter how hard he tried to block out every horrible memory, his father’s words kept running through his head, “You’ll make everyone forget Speck and Dahmer and even Jack the Goddamn Ripper. My boy. My boy.” Would he ever be able to escape his father’s legacy? Websites: http://barrylyga.com/novels/i‐hunt‐killers/
http://barrylyga.com/novels/i‐hunt‐killers/ (Publisher’s book trailer)
Reviews Booklist 02/01/12 Publishers Weekly starred 02/20/12 Horn Book 05/01/12 School Library Journal 04/01/12 Horn Book 11/01/12 Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) 04/01/12Kirkus Reviews 02/15/12 Awards and Honors: Other Books by Barry Lyga: Game Blood of My Blood The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl Goth Girl Rising Mangaman Boy Toy Archvillain series Her‐Type Who Done It? Unsould Related Books: Dekker, Ted. Adam. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008. 388p. Daniel Clark, FBI behavioral psychologist, never imagined he would become the next target of the notorious serial killer, Eve, nor did he imagine the ends he would go to in order to stop her in her tracks. Derting, Kimberly. The Body Finder. New York: Harper, 2010. 329p. Violet is a high school senior with the ability to sense the dead, which becomes too close for comfort when a serial killer hits her home town. Pascal, Francine. Kill Game. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. 262p. Gaia leaves her life of crime to become a member of the FBI, pushing herself to the max of her abilities both physically and mentally.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Maas, Sarah J. Throne of Glass. Bloomsbury, 2012. 404p. (Grades 7‐12).
Annotation: Pulled from the salt mines, eighteen year old Celaena is given the choice to die in the salt mines or to participate as the Prince’s “champion” in a series of events that are “to‐the‐death” tournaments. If she wins she would become the Prince’s assassin.
Booktalk: Celaena, a feared assassin in Adarlan, has been placed in a slave‐labor prison where people die before getting out. She is offered her freedom if she will be the Crown Prince champion in a competition with 23 other criminals. If she should win, she would serve four years as the king’s personal assassin before she would be free. Celaena does not like court life but she enjoys her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall. The Prince starts to show interest in her but she likes the Westfall, captain of the guard also and he seems to understand her best.
As the competitions continue towards the winner and the king’s assassin, one of the contestants is found dead…then another one. Canlaena must figure out who the killer is before she could be the next victim. There are other forces at work…an ancient and outlawed magic that she doesn’t understand; the love triangle that she is part of. Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world. .
FORMAT/INFO: Throne Of Glass is 406 pages long divided over fifty‐five numbered chapters. Narration is in the third‐person via Celaena Sardothien, Prince Dorian, Lady Kaltain and Chaol Westfall. There is also a map of Erilea provided along with an acknowledgements section. This is book one in the Throne Of Glass series.
Awards and Honors: YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2013
Other Books by Sarah Maas: The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (#0.1) The Assassin and the Desert (0.2) The Assassin and the Underworld (#0.3) The Assassin and the Empire (#0.4) The Assassin and the Healer (#0.5) The Assassin’s Blade (#0.1‐0.5) The Assassin and the Princess (#1.1) The Assassin and the Captain (#1.2) Throne of Glass series: Book 1 Throne of Glass Book 2 Crown of Midnight Book 3 Heir of Fire 2015 (plans for books 4‐6) Related Books: Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Defy by Sara B. Larson The Mark of the Butterfly by Jaleigh Johnson Dark Star by Bethany Frenette Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder If you LIKE: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Then TRY: Throne of Glass Here’s WHY: Mystery, battles to the death, love triangle, Court life
Cinder
Book one of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Meyer, Marissa. CINDER. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2012. 390 p. Annotation: Being a cyborg on Earth Union, after the new order and living in New Beijing, is dangerous, as cyborgs are considered sub‐human. Half human and half mechanical, Cinder tries to please her stepmother mother in order to stay in the family. Cinder痴 mechanical prowess introduces her to the royal house and can be both a curse and a blessing. Booktalk: Linh Cinder is a cyborg and an android mechanic living in New Beijing struggling to help her stepmother pay the bills. Not only is she treated like a pariah at home but also she is often treated like a second‐class citizen at her mechanic shop. She and her family have fallen on hard times since her loving stepfather died un‐expectantly. For some reason unknown to Cinder her stepmother blames her for his death. Cinder, her stepmother and two stepsisters live in a squalid apartment building with others in similar circumstances. The stepmother, Audri, begins to grasp at the hope that at the upcoming royal ball she will introduce her daughters, Peony and Pearl, to Prince Kaito, Crown Prince of The Eastern Commonwealth.
The Plague, Lutomosis, in The Eastern commonwealth has reached epidemic proportions and anyone suspected of having it is transported immediately quarantined. The royals will avoid being infected at any cost and Cinder is surprised when the Prince, in disguise, arrives at her shop to have his favorite android repaired. In turn the Prince is surprised that Cinder is a girl. Thus begins secrets and intrigues between the two.
The Plague begins to infect the royals and Cinder痴 family. Secrets about Cinder痴 real family begin to haunt her. The royal ball becomes a political scene when Princess Lavana from the Moon colony of Lunars weaves her schemes into marrying Prince Kaito. Cinder is under suspicion from the Lunar queen and must flee for her life with her android. Who is Cinder? Where on Earth can she escape when all citizens have a tracking chip embedded in them? Who will help her?
Author Biography: Marissa Meyer and her husband live in Tacoma, Washington. She reads fairy tales and Sailor Moon. www.marissameyer.com Reviews: Booklist, October 15, 2011 Horn Book, January/February, 2012 Kirkus Review, November 11, 2011 Library Media Connections, March/April, 2012
Publishers Weekly starred, November 07, 2011 School Library Journal, January 01, 2012 Awards and Honors: Oklahoma High School Sequoyah Book List 2014 Horn Book 11/01/12 New York Times Best Sellers Young Adult List Best of Books Lists: Publisher痴 Weekly Amazon Goodreads (Young Adult Sci‐Fi/Fantasy) YALSA Teens Top Ten Websites: www.marissameyer.com http://www.nanowrimo.org http://aritficialretina.energy.gov/ See Youtube for: Cyborg Insects World痴 First Bionic Eye Man Controls Robotic Hand With Eye Singing and Dancing Japanese Robot ASIMO is Learning An A.I. Robot Developed by Ford A Day Made of Glass Other Books by Marissa Meyer: Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles book two) Cress (The Lunar Chronicles book three) The Little Android: A New Lunar Chronicles Companion Story (posted to Meyer’s website on January 28, 2014) Winter (2015) Related Books: Fairy Tales: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine Enchanted by Alethea Kontis The goose Girl by Shannon Hale Heart’s Blood by Juliet Mariller Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce Futuristic and Dystopian: Across the Universe by Beth Revis The Giver by Lois Lowry The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Legend by Marie Lu Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Unwind by Neal Shusterman Music inspired by Cinder: Lunar Chronicles by Besos Digitales (an music band in Tacoma, WA) See Marissa Meyer’s website for more information Fairy Tales: Carson, Rae. The Crown of Embers (Girl of Fire and Thorns). Greenwillow, 2013. Carson, Rae. The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Greenwillow, 2013. Cashore, Kristin. Bitterblue. Firebird, reprint edition, 2013. Cashore, Kristin. Fire. Firebird, 2011. Cashore, Kristin. Graceling. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2009. George, Jessica Day. Princess of the Silver Woods (Twelve Dancing Princesses). Bloomsbury,
USA; reprint edition (2013). Kontis, Alethea. Enchanted (The Woodcutter Sisters). HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013. McGowan, Maureen. Cinderella: Ninja Warrior (Twisted Tales). Silver Dolphin Books, reprint
Quick, Matthew. Boy 21. New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2012. 250 p.
Annotation:
Complexity, tragedy, and fighting for the number 21 bring two unlikely basketball players together as they discover that social class and color has no significance in friendship or on the basketball court.
Booktalk:
One of the reasons they call Finley, White Rabbit, is because he’s the only white kid on his high school varsity basketball team. The other reasons have nothing to do with why you’ll want to read this book, but if basketball is your sport or if you love astrology, then you won’t be able to put this book down once you start reading it.
Coach introduces and asks Finley to look after Russ Washington, a nationally recognized athlete experiencing post‐traumatic stress after the murder of his parents. The connection between these two boys is evident as their friendship develops and the mysteries surrounding Russ and Finley are revealed. Why would Finley want Russ to play basketball even if he stands to lose his number and perhaps his position with the team? What happened to make Russ believe that he is an alien called Boy21? If you have ever had something so bad happen to you that you could never, ever tell anyone about it, or if you have ever been in a situation where you were the only one of your “kind”, then you will want to read Boy 21 by Matthew Quick.
Reviews:
Booklist Reviews 2012 March Horn Book Magazine Reviews 2012 July Kirkus Reviews 2012 February Library Media Connection Reviews 2012 January/February PW Reviews 2012 January SLJ Reviews 2012 March VOYA Reviews 2011 December Awards & Honors:
YALSA 2013 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults Best Teen books of 2012 Kirkus Reviews
South Dakota Young Adult Reading Program Nominees Missouri Gateway Readers Book Award Nominees Virginia State Reading Association for Young Readers Program 2013 Texas Tayshas Reading List Cybils: 2012 Finalist
Video Trailer ‐ http://matthewquickwriter.com/novels/boy21/videos/
Related books:
Myers, Walter Dean. Game. Thorndike Press, 2008. Pena, Matt de la. Ball Don’t Lie. Ember, 2007. Deuker, Cark. Night Hoops. HMH Books, 2009. Walker, Brian. Black Boy/White School. Harper, 2012. Other Books by Author: The Good Luck of Right Now. Harper, 2014. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. Little, Brown and Company, 2013. Sorta Like a Rock Star. Little, Brown and Company, 2010. Silver Linings Playbook. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Roth, Veronica. Insurgent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2012. 525 p.
Annotation:
In this sequel to Divergent, war is looming between the five factions in Chicago and 16‐year‐old Tris must deal with grief, guilt, questions of loyalty, and shattering family secrets.
Booktalk:
Picking up where the events of Divergent left off, Insurgent finds Tris Prior, her brother Caleb, fellow Dauntless member Peter, her boyfriend Four, and Four’s father Marcus seeking refuge with the Amity faction. War is inevitable after the Erudites launched an attack simulation on the Abegnation faction and Tris and company learn a rebellion is being planned by the factionless. While dealing with that, Tris is also struggling with grief, tension in her relationship with Four, a shocking betrayal, and tremendous guilt due to the choices she’s made. As the tagline says “One choice can destroy you.” Will Tris and everything she holds dear be destroyed?
Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction and Author Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominee Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award‐Best Young Adult 2012 Websites:
Author’s blog ‐ http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/ Author’s Twitter ‐ http://twitter.com/veronicaroth Author’s Facebook ‐ www.facebook.com/pages/Veronica‐Roth/108433975887375 Book Trailer ‐ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqfvAyuxPeU Divergent Fans ‐ http://www.divergentfans.com/ Related Books:
The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner Legend by Marie Lu Deviants by Maureen McGowan Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi Other Books by Veronica Roth: Divergent series: Divergent (Book 1) Allegiant (Book 3)
UnWholly
by Neal Shusterman
Shusterman, Neal. UnWholly. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. 402 p. Annotation:
In this suspenseful sequel to Unwind, Cam, a teenager with a perfect mind and body made entirely from the body parts of other Unwinds, must come to terms with who he really is and whether he has a soul .
Booktalk:
In this futuristic thriller, a sequel to the popular Unwind, the body parts from teens who were "unwound" have been used to create a perfect body and mind in the form of teenager, Camus Comprix. He lives in a laboratory setting, studied closely by the scientists who assembled him, but he becomes an individual who questions the morality of his very existence. He joins forces with Connor, Risa, and Lev (teens who escaped their own "unwinding") to fight the big business and political forces who want to expand the practice of harvesting body parts from troublesome teens, homeless children, and those sacrificed by their parents to exploit the poor and prison societies in the unwinding of bodies. Where does life really begin and end? How far can science go in the creation of humanity before ending it permanently? Find out in this futuristic thriller set in a dystopian world where bodies can be dismantled and then reconstructed in a lab. And then wait for the final book in this exciting trilogy by author Neal Shusterman!
Reviews:
Booklist 07/01/12 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 09/01/12
Horn Book 09/01/12 Horn Book 04/01/13 Kirkus Reviews 07/15/12 Library Media Connection 03/01/13 School Library Journal 09/01/12 Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) 08/01/12
Awards & Honors:
Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award nominee (Colorado) Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers nominee Oklahoma Sequoyah High School Book Award List SCIBA Book Award Finalist for 2013
Websites:
Neal Shusterman web site ‐ http://www.storyman.com/books/index.html Neal Shusterman blog ‐ http://nstoryman.wordpress.com/ Neal Shusterman Facebook ‐ https://www.facebook.com/nealshusterman Neal Shusterman Twitter ‐ https://twitter.com/nealshusterman Good Reads ‐ http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13545075‐unwholly Unwind wiki ‐ http://unwind.wikia.com/wiki/UnWholly UnWholly YouTube ‐ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgc3RfSCc70 Storyman Twitter ‐ https://twitter.com/UnWholly_Unwind Reading Group guide ‐ http://books.simonandschuster.com/UnWholly/Neal‐Shusterman/Unwind‐Dystology/9781442423671/reading_group_guide Other Books by Neal Shusterman: Unwind series: Unwind (Bk. 1) UnWholly (Bk. 2) UnSouled (Bk. 3) Skinjacker trilogy: Everlost (Bk. 1) Everwild (Bk. 2) Everfound (Bk. 3) Dark Fusion series: Dread Locks (Bk. 1) Red Rider's Hood (Bk. 2) Duckling Ugly (Bk. 3) Antsy Does Time Bruiser Dark Side of Nowhere Downsiders Full Tilt The Schwa Was Here Ship Out of Luck What Daddy Did
Related books:
Collins, Suzanne. Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. 374 p. In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the other
districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight‐to‐the‐death on live TV.
Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte, 3009. 375 p. Sixteen‐year‐old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Dell, 1993. 179p. In a dystopian society where the government controls everything including your lifetime assignment or job at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other. He then learns the terrible truth about the Community.
Oliver, Lauren. Delirium. New York: Harper, 2011. 441 p. In this futuristic society, the disease of “love” has been eradicated. Lena looks forward to receiving the government‐mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety‐five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2011. 487 p. In a future Chicago, sixteen‐year‐old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomoly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Ann Arbor, MI: State Street Press, 1988. 259 p. An eccentric scientist, Victor Frankenstein, creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Westerfield, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. 425p. In a future where “Rusties,” have destroyed the environment and a viral airborne disease has destroyed oil production, a new society has taken over and in an effort to control and rid the world of conflict has created “Pretties,” people whose only job is to party and be beautiful.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Stiefvater, Maggie. Raven Boys. New York : Scholastic Press, 2012. 409p. Annotation:
After the clairvoyant Blue Sargent sees the soon‐to‐be dead Raven Boy from Aglionby Academy, she falls in love with him and enters a strange and sinister world to save him. Booktalk: “There are only two reasons a non‐seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him” ‐ this from Blue Sargent's clairvoyant Aunt Neeve in the cemetery after Blue has seen a boy's image on the pathway. Blue has never had the same psychic abilities that her mother and aunt possess, and she is shocked that she has seen the image of a boy from the nearby exclusive boys' prep school, Aglionby. Later after she meets the Raven Boys (named for the schools' mascot) and falls for the handsome Gansey, she knows that she must try to alter the future and save him from certain death. Her mother has warned her that any boy that she kisses will die which further complicates the relationship. Gansey and his friends, Adam, Ronan, and Noah are on a quest to find Henrietta's ley line which will lead them to a medieval Welsh nobleman named Glendower. Blue will use her ability to enhance the energy surrounding the ley lines to help the boys find Glendower and to hopefully alter the future and save Gansey. This supernatural thriller keeps the reader enthralled with mixture of fantasy, magic, mystery, and teenage love story. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater is the first in a planned series of four books, The Raven Cycle. Reviews: Booklist starred 08/01/12 Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred 09/01/12
Horn Book 01/01/13 Horn Book 04/01/13 Library Media Connection 05/01/13 New York Times 11/11/12 Publishers Weekly starred 07/30/12 School Library Journal starred 10/01/12 Teacher Librarian 04/01/13
Awards & Honors:
Grand Canyon Reader Award nominee (Arizona) Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award nominee (Colorado) YALSA 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults Florida Teens Read Award nominee Oklahoma High School Sequoyah List Websites:
The Raven Boys wiki ‐ http://theravenboys.wikia.com/wiki/The_Raven_Boys Author's web site ‐ http://maggiestiefvater.com/the‐raven‐boys/ Goodreads ‐ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17675462‐the‐raven‐boys NY Times Sunday book review ‐ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/books/review/the‐raven‐boys‐by‐maggie‐stiefvater.html?_r=0 The Raven Boys ‐ Animated Book Trailer by Maggie Stiefvater ‐ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWzaJrJUP‐w Discussion Guide ‐ https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson‐plan/raven‐cycle‐discussion‐guide Related books:
Bray, Libba. The diviners. New York: Little, Brown, 2012. 578 p. Seventeen‐year‐old Evie O'Neill is thrilled when she is exiled from small‐town Ohio to New York City in 1926, even when a rash of occult‐based murders thrusts Evie and her uncle, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, into the thick of the investigation. Conford, Ellen. And this is Laura. Boston: Little, Brown, 1977. 179 p. The twelve‐year‐old member of a family of overachievers wishes she were special in some way too. Then she discovers she possesses psychic ability. Jocelyn, Marthe. How it happened in Peach Hill. New York Wendy Lamb Books, 2007. 232 p. When fifteen‐year‐old Annie Grey and "clairvoyant" mother arrive in Peach Hill, New York, in 1924, each finds a reason for wanting to finally settle down. Le Guin, Ursula. Gifts. Orlando: Harcourt, 2004. 274 p. When a young man in the Uplands blinds himself rather than use his gift of "unmaking"‐‐a violent talent shared by members of his family‐‐he upsets the precarious balance of power among rival, feuding families, each of which has a strange and deadly talent of its own. Hanley, Victoria. The Seer and the Sword. New York: Holiday House, 2000. 340 p.
Princess Torina, who has the ability to see the future, and her friend Landen, who seeks a sword that belongs to his conquered kingdom, are separated when a treacherous murderer gains power, but from exile each works to restore peace and the rightful rulers. Other books by Maggie Stiefvater:
The Scorpio Races Shiver trilogy: Shiver (Bk. 1)
Linger (Bk. 2) Forever (Bk. 3)
Raven Cycle: The Raven Boys (Bk. 1) The Dream Thieves (Bk. 2)
Break My Heart 1,000 Times by Daniel Waters
Waters, Daniel. Break My Heart 1,000 Times. Hyperion. 352p. (VOYA, PW, Kirkus). Annotation: “The Event” effected millions, leaving many ghosts in the aftermath to return day after day, as if nothing ever happened, one of which seems to be trying to tell Victoria Calder of something much more sinister going on.
Book Talk:
Since “The Event,”a catastrophic event that caused deaths of over one million people, everyone sees the ghosts. It has become common place to see the ghosts in the same place, at the same time, doing the same things day after day. It didn’t bother Veronica to see her father reading the paper and drinking coffee at the kitchen table each morning at the same time. It was common place until more and more ghosts began to appear. The ghost Veronica finds most alarming is that of a murdered high school girl who keeps appearing on her creepy history teacher’s front porch. When Veronica begins to feel even more uneasy around this teacher, she rallies her best friend, Kirk, to investigate the girl’s murder along with her. What they discover is far more than they bargained for.
Websites: http://watersdan.blogspot.com/2012/10/break‐my‐heart‐1000‐times‐blog‐tour.html Reviews: Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 12/01/12 Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) 10/01/12 School Library Journal 11/01/12 Kirkus Reviews 09/15/12 Publisher’s Weekly 09/24/12 Other Novels by Daniel Waters: Generation Dead Kiss of Life Dead Kiss Dead Stitches: Stories of the Undead Passing Strange
Related Novels Johnson, Maureen. The Name of the Star: Shades of London Book 1. Putnam. 372p. (Gr. 7+) Upon arrival at her London boarding school, RoryBoueuxlieu discovers that someone is copying the murders of Jack the Ripper and so far she seems to be the only witness to the crimes. Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Quirk Books. 352p. (Gr. 7+) Following his grandfather’s abrupt and brutal death, sixteen‐year‐old Jacob begins a journey of investigation with only a few strange photos, an abandoned orphanage, and his grandfather’s bizarre stories to guide him. Blake, Kendare. Anna Dressed in Blood. New York: Tor Books. 316p (Gr. 9+) Cas Lowood is a ghost hunter who kills the dead who are harmful to the living. When he arrives in Thunder Bay, he assumes that the local legends of "Anna" are just really elaborate myths until he meets her himself. Anna was murdered and anyone who enters her house never comes out.
