HS Book Awards 2012Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee Boot Camp by Todd Strasser Deadline by Chris Crutcher Disreputable History of Franke Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart Elsewhere by Gabrelle Zevin Evermore: the Immortals by Alyson Noel Graceling by Kristin Cashore Hold Tight by Harlan Coben House Rules: a Memoir by Rachel Sontag HungerGames by Suzanne Collins Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen Just Listen by Sarah Dessen Paper Towns by John Greene Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles Right Behind You by Gale Giles Rucker Park Setup by Paul Volponi Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson Unwind by Neal Shusterman Wake by Lisa McMann |
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YA Fiction: Fantasy, Supernatural, Suspense, and Survival
Rot & Ruin
This
dynamic variation on the Young Adult dystopian novel is a credit to author
Jonathan Maberry. Rot and Ruin is the compelling
journey of Benny Imura as he comes to terms with the event of First Night, and
the changing relationships he has with friends, his older brother, and the
gated community he has grown up in.
And guess what? It’s all about zombies, zombie bounty hunters, and zombie attacks and how to survive the great Ruin, or what is supposedly left of the United States at least. At least until someone sees something he wants to disappear and does more terrible things to try and cover his tracks. Mostly set in the Rocky mountains this story portrays the fallout of a zombie outbreak they refer to as First Night. Visit the author's big scary blog at http://jonathanmaberry.com/rot-ruin Hush, Hush
A mysterious and
suspenseful and at times romantic clash between fallen angels, immortal
Nephilim, and teenagers Hush Hush
will have you investigating bumps in the night. Introducing Becca Fitzpatrick’s
Nora Grey and her attractive new Biology Partner Patch.
Revolving around Nora and the strange things happening to and around this seemingly average High school student. Nora is attracted to the handsome and mysterious Patch, who always seems to be around, dangerous things start happening, especially once she begins to investigate a friend of a friend who seems to have been expelled from a prestigious private academy. Hatchet
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod
To read an excerpt from this popular series visit the author's website: http://www.heatherbrewer.com/books/eighthgrade.php
Revolver
By: Marcus Sedgwick
Valiant
By Holly Black
“Long branches tipped over a bottle into as the tree woman scrambled to pull away from the metal. She stared at the dark glass as it rolled into the street, watching the dregs of bitter poison drip out of the neck, seeing the familiar scrawl on the little strip of paper secured with wax. The contents of that bottle should have been a tonic, not the instrument of her death. She tried to lift herself up again….The tree woman felt the poison…’Ravus,’ the tree woman whispered, the bark of her lips cracking. ‘Ravus.’ Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie is the combination of grim and deadly old world faerie tales with a modern edge and common setting. Ship Breaker
By:Paolo Bacigalupi The harrowing survival story and adventure of a young man Nailer aka "Lucky Boy" set in a futuristic water-world where a culture of beach people eek out a living by breaking beached ships down to their salvageable components. Among the dangers to Nailer's pursuit of happiness are many people and surprising events. Find out what happens to Nailer as he tries to survive one lucky strike after another. Blood and Chocolate
"You deliberately endangered the pack and tormented one of your own."
What more can go wrong? This pack has fled from tragedy already, will Vivian Gandillon and her family survive to see her graduate high school? What role will the handsome Gabriel play in the pack's future? And can humans and pack coexist peacefully? This entertaining YA read by Annette Curtis Klause is a wholly different take on the popular fantasy genre of werewolf romance. Ashfall
By: Mike Mullin
The Scorpio Races
By: Maggie Stiefvater
So Silver Bright
By: Lisa Mantchev
Divergent
By: Veronica Roth
Anna Dressed in Blood
By: Kendare Blake
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie’s Arnold “Junior” Spirit takes an irreverent and brutally when not comically honest sort of look at what it means to be a teenage boy, living on a reservation, going to a nearby off-reservation school. This teen character seems from the outset to have everything against him: a birth defect, poor alcoholic parents, a violent and racially biased community, and few prospects for the future.
Am I Blue?
Am I Blue? Is a collection of
short stories written by terrific authors and collected by Marion Dane Bauer,
all to do with coming out or addressing homosexuality especially in the family.
Ranging from amusing results in the face of torment like the first and titular
work Am I Blue is about a tormented
boy being able to see everybody who is gay/lesbian or has experimented in
homosexuality when they turn blue; including the bully. In this first story he
has a fairy godfather who fulfills the “swishy” stereotypical gay role. To the
sad and realistic Winnie and Tommy, In
the Tunnels, Parent’s Night and Holding....
Speak
This
uncomfortable story feels like the main character must feel, a little apart, a
little gloomy and little frustrating. As if high school was not bad enough
Laurie Halse Anderson depicts how it could be worse. In Speak Melinda has to survive the fallout of rape and becoming a
complete social outcast. Since she cannot talk about what happens and nobody
knows she sinks into what seems like apathy—but is actually depression.
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
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Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: The Manga Edition
The Manga version of
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by Adam Sexton and Hyeondo Park is a great
variation on presentation. Shakespeare’s work is renowned for its adaptability
and continued appeal to modern audiences. Manga is a graphic presentation that
in this case enlivens a classic story which will appeal to students still
required to know the story, but are either unable or unwilling to read the traditional
play format.
The Hunger Games
Katniss
the protagonist of this triology is a teen girl in a future location called Panem who is used to
working hard to survive. When events lead to her becoming one of the two
tributes from her district, much like a gladiator she must play to live in the
televised Hunger Games. Her dystopian world has been divided and conquered by
the wealthy and prosperous capitol of Panem which hosts the Hunger Games as both
entertainment and as control, proof of dominion over the twelve districts,
(formerly 13), of Panem.
Graceling
Meet Katsa skilled
assassin and enforcer from the gripping adventure Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Dubbed the Lady
Killer and feared by many as King Randa’s strong arm, Katsa is also a young
woman struggling with perspective and discontent, rebelling in secret with a
band of close friends and accomplices. The adventure begins on the first page
and does not stop as intrigue, assassination, mystery, friends and enemies as
well as survival struggles convolute Katsa’s way.
The Maze Runner
Maze
Runner might be one of the strangest books I have ever
read! You enter with Thomas or
Greenbean or Greenie as the other residents of the Glade dub him. You arrive in
a dark metal box from a deep chute that goes nowhere and cannot be scaled. You
have only fleeting and incomplete memories including your name and general
memories of your past strictly excluding all persons, places, and events. Though you know pretty much nothing from the
beginning it becomes obvious how dangerous the world of the Maze is and that
things are changing...
Going Bovine
Libba
Bray’s Going Bovine is very different
from her previous Gemma Doyle books. This trippy tale of a teen Cameron and his
sidekick start with a dysfunctional family and Creutzfeldt-
Jacob’s disease. Our introduction begins with the best day of Cameron’s life,
it happened “when I was five and almost died at Disney World….we ended up on
the subterranean It’s a Small World ride….I don’t know exactly how I made the
connection, but right around Iceland, apparently, I got the idea that this was
the afterlife. Sure, I had heatstroke and had eaten enough sugar to induce
coma, but really, it makes sense in a weird way. It’s dark. It’s creepy. And
suddenly, everybody’s getting along a little too well, singing the same song.
…Whatever it was, I was convinced that this ride was where you went to die….in
a way I’ve been dying ever since”
Maximum Ride: The Manga
The Beekeeper's Apprentice
By: Laurie R. KingA masterfully woven mystery spun from the infamous character Sherlock Holmes and given new depth in this fun adventure with the addition of young Miss Mary Russell an original character. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is a gripping piece of historical fiction with all sorts of fascinating details and surprises along the way. The Dark is Rising
Elrick The Stealer of Souls
By: Michael Moorcock ”Ravaged, at last, by the formless terror called Time….” The world of Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melbone is heralded as the greatest post-Tolkien British fantasy, similarly; the elaborately developed world and many characters can be a challenge to read. The indubitably entertaining story of swordfights with a vampiric and sentient sword and the ability to wield magic is perhaps a little elevated for the average YA reader. Book of Shadows
By: Cate TiernanSweep is a phenomenal series, based around Morgan’s gradual awareness and growth into Wicca as well as the complex unfurling of a mystery that began before her birth as evil and misdeeds were hidden and began far reaching chains of events. You find out in this first work called Book of Shadows that Morgan is a blood witch that means she is biologically a witch both her parents were powerful practitioners, but who were they? And what kind of havoc will this knowledge and inherent ability wreak on Morgan’s adoptive family? Tension also rises at school as Morgan’s ability is expressed and as a handsome new boy plays her against her best friend Bree. Throughout the books chapters are begun with excerpts from journals and other perspectives while Morgan and a cast of characters mostly direct the plot. Crown Duel
By: Sherwood Smith
This fast paced book opens with subtle magic, sword fighting, pranks, horseback riding, knife throwing heroes and ends with all kinds of court intrigue. In part 1 “Crown Duel” you are plunked right into the action as the barefoot countess Meliara Altiere must learn to distinguish friend from foe and survive the ravages of civil war against an opulent king’s huge army. While scurrying across the country Meliara really comes to understand other people and what they think of “her war” and what they want from the future. In Part 2 “Court Duel” Meliara must overcome the deficits of her upbringing to ensure the kingdom is delivered to the better future she promised her father. In order to fulfill this deathbed promise Meliara must come to know the contenders for the crown and the ways of court. In the end it is her relationships with Vidanric Marquis de Shevraeth and the old King “Greedy Galdran’s” family (sister, niece, and nephew) that really set the course for the future. Little Brother
By: Cory DoctorowA frame job becomes a spy/tech thriller! Birthmarked
Last Night I Sang to the Monster
Almost Perfect
Almost Perfect all began
with a breakup and it has incredible moments. This touching work
about the struggles of two teens is made all the more dramatic for its
realistic character responses. This compelling work could not be put down in my
hopeful search for the happy ending, which I caution, did not really come.
Meet Logan an average student, a runner, a senior in high school that was just thoroughly and effectively dumped by his girlfriend of three years. How did she dump him without saying a word? You will have to read and find out why Logan is so angry and disappointed; until, that is he meets Sage. |
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Read for a Lifetime: master listAfter by Amy Efaw
Aftershock by Kelly Easton Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen Blind Side by Michael Lewis Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Bloomsbury Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne Catcher in the Rye by J.C. Salinger Charles & Emma: the Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose Going Bovine by Libba Bray Graceling by Kristin Cashore Guerney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls If I Stay by Gayle Forman Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Road by Cormac McCarthy Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater Super Freakonomics by Steven Levitt And Stephen J. Dubner Swim the Fly by Don Calme Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson |