Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
There's
a weird new girl at a conformist Arizona High School. She dresses
in flowing old-style dresses, carries around her pet rat, serenades
her classmates with her ukulele, and captures the attention of
everyone at school. Stargirl's mere presence starts a trend of
individuality, and sparks the interest of our point-of-view character
Leo. Things go well for them and their blossoming relationship
until Stargirl's eclectic personality starts to wear thin on the
student body. Buckling under peer pressure, Leo asks Stargirl
to do the one thing that could destroy her, be normal.
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
A
hilarious tale about a reluctant and utterly honest football hero
who gets stuck in semi-permanent detention for his less-then-glowing
review of "Old Shep, My Pal," which happens to be his
English teacher's favorite book. So now he's off the football
team and stuck serving detention with his teacher during after-school
drama club sessions until he writes a suitable review. To make
matters worse, the play the drama club is rehearsing for is "Old
Shep, My Pal." Our hero's sarcastic comments and cries for
realism are taken to heart by the cast, resulting in many changes
and rewrites. Eventually the boring old play becomes a raucous
rock and rap musical on roller skates, complete with moped stunts,
a radio controlled dog to play Shep, and the cast making a last
minute pledge to have No More Dead Dogs.
Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
by Mara Leveritt
Ever
been arrested for murder for wearing a Metallica t-shirt? Damien
Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin were your typical
small town teens, until they were arrested for the murder of three
children. Tried and convicted, the teens are the subject of a
huge controversy: Did they really kill these kids? Author Leveritt
obviously believes that the three teens are innocent of all wrongdoing,
for in her opinion the three were convicted on evidence that was
circumstantial to say the least, evidence that was based on the
teens' beliefs, such as their t-shirts.
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
What
makes a man? Bobby is a single teenaged father trying to figure
that out. Did making Feather, his beautiful daughter make him
a man? Was it when he decided to keep the baby instead of giving
her away? This Printz and Coretta Scott King Award winning novel
isn't a moral tale about teen parents. It's a story about a boy
learning what it really takes to be a man: accepting responsibility
for your mistakes, doing what needs to be done, and living life
for something more than the fun of the moment. It's about being
a real man who can be proud of himself and the decisions he's
made.
King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Biography by
Chris Crutcher.
So,
you want to do something neat? Chris's brother would ask.
So, what really happens when you pee on the radiator? Ask Chris.
So, would it be cool to be shot at with a b-b gun by your brother?
Ask Chris.
So, who is Jesus' older brother? Ask Chris.
Chris Crutcher's frank biography of life as a boy in small town
Idaho goes beyond the typical into an atypical and often hilarious
look into someone else's family. Read it to find the answers to
the above questions and many more.
The Beduins' Gazelle by Frances Temple
Aitayah
and Halima are looking forward to their upcoming marriage. Things
change when Aitayah is sent to Fez by his uncle to attend University.
Halima is forced into accepting a marriage proposal after being
captured by a neighboring tribe while looking for water. Aitayah
sets off to rescue her, but things take an unexpected turn when
he is caught.
Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
A
daughter must follow her father's wishes as Shabanu knows, but
that doesn't mean she has to like it. Independent, with a mind
of her own, she is uncomfortable with the restrictions placed
on her by tradition. Shabanu contemplates her future as her sister's
wedding draws near. When their family is attacked, Shabanu must
make a difficult decision: marry a man she neither knows nor loves,
or watch her family slowly disintegrate. What will she do?
A
Stone in my Hand by Cathyrn Clinton
Malaak
is living in a world of make-believe. In this world, her father
isn't killed by an exploding bomb; in this world, her brother
doesn't fight the Israeli soldiers; in this world Palestine and
Israel are not at war. Malaak finds a reason to come back to the
real world when her brother gets in over his head. It may not
be pretty, it may not be perfect, but it's the place she is needed
most.
The
Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn
Mackler.
Virginia
is…plump, overweight, heavy, fat- she has heard them all,
and mostly from her parents! After her best friend and only sympathizer
moves to Walla Walla for a year so that her parents can study
onions, Virginia is left, she thinks, without friends or even
a supportive family. Froggy, her sometimes make-out partner, is
ignoring her at school, and the only girl who will talk to her
has a habit of knitting in class. After Virginia finds out something
horrible and shocking about her seemingly perfect brother, everything
falls apart. Can an eyebrow ring and some hair dye change a person?
Ask Virginia. Her answer might just be yes.
Gingerbread
by Rachel Cohn
With
her doll named Gingerbread always with her and her feet in a pair
of combat boots 16 year old Cyd is the ultimate rebel. When she
gets kicked out of a boarding school Cyd finds herself living
under tight restrictions with her mother and stepfather. Her "hellion"
behavior, like staying out all night at a party, clashes with
her parents' rules and leave Cyd at odds with them. This wild
behavior is an outlet for dealing with the pain of her well-kept
and personal secret that she trusts no one with. When her frustrated
parents can't handle Cyd anymore they send her to stay with her
biological father whom she has only met once. Now in New York
her outlook rapidly changes and she learns to open up to her family.
Winter
by John Marsden
When
Winter refuses to stay any longer with her guardians, the Robinsons,
she returns to her deceased parents' estate called Warriewood.
She finds that the farm, left under the care of the well-paid
Robinsons, has been neglected and the farmhouse stripped of all
its expensive furniture. Upon visiting her parents' graves she
also learns that the Robinsons lied to her about how her parents
died. She was told that when she was four years old her parents
died together in a yachting accident. However, the dates on the
gravesites reveal that her mother actually died six months after
her father died. When Winter sets out to determine how her mother
died she meets resistance to the truth. The locals do not want
the truth to resurface. However, as the story unfolds, Winter
shockingly remembers more about the day her mother died than she
wants to.
The
Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
12 year old Jason is accused of the brutal murder of a 7 year
old girl. Desperate, without any clues, evidence or suspects,
the Chief of Police is under constant pressure from politicians
to find the person responsible for the crime. He calls in Trent,
a notorious interrogator, who has a reputation of always getting
a confession from the suspects he questions.
Jason,
who may have been the last person to see the little girl alive,
is brought to the police station under false pretenses. He is
subjected to a one-on-one interview with Trent, who masterfully
questions James. The relentless questions lead to a shocking and
chilling conclusion.
The
Wreckers by
Iain Lawrence
It
is John's first trip with his merchant father on their ship, Isle
of Skye. When the ship is wrecked off the coast of Cornwall John
appears to be the only survivor from the ship. When he reaches
the coast he finds out that the shipwreck was not an accident,
but that local villagers deliberately cause ships to wreck so
they can salvage the cargos. John doesn't know who to trust, but
he must take his chances to save his father who is in the wreckers'
prison.
Princess
Diaries by Meg Cabot
Imagine
waking up one day to find out that not only are you royalty, but
you are expected to eventually take the throne and rule a small
country!
This
is exactly what happens to Mia Thermopolis. Mia has enough trouble
passing algebra, controlling her uncontrollable hair, taking care
of her mom (a brilliant artist who can't remember to pay the electric
bill), dealing with a cat who insists on eating things like socks
and coping with being in love with her best friend's older brother.
Now
Mia must take Princess Lessons with Grandmere, convince her new
country of the benefits of vegetarianism and recycling and deal
with the indignity of her mother dating her math teacher. Follow
the hilarious adventures of Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi
Thermopolis Renaldo, other wise known as Mia, as she goes from
a struggling high school student to Her Royal Highness, Princess
of Genovia in the Princess
Diaries and its three sequels: Princess
in the Spotlight, Princess
in Love and Princess
in Waiting.
