Black & White and Dead All Over

by John Darnton

It's bad enough that the New York Globe is struggling with decreasing circulation and advertising while its readership increasingly depends on the Internet for its news. But the Globe is really in trouble when one of its most hated editors is murdered and his bleeding body deposited on the floor of the main newsroom, with a stake through his chest. Ace reporter Jude Hurley is given the assignment to cover the murder, teaming up with NYPD detective, Priscilla Bollingsworth. They are obviously dealing with a clever murderer because two weeks pass with little real evidence and few clues coming to light, while two more Globe reporters are murdered in ever more gruesome ways. The ambitions and petty jealousies of editors and reporters at the Globe put nearly everyone under suspicion and make for a smart, suspenseful story by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, John Darnton. This great read will be available at the LHS library this fall.

---reviewed by Dail Sams

SLAM by Nick Hornby

Sam is a normal 15-year-old boy whose life has finally hit a great spot. He has a decent relationship with his single mom, his art teacher has encouraged him to go to college in graphic design, he has learned some great skateboarding moves, and he has a beautiful girlfriend. World-famous skateboarder Tony Hawk is Sam's hero and the source of his best advice, in the form of quotes from Hawk's autobiography, which Sam has read about a thousand times. But all it takes is one 5-minute slip in judgment, and his life is changed forever. He receives a slam against the wall, in a big way. When he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant, all he thinks about doing is running away, but in the end, Sam does the only thing he can do. He decides to be responsible and does some major growing up. Sam is a funny and oddly endearing character, and Hornby, an English author, has written a realistic novel about teenage fatherhood, and the importance of taking responsiblilty for our mistakes. Three of Nick Hornby's books have been made into major motion pictures. Find out more about him on his official website, http://www.nicksbooks.com/index.php/archives/category/news/. Read Slam, on this year's Tayshas list. --reviewed by Dail Sams

What I Saw and How I Lied

by Judy Blundell

This is a classic coming of age story set in post-World War II Palm Beach, Florida. Evie and her mom and step-father, just home from the war, leave their New Jersey home for a celebratory trip to Palm Beach. Evie, nearly 16, believes herself to be a plain, awkward girl, and constantly compares herself to her knock-out gorgeous mother Beverly. But while in Florida, Evie falls for a handsome GI who shows up to see her step-father Joe. Peter is friendly and kind to Evie, and she begins to believe that she can make Peter see her own beauty. It is obvious that there is tension between Joe and Peter for reasons that Evie can't quite understand. Evie is naive and inexperienced and completely misreads what is going on right under her nose. When Peter is mysteriously killed in a boating accident with her parents, and Joe comes under suspicion, Evie learns that she has never really known the people who are closest to her. In the period of a few days, she grows up, learns some of the truth and realizes what she has to do to protect her world. Evie Spooner will never be the same again. What I Saw and How I Lied is the 2009 National Book Award Winner. --reviewed by Dail Sams

The London Eye Mystery

by Siobhan Dowd

The London Eye is one of the most recognizable landmarks of London. Perched on the edge of the Thames, it is an enormous Ferris wheel-looking thing, only not, because you can't see the wheel turning. It goes so slowly, it takes 30 minutes for the wheel to to make one complete revolution, and on a clear day, those who ride can see all over London. Ted, the narrator of this book, and Kat, his not-always friendly sister, take their cousin Salim to ride the Eye, when he makes a visit to London. Since a strange man offered them a free ticket, and Kat and Ted had already ridden the Eye before, they decided to let Salim ride by himself, while they waited for him below. Keeping their eye on the capsule Salim had entered, they waited for 30 minutes till it came back around. And when it did, Salim did not emerge from the capsule. Ted and Kat waited for the next capsules, then started frantically searching all around the area, but Salim had disappeared. The next day the police are called in, and soon Salim's parents decide to make an appeal on TV. All the while Ted and Kat are doing their own investigation and coming up with their own sometimes hilarious theories. Ted, our narrator, has Asperger's Syndrome, which means his brain works a little differently than most people's. It also means he is very literal, which leads to some pretty funny explanations on his part. But it also means that he is very helpful in the investigation, because he looks at the situation from a very unique perspective. While doing their best to find Salim, Kat and Ted become better friends, and both of them do some growing up. The London Eye Mystery is a serious story, because Salim could really be in danger, but Ted's funny commentary, keeps the story light. A fun, quick read, and on this year's Texas Lone Star list. ~reviewed by Dail Sams

Sundays at Tiffanys

By James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

I heard a radio interview with internationally known author James Patterson the other day on my way home from school. Amazingly, he has nine, yes nine, books coming out this year. He manages this by having co-authors. Such is the case with Sundays at Tiffanys, a tender love story, reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks. Jane Margaux is the 8-year-old daughter of an inattentive single mom, Vivienne, a hard-nosed, ever busy Broadway producer. Jane survives because she has an imaginary friend named Michael. Michael is a grown man whose job it is to befriend needy children. We are never quite sure if he's ghost or angel, but whatever he is, he takes very good care of Jane until she turns 9 years old, when he has to leave her. That's the rule. Michael can only stay until the child's ninth birthday, because after that, she can manage on her own. He endures these excruciatingly difficult leave-takings because the children he loves and leaves forget him almost immediately. Even for Michael, the memories of his children become very fuzzy. But Jane is special, and she never forgets Michael, and he doesn't forget her.

Fast forward 20 years, and Michael is back in NYC. One day he sees Jane, who is still being walked all over by one who should love her. To his astonishment, she recognizes him. This is a modern-day fairy tale, so it is not hard to imagine where this story goes. Though Sundays at Tiffany's holds few surprises, it is still a satisfying read for those of us who love happily ever afters.

--reviewed by Dail Sams

NIGHT ROAD

by A.M. Jenkins

Another in the rash of vampire novels which have come out since Twilight, Night Road takes a darker, more traditional view of vampires, called hemes (for hemevores). Most of the action in this story takes place during the night, because in this version, sunlight is devastatingly harmful to hemes, and they are meticulous in protecting themselves from it. Cole, a 170-year old heme, has become solitary and introverted, protecting himself from memories and relationships too painful to deal with. When Johnny calls Cole back to the Building, a haven for other hemes in an urban area, he knows something is up. Johnny wants Cole and Sandor to take Gordon,"the accident" , a new heme, on the road, to teach him everything he needs to know about his new life. It's been a long time since Cole has spent this much time with other people. His overwhelming sense of responsibility toward Gordon causes him to remember and share memories that he has stuffed for a long time. It also causes him neglect his own needs so that Gordon has his needs met, leading to a terrifying near catastrophe. This road trip certainly prepares Gordon for the life he is destined to live for eons, but Cole comes away changed for the better as well.

An interesting take on the vampire world, but I found it hard to really connect to this story or these characters. However, it is certain to appeal to YA readers who like dark, melancholy tales.

--reviewed by Dail Sams

Am I a censor???
For the past few days I've been reading a four-book series about the daughter of the first woman President of the United States. To tell the truth, I haven't been able to put these books down. Meg is an extremely appealing character, smart, funny, and honest. The first book takes the Powers family through Meg's mother's presidential campaign. The second one focuses on the family's move to the White House and all the adjustments that come with living in a fish bowl with 24/7 Secret Service protection. When the President is shot in an assassination attempt, the family's world is turned upside down. In book three, my favorite so far, Meg is kidnapped by terrorists, beaten, and left to die, chained in an abandoned mine shaft. The fourth book which I'm still reading, chronicles Meg's recovery, her painful physical rehab, her struggle with post-traumatic stress syndrome and feelings about her mother's refusal to negotiate with terrorists, and her need to go to college and move on with her life. Even when the plots are not totally spell-binding, still the characters kept me coming back for more. I have to know what happens to Meg.
So, what's the problem? It's the language. Meg and her younger brother and her best friend Beth, use non-stop profanity, most of it taking the Lord's name in vain. I went back and reread the reviews upon which I based the acquisition of these books. Only one of them mentions Meg's language as being "appropriately raw," while all give very positive revi ews. I guess I have to be fair and say that most of the profanity is in Meg's head. Meg is mostly very respectful and discreet when actually speaking to other people. But that doesn't change the perspective that there's a lot of what I would consider inappropriate language in these books. So, I now have the difficult decision whether or not to keep these books in the library collection. As much as I have enjoyed the story, the language offends me, and I think it could offend others. On the other hand, in our rather crude society, I know that there is nothing in these books that LHS students haven't heard on a regular basis in TV shows and movies. I often remind myself that a significant percentage of our student population is of adult age, or about to be, and I don't think it's my job to protect them or censor their reading material. On the other hand, I have to live with my conscience and be faithful to the task of providing excellent resources to complement and support the curriculum. In this case, I think I'll have to pull these books from the shelf. In other cases, I heave a sigh, wishing young adult authors didn't feel the need to be quite so "realistic," and put the books on the shelf. Finding the balance is the hardest part of my job.

2009 Tayshas Reading List with Annotations

• Alexie, Sherman. Flight. Grove Atlantic, 2007. AD/YA. Fiction. Annotation: 15 year old "Zits" has a whole bunch of anger and 2 guns in his pocket. But just as he's about to exact his revenge he mind jumps into an FBI agents brain.
  
• Archer, Lily. The poison apples. Feiwel and Friends, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: When they first arrive at their exclusive Massachusetts boarding school, 15-year-olds Molly, Reena, and Alice appear to have little in common. Soon, though, the girls discover that each has a much-loathed, recently acquired stepmother.
  
• Armstrong, Kelley. The Summoning. Harper, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation:
  Chloe sees ghosts. At least she thought she did before being sent to a group home and told she has schizophrenic hallucinations. So how come she isn't so sure they're telling the truth?
  
• Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why. Razorbill for the Penguin Group, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation:Clay comes to find a package on his porch with his name on it. His crush, Hannah, who committed suicide two weeks earlier, has recorded tapes explaining why she killed herself. There are thirteen reasons, and Clay’s one of them. ( see my Dec. 1, 2008 post)
  
• Bradbury, Jennifer. Shift. Atheneum, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Before starting college Chris and his best friend Win decide to bicycle across the United States. The trouble starts when Chris is the only one who returns.
  
• Bradley, Alex. Hot Lunch. Dutton Children’s Books, 2007.YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: After an epic food fight Molly and Cassie are forced to work in the school cafeteria to create a hot lunch each day for their fellow students.
  
• Brooks, Kevin. Black Rabbit Summer. Scholastic/Chicken House, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: It was supposed to be one last get together before everyone moved on to college. It was supposed to be about reminiscing. It was supposed to be fun. It wasn't. (see post on November 14, 2008)
  
• Caletti, Deb. The Fortunes of Indigo Skye. Simon & Schuster, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: What would you do if you were given two and a half million dollars unexpectedly? Indigo Skye, a high-school senior, with a fairly normal life, finds out just what impact that kind of money has on her life.
  
• Clare, Cassandra . City of Bones: The Mortal Instruments Book One. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: In 24 hours, Clary Fray's mother disappears, Clary is attacked by demons, she discovers she has the Sight, and she meets the mysterious Shadowhunters. Clary's entire life has been one big lie.
  
• Collins, Suzanne. Hunger Games. Scholastic, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Every year 24 teens are chosen to play in the Hunger Games. The only way to win is to survive. You might make alliances, you might try to avoid killing, but if you want to win everyone else has to die
  
• Crocker, Nancy. Billie Standish Was Here. Simon & Schuster. 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Billie is abused, shy, and lonely, but finds herself forging an unlikely, rich, loving friendship with her elderly neighbor when the levee threatens to break in their rural 1968 Missouri community.
  
• Cross, Shauna. Derby Girl. Henry Holt and Company, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Bliss Cavendar is an Indie rock kind of a girl that finds her passion for life in the roller rink of an Austin based Girls Roller Derby League and not in her tiny hometown of Bodeen, Texas, known for its beauty pageants and ice cream factory. Bliss's roller derby participation, of course, is unknown to her parents, who would not approve, and it's just a matter of time before Bliss's lying ways catch up with her.
  
• De La Pena, Matt. Mexican Whiteboy. Delacourte Press, 2008. YA. Fiction Annotation: Danny is angry at his Caucasian mom because he thinks she left his Hispanic father. While spending the summer with his father's family, he practices his pitching, falls in love, and discovers himself.
  
• De Lint, Charles. Dingo. Firebird, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Love at first sight, that is what Miguel feels when he lays eyes on Lainey. But Lainey isn't what she appears to be and Miguel must risk everything, including his life to save her.
  
• Deuker, Carl. Gym Candy. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation:His father, a former NFL player, made sure his son Mick always played football, beginning at age four. Mick wants nothing more than to be the best football player on the team, number one in the eyes of his dad, his teamates, and coaches. When he falls short as a freshman, Mick decides to to go down a dangerous path to be the best.
  
• Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother. Tor, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Seventeen year old techie, gamer, Marcus Yarrow is at the wrong place at the wrong time during a terrorist attack. After being held against his will and tortured by the DHS, Marcus fights back. ( see the April 20, 2009 post)
  
• Downham, Jenny. Before I die. David Fickling Books, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Tessa is dying. But she’s not willing to go without living first.
  
• Duey, Kathleen - Skin Hunger. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Sadima was born into a time when magic was outlawed; Hahp was born into a time when it had been restored. Both must use their wits to survive.
  
• Felin, M. Sandy –Touching Snow, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation:Karina knows the best way to avoid being picked on by high school bullies is to kill someone. And even if you haven’t, just letting them think you have gets the same effect. She also knows that this is the year that everything is going to change.
  
• Fletcher, Chistine. Ten Cents a Dance. Bloomsbury, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: In 1941 Chicago, it isn't easy for respectable girls to make a living. So when Ruby discovers a way to make money - make that lots of money - she's willing to take her chances despite the risks.
  
• Friedman, Aimee. Breaking Up. Graphix, 2007. YA. Graphic Novel. Annotation: Four girls, Mackensie, Isabel, Erika, and Chloe, have been best friends since grade school. Starting their junior year of high school, at the school they have dubbed Fashion High, their feelings start to change and each becomes their own person, risking the tight bond they have shared for years.
  
• Gaiman, Neil and Michael Reaves. Interworld. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Joey Harker is so bad with directions, he can't find his way out of his own room sometimes. So when he and two classmates are dropped off somewhere in the middle of his hometown with instructions from their History teacher to find their way to a rendezvous point, Joey knows they are in trouble. Although the street they are on looks somewhat familiar, it doesn't take Joey long to get lost...really, really lost. Parallel universe lost.
  
• Gallagher, Liz. The Opposite of Invisible. Wendy Lamb Books, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: What is the difference between love and a crush? Alice must decide this when she is confronted with the choice between Jewel (Julian) , her best friend since age three and Simon, the new guy in town
  
• Gardner, Sally. The Red Necklace. Dial Books, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, an imprisoned girl of noble birth and a Gypsy boy with mysterious powers must outwit their enemies before it is too late.
  
• Giles, Gale. Right Behind You. Little, Brown, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Kip committed a horrible crime when he was only nine years old. Now he has to live with the guilt and hiding the truth from his friends. When he finally meets someone that he has to tell, if he wants a relationship, he is afraid of the consequences which have troubled him most of his life.
  
• Green, John. Paper Towns. Dutton Books, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Quentin is shocked when Margo shows up at his window and enlists his help in an engenious scheme. But he's even more shocked when she disapears the next day leaving a series of clues for him to decode (see the March 23, 2009 post)
  
• Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days. Bloomsbury. 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: On the first day of her service as a princess’ maid, fifteen-year-old Dashti, and her princess, Lady Saren, are locked in a tower for seven years because Lady Saren refuses to marry the horrible prince her father has selected for her. After several years pass, the world seems to have forgotten about them, and in order to survive they must escape.
  
• Halpern, Julie. Get Well Soon. Feiwel and Friends, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: In funny, easygoing prose, 16-year-old Anna writes letters while spending three difficult, involuntary weeks in a mental institution. Anna's parents placed her there because she stopped going to school due to panic attacks, crying jags and death wishes.
  
• Hearn, Julie. Ivy. Simon & Schuster, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: After running away from school, Ivy must learn to thwart a variety of scalawags, hungry pythons, thieves, jealous mothers, overly avid artists, and a host of incorrigible scoundrels that mean her harm
  
• Henderson, Lauren. Kiss Me Kill Me. Delacorte Books, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Two minutes after Dan kisses Scarlett he drops dead. No one knows how or why he died. The only thing Scarlett can be sure of is she wants to clear her reputation as the girl with the "Kiss of Death."
  
• Hoffman, Mary. The Falconer's Knot: A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play. Bloomsbury, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Sixteen-year-old, prince, Silvano is infatuated with Angelica. Angelica is already married to a wealthy merchant. Angelica’s husband is murdered, Silvano is the prime suspect. Hiding out in a nearby friary until he can prove his innocence, Silvano meets Chiara who has been forced to enter the nunnery next door.
  
• Hornby, Nick. Slam. Putnam’s Sons, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Fifteen-year-old Sam lives for skateboarding and often gets advice from his hero, champion skater Tony Hawk, but his life drastically changes when his girlfriend reveals that she’s pregnant. (see my July 5, 2009 post)
  
• Jocelyn, Marthe. Would You. Wendy Lamb Books, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Natalie and her friends are always playing the game "Would you rather". When Natalie's older sister is involved in a terrible accident, Natalie wonders if she would rather die then have her sister die.
  
• Johnson, Maureen. Suite Scarlett. Scholastic, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation:
  Scarlett knows her summer's going to suck. All her friends on adventures and she's stuck working at her parents' hotel. Then Mrs. A checks in, an out of work actress who shakes everything up.
  
• Johnson, Varian. My Life as a Rhombus. Flux, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Rhonda has sworn off boys and popular kids all together. When she starts tutoring Sarah in trig, she is faced with both. The popular Sarah, her sweet, good looking brother, David, and a secret threaten to pull Rhonda from the pulled-together, school centered life she has made for herself.
  
• Kephart, Beth. Undercover. HarperTeen, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Elisa is undercover. She secretly writes love notes for the boys in her class. Not to them, understand, but for them. Not a problem until she writes for Theo, a boy she begins to notice more and more. With their increasing contact, will she be able to stay undercover?
  
• Kuklin, Susan. No Choirboy- Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row. Henry Holt, 2008. YA. Non-fiction. Annotation: Teenagers do end up on death row for the crimes they have committed. Kuklin takes readers insider their lives and explores the thoughts and feelings these young offenders have about their crimes.

• Lipsyte, Robert. Yellow Flag. HarperCollins, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Kyle is born into a legendary NASCAR racing family, but loves playing trumpet. When his brother Kris is injured, he feels pressured to give up music and do what his family thinks he's born to do.
  
• Lockhart, E. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Hyperion, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation: Everyone has always underestimated Frankie. But when she is kept out of a secret society at her boarding school, she sets out to prove that she is just as smart and worthy as any of its male members.
  
• Malley, Gemma. The Declaration. Bloomsbury, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation:It’s 2140 and you can now live indefinitely, if you agree to not have children. Anna—born outside this agreement—is surplus, and must work to pay back society for being a burden on its resources, and she’s content with that. Then Peter arrives. Is the chance at life worth the risks?
  
• Marillier, Julie. Wildwood Dancing. Knopf, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: When they were young girls, Jenica and her four sisters discovered a magical portal that allows them to travel between their Romanian estate of Piscul Dracului and the fairy world each full moon. But when their father must becomes ill and their power -hungry cousin, Cezar, comes to oversee their affairs, their lives take a turn for the worse.
  
• Mazer, Morma Fox. The Missing Girl. HaperTeen, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Someone is watching the five Herbert sisters. Someone is trying to decide which sister he likes best. Someone is trying not to make the same mistake he made when he took the last little girl.
  
• McCarthy, Maureen. Rose by any other name. Roaring Brook Press, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: While her family is unraveling, Rose embarks on a roadtrip up the Austrailian coast to visit her dying grandmother, a trip she had planned to take alone until her mother jumped in as she was leaving.
  
• McNish, Cliff. Angel. Carolroada Books, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Angels. Are they real? Stephanie believes. Freya wants to believe. No one understands and thinks they’re crazy. When the truth is revealed, will the girls truly believe then?
  
• Meldrum, Christina. Madapple. Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. YA. Fiction,
  Annotation: Fifteen year old, Aslaug Helling, has never spoken anyone other then her mother. When her mother suddenly dies, Aslaug must interact with a world she has never known and face accusations that she murdered her mother
  
• Myers, Walter Dean. Sunrise over Fallujah. Scholastic Press, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Army enlistee Robin Perry is a member of the Civil Affairs Unit in the initial invasion of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His story illustrates the struggles of the soliders fighting the war.
  
• Myracle, Lauren. Bliss. Amulet, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Dumped at her grandmother's by her hippie parents, Bliss must survive at an elite private school where the spirit of a dead girl longs to pull students into her deadly grasp.
  
• Napoli, Donna Jo. Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale. Atheneum, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Melkorka is an Irish princess who has always looked down her nose at the slaves in her father’s castle. As far as she is concerned they are stupid, disgusting and deserve to be slaves. All of changes when she is suddenly abducted by slave traders.
  
• Nelson, R.A. Breathe My Name. Razorbill for the Penguin Group, 2007. YA. Fiction. Annotation:Frances’s family adopted her away from her birth mother’s imaginary country of Fireless where she was happy. Until her mother’s madness led her to suffocate her children, all except Frances. Now her mother’s been released and wants to finish what was started.
  
• Ness, Patrick. Knife of Never Letting Go. Candlewick Press, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Todd Hewitt, the only boy left in Prentisstown, stumbles across an impossible pool of silence amidst the chaos of The Noise. What he discovers forces him to have to run for his life.
  
• Noyes, Deborah. The Ghosts of Kerfol. Candlewick Press, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Throughout the centuries Kerfol Manor haunts its inhabitants. Neither servant, nor lord, nor visitor will be able to escape its grasp.
  
• Pearson, Mary E. The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Henry Holt and Company, 2008. YA. Fiction. Annotation: After 18 months of being in a coma, 17-year old Jenna Fox wakes up in a houseful of secrets with no memories of who she is. While she relearns how to live, she peels away layers of lies to uncover the terrifying truth about her current existence.
  
• Pow, Tom. Captives. Roaring Brook Press, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Martin and his family are kidnapped on their vacation in the Caribbean. It is all a plot to overthrow the government using US tourists. Martin’s dad keeps a dairy of the events and after the ordeal and after becoming famous for the kidnapping, Martin tells his own version.
  
• Reinhardt, Dana. How to build a House. Wendy Lamb, 2009. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Harper's family in LA is falling apart and instead of dealing with it, she runs away from it by going to Tennessee to build a house for a family who lost their home in a recent tornado.
  
• Scott, Elizabeth. Stealing Heaven. HarperTeen, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Dani and her mom are professional thieves. No real connections, no real home, no real life. But when they move to the town of Heaven, Dani finds there are things she may want more than money.
  
• Shanahan, Lisa. The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Fourteen year old, Gemma is about to become the world’s oldest flower girl in her bridezilla older sister’s wedding. Gemma’s sister has even picked a theme for her wedding- "Animals who mate for life", meaning Gemma’s flower girl dress isn’t a dress at all, its a hideous swan costume.
  
• Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. Simon & Schuster, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation : In the future, abortions are outlawed until the unwanted child is thirteen years old at which time they may be become an unwind, still living but in multiple pieces. Conner, Risa, and Lev all find themselves in the situation of being an unwind fighting for their life no matter the price. (see post on September 2, 2008)
  
• Sitomer, Alan. The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez.Hyperion, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Tenth-grader Sonia reveals secrets about her life and her Hispanic family as she studies hard to become the first Rodriguez to finish high school.
  
• Thompson, Kate. The New Policeman. HarperTeen, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Irish teenager, J.J. Liddy’s mother jokingly asks her son for more time for her birthday. J.J. discovers that there is indeed less time then there used to be because time is leaking from his world into the world of the Fairy or Tir na nOg. He must find a way to stop the leak before it is too late
  
• Valentine, Jenny. Me, the Missing, and the Dead. HarperTeen, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Lucas' dad just up and disappears one day. No one knows if he is dead or alive. When Lucas takes a cab home from a friends house late one evening he encounters an urn that just might have the answers
  
• Vaught, Susan. Big Fat Manifesto. Bloomsbury, 2008. YA, Fiction.
  Annotation: Jamie is a big girl. No, scratch that, a big fat girl. But don't expect her to roll over and apologize or fade into the background, that's just not her style. She's created her alter ego Fat Girl and the world better watch out. Fat Girl is on the move to prove she deserves respect and love just like everyone else.
  
• Venkatraman, Padma. Climbing the Stairs. G. P. Putnam Sons, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Vidya leads a privileged life with her family in 1940s Bombay, India. When tragedy occurs, family traditions and her own dreams lead her to take her future into her own hands.
  
• Vincent, Erin. Grief Girl. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2007. YA. Non-Fiction.
  Annotation: Death can bring out the worst in people. In 1983 both of 14 year old, Erin Vincent’s parents died in an auto accident. Her parents’ friends stole their furniture, the executor of their parents' will won't release any of the money held in trust, even for medical issues, and her unfriendly grandparents try to take away her younger brother. Yet Erin and her siblings somehow manage to survive.
  
• Voorhees, Coert. The brothers Torres. Hyperion, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Frankie Towers lives in the shadow of his older brother Steve who is the local soccer star. When Steve starts running with the wrong crowd, Frankie comes to realize that not everything is as it seems.
  
• Werlin, Nancy. Impossible. Dial, 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Can the women of her family really be cursed? Could that be the cause of all the horrible things that have been happening to 17 year old Lucy Scarborough?If it is a curse, will she be able to break it?
  
• Wizner, Jake. Spanking Shakespeare. Random House, 2007. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: High school senior, Shakespeare Shapiro hates his name. Unfortunately, his name is just one in the long list of injustices Shakespeare feels his parents have committed against him. To top it off, he has never kissed a girl, has only two friends, and his younger brother, Gandhi, one of the popular crowd.
  
• Zarr, Sara. Sweethearts. Little, Brown & Co., 2008. YA. Fiction.
  Annotation: Jennifer and Cameron are inseparable friends in elementary school. When a horrible event occurs, Cameron inexplicably disappears. Jennifer presumes he's dead until Cameron unexpectably shows up her senior year and her past comes rushing back.

LITTLE BROTHER

By Cory Doctorow

One fateful day after Marcus has skipped out of school using a variety of tricks to dodge the school's security system, terrorists blow up the San Fransisco Bay Bridge. Marcus and his friends just happen to be in the wrong part of town when it happens, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers swoop down upon them and carry them off to an undisclosed detention center. There, Marcus, Van, Darryl, and JoLu are bound, interrogated, and generally intimidated and humiliated into disclosing information about their phones, laptops, and other high-tech gadgets in their possession before being released several days later. Darryl had been injured during the initial terrorist attack, and was not released with his three friends. Marcus believes the worst, that Darryl has died in jail. Back at home, his parents have obviously had a bad few days, not knowing where he had been, but Marcus decides it is safer not to tell the truth. Besides, sometime during a torture session at the detention center, he had vowed to himself that he would pay DHS back for everything they had done to him. He can do that more easily if he keeps his parents in the dark. Marcus is one smart, tech-savvy kid, and soon has a virtually untraceable online network set up to spread the word about what had happened to him, and to plan and coordinte acts of sabotage against the DHS. Marcus's new handle, M1k3y, Little Brother, is born, and he becomes the reluctant leader of the free underground world.

This is a post 9-11 story about government gone crazy. The conflict is between two philosophies--the one that says it's OK to trample on people's civil rights if that's what it takes to keep citizens safe, and the one that says that only truly free people can ever be safe. In light of recent disclosures about torture and interrogation practices our government has sanctioned in recent years, this novel couldn't be more timely and thought-provoking. Here's what I don't like about this novel. As fascinating as the technological and political themes of this book are, I struggle to endorse it fully, because of the nonchalant way it treats teenage sex and alcohol use in several scenes in the story. Not a good message in that respect. Little Brother is on next year's Tayshas reading list .

--reviewed by Dail Sams--

Wintergirls

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson has written another heart-wrenching story about a girl sinking into the despair of anorexia. Told in first person, the reader can't help but see this illness through Lia's eyes, as she spirals out of control following the death of her best friend, Cassie, who was also anorexic. Lia inhabits a dark, cold place where self-loathing permeates her being and where every bite of food she takes is really a number of calories, begrudged, because she just doesn't deserve to nourish herself. As her weight drops, she deludes herself into believing that she is a wintergirl, strong and powerful because she hasn't given in to the lure of eating. She is constantly haunted by ghosts, especially Cassie's ghost, and finally it is that haunting, and the love of her younger step-sister that gives her the tiniest desire to live. Wintergirls is a precisely written, accurately researched, and frighteningly realistic work which should be read by every teenaged girl and by those who work or live with them.

~reviewed by Dail Sams