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In the sequel to his Printz Honor book, Stuck in Neutral, Terry Trueman takes us back into Shawn McDaniel’s life:  “Night before last my dad tried to kill me. At least, I’m pretty sure that was his plan. For weeks and months I’d been worrying about it. I guess Dad had his reasons, but he didn’t do it. Obviously. Lucky me, huh? Sorry, sarcasm is one of the few weapons I possess.” (1) The power of Stuck in Neutral  lay in the dynamic between Shawn and his dad, as both characters struggled to understand and connect with each other.  In Life Happens Next, Shawn’s dadRead More →

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If there was ever a character about whom you could say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, it would have to be Harrison Johnson in Tim Green‘s latest, Unstoppable.  Harrison is only 13 years old, but in his short life he’s already faced abusive foster parents, beating and intimidation from his fellow foster kids, a system set up to break him down, and the realization that his own mother will never be able to care for him like  a mother should.  When he catches a break and gets away from his most abusive foster family yet and lands in the loving, peaceful home ofRead More →

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Tackling some of the same powerful questions he did in his stunning debut You, Charles Benoit’s latest for young adults is Fall From Grace. High school senior Sawyer’s life is already neatly planned out for him: finish his above average high school career, packed with all the right extra-curriculars and volunteer work, go to the local liberal arts college and major in accounting for a career as an insurance actuary, and after college marry his beautiful, perfect high school sweetheart.  And until the day at the Mock United Nations assembly when he meets Grace, Sawyer has never bothered to question the plans his parents soRead More →

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The latest from National Book Award Finalist Julie Anne Peters, It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It), is a sometimes comical and often insightful look at a high school rite of passage. Prom is, was, and always will be an event meant for the popular kids, the jocks, the socials and the kids with money –  the geeks, freaks, and uniques have never felt welcome.  Forget about attending if you don’t have a date, can’t afford the dress, tux, limo, or high ticket price.  And even if you do go, it’s just a boring dance where the school’s most popular kids elect each other asRead More →

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Trying to figure out his own feelings, insecurities, and emotional roller coaster while striving to live up to everyone else’s image of him, 16 year old Luke is failing miserably. It doesn’t help that people’s expectations are unbelievably high, due in no small part to the best-selling book he wrote, Hallelujah, and its devout Christian message.  So when his brother Matt “volunteers” to drive Luke on his book tour from LA to St. Louis, Luke isn’t sure this is going to go very well.   Luke’s straight-laced, high strung, controlling personality is continually put to the test on the week-long tour, which ends up being aRead More →

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Two young men, one white and one black, are coping with  life shattering events in the only ways they can.  For Finley, basketball has been his life-saver; he lives in a run down neighborhood ruled by drug violence, the Irish mafia, and racially charged conflict.  Emotionally and verbally reserved since his early childhood, Finley survives high school by keeping his head down, trusting his girlfriend Erin and Coach, and playing basketball. When Finley puts on his #21 jersey, he becomes another person: focused, confident, determined, and whole. When Coach asks him to spend time with Russ, a rising basketball star whose parents have been murdered and who willRead More →

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From the moment it started, Min and Ed’s romance was doomed to failure. For six brief weeks their relationship was intense, all consuming, and fated to burn bright, hot, and fast.  When the co-captain of the basketball team, notorious playboy, and school’s hottest guy and a quirky, “arty”, cinema-hound girl collide one night at a Bittersweet 16 party for Min’s best friend Al, the gravitational pull overwhelms them but it also creates a black hole from which Min, at least, can’t escape.   Daniel Handler’s Why We Broke Up explores the idea of opposites attracting, the tug of war between their disparate worlds, and the casualties that result from twoRead More →

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How to Save a Life, the latest from Sara Zarr, is an emotionally honest, engrossing, and raw journey from loss and heartbreak to trust and hope.  Two young women, both broken and running away from wrenching pain, take turns telling their stories in well developed, distinct, truthful voices. High school senior Jill’s dad was killed in a car accident ten months ago and his sudden death has all but destroyed Jill’s world. Her raging anger has alienated everyone who tried to support her, has left her feeling lost and isolated, and is keeping her from seeing any hope or possibility of happiness in her future.Read More →

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This was a tough one. Catherine Atkins’ The File on Angelyn Starkis gritty, intense, and unsettling. Its deceptively simple, succinct prose, short chapters, and sparse dialogue make it a quick read, but that comes at a price; this is a chilling story of a teen girl who is scarred by the sexual abuse she suffered at hands of her stepfather.  Being swept up in the train wreck that is Angelyn’s life is not really someplace that I enjoyed being, and I could hardly imagine living it day to day.  Angelyn’s boyfriend always wants to go further than she does; sometimes its easier to give in than toRead More →