High school relationships, mean girls, bullying, first love, dysfunctional families and dystopian adventures -
a great list of titles recommended by a Bialik High School student. This is her first list. Stay tuned to our blog to keep up with Aviva. Read on...
- Social status – At school or otherwise with peers (Book list #1)
The Misfits by James Howe
James Howe's energetic, sometimes hilarious book
(Atheneum, 2001) about junior high school politics and nasty name calling. Bobby
Goodspeed, our narrator, is an overweight seventh grader who belongs to the Gang of Five, which is made up of four not five kids who consider themselves misfits.
The other "gang" members are the precocious and extremely tall Addie, the Elvis look-alike Skeezie, and the effeminate Joexvc.
The student council elections are coming up, and these students decide to run
on the "No-Name Party," which promises to bring an end to all name
calling in the school.
Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
From
Publishers Weekly: Part fairy
godmother, part outcast, part dream-come-true, the star of Spinelli's novel shares
many of the mythical qualities as the protagonist of his Maniac Magee. Spinelli
poses searching questions about loyalty to one's friends and oneself and leaves
readers to form their own answers, said PW in our Best Books citation. Ages
12-up.
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
From Booklist:
Tyler Miller was a socially invisible
nerd ("Your average piece of drywall who spent too much time playing
computer games") before he sprayed some attention-getting graffiti and
became a legend. Sentenced to a summer of physical labor, he enters his senior
year with new muscles that attract popular Bethany Millbury, whose father is Tyler's dad's boss. On probation for his graffiti stunt, Tyler struggles to balance his consuming crush with
pressure that comes from schoolwork and his explosive father, and after Tyler is implicated in a drunken crime, his balancing act
falls apart. The dialogue occasionally has the cliched feel of a teen movie
("Party's over." "We're just getting started. And I don't
remember inviting you"). What works well here is the frank, on-target
humor ("I was a zit on the butt of the student body"), the taut
pacing, and the small moments, recounted in Tyler's first-person voice, that
illuminate his emotional anguish. Writing for the first time from a male
perspective, Anderson skillfully explores identity and power struggles that
all young people will recognize. Gillian Engberg
Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers
From School Library Journal: Grade 10 Up—Parker Fadley has it
all-head cheerleader, honor roll student, Winter Ball Queen, perfect boyfriend,
Chris. Then at a wild "school's out" party, she catches her friend
Jessica's boyfriend kissing another girl and tells Jessica, who retaliates by
hooking up with an older guy who crashed the party. The next day Jessica is
missing, and Parker, suspecting that she could have done something to help her,
nosedives into a downward spiral, drinking heavily, and attempting suicide in a
motel room. All of this is revealed in flashback as Parker begins her senior
year at her Catholic high school. She cuts class, goes to school drunk, ignores
assignments, and goes out of her way to make everyone leave her alone. New guy
Jake, intrigued by her self-destructive determination to be ostracized,
persists in trying to get inside her head. The problem is that what's inside
Parker's head is a fear she can't even admit to herself—that she knows what
happened to Jessica and could have stopped it. Summers creates a gritty world
of teenagers living on the edge, complete with explosive interactions and rocky
relationships without getting mired in angst. Parker narrates the story, darkly
fascinating in her turmoil as she slowly lets herself remember details from the
drunken night of Jessica's disappearance. In her relationships with Jake,
Chris, archrival Becky, her parents, and even her dog, Parker struggles with
self-revulsion and a desperate need for love and acceptance. Marked by explicit
language and frank sexuality, this compelling read is taut with tension.—Joyce
Adams Burner, formerly at Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
From Booklist *Starred Review* Deanna was 13 when
her father caught her and 17-year-old Tommy having sex. Three years later, she
is still struggling with the repercussions: how Tommy jokingly made her into
the school slut; how the story became legend in her small town; how her father
looked at her then--and now doesn't look at her at all. Her brother, Darren,
has mistakes to handle, too: he lives with his girlfriend and their baby in his
parents' basement. And while Deanna's mother seems numb, her father is
perpetually angry and depressed. Meanwhile, in a misguided search for love
brought on by the confusion of seeing Tommy again, Deanna intentionally hurts
her two closest friends. Although she's more aware than most how a single event
can define a person, Deanna still struggles to gain insight into herself, her
family, and her friends. When she finally does, she's able to create small but
positive changes in her relationships with them all. Characters are well drawn,
especially Deanna, whose complicated, deeply felt emotions turn the story.
There are plenty of heartbreaking moments, too, including a poignant
confrontation with Tommy. Though nothing is miraculously fixed by the close,
everyone's perspective has changed for the better. This is a thoughtful,
well-executed debut from an author who understands how to write for teens. Krista
Hutley
Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters
From
School Library Journal: Grade
7-10-When Antonia is assigned to Jazz as a peer counselor, she figures there is
no way she can help this tattooed, pierced, incorrigible girl. They are
complete opposites. Antonia is a straight-A student whose parents are divorced
and she is struggling to keep what's left of her family together as her mother
battles depression. Jazz's family is wealthy and seemingly perfect. As they
continue through the 15 hours of peer counseling, it becomes clear that both
girls have issues they need to work through. They go from wary classmates to
friends who support and help one another. As Antonia's mother is hospitalized
for her depression, Jazz battles her own mother's need to control by quitting
the one thing she loves most-playing classical piano. Both girls deal with
their losses by finding new ways to look at their problems and to resume life
as "normally" as possible. This believable book is well written and
readers will feel that they know both Jazz and Antonia, and they will want to
see them triumph over the frustrations in their lives. Kimberly A. Ault, Lewisburg Area High School, PA
Before, After, and Somebody in
Between by Jeannine Garsee
From Booklist:
Fans of Mary Pearson's A Room on
Lorelei Street (2005) will be a good target for Garsee's look at another
troubled teen trying to escape her horrible circumstances. Although Martha is a
smart student and a talented musician, she has few opportunities. A deceased
father, an alcoholic mother with disreputable boyfriends, a dangerous
neighborhood, extreme poverty, and an interracial friendship set the
scene. After the tragedy of a drive-by shooting, some poor choices by her
mother, and a bad foster-home experience, Martha finds a new home and new life
with a wealthy, sympathetic lawyer. Along the way, Martha makes plenty of bad
choices (including having sex in a van with someone she doesn't know), but
she also has lots of saviors. Coincidences and contrivances abound here,
but teens will inevitably find Martha a compelling character and will root
for her as she adapts to new challenges—and a new name to fit
her new environment. Readers are left with hope
that Martha will always find her way. Dobrez, Cindy
Fringe Girl by Valerie Frankel
Adora's place in the pecking order of
her posh high school is decidedly on the fringe: Pretty but not beautiful,
comfortable but not rich, popular but not the ruling class. But for her latest
social studies project (and to exact a little old-fashioned revenge), she
decides to put what she's learned about political revolutions to good use.With
the help of her friends, Adora stages her very own uprising. And guess what?
Victory is hers! Before she knows it, the snotty cool kids have been
overthrown-and suddenly Adora is the leader, reveling in her newfound power and
popularity. But a few unexpected events are about to trip up the new order-and
Adora's noticing that sometimes it can be lonely at the top.
Drowning Anna by Sue Mayfield
From
School Library Journal: Grade
7-10-Anna Goldsmith, 13, moves with her family from London to a northern town.
Beautiful and an ace student, she is praised by her teachers, given a violin
solo, and assigned to play center fielder in hockey, displacing Hayley Parkin,
who is her first and seemingly devoted friend. What Anna doesn't know is that
Hayley is an adept manipulator and all of her classmates live in fear of her.
First she draws people in to learn their sensitivities and secrets, then launches
whisper campaigns against them. Once she has totally isolated her victim via
social ostracism, she launches physical attacks. When Melanie Blackwood, who
really wants to be Anna's friend, gradually gives in to Hayley's pressure, Anna
begins to cut herself. Upon discovering this activity, her well-intentioned but
all-too-busy parents call on the teachers for help. A few superficial changes
take place, and the adults work to set the "personality clash" to
rights. But Hayley is just getting started. Although the vocabulary is simple,
this book is complex in structure. The first chapter is told in present tense
via an omniscient narrator as Anna sets in motion what will be the climax of
the plot. The next chapter features Melanie reminiscing about how all of this
started. Anna, who is comatose through most of the book, speaks mostly through
her diary entries and letters. The shifting narratives contribute to a
compelling story that will strike a chord with many young teens. Published as
Blue in the United Kingdom, this book should reach large numbers of readers
here as well. Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by
Tanya Lee Stone
From Booklist:
Gr. 10--12. "Sweetie, we call it
making love, they don't." Three girls experience heartbreak after a
nameless jock dumps each of them. Josie, a freshman, is devastated when she
overhears, "Have you nailed her yet?" She escapes with her virginity
intact, alerting future victims by scribbling a warning on the blank pages of
the library's copy of Judy Blume's Forever. Nicolette, a junior,
declares that sex is all about power: "If I say who / and I say when / and
I say what / then I/ have it." She's dismayed when she realizes she's not
in control this time. Aviva, a senior, loses her virginity after ignoring her
friend's warning: "He's^B not^B different. He's playing
you.^B" Stone's novel in verse, more poetic prose than poetry, packs a
steamy, emotional wallop, and naked dips in a hot tub, oral sex, and sex in a
car suggest a mature audience, even though the sex isn't graphic. The lessons
learned here, however, are important: the girls realize they'll be hurt again,
but they are now "Forewarned / Forearmed / Forever." Cindy Dobrez
How Not to be Popular by Jennifer
Ziegler
Maggie Dempsey is tired of moving all
over the country. Her parents are second-generation hippies who uproot her
every year or so to move to a new city. When Maggie was younger, she thought it
was fun and adventurous. Now that she’s a teenager, she hates it. When she
moved after her freshman year, she left behind good friends, a great school,
and a real feeling of belonging. When she moved her sophomore year, she left
behind a boyfriend, too. Now that they’ve moved to Austin, she knows better.
She’s not going to make friends. She’s not going to fit in. Anything to prevent
her from liking this new place and them from liking her. Only . . . things
don’t go exactly as planned.
The Queen of Cool by Cecil
Castellucci
"Albert Camus meets Mariah
Fredericks in this smart, edgy take on one adolescent’s search for identity and
meaning in life." — KIRKUS REVIEWS
On the outside, Libby Brin is the most popular girl in school. But on the inside, Libby is dying — of boredom. In a moment of desperation, Libby signs up for an internship at the Los Angeles Zoo, much to the dismay of her friends, who’d prefer she spend her time with them, shopping, partying, and making fun of everyone else. Oddly, Libby realizes that she actually enjoys her new job and that she may even like the two "nerds" she works with. Will the Queen of Cool be forced to give up her crown?
On the outside, Libby Brin is the most popular girl in school. But on the inside, Libby is dying — of boredom. In a moment of desperation, Libby signs up for an internship at the Los Angeles Zoo, much to the dismay of her friends, who’d prefer she spend her time with them, shopping, partying, and making fun of everyone else. Oddly, Libby realizes that she actually enjoys her new job and that she may even like the two "nerds" she works with. Will the Queen of Cool be forced to give up her crown?
Walking Naked by Alyssa Brugman
From
School Library Journal: Grade
7-9–Megan Tuw has always been popular and a leader of her clique–that is until
she thinks her best friend, Candace, is joking about organizing a protest over
some Year 12 guy getting in trouble for a nudey run (she's not joking). Then
Candace starts spending more time with a girl whom Megan does not like. When
she gets detention at the same time as outcast Perdita Wiguiggan, she finds to
her surprise that the girl is more interesting than Candace. Readers are likely
to agree as the unlikable, stereotypical clique members use one another to get
whatever they think they need. In a predictable story that could have been a TV
movie, Megan must decide if she wants to stay with the comfort zone of the
clique or befriend Perdita and face outcast status. Readers never fully get to
know Perdita as the story is told from Megan's point of view. And Megan seems
clueless as to the harm done to her ("I was sure she didn't take it
personally when we called her the Freak. That was just who she was").
Thus, Perdita's suicide comes as a shock to readers. To offset the contrived
plot, the author intermingles poetry from the likes of William Blake and Sylvia
Plath in an attempt to give depth to the characters.–Crystal Faris, Nassau
Library System, Uniondale, NY
Good Girls by Laura Ruby
From
School Library Journal: Grade 9
Up–Audrey wants to spend her senior year staying at fourth in her class and
hanging with her friends, so she breaks it off with the flirty and mysterious
Luke DeSalvio by giving him a goodbye gift he won't forget. But at school next
week, Audrey gets snickers, jeers, and dirty jokes, and Luke won't even look at
her. As it turns out, someone took a photo of her intimate moment with him, and
now she must spend all her energy repairing her reputation. She reacts to her
newfound infamy by pouring herself into her schoolwork and analyzing her
relationship with Luke via flashback chapters. Her friend Ash is horrified when
Audrey tells her she's not a virgin, and Audrey resigns herself to hanging out
with the school sluts. Slowly, she manages to pull herself up to second in her
class, and a run-in with Luke reveals that his feelings about her were not what
she assumed. Audrey reclaims her self-esteem with her new girlfriends as they
all dress up as born-again virgins for the prom, and a late-night confession
reveals the true culprit behind the photograph. The story ends predictably with
Audrey and Luke reunited. Teens will enjoy Ruby's frank message that having sex
does not necessarily make one a slut. However, the tone occasionally gets
preachy, as Audrey receives advice from her parents, preacher, and
gynecologist. Still, the book will appeal to teens who've matured beyond Cecily
von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series (Little, Brown).–Jane Cronkhite, Cuyahoga
County Public Library, OH
Read My Lips by Teri Brown
Popularity is as easy as a good secret. Serena just wants to fly under the radar at her new
school. But Serena is deaf, and she can read lips really well-even across the
busy cafeteria. So when the popular girls discover her talent, there's no
turning back. From skater chick to cookie-cutter prep, Serena's identity has
done a 180...almost. She still wants to date Miller, the school rebel, and
she's not ready to trade her hoodies for pink tees just yet. But she is rising
through the ranks in the school's most exclusive clique. With each new secret
she uncovers, Serena feels pressure to find out more. Reading lips has always
been her greatest talent, but now Serena just feels like a gigantic snoop...
The Julian Game by Adele Griffin
From Booklist:
Raye Archer is warily thrilled when
Ella, queen bee at her tony new school, enlists her to seek revenge against
gorgeous heartbreaker Julian. With pictures of Raye in a blue wig and slinky
top, they create a fictitious online profile (so different from Raye’s low-key,
real-life persona); lure Julian into a relationship; and act out Ella’s
vindictive schemes. The results are predictable: in online chats, Raye falls
for Julian, confesses their deceit, and faces Ella’s full-force campaign of
vitriolic harassment. Griffin elevates the mean-girl plot with spot-on insights
into teen social politics and quirky, multidimensional characters, including
troubled, OCD Ella. The potent details of cyberbullying may eventually date
this title, but Griffin’s timely cautionary messages about online
communication, including its permanence (“One stupid picture could swing back
around and punch me when I’m 30 years old”), are never too heavy-handed, and
her themes about the appeal of reinventing oneself, the frightening power of
manipulation, the futility of revenge, and the true meaning of friendship are
timeless. Grades 8-12. --Gillian Engberg
Paisley Hanover Acts Out by Cameron
Tuttle
Always one of the popular kids, sophomore Paisley
Hanover gets a rude awakening when she’s booted out of yearbook and into the
badlands of drama class. Out of her element but only momentarily out of ideas,
Paisley takes action—and an unexpected liking to her drama buddies. The result?
An undercover crusade that could bring down the popularity pecking order, and
Paisley along with it.This is the story of how Paisley Hanover gets wise, gets
bold, and gets into a hilarious mess of trouble. With a package as fresh and clever
as Paisley herself— including a cool slipcase, a fabulous novel, and Paisley’s
notebook of embarrassingly funny ideas and doodles—it’s the start of a series
that embraces the “Un” in Unusual.
Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa
Yee
From
School Library Journal: Grade
5-8--Millie, an 11-year-old with a genius IQ, is taking a college poetry class
and waiting for her high school senior year. Because she never hesitates to
show how much she knows about a particular subject, her peers tend to stay
away. Millie's social ineptitude is a cause of concern for her parents. Against
her will, she is enrolled in summer volleyball and enlisted to tutor Stanford
Wong, a friend of the family. Into this mix enters Emily, a volleyball teammate
and typical preteen. The girls become friends but Millie neglects to tell Emily
about her genius status. Eventually the truth surfaces and Emily feels
betrayed. Millie thinks that Emily is angry because she is smart, never
realizing that the betrayal comes from her lack of trust in their friendship.
While some readers will have trouble identifying with Millie, her trials and
tribulations result in a story that is both funny and heartwarming. A universal
truth conveyed is that honesty and acceptance of oneself and of others requires
a maturity measured not by IQ but by generosity of spirit.--Sharon Morrison,
Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK
Looks by Madeleine George
Despite her massive size, Meghan Ball
is the most invisible person at Valley Regional High. People say things in
front of her as if she doesn?t exist. And most of the time, she feels like she
doesn?t? until Meghan sees Aimee Zorn. Aimee is as skinny as Meghan is large,
and as outwardly angry as Meghan is inwardly sad. Meghan instantly recognizes a
kindred spirit in Aimee, another person using her body to say what she cannot.
Alone, they are powerless, but together, Meghan and Aimee join forces to get
sweet revenge against the one girl in school who hurt them both.
Bad Apple by Laura Ruby
From Booklist: High
school junior Tola (short for Cenerentola) is a determinedly iconoclastic
artist, who sees little point in school outside her art class led by the
nonconformist art teacher Mr. Mymer. A spiteful classmate spreads false rumors
about Tola and Mr. Mymer, and the teacher loses his job as a result. But plot
is not what drives this clever, sardonic character study. Tola and her family
are fascinating, quirky-yet-believable, and wholly likable. Ruby works in
traditional fairy tale elements (an evil stepmother, abandonment, Tola’s name
that references the Italian version of Cinderella) with wry humor. Short
chapters titled “comments” offer documentary-style quotes from other
characters, so we see Tola’s world through others’ eyes. Ruby’s thoughtful
descriptions of art, artists, and the creative process are reminiscent of Brock
Cole’s Celine (1989). Visual artists will love this homage to creativity, and
teens outside the status quo will find a kindred spirit in plucky Tola. Grades
8-12. --Debbie Carton
The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss
From Publishers Weekly: Koss's
suspenseful and realistic portrayal of a popular middle school clique's
devolution unfolds though six narrators. In a starred review, PW said,
"Readers will identify with and remember these characters, and may think
twice before sacrificing their individuality for the sake of popularity."
Ages 10-14.
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Climbing to the top of the social
ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a
member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and
revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and
her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been
"frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If
Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the
terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She
takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who
she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these
onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she
realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the
Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march
toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked
Up To Be.
