Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Aviva's Picks


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?

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.