The List by Siobhan Vivian

Every year, on the Monday of Homecoming week, a mysterious list appears in the hallways at Mount Washington High School.  Eight girls are listed, two from each class labeled as Ugliest or Prettiest. 

Each chapter gives readers the first person perspective of each of the girls on the list, how they react to their newfound fame or infamy. Abby is thrilled to be named he prettiest Freshman, but her sister isn't.  Jennifer has gotten Ugliest 4 years in a row.  Candace is dumbfounded by her Ugliest status.  It has always been a mystery as to who makes the list, who posts it each year.  Will the mystery finally be solved? 

Croak by Gina Damico

Lex has been getting into some major trouble lately, lashing out violently at school and home. Here parents and twin sister Cordie are at their wits end. They decide to send Lex to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, supposedly to do farm work.

Mort picks her up and tells her that she won't actually be doing any farm work. She will instead be learning his business, which is reaping. The town he lives in is called Croak, and everyone there has a part in transporting souls from this world to the next. Lex begins work with Driggs, a boy who also lives with her Uncle Mort. They despise each other, but as the book goes on, their relationship grows into more.

The author does a great job creating this town of Croak, describing its residents and the interesting jobs they do. Lex is a Killer. Her touch releases a soul from the body. Driggs is a Culler, he captures it in a vessel. They deposit souls at the bank where they enter the Afterlife. Learning about Croak and Lex adjusting to her new life creates a great story, the mystery plot is an added bonus.

Someone has been killing people who aren't meant to die. They have someone figured out a way to find specific people and kill them. This cannot be done by normal Killers who are transported to the sick and dying. Lex and her ragtag team of friends are helping Mort solve the mystery. But Lex's time in Croak is coming to an end. Will she return home or stay in Croak, the place she's grown to love?

At first, Lex was not a likeable character because of her seemingly random outbursts of violence. However, readers learn that is a common symptom of Killers when they turn into teenagers. She grew calmer and more likeable throughout the book. I really loved the author's imaginative descriptions of the afterlife and how Croak runs. The ending was sudden and sad, so I am hoping for a sequel where the outcome can be changed. This is a great read for teens 13+

Love? Maybe.

Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler is about a girl named Piper. Piper has given up on love. Her mother is twice divorced and both times, it felt as though they were divorcing from Piper too. She works at a candy store owned by a guy named Jan who lets her have creative freedom with the candies she makes. Right before Valentine's Day, she comes up with the idea for Consternation Hearts. Instead of cutesy love sayings, they are printed with snarky comments. Everyone begins to worry she is becoming too cynical.
Her feelings start to change when Ben Donovan, the guy she has been crushing on forever finally shows some interest. But Ben doesn't seem to be who she thought he was and her friend Charlie needs her more than ever. Will Piper find love or will she be disenchanted forever?

The Late Bus

The Late Bus by Rick Jasper is a short, spooky novel about Lamar. He takes the late bus home after football practice. The driver had always been a nice older lady named Miss Robin. Miss Robin suddenly dies so Lamar and his friends attend her funeral. Suddenly, Miss Robin sits up and tells Lamar that someone is in trouble. No one else seems to have seen what happened and Lamar has no idea who or what she is talking about.
Then they meet the new bus driver, Mr Rumble. He doesn't talk much and he seems to be hiding some dark secrets from the kids. Bad things begin to happen on the rides home. Can Lamar figure out what is haunting Mr Rumble?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns)

This book is a collection of essays written by the adorable and honest Mindy Kaling. You might recognize her from The Office. She is a producer and writer, as well as actress.
Mindy talks about happy and innocuous issues like weight, fashion, and friendships. She tells the story of a recent photo shoot where the stylist brought her a bunch of outfits in size 0 and one ugly dress in her size. This caused her to break down in the bathroom, but she decided the photo shoot was going to go her way. She insisted that one of the small dresses be altered for her size and ended up feeling and looking great.
Mindy also talks about her journey to Hollywood and the people who helped her get there. It's an interesting look at how to become a Hollywood writer/actress without losing oneself. This is a cute and lighthearted read that will appeal to aspiring actors and writers.

Bad Island by Doug Tennapel

Bad Island is another fun graphic novel by Doug TenNapel, author of Ghostopolis. In Bad Island, we meet a family preparing to go on vacation. The son, Reese, would rather stay home than spend time boating with his parents and little sister Janie. Nonetheless, he joins the family and they have quite an adventure. A dangerous storm shipwrecks them on an island. The plants and animals are very foreign and unlike anything they have ever seen. The family keeps running into these mysterious stones with symbols on them. When strange creatures begin to attack them, they realize that they are safe when they are near these stones. The family also runs into a skeleton of a man who has a map. They try to decipher what the map may mean and where they are safe on the island.

There is another story in the book that details how these creatures came to the island and what their back story is. The story flashes back to a war between two factions and of course, the two stories intertwine and come to a satisfying conclusion.

The story was fascinating and the illustrations are fantastic. I love the artist's style. Very vibrant and expressive. This is recommended for fans of Amulet and Ghostopolis!

Dead is Not an Option

Dead is Not an Option is another great installment in the Dead is series by Marlene Perez. (and the last?) Daisy is nearing the end of Senior Year and something sinister is brewing in Nightshade. Tension is high between the Weres and Vamps and the Council cannot seem to keep it under control. Many weres and vamps have been found dead or injured and both blame the other side. This causes some tension within Daisy's family as well, because the sisters are dating both vamps and weres. To add to the stress, Daisy has not heard from any of the colleges to which she applied.
Of course, Daisy takes it upon herself to help Chief Mendez and Mr Bone solve the murders and attacks. She uses her detective and her psychic abilities to aid in the hunt.
As always, the characters are very real and likable. The story contains many twists and turns, with more than just one conflict to solve. Teens will love this fun and slightly dark series.

Bad Taste in Boys is about Kate Grable. Kate is a very intelligent girl who wants to be a doctor one day. In the meantime, she has been volunteering as the athletic trainer for her schools football team. One day, the coach asks Kate to inject some players with these syringes that he claims are filled with a vitamin. Of course, she refuses and suspects the vials actually contain steroids.
Later, she is at a party with a bunch of the players. One of them passes out and stops breathing. She starts to administer CPR and suddenly, he snaps up and smacks her on the butt. She still can't seem to find his pulse and he still looks very white and, well, dead. Having seen an injection site on him, she starts to worry that the coach injected him and this maybe some strange side effect. When she sees him again, he lunges at her and bites a big chunk out her lip. Very strange.
Soon, Kate starts noticing the crazy behavior from the coach and from other players. It seems that this shot has been turning people into zombies. And they are hungry.

This is a fun book that will appeal to both guy and girl readers and fans of zombie books. It is well written and not filled with a bunch of silly slang talk like some teen books. This is a clean read- parts of it are slightly gruesome, but nothing too graphic. There's also no cursing or mention of sex.

The Water Wars

The Water Wars is set in a future in which water is now more valuable than oil or gold. The author does not give much background on how this happened, just that most of United States is now like a desert, and millions have died from starvation or dehydration. Water is only used for drinking, and even then, only a small amount is rationed to each family. Of course, the water companies have become more powerful and corrupt than ever, and they often fight against each other, the government, and pirates for untapped springs.

The story follows two siblings, Will and Vera. This water deprived life is the only one they have ever known. As they are waiting for the school bus one day, they meet a boy named Kai. Kai is not worried about water in the least. He eventually tells them that he is a diviner, a person who can sense water. His father is a driller. Together they are very valuable for their talents. Kai is driven everywhere in a limo and is often accompanied by an armed bodyguard.

When Will and Vera don't hear from Kai, they get worried and stop by his house. They find it ransacked, and his bodyguard dead. Together, they decide that they need to rescue Kai and his father from whoever may have taken him. This leads them on a grand adventure across North America, involving pirates and evil terrorists, eventually leading to a showdown at a water plant off the east coast.

I thought this was a great book, filled with lots of action and adventure. The characters were likeable and well developed. It did remind me a bit of the Hunger Games because of the survival strategies and violence. Fans of that trilogy will enjoy The Water Wars as well.

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Shark Girl is similar to the story in the new movie Soul Surfer. It's a novel about Jane, who is attacked by a shark. She is pulled to shore by her brother, where she suffers shock and loses most memory of the incident. She awakes in the hospital days later, after being put in a coma to prevent brain injury. Lucky to be alive, Jane must now cope with having her entire arm amputated.
Jane isn't comfortable with the odd stares and sudden outpouring of emotion for her. She even starts to receive fan mail. She becomes very depressed as she can no longer draw and create art as well as she used to. Making matters worse, she is having trouble adapting to her prosthetic limb, and still feels phantom pain where her arm used to be. Will she ever be able to get her old life back?
This is a great read for boys and girls, ages 11+

BOOKS FOR BOYS 12+

SERIES

Vladimir Tod series by Heather Brewer YA BRE
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins YA COL
Maze Runner series by James Dashner YA DAS
Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney J DEL
Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan YA FLA
Tunnels series by Roderick Gordon J GOR
Various series by Margaret Haddix J HAD
Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz YA HOR
The Seems series by John Hulme J HUL
Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Land YA LAN
Dreamhouse Kings by Robert Liparulo YA LIP
FableHaven series by Brandon Mull YA MUL
Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix J NIX
Maximum Ride and Daniel X –James Patterson YA PAT
Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson YA PEA
Percy Jackson and other series by Rick Riordan J RIO
Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott YA SCO

AUTHORS

SA Bodeen YA BOD
Charlie Higson YA HIG
Will Hobbs YA HOB
Walter Dean Myers YA MYE
Gary Paulsen YA PAU
Roland Smith YA SMI
Will Weaver YA WEA

SPORTS AUTHORS

Jon Coy YA COY
Carl Deuker YA DEU
John Feinstein YA FEI
Tim Green J GRE
Mike Lupica J LUP
Rich Wallace YA WAL

Girl, Stolen

Looking for an action packed book with a twist? Try Girl, Stolen by April Henry.

When the book begins, Cheyenne is sick and resting in the backseat of her stepmother's car. Her stepmother had just run into the pharmacy to pick up some medicine, so she left the car running. Suddenly, Cheyenne hears someone get in the car, but it's not her stepmother. She's trapped with two car thieves speeding down the road. Oh and one other thing, Cheyenne is blind.

This is a thrilling book full of twists and turns that you'll want to read to find out what happens to the Girl, Stolen.

HEX HALL

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins is the first in a new series about a different kind of school...a school for all beings supernatural. Sophie ends up in Hex Hall because she is witch, who happened to cast a spell at her human high school which caused a bit of an uproar. Suddenly her absentee warlock dad showed up and told she had to attend a different school, Hecate (aka Hex) Hall.

While the school is different in many ways, the same old high school cliques and politics exist, and Sophie must learn to fit in and deal with the drama. Of course, it's a little bit different when magic is involved.

As Sophie starts to learn about her past and her powers, she comes to realize that she has a very special gift and she must use it wisely.

DEAR GEORGE CLOONEY

I just finished reading a hilarious book, Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen. Violet's mother and father are divorced. Her father moved to LA and married a famous actress. Violet lives with her mother and sister in a small apartment in Vancouver. Her mother has been through a long string of terrible boyfriends and the latest one is the WORST. He dresses terrible and his name is Dudley Wiener.

Violet and her best friend Phoebe want to end the madness once and for all, so they decide to find her mom a new handsome boyfriend. They even write a letter to George Clooney trying to convince him to settle down and marry her mother. Their efforts don't always work out like they want them too.

Check out this book for a lot of laughs !

CHI'S SWEET HOME

Chi's Sweet Home is a new graphic novel series about this cute little cat name Chi. Chi cannot find her mother cat, but luckily he was rescued by a family. Unfortunately, this family lives in an apartment complex that does not allow pets. They try to keep Chi a secret while they search for a new home for him. This is hard because Chi, like most cats, gets himself into some troublesome situations.

This is a fun story and is just the first in a series about Chi's many fun adventures. The manga illustrations are simple, cute and colorful. This is sure to appeal to girl graphic novel enthusiasts.

MY LIFE AS A BOOK

My Life as a Book, written by Janet Tashjian, is all about the funny and artistic Derek. He's a bit of a slacker in school and despises reading books. What he really likes is drawing and reading comics. His mother tries to bribe him into reading but he ends up hiding in the attic and searching through all the old boxes. Inside one of them he finds an old newspaper article with the headline, Local Girl Found Dead on Beach. This peaks his interest even moreso when his mother confiscates it and throws it away.

Derek ends up in Learning Camp AKA Summer School and is assigned to read and report on three books over the summer. Yeah right. Instead, Derek finds himself investigating the mysterious newspaper article and trying to figure out why it was in their attic.

This is a fun mystery read with a good character that most kids can relate to. Derek's doodles fill the pages' margins and add humor to the story.

MOCKINGJAY

The final book in the amazing Hunger Games Trilogy comes out tomorrow! Get your hands on this book immediately! Learn what happens to Peeta, Katniss, Gale, and the other tributes. Let me tell you, it is awesome!

THE LOST CITY OF Z by DAVID GRANN

The Lost City of Z by David Grann is about the British explorer Percy Fawcett, who disappeared in 1925 while searching for a lost elaborate city in the Amazon. The lost city of gold, or El Dorado, was long sought by explorers to the region. Fawcett wasn't searching for gold as much as he was searching to prove himself correct. He believed in a civilization that could live and thrive in the dangerous region. He himself had visited the Amazon numerous times and learned how to communicate with the local tribes and avoid the disease and starvation that had plagued so many. If anyone could find a lost city, it would be Fawcett.
Fawcett also took along his son Jack and Jack's friend Raleigh. They were last heard from on May 29, 1925. He was a well known explorer, so many people decided to venture after him. The book reports that some have estimated over 100 people died or were lost trying to find him.
The story is fascinating and Grann does a terrific job of describing the character that was Fawcett. He, himself, also ventured to the Amazon region and found a world much different than the one Fawcett explored.

This is a great adventure read that doesn't get bogged down by scientific facts or narrative. Highly recommended for ages 12+

CHOCOLATE DAY and MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Celebrate Chocolate Day at the library! JULY 7TH 1-3 PM
Watch a movie about a sweet chocolate factory and it's eccentric owner. Starring Johnny Depp.

You gotta have chocolate to celebrate, so of course we will be eating lots of chocolatey treats. I'll even have a recipe for making body scrub from cocoa.

In the meantime, read Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne. It's all about a girl named Celeste who is constantly trying to lose weight (and not eat chocolate). What she doesn't realize is that her mother entered her in a modeling contest for plus sized girls. And now she is a finalist. Celeste decides to sabotage herself by losing weight. But chocolate cookies are just too good to resist. Will she be able to accept herself as she is and be proud of her modeling? Or is losing weight the only way she will be happier?

SETH BAUMGARTNER'S LOVE MANIFESTO by ERIC LUPER

I just finished this fun novel by Eric Luper called Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto. Seth is obviously the main character. His life takes a turn for the worse all in one day. It all starts when he visits his girlfriend during her break at the Applebee's where she works. She decides they need to break up because they've become "too comfortable" with each other. While there, Seth also sees his father and a lady, who is NOT his mother, cozying up in a booth. He hurries back to his job, only to be fired.

Most of the book focuses on Seth trying to get back with or get over his ex, finding a new job, and investigating this mystery woman his father is seeing. Of course, he gets in a lot of trouble on his way to figuring these things out.

Recommended for ages 13+