What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Ladies, I really liked this one. Mclean’s parents have divorced, leaving Mclean to figure out how to live her life in the fallout. She decides to go with her dad, who moves from town to town helping restaurants be succesful. As a result, Mclean gets to reinvent herself in every town. Except now. For some reason, Lakeview has a hold on her, from new friends at school to, quite literally, the boy next door. But McLean has a lot of baggage, some post-divorce feelings left unresolved, and a fear of revealing her true self.

I really enjoyed the character of McLean and going along with her journey of self-discovery and how to be real. And next-door Dave is charming. Ladies, try this one soon!

~Mrs. Frilot

Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn’t have) by Sarah Mlynowski

April is a normal 17 year old girl living a normal 17 year old girl’s life, until her dad, Jake, and her stepmom, Penny, break the news to her that they are moving out of Westport and to Cleveland. Like a normal 17 year old girl, moving is hard, espically when you’re graduating in a year. April comes up with a great idea. She suggests to her parents that she move in with her bestfriend, Vi. Vi’s a senior in high school and has been her best friend forever. Her parents okay it, but what they don’t know is Vi’s mom won’t be home for 6 months, and if April’s parents ever found out, she would be on a plane straight to Cleveland. Living with your best friend without adult supervision would be awesome, right? Well, there is only so much you can do when you’re a 17 year old girl living with her best friend. Read the book to find out what happens to these two best friends as they take on the challenge of taking care of themselves, dealing with boys, and being an adult while still trying to be a teenage girl in high school at the time. This book will have you not wanting to put it down.

~Molly J., Class of ’13

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Soooo good. I finished this one over the Thanksgiving break and was really glad that I had the time to read it. If you liked Hunger Games, you’ll like this one too. And if you haven’t read Hunger Games (you should) but are fans of adventure, come check this one out. 

Beatrice lives in a world that has been divided into 5 factions. She’s turning 16, so she gets to choose – stay with her parents and brother in her current faction – or choose to join the Dauntless, the fearless faction she’s always admired. Competition is steep and the reprecussions are severe, but the rewards might just be worth it. But when anger between the factions start mounting, and an interesting, frustrating boy comes into the picture, Beatrice is faced with one tough situation after enough. Read it to see how she handles the pressure!

~Mrs. Frilot

 

True Believer by Virginia Wolff

LaVaughn is an intelligent girl that is trying to get by her everyday routine of metal detectors at school in a rough neighborhood. Her father passed away when she was a young age, and she lives with her mother. She has made a decision to leave this place and be the first to go to college, while she baby-sits two children for money. If her grades slip, she will not be able to go to college. While her two childhood best friends, Myrtle and Annie are becoming more distant and closer to God, she ends up falling in love with her friend Jody.
LaVaughn is a girl who is trying to understand and figure out her life. While she writes in free verse, she explains all her thoughts and emotions in simplicity.

~Sarah T., Class of ’13

Among the Betrayed by Margaret Haddix

Culture is different for everyone in the world. I think culture is way of life, following in someone’s footsteps or a tradition passed down. Like yours and mine and so is Nina’s, the main character in “Among the Betrayed” by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Nina gets captured by the population police and is sent to the prison, where she soon is told by the “Hating man” to betray Percy, Matthias, and Alia. She considers it but she has a limited amount of time to do so before the three kids and herself is killed. Then she gets a chance to escape after Mack gets poisoned. Nina questions herself on whether to break out of the prison alone or to go with the three kids she supposed to be betraying. “If Nina left on her own, without a single look back, she’d be sending Percy, Matthias, and Alia to their death” (Haddix 70). Nina does not know if she’s doing the right thing by helping these kids and herself by escaping the prison and out to freedom but she takes that chance.

To be able to trust anyone in her situation would be hard. I know I would be confused on my part whether to choose myself or others. Many people have their own ways of living and making decisions and told by peers or family on what to do. I was always told to trust your instincts and do what is right. In this scenario, it would take me a while to figure out what to do, but being able to trust three kids you know nothing about, would make you think just to go on and save yourself. Nina’s culture is different from mine because she has no one but herself as of now and I have my family and friends to look up to and be able to get help. Nina thinks back on her aunt and what she had because she doubts she is going to see them again. What would you have to lose at this point anyways?

Renee H., Class of ’13

Spellbound by Janet McDonald

Raven, a seventeen year old girl, had a lot going for her in life. She had dreams of finishing high school, and planned on going to college shortly after. All that changed when Smokey, her baby, came along. Raven, a rising senior at the time, was forced to drop out of school to take care of Smokey. Raven is struggling, while having to dealing with hardships of being a single mother. She can’t even get a decent job because she doesn’t have a high school education. She relies on the support of her mother Gwen, her best friend Aisha, and her sister Dell. Dell realizes the pain and struggles her sister is going through because she had gone through the same thing about 5 years earlier. Dell, trying to be a loving sister suggests a spelling bee. The winner of the spelling bee receives a full 4 year scholarship to college. Raven, apprehensive at first, decides to do it. During her studying process, her sons’ father comes back into the picture. Check the book out to see if she won, and trust me this book is a page turner. You won’t want to put the book down. I would recommend it to just about anyone!

Sydney R., Class of ‘13

The Hoopster by Alan Sitomer

Andre is a 18 year old boy who loves to write and play basketball. His dream is to become a famous writer. Everything is going his way when he’s asked to write an article for a local magazine about racism. Andre feels a little out of place when asked to write it. He thinks that he was picked because of his African-American heritage. But aside from his feelings, Andre writes the article and it is a big hit. Everyone loves the article; he got letters and phone calls left and right. Just as everything is going all good for Andre, everything suddenly goes in a downward spiral for him. Read it to find out what happens. This book his an emotional roller coaster. I definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Robby B., Class of ’13

Jude by Kate Morgenroth

Jude, a 15 yr old boy, thinks his mom gave him up at birth. Only after his drug dealing father is killed do the authorities find out that Jude’s mom is the District Attorney. They also discover that Jude’s dad kidnapped him when Jude was 3wks old. With open arms, Jude’s mother Anna Grady, welcomes him into her swell life and sends him to a very nice prep school. One of his schoolmates OD’s on drugs and innocent Jude is immediately put under the knife. Harry, his mom’s boyfriend and the deputy police commissioner, tricks him to help Anna get elected on an anti-drug platform. He will clear Jude’s name, he promises, once Anna is elected. Jude, in turn, is tried as an adult and sent to jail for 5yrs. He then finds that Harry never meant to help him in the first place. He then learns to fight in jail. He needs to for his own good; survival of the fittest. This book has many twists and turns in it.

~Kylan E., Class of ’11

Absolutely, Positively Not… by David LaRochelle

Steven DeNarski is a 16 year old high school student who tries very hard to deny his homosexuality. He drools over his hunky male math teacher and even square dances but he is absolutely, positively not gay. In an effort to try to be normal, Steven covers his walls with posters of women and even buys a playboy magazine to replace the international male catalogs under his bed. To fit in with his peers, he tries to hang out with the jocks and goes on failed dates with some female classmates. Although this delights his parents, it still doesn’t feel right to Steven. To trick his mom into thinking he has a date to the school dance, he takes his fake girlfriend Kelly who is actually a dog. That’s when he comes to a realization that in fact he is gay, but now he has to come out to his best friend and even harder, his parents. This light-hearted book is best for teen readers but is all around relevant to audiences by Stevens need for acceptance.

Madison R., Class of ’11

Thirst No. 1 by Christopher Pike

Thirst No. 1 is a book for all kinds of readers. It is based on a young, well actually old, woman and her life. The book was written by a male author but has outstanding writing style from a woman’s point of view. Thirst is action packed but also a love story of sorts. Throughout the book, the main character, Sita, is faced with the changing times, danger, and peoples’ true intentions. She meets some interesting people that are not good and some that she feels for deeply. Sita faces large amounts of police forces in excruciatingly tight situations. There is blood and love, lust and age, fighting and seducing, as well as major deception; Sita even covers religion. Sita sucks her readers into her story and doesn’t let go, showing them her true self and the side that she wants others to see. Sita,her friends, and her foes, must fight to see who can make it to the end of time. Who will succeed in this story of survival of the fittest? Thirst kept me guessing and was constantly climaxing, with little room for breakage. Any reader looking for a good book will enjoy this book.

~Lauren L., Class of ’11