Books for Young Adults – Page 10

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Set in 1906 in the Adirondack Mountains, and based on the actual murder of a woman named Grace Brown, this book will appeal to fans of both historical fiction and murder mysteries. Chapters alternate between the past and the present, as narrated by sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey. In the chapters about the past, we learn about Mattie’s life on her family’s farm and her hope to attend Barnard College in New York City to become a writer. In the chapters about her present, we learn about Mattie’s work at The Glenmore Hotel on Big Moose Lake and how it brought her into contact with Grace Brown shortly before she was murdered.

I think what I liked best about this story is that it was about so much more than Grace Brown’s murder. It was also a coming-of-age story about a young woman (Mattie) who was determined to blaze her own path and to fight for her dreams despite the wishes of her father and the lack of women’s rights at the time. With how seamlessly Jennifer Donnelly wove together the true story of Grace Brown and the fictional story of Mattie Gokey, it’s no wonder this book won the 2003 Carnegie Medal in Literature [under the UK title A Gathering Light].

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

After a global economic meltdown, resources were so scarce and people were so scared that violence and crime skyrocketed. Leaders of Canada, the USA, and Mexico decided that they would be better equipped to rein in the criminals if they worked together, and thus formed the UNA (United Northern Alliance). Citizens of these countries were angry about the alliance and rebelled, which led to massive riots. Then Roland Harka came along. Using both charisma and force, he took over the UNA and appointed himself Prime Minister — for life. With freedoms and civil liberties taken away, communication restricted, and severe penalties for people who disobeyed, order was restored. As a result, all 16-year-olds now have to take the GPPT (Government Personality Profile Test). During the GPPT, teens’ brains are scanned to reveal which teens are predisposed toward a life of violence and crime. Those who fail, often referred to as Unanchored Souls, are sent to Prison Island Alpha, also known as The Wheel.

Alenna wasn’t really worried about failing the GPPT, so she was completely taken by surprise when she woke up on The Wheel. She knows she is not crazy, and she has never been prone to violence or crime, so she thinks there must have been a mistake. But, how does she even begin to contact people back home so she can try to get herself off the island? Unless she manages to align herself to one of the two “tribes” of teens who already live on the island — and who constantly battle one another — she might not survive long enough to try and escape. This book, the first of a trilogy, is a worthy addition to our If You Liked the Hunger Games list!

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

London and Zach traveled the world with their missionary parents all throughout their childhood, so it was easy for the siblings to become best friends. Now that Zach is gone, though, it means that London has a hole in her heart AND her life. She simply doesn’t know how to exist without her brother and best friend. [Is it OK to smile or to laugh when your brother has killed himself?] Even worse is the fact that her mother hasn’t talked to, looked at, or hugged her in the more than six months since Zach died. London expects that it’s because her mother thinks it’s her fault. With the help of friends, old and new, London is doing her best to pick up the pieces of her heart and move on with her life.

Plastic-Free by Beth Terry

It was a photograph that started author Beth Terry on her journey towards living a plastic-free life. The sight of an albatross who had mistakenly eaten pieces of plastic – bottle caps, small toys, even a piece of a toothbrush – made her confront the reality that the consumer habits of humans have gotten out of control, and that this albatross was only one of the many creatures on land and sea who suffer from our habit of using and throwing out more plastic every year. Terry started to notice how much plastic she was using, from shampoo bottles to candy wrappers, and decided to dramatically change her plastic consumption by seeking non-plastic alternatives and kept track of her progress in a blog.

Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Habit and You Can Too is the result of that blog and Terry’s experiences reducing plastic use. She acknowledges that it is virtually impossible to be completely plastic-free; there is plastic in our carpets, our electronics, and our cars that we cannot escape. However, there are other areas of our lives in which we can strive to skip unnecessary plastic waste to decrease the amount of plastic that gets thrown away each year and will never decompose. This book does not seek to make anyone feel guilty about their consumer habits, but rather provides endless suggestions for ways to lessen plastic consumption and includes resources for non-plastic toys, dishware, to-go containers, vegetable bags, cleaning products, and more. Plastic-Free is positive and encouraging, and will certainly inspire anyone to try to live life a bit more plastic-free.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin was a third — a child who should not even exist in a society with a strict two children per family limit. Why did he exist, then? Because his parents had promised to hand him over to the government if he tested well and showed promise as a potential commander in the fight against the Buggers [an alien race with whom the people of Earth were at war]. Even though military leaders were excited by Ender’s progress at Battle School and thought he might possess the skill-set needed to save humanity, Ender was kept in the dark. All he knew for sure was that Battle School offered him refuge from his sadistic older brother, Peter, while taking him away from the affections of the only person he has ever truly loved, his sister Valentine. But ruining one kid’s life to potentially save the human race is worth it, right?

Uglies: Shay’s Story by Scott Westerfeld

This book is yet another addition to Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies universe, a dystopia in which people are given surgery to become impossibly beautiful and suspiciously complacent once they are teenagers. Shay’s Story adds even more illustration to the tale, literally. This book is a graphic novel interpretation of Shay’s side of the events which take place in the novel Uglies, as well as the story of Shay’s experiences even before she meets the main character, Tally, in Uglies. After reading all four books in the Uglies series, it was really interesting to see the Uglies universe in pictures, and the extra details from Shay really fill out the story. This graphic novel stands alone and you do not have to read all of the Uglies books to enjoy or understand it, but Westerfeld’s characters and plots are so intriguing that Shay’s Story may inspire you to delve into the novels right away. Another Uglies graphic novel is coming out this fall and will continue the story of this strange and captivating future.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

In this first book of the Chemical Garden trilogy, Lauren DeStefano introduces readers to a world in which scientists [whose intention was to cure all disease] have accidentally shortened the human life span. Males only live to be 25, and females only live to be 20. Some people have hope that the older generation [who still have a normal life span] will be able to fix the problem, though many have given up hope, and it seems as though the entire world is falling apart. Young girls are routinely kidnapped and forced to work in brothels or to enter polygamous marriages so they can bear as many children as possible in an attempt to forestall the collapse of the human race. This is how we meet Rhine.

Rhine’s parents were scientists, and they died in an explosion created by protesters. She and her twin brother did their best to look out for one another, but she was still snatched off the street, transported several states away, and forced to marry a rich man named Linden. Rhine is determined to escape from her new life, despite the riches and extravagance now at her disposal, because she would rather live the remainder of her short life in freedom and with her only remaining family. She isn’t exactly sure how she might escape, let alone get back to her home and her brother, but Rhine knows she would rather die trying than give up and potentially become the subject of Linden’s father’s nefarious experiments.

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett

This is not your typical YA dystopian story. First, it takes place in the United Kingdom, a huge move away from the typical setting somewhere in North America. Second, the first-person narrator speaks in a particular dialect that at first can seem confusing, but then becomes a type of free verse that places you right in the mindset of the main character, 15-year-old Willo. Third, it’s cold. Very very cold. Willo lives in a world of winter, where it snows practically the entire year and major European cities have dwindled to overcrowded settlements without enough food or electricity.

Against this bleak backdrop, Willo’s story begins when he returns home from trapping in the woods to find that his entire family has disappeared from their house in the mountains. His search to find them leads him away from the only home he’s ever known in the woods on a journey where he learns dangerous secrets about his past and makes difficult choices that will affect his future. This is a coming of age story told in a unique style in an imagined future. There are environmental and political themes in the background, but the main focus is on the story of a boy coming into his own and taking charge of his life. The book ends on a positive note and has much to offer for teen and adult readers alike.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

I never really thought of myself as being old enough to have historical fiction about my generation, but this book has changed my mind. Computers with high speed internet have become so ingrained in my life that I sometimes forget how painfully slow dial-up used to be. Kids today might not remember those AOL trial offer CD-ROMS that used to come in the mail and litter customer service counters, but I distinctly remember wondering what the internet would be like — then fighting with my parents about tying up the phone line when I started to use it! And although I was introduced to chat rooms, IMs, and e-mail in much the same way as Emma and Josh, I was not able to peer into my future via a mystical connection with my [15-years-in-the-future] Facebook account.

Josh and Emma weren’t sure what to make of it at first. Sure, the picture looked a lot like an older version of Emma… but it had to be a prank. Right? Once they started to believe that this could possibly be a glimpse into the future, it became increasingly tempting for Emma to try and change the future. If Emma saw something indicating that she would become unhappy in the future, she tried to think of what she could change now. And while Josh thought his future self seemed pretty happy, he wasn’t so sure about how to handle some of the things he learned about other people. It reminded me a bit of Back to the Future 2 with ever-changing Facebook status updates instead of actual time travel. A fun read that makes you think? Awesome!

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Forget what you think you know about mermaids. They aren’t beautiful creatures with beautiful voices who long for nothing more than to be human… They are ruthless creatures who happen to be beautiful and have beautiful voices so they can better lure humans into the water in order to kill them and absorb their emotions! Calder White is a merman whose family lives in Lake Superior. He leaves his sisters and migrates to the tropics during the winter, but his instincts and family bond force him to return to Lake Superior every summer. Returning is especially important this year, though, because his sisters believe that they have finally found Jason Hancock. ”Who’s that?,” you ask. Oh, only the man responsible for their mother’s death.

When Jason Hancock was a baby, his father fell into the lake and was rescued by a mermaid [Calder’s mom]. In exchange for his life, he promised to give her his infant son [Jason] — but he left and took his family with him. Calder’s mother was furious and, in her anger, was caught and killed in a fisherman’s net. Not only do mermaids refuse to accept broken promises, but this family of mer-people wants revenge for their mother’s death as well. Calder’s job is fairly simple. He needs to find a way to get close to the family so that he can lure Jason into the water, where his sister’s will exact their mother’s revenge. The only problem? Calder starts to have feelings for Jason’s eldest daughter, Lily. My favorite part of this book? The end page that said a sequel would be out in 2013!

The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir by Gaby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer

When I first heard about Gaby Rodriguez, I just knew she would get a book deal and that I would purchase her book for my library. I was impressed that she not only chose to fake a pregnancy for her senior project but that she managed to pull it off until the scheduled reveal at the end of her “second trimester.” Even more impressive than her skill at pulling off this elaborate ruse, though, was her reason for doing this project. Gaby grew up in a community where teen pregnancy was very common. In fact, her own mother and seven older siblings had all become parents as teens. Gaby decided to pretend to “live down to” people’s expectations to raise awareness of the way our culture reacts to teen pregnancy and treats the parents-to-be. In order to get the most accurate results from this experiment, Gaby had to keep her project secret from all but a few people in her life. The only people who knew the truth were her mother, her boyfriend, one of her best friends [who would report back about the reactions of teachers and students], one sister [who would report back about the reactions of family members], and some school administrators who had to approve the project.

It was amazing [albeit disheartening] to read about how quickly people changed their opinions of Gaby. While she was still in the top 5% of her class, and she still belonged to two leadership organizations, many people automatically assumed her life was ruined as soon as they heard she was pregnant. Based on all of the negative attention her boyfriend, Jorge, received, Gaby also came to understand why so many teen dads take off. Being physically able to run away from a situation that everyone assures you will “ruin your life” certainly sounds like an understandable response to me. This book is a good way to get a conversation started about how we, as a society, can do better to prevent teen pregnancy and also how we can better support teen parents so they provide themselves and their children with a better life — and hopefully help their own children break the cycle of teen pregnancy.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Mandy Kalinowski is pregnant and scared. She isn’t sure about much in her life, but she is sure that she wants her baby to have a better life than she can provide — so she plans to give her baby up for adoption.

Jill MacSweeny has been lonely and depressed since her father’s sudden, unexpected death about a year before. She has driven away most of her former friends but has a mom and a boyfriend who are ready and willing to support her. The problem is that she doesn’t want to learn how to move on… She just wants things back the way they were.

How do their lives intersect? Jill’s mom, Robin, is planning to adopt Mandy’s baby — without lawyers or an adoption agency. Jill is extremely cynical, to say the least. She is not happy that her mom is trying to adopt a baby, but she is more afraid that Mandy is going to decide to keep the baby and break her mom’s heart. Mandy knows that the Robin is better prepared to raise this baby, but she also fantasizes about running away and keeping/raising the baby herself. It’s hard to imagine anything but a heart-breaking ending to this story, but I promise you will cry HAPPY tears for this one! An amazing story about life, love, and finding your place in the world.

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Ethan De Wilde was kidnapped from right in front of his house when he was just 7 years old. Merely typing that sentence made my blood run cold because my own little boy just turned 7, and I cannot imagine the heartache and the despair that a family would go through in such an event. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to hear about stories like this in the news. This particular story, though, seems to have a happy ending. After all, the book opens with 16-year-old Ethan and a CPS worker waiting for his family at an Amtrak station. After being abandoned by the woman who raised him, living in a group home for a while, and then running away and living on the streets, Ethan is finally heading home. But what seems like a fairy tale ending at first glance is actually very complicated.

Ethan can’t seem to recall anything from his early childhood and feels extremely out of place. He wishes he could remember something — anything! — but he just can’t. Mama and Dad accept that it will take some time to adjust to their new situation, but that is little comfort. Gracie, who was born a couple of years after the abduction, accepts Ethan almost immediately. Even though she had been sheltered from the truth, she is ready and willing to open her heart to the long-lost brother she never knew. His brother Blake, on the other hand, remembers all too well what it felt like when Ethan disappeared. Blake is angry because he feels that his brother should have known better than to get into a car with strangers in the first place, and he resents the fact that Ethan’s disappearance and reappearance have over-shadowed nearly his entire life. It makes sense that Blake would react by lashing out in anger, but his behavior was still a bit shocking at times.

This is definitely a book I would recommend for reluctant readers. Between the interesting premise and the short chapters, I absolutely flew through this book! I wish I could say more about what kept me turning pages, but I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone… Just know that there is something BIG and keep reading until you find it. Trust me — you’ll know when you get there.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

What’s even better than a companion book for The Wednesday Wars? A companion book that works just fine as a stand alone book! (Some people call this book a sequel, but I am calling it a “companion” book because it has a different main character and doesn’t require you to read the first book in order to understand what’s going on.) There IS a bit of a shout-out to Holling Hoodhood, which is nice, but this book focuses on Doug Swieteck — one of Holling’s friends whose family has to move upstate, to a small town called Marysville, when his dad’s bad attitude causes him his job.

We learn early on that Doug’s father is a jerk; he treats his family like trash and doesn’t grasp the simple notion that the world doesn’t owe him anything that he didn’t work to earn. Doug’s mom is really passive and pretty much ignores her husband’s faults while trying her best not to anger him. And then there are Doug’s brothers — one who is serving in Vietnam, and one who moves with the family and then falls in with the local herd of jerks. Luckily, Doug meets Lil Spicer and gets a job delivering groceries for her dad’s deli. Through this job, he gets out of the house, forms relationships with some of the townspeople, and makes a little bit of money to boot. There are several points where things get really rough for Doug, but he always manages to find solace in the local library where he is intrigued by, and learns to draw, the birds found in the John James Audubon book kept on display. With its complex characters, rich setting, and the message of hope and perseverance, I think this book would appeal to nearly anyone who likes a good story.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

After trying to read Going Bovine and feeling like I was too dumb to understand what the heck was going on, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read Beauty Queens. Luckily, I talked to a coworker who thought this book would be perfect for me, and I decided to give the audiobook a chance. Shortly after finishing this book, I discovered a blog post entitled “Ten Things I Want to Tell Teenage Girls” and it was as if this entire book was condensed into number 10 . . . in a much less sarcastic way. I think that might be a big part of what I loved about this book — the sarcasm, that is. I am an *extremely* sarcastic person, and I just love some tongue-in-cheek satire.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What would happen if a plane full of beauty queens crash-landed on a deserted island?” Then, this is the book for you! Beauty Queens examines consumer culture, reality TV, politics, rom-coms, the beauty industry, and religion while exploring issues of gender, race, sexuality, beauty, and identity. While it’s hard to believe that a unified storyline can emerge from a story that tackles so many issues, it really came together nicely. Although the issues covered in this book are totally serious, Bray manages to be anything but serious and still makes her point. (She also manages to sound like a full cast of readers in the audiobook!) I wish I could assign this book as required reading to every insecure girl/woman I know so they could start to see how ridiculous it is that we allow society to put so much pressure on us to be “perfect.” One of my favorite lines was from an advertizement for Lady ‘Stache Off — “Because there’s nothing wrong with you . . . that can’t be fixed.” I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of our culture telling me that I need to “fix” myself. I hope to teach my daughter (and every teen girl I work with) that we’re all beautiful just the way we are thankyouverymuch!

Happy Reading!