Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Cutcher
Young Adult Realistic Fiction
ISBN: 0-688-11552-7
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: Outcast Eric beats the odds to stay fat in order to stay friends with Sarah Byrnes and uncover her deep secrets.

Plot Summary: Sarah Byrnes is now a mute for reasons best friend Eric Calhoune must find out. They both go way back. They became friends because they were both outcasts; Eric being extremely fat and Sarah for having hideous scars that covered her face and hands due to boiling spaghetti falling on her. Eric looks up to Sarah; she is smart, courageous, and tough. It gets to the point where Eric needs to continue to be an outcast to stay friends for Sarah Byrnes, thus eating more and staying fat even though he joined the swim team, which is making him lose weight. Eric and Sarah have always been picked on and they form an underground school newspaper, Crispy Pork Rinds, which focused on dimwitted bully Dale Thornton. Now Eric must ironically find help in the unlikely source of Dale to find out what has caused the deep repression and silence in Sarah Byrnes, not to mention her terrible secret, which is a challenge that puts Eric in over his head.

Critical Evaluation: This book is very deep with a lot of substance. It isn't linear with flashbacks without warning. It deals with every teen issue from sex to abortion to physical abuse. And these issues involve a number of characters that are all carefully developed. There's a complete back story to note as well, not to mention ironic and very witty. The reader might have to re-read a few sections of the book to get it all in. But it is rewarding and a very original concept. It combines so many genres that for a few pages, the book feels like a comedy, then a sad drama. Then there's Sarah Byrnes. Just the name itself is all you need to know; she even wants to be referred to by this. Her personality has to make up for so much due to her back story that every reader gets teary eyed. And Eric, who is intelligent, is blinded by love, not physical, but emotional, to help his best friend that he literally puts his life on the line. Its these themes of trust and friendship that show that if you believe in something, you can stand up to it and try and fix it.

Author: Chris Crutcher was raised in Cascade, Idaho. He has a B.A. in sociology/psychology and a teaching created credential from Eastern Washington State College. He has written a numerous amount of novels such as Running Loose and Athletic Shorts, both of which were named ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Many of his books are among the most frequently challenged due to the characters dealing with serious teen problems: abuse, religious prejudice, and disabilities, just to name a few.

Apart from writing novels, Crutcher spend five years as director of an alternate school for children from kindergarten age through high school in Oakland. He is currently living in Spokane as a child and family therapis for the Spokane community Mental Health Center. In his spare time, he runs and plays basketball.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Physical abuse
2) Mental and physical disabilities
3) Violence
4) Abortion
5) Troubled homelife
6) School life
7) Suicide

Challenge Issues:
Due to the detailed depictions of physical abuse, mental and physical disabilities, violence, and mentions of abortion, sex, and suicide, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes has been one of the most challenged books of recent times.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I have too many things, some good, some bad, about this book that I had to pick it up and read it. It was a tough concept and I had to re-read some pages but I felt that it was definitely worth it.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 4 by Naoyuki Kageyama and Kazuki Takahashi

Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 4 by Naoyuki Kageyama and Kazuki Takahashi
Young Adult Graphic Novel
195 pp.
Suitable for 13+

Readers Annotation: The next generation of Duel Academy has a tournament for the best fighter.

Plot Summary: The prestigious Duel Academy has a new generation of fighters: Jaden, Bastion, David, Chazz, among others. Each player draws a card that contains a monster with a special power. Each card costs a certain amount of points that the player has and can eliminate points from their opponents as well. If the player runs out of point, he or she loses. The duel between bad boy David and good guy Chazz in the semi-finals brings out a prestigious card, shadow game. This card doesn't physically hurt the player but they mentally feel pain. This affects Chazz but David eventually loses. This brings a final showdown between Chazz and Jaden. But David's presence is felt in that final showdown. With this being volume 4, the reader can expect a sequel.

Critical Evaluation: Like a traditional Japanese Manga styled-book, this book read from right to left starting in the upper right corner. I've never read a Manga book so I don't know what to compare it to but it was difficult to catch up with the plot and story and numerous fights since this was volume 4. But about a quarter of the way through, I gained a feel for these simple, cartoon-like characters. Two of them were actually friends and believe it or not, a theme of friendship is shown between these two. The dialogue isn't supposed to be great; it's meant to move the story forward and it did a good job of accomplishing that. As the story moved along, the fights got fewer and fewer, but more epic; they meant something. The drawing of the card was both ridiculous and fun; it gave the reader a moment of suspense right before the battle. The idea of the shadow card also got the reader psychologically involved.

Author: Naoyuki Kageyama was born April 12th, 1969 in Tokyo, Japan. Though he has not won the award, he did receive honorable mention for the 1990 Weekly Shonen Jump Hop Step Award. He started drawing the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX for Monthly V Jump in February 2006. Kageyama's hobbies include baseball; his favorite team is the Seibu Lions.

Kazuki Takahashi first tried to break into the manga business in 1982, albeit unsuccessfully. It wasn't until Yu-Gi-Oh! series debuted in a Japanese magazine in 1996. In this series, he brought themes of frienship and fighting. In his spare time, he enjoys video games of all sorts.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Fighting
2) Frienships
3) Manga
4) Monsters

Challenge Issues: There are no challenge issues present in this book.

Why Included: I have never read a Manga book in my life and I didn't know where to begin. So I picked up a random Manga book and it happened to be this one.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Lorene Scafaria

Nick and Norah's Ultimate Playlist by Lorene Scafaria
Coming-of-Age Comedy/Romance Teen Film
Mandate Pictures, 2008
90 minutes
Suitable for 13+

Readers Annotation: Two teenagers, Nick and Norah, meet by chance and spend all night to try and find their favorite band's secret show.

Plot Summary: Nick loves music and plays bass in an "all gay" band. He just got his heart broken by his girlfriend. Norah goes to the same high school and has never met Nick. But to show up his ex-girlfriend, whom she despises, she pretends to be his girlfriend for five minutes after Nick's band just got done playing. They both love the publicity shy band "Where's Fluffy?" and thought that they would arrive there. Norah's drunk friend is being cared for by Nick's band-mates, which gives Nick and Norah all night to look for their favorite band through a series of clues. While looking for the secret show, they go through a series of adventures, learning about each other, eventually liking each other, meeting Norah's friend with benefits, and even looking for Norah's drunk friend who got lost. When Nick's ex-girlfriend re-enters the picture, things get complicated. But Nick and Norah know that they were meant for each other from their adventures together.

Critical Evaluation: This film was constantly entertaining with music oozing out of it. The music is all right, it's an emo type of music geared towards teens and the fashions throughout have an indie feel to it. The film is structured to where the adventures take up the majority of the film and that's what counts because that's what brings closeness and exposition to Nick and Norah. Both characters are well-developed, and have an odd couple mismatch that creates conflict and entertains the viewer. The title is well deserved since a mix tape is what brought them two together by accident. Norah's drunk friend is quite annoying with her cliche, blond remarks, but she is sort of the straw that stirs the drink; without her the story would have a different feel. At least she's not the main character. One gets the feeling that this is hip with a touch of cute warmness; the perfect date movie.

Author: Lorene was born in Holmdel, New Jersey. While younger, she would write fake book reports to win Pizza Hut gift certificates and thus showed an interest in writing. By 17, she produced her first play. She attended Montclair State University.

Lorene Scafaria is a playright, screenwriter, actress, and singer. She is best known for writing the screenplay of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was based on the book with the same title, written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Lorene has written nine screenplays such as Iraqi war docudrama Sweet Relief and Man and Wife. She has also written a song on Drew Berrymore's Whip It!

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Music
2) Bands
3) Relationships
4) Friends with benefits
5) Drinking
6) Coming-of-age

Challenge Issues: There are no challenge issues present in this film.

Why Included: I couldn't think of another teen film that I've seen that had a PG-13 rating. I enjoyed this film even though I thought the music was a bit lame.

Forever by Judy Blume

Forever by Judy Blume
Young Adult Romance Novel
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5391-3
192 pp.
Suitable for 15+

Reader's Annotation: Katherine and Michael are teenage lovers who think that they are meant for each other, that is, until summer arives.

Plot Summary: Katherine and Michael are 17 year-old high school seniors that fell in love at first sight. However, they have a slow steady relationship that develops over time. They get along with each others friends, Erica and Artie. They end up going crazy for each other where they can't stand being apart. They go on dates, ski trips, and have funny giggles and laughs that are only between them. They each know so much about each other. They have sex the safe way. Michael is Katherine's first and Katherine is Michael's second but the one thing they can agree on was they they are in love. True love. Everything seems perfect. But their parents aren't too sure. They see that they are both too young to be committed. They set their children up with summer jobs each out of state. The summer is to be the truest test that they face.

Critical Evaluation: The characters, as few as there are in the book, all are well-developed and have very good chemistry while the dialogue seems fresh. The sarcastic touch in the dialogue is something missing in most novels. The plot has a steady pacing with loads of exposition but there just wasn't enough of a conflict. It lacked urgency. Nothing extreme happens and the reader is expecting the big bomb but it never comes. Even the tone is light. Maybe that's the point. The story is grounded. And real lifeopics such as pregnancy, abortions, the pill, condoms, etc are mentioned throughout almost serving as sex-ed for some younger readers. The intimate moments between Katherine and Michael are indeed realistic and extremely detailed and is how they should be portrayed for young readers interested in this topic. The book is more about feeling than plot, about education than problems, about thinking that your first love is your only love and this timeless novel still holds up today.

Author: Judy Blume is the author some very well-known children, young adult, and adult novels. She started off with children's and teens while her children were in preschool, then moved on to adults. Though the tone of her books are light, they do deal with heavy issues.

Blume was the recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2004. She has also been honored by the American Library Association, receeiving the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement, which recognized Forever. She currently lives in Key West with her husband, George Cooper.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Sex
2) Birth control
3) Pregnancy
4) Relationships
5) First love

Challenge Issues: There are controversial issues such as profanity, very detailed descriptions of sexual intercourse, and the protagonist goes on birth control.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: Quite simply, I've heard good things about this book and decided to read it. Though I expected more, I can see what made it controversial for its time.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Young Adult Fantasy/Adventure
ISBN: 0786856297
384 pp.
Suitable for 12+

Readers Annotation: Percy Jackson is just another 12 year old boy diagnosed with ADD who gets into trouble until he finds out that he is a demigod and trains at a camp to fight his biggest challenge yet.

Plot Summary: Percy Jackson is a 12 year old boy with ADD who gets into trouble at school to the point that he's been going to different schools all his life. His father is dead, and therefore lives with his sweet mother and her awful husband. Percy and his mother decide to go on their annual trip to Long Island. However, once there, they run into trouble, especially when Percy's friend, Grover, reveals himself as a satyr who warns that mythological creatures are out to harm them. They drive to Camp Half-Blood where demigods train to fight. Percy's mother is unfortunately disintegrated but Percy finds out that his father who died is very much alive and a god! He trains for his biggest challenge yet: to find Zeus' lightning bolt that has been stolen from him. However, there is miscommunication among the gods, which ends up getting Percy in even more trouble. But at least he's used to it and up for the challenge.

Critical Evaluation: This fast-paced story is loaded with plot and corny, attempted humorous dialogue. At first, I thought it was aimed for reluctant male readers with its simple language, fast-paced scenes, and black and white characters. It then evolves into using Greek mythology concepts within a modern setting, which is a creative angle for teen readers. There is much more gray, which complicates things and that keeps for an interesting read. Unfortunately, since the fast-paced writing seemed to go even faster during this evolution as the action became absurd. It was simply quite hard to keep up with way too much action and not enough character development. Percy is the only one developed since he is the main character and the author spends much time on his exposition. But the counselor, his peers, the gods, they all seem like patchwork. By the end, it was a tiresome read loaded with action and ridiculous dialogue; quite incredible how sequels came afterward. I'm relieved I finished the first.

Author: Rick Riordan is a young adult author, most notably for the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Riordan graduated from the University of Austin with a double major of English and history. He actually taught English and history for the San Francisco Bay area and San Antonio before writing his first novel.

The story of his first novel is quite interesting. He would tell his son, diagnosed with ADD, stories and eventually incorporated Greek mythology. He ran out of stories and made up one about Percy Jackson and his hunt for Zeus' lightning bolt. His son told him to write a book on it, which Riordan did and succeeded. Many sequels have come from this bedtime story.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Greek mythology
2) Camp Half-Blood
3) demigods

Challenge Issues: There are no challenge issues present in this book.

Why Included: I really have no idea. I just wanted to see what the big fuss was. I was not amused and this was a brutal reading but at least now I know.

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Cut by Patricia McCormick
Young adult realistic/life issues dealing with abuse
ISBN: 0-439-32459-9
151 pp.
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: Callie cuts herself and is now at a treatment facility where she remains silent until a doctor finally breaks through with her.

Plot Summary: Callie is a teenager who cuts herself and is being treated at Sea Pines, a residential treatment facility. However, she wants nothing to do with the doctors, nurses, and her fellow peers. She remains silent and is never included. A doctor that she meets with semi-daily tries to help her out to no avail. However, the doctor says things that stick with Callie and one day she finds herself speaking. She speaks with her fellow peers and actually hangs out with them, feeling included for the first time to the point where she sees them as friends. She speaks in group too. Most importantly, she speaks to her doctor and finally says whats on her mind while also answering questions. Callie opens up about her family life where her brother is always sick, her mother always tired, and the father missing in action. However, as the doctor says, it's up to Callie to help herself and not cut.

Critical Evaluation: With such a simple story, it is also a psychological puzzle. What makes Callie tick and cut? Why won't she speak? The book does a good job of solving the mystery little by little through flashbacks and simply speaking. The reader fills in the blanks for the majority of the book. The reader is also drawn in as a character, the doctor, which gives a first glance look at mental illness. Cassie is well-developed in a minimal sense while her peers have issues tacked on to them. They represent a teen drama of sorts in the treatment center, which splits the story into two. There isn't enough craziness to get a sense that this is a loony bin; it is more about teens going through issues; a nice realistic touch. Going back and forth between these two stories make the pacing exceptionally quick and energizing as it never focuses on one scene or character too long to make it tiresome. There are numerous observations, which helps fill a detailed scene in the readers mind and also keeps them interested. The only thing is that the mystery is basically solved, which takes the fun out of the mystery but answers the questions of Callie.

Author: Patricia McCormick is an author specifically for young adults. She grew up in a regular suburban neighborhood and because of her way of thinking, felt out of place. She graduated from Columbia University School of Journalism in 1999. Cut was her first novel and she spent three years researching and writing it, to which it won rave reviews and awards.

McCormick has also written other young adult novels such as Purple Heart and Sold. She also has teaching experience at Columbia and does some work as a free-lance journalist. She currently lives in Manhattan with her husband, son, and two cats.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Physical abuse to oneself
2) Treatment
3) Dysfunctional family
4) Psychological issues

Challenge Issues: There are some challenge issues present due to the detailed descriptions of cutting oneself, psychological trauma, and Callie's peers/friends inside the treatment facility.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I am on a YA realistic fiction kick at the moment and I simply came across this book while working the front circulation desk at the library I work at.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Young Adult Realistic/Life Issues Novel dealing with drug use
ISBN: 978-0-689-86519-0
537 pp.
Suitable for 16+

Readers Annotation: Kristina is the perfect daughter that never gets into any trouble until she meets her monster, crank.

Plot Summary: Kristina is a very smart and intelligent high school junior. She never gets into any trouble and gets along with her mother and siblings. But when her father, whom she hasn't seen in many years, convinces her to stay with him for a few weeks in the summer, all hell breaks loose. Her dad is a meth addict and soon she becomes one too. Kristina likes it so much that an alter-ego appears, Bree. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina, a trouble-maker and up to no good. The monster, meth, takes over her body and mind and soon Kristina starts hanging out with the wrong crowd. When she arrives back at her mother's, she is definitely messed up and everyone knows it, though they are hesitant to confront her. She gets into fights with her mom, she gets raped by her dealer, she makes friends with meth-users, and her health starts to fail, among other things. Finally, her family wants to help but she doesn't want any part of it because the temptation is all around her wherever she looks.

Critical Evaluation: Hopkins does a great job writing poetry in the form of verse that shows the story instead of tells it. Even how the words are presented on each page represent that feelings that Kristina is going through. They tangle, spread apart, line up, and cause confusing patters. They represent the loneliness, pain, confusion, and a false happiness that Kristina is facing, right on these pages. The two sides of Kristina become present throughout that does a good job of representing the monster. There's almost a romantic yearning for the monster as the anticipation is better than the actual deed. That she's going to disappear from real life and become elevated is worth risking everything for. Another interesting trait is that all the characters have flaws but try and hide it with their outer shell; there are skeletons in each character's closets and there is not one normal character in the book. Though the story is cliche, it does show the risk-taking side that all teenagers eventually take; however those things that they yearn for and do is what shapes their future.

Author: Ellen Hopkins was born in 1955 and has published several best-selling novels aimed towards young adults. While Hopkins originally wrote non-fiction children's books, she has a daughter addicted to crystal-meth. This influenced her to write Crank and many other novels that deal with drug addiction among teens. These include the sequels to Crank, Glass and Fallout. She is currently working on more novels in the same vein such as Smoke.

Hopkins herself, has an interesting homelife. She was adopted by a couple when they were 72 and 42, respectively. She studied journalism at the University of Santa Barbara. After a failed marriage, she married John Hopkins, whom they have three children together. She also decided to find her biological mother just recently, who was a writer and a poet, and Hopkins says that's where her writing talent originates from.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Drug Use
2) Rape
3) Sex
4) Pregnancy
5) Dysfunctional Family Life
6) Confusion

Challenge Issues: Due to the detailed depictions of rape and drug use, this novel has some challenge issues.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I heard about the book briefly but always saw this book circulating at the library I worked at. Once again, I used this project as an excuse to read what this book was about. Quite the downer.

Ebsco Host via Buena Park Library District

Ebsco Host via The Buena Park Library District
Curriculum: Education and Research
Suitable from elementary and up

Annotation: Ebsco Host is a subscription online database provided via The Buena Park Library District.

Summary: The Buena Park Library District subscribes to an online database entitled Ebsco Host. Though everyone with a Buena Park Library card is able to access this feature, it is geared toward students of all ages for research purposes. Within this subscription of Ebsco Host, there are five different kinds of databases. Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries on a variety of subjects. MAS Ultra- School Edition is specifically aimed towards high school students as it provides more than 360 full text reference books, 85,670 biographies, over 107,000 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of over 510,000 photos, maps & flags, color PDFs and expanded full text backfiles (back to 1975) for key magazines. MasterFILE Premiere is specifically designed for public libraries as it provides full text for nearly 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books and over 164,400 primary source documents, as well as an Image Collection of over 502,000 photos, maps & flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost. Middle Search Plus is aimed towards middle school students as it provides more than 140 popular, middle school magazines. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays. Middle Search Plus also contains 84,774 biographies, 105,786 primary source documents, and a School Image Collection of photos, maps and flags. And Primary Search is aimed towards elementary school students as it provides more than 70 popular, magazines for elementary school research. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles), and full text information dates as far back as 1990.

Critical Evaluation: This is a smart idea by the Buena Park Library District. The library saves some man power by providing this subscription database to those who need it twenty four hours a day. All you need is a library card, which is free, therefore access to the database is free as well. Ebsco Host is also very versatile providing a database to every age demographic. There is one for elementary, middle school, high school, college, and anyone else who want to use the database. The interface on each database is consistent and easy to use with a search bar that provides different options such as advanced search, visual search, and the different search options. The latter is of most importance where the user can search by different search mode, have the option of it being peer reviewed, full text, and so on. This is a win-win for both the library and its patrons. The library is able to provide information via a digital resource, making its website more interactive, keeping up with the times, and making a good impression on its patrons. Its patrons get to access the information they desire from the comfort of their own homes and all for free.

Looking For Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Young Adult Realistic/Life Issues Fiction
ISBN: 0-525-47506-0
221 pp.
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: Sixteen-year-old Miles is bored of his life at home and embarks on a journey at boarding school where he meets friends, enemies, sadness, and seeking the "Great Perhaps."

Plot Summary: Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter is bored of his life at home. He asks his parents to go to boarding school to add some excitement to his life and to seek the "Great Perhaps." He meets colorful characters, which end up becoming his friends. This includes his roomate, nicknamed the Colonel, Takumi, Lara, and the one who grabs his heart, Alaska Young. She is funny, clever, and neurotic, shown by her sudden mood swings. She shows Miles, now nicknamed "Pudge," the ropes via school pranks, smoking cigarettes, drinking, and even the "Great Perhaps." She has such an impact on Miles that he starts falling for her even though he eventually gets a girlfriend in Lara. When Alaska has one of her unpredictable "freak-outs," this after spending the day with Miles in what he considered the best day of his life, she decides to drive drunk, crashes, and dies. The rest of the school year is spent trying to figure out what caused Alaska to tick. Meanwhile friendships are tattered, grades are slipping, and Miles spends his time looking for the "Great Perhaps," or in other words, looking for Alaska.

Critical Evaluation: The story is told from first-person perspective of Miles. This is actually a good thing because not only is Miles well-read, which leads to fascinating thinking that is both amazingly clear and concise, but the reader gets to experience what he is feeling. His character evolves from shy boy to the ultimate prankster kind of in the vein of Alaska. Though he and the Colonel become obsessive of her after she dies, it does show the impact that she had on their lives. The author does a good job of having lots of description based on minimalism since Alaska was not too open with her personal life. The nice touch of days before and after her death show much they thought of her. But you can even see the characters evolving into Alaska right down to the last prank; Alaska was hot and cold and the characters evolve into that too, thinking just like her to not only solve the mystery of her motives before she died but to almost relive her life in a way. The dialogue is refreshing and real and it oozes emotion, sometimes happiness and sometimes sadness, just like Alaska. This shows how much one person can impact another while also showing how fragile the one-track teenaged mind can be.

Author: John Green was born in 1977 and his stay in boarding school largely inspired his debut-novel Looking for Alaska. After he graduated, he worked in Chicago for Booklist Magazine. His debut novel was published in 2005 and won the Michael L. Printz award. His second and third novels, entitled An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns, were published in 2006 and 2008 to great critical praise and awards.

Green currently resides in Indiana with his wife, Sarah, his son Henry, and his dog. Sarah and him had their first child together just recently. Just recently, Green announced that he is working on a fourth novel, entitled The Sequel.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Drinking
2) Suicide
3) School
4) Death
5) Sex
6) Friendship

Challenge Issues: Due to the mentions of sex, language, death, and potential suicide, the book has a few challenge issues.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I just recently heard about this book because I've been wanting to get more into realistic fiction. I discovered it, read it, and ultimately love it.

Twilight by stephenie Meyer

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Young Adult Fantasy Novel
ISBN: 0-316-16017-2
498 pp.
Suitable for 12+

Readers Connotation: Seventeen-year-old Isabella moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her father while befriending mysterious Edward Cullen.

Plot Summary: Isabella (Bella) Swan used to live in Phoenix with her mother but she is basically forced to live with her father in Forks, Washington while her mom goes with her new husband to Florida for a short while. In Forks, shy Bella amazingly makes some friends and some boys even ask her out. However, after Bella's hates the mysterious Edward Cullen after he saves her life and disappears for a few days, they embark on a relationship that blooms into love. They learn about each others lives but Edward's is much more unique; he is a vampire. But he doesn't want to be one anymore but a regular person like Bella, which attracts him to her, not to mention her blood and scent. Eventually, Bella meets Edward's foster family, a family of vampires as well. But when vampire trackers want to hunt Bella for game, Edward must not only save her from them but save her family and convince her to stay in Forks. Will she stay for love or will she leave for Florida and start afresh.

Critical Evaluation: This story is not action orientated at all but rather relies on description. There is quite a bit of exposition but this being the first book of the series; it seems fitting. The vocabulary has such a wide spectrum that you can see the town, smell the weather, and see the emotion and love between Bella and Edward. It is between human and vampire, which is a forbidden love. He loves her but thirsts for her blood. That is the attraction of this novel, not the action sequences though vampires playing baseball was an original part. By the end, it's almost as if you've met Edward and his icy stare and Bella and her clumsiness; that's how well they are developed. Even the minor characters such as Charlie and Edwards foster family are well-developed where you can visualize Charlie's lack of emotions and Edward's family's closeness. The location of Washington fits perfectly as its cloudy, rainy, and mysterious. Add to the mix of vampires in an original light, it is no surprise that this book has turned into a cultural phenomenon.

Author: Stephenie Meyer was born in 1973. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English literature. The book Twilight came to her in a dream and it was published in 2005. The success of the novel was so grand that it eventually evolved into a series as New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn came out subsequently.

Meyer's other works include Prom Nights From Hell and The Host, an adult sci-fi novel. To promote her adult work, she produced a clothing line of T-shirts and skateboards. In 2010, Meyer wrote a 200 page novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.


Booktalking Ideas:
1) Vampires
2) High School
3) Divorce
4) Forbidden Love

Challenge Issues:
There are no major challenge issues present in this book.

Why Included: I used this project as an excuse to see what the hoopla was about this book. I think one book is enough, quite honestly.

The Duff by Kody Keplinger

The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Young Adult Chick Lit
ISBN: 978-0-316-08423-9
278 pp.
Suitable for 14+

Readers Annotation: Cynical, sarcastic, seventeen-year-old Bianca falls for her worst enemy, the hunky, jerk Wesley to distract herself from her emerging chaotic life.

Plot Summary: Bianca Piper is a cynical, sarcastic, intelligent, seventeen-year-old who discovers that she is the DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend. She discovers this from Wesley, the biggest jerk and man-whore in school that his good looks cover up. Bianca's life comes crashing down from all sides: her parents are getting a divorce, her ex-boyfriend is back in town, her two friends, Jessica and Casey, are indeed prettier than her from her POV causing Bianca to have self-esteem issues and their friendship to deteriorate. So Bianca distracts herself from these issues by having a secret physical relationship with Wesley. The thing is that they both eventually have feelings for each other and like it. Bianca sees right through Wesley, which he likes and helps him change for the better and Wesley has an electric feel that Bianca can not get over. But when Bianca starts solving her issues, she finds another distraction, her original crush, Toby. However, it doesn't feel the same and her friends know it too.

Critical Evaluation: This book has a really good structure that not only has a great plot but a great third act that keeps the reader continually interested. It's chick lit because it does indeed get sappy at times, especially her best friend Casey, that seems like an annoying Jennifer Anniston type-character. The story is told from the point of view of Bianca, which is refreshing considering that she is the exact opposite of girls her age. Her cynical view is funny at times but also shows a side that many girls face: body image. She sees the other girls as skinny with big boobs, which causes her to be self-critical of hers. There is a lot of physical description coming from Bianca's mind though it is not obsessive. She also keeps a lot of things to herself, almost as if its pride. She doesn't want to bother other people with her problems but in the end she knows that she needs to communicate and other girls, some of which are very attractive, do not always feel so. Everyone has issues, everyone is confused, and it's not about who is richest, or the skinniest, but it's all about having confidence, relating to others, and feeling good about yourself.

Author: Kody Keplinger's The Duff was her debut novel that appeared in 2010. It is almost auto-biographical in a way because her life experiences, in her words, as the duff inspired her to write the novel. Amazingly, she wrote this in her senior year in high school. Only nineteen, she is now working on a second novel and is a contributor to the writing blog YA Highway and is a member of the YA fiction group, The Contempts.

Keplinger was born and raised in rural Kentucky, where she attended high school. She is now attending Ithaca College in New York. She also loves books, converse tennis shoes, New York City, and popular TV teen dramas. When she isn't writing, she's spending time with her friends and, most likely, doing piles and piles of homework she has neglected.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Body Image
2) Friendships
3) Friends with benefits
4) Sex
5) High School

Challenge Issues: There are no major challenge issues present in this book.

Why Included: I chose this book because of the title and what it represented. I've never heard the word before so I had to read what it really meant. I'm glad I did because everyone feels like a duff sometimes.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Adult Crossover Novel
ISBN: 978-0446310789
288 pp.
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: In a battle of good versus evil, white lawyer Atticus Finch defends a black man accused of rape.

Plot Summary: Taking place during the great depression in Alabama, Atticus Finch, a well-respected lawyer, lives with his two young children. The town is racist and there are some characters such as the reclusive Boo Radley living there, which ignites the children's imaginations. When Tom Robinson, a black man who has been wrongfully accused of raping a white woman, Finch decides to defend him genuinely. This causes controversy throughout the town as their lives are never the same. The town disapproves of Mr. Finch while kids taunt and make fun of his children. However, even though there is much evidence that Tom is innocent, he is eventually convicted. Tom dies while trying to escape from prison. And even though the verdict was Tom being guilty, the prosecutor of the trial is still upset and decides to take revenge. In what becomes a battle of good versus evil, will sympathy and understanding win or will it bow down to hatred and prejudice.

Critical Evaluation: Told from the point of view of Atticus Finch's daughter, Scout, this story is more about symbolism and themes than the actual story itself. Since it is told by a child, there is an innocence about it that is both heartwarming and very humorous at times. Imaginations go wild such as the legend of Boo Radley. Difficult situations are met through the simplicity in how a child thinks. It is also quite sad, but this is met with irony and satire, another message the book delivers. The town is racist but wants to better society, for instance. The descriptions are numerous and curious. The main symbol is the mockingbird, which represents innocence, and therefore when Tom Robinson is found guilty and eventually killed, the mockingbird (innocence) is killed. Scout's innocence is destroyed as well. She now views the world in a different light and its up to Atticus to make sure she doesn't judge through hatred and prejudice. Life isn't fair a lot of times, but the book sends the message that courage and understanding prevail.

Author: Harper Lee was born in 1926 and To Kill a Mockingbird was surprisingly her only published novel. Much of the style of life found in the book was observed by her when she was a child, therefore the novel can be seen as semi-autobiographical. Lee graduated high school and went to an all-girls college in Montgomery. Instead of focusing on fashion and what other girls were interested in, she focused in writing.

After her only publication, Lee helped Truman Capote in what would become In Cold Blood. Afterwards, there were attempted novels but they were never finished. She has also received various honorary degrees.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Racism
2) Law
3) Innocence
4) Death
5) Rape

Challenge Issues:
This book is challenged due to the mentions of rape, racial injustice, and death, literally and figuratively.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I read this book originally in high school and a couple times since and it has stuck with me ever since. When thinking about the project, this book popped in my mind as an ideal crossover novel that still sends an amazing message.

Go Ask Alice

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Young Adult Problem Novel
ISBN: 0-671-66458-1
159 pp.
Suitable for 15+

Readers Annotation: The book is an actual diary of a troubled teenage girl drug addict trying to come of age in late-1960s America.

Plot Summary: The teenaged girl writing in her diary, of which this book is based on, has no name, therefore anonymous. She comes from an upright, educated, upper-middle class family and is educated herself as she loves being surrounded by books. However, when she gets duped into taking LSD without her knowing, her life begins to spiral out of control. She begins picking up on the hippie culture and ideas, and eventually takes more drugs. She runs away to San Francisco with a friend only to come back home. But after a while, she runs away again, this time for Oregon, which is another trip that goes horribly wrong as she takes drugs, gets raped, and has promiscuous sex. She realizes that being clean is the right way to go but the kids at her school torment her to the point of her going into the psychiatric ward. She vows never to take drugs again. Will she stay strong or will she go astray?

Critical Evaluation: The first thing I realize when reading this story is how intelligent, educated, and well-read the teenaged girl writing in her diary is. Her words are descriptive to the point where she doesn't tell but shows what she is thinking. She is very sensitive and observant and her feelings are all over the place; teenage hormones raging. It's also quite sad that someone could face such an addiction that could ruin her life, especially since the book is first-person account. The reader almost cringes during her worst moments and we also have hope during her high times. The trend I noticed is that she had many highs and lows. When she would vow to not use drugs, she had family support and was riding on a high from life. But when something bad would happen, drugs would enter the picture, whether she liked it or not. Though the books has no chapters, it has a year's worth of dates that show decay, sadness, hope, and ultimately, a girl who is trying to find herself amongst the many problems in her life.

Author: The author is anonymous and all we know of her is her writings in her diary. She is very observant and sensitive, gushing about her latest crush, friends, family members, and life in general. It could also be the opposite where she hates everything. She seems to be one extreme or the other.

When writing the diary, she was 15 years old and when the book finished she was 16 years old. She comes from a well-to-do family as her dad is a college professor and she herself is very educated and intelligent. We know that she knows drugs are bad and even at first when she enjoyed taking them, the consequences she faced (rape, broken relationships, disrespect, breaking the law) was enough to turn her off. Unfortunately, the diary stops and within 3 weeks, she is found dead but an overdose of drugs. Whether is was intentional or not, no one knows.

Booktalking Ideas:
1) Drugs
2) Sex
3) Rape
4) Mental Issues
5) Family
6) Friendship
7) Teen Culture
8) 1960s
9) Runaway

Challenge Issues: Due to the explicit first-hand references of sex, drugs, profanity, runaway, and even rape, this book is one of the most challenged books of all time.

A librarian should state that the ALA mission is "to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all," which is embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association's basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. Librarians must act as an extension, making sure that they educate the general public, and themselves, about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.

Why Included: I have heard too many thing about this book an I grabbed the opportunity to read it; I wasn't about to let it slip me by. The book is graphic and real, which grabbed my attention and many readers as well.