teens

The full title of this amazing book is Aviary Wonders Inc. (Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual) Renewing the World's Bird Supply Since 2031.  The narrator of this story first developed his passion for birds and bird watching while working at his family's logging business (the irony is intentional.)  He is no longer logging; he now runs a company that builds birds.  After searching out the best engineers, biologists and artists to work for him, he launched the company in 2031 and they have struggled to keep up with demand ever since. The company creates the finest of birds, better in many

Ever since she was little, Liz preferred jeans to dresses, action figures to dolls, and sports to dress-up. Adults and other kids told her this made her a tomboy. Seeing the way the mass media marketed to girls and told them how they should look and behave, Liz was fine with not falling into the “girly” category. But the tomboy label wasn’t easy to fit into either. Eschewed by girls who didn’t understand her jeans and baseball caps, and belittled by boys who didn’t want to play with a “girl” (especially in front of other boys), Liz had trouble finding her place. Navigating the rocky shoals of

The beginning of the end of Romanov rule of Russia began with the ascension of Nicholas II. Ill prepared for the crown by his father, Nicholas depended heavily on his new wife Alexandra (married under the shadow of the death of Nicholas’ father their marriage was seen as a curse by the Russian people). Problems for the Romanovs multiplied when Alexandra, after several difficult pregnancies, produced only female heirs leaving the line of succession unsure. A disconnect from the government and the people, and an overdependence on Alexandra and her religious advisors, made Nicholas appear weak

Sophie awakes in utter fear. She is in the woods & blood is everywhere. Her best friend Mina is beside her -- bleeding, choking, gasping, dying. The flashback of a masked man stepping out of a car, pointing a gun, and shooting her dearest friend pounds in her head. In the hospital the shock is over powering & at home the reality is too much to bear. Who would kill Mina? Why had Mina driven down the wooded road? Why hadn't Sophie asked more questions? Did the masked man really say, "I warned you?Sophie tries to piece the details together. So do her parents & so do the police. Why were the two

The Sinclairs spend every summer on their private island, Beechwood. Born within a few short months of each other, 3 of the Sinclair grandchildren and one friend of the family spend the summers thick as thieves, calling themselves The Liars. Cadence, Johnny, Mirren and Gat are inseparable every year, but the summer of their fifteenth year, things start to change. Cadence begins to fall in love with Gat (a friend of the family who is invited to Beechwood every summer) while the Sinclair family falls apart around them.

The summer ends in a tragic accident when Cadence is found in the shallow

Amy Gumm wants to get the hell out of Kansas. She is sick and tired of being mocked at school for her worn out clothes and trailer trash mom. After getting kicked out of school for getting into a fight with a pregnant girl (a fight that Amy did NOT start she would like me to point out), she comes home to find her mother out of her usual funk and primping for an evening at the local dive bar. The news on the TV in the living room shows radar towards Dusty Acres (their luxurious trailer park). Like the caring mother she is, she leaves her child in a trailer without tornado shelter to get drunk

In the very near future, Trent McCauley is a 16-year-old in northern England who makes videos by cutting, pasting, and editing movies starring a dead actor he's obsessed with. This isn't just a hobby of Trent's, it's his passion (much like writing Simon Snow fanfic is a passion for Cath in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl). But it violates copyright and pirating laws, which is why the state cuts off his family's internet access for a year. Trent's mother is now unable to apply for her disability benefits, his father loses his telephone support job, and his high-achieving younger sister can't do her

Blue lives in a family of psychics, but the only power she has is amplifying the abilities of others. On All Hallow's Eve, she visits the Corpse Road with her aunt. There, her aunt sees the ghosts of everyone in Henrietta who will die in the next year. For the first time, Blue is able to see a ghost. It's a boy about her age. When she asks his name, he says, "Gansy, that's all there is." Her aunt tells her the only way she would be able to see the ghost is if he is her true love, or if she killed him. Possibly both. I fell in love with all the character, who are fully developed through their

Jordan Romero was fascinated by a poster in his elementary school of the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents. When he was nine years old, he announced to his parents that he wanted to climb the Seven Summits and he wanted to start training immediately. Jordan was familiar with what training involved; his father and stepmother were adventure racers. They traveled the world racing by foot, bike, canoe, kayak and even camel!  After much discussion and consideration, his parents eventually gave their stamp of approval.  On July 22, 2006 Jordan ascended his

I am generous with 4 star ratings, but I don't give out a lot of 5 stars; I reserve those for the most exceptional books. This was an exceptional book!

Cadence Sinclair is the oldest granddaughter in the wealthy Sinclair family. The grandfather owns a private island where the family gathers each summer. Four of the teenagers refer to themselves as The Liars and are especially close. Cadence is one of the Liars and the main character of this story. The summer Cadence turned 15, a tragedy occurred; she was found on the beach alone, in her underwear, nearly drowned with a head injury. She can't

Another beautiful, intelligent, sensitive teenager has killed her self. The media blames the bullies at Emma Putnam's new school that refused to accept her, that kept her on the fringe. The used words like slut and whore, they left notes and signs on her locker, they found her on social media...they drove her to suicide.

But that is just one side of the story.

Sara Wharton's life came crashing down the day Emma committed suicide. Identified as one of the bullies, Sara faces some very serious charges in court. But it wasn't her fault, Emma wasn't exactly nice to her, and even though Sara and

When I was in elementary school, I read many, many books on monsters and the paranormal. Books about ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, mummies, werewolves...and vampires. Outside of books, there wasn't a lot to see with vampires at the time. You might catch classic Universal monster movies or the later, bloodier Hammer horror movies on late night TV (assuming you could convince your parents to let you stay up that late). Scooby-Doo and other Saturday morning cartoons would have vampires (usually just cranky old men in costumes), there were some horror comics that had vampires in

If you knew the precise time the moon would collide with a meteor would you pull out your binoculars, pop some popcorn, and pull up a lawn chair for the best show of your life? If you knew the moon would be struck quickly by the meteor but then slowly move closer and closer to the earth would you fear for you life? If you knew the moon's imposing presence in the sky would produce deadly earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes that wipe out millions of people would you still have hope? If you knew the middle of summer would soon turn to a blistering winter would you survive?

Miranda and her

The London Eye Mystery is about a peculiar moment in time where a young boy named Salim steps into one of the 32 pods of the infamous London Eye but never steps off. His cousins Ted & Kat saw him get on. He turned around and waved to each of them. Ted and Kat didn't move. The waited, watched, and even counted as the pod slowly made it's way up, up, up, up up then down, down, down, down, down. After 30 stretched out minutes, Salim's pod was back to where it started. The doors opened and people filed out -- everyone except Salim.  Vanished into thin air? Abducted by Aliens? Or worse?  Ted, using

Darrow has the most dangerous job on Mars. He is the helldiver of Lycos, running the drill deep underground that mines Mars for valuable natural resources. Helldivers to not generally live long lives, like his father who died when he was a child. But Darrow has other plans, he is going to make something of himself, and his clan. But he can only rise so far, the caste system of society keeps his people down. They are Reds, deemed to be good at nothing but hard labor. They are ruled over by the Blues, Greys, and at the top...the Golds, the apex of human evolution. 

To celebrate a

The companion novel to Saints, this book looks at the same situation from a different angle. Little Bao has grown up reenacting his favorite Chinese operas and looking up to his father. When his father is hobbled by European colonists, Bao's older brothers take over the family, relegating Bao to the role of little brother. In secret he trains with a martial arts master, and quickly out paces his brothers. When colonists threaten his small village, Bao harnesses the power of an ancient Chinese emperor to fight against them.

Sharing the secret of his martial arts training, Bao gathers and army

Josh Bell, known as Filthy McNasty to those on the court, is one of top two players on his middle school basketball team. The other player is his twin brother, Jordan. The two are expected to become big stars as their father was an amazing basketball player before he retired, known to his fans as Da Man!

Filthy and Jordan are ready for an epic year on their team, taking them all the way to playoffs, when things are complicated by a new girl, who captures Jordan's eye and their father's heart problems. 

This book is an amazing example of poetry crossing all the boundaries! What a

Samantha is discovered stumbling along a highway, dirty, dehydrated and bloody, three days after she and her best friend Cassie went missing. Cassie still hasn't been found and Samantha suffers from amnesia and can't remember anything before the police picked her up. 

Samantha tries to return to her normal life, the daughter of an old money family in a east coast town, hoping something in her old life will trigger memories to help the police find Cassie before it is too late. But soon she discovers that her old life isn't something she wants to return to. A classic mean girl, Sammy and her

This book has caught everyone’s attention (as Levithan’s books often do). The story centers around an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records longest kiss (over 32 hours) by ex-boyfriends Craig and Harry in protest of a hate crime. Add to that the love story of Ryan and transgendered Avery, Peter and Neil (a new couple ready to take the next step) and Cooper, a runaway obsessed with gay hook-up apps and the story is full of interesting and well rounded characters. To add to the complexity of the story it is narrated by a chorus of “shadow uncles” (gay men of the AIDS generation)

In the age of tumblr, fanfiction and fanart, Cath is a relatable character for any teen who has geeked out over a book, tv show or movie. Starting her freshman year of college, Cath is facing several new obstacles. Her twin sister Wren doesn't want to room with her so “they can meet other people.” She is dealing with her father’s mental illness. And college has taken time away from completing her epic online fanfiction Carry On written in the world of Simon Snow (a character reminiscent Harry Potter). On top of it all, Cath might be falling in love with her roommate's boyfriend.

A tender

Imagine having your worst moments caught on film, and your best moments edited out. When he was five years old Gerald Faust’s mother auditioned the family for Network Nanny, a reality tv show. In one-hour on network TV, Gerald became a national phenomenon for taking a dump on the family’s kitchen table. Twelve years later, Gerald is still haunted by the actions of his five-year-old-self. Ostracized at school, bullied by his older sister and left alone by his parents, Gerald attempts to control his anger through boxing workouts and trips to Gersday (an imaginary land where everything is made of

An amazing and unique retelling of Hansel and Gretel this story is narrated by the Jacob Grimm himself, caught in the plane between life and death. Jacob has become rather fond of Jeremy Johnson Johnson, who has the unique ability to hear spirits, a gift that has ostracized him from many in his small town of Never Better, unfortunately suffering from a rash of missing persons. Luckily it does not deter the friendship of the enigmatic and problematic Ginger Boultinghouse, who’s thirst for adventure has gotten them both in trouble on more than one occasion. Ginger's plans, and Jeremy's unique

When Kyra, the youngest and most talented potions master in the kingdom, has a vision of the soon-to-be-married Princess destroying the land, she knows what she must do: kill the princess…her best friend. Kyra is distraught at the thought of killing her best friend, which must be what causes her poisoned dart to miss it’s target and send Kyra running for her life from the Crown’s justice. Looking for another chance to save the kingdom, Kyra acquires a tracking pig from the King of Thieves, and a boisterous traveling companion, Fred. This strange have many misadventures, including a run-in with

Behold the history of the end of the world - by Austin Szerba. The end of the world does not start with a bang or a bomb, or an ultimatum from outer space. It begins (and ends) in Ealing, Iowa, in Grasshopper Jungle, the parking lot behind the strip mall containing a pizza place, the liqueur store and the second-hand store. It begins when Austin and his best friend Robby (who is is pretty sure he is in love with) are bullied by the local small-town thugs who will never amount to anything (because they are not bright enough too and because they will shortly die). The fate of the world is sealed

Ronan Truelove's mom may be a bit eccentric, always signing him up for outdoor survival classes, judo lessons, self-defense workshops, always keeping him busy. But she has crossed a line when she grabs him from school one day and tells him she is part of an ancient group called the Blood Guard and that his father has been kidnapped and they are under attack. After watching her perform impossible acts to get away from bad guys in suits, she gives Ronan a ticket for a train to DC and tells him to meet with her Blood Guard contact there. 

But trouble follows Ronan into the train station, where

If you like country music this is a great summer read.  Bailey and her sister Julie have been singing together as long as she can remember.  But now, Bailey has been relegated to playing back-up to costumed country singer impersonators at the mall while her sister and parents are off promoting Julie's solo career.  But, country music is in Bailey's blood and she'll play any gig she can get, as long as her parents don't find out.  They're afraid she might steal the limelight from Julie.  When Bailey meets Sam he invites her to join his band.  Sam has big goals and dreams and he wants Bailey to

Four Girl is unwanted and unloved by her family. Seen as a demon-child, her family practically gives her up as a lost cause. Four girl, searching for acceptance discovers catholic missionaries near her small Chinese village. After one exceptionally harsh experience with her grandfather, Four runs into the forest and sees a vision of Jeanne D'Arc. As Four distances herself from her family, and grows closer to the missionaries visions of Jeanne come more often, offering peace and guidance.

When her family discovers that Four plans to convert to Catholicism, the beat her, and Four, now

After famed dragon slayer, Lottie Thorskard, is injured on the job she takes early retirement and moves to the small town of Trondheim to escape her notoriety and the big city. She brings her partner Hannah, and nephew Owen, whose father is out fighting the carbon eating dragons that have plagued Canada since the dawn of time.

Late for his first class on the first day of school, Owen asks Siobhan McQuiad for directions. Turns out, they’re both late for English, and both end up in after-school detention where a friendship is born. As a gifted music student, Siobhan is also good at math and

This sequel to Shadow and Bone takes all of the high adventure and dark drama of the first book and cranks it up to 11. The story starts off quietly for a chapter or two and then suddenly kicks the reader into a fast-paced, slam-bang, snarktastic rollercoaster ride that doesn't let up until the end of the novel. And the end...my heart was pounding and I was left breathless by the end of the book.

After the frantic ending of the first book, Siege and Storm opens with Alina and Mal on the run from the Darkling. Alina and Mal are very devoted to each other, but that doesn't stop them from

Charlie, a modern-day Holden Caulfield, reminds me of myself when I was an uber-angsty adolescent. That’s the good thing about reading Young Adult Fiction as a middle aged adult: you have a broader worldview which allows you to appreciate teenage angst in a deeper way. You’ve been there and back. You’ve lived through it. You know there’s a way out. You understand.

Charlie is looking for understanding. He feels out of place. His only friend in middle school killed himself last year. He’s starting high school, anxious and friendless. He works up the courage to sit next to two seniors, Patrick