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Wednesday, September 5, 1973 is the first day of  Karl Shoemaker’s senior year of high school, and the first day of “Operation Be F-ing Normal.”  In John Barnes’ first novel for young readers, tales of the MADMAN underground, we’re on a sometimes painful, often hilarious, uncensored journey through the first six days of Karl’s senior year as he tries to change his life by just being “normal, normal, normal.”  In a small Ohio town, Karl’s been part of a therapy group at school dubbed “the Madmen” for years, and he’s decided that he wants out. He wants a normal life, but the question is, can he achieve it? His dad’sRead More →

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Taking a break from sports-themed fiction, Rich Wallace serves up a snappy, coming of age story in Dishes.  19 year old Danny is looking to hook up this summer, but ends up making connections he didn’t anticipate. He’s in Maine in the tourist town where is long estranged father, Jack, spends summers being the bartender at a gay bar, Dishes.  Neither Jack nor Danny are gay, but that’s about all they have in common at the start of the summer.  Danny hopes to reconnect with his dad (who was 17 when Danny was born) and maybe hook up with a local girl.  Danny’s uncertain aboutRead More →

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The Forest and Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan’s debut novel, begins seven generations after the Return, an undead plague that has ended civilization as we know it. The novel’s heroine, Mary, lives in a village surrounded by one last vestige of industrial technology: a chain-link fence, beyond which is a vast forest full of shambling, eternally ravenous zombies –the forest of hands and teeth. No villager ever goes outside this fence, unless they want to die, or worse, be infected and become one of the undead. Mary’s world is bounded not only by the fence but by the archaic traditions of her people, which are dictated by aRead More →

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Gaby Triana’s latest novel, The Temptress Four, is a light and flirty cruise through the last days of high school.  Four longtime girlfriends, Fiona, Killian, Alma & Yoli have been fast friends all through school and on the day after high school graduation they embark on a week-long Caribbean cruise to celebrate their past, enjoy their present, and seal their friendship for the future. Just before leaving, however, they have a spooky Tarot card reading full of warnings about strife, storms and the premonition that one of them won’t be coming home. Typical conventions of high school girl novels abound, and while an enjoyable read,Read More →

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Simone Elkeles’ latest novel, Perfect Chemistry, is loosely based on a suburb near her home where 2 distinct neighborhoods share a high school.  In this novel, a perfect teenager, Brittany, with a perfect life expects a perfect senior year.  Things aren’t going to work out that way, however, when her chemistry partner is none other than the toughest Latino gang-banger in school, Alex Fuentes.  Immediately Brittany and Alex clash, as do the 2 distinct worlds that are forced to co-exist at this suburban Chicago high school. What happens throughout their senior year is that Brittany and Alex both come to realize that the other isRead More →

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In Deadville, the latest YA novel by Ron Koertge, we meet Ryan.  He’s been avoiding life, primarily by smoking pot and isolating himself with his iPod, since his younger sister died of cancer two years ago. But when Charlotte Silano — a gorgeous, popular senior way out of his league — has a riding accident and falls into a coma, Ryan finds himself drawn to her hospital room almost every day, long after her friends stop coming around.  And while he visits Charlotte, Ryan slowly starts to emerge from his own isolation – he reconnects with his parents, stops smoking pot, works out a gym, and evenRead More →

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I had fun reading Marked: A House of Night novel by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast.  Quick, fun and sassy, this was a great weekend read. Zoey Redbird’s world is a lot like our own, except that vampyres have always existed. She’s just been marked as a fledgling vampyre and has to go to a boarding school for her kind, The House of Night.  She never really felt like she fit into “normal” life – at school or at home – and so she hopes that she can find friends and acceptance in her new school and in her new life.  She’s in for aRead More →

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 John Green amazes me with each new book – the way he captures the humor, insecurities, friendships, and emotions of his characters  is so enjoyable I find myself laughing and aching for them with every turn of the page. Paper Towns, Green’s latest trip back to high school, is smart, witty, and sharply human.  Q has loved Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar for years. Never one of the more popular kids, he’s made his way through school with some steady friendships and subdued existence.  But one night, Margo chooses him to help her carry out her greatest series of pranks yet and Q can’t believeRead More →

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Artichoke’s Heart is a typical realistic fiction story where the overweight teen girl clears up her relationship with her family, deals with her mother’s illness, gets a best friend, gets over the bullies at school, gets the boy she has a crush on, and learns to be good to herself. The premise is familiar but the writing and characters draw you in.   It is poignant and sweet. I would recommend it for teens and adults. Younger readers should be aware that there is some mature language and topics. Posted by MichelleRead More →