The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009, 266 pp., $16.99

Civil Rights/Friendship
ISBN: 978-0-399-25090-3

Although many people in Moundville are upset that the Walkers are black, Dit is upset because Emma is a girl; he decides that this is the worst bad luck ever. Dit becomes friends with Emma, and because of their friendship, begins to question why Emma can’t go to his school, why the sheriff is allowed to steal, and why some townspeople won’t allow Emma to be in a school play. Dit’s emerging social and moral conscience causes him to reconsider previous actions and make difficult choices. When Doc Haley, the town barber, who is black, is accused of a terrible crime, Emma and Dit concoct a daring plan to rescue him. This novel is based on the author’s family stories.

Melanie Hundley
Nashville, TN

The Book of Michael by Lesley Choyce
Red Deer Press, 2008, 267 pp., $12.95

Realistic Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-88995-417-5

This is the story of Michael Grove, who was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Lisa, and his release from prison after his ex-girlfriend, Miranda, confesses to the crime. Michael struggles with depression, loneliness, and fear as he re-enters the “real” world. With the help of his family, friends, and his kooky grandmother, Phyllis, he learns to look past the stares and ignorance of others. He is haunted by the memories of his drug-addicted past, sexual misadventures with his ex-girlfriend Miranda, and the wonderful memories of Lisa.

Michael learns to turn his life around and resorts to reading, running, and school work to tame his memory-drugged mind. However, an interesting twist occurs at the end of the novel when letters from Miranda, the murderer of his true love, appear at his door. Letters begging for help and compassion suddenly trigger a whole new route in Michael’s life.

Tyler Quinvilan
Tallahassee, FL

Crushworthy by Sara Lawrence
Penguin, 2008, 272 pp., $9.99

Relationships
ISBN: 978-1-59514-173-6

After a tough semester, Jinx Slater can finally relax on her holiday break—until she discovers her best friend, Liberty, has been dramatically pulled out of England by her strict father to live in another country. As her semester at Stagmount begins, things begin to turn around for Jinx; Liberty is allowed to stay at Stagmount, and it seems as though the stylish, suave Jamie might be interested in Jinx. Jinx’s entire crew even seems to rule the school this year, with their gorgeous looks, name-brand fashions, and the new additions to their clique.

With things looking up for Jinx, drama always seems to follow her around every corner. Jamie flirts with Jinx, but then he refuses to call her for a week afterwards. When Jinx and her friends decide to let loose by sneaking out of Stagmount, they put themselves at risk.

Emily Watt
Tallahassee, FL

A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian
Push, 2008, 248 pp., $16.99

Friendship/Love/Divorce
ISBN: 978-0-545-00404-6

This is an engaging story told in first person through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old girl named Ruby. Ruby has the ability to understand her friends and read their actions and words so that the reader knows all the characters very well. Ruby and her friends struggle through disappointments with parents and broken families and form bonds that provide support in times of need.

The girls argue, get into trouble together, fight with their parents, and navigate the perils of teen society. With the exception of a few flashbacks, the story takes place in real time as we discover with Ruby the truth about her father and her friends. This would be an excellent book to talk about relationships and broken homes. It does contain some mild references to sex as well as specific references to teenage drinking, so it may not be suitable for younger readers.

Kenan Metzger
Muncie, IN

Living Dead Girl
by Elizabeth Scott
Simon Pulse Books, 2008, 170 pp., $16.99

Abduction/Child Molestation
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6059-1

Childhood is a time of innocence, a time of imagination, and a time of bliss. School should be a place of discovery filled with opportunities to explore the world through textbooks, playing, and fieldtrips. A fieldtrip shouldn’t be the beginning of a five-year nightmare. But for Alice, it was that and much, much more.

Ray, an older guy, abducts her from an aquarium where her classmates have abandoned her over a silly argument. The author’s short chapters and vivid imagery paint a portrait of a young girl who is subjected to the cycle of abuse. When Alice’s body matures, Ray demands that she find a replacement, or he will murder her family. Will Alice assist Ray with the creation of another living dead girl ?

Due to the mature content of this young adult novel, teachers are advised to use it with 9th–12th graders or mature 8th graders.

Anjeanette C. Alexander-Smith
Tallahassee, FL

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009, 136 pp., $15.99

Family/War/Loss
ISBN: 978-0-399-24655-5

Peace, Locomotion is the lyrical and thoughtful companion text to Woodson’s National Book Award Finalist, Locomotion . Lonnie Collins Motion, aka Locomotion, struggles to find his place in his new foster family. He loves his new family but misses his sister, Lili, who was placed with a different family. He is dealing with the loss of his parents while his new family is struggling with his foster brother’s war injury. The novel’s backdrop is a country questioning what peace means during the time of an unwanted and unpopular war and provides a timeless quality to the story. Woodson once again shows her ability to create a thoughtful and reflective character who confronts and grows from dealing with his fears and insecurities. While this story deals with social issues and societal concerns, it does so without the bleakness often present in texts focusing on loss, grief, war, and foster families.

Melanie Hundley
Nashville, TN

Piggy by Mireille Geus
Front Street, 2008, 110 pp., $14.95

Autism/Emotional Problems
ISBN: 978-1-59078-636-9

Lizzy Bekell, whose nickname is Dizzy, is a 12-year-old autistic girl who possesses some interesting quirks. Dizzy struggles to fit in; she is different, and is made fun of by her classmates for it. The other kids call her names, while her mother tells her she is special. One day, a girl named Margaret, or Piggy, approaches Dizzy at her bus stop hangout. Margaret finds that she can easily manipulate Dizzy to get what she wants, even going so far as to create a fair-weather friendship. This begins a sequence of events that will change Dizzy and Piggy forever.

Even though the book was translated from Dutch to English, it retains all of its emotion and vigor. The significance of autism and its effects are truly brought out by author Mireille Geus. Piggy is short and sweet, with a rollercoaster-like pace that doesn’t let up.

Alex Platt
Tallahassee, FL

Seaborn by Craig Moodie
Roaring Brook Press, 2008, 208 pp., $17.95

Action/Adventure
ISBN: 978-1-59643-390-8

Luke and his father get caught in the middle of a storm off of the coast of Nantucket, and Luke’s father is thrown from the yacht with nothing but an inflatable lifeboat to save him. After the storm subsides, Luke is left alone in the yacht and his father is missing. At the end of the novel, Luke finds his father adrift in the ocean while simultaneously coming across a boat that is in the same area. They are eventually saved and Luke’s father admits that he cheated on his mother, which is why she left.

The author spends a lot of time explaining the events leading up to the climactic storm, but fails to expand on many details of the storm and its repercussions. The plot was resolved in such a predictable manner that it gave the book a lackluster finish.

Alyssa Licitra
Tallahassee, FL

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez
by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Book Group, 2008, 312 pp., $17.99

Realistic Fiction/Ethnicity
ISBN:978-1-4231-1072-9

Sonia Rodriguez lives each day caught between two worlds. As the only daughter in the family, she struggles to balance the demanding old-world expectations of her traditional Hispanic household with the expectations of her friends and teachers at her California high school, as well as her dream to become the first in her family to graduate. The trajectory of Sonia’s life ultimately hinges upon two important events—her decision to focus on doing whatever it takes to graduate from high school coupled with a trip to Mexico to visit with her grandmother. She notes that the important story she has to tell involves “sex and violence and drugs . . . . But there is love too.” In telling her own secret story, Sonia follows through on this promise (directly and frankly, at times) and finds not only her voice, but also a way to reconcile the best of both of her worlds.

Kevin Kienholz
Emporia, KS

Step to This
by Nikki Carter
Dafina/Kensington Press, 2009, 232 pp., $9.95

True to Life/Teen Christian Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-7582-3439-1

Gia Stokes is a fifteen-year-old who is grounded in her faith and in her self-esteem. Her mother keeps her in line through church functions and tough love because she does not want Gia to become a teen mother. Gia has her head on straight with AP classes, an SAT high-frequency-word vocabulary, and creative dancing ability. But her identity and faith are challenged when she decides to try out for the Hi-Steppers dance team at her high school.

As she claims one of the top spots in the group, Gia’s popularity soars. Valerie, the leader of the Hi-Steppers, hooks Gia up with a makeover and a football player named Romeo. These changes cause Gia to lose touch with herself and her best friend, Ricky. She weaves a web of lies that puts her in a challenging position.

Middle school and high school readers will enjoy this engaging page-turner!

Anjeanette C. Alexander-Smith
Tallahassee, FL

Stepping Up by Mark Fink
Westside Books, 2009, 216 pp., $16.95

Self-Discovery/Friendship/Basketball/Bullies
ISBN: 978-1-934813-03-4

Basketball. Making friends. Talking to . . . girls . All of these teenage pursuits come easily to his best friend, Mike, but not to Ernie Dolan. On the basketball court, Ernie can keep up, but he is a little too slow and a little too short to ever be “the man.” Ernie often finds himself on the outside looking in. On the first day of a competitive basketball camp, Ernie is nicknamed “Choke” by the camp bully. By the third day, Ernie and Mike are barely friends anymore. At the dance with the girls’ camp, Ernie humiliates himself by spilling soda on several girls. However, kind coaches, new friends, and a near-fatal tragedy help Ernie discover that by being himself, he really can find the confidence to “step up.”

Blake Tenore
Nashville, TN

The Twilight Zone: Walking Distance
Adapted by Mark Kneene, illustrated by Dove McHargue
Walker, 2008, 72 pp., $9.99

Graphic Novel/Supernatural
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9715-5

In this adaptation of a classic The Twilight Zone screenplay, high-strung Martin Sloan is struggling to deal with everyday pressures and longs for days gone by. In a strange turn of events, he does, in fact, return to his past, desperately trying to warn the younger version of himself of what lies ahead. Will anyone believe that Sloan has actually traveled in time? How will he return to his own life? Will there be consequences? Clues in the graphic novel format let the reader in on a few details in advance of Sloan, himself!

In addition to Walking Distance , other classic The Twilight Zone screenplays have been adapted, including The After Hours, The Odyssey of Flight 33 , and The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street . In this new adapted format, The Twilight Zone stories will find a new audience.

Faith H. Wallace
Kennesaw, GA

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
Adapted for Young Readers by Sarah Thomson
Puffin Books, 2009, 209 pp., $8.99

Nonfiction
ISBN: 978-0-14-241412-5

“Greg Mortenson was lost. He didn’t know it yet.” So begins Greg Mortenson’s inspirational story. He attempted to climb K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, but he never made it to the top and ended up lost in Pakistan. The people of Korphe took him in and helped him. He was so moved by their generosity that he vowed to build a school for the children. He spent several years raising money to build over 60 schools. Over the course of his work in Pakistan, he has had to deal with soldiers, Taliban officials, village leaders, politicians, and the mujahideen. “With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger,” a villager tells Greg. “With the second cup, you are an honored guest. With the third, you become family.” The generosity of the Pakistani people with whom Greg becomes family contrasts sharply with the image that many Americans have.

Melanie Hundley
Nashville, TN

What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson
Delacorte, 2008, 291 pp., $15.99

Friendship
ISBN: 978-0-385-90500-8

Teen angst just got a much needed 21st-century perspective in this genuine story of two brothers and their struggle to come together throughout a turbulent school year.

James was once close to his younger brother Alex, but things have changed. James, a senior, does not care to be associated with Alex, a loner trying to find his niche. James has his own issues to deal with: picking a college, going to parties, girls, and finding a way to stay sane in small-town Alabama. Alex must overcome his shaky past and the pressure to live up to his big brother’s reputation. James and Alex discover the value of family and friendship in this powerful tale of self-acceptance and growing up.

James and Alex’s perspectives alternate through the chapters. Alex’s chapters capture his loneliness and desire for social recognition while James’s focus on his insecurities and concern for the future.

Bryce Lewis
Tallahassee, FL

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2007, 352 pp., $16.99

Science Fiction/Dystopia
ISBN: 978-14169-1204-0

Unwind takes place after the Second Civil War, a long and violent war between the Pro-life and Pro-choice armies. According to the Bill of Life, a set of laws passed to end the war, life is sacred from the point of conception until the age of 13. Between 13 and 18, a child may be retroactively “aborted” as long as the child’s life doesn’t technically end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet still alive is called “unwinding.”

Connor’s parents choose to “unwind” him because he gets in trouble at school. Risa, an orphan, is unwound by the state because there isn’t enough money to take care of her. Lev’s family is religious, and his “unwinding” has been planned since his birth. He is raised to see himself as a “tithe.” These three teens meet by accident and struggle to survive until they are 18.

Melanie Hundley
Nashville, TN