I'll be Seeing You By: Lurlene McDaniel

Annotation:

Carly, who has been disfigured since she was young, never thought she would meet the boy of her dreams in the hospital. Kyle was blinded in an accident and since he can't see what Carly looks like she thinks he's a perfect match for her. But what will she do when he starts to get his sight back?

Book Talk:

Have you ever felt like you would never find someone to love you because of the way you looked? Carly feels that way ever day. At school they call her the 'Dog Face Girl,' because of her looks. When she meets Kyle at the hospital and discovers that he's blind, the two become friends with out her looks getting in the way. Why Kyle starts to get his sight back Carly has a decision to make. Does she tell Kyle the truth about her looks and hope he still likes her, or does she walk away and leave the time they spent together a perfect memory.

A fantastic story of love and truth, I'll be Seeing You is a must read for anyone who ever thought they would never find love.

Awards:

No Awards Yet

McDaniel, Lurlene. I'll be Seeing You. New York: Random House, 1996.
Book Cover Credit: http://www.tower.com/ill-be-seeing-you-lurlene-mcdaniel-paperback/wapi/101125775

Forever By: Judy Blume

Annotation:

The love story of the high school students, Katherine and Michael.

Book Talk:

Katherine and Michael have a love they think will last forever. Have you ever felt that way? They feel like they will be together always, until summer comes and they are apart for seven weeks. Now they are forced to evaluate their love and what forever really means.

If you've ever felt like your love would last forever, or wondered why love you thought would last forever didn't, this should be the next book on you reading list!

Peer Recommendation:



Video Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_-4PGIeGU8&feature=related

Awards:

ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award for Outstanding literature for Young Adults, 1996

Blume, Judy. Forever. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.
Book Cover Credit: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127482114

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicholson By: Louise Rennison

Annotation:

Read the journal of Georgia Nicholson, a teen from the U.K.. Follow her through her adventures with family, love, and lots of snogging!

Book Talk:

Her cat, Angus, is trying to eat the poodle next door. And her best friend thinks she looks like an alien – just because she accidentally shaved off her eyebrows. Still, add a little boy-stalking, teacher-baiting, and full-frontal snogging with a Sex God, and Georgia’s year just might turn out to be the most fab ever!

For anyone who likes British slang, funny stories, and kissing boys, this is a book for you!

Peer Recommendation:

"I love books from other countries. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, is so funny. I love all the slang, and there are a bunch of books in the series, so there is lots to read." Mandy

Awards:

Michael L. Printz Honor Book
ALA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
IRA/CBC Young Adults' Choice

Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. New York: Harper Teen, 2001.
Book Cover Credit: http://www.georgianicolson.com/books.html

The Summer I Turned Pretty By: Jenny Han

Annotation:

Belly measures her life in summers, the sun, the sand, and most importantly, the boys. Fifteen summers spent at the same shore house with the boys treating her like a little sister and suddenly this summer everything is different, everything is different because this summer Belly finally feels pretty.

Book Talk:

Have you ever noticed how when you feel pretty the whole world seems like a different place? Even if it only lasts for a short while? After fifteen summers of watching her crushes watch other girls this summer they’re looking at her. Feeling pretty gives her the confidence to do be herself and do things she hasn’t done before. Which may leave you wondering whether it’s her looks, or her new found confidence that has the boy’s heads turning. If you’ve ever felt like you’ll never be the center of attention, if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to feel pretty, this is a book for you. One summer changed Belly’s world, and one book just might change yours too.

Peer Recommendation:

“I love anything by Jenny Han, her stories are so true. I feel like it could be about me.” Nancy

Awards:

ALA Best Books For Young Adults ,
Capitol Choices List (DC)

Han, Jenny. The Summer I Turned Pretty. New York: Simon & Shcuster, 2009.
Book Cover Credit: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Summer-I-Turned-Pretty/Jenny-Han/9781416968238

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? By: Melissa Kamtor

Annotation:

When Lucy’s father remarries he moves her across the country to live with her new stepmother and her two bratty new stepsisters. Now she’s living in the basement, has no friends, and spends her free time doing chores. With a life that seems to mirror Cinderella’s Lucy can’t help but wonder where her prince is.

Book talk:

Have you ever felt a bit like Cinderella? Lucy sure has! Sure her father’s still alive, but when she lives in New York and her father works in San Francisco she’s still left alone with her evil stepmother and bratty stepsisters. Forced to live in the basement and to do extra chores she can’t help but see the overwhelming similarities between Cinderella and herself. The only problem is that Cinderella’s story ends when she finds the prince. So when Lucy gets asked out by the star of the basketball team, why aren’t all her problems solved?

Can Lucy convince her dad her stepmother is evil? Can she find a perfect dress for prom? And can she figure out why she keeps bumping in to that annoying guy from art class? Find out what this Cinderella does to take matters into her own hands.

Peer Recommendation:

“I love story’s that are fairy tale retellings. You know how they end, but getting there is different. I love, Beauty, and I just read If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s my Prince. It was great.” Melanie

Awards:

Florida Teen Reads
ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
YALSA Teens top 10
Book Sense Pick

Kantor, Melissa. If I have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s my Prince? New York: Hyperion, 2005.
Book Cover Credit: http://www.melissakantor.com/wickedstepmother.html

The Truth About Forever By: Sarah Dessen

Annotation:

Macy’s spent the years since her father’s death trying to be perfect. When she surprises everyone (including herself) by taking a job at Wish catering for the summer all bets are off, especially where the cute bartender, Wes, is concerned.

Book Talk:

Macy has spent the time since her father’s death trying to achieve perfection. She knows she isn’t as perfect as her boyfriend, who is going to ‘brain camp’ all summer, but by taking over his job at the library during the days and spending her nights studying for the SAT’s she feels like she’s getting closer. Then in a moment of insanity she takes a second job at Wish catering, where nothing ever goes right and chaos rules the days. Surprisingly, Macy finds that she loves it, especially the cute bartender, Wes, with who she is forming a close friendship… and maybe more.

If you’ve ever wanted to be perfect, or thought you’ve known someone who was, this is the book for you. You don’t have to take my word for it though, check out the summary and review below!

Peer Recommendation:



Recommendation credit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-NhZi9lhMk

Awards:

Beehive Young Adults' Book Award
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award
SCASL Book Award (South Carolina)
Teen Buckeye Book Award
Volunteer State Book Award

Dessen, Sarah. The Truth About Forever. New York: Viking, 2004.
Book Cover Credit: http://sarahdessen.com/book/the-truth-about-forever/

Prom and Prejudice By: Elizabeth Eulberg

Annotation:

Lizzie Bennet is a scholarship student at the prestigious Longbourn Academy where prom is all students can talk about. Will Lizzie be able to overcome her prejudices and will that handsome Will Darcy be able to overcome his pride so they can have a perfect prom?

Book Talk:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date."

Thus starts Elizabeth Eulberg’s Prom and Prejudice, a modern take on the classic tale Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. In this new telling of the old classic, Lizzie Bennet thought she had seen all the rude behavior students at her prestigious school could throw at her. When she overhears Will Darcy say he spent his last term in London to avoid scholarship students, she writes off rich kids for good. Can Will Darcy put aside his pride and see what makes Lizzie special, and can Lizzie ignore her prejudice to find out the truth about Darcy’s statement that night, and can they both find a date for prom in time?

Prom and Prejudice keeps all the themes that made Austen’s book such a success, and adds some new twists to keep readers engaged. If you’ve read Pride and Prejudice and loved it, this is the book for you. Also, If you didn’t enjoy the language of Pride and Prejudice or couldn’t easily pick out the themes, this book will help show you what everyone’s talking about. Either way, make sure to grab this book soon!

Book Trailer:

Book Trailer Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykfQas-cGlU

Awards:

None yet

Eulberg, Elizabeth. Prom and Prejudice. New York: Point, 2011.
Book Cover Credit: http://austenprose.com/2011/01/05/prom-and-prejudice-by-elizabeth-eulberg-%E2%80%93-a-review/

Airhead By: Meg Cabot

Annotation:

Emerson Watts was a fairly normal teen with a fairly normal life until an unfortunate accident leads to her brain being placed in a supermodel’s body.

Book Talk:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a supermodel? Perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect life? Emerson Watts never did, until she ended up as one. A freak accident at a store opening leads to Emerson Watt’s brain being transplanted into supermodel Nikki Howard’s body. Not only does Emerson have a whole new body to deal with, she can’t tell anyone what happened or else her parents will lose everything.

Emerson must now learn how to negotiate a modeling career on top her school studies, managing Nikki Howards crazy rich friends and boyfriends, and trying to make her former crush notice her. Can a former video gamer pull off bikini shoots? Can Emerson make her old crush notice her in her new body? And can she figure out why her new Employer, Stark Enterprises is spying on her? Pick this book up to find out the answers to these questions and learn all about being a video gamer in a supermodel’s body. Just do yourself a favor and get all three books in this series at once, or you’ll end up making a second trip to the Library (I did!).

Peer Recommendation:

“I just finished that Airhead series, they’re amazing. So good and so funny!” - Bonnie

Book Awards:

A New York Times Children's Chapter Book Best Seller
CosmoGIRL! Magazine's May Pick for its online book club
A Teen Choice Book Award Finalist for the Children's Book Council
A selection on the New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age, 2009

Cabot, Meg. Airhead. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2008.
Book Cover Credit: http://www.megcabot.com/airhead/index.php

Blog Blog Blog

Hi Readers! If you’ve been reading along so far you’ve found 12 reviews for 12 great books covering a bunch of different genres. I like reading books in lots of different genres, and I bet you do to. For my next few reviews (8), I am going to focus on one of my favorite genres: Chick Lit. Don’t click away just yet! Girls: Chick Lit is made for us! It’s got great stories, heart, and usually it’s pretty easy to read. Boys: Trying to figure out what your girlfriend is thinking or how to impress your crush? Chick Lit just may have your answers!

If you haven’t fallen in love with chick lit like I have yet, take a look at these book talks and pick up a title or two. You may just find yourself hooked. You don’t have to take my word for it, I asked some teens what they thought about chick lit and used their recommendations to pick some of my 8 books. Let’s meet the lovely ladies now:

Mandy: Mandy is 17 and from the Philadelphia area, her favorite class is English and she used to live at the local Borders until it closed.

“I read chick lit on occasion usually it's because it's light fluffy and an easy read. It's a break from my usual sci fi/fantasy/ horror reading.”

“I prefer southern chick lit books... the female characters tend to have more traditional values but aren't afraid to live or be on their own and are usually strong women.”

Melanie: Melanie is 16 and from the Philadelphia suburbs, she loves reading and ice cream.

“Yes I do [read chick lit] now, because it's easy and quick to read. Because of school I’m too busy to read long/hard books”

Nancy: Nancy is 17 and lives in California, her favorite thing to do is rock climbing!

“Chick lit is great because it’s about girls like me. Well, girls I wish I was, anyway!”

Bonnie: Bonnie is 15 and from Boston, she loves reading, and spending time with her boyfriend.

“I love, love, love, it [chick lit]. I don’t want to read about old people, or dead people, or ghosts, or whatever. I want to read cute stories where the girl gets the guy!”

Jenna: Jenna is 16 and from Philadelphia, she likes reading and spending time with her friends.

“I read a lot of chick lit with my friends. We’ll take turns passing around a good book and we’ll talk about it sometimes, or go see it if it’s a movie, like twilight, we are SO excited.”

I asked the girls how they found out about the great books they read; only one girl said she read a blog!

Jenna: “I sometimes look at Chick Lit Teens [http://www.chicklitteens.com/], her reviews are really good and she has this rating system I like. The only thing, is the reviews are usually new books my school library doesn’t have copies of yet.”

I asked the girls who didn’t read blogs why not, where they got their books from, and what would attract them to a blog.

Mandy: “I'll read reviews on online stores like amazon or something and I suppose I have used librarything to see some reviews but not often. I don't look for reviews very often. I usually find out by word of mouth or just browsing”

Melanie: “I would be attracted to one [a blog] if I didn't have a sister and friends who recommend good books to me all the time!”

Nancy: "I've used GoodReads.com before -- you become a member and have virtual book shelves of 'to read' 'reading' and 'read.' You friend people similarly to facebook and see their shelves and reviews. The main attraction for me was a place to actually organize and gather a list of what I want to read"

Bonnie: "sometimes there are reviews in magazines I read, or a friend will tell me it’s a good book. I never thought to look for a blog, maybe I will now… I wouldn’t want the blog to tell me it’s a good book, and then I go and get it and it stinks. That would suck.”

There’s some insight to start with! Let’s get book talking!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants By: Ann Brashares

Annotation:

The story of four best friends, an amazing summer, and one magical pair of pants

Book Talk:

Have you ever had a piece of clothing that was really special to you? It felt like things just ‘happened’ when you wore it? It made you feel lucky? For Carmen, Lena, Bridget and Tibby it’s one magical pair of jeans that magically fits all four of their different figures. As the four friends spend the summer apart they exchange their stories which each passing of the pants.
Through these traveling pants the girls keep in touch from soccer camp, home, South Carolina and even Greece. The pants see forbidden love, embarrassing moments, triumphs, failures, and new friendships. It is with these pants the girls keep their friendship and the magic flowing, until they are united again.

Awards:

ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Indiana Young Hoosier Award
Iowa Teen Book Award
Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award
New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
Rhode Island Children's Book Award
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award
Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
Washington Evergreen Young Adult Book Award
Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award
Missouri Gateway Readers Award
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Book Sense Book of the Year
Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award


Brashares, Ann. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.
Book cover credit: http://www.nassaulibrary.org/YABookLog/2011/09/sisterhood-of-t.html