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

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/

The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian By: Sherman Alexie

Annotation:

Junior, a Spokane Indian, decides to attend an all-white high school off the reservation despite the disapproval of his people.

Book Talk:

Have you ever had to make a really hard decision? One you knew your friends or community might not understand or even support, but you knew was the best move for you? This is the problem Arnold Spirit (aka Junior) has to make in An Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian. Junior knows the only way to get off the reservation and escape the cycle of poverty and alcoholism that affects his people is to go to the best school he can, and maybe one day go to college. The problem is that the best school is an all-white school, and he is considered a traitor by his entire community for attending a school off the reservation.

Junior is forced to find a strength inside himself that he never knew he had, and makes some surprising discoveries about the people he knows and the things he always assumed were true.

Awards:

winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
winner of the 2008 Boston-Globe Horn Book Award
winner of the 2009 International Book on Books for Young People Sweden - Peter Pan Prize
winner of the 2010 California Young Reader Medal
finalist for the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007.
Book Cover Credit: http://www.fallsapart.com/the_absolutely_true_diary_of_a_part_time_indian

The Rainbow Boys By: Alex Sanchez

Annotation
The Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez follows three senior boys coming to grips with their sexual identity. Each comes from a different background, and has different fears about their sexuality. The fears they all share are those common to all teens: being loved by their family, respected by their friends, and finding someone to love.

Book Talk
High school is a hard time, dealing with school, friends, family, and the future. It’s even harder if you are Nelson, Kyle and Jason, and dealing with being homosexual. Being different can be really hard, and these three feel like they couldn’t be any more different because of who they like. Add to this confusion the daily struggles of grades, sports, family, deciding the future, and first love and you have a story which may hit surprisingly close to home no matter what your sexual orientation. If you’ve ever felt different, or worried about whether your friends would accept you for who you really are, Rainbow Boys is a book for you.

Awards:
Young Adults Choice, International Reading Association (2003)
Best Book for Young Adults, ALA
Gay Youth Book of the Year

Sanchez, Alex. The Rainbow Boys. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2001.
Book Credit: http://www.alexsanchez.com/Rainbow_Boys/Rainbow_Boys_Home_Page.htm

The Outsiders By: S. E. Hinton

Annotation:

Ponyboy and his brtohers Sodapop and Darry live in a world where you are either a Greaser or a Soc. If you are a Greaser, with long greasy hair, you're like family to the orphaned Ponyboy. If you are a Soc, or Scoial you’re well off and from a different world from the Greasers living on the outside. Getting along is not an option. When a Soc is killed by Ponyboy's friend in an effort to save Ponyboy during a fight the two boys find themselves running from the law, but unable to escape the war between the Greasers and Soc's for long.

Review:

S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is a classic tale which readers have enjoyed for over forty years. While parts of the story may appear dated, especially to today’s modern teens, there is no denying the classic themes the book portrays. No matter what decade you grow up in you will inevitably struggle with some of the same issues: there will be clashes between social groups, the strong ties of friendship, the consequences for spur of the moment actions, the pain of loss, and what it means to be a hero. The Outsiders is a book which should be included in any High School students reading list.

Awards:

New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967
Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967
Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975
ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, 1979


Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders.
New York: Puffin Books (USA), 1967.
Book cover credit: http://www.sehinton.com/books/outsiders.html.