I want it Wednesday

Here is what's in the spotlight this Wednesday.

Summary:

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

News! A new Stephenie Meyer Book!

Just released! A brand new Stephenie Meyer book is going to be hitting the book stores. It is entitled The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. It will be a novella and it will be out June 5. In addition, readers who can wait a little longer will be able to access the story for FREE from June 7 at noon and until July 5 at www.breetanner.com .

This is what Ms. Meyer has to say about her latest endeavor.
"It's a surprise...I never intended to publish this story as a stand-alone book. I began this story a long time ago-before Twilight was even released. Back then I was just editing Eclipse, and in the thick of my vampire world.... I started writing from Bree's perspective about those final days, and what it was like to be a newborn."

hmmmmmm

Jodi Picoult is a very popular author with my teens. They love her stories. So I thought I would review one of her novels.

Chris Harte and Em Gold are two teens who have never been apart. They are neighbors and their parents encourage them to date. Em isn't convinced this is the relationship for her and is sickened by it. Chris is so close to her it's like having sex with her brother. To make matters worse she ends up pregnant and falls deeper into depression.

Em tells Chris that if he loves her he will kill her.

What develops next are the parents talking about their story, a court case, and the normal Picoult formula. Yawn.

First off, I'm not sure why this book is "a love story" because nothing about this book screams love story. Also, why didn't she just say no to her relationship with Chris? And why didn't she stand up to her parents? And why would Chris(a well rounded, smart teen) decide "yeah I'll agree to the pact." The characters were all weak and uninteresting. Nothing in this story worked for me.

Will teens enjoy it? Some may, but the idea that this is "a love story" is misleading. However, teens who enjoy her other novels may want to give this oldie a go.

I want it Wednesday

For this Wednesday I found Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu.

Here is a summary:

Everyone has a secret. But Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier than most. It’s one she’s been hiding for years—that her mom’s out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She’s managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they’d be disgusted by the truth. So, when her mom dies suddenly in their home, Lucy hesitates to call 911 because revealing their way of life would make her future unbearable—and she begins her two-day plan to set her life right.

With details that are as fascinating as they are disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy’s desperate attempt at normalcy. Her fear and isolation are palpable as readers are pulled down a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen’s life will have readers completely hooked.

I want it Wednesday

In today's spotlight we have Conception. I think its a title a lot of my students will enjoy. Its edgy. They love that stuff.

Summary from Amazon:
Abandoned by her father and having unfulfilling sex with the married man whose children she babysits, Shivana Montgomery, 15, already knew what it felt like to feel nothing. Living in subsidized housing on Chicago's South Side, Shivana is soon enough pregnant. She fears confessing to her mother, considers abortion and finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with a neighborhood boy who just might be her heart love—and also with her own unborn baby. The spirit of this unborn child is a character in its own right, telling a story that spans centuries and offers tragic glimpses into the truncated lives of black children. The fetus's wise, sometimes heavy-handed narration grounds Shivana's story within a sad legacy, through slavery, lynching and ongoing racism to a modern world where reproductive choice is a myth, virtually all children are unwanted, and The Cosby Show is the ultimate fairy tale. At its best, the novel balances a bitter stocktaking with a sorrowful lyricism.

Author Interview: Paul Volponi

Author, Paul Volponi was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about his latest book Rikers High. Check out what he had to say! Thanks again Mr. Volponi!

Rikers High is your latest novel. What was your inspiration?

I wrote Rikers High to be a mirror reflection on what life was like for teens (1992-'98) in a huge and impersonal jail facility which housed school.

Martin is attacked while in prison and his face is slashed. Can that happen in a real prison?

Yes, the slashing that happened to Martin can occur to teen inmates on Rikers, although that kind of extreme violence is not the norm.

Why do you think Martin's friends abandon him when he is in Rikers?

It's too much trouble to visit him. Normally, your friends cut you loose quick, and only your family stays by your side.

Is Martin based on a real person?

Martin's story represents the journey of several teens I knew.

In all of your novels your characters swear. Why is that?

My characters use the language that people use in tense situations. Otherwise, you book would not be real and that mirror image I mentioned would be distorted.

Are you working on a new book? Can you tell us about it?

Crossing Lines is next, about a macho teen football player who must learn to be around his sisters friend- a boy and classmate who decides he feels more comfortable wearing first lipstick and then a dress. Also, in a few years, I will have part II to Black and White, which I think will be called Marcus and Eddie.

Historical Fiction Friday(on Saturday)

I usually pick girly historical fiction. Well, that's not fair to the guys. So I tried to pick something with a little more testosterone in it.

Summary:
Essa has traveled the lands of seventh-century Britain with his father, Cai, for many years without incident. In a Wolf Folk settlement, he wakes to find that his father has left without any explanation. Feeling angry and alone, he slowly comes to appreciate the people of the village, but never forgets his father's betrayal. Eventually Essa becomes sworn to a king and is sent out on a small errand. He gets himself deeper and deeper into tribal disputes and finds that the errand has become a full-blown adventure across kingdoms, with Essa taking matters into his own hands to try to influence the outcome of a potential tribal war. Well written and deeply researched, Bloodline moves along at a steady pace with enough intrigue and mystery to keep readers turning pages.

Vampire Soap Opera

The Blue Bloods is another series my students love. They are into the vampires and Ms. Cruz's novel is the perfect vampire soap opera.

This book is told through three points of view. They are Mimi, Bliss, and Schuyler. There were three previous novels and I think teens should read the other books. If they don't they maybe lost and confused because of the details of this series. I'm not sure this book could be read as a stand alone novel.

While I enjoyed the book, I sometimes thought it was a little long and could have been snipped here and there. Still, I think students will really enjoy this series. For students looking for something to fill the Twilight void they should give this one a go.

The latest Blue Bloods novel will be released June 29, 2010.

I want it Wednesday

In today's spotlight is an old one from Walter Dean Myers. A teacher recommended this book to me.

Summary: Crystal Brown is en route to stardom as a black fashion model. The world of money, glamour, fame, and celebrities excites and disturbs her. Her career demands increasing time away from family, friends, school, and normal adolescent concerns. As a model, Crystal confronts a temperamental photographer, sexual pressures, and a demanding agent. While Crystal's mother vicariously craves her daughter's success, her father's pride is tempered with protectiveness. In the end, Crystal is shocked into a career decision by the suicide of a once marketable model friend. In Crystal, Myers has created a beautiful but believable teenage heroine who makes a stand for personal integrity in a competitive world.

Upcoming Releases for March

Wow I was shocked by how many cool titles there are for the month of March. Here are only a few:

• Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson
• Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
• The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter
• Epitaph Road by David Patneaude
• Anastasia's Secret by Suzanne Dunlap
• Center Field by Robert Lipsyte
• Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
• Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn
• The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
• Poisoned Honey by Beatrice Gormley
• The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco Stork

Authors Rock

When I found out about The lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott I was very excited. I had to find out more. Through email I began speaking to the author. She was very kind and we both shared a love of Louisa May Alcott.

Today I got an awesome gift. By my door was an ARC of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott.

I am 100 pages into and loving it! Expect a review soon.

Ms. Kelly O' Connor McNees you rock! Thanks so much for the book. Good luck with your book. It hits bookstores April 1, 2010.

I want it Wednesday

After I read By the time you read this I'll be dead( review pending) I wanted to see what else the author had written. On her Amazon page I saw Rage: A love story. I mentioned this book before in passing, but after Peters' latest book I like her writing style and I thought other students might enjoy it as well.

Here is a summary:
Johanna, 17, watched her mother die while her older sister escaped to college, and she fantasizes about a relationship with Reeve Hartt. Reeve's mother is a junkie prostitute, and her mother's boyfriend, no surprise, physically and sexually abuses Reeve. Reeve is hypersexual and violently angry, and she beats Johanna.