Readers' Advisory: Librarian's Choice 2008

Blundell paints a vivid, norish picture in this coming of age novel where narrator Evie, 15, grows up in the late 1940s. With a movie-star-looking mother, Beverly, and a loving, wealthy, step-dad Joe, Evie has it made. But when, Peter, an army buddy, contacts Joe, the family takes a vacation to Florida, where Evie falls in love with Peter and learns that people are not always who they seem to be. I loved the 40s jargon and the mystery surrounding the characterization.

This book was awesome. Clark writes a this voice of casual hilarity, yet pristine sophistication. The book was intriguing as it dove into the history of Starbucks, how they have become so successful, and the history of coffee and it's business. Clark wrote a well researched and entertaining book. I found myself constantly marking tidbits that I wanted to share with others. Highly reccommended if you are fascinated with Starbucks like me.

The book gave me great instruction on how to keep accruing reader's advisory knowledge without feeling overwhelmed.

Out of the Dust captures the life of Billie Jo in harrowing poetry. Hesse created a memorable voice in young Billie Jo as she grows up in the midst of the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression.

Luke and I read both of these books and both fell equally in loved with them. Speigelman interviewed his father, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, and depicts his father's stories with awesome creativity. Germans are portrayed as cats, Jews as mice, Poles as pigs, and Americans as dogs. The story telling is poignant and achingly beautiful as his father's story fills the pages while his relationship with life becomes more and more strained.

MAUS was the first half of the tale of survival of the author's parents, charting their desperate progress from prewar Poland Auschwitz. Here is the continuation, in which the father survives the camp and is at last reunited with his wife.

Sold by Patricia McCormick is a heart-breaking tale of Lakshmi, who at 13, is unknowingly sold into prostitution. Written in verse and formatted in small chapters, Sold provides snapshots of Lakshmi’s experiences working for a terrible woman in a brothel. Sold is a beautifully written book that exposes the horror of teens working in brothels in India. The verse and short chapters made the book easy to read and Lakshmi’s voice will easily connect teens.

Pedro and Me was written by Judd Winick about his friendship with Pedro Zamora, which began when they were both cast of the MTV show The Real World in 1994. I was an avid fan of The Real World in the 90s. In the 2000s, it's turned downhill. They just don't cast eccentric people anymore. Anyways, Pedro was HIV-Positive and an AIDS activist since he was in high school. Meanwhile, Judd becomes his roomate and is kind of uncomfortable with the AIDS thing, simply because he is uninformed. With great illustration and unforgettable catharsis, Judd chronicles their lives, their friendship, and how much Pedro taught him and the rest of the world about living HIV-Positive.

In American Born Chinese, Jin Jang becomes the unusual teen when he is uprooted from San Fransico Chinatown where he is surrounded by other Chinese-Americans and moves to a suburb-looking area. He feels isolated, yet longs to assimilate into white-American culture. When he becomes an “all-american guy” with blonde hair and blue eyes, a change agent, in the form of a monkey-dad, speaks truth to him and helps him embrace himself for who he really is, as eccentric and seemingly unusual as it may be.
American Born Chinese has wonderful graphics and the three stories had me on my toes as to how they were intertwined. I thought the story was hilarious! It’s award-winning merit is clear to see.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging is hilarious! I am charmed by Georgia’s attitude and responses to her life. The book is written in diary form and sometimes Georgia only writes a snippet and will write several times a day. Because of this format, the book was a quick read. I think it would be a great book for reluctant readers. I love Georgia’s wit as she deals with friends and boys, and her dad’s move from England to New Zealand. She also has a large male cat named Angus who provides more comedy to the already hilarious book.

In this funny, and accessible graphic novel, Jane is hit by a trash can bomb in the fictional Metro City. She survives and her family moves away to a small town. She meets a group of 3 other Janes, a sporty Polly Jane, a thespian Jayne, and a computer-geek Jaine. Together, they form an art group who secretly create art displays throughout town. This graphic novel was right up my alley. It's creative and uplifting, and truly depicts the idealistic ambition of teenagers.

I never thought I would be so captivated by a book about vampires. When Bella, moves to from Phoenix, to Forks, Washington, she meets Edward, who saves her from a fatal car crash. When she discovers that Edward in a vampire, she has to risk her life to be with him. I rushed through the 498 page book in a matter of days, to find out if Edward would continue to save her life and if she would become a vampire herself. As of today, there are two more books in the series and one more on it's way....I can't wait to read them!

Meyer continues to leave me smitten for my favorite vampire, Edward and added even more paranormal attributes to the second book in the series. I am loving this series and I’ve never been this interested in paranormal genre before.

Meyer continues to be consistent with The Twilight Saga. In this book, her feelings for Jacob come to realization, which I found unbelievable because Edward is just Edward, this great vampire guy that any teen girl in her right mind would love. It looks like the next book, coming out in August, will be told from Jacob's point of view. Bring it, I love this series and I never thought I would like reading about vampires so much.

The Rules of Survival opened my eyes to teens living in a hostile, abusive home. Matthew is a seventeen year old with two younger sisters and they are often more of the parent than their mother. She is verbally and physically abusive and yet, the kids feel trapped. They try to reach out for help, especially to their mom’s ex-boyfriend, but no-one helps initially. In my past, my readings of child abuse has been in expositions and statistics, but this story depicts a heart-breaking reality.

Helen refers to herself as "light" because she was 29 when she died, but she has roamed the earth for 130 years following her "hosts." Her host, Mr. Brown, is an English teacher at a high school. When a boy in one of his classes, notices her and acknowledges her presence, she discovers that he is "light" too and that he overtook a teen boy's body after his spirit fled. When she overtakes a teenage girl's body, they struggle in their family arenas and struggle to be together. A Certain Slant is a powerful, provacative mystery. Whitcomb hints at the past with small flashbacks and foreshadows without revealing too much. Like “What Happened to Cass McBride”, A Certain Slant explores family dynamics in a teen's life and the impact on a teen's life.

This Pulitzer-Prize winning book about the astonishing heart and work of Dr. Paul Farmer to cure tuberculosis in Haiti was very moving.

“What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.”

Looking for Alaska by John Green is a coming of age novel centered around Miles “Pudge” Halter. When Miles moves from Florida to Alabama, he befriends his roommate “Colonel” and his friend, Alaska, who captivates him with her boisterous beauty and daring personality. The characters are so dynamic and likable that it was hard to part with them, and thus, made the book easy to read and hard to put down. Green adds mystery by beginning each segment with a countdown of days, for example the book begins with “136 days before.” Colonel and Alaska’s funds of knowledge were very different than Miles; they both knew the ins and outs of the school and knew a lot more about drugs and alcohol.

A boy and his father roam a post-apocalyptic America in search of food and shelter. This haunting novel with lean prose similar to Hemingway is a masterpiece. My husband and I both enjoyed it and look forward to the movie coming out.

This book was a rich, delectable read. The protagonist, Mattie, a teenager, struggles with the decision to stay on her family's north New York farm or attend college in New York City, against her father's will. Donnelly incorporates the true story of Grace Brown, a young unwed pregnant woman, who went out on a lake with her assumed boyfriend, only to be found drowned in the lake. Donnelly examines the role of a female in the early 1900s as well as racial tensions.

Hugo, a young boy, grows up observing his father work on a mechanical toy known as the automaton. When his father tragically dies, Hugo is left with the automaton and his father’s notebook. As Hugo attempts to fix the automaton, he learns much more than mechanics. The novel is half words and half illustrations. The illustrations alone are worth picking up the book.

It took me awhile to read, but the journey was so worth it. The narrator is death and he accounts the life of Liesel, a young girl, who when taken in by her foster parents residing in Germany during World War II experiences hate and grief but also love and triumph. Zusak weaves his story with an acknowledgment of the power of words and their ability to cause mass hatred and deep love.

This was a wonderful professional literature book. It was extremely helpful and practical. It is organized by month, which helps librarians form a feasible plan of action. He include many resources and many lists of useful information. He also included sample booktalks, surveys, letters to teachers, among other things. A must-have for anyone working in youth services.

My lovely sister-in-law Jill recommended this young adult book to me and I was excited to turn the front page and see all the awards it had won. I’m a sucker for award winners and Stargirl proved to be worthy of its accolades. The book chronicles the bright entrance of Stargirl into a cookie cutter high school. She shocks everyone with her constant optimisms, her unrelenting love and kindness, and most of all, her uniqueness. The high school embraces her and then, turns against her. Meanwhile, Stargirl falls for Leo, who narrates the story, and they both have to choose what they value more, their popularity or their true selves.
“Thank goodness for the outrageous among us.” — Jerry Spinelli

“Leo Gursky taps his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he 's still alive. But it wasn t always like this: in the Polish village of his youth, he fell in love and wrote a book. . . . Sixty years later and half a world away, fourteen-year-old Alma, who was named after a character in that book, undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With virtuosic skill and soaring imaginative power, Nicole Krauss gradually draws these stories together toward a climax of extraordinary depth and beauty (Newsday)”

“Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.”