Seventeen (Magazine)

Title: Seventeen
Editor-in-Chief: Ann Shoket
Publisher: New York, NY: Heart Magazines
ISSN: 0037301X
http://www.seventeen.com

Summary: In publication since 1944, Seventeen has been a standby in teen magazine's for decades. Covering topics from beauty and health to boys and careers, teens are sure to be able to locate subjects of interest in each issue. $2.99 per issue from the newstand. Subscription of 12 issues for $10.

Critical Evaluation: Thoughtfully laid out, and with every detail clearly defined, Seventeen is probably the best of the magazines available especially for teens. It has fun quizzes and information on fashion, etc, but also contains more mature material such as teens finding their own images on the Internet after break-ups, internship nightmares, etc.

Editor Information: Ann Shocket keeps her own blog on the Seventeen website, but there is limited information available about her, beyond that she adores David Beckham, Adrian Grenier, Cherry Chapstick, and modern art. She is also to be found on the television series, America's Next Top Model.

Grades/Ages
Grades 8-12/Ages 13-19

Challenge Issues
Potential for trouble with younger teens looking at articles for the seventeen, and older, crowd. Would relate to parents or administrators that issues are not to be swept under the rug, and seeing them detailed in a reliable source is preferable to content to be found from young sources or often those on the Internet.

Why did you choose this book?
I chose this magazine because Seventeen has been in circulation so long, and appears to still be going strong, despite competition like Teen Vogue. I wanted to find a magazine for teens that contained topics more than just music, fashion, and celebrities.

EBSCOhost (Database)

EBSCOhost. (2010). Birmingham, AL: EBSCO Industries, Inc.
http://web.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/search?vid=1&hid=106&sid=843656dc-bcd7-41da-9b1b-d7fd6aa5005d%40sessionmgr110

•Covers
Makes readily available over three hundred full text databases, as well as secondary databases.

•Critical Evaluation
Searches can be basic, advanced or even visual, making this one the most flexible databases on the web. Ready access to an array of popular databases, including Academic Search Premier (widely used in high schools and colleges), as well as GeoRef, ERIC, and PsychInfo, make this an ideal database for campuses and individuals that cannot afford to pay a lot of subscription costs to get current information.

•Genre
Subscription Database

•Curriculum Ties
History
English
Science
Social Science
Government
Psychology
Geology
Religion

•Booktalking Ideas
Research papers, ERIC documents

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I wanted to include one database that has a good all-around feel, where teens can access information in many different ways, and in many subjects without having to change databases. I have keeping track at work of what the teacher use a great deal, and they tend to rely on ProQuest and EBSCO (with ready access to Academic Search Premier).

Butterfly Boy

Gonzalez, Rigoberto. (2006). Butterfly Boy: Memoirs of a Chicano Mariposa. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
ISBN-10: 0299219003

•Plot Summary
Rigoberto is nineteen, but has a lover twenty years his senior. His lover places butterfly marks on Rigoberto with his teeth, a symbol that the younger man likes because it does remind him of the monarchs that were a party of his childhood, one of the few happy parts for a boy that is a marisposa, a butterfly, gay. Born in Bakersfield, because his mother wanted him to be United States citizen, his parents work the fields between Los Angeles and the region Mexican region of Zacapu, where his father's parents live. Rigoberto spend much of his time with his mother, although she is not always kind to him. She is better than the alternatives of his alcoholic father, and his tyrannical, paternal grandfather. His brother makes fun of him, because he plays with dolls, and soon he learns that becoming absorb in books keeps him away from the bullies, both inside his own home, and at school. When he experiments with his mothers clothing and nail polish, his father walks in, but turns to leave as if nothing ever happened. Indeed, his entire nineteen years have passed without it being mentioned by anyone in his family. He has been attending the University of Riverside on a scholarship, although his father had initially tried to stop him from going. Now, the two are on a four-day bus ride, going to Zacapu. Rigoberto's mother died when he was eleven, and she was buried in the area. His father remarried not long after, leaving his sons with his parents, something for which Rigoberto can never forgive him. Their conversations alternate between semi amicable, and Rigoberto seething, only wanting his father to shut up. They part ways in the city, and after a brief visit to the grave (to which he brings red gladiolas), he visits his grandparents and father, giving his father the remainder of his money. Using his credit card, he returns to Riverside, and the abusive lover. For two days he waits for the man to contact him again, and when he does, they board a ship of older men with their younger boyfriends. Rigoberto is "Mexican", so they make him serve drinks, and days later another fight erupts. This time, the lover has used hit Rigoberto with the phone, knocking him unconscious. The boy thinks back to how his mother, and how to her, he was always mijo. Her son, and although he felt she knew he was homosexual, she did not speak of it either. The door closes by the lover's hand, and after decades of affairs with married farmers, closet schoolboys, and other such "relationships", Rigoberto is determined to find something better.

•Critical Evaluation
Despite the level of violence and sadness, this work is somehow peaceful. There is a quietness, a sensitivity to Gonzalez's work, that is in keeping with his title, mariposa, butterfly. Although we realize that he will probably never reconcile with his father, their sometimes casual relationship is grounds for hope that he will find peace with their existence, and also find love that doesn't involve tyranny.

•Reader’s Annotation
Graphic content is mainly restricted to the final chapters, but may be considered too extreme for younger teens.

•Information about the author
Rigoberto Gonzalez has written books of poetry, and two books for children. He has received the Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, as well as international residencies for artists, and served on the Advisory Circle of Con Tinta (coalition of Latino/Chicano writers). Currently, he lives in New York City.

•Genre
Autobiography

•Curriculum Ties
Social Science

•Booktalking Ideas
Field works from Mexico, American immigration, sexual dynamics in Mexico, homosexuality

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 1-12/Ages 17-19

•Challenge Issues
The homosexual relationships in this book are limited in their number, but are graphic enough to warrant care. As a defense, it would be suitable to point out that this is not a work of fiction, and therefore has merit in teaching real world situations.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
All of my books contained caucasion characters, despite the fact I live in Southern California, and only three cities away there is a large population of field workers from Mexico. I wanted to know more about that experience, especially as it pertained to a young, gay male.

The Society of S

Hubbard, S. (2007). The Society of S. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
ISBN-13: 9781416534570

•Plot Summary
Ari Montero has always had a different life than kids her own age. For one thing, her mother disappeared only a few days after she was born, and no one seems to know why. She's been home schooled due to her health, which borders on anemia, and her father has lupus. Still, for all that, Ari has always been happy with her father, and he's given her the best classical education available. She does not truly miss not having a television, jeans or the other things that most teens covet, at least not until she begins making friends with the housekeeper's children, especially Kathleen. The two girls become fast friends, both able to offer the other a piece of an existence never had before, and Ari becomes romantically linked to Kathleen's older brother, Michael. Everything goes smoothly, until Kathleen is murdered, and there aren't any likely suspects. The FBI has become involved in the investigation, because Kathleen had begun dressing differently, and was a participant in a live action role playing game with vampires and werewolves, and with young people that the authorities might be part of a cult. As a result, Ari and Michael can no longer speak freely, and Ari has a new need to understand her background. Her father, Raphael, is a vampire. Tales of coffins, shapeshifting, and stakes through the heart are nonsense. Being capable of invisibility is due to physics, not the supernatural, vampires simply having more control over their molecular composition than humans have. Their forgetting to lessen the effect results in their often being blurry, or absent, from mirrors or photographs. Vampires are each drawn to certain types of patterns, like paisley or stripes, some encountering a form of dyslexia around patterns to which they aren't attuned. They eat food, usually meats, and colors have individual scents. Shortly after his wedding, Ari's mother had encouraged him to go to England for his work, and he'd been turned by Malcolm, one of his colleagues. His own colleague, Dennis, had been with the family for years. Ari had believed him to only be her father's research assistant, working to create medical cures for blood diseases, but in fact helps her father keep his own condition a secret. Ari's mother, Sara, had had a difficult pregnancy, and Raphael had refused to make her a vampire. She would have been the only mortal, because she already knew Ari had inherited her father's condition. Excited by her new knowledge, Ari tracks her mother to Homossasa, FL, able to do so because her mother believes the letter "S" to be lucky-she always looked for the letter in her daily life as a sign. Sara has become a vampire, and explains that Malcolm made her into one, for agreeing to stay away from Raphael and Ari. She is a horse breeder and bee keeper, living in a town primarily composed of other vampires who live off commercial blood substitutes and food additives. News arrives that Ari's father is dead, which she does believe, and the two trace Raphael to Saratoga Springs. He has entered into new dealings with Malcolm, because Raphael (now known as Arthur Gordon Pym) wants to keep an eye on his maker, while Dennis pleads with Ari to make him a vampire too. Malcolm and Dennis had been the ones to smuggle Sara away, and for it, Raphael tells them both to leave. It's established that Malcolm murdered Kathleen, and he also tries to burn down the condo where Raphael and Ari are staying, despite being in love with Raphael. Sara returns to her regular home in order to retrieve her possessions, before the arrival of Hurricane Barry. The hurricane does wipe out much of the area, but Ari is reunited with her parents, whether or not they choose to become a couple once more. The FBI investigator on the case makes a visit, and Ari accomplishes throwing him off course, and embarks on keeping a journal of what it means to be a vampire.

•Critical Evaluation
Hard to make an objective evaluation of this novel. So much of what was written in it, spoke to me. I rarely read fiction, but when I do, it's almost always a novel of mystery or about vampires. The affinity for Poe, especially Annabelle Lee (which I used to construct my daughter's name), and several other of Raphael and Ari's favorites authors, is here. The fondness for the letter "S" is one I share, and use often in my own role playing game (online), due to my character's name. The loss of a mother at an early age, and not truly understanding the "whys" of the situation, especially knowing she is still alive-just not coming back. The attachment to bees, because my own name means "honeybee".

Still, the references to literature in this novel are many, and therefore make it more readable for younger teens of advanced learning, and older teens. The plot line is tight, and Ari is a smart girl, with good sense of self. The ethics of the family are sound, and this novel is the first in a series called "The Ethical Vampires" series.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for readers that possess a solid background in literature, because many of the references that are used as plot ties, simply won't make sense without an understanding of the individual bodies of work.

•Information about the author
Susan Hubbard was born in New York, but currently lives in Florida with her husband. She is now a professor of creative writing at the University of Central Florida, and in 1999, won a Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for best prose book by an American woman. In addition to her position at UCF, she had been given teaching awards from Syracuse and Cornell universities.

The sequel to The Society of S, The Year of Disappearances, was released in May 2008. A third volume in the series, entitled The Season of Risks, is scheduled to be released this year. Susan is part of the Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat, and will be teaching classes in Ireland this year as well.

•Genre
Fantasy

•Curriculum Ties
Biology
Folktales
Literature

•Booktalking Ideas
Vampires, literary references in teen fiction, physic's role in folklore

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
This was one of the first books I picked up for this course, but one of the last I read. I think it's because I knew, somehow, that this one was going to be special (maybe with a capital "S"). The idea of a coming-of-age vampire story intrigued me. As someone who was appalled by the lack of real content (particularly literary or historical) in the "other teen vampire series", I was glad to see it present here.

Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales

Aiken, J., Anderson, M., Gaiman, N., Kiernan, C., Maguire, G., Nix, G., Rees, C., ...Yourgrau, B. (2006). Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
ISBN-10: 0763627372
ISBN-13: 9780763627379

•Plot Summary
Lungewater-While on the way to visit Aunt Theodosia, a young narrator meets an old gentleman who regales the narrator with a tale about Count Boyanus. Boyanus had fallen in love with a woman, and sent her poetry via his slave, Stiva. The serf had been given instructions to always use the shortest route, but taken a long one instead, since it was safer. Despite his poetry, the Count was unsuccessful in his pursuit, and the woman had three daughters in as many years-Noelle, Christina, and one unknown. Stiva was followed by the Count on his way to deliver the final poem, and drowned when forced to take the shorter route. The old man telling the tale was Stiva's brother, the information passed to him by a young man that had befriended Stiva, who also passed on due to a wound. The Count was believed to have drowned as well, and when the old and narrator arrive at the house of the Count's former love, it is revealed that Aunt Theodosia was the third daughter. Her mother had never read the poems, and Theodosia burns all three to finish the tale.
Morgan Roehmer's Boys-Ashley works as a set designer and cast member of a Halloween fright farm. About to begin her shift as usual, bad weather sets in, and over her headphones she is told to take refuge in the barn. Alone, Ashley's imagination begins to run wild, as the site once belonged to a farm where Morgan Roehmer murdered and hid several young men, later uncovered and buried. As the evening progresses, Ashley encounters a spectre, a young man that says he's still on the property, buried under the porch. Believing him, and his statement that he can fix her broken headphones, she gives him the device. But the boy is not what he appears, and the clever ghost of Morgan Roehmer strangles Ashley, becoming stronger each time he kills-so he can maintain the appearance he had at seventeen.
Watch and Wake-Jim is on the way home, although his parents don't know it. Lacking funds, he stops in a restaurant, and asks if there is B&B anywhere close by. His plan is to call his parents, and have them pay the bill so he can sleep. While eating a sandwich, he is told he'll be paid to watch a corpse through the night. Agreeable, Jim is introduced to the man's family, including his grieving wife, Jenn. After the house grows quiet, and Jim is reading, he sees a weasel in the window. Chasing it off, he eventually falls asleep. Jenn wakes him up in the morning, telling him that weasel are witches, but bears are the worst. On his way out of town, Jim sees the mourning party for the funeral, including the professional mourners and necromancer. The necromancer awakens the husband, who is also named Jim, and explains that Jenn poisoned him. She also killed the younger Jim in his sleep, and quickly the young man's facial features are being torn away. They are only wax.
Forbidden Brides...of Dread Desire-Amelia Earnshawe, like any good gothic heroine, is fleeing something in the dark when she comes upon a residence that might provide refuge. Admitted into the house, she comes to understand her destiny, and helps to discover the dead body of the house's former owner-dead no less than a century, Amelia attests, after sticking her finger into the goo that remains of his decaying body, and licks the goo off. Except that Amelia is not real. She is a a real accounting, of real life, by a woeful young man that feels his writing is not what it should be. When his older brother, thought dead already, comes to reclaim his estate, the estate enter into a heated sword fight. Watching the contest, a human skull and a raven. The young runs his brother through, and in so doing, receives only half finished warnings of things most dire. The older brother is given to the butler for burial, and the raven asks the young man if he enjoys writing the sorts of tales he's been writing. If writing fantasy might not be better than writing what is real, but the young man insists otherwise, and the raven says he will comment "Nevermore," flying away. From there, the butler explains to the scullery maid that she must never repeat what he tells her...and ghouls wait for the brides Amelia will be delivering to them, with a side of breadsticks.
The Dead and the Moonstruck-Jane Starling is a changeling, chosen by The Cuckoo to be plucked from Providence, and taken below. For eight years, she has been studying for her Three Confirmations, the only way she will be allowed to live. At night, her mother visits, telling her she is beautiful, and wishing she could have remained at the beach. No one is sure if Jane will pass her Third confirmation, not even her best friend, ghul pup Sorrow. Jane makes her descent to meet the dragon, Nidhogg Rootnibbler, becoming drenched in moonlight. She has passed, and can now live, even if it among monsters.
Have No Fear, Crumpot is Here-Walter has a made up a world of his own, based on a character named Crumpot, one that has a tendency to lead him into scrapes. His father is constantly lecturing Walter about responsibility, and when one too many adventures occur, Walter is sent to stay with friends of the family-the Wilkies. The couple also have a son, whose name is also Walter, a sickly looking little boy in a red velvet jacket that sleeps his days away. When the Wilkies' babysitter can't come over one evening, Walter is given the responsibility. He loses track of time, however, and realizes it's already dark outside once he's aware again. Seeing a man and his son outside, he calls to them, but stops when he's confronted by a strangely beautiful girl he'd seen only days before. She claims Walter Wilkie is a vampire, and gives Walter the tools to kill the little boy, just moments before he's bitten.
Stone Tower-As far back as she can remember, Tara has been cold in the tower. A voice tells her to go to bed, to get up and go to school, to dress, to eat. She can't recall how she used to dress or the names of people she realizes she ought to know. Fleeing from the world outside, she can only run back to her tower prison. Memories are coming back to her, a lullaby that used to be sung to Tara when she was little, a distinguished man who became harder and harder to understand-her father. A raven has been appearing at her window, its feathers left on the windowsill, until one morning she finds several that are bloody. Tara had been hiding from her father, she could now remember, and the raven is Jeremy-the missing boy that Tara had been dating, the one her father told her she could not see again. Defiant, she jumps from her tower, and finds the raven. The cold melts away, and the missing boy is in her arms, the two finally warm.
The Prank-Melanie has been charged with a hate crime, but as a teenager, she is released into the custody of her Aunt Beryl. The woman is old, and it's only in this visit that Melanie finds out that Beryl is her Great Aunt, her mother's aunt. She's never been married, and Melanie wonders if she might have been a lesbian, the type of woman that Melanie had hit with an iron bar nine times. Beryl drills her on the crime committed, and Melanie breaks into the attic because Beryl tells her not to, finding the still-living sister that Beryl hasn't mentioned. What's more, she's been preserved at the same age she was when Beryl committed her own hate crime-placing rat poison in her food. Now she is half rat, but Melanies frees her from the bed where Beryl has had her tied, and the three are also all released from their hate.
Writing on the Wall-Mark Banks found the house one day, and made an offer over the phone. It has Victorian charm, and he wasn't as sensitive to the paranormal as his son, Sam. As the renovations of the old home begin, a Witch's bottle is found over the door, and a cat's corpse in the fireplace. They are methods of protection, and with the items taken away, history is on the verge of repeating itself. The son of Mark's contractor, Tom, has developed a crush on Katie Banks (Mark's daughter). In the span of only a few days, the crush has become something more, and Sam is seeing visions in Katie's room. A girl that the family discovers fell to her death, pushed when she spurned the advances of a young man of which her father didn't approve. Katie has peeled away layers of her wallpaper, and revealed a message pleading with Kate to go. Believing it is a message for someone else, she is not prepared when Tom arrives in her room, bent on getting revenge for Katie not being already in love with him. When Mark and Sam arrive, Tom is dead on the floor of Katie's room, and she still has the chisel in her hand.
Endings-It is a simple ending, to a very long story. His two swords rest in a chair, Joy and Sorrow. That is not their real names, and for a moment he recalls their mother, now long dead. But he is not dead, is somewhere between dead and alive. A young hero came to the house, and chose Sorrow, killing the real daughters. Now, all that remains is the owner of the two swords. A second youth arrives, too young to be a hero, but he has chosen Joy. Once through the heart, and then across the throat, it is all that is required to finally have the swords' owner finally have Joy.

•Critical Evaluation
A fantastic treat, gothic stories, not horror. There are moments of whimsy and dry humor, but all intertwined into the overall gothic tapestry.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for all teens, and intricate enough to even intrigue those that tend to enjoy more bite to their fantasy tales.

•Genre
Short Stories, Gothic Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
English
History
Folktales

•Booktalking Ideas
Halloween, the Gothic novel, Poe, Byron, Polidori, Neil Gaiman fans

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I have always been a huge fan of gothic novels, the kind with the estate on a moor, and a brooding figure that might kill as easily as turn out a hero. This collection of short stories was, hands down, my favorite of the books I chose for this course.

M (Magazine)

Title: M
Editor-in-Chief: Molly MacDermot
Publisher: Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Bauer Media Group, Inc.
ISSN: 15339149
http://www.mmm-mag.com

Summary: Upbeat and funky teen magazine, primarily geared toward music, movies, and fashion. The M stands for "musics, movies, and more", topics upon which the magazine does indeed give you bang for your buck (or rather your $3.99). 10 monthly volumes, at a subscription rate of $14.97.

Critical Evaluation: While the amount of information in the magazine is considerable, the flashy colors, continuous blurbs of content, and lack of continuity in design makes reading this magazine rather difficult. Teens will no doubt like the dozens of photos of their favorite stars, and the posters that are included in each issue. For teens that are looking for good articles, there may be disappointed, as even the topics such as animal rescue are limited to only a few paragraphs.

Editor Information: Molly MacDermot started her career at The New Yorker, and has also worked for Marie Claire and Redbook publications. Molly was one of the creators, and editors, of J-14, a magazine very similar to M in terms of its content and layout. She has also been a guest on MTV, VH1, and Inside Edition.

She launched M in 2001. Since that time, it has become the fastest growing teen entertainment magazine.

Grades/Ages
Grades 6-11/Ages 11-16

Challenge Issues
N/A

Why did you choose this book?
I chose this magazine because I hadn't seen it on the shelves before. Unlike the old standbys, Seventeen, J-14, and Teen Vogue, I thought this one might have something new to offer.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Covey, S. (1998). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York, NY: Fireside Books.
ISBN-10: 0684856093

•Plot Summary
A workbook of instructions on how to be a happy and successful teen, this work is just one of many inheriting from the tradition of the original The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Sean Covey has begun with a series of quotes and examples about lifestyle choices and behaviors that teens allow to become habit, that in turn prevent them from being who they really want to be. Using what he considers Baby Steps, Sean Covey gives teens tried and true methods for changing their habits to more positive ones. Focusing on the concept of remaking their own paradigms, teens learn the problems with allowing their approach to their own lives being things such as pleasing just their parents, seeing success only in materialism, and even being self-centered. In part two, teens learn to keep a Personal Bank Account, a way of keeping track of whether they are spending too much time beating themselves up over certain topics, aren't being honest with themselves, aren't giving themselves time to renew, and not rewarding themselves when it's deserved. Habit i is about being Proactive, turning setbacks into triumphs, taking stock of mental states in order to improve mood, etc. Habit 2 involves Beginning with the End in Mind. Teens learn how to set their sights on what they want in the future, and create personal mission statements, with realistic goals for fulfilling their objectives. Habit 3 is about learning to Prioritize, about learning to use a personal planner, teens realizing when they are outside their comfort zone, and acknowledging milestones. Habit 4 is about thinking Win-Win, about not being a doormat or always seeing things in a negative light, about making healthy comparisons and realizing that not all levels of competition are healthy. Habit 5 involves Seeking First to Understand, and then to be Understood, and explains the principles of listening to (not just hearing) what other people say, placing ones self in the shoes of another, and only then in seeking feedback of ones own beliefs or impressions. Habit 6 deals with learning about how Synergy works, seeing how people learn individually, adapt, and then work together as as group. Habit 7 is potentially the most basic, and possibly the most overlooked, teens taking time out from busy schedules to eat well, get enough sleep, and just relax.

•Critical Evaluation
Light-hearted, but fact, quote, story, and method-packed manual for teens to learn how to be truly successful and happy. Some areas that are meant to be funny may come across as inane to more mature teens, but the stories and anecdotes are often interesting.

•Reader’s Annotation
Probably best for older teens, especially those that have busy parents or have had trouble with things like school or emotional development.

•Information about the author
Sean Covey's father wrote the original version of this manual with adults in mind, and Sean has adapted it for teen audiences. He was born in Ireland, raised in Utah, and has lived in Boston, Dallas, and South Africa. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.A. in English, and from Harvard with an M.A. in Business. He was a quarterback for the BYU football team, and was ESPN's Most Valuable Player in a college team, twice.

Since reaching adulthood, he has worked at several multimedia corporations, including Walt Disney Company. He enjoys movies, working out, dirt bike riding, eating, and along with his wife, Rebecca, is the father of four children. Currently, he is the VP of Retail Stores for Franklin Covey Co., which specializes in materials for individuals interested in leadership.

•Genre
Non-Fiction, Self-Help

•Curriculum Ties
Social Sciences

•Booktalking Ideas
Lifestyles, ethics, improving self-esteem

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I had never read the original version of this book, but was intrigued by the number of stories and anecdotes included in this one for teens to relate to on a more personal level.

Little Vampire Women

Alcott, L. and Messina, L. (2010). Little Vampire Women. New York, NY: Harper Teen.
ISBN-13: 9780061976254

•Plot Summary
Alcott's classic tale has been given new life, or is it undeath? in this humorous new adaptation. The central relationships remain, four sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) in Civil War era Concord, MA, are waiting for the war to be over so their father can return. Theodore "Laurie" Laurence still lives with his grandfather next door. Meg is still wishing for wealth, Jo is still a tomboy, Beth is still shy, Amy is still vain, and Marmee is still trying to teach her Little Women to be the best women they can be. Beth still loves cats and kittens, only in this version, it's for breakfast. Beth is invited to use the piano once belonging to Laurie's aunt, but she turns his grandfather into a vampire out of gratitude. Jo writes, but it's the information she learns as a vampire defender against human attackers, and she yearns to attend Gentleman Jackson's Preparatory Salon for the Training of Vampire Defenders, and finding a suitable, loving husband that fits the bill Marmee wishes for her girls, means siring them so the love can remain for eternity. Amid all this, Laurie wants into the March family, he just wants it as a vampire. Belle Moffet receives a coffin instead of an emerald ring as a token of her engagement, and the party scene were Laurie disapproves of Meg's behavior remains, except that Meg has been poking humans with tacks, then seeing what muscle twitches first, before launching her fangs into those muscles to see how many punctures she can make. Father falls ill, and Jo must sell her hair so Marmee can pay for the train, but Jo wishes Mr.Brooke's would not be the escort-she suspects he has designs on Meg because he is a vampire slayer. While Marmee is gone, Beth succumbs to a fever like father's, and Jo is convinced that vampire slayers are to blame for the illness. As it happens, she is right, and the human baby Hummel only passed away from the fever, because it was so young. The antidote is found, but only works for Beth, because it contains the blood of her father in it. When their father finally returns home, Aunt March reveals that Mr. Brooke may in fact be a slayer, and Jo searches for further proof. In the closet of his room, under the floorboards, she finds the recipe for the "chilly death". Enraged, but in love enough to want to keep him with her always, Meg attacks John, turning him into a vampire as well. By the end of Part I, the family has all settled in nicely, Laurie is bringing home human friends that worship Amy, who has in turn become Aunt March's new companion, and Jo is in her third year at Gentleman Jackson's. Part II opens with Meg and John getting married, although this is slightly delayed by a surprise attack on the part of Dr.Bang, the same human responsible for the chilly death's distribution in the area. Bang's plan is thwarted, but Jo is more focused than ever on bringing about his downfall, and convinces Marmee to let her go to New York on the pretext of needing something new. Bang has been sighted in New York, and Jo becomes a governess to the Dashwood family, where she meets young men that discuss vampire philosophy and politics. She also meets Professor Bhaer, a Transylvanian vampire who possesses a philosophy of not using the modern conveniences that are dulling vampire senses. Jo is a humanitarian (non human blood drinker), like her parents, but she has always felt that potions and instruments allowed vampires to once more level the field against human adversaries. Over time, however, she is convinced that the Professor may be right in his estimations, and learns from him. Unlike the vampires she knows, he can become a bat, he can charm humans into doing what he wishes, his senses of sight and scent are better than the others, and so he can detect elements the other vampires miss. Unfortunately for the family, Beth's condition worsens again, and Jo discovers too late that the kittens that Beth delights in drinking from have been systematically poisoned over time. Beth dies, and Jo tracks down the kitten seller, who gives her a false name; she is anguished when she realizes she has then murdered her only lead to Dr.Bang. Going back to see Gentleman Jackson himself, Jo convinces him to let her teach a class on shifting, and becomes a success at the school. The next few chapters go swiftly, although they fellow the original novel closely, with Amy and Laurie having a whirlwind wedding. The difference, Amy has turned Laurie into a vampire as well, by the time they return from Nice. Professor Bhaer arrives at the family home, and has found Dr.Bang, all he could do for Jo to show how he felt for her. As he prepares to go, misunderstanding that Laurie was turned by Amy, Jo must explain the new couple's relationship. Friedrich is overjoyed, and Jo kisses him in the rain, the novel ending with the entire family feasting on Dr.Bang.

•Critical Evaluation
One of my favorite novels of all time, and this version was a wonderful take on the original story. Much of the dialog has been kept, and the scene of Laurie professing his love for Jo is as heartrending as ever. One addition to the novel, beyond the vampire element, is the use of footnotes to explain what are supposed to be historical details surrounding vampire literature and lifestyles. These alone, make the book worth reading.

•Reader’s Annotation
Original novel with humorous addition of vampires, a new twist on the beloved classic. Suitable for teens of all ages.

•Information about the author
Louisa May Alcott, like Jo, grew up in Concord, MA. Born in 1832, her experiences were much like Jo's own, save that her writings included several novels (such as the follow-ups to Little Women-Jo's Boys, and Little Men). Unlike the Jo of this novel, she was never a vampire, and died in 1888.

Lynn Messina grew up on Long Island, and attended Washington University in St.Louis. She is the author of several novels about teenage girls coming of age, Little Vampire Women being her fifth. She also works as a freelance copy editor in New York, and with her husband, has one son.

•Genre
Humor

•Curriculum Ties
Literature
English

•Booktalking Ideas
Classic literature given new life, humorous books for teens

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I loved the original novel, and when I saw this on the shelves, had to read it. There has lately been a surge in classic novels made into humorous books, including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is included in this blog. This novel, however, is not from the same publisher and is intended for teen audiences.

The Real Rules for Girls

Morgenstern, M. (1999). The Real Rules for Girls. Chicago, IL: Girl Press.
ISBN-10: 0965975452

•Plot Summary
Six chapters of potentially the most sound, yet hilarious advice ever written down for teen girls. Morgenstern is committed to teaching teens about having reasonable expectations in areas of romance, work, their social lives, with their families, surrounding money, and also provides a series of invaluable tips for life's everyday headaches and upsets. Teens will learn that there is no such things as happy ever after, if you want a raise-ask for it, don't try to talk yourself out of going to a party because it might help with networking in other areas (esp work), remember that family will probably back your play when no one else will, learn how to manage money, and stop obsessing over things that won't matter in five years (like being unpopular, and losing weight). Woven into the no nonsense lessons provided, are interesting quips and quotes from some of the world's most famous women, most of them considered pioneers in their own professions.

•Critical Evaluation
Witty, but in a way that will really make teens pay attention to the advice. Fast-paced, but worthy of a second and third read, the sort of book a person buys so their teen can review the material later.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for all teens, perhaps a good starter for tweens. Will carry girls through their early college years as well, particularly the sections on work, social life, and money.

•Information about the author


•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Biology
Economics
Health
Home Economics

•Booktalking Ideas
Career advice, money management, relationships, social and professional networking

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-12/Ages 11-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
While I have legal custody of my daughter, she does go away to visit her father's family each Summer, and I was looking for a book that talks about the facts of life in a way I would talk about them with her.

The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens

Johnson, J. (2001). The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens. Rochester, VT: Bindu Books.
ISBN-10: 0892818808

•Plot Summary
Drawing upon anthropological and literary sources, as well as true accounts from interviews, author Julie Tallard Johnson has developed a series of meditations, rituals, and guidelines for helping teens become spiritual warriors. Her methods include journaling, tapping into ancient stories about the lives of animals, constructing circles for celebrating seasons and performing magick, and working with dreams and sounds for a more complete experience. In addition, she has included an extensive bibliography of other sources, and online resources for further exploration on topics such as dreamwork, gathering your chi, and designing aid programs that make an impact on our world.

•Critical Evaluation
Extensive, and sometimes dizzying, collection of anecdotes, stories, poetry, rituals, magick, and meditations for teens that desire something more than just the basics offered by Craft books. Fantastic sections on initiations and rites of passage with cultural references.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for older teens, and those interested in a more intense experience than might be available with 101 sources, especially those raised in alternative religions so that they already possess knowledge of basics.

•Information about the author
Julie Tallard Johnson is a psychotherapist and teen mentor, and has been practicing meditation since the age of sixteen. She has spent a great deal of the last thirty years helping people discover spiritual practices and methods geared toward finding a sense of purpose and happiness. Her work has taken her to Australia and Bali, and she has written several other books or teens, all influenced by stories and beliefs she's found in her studies.

She lives in Spring Green, WI with her partner, daughter, and several red-tailed hawks. Since 2008, she has maintained a blog devoted to meditation, and other topics explored in her books.

•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Comparative religion

•Booktalking Ideas
Comparative religion, literature in religion, indigenous practices in urban environments

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-18

•Challenge Issues
As with any book about alternative religions, meditation, rituals, etc there is the possibility that parents, teachers or administrators will object to the materials they contain. With this work, I would go step by step, showing the amount of objective study that has gone into locating reliable sources on these subjects, as well as pointing out that exploration of certain avenues is an integral part of being a teen.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I wanted a more advanced book, with greater anthropological resources, for when my daughter is old/educated enough to work on methods that are above the Craft 101 level. I bought this book used, and I wish there were a new edition available with updated resources, especially with online content.

Teen Witch

Ravenwolf, S. (1998). Teen Witch. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
ISBN-10: 1567187250

•Plot Summary
Craft writer Silver Ravenwolf brings her down to earth methods of teaching and knowledge of Wicca to today's teen audiences. Beginning with a introduction on what brought her to the Craft (a conversation with an older and wiser relative whom she idolized) the next stage of her manual is an extensive chapter on practical reasons why teens might be interested in the Craft, religious persecution of innocents accused of witchcraft, principles of belief, and what the Craft truly entails/does not. From there, this manual moves into the basics of Wiccan traditions, creation myths, raising power, constructing a circle for magickal purposes, information on full moons, holidays, and creating a personal altar. Lest teens believe that the Craft is only about performing spells, the third chapter is entirely devoted to rituals, including those especially designed for teen situations. It isn't until the fourth chapter that magick truly enters the scene, and Silver first talks about details such as prayer, music, meditation, and invocation/evocation before discussing the more obvious elements of magick with candles, the elements, alphabets, herbs, incenses, and oils. She describes why magick might not work, reminds teens not to dabble in darker things that might turn out to bite them in the end, and is explicit in her explanation that magick and alcohol don't mix. While she does point out spells for such things as love, they are never about changing the will of another person, but only about attracting it to her readers, deflecting the advances of those with whom teens aren't interested, and removing walls to success that others may (either intentionally or unintentionally) place before them. Chapters seven and eight are about magicks surrounding healing and prosperity, and readers are advised to only heal those that agree, make sure you're on the right path several times while working, and that a spell will only work if there is actual work done right along with (i.e. nothing worth having comes free). Chapters nine and ten involve magick to bring wisdom and for protection, but again, there are advisories about how the spirit in which these should be performed. Chapter ten has assorted fun spells for everything from making the day a little brighter to just getting some peace and quiet. Finally, chapter eleven enters into discussion about how teens should discuss the Craft with their parents, friends, and others, how to fight discrimination in a responsible way, how to network with other Wiccan teens, and future reads that might help answer any remaining questions.

•Critical Evaluation
A candid, insightful look into the Wiccan religion as explained by one of its foremost authors and educators. Created for teens, by a mother of four, but suitable for beginning adults as well. Some readers might be annoyed by the quaint language, and many of her texts have been called "fluff", but this is fine for the age group included in this evaluation.

•Reader’s Annotation
Silver Ravenwolf's first book for teens. Newer titles also available in the fiction genre for this age group.

•Information about the author
Silver Ravenwolf became interested in magick at the age of thirteen, although her father was a Lutheran, and her mother a practicing Baptist. She goes into extensive detail about her young life in this book, and it can be described as quiet, safe, and without "malfunctions". Her introduction to the Craft came from a deck of tarot cards, and Sybil Leek's Diary of a Witch.

Silver has authored over twenty books on Wicca, pagan holidays, and various other Craft optics. She is the Black Forest Circle and Seminary, an organization that encompasses thirty-eight clans, each containing several covens. She is a mother of four, fifty-three years old, and lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

•Genre
Non-Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Comparative religion

•Booktalking Ideas
Religion, tolerance

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-18

•Challenge Issues
While the language in this book is suitable for the age group, many parents might object to the topic alone, believing that by showing an interest in Wicca or the Craft, they are courting trouble or becoming involved in drugs, alcohol or satanic rituals. The first chapters of this book contain information about just these topics, and I would recommend going over them with the parents, as well as potentially supplementing the material with books and articles from reliable sources written for adults. Ex: The Truth About Witchcraft Today and Wicca 101, both by Scott Cunningham, and articles available on The Witches' Voice website.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
As a long time practitioner, I decided to pick up this book several years ago in order to educate my daughter. I am not Wiccan, but many of the elements were parallel to my own. Until now, she has been too young to really instruct, and she has only recently become interested in the topic, so I had not read the entire manual.

The Cat Returns (DVD)

Studio Ghibli (Producer) & Morita, H. (Director). (U.S. release May 2, 2003). The Cat Returns. [Animated film]. United States: Viz Media.
UPC 786936268836

•Plot Summary
Haru is like many teenage girls, shy and awkward, and not entirely sure she belongs where she is. Since childhood though, she has had one aspect that made her unusual-she can talk to cats. It begins with the giving of a box of fish-shaped crackers to a starving white kitten, and the film begins with Haru saving another cat as he rolls a box across the street into incoming traffic. What Haru does not realize, is that the cat is a prince, and Lune's father offers his son's hand in marriage. When the courier misinterprets Haru's response for a yes, the King of Cat Kingdom comes to visit her. Although she declines the offer, the King won't take no for an answer, and despite Haru visiting a mysterious cat known as The Baron for aid, she is kidnapped. The Baron and his friends (Toto and Muta), must infiltrate the Kingdom in order to save Haru, who has been turned into a cat since her arrival. She begins to lose pieces of her memories, and almost accepts the offer, but The Baron, Toto, and Muta arrive on the scene. As it happens, Lune does not wish to marry Haru, and is in fact in love with one of the palace servants, Yuki. Yuki has been helping Haru from the first, whispering to her to find The Baron, and was the same kitten that Haru saved that first day with the crackers. Muta is also in disguise, a former adversary of the Kingdom who ate an entire lake of fish in one day, causing mayhem years earlier. The escape is successful, and Haru returns to her human form, finally accepting and liking who she is as a person.

•Critical Evaluation
An amusing, and light-hearted piece of work. Fantastic cast of characters, and wonderful animations. Like most of Miyazaki's films that have been adapted for U.S. watchers, this one includes famous voices (Anne Hathaway as Haru, Cary Elwes as The Baron, Elliot Gould as Toto, and Tim Curry as the Cat King).

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for younger views as well, this film is actually a sequel to Whisper of the Heart, which included the characters of The Baron and Muta, though one does not need to see that film to understand this one.

•Information about the author
Hayao Miyazaki was born in Japan, in January of 1941, the second of four boys. He attended Toyotama High School, and graduated from Gakushuin University, with degrees in political science and economics. Many of his scenarios reflect this combination of majors, as they include strong female characters, pacifist politics, and themes of people vs technology.

He is the co-found of Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company located in Tokyo. Until Titanic was released in Japan in 1997, his film Princess Mononoke was the highest grossing film in the country, and with it he won Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards.
Two of his later films, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle were both either won or nominated Japanese Academy Awards as well.

•Genre
DVD, Animated Film

•Curriculum Ties
Art

•Booktalking Ideas
Famous animators, Japanese culture

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-12/Ages 11-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Someone in the last class meeting mentioned that Miyazaki films were suggested to her as possibilities for this project. My daughter loves his films, and I had just requested this one via Netflix.

The Barcode Tattoo

Weyn, S. (2004). The Barcode Tattoo. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. Point Thriller imprint.

•Plot Summary
Kayla is on the verge of her seventeenth birthday when her world falls apart. Already advised that despite her artistic talent she will not be eligible for scholarships due to sub par grades in her computer classes, she is devastated when her father commits suicide for unknown reasons related to the tattoo almost everyone in the U.S. over the age of seventeen has begun to wear, tattoos that contain information about everything from blood type to life history. Her mother becomes an alcoholic drug user, but will not tell Kayla what she knows, not even after Kayla finds her mother reading the FBI file on her father. The file reports more than just bank information and salary details now as well, it also contains information about a person's genetic code, information that world technology leader Global-1 is using in order to weed out Undesireables. Suddenly, only those with the right genetic information can advance in their jobs, and others (like Kayla's father) are fired. Global-1 has been manipulating the world food supply since 2015, but now they are also placing microchips in healthy babies, while the ones that show genetic codes given to predispositions for heart disease or mental illness (again like Kayla's father-a potential schizophrenic) are simply left to die in cold rooms or given lethal injections. As part of a group of young people trying to fight back against the barcode trend, Kayla becomes involved with charismatic Zekeal, but he is working as part of a group for Global-1, finally convinced that a rebellion will never succeed. Ultimately, Kayla flees to the Adirondack Mountains, a place she has been having visions about since she first joined with the group. Led by the psychic energy of a woman named Eutonah, Kayla and others develop their mental abilities rapidly, no longer influenced by the dulling work of Global-1's tactics or the company's strategy of disallowing further human evolution without their intervention. Together with the boy she loves, Mfumbe, Kayla at last feels enough resolve and assurance in the cause to plan a meeting in Washington, D.C. in order to overthrow the work Global-1 has done.

•Critical Evaluation
This is a heart-pounding race for time sort of novel, in which it's easy to get lost. Kayla is not a superheroine, even after developing her psychic abilities well enough to revive a dead bird, but this makes the story seem more plausible. She and her friends are young people caught in a complex series of manipulations by adults, and this novel helps revive the concept of be careful who you believe, and why.

•Reader’s Annotation
Good read for those concerned about how technology is homogenizing society as a whole, and the implications of being too easily led down a certain path.

•Information about the author
Suzanne Weyn was born in Flushing, New York, in 1955. Her father, Theodore, was a pharmacist, her mother, Jacqueline, an artist. Like Kayla, Suzanne was interested in art, but also theatre and literature all through high school and college. She graduated from Binghamton University in 1977, and became an editor of teen magazines for Starlog Press.

She has written over fifty novels for children and teens, mainly from the science fiction and fantasy genres, and has worked as an editor for Scholastic, Inc. She also teaches classes on expository and business writing for City College of New York, and NYU. She and her husband, William Gonzalez, have been married since 1986, and have two daughters.

•Genre
Science Fiction, Thriller

•Curriculum Ties
Computers, Technology, Global Commerce

•Booktalking Ideas
Dystopian novels, global takeover by corporations, loss of identity, de-civilization

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A/

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I've always been interested in dystopian novels, and the concept of having to revert to a simpler lifestyle in order to avoid the "machine". When I picked up this novel, I thought it was only another sci fi thriller about the barcode, a concept discussed when I was in middle/high school, as a sort of "what if" concept. That Kayla and her friends ended up in the mountains, and regained some of what humanity might have lost or was slow in achieving due to too much tech, was just an added bonus.

Parrotfish

Wittlinger, E. (2007). Parrotfish. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
ISBN-10: 1416916229
ISBN-13: 9781416915222

•Plot Summary
Angela Katz-McNair has spent her entire life feeling like she was trapped in someone else's body, not the body of the boy he was meant to be. Now the time has come to change all that, and Angela has become Grady, making the shift from female to male at that most public of teen places-school. Grady's friends and family each have their own very individual responses to the news, some (like Grady's brother and father), taking the news better than others (like Grady's mother, sister, and Grady's former best friend, Eve). Grady's new friend, Sebastian, is writing a report on parrotfish, a species that can transition from female to male, and hopes that Grady will feel better about his own transition in seeing that he's not alone. When Eve finds out that her new "friend", Dayna, is planning to sabotage Grady, she has the courage to call Sebastian so that a plan can be laid to catch Danya in the act. The would-be saboteur loses most of her friends as a result, and Grady becomes an unsuspecting minor hero of the school.

The backdrop to the chaos is Grady's father's Christmas holiday traditions of putting up eight thousand decorations, and acting out a Dicken's style scenario (right down to the vests and Tiny Tim's crutch), despite the fact his wife is Jewish. Grady has fallen in love with Kita, his gorgeous classmate who has also stood up for him against Danya, but who ultimately ends up back with their friend, her ex boyfriend, Russ. Whereas it would have been easy to leave Grady as a hurt teen learning harsh lessons about being transgendered, the reader is instead given a wonderful Christmas play by the entire family (which now includes Sebastian, Eve, and the new family dog).

•Critical Evaluation
A simplistic look at life as a transgendered teen, which while it could have more intense, does a fairly good job of giving the uninformed a view into this phenomenon.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for younger and older teens, a good introduction to the transgender experience through the eyes of a young person.

•Information about the author


•Genre
Realistic Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Sexual Education

•Booktalking Ideas
Transgendered persons, bullying

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-19

•Challenge Issues
Possibility of individuals protesting that being transgendered is unnatural, but as Sebastian points out, these people can be shown precedents in the animal kingdom.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Book part of the curriculum, but I might have chosen it anyway, having had transgendered friends since college.

Hindenburg 1937

Dokey, C. (1999). Hindenburg 1937. New York, NY: Pocket Books.
ISBN-10: 0671036017

•Plot Summary
Anna Becker has, along with her brother (Kurt), been raised by their grandfather. She and her grandfather are virtually inseparable, and he has always taught her not just about literature, but also how to think for herself. After receiving a telegram, which he throws into the fire, Anna's grandfather suffers from an attack. She has been at his bedside, but he is dying, and gets her ticket for the trip they have been planning, out of his bedside table. He is asking her to promise him something, but dies with the Hindenburg ticket in hand, prompting Anna to understand he wishes her to take the trip that they had planned. The Hindenburg is the pride of Germany, currently on the verge of WWII, and very much swelling with nationalist pride due to Hilter's programs. Anna has no desire to be in any of the programs, but Kurt has entered the military, and their grandfather's death has placed him in charge of her future. Disinterested in her opinion, Kurt says that he has arranged for her to be a companion to the daughter of his friend, and that when she is ready she will be married to a German officer. Horrified, Anna tries to reason with her brother, but demures finally so that she can escape. Packing her items, she has a telegram delivered to her brother saying that his friend has become ill, and he must return to Berlin immediately. Anna is meant to follow, but instead goes to board the Hindenburg, alone. Aware that at sixteen she should not be seen without anyone else, she latches onto a handsome young man, pretending to be with him for the benefit of the inspectors. He plays along, but Anna is engaged in conversation with him when she hears a familiar voice. Turning, she is struck by the presence of Karl Mueller, a man who'd claimed to love her, then abandoned her. Her plan works smoothly, however, and she boards without anymore real trouble. Trouble finds her, however, when Karl reveals that the other man (Erik Peterson), with whom Anna has been talking a great deal, is believed to be a saboteur. For Germany, Karl insists that Anna spend her time with Erik, learning what she can-then reporting it back to him. Through a series of heated encounters with both men, Anna feels lost, and is helped by an older woman with whom she has become friends aboard the airship. Following her heart, Anna and Karl are drawn back together, and he explains he is not a spy for the Nazis as she believed, but for the airship maker, Zeppelin Company. Erik finds them together, but everything has been revealed too late, the ship already bound for disaster. Erik throws Anna from the ship as it begins to come apart, and she hits the ground a few feet below, the airship having been landing during the conversations. She survives, but Erik is killed, as are many others. Two days later, and as with her grandfather, Anna is holding vigil at Karl's bedside. He dies, and she realizes she will be returned to Germany, and what Kurt has arranged. Despite Karl's former threats to send her back unless she helped him spy on Erik, plans had been made with Karl's friend to rescue Anna, and only then is able to anticipate, with hope, a better future.

•Critical Evaluation
Although Anna occasionally comes across as somewhat flighty, her overall characterization is believable. At sixteen, her dilemma of feeling for two men is understandable, and the reconciliation with Karl appropriately warm, without being overblown. The explanations of the Hindenburg's workings, and the plot for Erik's sabotage are plausible.

•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for older teens, as some of the romantic scenes might be dull to younger readers.

•Information about the author
Cameron Dokey was born in the Central Valley of California, daughter of a professor of philosophy, creative writing, and literature. She studied archaeology at Sonoma State University, but went into Shakespearean theatre, and met her husband while working as an actress in Seattle.

Dokey has written over thirty novels. Of these, several have been retellings of traditional fairytales, and three are novels based on the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. She still lives in Seattle with her husband, and the couple have four cats.

•Genre
Historical Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
History

•Booktalking Ideas
Hindenburg disaster

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-18

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I love historical fiction, and felt there wasn't enough in my reviews. After watching a recent television program about the Hindenburg, I was interested in knowing more about it, and it was not a setting I had ever seen in a novel before.

What I Saw and How I Lied

Blundell, J. (2008). What I Saw and How I Lied. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN-13: 9780439903486

•Plot Summary
Evie Spooner has always thought her mother (Bev) was beautiful, a woman with the looks of a movie star, and that her step-father, Joe, was just the sort of dad she'd wanted during a childhood of harsh living. It's 1947, and the lean years of WWII are over, rationing has ended, and Joe has started three appliance stores. Then, one night the phone rings, and the next morning Joe has Evie and her mother along for vacation in Palm Beach. It's the off season, and their hotel as very few guests, but it's at the pool that Evie meets Peter Coleridge, who served with Joe. As it turns out, the two made off with a small fortune in goods that had been confiscated first from the Jews by German soldiers, and then by Joe and Peter when the Nazi's surrendered. But Joe made it home first, and rather than save Peter's share as promised, he invests some, and keeps the rest. During this vacation, Joe meets Tom Grayson, and the two plan to buy/manage a hotel together, but Tom is thrown out of the existing hotel when it's discovered that he is Jewish. Evie falls in love with the handsome, sincere Peter, unaware that her mother has been carrying on an affair with him. It isn't until Joe, Bev, and Peter go out in a boat right before a hurricane hits Florida, that the truth begins to surface. Evie knows that what is described as an accident, may have been murder, and that her parents might have killed Peter in order to keep the remaining money. Following the inquest, during which Evie lies about having her own affair with Peter, she removes the remaining money from its home on a closet shelf. Joe had planned to use the money as a down payment on a dream house, but Evie gives it to Mrs. Grayson, knowing it means she will have to continue living with parents that might have lied to her, and Joe's mother, who while she paid for legal services, never even asked if Joe had killed Peter at all.

•Critical Evaluation
A smart read, it begins with an Evie that has managed to remain naive, despite the troubles she and her mother went through before Joe arrived in their lives. In the midst of falling in love, and knowing possible betrayal, Evie quickly matures into a woman.

•Reader’s Annotation
This book may initially come across as suitable for younger teens, but it quickly advances to what could be a wonderful film noire script. One could see this being a Hitchcock style film, especially with the late 40's setting.

•Information about the author
Judy Blundell was living in Palm Beach when she began thinking of the plot for this novel, so many of the street names are ones with which she is in fact familiar. Currently, she lives in Katonah, NY with her husband and daughter.

In 2004, her novel Premonitions became an ALA Reluctant Readers Best Picks and was also chosen by the New York Public Library as a 2004 Best Books for the Teen Age. She is working on the fourth book of the popular The 39 Clues series, and under the name Judy Watson, is working with Lucas Films by writing a journal for the Star Wars character Queen Amidala.

•Genre
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

•Curriculum Ties
History

•Booktalking Ideas
Racism following WWII, teenagers in the courtroom

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19

•Challenge Issues
Evie is only fifteen, but she's in love with an older man, one her mother is having an affair with, and who is likely the target of her parents' homocide attempt. In combination, any of these factors could make this novel one to be challenged, but Blundell has set the entire novel in such a surreal way, that one almost overlooks the more reprehensible elements, even as they are pointed out.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I liked the cover on this one, it reminded me of Hollywood glamour, and I've always been a fan of movies from the 30's and 40's, especially the mysteries.

Lisa, Bright and Dark

Neufeld, J. (1969). Lisa, Bright and Dark. New York, NY: Puffin Books.
ISBN-10: 0141304340

•Plot Summary
Lisa Shilling has everything going for her, at least on the surface. She is intelligent, beautiful, has a wondering relationship with her equally fantastic boyfriend (Brian), and three of the best friends a teen could have (Mary Nell, Betsy, and Elizabeth). Unfortunately for Lisa and her friends, she is also losing her mind. When explaining to her parents over the dinner table doesn't cause Lisa's parents to believe her condition, and her school counselor (Mr. Benrstein) seems unwilling to help, her friends agree to work as a group to help Lisa work through her problems. It takes Lisa stabbing herself with pin holes to have Mr. Bernstein talk to her parents, and then he only advises that her problem is related to stress and problems with Brian. She is sent to a home with elderly people, left alone to do as she likes, even after her return. But Lisa's bright days are dwindling, and more often she is wearing dark clothing, skulking about, whispering or talking to people that aren't there, and instilling fear in her classmates and school faculty. When she attacks brutally Elizabeth, the friends try speaking with her Lisa's parents, but they never see her odd behavior. Her English personality shields away that part of Lisa from their view, making it impossible for her behavior to cause them concern. Lisa's mother is concerned more with her image than her daughter's potential behavior, and Lisa's father is often away on business. As Lisa's behavior becomes more and more erratic, the friends agree not to let Lisa out of their sight. Betsy has finally realized why Lisa made friends with the coolly beautiful Elizabeth, and why Elizabeth did not fight back when attacked-Elizabeth experienced something similar. One evening while they are grouped at Betsy's house, her father comes into the room, and even Lisa greets him warmly. From there, she turns around, walking through a plate glass door. Bloody, she passes out on the lawn, and her mother is called. Mrs. Shilling strikes Elizabeth when she tries to explain she needs to listen, that Lisa is ill, and then tells the girls that Lisa's problems are their fault. She insists they not be around her daughter any longer, and after her stay at the hospital ends, Lisa returns home. Summer is closing in, and everyone except Betsy is scheduled to leave. Elizabeth also disappears for a few days, and Betsy is left to wonder what happened to her. When Elizabeth returns, it's because she has been to New York, and has brought her own former psychiatrist (Neil Donovan) home to see Lisa. News arrives in the paper that a teenage girl had swallowed barbiturates and been hospitalized, prompting the friends to find out if it was Lisa. Confirming that it was, and knowing her father is on his way back, the band of five (friends and psychiatrist) go to visit Lisa. She cries, glad there is someone finally present to help her, and the friends soon learn she is expected to return to school in about seven months. She may have a harder time than before, because the odd behavior that scared her schoolmates into silence won't be as apparent, but the story of her being in care will make her a target of ridicule.

•Critical Evaluation
Well-written, creative, yet informative look at life for a teen whose life is going out of her control. Lisa's plight is heart-wrenching, without being overly dramatic. Her friends' attempts at aid are individualized, and believable.

•Reader’s Annotation
Recommended for older teens, and those curious about mental health problems.

•Information about the author
John Neufeld was born in Chicago, and at age ten decided that he wanted to be a writer. He worked at writing through high school and college, finally moving to New York, where he worked in publishing.

He has written thirteen novels, primarily for young adults. Lisa, Bright and Dark was made into a television program, and was made a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year.

•Genre
Realistic Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Psychology

•Booktalking Ideas
Mental health issues, depression

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Mental illness runs in my family, and my mother has suffered from several "episodes" in her struggle. Even in today's society often goes misdiagnosed or untreated, especially among teens, and for many of the reasons held by Lisa's parents. I almost didn't include this one in my novels, because it was very personal, but I felt it was important to include a title such as this one in my selections.

The Secret Life of Bees

Kidd, S. (2002). The Secret Life of Bees. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
ISBN-10: 0670894065

•Plot Summary
Lily Owens barely remembers her mother, and the day her mother died is just as vague. Lily's father, a brute named T.Ray, had loved Deborah, but turned against Lily because he says she was the one who shot her mother. Since that time, Lily has been taken care of by Rosaleen, a local African-American woman. When Rosaleen decides she is going to vote, the local racists get involved, and Rosaleen is beaten before taken into custody. Determined to escape, Lily springs Rosaleen from the hospital, and the two embark on a journey to Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily knows her mother escaped when she tried to leave T.Ray prior to her death. While en route, Lily comes across a picture of a black Mary, one like her mother owned. She asks the storekeeper about the honey bottle on which the picture is attached, and the pair go to the Pepto-Bismol pink house owned by August Boatwright. When they arrived, August's sister (June), is immediately suspicious. Their sister May, who turns out to be mentally unstable due to the death of her twin years before, is completely inviting, as is August. After speaking with Lily, who claims she is going to Virginia to look for her aunt and offering to do work for some money to get there, it's established that both Rosaleen and Lily with remain to help. August teaches Lily everything she knows about bees, and Lily becomes friends with an African-American teen (Zach) who is later arrested when the authorities think he is responsible for throwing a bottle at a white man, breaking his nose. The family, Lily, and Rosaleen decide to keep the news from May, but when she finds out, she goes to her wall where normally she scripts her troubles down, and then places the pieces of paper into the wall to recover. This time, she doesn't recover, and her remains are found. Lily is told the story about how the Black Madonna came into the lives of the group, about how the figure (a ship's figurehead) had washed up on the shore when the slaves sent up their prayers for aid. Zach is released finally, although it it too late for May, and he is not quite the same individual that Lily had developed an attachment to through their hours alone with the bees. August relays to Lily the story of her mother, who August's mother had taken care of as a child, and about how Deborah had fled T.Ray before. she gives Lily the few remaining objects Deborah left behind, and when T.Ray comes to claim Lily, August talks him out of it. Lily runs to his truck to say goodbye, despite the years of abuse T.Ray exposed her to, because she knows it was because of her mother not loving him any longer. August, June, and their friends help one another in raising Lily, she attends school, and retains her connection to the Madonna.

•Critical Evaluation
Sad, but warming story about a young girl's desire to find out about her mother after years of abuse and neglect. The elements of the Black Madonna's influence on the lives of the Boatwrights and their friends, is inspiring.

•Reader’s Annotation
Written for adults, thought the main character is a pre-teen. Suitable for tween through adult audiences.

•Information about the author
Sue Monk Kidd grew up in Sylvester, Georgia and did not work toward becoming a writer until she was in her 40s, when she took a graduate course on writing at Emory University. Following this course, she wrote for several small literary publications, and has become well known for her novels and semi memoirs on the topic of mother and daughter relationships.

She has garnered several awards, including two New York Time's Bestseller Awards. The Secret Life of Bees was made into a motion picture in 2008, with several notable actors involved (Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Paul Bettany). Kidd now lives in Charleston, SC with her husband, and dog (Lily).

•Genre
Historical Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
History
Government
Social Sciences

•Booktalking Ideas
Race relations in the South, the Civil Rights Movement in America, Black Madonna

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-Adult

•Challenge Issues
N/A

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Even though the main character is fourteen when the book begins, she grows exponentially, and I wanted to include more multicultural content in my selections.

Teach Me

Nelson, R. (2005). Teach Me. New York, NY: Razor Bill.
ISBN-13: 9781595140852

•Plot Summary
"Nine" Carolina is a focused young woman, months away from her high school graduation, whose life has always revolved around astronomy and her best friend, Schuyler. But the day she meets her new English teacher, Mr.Mann, all that begins to change. What starts as conversations about Emily Dickenson, becomes a heated love affair with discussions of marriage and children. Switching between her present plans, and memories about their time together, the reader travels with Nine along the bitter path of being dumped for no apparent reason, finding out later that Mr.Mann has married a young woman in her third year of college because she is pregnant, and he is a coward. In a startling scene where Nine smuggles a gun into Mr.Mann's poetry reading, the reader will hold their breath, only letting it out again when they realize the gun is for paint ball. Things are not relaxed for long, however, and Nine has literally dragged her best friend underwater with her when she trails Mr.Mann in her car and skids off the road. The ending is not necessarily a happy one, but it's the best one, with a sense of poetic justice in the life Mr.Mann is left to live while Nine goes on with hers.

•Critical Evaluation
Racy account of a young woman's love affair, but the emotions are perfectly orchestrated, and not shedding a few tears over Nine's dilemma is almost impossible. A good book for anyone who has ever had a crush on that one brilliant teacher, who may not be so brilliant after all. For a male author, Nelson has convincingly framed out the feelings of a teenage girl in love.

•Reader’s Annotation
Not suitable for younger teens due to language, and sexual content. Nine may be led down the wrong road for awhile, and while her feelings are raw, her comeback is worthy of attention.

•Information about the author
Like Nine, author R.A. Nelson has attachments to Mark Twain, and was born in Alabama. As a child, he wanted to be an astronaut, then a time traveler, and possible a pioneer in colonial America. He enjoys reading, travel, spending time with his family, and studying quantum physics.

Currently, Nelson has written three novels. Teach Me and Breathe My Name were both nominated for the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults list. Teach Me was on Teenreads.com Best Of list for 2005. Nelson was chosen as a Horn Book Newcomer in 2005, and his books have been recognized by the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list and the Booksense Kid Picks. His third novel, Days of Little Texas, comes out in July. His fourth, Throat, is scheduled for publication in the fall.

•Genre
Realistic Fiction

•Curriculum Ties
Astronomy
Social Science

•Booktalking Ideas
Current events, student/teacher relationships, crushes, astronomy

•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19

•Challenge Issues
Obvious points of tension with parents and school districts, but I would point out that sometimes these relationships do exist, and Nine makes a recovery after learning of her teacher's cowardice.

•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Initially, I was just intrigued by the plot. I never had one of those crushes on a handsome older teacher, but the idea was interesting. In the end, there were quite a few parallels between myself and Nine, from the skidding off the road into water deep enough to drown, to living in the South, to being dumped by someone out of the blue.