Hacking Timbuktu

Reader: Guananí
Age: 15
Title: Hacking Timbuktu
Author: Stephen Davies
Publisher: Clarion Books
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: No
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book is about a pair of pals who not only practice the sport/martial art of parkour, but also hack! This is a very original premise and a much needed fresh topic in the action genre. It was enormous fun to read the parkour chase scenes and the witty dialogue as the main characters raced through London and Mali looking for clues that lead to an ancient treasure. Even though some concepts suspended my belief (being chased by fanatic treasure-hunting Facebook groups, hacking an airport computer system, figuring out how to find the treasure with relative ease), I read two thirds of it in one night and then finished as soon as I woke up.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling parts of this book are the descriptions of parkour and the dialogue between the two main characters. The prose was fresh, exciting, and didn't take itself too seriously.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes
Reasons you were disappointed with the book: Unfortunately, the last 60 pages did not live up to the rest of the book. The ending seemed rushed, had less parkour and sort of fizzled out without a strong stopping place. Nonetheless I would read a sequel because the beginning was so amazing.
Cover: The jumping guy overlaid on the computer chip and city background does a neat job of showing the three main topics of the book (parkour, hacking, Timbuktu). It was refreshing to see a cover that was not black. The font of the title ties in to the ancient treasure hunt aspect nicely.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Comments: I really wish there were more books, and attention in general, about parkour.

Starcrossed

Reader: Sydney
Age: 15
Title: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pub Date: 5/31/11
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This is a really cool book. The characters are intriguing, there are a few plot twists thrown in, and it blends Greek mythology into the modern world.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I really like the characters in this book, but more the minor ones than the protagonist.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes
Comments: ***Spoiler Alert*** There was one thing that bugged me about this book. At the end, it had the protagonist and her love interest think that they were related so that they couldn't be together, and that really bugs me when authors do that.
Cover: The cover for this book is dark and dramatic, which is what I think the publisher was going for.
Age Range: 14-18+
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The A Circuit

Reader: Sydney
Age: 15
Title: The A Circuit
Author: Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pub Date: 5/24/11
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: No
Did you finish: No
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes
Comments: I didn't finish the book because I just couldn't get into the story. I think it’s because it was written in a style similar to The Clique or Pretty Little Liars.
Cover: I picked up this book because the cover was dark and a bit mysterious, and because it had a horse with a bridle (not just running around like the Black Stallion).
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

This Gorgeous Game

Reader: Elise
Age: 15
Title: This Gorgeous Game
Author: Donna Freitas
Publisher: Frances Foster Books
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Annotation: When Olivia wins the chance to have a mentorship with her hero author, Father Mark Brendan, she thinks she couldn't get any luckier. But, soon enough, the work forces itself into every aspect of her life, and there's more than fatherly concern behind his interest in her.
Convince us to read the book: This book takes a look at a very serious issue, child abuse in the Catholic church, without stereotyping Catholics, and developing well rounded, interesting characters. It's a book that stuck with me, I kept thinking about the characters, and exactly what happened to them.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The thing that made this gorgeous book stand out was its delicate balance. While it does look at corruption in the church, it never even comes close to hating it. There are really strong Catholic characters that Olivia turns to for help, and there's the really awful one, which enforces the author's point, because it's someone Olivia trusts and looks up to. Another place this could have gone very wrong is juggling keeping a creepy atmosphere, while being tasteful and remembering who you're writing for. The author did this beautifully. I could see how the situation could have gone much further, and gotten blown out of control, but I didn't ever feel like I wanted to put it down, so it will appeal to people with all different levels of tolerance. The protagonist's actions were very understandable, not whiny, and I could tell she was strong even in her awful circumstances.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: Fabulous would be a fitting word for this cover. The colors were catching and muted at the same time, because it wasn't a really cheerful book. The changing shades of purple were very catching. The way the girl looked so trapped, and how she was in the corner, hiding in herself, almost, reflected how she feels for a good portion of the book.
Age Range: 12-18+
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

What Happened To Goodbye

Reader: Sabrina
Age: 17
Title: What Happened To Goodbye
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking
Pub Date: 5/10/11
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book had a great moral lesson. It showed that you can still be an independent woman with a little help from your friends and family. That no matter what the situation is, you don't have to go at it alone, but you can try.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Getting to know the hustle and bustle of the restaurant industry was intriguing to read about! Sarah's description and detail of the stress, the hard work, and the closeness of the workers helped put into effect/ perspective of how hard it was for Mclean (as well as the other characters) to see their favorite restaurant fall apart. By this sense of detail and description you (the reader) get a sense of what life might be behind the counter top.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Comments: I'm not trying to be rude or anything, the book was amazing, but it seems like Sarah's in a semi-rut when it comes to her writing and plots. The characters and the plot did have depth, but it felt like they were all to similar to her previous books, which isn't bad. It's just getting a little old-I wish I could see her expand a bit with her writing.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick up the book- by just looking at the cover you KNEW that this was another Sarah Dessen book. The cover reflects the contents perfectly-Mclean standing on an suitcase with clothes popping out is both intriguing and metaphorical. Just by looking at the cover of the book you know that you're going to read a book about an independent girl trying to keep everything seamlessly together.
Age Range: 14-18
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Recovery Road

Reader: Elise S.
Age: 14
Title: Recovery Road
Author: Blake Nelson
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub Date:
Galley: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Recovery Road had a lot of hope in the story. When I picked it up, I thought that it was the kind of book that could be summed up in three words: love in rehab. But the farther I read, the more interesting it got. The love aspect was way overdone, when it was really a story about survival, second chances, and determination. The protagonist wasn't anybody spectacular, but she was interesting and relateable enough, and the way she dealt with her situation trying to get a good life, and the way people viewed her was really fascinating to read about.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I loved the way it wasn't about her bad actions, it was about Maddie dealing through the consequences. So many YA books are just plain depressing, but this told a sad story, but was about life continuing. It also made me understand and feel a little bit more connected with my classmates who make bad choices. I hope now, if the situation arises, I can be more compassionate, which is a great thing for a book to do. Another thing was how the story showed the consequences of drugs and alcoholism without being preachy about it. There wasn't a lot of "Just say no" stuff being shoved in your face, but it was still there.
Cover: In my opinion, the cover was flat, cliche, and gave away a lot of the book. It related very well, but really? A heart made out of pills? And the main character isn't so much of a drug addict as an alcoholic, if you want to be persnickety. The cover made it look like the whole book surrounded one message, but there was a lot more to it. The plain blue made everything look so flat and uninteresting, the heart just blah.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most

The Poison Eaters

Reader: Elise S.
Age: 15
Title: The Poison Eaters
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderberry
Pub Date:
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: From modern unicorns, to living books, from poisonous kisses, to real vampires, and everything in between, these 12 short stories are told with humor and creativity.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The short stories showed a wide variety in style and time period. Some were more gritty and modern, and some had more of the quality of a fairy tale, which provided a refreshing diversity. And the stories themselves were interesting, with different ways of looking at mythology. They all were finished, too, which sounds kind of weird for a published book, but they were. It didn't feel like the author took scenes from a novel and slapped them together to make an anthology, they were developed, with interesting characters, and a story arc.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: With an anthology, you can't really say that the plot was enthralling, but each story kept me interested, and wanting another one. I stayed at the train station reading, rather than going home because I pulled into it, which is a good sign (but I might just not have wanted to do the dishes).
Cover: The way the girls' bodies were arranged on the cover was the most interesting thing. The shapes and movement, especially with the light on darker, it drew my attention. Most of the plants were cool, the dresses made me jealous, but their hair bugged me. It looks like the photographer forgot, and, at the last moment, put that straw matting that you use to cover strawberry plants on their heads.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: Under 12 to 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: Please Ignore Vera Dietz
Author: A. S. King
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pub Date: 10/12.2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a unique book about an alcoholic teenager dealing with the death of a friend and the unresolved feelings she has for him
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Vera's father is very influential throughout the entire story. He became a father before he hit twenty and is an ex-alcoholic, but managed to turn his life around and raise his daughter. He presents a good roll model to young fathers and demonstrates that even people in dismal circumstances can make everything better.
Cover: Very cool cover, I especially enjoy the lime green, certainly makes the cover stand out from the crowd.
Age Range: 14 to 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Venemous

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: Venemous
Author: Christopher Krovatin
Publisher: Atheneum
Pub Date: 03/08/2011
Galley: Yes
Recommend: No
Did you finish: No
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The graphic novel inserts and the alternate visions of Locke as a crime fighting super hero detracts from the plot and makes it difficult to read. Locke's younger brother suffers from his anger issues. Locke's inability to change even for the brother he loves has some reality to it, but it makes it hard to read.
Cover: The cover has potential, it clearly demonstrates the anger Locke has and his tough attitude.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 2Q Needs more work

The Lost Gate

Reader: Maddie S
Age: 17
Title: The Lost Gate
Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: Yes
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect of the book is the fact that there is a world full of people with powers and abilities. Everyone is better at something and these peoples’ abilities are better emphasized.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was a little disappointed with the turn of the story and how the main character had to leave. There was so much deceit and anger in the story it was oddly unrealistic.
Comments: The book makes me contemplate my abilities, and my independency overall.
Cover: I saw a book on the cover of a book and I was just enthralled. Then I realized the book really didn't have to do with any books.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 2P Only for special interest

The Demon Trapper's Daughter

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: The Demon Trapper's Daughter
Author: Jana Oliver
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pub Date: 02/01/2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The Demon Trapper's Daughter is an intriguing perspective on the future, mixed with a spunky heroine. Riley, the main character, hunts demons as her fathers apprentice. In a attack, her father is killed and she must protect her father's body from necromancers trying to reanimate his body. Jana Oliver weaves together magic, bravery, and a very near future in this novel about a young woman living in a man's world.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Riley is a very engaging character. Overall, I found the book well put together and logical, with a plot that made sense. The magic in the book is not blatantly apparent and seems believable at times.
Comments: I found this a well put together novel, but I feel that the ending is missing a lot. The story does not tie up well, leaving the reader with more questions than answers. Who is the evil necromancer? Who reanimated her father’s body? The story feels unfinished and in my opinion, is ready for a sequel.
Cover: The cover of this book is very eye-catching and makes you want to pick it up. Lots of red, possible symbolism, suggests a edgy book that will keep you on your toes.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 14-18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Prom and Prejudice

Reader: Sydney
Age: 15
Title: Prom and Prejudice
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Point (Scholastic)
Pub Date: 2/00/2011
Galley: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This is a really cute story. It follows Pride and Prejudice surprisingly closely, but the author added a few things that I really liked to help develop the characters.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I really liked this book, because it is a modern day Pride and Prejudice. Most books like this aren't that great, so I was ready for disappointment, but Eulberg pulled it off wonderfully. She followed the main story, but added, not tweaked, some things that I think added to the story.
Cover: The title is what snagged my attention, because it seemed like it would be a spin-off of Pride and Prejudice, which it is.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 14-18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Mindblind

Reader: Sophie
Age: 15
Title: Mindblind
Author: Jennifer Roy
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: No
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It is about a boy with Asperger's syndrome, and it gives you a very clear look into what it would be like to live with that. It is one of the best first person books I have ever read. I often don't like it when the character has some sort of flashbacks, but these added to the story and were done in a way that made sense. Going into the book, I thought it might be dark or sad, but it was shockingly realistic, and in the best way possible. Some bad things happened to the main character, but plenty of good things happened to. He had normal friends, and an almost normal life for a teenager. This book really opened my eyes.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I loved how realistic it was! Lots of authors think that horrible things happening to the characters constitutes a good book. This is not the case! People are normal, even if they do have Asperger's. Nathaniel not only had a great way of narrating, he was fun to listen to, without being openly being humorous. I was very sad to be done with this book.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I can't think of anything to complain about, which is out of the ordinary for me. I only wish the book was twice as long, so I could still be reading it. Actually I don't, because that would ruin its perfectness.
Cover: The cover is very visually appealing, especially as I am very attracted to surrealism and this looks surreal. It somewhat reflects the contents, only I don't see a really strong connection to the main character. However, I think it is clever and appealing and it made me pick the book.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Between Shades of Gray

Reader: Sabrina
Age: 17
Title: Between Shades of Gray
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Penguin
Pub Date: March 2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: Between Shades of Gray is about the Lina and her family’s deportation out of their homeland Lithuania. This book depicts their struggles, and others, during this horrible time period. Sepetys describes in detail the excruciating pain and suffrage Lina and her family (as well as others) went through due to Stalin.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: At first, I thought this was a story about concentration camps, not having read the side pocket, but I was baffled to learn that Stalin did similar regimes to Lithuanians and people of other nationalities. I cannot recall studying anything about Stalin so this book was a real eye opener for me. I never knew that so many people suffered because of World War II I always thought about Pearl Harbor and Hitler. Stalin never came across to me; this book helped enlighten the fact that it wasn't only one nationality that suffered during this time period; it was the world.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect of the book was the strength Lina, her mother, and her brother, as well as other characters, had. It's hard to imagine all this inhumane events happening to one person, or a group of people, let alone reading about their story. It was amazing to see so much hope throughout the book in these characters even though they where forced into all these horrible events.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick up the book and reflected the contents in the book. It was gloomy but had a bit of hope in it-just like Lina and her family's story.
Age Range: 14-18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Faerie Winter

Reader: Frances
Age: 14
Title: Faerie Winter
Author: Janni Lee Simner
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: 4/5/2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: If you love Holly Black, this is definitely something you have to read. It is such a set up (post apocalyptic world after a war with Faeries) and has such interesting characters. It really keeps you reading. I hope the third book is just as good as the first and second.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The idea of controlling someone- their every action, their every thought, want, desire. It's chilling, in a good way.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Comments: N/A
Cover: The cover definitely made me want to pick it up because it resembled a book I read a while ago called Bones of Faerie. Though it didn't show much of what happened in the book, the cover made me very excited to read it
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Adios, Nirvana

Reader: Charlie
Age: 17
Title: Adios, Nirvana
Author: Wesselhoeft, Conrad
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group
Pub Date: 10/??/2010
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: That "this book is amazing. If you like music, poetry, and red bull this is your book. You will love it, how easy it is to read and how well it's written."
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I would say that most compelling aspect of the book would be how it is written, how it flows. The main character said that you should right from the guy. Just "raw". No corrections. There were no grammar errors but this book definitely gave me the "raw" feeling. This is how a lot of books should be written. This book is so casual but so great at the same time. I felt as though this author wrote this book with ease. That doesn't mean that he didn't put an effort into the book. This was very refreshing form authors that write books in the hopes that a movie is made from it. It felt like Conrad Wesselhoeft wrote this because he wanted to and he enjoyed it because I definitely enjoyed reading every page.
Comments: It is a very weird coincidence that I have a twin sister who was born 2 minutes before me as well. I too have a titanium plate in my leg from breaking it.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I was not disappointed at all with this book.
Cover: Yes it did. The cover was simple and to the point. The guitar on the front let me know that the book was about, music. The title stood out to me as well, because that too, was simple. Towards the end of the book a guitar becomes engulfed in flames and that is exactly what lies on the cover.
Age Range: Under 12 to 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

The Marbury Lens

Reader: Guananí
Age: 15
Title: The Marbury Lens
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: If you like creepy psychological thrillers with supernatural undercurrents, like me, this will be an extremely enjoyable read. The writing was suspenseful, convincing, and nearly seamless.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling thing about the Marbury Lens is its original approach to the parallel world idea. Instead of an imaginary paradise escape, Marbury is actually a very scary place, yet the main character, Jack, can't stop looking into the lenses and falling into his other self. The treatment of Marbury as a life-destroying addiction was fascinating. Both worlds were bad and had really awful things happening in them. The only difference was that the bad things in Marbury were obvious and out in the open, while in the "real" world they were subtler and crept up gradually and in less defend able ways. It was despairing to watch the characters getting sucked into a conflict between both worlds and unable to control themselves. Jack is an extremely traumatized character; the way the author depicts his psychological struggles is incredibly captivating and convincing, which is the source of most of the book's suspense. Jack, despite being in serious emotional pain and puking for much of the story, was handled well enough that he never came across as overly whiny or annoying. The relationship between Jack and his best friend was vividly described in a way that made me care about them. The romance with the English girls made its point without being overpowering or too mushy, and was a nice humorous break from the addiction and other-worldly tension.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: My only disappointment was at the very end: after all the struggle, the last few chapters kind of just fizzled out with no clear resolution to give me that last bit of satisfaction to balance the story. The very first chapter felt a lot more like a conclusion, and if just a couple more pages were added to tie things back to the retrospective things said at the beginning, or a clue to a sequel, would be enough to fix it.
Comments: I also wanted to mention that the repetition of a few phrases (Roll. Tap. Tap. Tap. and "You haven't gotten away from anything, Jack") to show both Jack's mental torment as well as tying themes across the story and signaling transitions was really cool. All in all, the Marbury Lens is brilliant, if totally creepy and slightly indecisively conclusive book.
Cover: The cover of this book is downright awesome. It caught my attention immediately with its use of contrast (my favorite artistic element) between the grimy black and white of the face and the mysterious swirling colors in the lenses. This reflects the contents of the book very well: a harsh fuzzy reality brushing against a forbidden and dangerous parallel world. The cover also has an uneasy sense of inexplicable dread about it, which is very cool because that was part of the main concept. I was impressed by the accuracy of the cover quote: "The Marbury Lens crawls inside your head and won't leave. Scary, creepy, awful and awesome." That is exactly what it is. Finally, a cover quote that isn't completely arbitrary or just plain wrong! The blurb was also actually well written, unlike most books'.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

The Silver Bowl

Reader: Emily
Title: The Silver Bowl
Author: Diane Stanley
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pub Date: 06/21/2011
Galley: Yes
Cover: Very standard cover, I found the extra shine distracting and overall a very dull cover. It reminds me of teen books from the eighties, which was not a good decade for cover art.
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I found nothing about this book compelling, the plot is predictable and has no imagination.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The plot of the Silver Bowl is too predictable and every aspect can be found in another book. The author is supposed to be critically acclaimed, but nothing about this book is exceptional writing. The plot has been used too many times, and the author takes too much time on the escape of the prince and not enough time building up the characters and establishing a strong plot. Molly falling in love with the prince could be predicted even before reading the book, and yet nothing in the Silver Bowl suggests she loves him except when she tells the donkey boy. Many parts of this book need to be better explained and overall needs a better plot. I find the intro extremely skeptical and the girl's relationship with her mother unbelievable. Molly is about ten when she leaves her family, and it seems as if her mother is a stranger.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 1Q How did it get published?
Popularity: 1P Yech! Forced to read it