Reader: Ada B
Age: 18
Title: Froi of the Exiles
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publisher: Candlewick
Pub Date: 03/13/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Marchetta has this great talent for exposing both the great tragedies and the heroic moments in her characters, a talent she definitely debuted in her first novel of this series Finnikin of the Rock.  She can both horrify you and fascinate you with her words and descriptions. Yes, her writing is very graphic at times, but that is what makes her writing eerily beautiful. You get the full weight of what she's saying right there on the page in front of you. No, you can't just skim over it or flip the page or avert your eyes; it is right in your face. She makes each reader confront humanity's deepest flaws and darkest moments and in the same breath she also astounds you as to how precious and important that spark of humanity is, no matter how dark it can be. Her characters are stellar and each is continually growing, especially the main character Froi who is definitely not your A-typical hero.
Memorable or Forgettable: This book was memorable in that Marchetta has absolutely created her own world. You have no doubt of its structural integrity or that it can't withstand literary scrutiny. Her world is dark and grim but you end up wanting to spend as much time in it as possible. This book, along with its predecessor, was a great delight to read. I enjoyed her characters and the plot. She put her characters in the most gruesome situations and yet she always somehow made you see the best that humanity had to offer; bravery, courage, inspiration in the face of oppression. And that is exactly what every work that features a hero should be about. The hero should exemplify what makes humanity great and compelling and worth the audience's time. All of her heroes possess that which is rare to see in many YA books today.
Cover:  The cover was accurate in its depiction of a boy and a sword. It relates to the first book as well since the first book, at least the copy I read, also had a sword on the cover. It doesn't reveal a lot about the plot which is nice; however, it lacked that certain "hook" that many book seem to have. It was nice though to see a book that didn't feature a girl or some magnified body part in order to signal a romance (which this book did have).
Age Range: 16 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: not provided
Additional Comments:  This book was a stellar read and I can't wait for the third one! This was one of those series in which the sequels are as good as the first. Many series fall under par after the first as the author's creative juices and ideas dry up. However, you can tell in this book that Marchetta was still heavily emotionally invested in this book and in her characters. I loved that even though the main character was different in this book than in the first, you still didn't lose any of the characters that you had grown to love from the first book. It also gave a lot of new ground for Marchetta to play with by switching the main character, a point that I at first was upset about but then grew to accept and then to love.

Reader: Elise S
Age: 16
Title: The Good Braider
Author: Terry Farish
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Pub Date: 05/01/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: One of the biggest downfalls of poetry novels is that it gets so wrapped up in the structured poetry of what is said that the concept doesn't work as a sustained project.  That was not at all the case for this book.  There were moments that the words caught my attention, but for the most part I was entirely wrapped up in the story of the character, Viola.  The delicacy of how the words fit together really added to the telling through its crispness.  Sometimes fewer words make a bigger impact than a whole novel, and Farish used this to her advantage and created a beautiful, short book.
Memorable or Forgettable: I've been thinking a lot about racial representation in teen books, and how white so many of the books I've read are.  This said, it was great to see a book that included a story outside of white, middle class, pretty white girl.  Even though Viola's story as a Sudanese refugee is completely outside of my own life experiences, I related with her as a character.  This just proves that empathizing with characters is not based on physical similarities, but human connection.  Reading the book also expanded my knowledge about the conflict in Sudan, and the process of becoming a refugee in an extremely relatable and significant way.
Cover:  I liked the simplicity and honesty of the cover.  The braids connected to the title and story, the colors contrasted to work together for maximum impact on a small canvas.  Visually, it also represents diversifying the image presented on YA covers - please increase it even more!
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation:  Viola has known a life of war, fear, and oppression in Sudan before fleeing to the United States as a refugee.  Her struggles do not end there as she adjusts to a new value system and culture.

Reader: Jade W
Age: 13
Title: Stay
Author: Deb Caletti
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: 4/05/2011
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: Stay is a humorous book and that made the otherwise seriousness and the depth of the book lighten up so it isn't depressing when you read it yet you understand the concept and the situation of the context which I believe is really important in a book. And I loved the overall irony of the situation.
Memorable or Forgettable: I really enjoyed this book because of the way it could be relatable and understandable to almost any reader. The way the author, Deb Caletti, really draws the readers in and constantly makes you continue to think about this book over and over again basically making it one of those "I can't put it down" or "just another chapter mom" and yet you end up reading for another hour.
Cover: The cover was really simple and it does reflect the contents in a way that it takes place near the beach. It pulls you mostly because of the brightness and sheer simplicity of it, but also because of the words "Some secrets are strong enough to pull you under."
Age Range: 12 through 15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments:  The way the book is written makes the whole idea seem very real and as if it could happen to you which in a way makes you spooked, but still a good read for teens.

Reader: Bjorn H
Age: 13
Title: Son
Author: Louis Lowry
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Pub Date: 10/02/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book was amazing because of the dystopian themes and twisted reality. It sucks you in like a whirlwind with a beginning that leaves you wondering after every page. The narrative tension steadily rises all the way through the book until the climax when all of a sudden, all the wondering begins to put itself together into a finished puzzle.
Memorable or Forgettable: Some of the qualities that made this book memorable for me was its dystopian themes and mild humor. Some more qualities were the strange setting and the ignorance of the character's companions.
Cover: The cover tempted me to pick up the book because of its mysterious look and somewhat frightening picture. But the cover did not reflect too well the contents of the book.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
Additional Comments:  This was the best book I have ever read!

Reader: Elise S
Age: 16
Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Publisher: Fiewel and Friends
Pub Date: 10/2/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: If you loved the first book of Fairyland, you'll love this one.  If you love tea parties you'll love this book.  If you love Victorian stories, you'll love this book.  If you love to read, have ever had an adventure (real, imaginary, or otherwise), and/or have a sense of humor you will not only love this book, but must read it.  In her second book, Valente explores darker themes, and the shadow side of fairyland.  September is growing up, and so is fairyland.  As if the astounding writing style, creativity, plot, world, and characters were not enough, it has pictures.
Memorable or Forgettable: My favorite kinds of books are the ones that make me stop and read a sentence over, because the way the words fit together, in an almost broken way.  Libba Bray, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman all do this, and so does Valente.  Her quirky creativity pulls through into all aspects of her book.  Characters react in ways that are both believable and unexpected.  The world always has new twists and turns, so that I feel like I could keep exploring, and just around the next page, or if I peeked into the margin, I would find a whole other aspect of it.  The perfect world to describe it is delightful in every aspect.
Cover: I adored these illustrations.  They were stylistic enough to leave room for my imagination to make the world, but still accurate enough to give a basis for some of the stranger images.  The quirkiness combined with historicalness fit so perfectly, and made me laugh!
Age Range: Under 12 through 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Annotation: September doesn't fit in after returning from Fairyland, and not only because she has no shadow.  When she returns on the back of a ship, she finds a different land, and reencounters familiar face.

Reader: Bridget
Age: 18
Title: Changeling (The Order of Darkness #1)
Author: Phillipa Gregory
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: 05/29/2012
Galley: No
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: In all honesty I only made it through the first fifty pages of the book. The premise of the book was quite an intriguing one. A teen boy is sent on a mission from Rome to seek out the evils and fears of the world in the fourteenth century. He comes to an abbey where there are unexplained happenings which, it is surmised, are the work of the devil.  I thought it would be really interesting, but it moved extremely slow. The writing was somewhat shallow with no deeper intrigue. It didn't really grasp my attention as a reader.
Memorable or Forgettable: It was slow and kind of bland, which leads me to forget most of what happened.
Cover: It interested me; it seemed mystical and darkly alluring. It seemed to somewhat reflect the contents of the book.
Age Range: 14 to 15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Reader: Elise S
Age: 16
Title: A Wounded Name
Author: Dot Hutchinson
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Pub Date: 2013
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Imagine a book that was so exquisite that every paragraph, sentence, word sparkled in a unique combination so that it caught the mind.  That was this novel.  Even if the plot and characters were iffy, the imagery used to make the story come to life would have put it into the league of fantastic.  But all of the elements came together, and I loved it.  This book is not just for teens - it is for anyone who loves the way that Shakespeare uses words to tell stories in pictures.
Memorable or Forgettable: When I heard that A Wounded Name is a rewrite of Hamlet, I was skeptical.  My experience with "retellings" is that they lack creativity, and it's better to just read the actual thing.  This, however, goes beyond that.  Instead of telling Shakespeare's story from Ophelia's point of view, the author took this legendary tale and grew from it.  It had similar aspects, but Hutchinson made it her own.  This was very present in Ophelia herself, how she was still the broken, weak character, but more human.  So many aspects of the novel were woven in, without ever being directly stated - like the magic, the pills, her relationship with Hamlet and her father, Horatio and Hamlet - I cannot wait to send a copy to my Shakespeare director!
Cover: I'll be excited to see a cover for this, so many cool, artistic paths it could go down!
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Additional Comments  The cover is under development.  We'll update this post once it's available.

Reader: Simon DS
Age: 12
Title: Erebos
Author: Ursala Poznanski
Publisher: Annick Press, Limited
Pub Date: February 7, 2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book has a strangely addictive demeanor. It tells of an addicting game where players throw aside their personal lives to play the game , while the book draws you in the same way. The plot builds up slow, then holds off readers from the climax, while still keeping readers engaged. It was very well thought out. The author is able to intertwine great writing with computer games and urban mystery all in one.
Memorable or Forgettable: I will never be able to forget the feeling of the book addicting me and pulling me in. I have never seen a book do that before.
Cover: The cover sort of made me pick the book up, but it was mainly the back, which the cover accurately displays.
Age Range: 12 through 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments:  READ THE BOOK

Reader: Simon DS
Age: 12
Title: Quarantine: The Loners
Author: Lex Thomas
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pub Date: July 10, 2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book was alright. It wasn't the best book, but it wasn't bad either. It was good in the way that it combined virus crisis (like Contagion) and also a modern Lord of the Flies that the general teen could understand and appreciate. It was bad in the way that things got hard to understand at the end because the characters started finding stuff too fast and sort of left the reader in the dust.
Memorable or Forgettable: As I said, it left me in the dust.  Some of the ideas were really cool, like having gangs within the school, but some of the romance stuff was beyond my 12 year-old-self.
Cover: The cover looked like an intense book, that seemed depressing. Upon reading the back and an enthusiastic suggestion from a friend is when I picked it up.
Age Range: 14 through 17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments:  This book was also interesting because it showed one person's take on teen psychology, which I thought was well developed.

Reader: Guananí
Age: 16
Title: The Curiosities
Author: Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Pub Date: 10/28/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The Curiosities is a collection of short stories by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff that have previously been posted on their writing group website The Merry Fates. These stories are deft and charming, but the most remarkable thing about them is the way you can see the authors’ creative exploration and experimentation flourish throughout the book. Each author maintains and develops her own voice, yet at the same time thematic parallels can de drawn between stories by the different authors. One of my favorite things were the inclusion of the authors’ introductory comments at the beginning of each story as well ad their handwritten comments scribbled in the margins.
Memorable or Forgettable: This collection contains a plethora of characters and worlds, many of which were memorable and captured my imagination long after reading. I have always loved short story anthologies, and this one is full of creative plots, characters and world-building. It manages to break free from the structural clichés and self-consciousness of other anthologies. The Merry Sisters of Fate have expanded their imaginations and writing skills by letting themselves experiment, and that makes these unique stories a pleasure to read.
Cover: I chose this book off the shelf because the authors had come to talk to us and I was curious. The drawing of birds escaping from a cage on top of someone’s head on the cover is a wonderful symbol for what the authors have done in this book: escaped from the usual stresses and confines of trying to write something perfect in order to write something original and exploring unknown styles. I was not convinced red is the right color for this cover, though, and the drawing itself could have been placed in a more effective way.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal