Pearl

Reader: Emily
Age: 17
Title: Pearl
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Pub Date: 07/19/2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Pearl is an emotional story about a 15-year old living with a mother who acts half her age and a grumpy grandfather who is a better parent than her mother. When Gus, the grandfather dies, Pearl, a.k.a Bean, seeks answers about her father, while trying to maintain a "normal" life. With the support of Henry, her best friend, and Sally, his mother, Bean finds answers and comes to a sort of peace with her mother.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I enjoyed how Pearl is not only the story of Pearl's quest for answers, but also about her mother learning to be responsible and connect with her.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: The cover is simple, charming, but a little gray. The gray and white theme is a small turn-off because it looks so boring. Also, the girl in the pearl has a creepy expression on her face. She's not happy or sad, she's staring off into the distance with a weird expression on her face.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Paradise

Reader: Emily
Age: 17
Title: Paradise
Author: Jill S. Alexander
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pub Date: 06/05/2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Paradise is a memorable story about one high school junior's journey to become the drummer she has always wanted to be, while dealing with the inevitable: facing her mother. Paradise details Paisley's emotions and self-discovery. Through Paradise, an accordion playing singer, she learns to expand her abilities and learn the importance of coming clean to family.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: When Paisley finally tells her mother and confessed to playing with the band, it was refreshing to have her mother still be a mother and not be easily won over. The slow transition is realistic, instead of having an instantaneous transformation, something that adds to the quality of the book.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: The cover is a little girly, but I appreciate the black and white photo. The girl's hair should have been shorter, because in the book her hair was not that long. The cover is attracting to female readers, but doesn't reflect the contents as much as it should. Perhaps the cover picture could be shot from farther away maybe in the airplane hanger doorway instead of a close up.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Level Up

Reader: Payton
Age: 15
Title: Level Up
Author: Gene Luen Yang
Publisher: First Second
Pub Date: 2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I liked that a majority of the story was a Pacman reference. It was also interesting that it was a cartoon style comic book. Other than that, though, it wasn't very good.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes
Reason why you were disappointed: I was slightly disappointed with the book. It was a very dumbed down version of a plot that had potential for greatness. I did finish it, but only because it was a quick read. I don't think I would have if it hadn't been a comic book.
Cover: I really love this cover. It looks like a Gameboy Color, or a super old Nintendo. It made me stop and look twice at it. It also was the perfect cover for the story. I wouldn't change it at all.
Age Range: Under 12-13
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

In Trouble

Reader: Payton
Age: 15
Title: In Trouble
Author: Ellen Levine
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Pub Date: 08/2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I would describe it as an historical fiction, set in the era of Governor McCarthy and his Communist hunt, about teen pregnancy. It may seem like an odd pairing of plot choices, but they work together really well.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I found the most compelling aspect to be the decisions that the main character had to make, given the society that surrounded her, and the strict rules about how girls should be that presided in this era.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes
Reason why you were disappointed: I finished this book in practically one sitting, but I'll admit that that was mostly due to insomnia. It was however a really good book, and certainly a unique one. I know there are a lot of teen pregnancy cautionary tale books out there, but I would wager that most are contemporary.
Cover: The cover is quite interesting. I was drawn to the street sign effect that was used on the title, even though it isn't actually a street sign. The cover didn't really reflect the story, but more the general mood of the book. If I were to change it, I might say have it be set up as a newspaper, as newspapers are rather important to the story.
Age Range: 14-18+
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

A Monster Calls

Reader: Sophie
Age: 15
Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pub Date: 2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book is moving, disturbing, and absolutely beautiful. It is the story of a boy trying to come to terms with his mother's cancer, while at the same time battling nightmares and realizing that the truth is not so straightforward as he thought it was.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The monster was fascinating. We never really know if it is real, or just a figment of Conor's imagination. The stories the monster told are, as Conor says, "cheating", because they have a twist at the end. The monster teaches Conor that good and evil are not always separate, and that we have to confront the things inside of us which we fear and hate the most.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes:
Reason why you were disappointed: I wish it hadn't been so short, and I thought the ending was too abrupt. Besides that, it was perfect.
Cover: The cover, and in fact all the illustrations, are beautiful and haunting. They are completely black, grey, and white, and add to the tone of the book. The drawings are abstract enough to let you form your own images of scenes and characters, and they seem to reflect the monsters and nightmares that are constantly plaguing Conor.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Forbidden

Reader: Maddie
Age: 18
Title: Forbidden
Author: Tabitha Suzuma
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: 6/28/11
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book gives the other dangerous side of the story for which no one has dared to write about yet. It was a risky move with successful results.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most compelling aspect of the book was the unyielding courage of this author to embark and write about such a topic that no one has talked about before. Many people judge and misunderstand this act but this novel opens up a whole new array of light on the subject
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: The cover had a very intricate array of wire fencing which was catching to the eye.
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

The Mephisto Covenant

Reader: Sydney
Age: 15
Title: The Mephisto Covenant
Author: Trinity Faegen
Publisher: Egmont
Pub Date: 09/2011
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This is a really cool book that has its own supernatural ideas, instead of things most people have heard of like vampires or werewolves. It kind of has a cult in it, which is interesting.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I really like that the author seemed to create her own history and myths, instead of taking popular ideas and reusing them. I also liked that the protagonist didn't see the love interest as a love interest until a little more than half-way through the book. She didn't see him and instantly fall in love with him. However, she was a little narrow-minded, and didn't want to understand what was going on in her own life, which bugged me a bit.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: Yes, the dark swirls, with the white cursive attracted my eye.
Age Range: 16-18+
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The Vampire Stalker

Reader: Sydney
Age: 15
Title: The Vampire Stalker
Author: Allison Van Diepen
Publisher: Point (Scholastic)
Pub date: 6/11
Galley: No
Nominated for Teens’ Top Ten: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This is a twist to the vampire craze. The protagonist is in love with the vampire hunter in her favorite book. Somehow he and the evil vampire in the book appear, and she has to help him catch the vampire. This is a book for anyone who wishes a book character could come to life.
Compelling aspects of the book: I really liked the idea of characters coming out of a book and the alternate reality theory.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: The black and grays mixed with blots of red drew my attention.
Age Range: 14- 18+
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills

Reader: Sydney
Age: 15
Title: The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills
Author: Joanna Pearson
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pub Date: 07/11
Galley: No
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book gives a hilarious twist to the somewhat clichéd theme of finding-yourself/ becoming-a-better-person. The anthropology is interesting, the protagonist is witty, and I actually liked it, even though I generally don't like the above mentioned clichéd theme.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The anthropology twist.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: No
Cover: The cover intrigued me, but it was mostly the spelling of 'rite' that made me take notice.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Blood Wounds

Reader: Sophie
Age: 13
Title: Blood Wounds
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Pub Date: 9/12/11
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: If you hate blood, I would not recommend this to you. There is a scene where the author describes how Willa's father killed his family, and it is in great detail. I am usually not bothered by that type of thing, but this book made me feel like I was there and I definitely was tearing up.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The characters were very believable and so were their reactions to what was going on around them. Willa's step sisters seemed like your typical teenage girl, while Willa was more dark and secretive. Willa was not a very likeable character, but through the book you learned more about her past and you start to learn why she acts the way she does. As you get further in, her secrets are revealed and everything she's been holding back and not telling anyone comes out.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Yes:
Reason why you were disappointed: I was not disappointed with the writing, but some of the characters, like Willa's step father, didn't appeal to me as much as others. I guess the author wanted some non- likeable people in the book though so it all worked out.
Comments: The book has horror aspects but in the whole it's not a scary book. I think a lot of teens will like that about it.
Cover: The way that the girl is staring from the cover is sorta creepy, at one point I had to turn the book over just so I could fall asleep. The girl on the cover looks like she is angry and sad and confused all at the same time. I guess the girl is supposed to be Willa, but in the book she has different features.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal