Ketchup Clouds

Title: Ketchup Clouds
Author: Annabel Pitcher
Pages: 251
Content: PG13
Language: PG
Level: High School
Recommendation:  Okay Read

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret—a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder.

Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal.

Review: I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the plot of this book, however, I had a hard time connecting to the characters.  Some explicit sexual details (which when you thought about how she was writing this in a letter to some older guy she doesn't know was kind of weird), but it was never over the top or gratuitous.

Queen of Kentucky

Title: The Queen of Kentucky
Author: Alecia Whitaker
Pages: 375 pages
Content: PG/PG13
Language: PG
Level: Middle School High School
Recommendation: Okay Read

Summary: Fourteen-year-old Kentucky girl Ricki Jo Winstead, who would prefer to be called Ericka, thank you very much, is eager to shed her farmer's daughter roots and become part of the popular crowd at her small town high school. She trades her Bible for Seventeen magazine, buys new "sophisticated" clothes and somehow manages to secure a tenuous spot at the cool kids table. She's on top of the world, even though her best friend and the boy next door Luke says he misses "plain old Ricki Jo."

Review:  Fun and easy contemporary read for those girls who are tired of dystopian or paranormal genres.  The writing is light and the characters are ones that youth can relate to.  

Ten Miles Past Normal

Title: Ten Miles Past Normal
Author: Frances O'Roark Dowell
Pages: 211
Language: PG13
Content: PG
Level: High School, Upper Middle
Recommendation: Okay Read

Summary: Janie Gorman wants to be normal. The problem with that: she’s not. She’s smart and creative and a little bit funky. She’s also an unwilling player in her parents’ modern-hippy, let’s-live-on-a-goat-farm experiment (regretfully, instigated by a younger, much more enthusiastic Janie). This, to put it simply, is not helping Janie reach that “normal target.” She has to milk goats every day…and endure her mother’s pseudo celebrity in the homemade-life, crunchy mom blogosphere. Goodbye the days of frozen lasagna and suburban living, hello crazy long bus ride to high school and total isolation—and hovering embarrassments of all kinds. The fresh baked bread is good…the threat of homemade jeans, not so much.

Review: The characters are all kind of quirky and unique.  And Monster - what a character to add to the story.  The civil war aspect was also nicely added to the book.  It is a short, entertaining read.

Title: Game Changers #1
Author: Mike Lupica
Pages: 224
Content: G
Language: G
Level: Middle school
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary:  Ben McBain is every football team's dream player. He's a jack-of-all-trades guy that can handle almost any position. When the game is on the line, Ben's number is the one being called for the final play. But Ben wants to be the starting quarterback and the one thing standing in his way is the coach's son.  Shawn O'Brien looks the part. He has been groomed by his father, a former professional quarterback. But despite his size and arm strength, Shawn is struggling.  Ben is torn between being a good teammate and going after his own dream. As Ben finds out, Shawn isn't the easiest person to help. And when Ben gets an unexpected opportunity, the entire game will change for the both of them.

Review:  Read this with my 10-year old son. The bulk of the book is actual descriptions of football games. So of course, it's great for kids more obsessed with sports than reading.  I think it was great that Ben always did the right thing, but I think some kids would have trouble relating.  I think in real life more kids tend to behave like the protagonist than the main character.  It would have been more interesting if he had struggled a little more, the way most kids do in real life.  My son enjoyed it, as did my husband who listened in.  I am pretty sure my "tween" girls even wanted to know how the book turned out!  Good book for reluctant readers!

Every Day

Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Pages: 322
Language: PG13
Content: PG13
Level: High School
Recommendation: Okay Read

Summary: There’s never a warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.  It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review: Risky book.  This book doesn't adhere to the status quo when it comes to romance - this book covers all types of people and is not for conservative readers.  Anyone who reads this book needs to have an open mind with the incredibly new twist the author uses to touch on relationships of every type.  An interesting concept that left me wondering what will really happen to A.

Miles From Ordinary

Title: Miles From Ordinary
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Pages: 197
Language: PG
Content: PG
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is supposed to start work at the grocery store. Lacey hopes that her mother's ghosts have finally been laid to rest; after all, she seems so much better these days, and they really do need the money. But as the hours tick by and memories come flooding back, a day full of hope spins terrifyingly out of control...

Review: With nearly the entire book taking place in basically just one day, Lacey pulls on our heart strings.  It was an emotional story and found myself feeling sorry for Lacey and her situation. Williams really got inside the mind of this girl. A haunting story about a girl fighting an uphill battle.

If I Ever Get Out Of Here

Title: If I Ever Get Out Of Here
Author: Eric Gansworth
Pages: 368
Langage: PG
Content: PG
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he's not used to is white people being nice to him -- people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for...more
Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he's not used to is white people being nice to him -- people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family's poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan's side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis's home -- will he still be his friend?

Review:  Similar to Alexie's Absolutely True Diary.  There is a universal pressure for kids from marginalized communities to negotiate the gap between home and school.  We can't have enough books told from a Native perspective. As Debbie Reese says, "Through exquisite writing, wit, and music, the author invites you inside a native home."    The book’s messages are clear: Prejudice is bad. Bullies are bad. Friends accept you as you are, not as you’d like to be. Music is a universal language and overcomes most barriers.

Little Miss Red

Title: Little Miss Red
Author: Robin Palmer
Pages: 254
Content: PG
Language: G
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Okay Read

Summary: Sophie Greene gets good grades, does the right thing, and has a boyfriend that her parents— and her younger brother—just love. (Too bad she doesn’t love him.) Sophie dreams of being more like Devon Deveraux, star of her favorite romance novels, but, in reality, Sophie isn’t even daring enough to change her nail polish. All of that changes when Sophie goes to Florida to visit her grandma Roz, and she finds herself seated next to a wolfishly goodlooking guy on the plane. The two hit it off, and before she knows it, Sophie’s living on the edge. But is the drama all it’s cracked up to be?

Review:  This book was a little bit too predictable for my taste.  An easy read for any girls who like romance, adventure, and travel.  The plot is VERY loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood, and Sophie goes for a walk on the wild side but realizes it is good to stay true to yourself.

The Ruining

Title: The Ruining
Author: Anna Collomore
Pages: 312
Language: PG 13 1 "F" 1 "B"
Content: PG
Level: High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary:  Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door.  All too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play?  The Ruining is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.

Review: The first half of the book was very intriguing and I felt like I was watching a thriller on television.  I found the second half a little predictable, and the ending was rushed and too neat. I would have liked some ambiguity or even a major big showdown or twist. Still though, this is a good read overall.

The Sweetness of Salt

Title: The Sweetness of Salt
Author: Cecilia Galante
Pages: 305
Language: PG13 10 light swears, 5 "F"
Level: High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary:  Julia is a high school valedictorian with a college scholarship and a coveted summer internship. But when her older sister, Sophie, shows up at graduation determined to reveal some long buried secrets, Julia’s carefully constructed plans come to a halt. Julia follows Sophie back to Vermont, where Sophie is opening a bakery. What follows is a summer of revelations—some heartwarming, some heartbreaking, and all slowly pointing Julia toward a new understanding of herself and of the sister she never knew.

Review: I read the book, needing to read a book with a "yellow" cover.  I expected it to be a cute book, maybe a little bit "bitter" from the title.  The book was full of secrets and characters who had a lot of "problems" to figure out.  I enjoyed the read, but found myself wishing the author had omitted the "F" words, as they didn't add to the storyline at all.  Good characters with a great coming of age storyline.

Unigfted

Title: Ungifted
Author: Gordon Korman
Pages: 288
Language: G
Content: G
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: When Donovan Curtis pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he’s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students.

Although it wasn’t exactly what Donovan had intended, the ASD couldn’t be a more perfectly unexpected hideout for someone like him. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything), he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed. 

Review: Fun, refreshing, although it probably appeals more to boys, girls can also enjoy this book.  The content and subject make this a great book for reluctant readers and/or troublemakers! 

This Is What Happy Looks Like

Title: This Is What Happy Looks Like

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Pages:404

Language: G

Content: G

Level: Middle/High School

Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: If fate sent you an email, would you answer? When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

Review:  It is refreshing to read a book without worrying about sexual content and/or language.  This book was interesting enough to keep my attention through the complete 400 pages – something that I was worried wouldn’t happen when teens picked up the book.  However, I think that the storyline and characters will keep the readers attention long enough to get through it, and find that sometimes, things really are worth fighting for!

Blood-Kissed Sky

Title: Blood-Kissed Sky
Author: J.A. London
Pages: 338
Language: PG13
Content: PG13
Level: Upper Middle School/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary:  There's nowhere left to hide.  

I thought vampires were our enemies--they controlled our lives, isolated our cities, and demanded our blood-- until I met Victor.  With Victor taking over as the new Lord Valentine, things were supposed to get better.  Instead, they're worse than ever.

Day walkers, a new breed of vampires who can walk in the sun, are terrorizing the city.  Blood supplies are low, and if Victor's vampires don't get enough, they will become infected with the Thirst-- a disease that will turn them into mindless killers.

To stop it, I must journey across the desolate wasteland to the very place where the sickness began.  I can only hope that the answers that await me are enough to save us all... before it's too late.

Review: This is the second in the Dawn Series.  The first did not keep me as interested as the second did.  There is one use of the F-word and a bedroom scene which includes making out and petting.  The main character does drink a glass of wine --she is underage-- but drinking is not a major theme in the book.  Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone who is into the paranormal genre.  Quick and easy!

The Tragedy Paper

Title: The Tragedy Paper
Author: Elizabeth Laban
Pages: 320
Language: G
Content: PG13
Level: High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: It follows the story of Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.   Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.

Review: The summary does not do this book justice.  A beguiling book, with a secret that doesn't come out until the very end, I had to keep reading!!  I found this book a  refreshing read, clear of langugage and sexual content!!!

The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume

Title: The Unlikely Gift of Treasure Blume
Author: Lisa Rumsey Harris
Pages: 304
Level: High School
Content: PG
Language: G
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: With her love of sweaters, goofy hair, and awkward manners—-not to mention her family curse—-Treasure Blume knows love is not in her future. That is, until she matches wits with Dennis Cameron, a divorced chef with a six-year-old daughter. Full of mischief, mayhem, and laugh-out-loud humor, this is an unlikely love story you'll want to read over and over again!

Review:  Witty humor, great characters, and a fun read! It conveys an important and timely message about looking past exteriors to find inner beauty.

Treasure is the most "unlikely" heroine you can imagine. She is awkward, old-fashioned, and completely clueless. But she is also compassionate, honest, and real. Grammy Blume, Treasure's ancestors, Bonnie (the villain), the Steppers geriatric dance team, and even the kids in Treasure's first grade class added their own flavor and color to the story.

Peeled

Title: Peeled
Author: Joan Bauer
Pages: 247
Level: Middle School/High School
Content: PG
Language: G
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Hildy Biddle wants something monumental to happen so she can finally prove herself to be more than a high school journalist. The problem? Her town's biggest story stars a ghost, which is not an easy interview. But while the local paper is playing up people's fears with shocking headlines of creepy happenings, Hildy is determined to discover what's really going on. Unfortunately, her desire to uncover the truth is starting to cause a stir. With rumors swirling and tensions high, can Hildy push past all the hype ...

Review: Very easy read, with quirky characters.  Suspense, mystery, and teens bent on helping their small community in New York. 

Also Known As

Title: Also Known As
Author: Robin Benway
Pages: 320
Content: PG13
Language: PG
Level: Upper Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.  Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

Review: Fans of Ally Carter Spies or Heist Society novels will enjoy this book.  Maggie is easy to like, and the reader can sense her frustrations as she tries to live a normal life when nothing about her life is normal!

Breaking Point

Title: Breaking Point (Book 2 to Article 5)
Author: Kristen Simmons
Pages: 384
Content: PG13
Language: PG
Level: Upper Middle/High School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary: After faking their deaths to escape from prison in Article 5, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.  Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper's true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Review:  Following Article 5, Breaking Point follows Ember and Chase as they continue to try to find safety and security in a dystopian society.  New characters cross their path, and they must deal with characters from their past. For kids who love dystopian, this book will keep them intrigued, and waiting for the third installment.

Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer

Title: Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer
Author: John Grisham
Pages: 272
Content: G
Language: PG
Level: Middle School
Recommendation: Good Read

Summary:  In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he's only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he's one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk-and a lot about the law. He dreams of a life in the courtroom. But he finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much-maybe too much-he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. The stakes are high, but Theo won't stop until justice is served.

Review: Quick easy read with a male character (which seems harder and harder to find).  Interesting story, with a little bit of mystery.  Easy to read and full of information about the justice system in the United States.  Grisham does a great job of keeping the mystery and intrigue of his books on a level for young readers.

Darkness Before Dawn

Title: Darkness Before Dawn
Author: J.A. London
Language: PG-13 (several swear words)
Content: PG-13
Level: Upper Middle School/Highschool
Recommendation: Good read, but optional

Summary: Only sunlight can save us.  We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe.  But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.

After the death of my parents, it's up to me-- as the newest delegate for humanity-- to bargain with our vampire overlord.  I thought I was ready.  I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters.  Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine.. or his son.  Maybe not all vampires are killers.  Maybe it's safe to let one in.

Review:  This book was a good read that kept me entertained.  There are several swear words and a few references to underage drinking that might offend some readers.  I believe the characters are developed enough to keep a students' interest throughout the series, but the genre is getting crowded with similar books.