Does My Head Look Big in This? ~ Randa Abdel-Fattah

Publisher: Orchard Books (2007)
ISBN: 978-0439919470
368 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Realistic fiction
Age Level: 12+

Reader’s Annotation: Australian-Palestinian teenager Amal decides to wear the hijab, or Muslim head scarf, full-time, a formidable challenge at her private school in a Melbourne suburb.

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Amal is intelligent, sarcastic, focused and loyal, and she needs to be all that and more when she decides to wear the hijab as a symbol of her commitment to her faith. With the support of her truest friends, Amal copes with the narrow-mindedness of classmates, the stress of preparing for exams, and the complexity of her relationship with crush-worthy Adam. Then Amal’s own convictions are tested when her best friend runs away from home and Amal must confront her own prejudices and ignorance.

Notes: Amal’s wit, insight and self-awareness make her a role model for all time. This novel offers an engaging glimpse into a world seemingly different from—yet surprisingly similar to—that of most middle-class families.
Flags: 5

Gossip Girl ~ Cecily von Ziegesar

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (2002).
ISBN: 978-0-316-91033-0
201 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: chick lit
Age Level: 14+

Reader’s Annotation: In a world where money just may grow on trees and parental supervision is scarce, the young jet-set of Manhattan dictates the trends in fashion, art, music and film, but someone’s always watching and in a high tech world no secret is sacred.

Summary: From Park Avenue penthouses to privileged prep schools and anywhere hip in between, the Manhattan elite shop, party and hook up. In this first book of the series, magnetic Serena van der Woodsen turns heads wherever she goes, Queen Bee Blair Waldorf really is vulnerable beneath the flawless image she projects, and awkward young Jenny Humphrey is ecstatic to have captured the attention of Nate Archibald, even if he is usually stoned. Narrated by the anonymous Upper East Side blogger, this is the novel that started it all—the book series and its spinoffs and the TV show that turned Blake and Leighton into style icons for the new millennium. So log on to find out who’s wearing what, who’s hanging where, who’s partying when, who’s kissing whom, and what Gossip Girl thinks of it all.

Notes: Book one of a series. Gossip Girl is Sweet Valley High for a new generation, with all the engaging characters and riveting plots twists of an engrossing series. Content to be aware of—underage drinking, drug use, sexuality, language.
Flags: 4

Luna ~ Julie Anne Peters

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (2004)
ISBN: 0-316-01127-4
248 pgs

Classification: Fiction
Genre: Issues fiction
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: Luna has been living as Liam for her entire life, and she realizes that she must cast off that role now or risk losing herself entirely.

Summary: Luna is a girl trapped in the body of a boy named Liam, but only Regan, Luna’s sister is in on the secret. Regan offers her bedroom so that, under the cover of the night, Luna can take off the mask of Liam and allow her true identity to emerge. This has gone on for years, but Luna senses the time is coming when she can no longer retreat into “total boy role.” With Regan’s help, Luna begins to transition from living as a boy to living as a girl, starting with short shopping trips in malls across town. But will the rest of the world, starting with their parents, be as supportive of Luna as Regan has been?

Notes: Narrated from Regan’s point of view, this story is deeply moving with vivid characters and fresh insight. This novel is a National Book Award Finalist
Flags: 5

Marked ~ P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (2007)
ISBN: 978-0-312-36026-9
306 pgs

Classification: YA Fiction
Genre: Fantasy, vampires
Age Level: 14+

Reader’s Annotation: Newly Marked vampire Zoey Redbird copes with friends and rivals in her new school, the House of Night.

Summary: Zoey,16, is Marked by a vampire Tracker and leaves her home and high school to attend the House of Night, a boarding school for fledgling vampires undergoing the Change from human to adult vampire. Once at the House of Night, Zoey finds both unfortunate similarities and startling differences between her new school and her old: a Queen Bee named Aphrodite and her sycophants, hot guys like drama buff Erik, classes in fencing and vampire sociology. With the help of new friends, Zoey discovers her powers—gifts from the vampire goddess Nyx—and struggles to follow her grandmother’s advice to balance her unique abilities with responsible behavior.

Notes: Book one of a series. This series is engaging even for those readers who are not especially interested in vampires. Content to be aware of—language, sexuality
Flags: 4

Poseur ~ Rachel Maude

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (2008)
ISBN: 978-0-316-06583-2
289 pgs

Classification: YA Fiction
Genre: Chick lit
Age Level: 12+

Reader’s Annotation: Grouped together for a project, Janie, Charlotte, Melissa and Petra need to figure out how to play nice or they risk humiliation in front of their entire school.

Summary: Creative Janie is envious of her twin brother’s sudden popularity while haughty Charlotte is obsessed with all things French and Janie’s brother. Control-freak Melissa is passionate about everything to do with Melissa, and apathetic Petra is moved by very little. These four vastly different high school sophomores are thrust together by a well-meaning guidance counselor intent on fostering “the arts” at their elite Southern California prep school. The girls are expected to draw from their unique backgrounds and interest in fashion to collaborate on a label. Can they overcome their petty squabbles to create couture? Or will all four of them be exposed school-wide for the poseurs they really are?

Notes: Book one in a series. Sketches of original outfits enhance an otherwise bland story. Content to be aware of—underage drinking, drug use.
Flags: 3

Pretty Little Liars ~ Sara Shepard

Publisher: Harper Tempest (2006)
ISBN: 978-06-088730-8
286 pgs

Classification: YA Fiction
Genre: Chick lit, mystery
Age Level: 14+

Reader’s Annotation: Hanna, Aria, Emily and Spencer all thought they had moved beyond the dark period in their past when their friend Alison disappeared, but out of the blue someone called “A” enters their lives and refuses to let the girls forget.

Summary: Three years after Alison’s disappearance her four best friends, Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer, have grown apart yet are still haunted by their memories of the daring stunts and dark secrets they shared with their vibrant friend. Suddenly, as the girls begin their junior year of high school, they are each contacted by someone called “A.” Through text messages, notes and emails, the girls find that their secrets have not vanished. So just who is A? What does A want from Hanna, Aria, Emily and Spencer?

Notes: Book one of series. Content to be aware of—underage drinking, drug use, sexuality. This book reads like a prequel or a pilot episode, laying the foundation for the rest of the series, so many plot developments are not resolved by the end of this book.
Flags: 3

Speak ~ Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: The Penguin Group (1999)
ISBN: 0-14-131088X
198 pgs
Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Issues
Age Level: 14+

Reader’s Annotation: While her inner voice is clever, strong, and insightful, Melinda Sordino has no intention of speaking her thoughts aloud, even though her story needs to be told.

Summary: Melinda Sordino realizes what happened to her at a party over the summer, but she has told no one. Now, she is ostracized at school, she has grown apart from her best friend, and she knows she probably will not want to talk even if she had someone to listen to her. The tremendous weight on 14-year-old Melinda’s shoulders seems to have claimed her voice. As she drifts through her freshman year of high school saying as little as possible, it is clear that Melinda needs to find her voice before she drowns in her own silence.

Notes: A spot-on assessment of high school cliques, this is a gripping story how a young girl copes with assault. The novel is an ALA Printz Honor Book (2000), a 1999 National Book Award Finalist, and a Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist.
Flags: 5

ttyl ~ Lauren Myracle

Publisher: Amulet Books (2004)
ISBN: 978-0-8109-8788-3
209 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Realistic, chick lit
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: Tenth-graders Zoe, Madigan and Angela have been friends since childhood and hope to remain close as they grow up but the challenges of high school threaten their friendships as the girls cope with crushes, parents, rivals and teachers and begin to keep secrets from one another.

Summary: Zoe has a crush on her teacher, who in turn seems to be paying an unseemly amount of attention to Zoe. Madigan befriends a long-time rival and finds herself in over her head when her “friend’s” loyalty is tested. Angela struggles to see the best in herself after being treated badly by her boyfriend. And these three childhood friends have developed the bad habit of keeping secrets from one another, precisely at a time when true friends are the one thing they each need. The story unfolds entirely via instant messages, the girls’ primary means of communication outside of school.

Notes: This book reads like a hybrid of a diary and a play, and has the delicious, absorbing feeling of eavesdropping on a good conversation.
Flags: 3

Twisted ~ Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Speak (2007)
ISBN: 978-0-14-241184-1
250 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Issues, realistic fiction
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: After years of being bullied, Tyler considers using violence to make himself heard.

Summary: For years, Tyler has been relentlessly terrorized by Chip Milbury, the son of his father’s boss and the twin brother of his secret crush. When Tyler gets caught vandalizing his high school, he is sentenced to community service which he fulfills by working for the summer with the school janitorial staff. Rage has been slowly building within Tyler as a result of Chip’s bullying and his father’s constant pressure. When Tyler is accused of circulating lewd pictures of his crush, he is tormented at school and threatened with military school by his father. How will Tyler cope? The reader goes inside the mind of a young man cornered as he contemplates a pistol and all his options. Is violence Tyler’s only way out? Who will be the victims?

Notes: Tyler is an outstanding male protagonist from the author of Speak, offering a fresh, relevant perspective in a post-Columbine world.
Flags: 5

Violet on the Runway ~ Melissa Walker

Publisher: Berkley Jam (2007)
ISBN: 978-0-425-21704-7
228 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: chick lit
Age Level: 14+

Reader’s Annotation: A modeling agent discovers Violet Greenfield in her small North Carolina hometown, and Violet soon finds herself booking jobs all over New York City.

Summary: Perennial wallflower Violet Greenfield prefers not to be noticed, but her towering height makes her hard to miss, and the high school senior secretly longs for a good reason to stand out. Her big break breezes through town in the form of a fast-talking modeling agent who is convinced she’s found fashion’s newest it girl in Violet. Suddenly Violet is thrust onto the catwalk where, most shockingly to Violet herself, the spotlights and flashbulbs cause her not to wilt, but to bloom. What ensues is a whirlwind of go-sees and photo shoots, club scenes and fashion shows, but before long this flower begins to fade. Living on her own and confronting eating disorders and drug use, Violet seems to be losing herself and alienating her friends in the process.

Notes: This Cinderella model story provides what Cheryl Diamond’s memoir lacks: a heroine the reader truly roots for. While Diamond was never awkward nor gangly, Violet is the girl-next-door that every girl would like to call her best friend. The story continues with Violet by Design and Violet in Private. Content to be aware of—underage drinking, drug use.
Flags: 4

A Walk to Remember (Movie)

Based on A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures (2002)
Rating: PG

Genre: Drama
Director: Adam Shankman
Main Cast: Shane West, Mandy Moore

Viewer’s Annotation: Jamie Sullivan, with her unfailing faith, inspires classmate Landon Carter to rethink his reckless, self-centered ways and the unlikely couple falls sweetly in love.

Summary: Landon Carter and his friends are the “in” crowd, and others are willing to go to great lengths to be a part of the group, but when a prank goes wrong and another teenager is hospitalized, Landon faces possible expulsion from school. Instead he is assigned to help the school janitorial staff, tutor after hours, and join the drama club. At each of these activities, Landon encounters Jamie Sullivan, daughter of Reverend Sullivan. Irked by Jamie’s independent spirit, Landon mocks Jamie even when she would try to help him. Relenting, Jamie agrees to practice lines with Landon for the school play, on the condition that Landon promise not to fall in love with her. But Landon does find himself captivated by Jamie and when Landon learns the real reason that Jamie has a to-do list for her life, he proves that miracles really do happen.

Notes: This is a tender, sweet story of faith, hope and love.
Flags: 4