Forever ~ Judy Blume

Publisher: Pocket Books (1975)
ISBN: 0-671-53225-1
220 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Romance, issues.
Age Level: 15+

Reader’s Annotation: High school seniors Katherine and Michael experience all the thrilling uncertainties and joyful contentment of falling in love for the first time, including the turbulence of teen sexual intimacy.

Summary: Katherine and Michael meet at a party and experience an instant connection. As they date and get to know one another, their relationship also becomes more and more physically intimate. Then, as the school year draws to a close and Katherine and Michael must make decisions about their individual futures, the ultimate question looms: is their love the kind that will last forever?

Notes: This novel is a YA classic more for its subject matter than the characters. Katherine and Michael’s relationship is not memorable for its romantic value, and Michael (and Ralph), in particular, is laughable in a literary world that now includes Edward Cullen.
Flags: 3

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

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. (2007)
ISBN: 0-545-010-22-5
759 pgs

Classification: YA fiction
Genre: Fantasy
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: The dark wizard Lord Voldemort has made several bold moves, placing himself in near total control of the wizarding community, and armed only with half-understood insight from their headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasly embark on a journey through the wizarding world that Harry knows must end with Voldemort’s death or his own.

Summary: Foregoing their final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry, Hermione and Ron set off on an uncharted course with only vague ideas as to what they will do next. Seeking answers to his questions about his parents’ life together and their deaths, Harry wants to visit Godric’s Hollow despite Hermione’s warnings about the dangers they may face there. Meanwhile, Ron, sick with worry over the well-being of his family, longs for a more comfortable existence back home or at Hogwarts. As their fears increase and the weight of responsibility bears down on them, the three friends race to uncover enough knowledge and inner strength to save the wizarding world, their loved ones, and themselves before Voldemort realizes all they have done to undermine his power.

Notes: Book 7 of 7. Truly transcendent, this final novel turns Rowling’s Potter books into a genuine literary achievement that ponders such deep philosophical questions as freedom of will, choice, and destiny.
Flags: 5

The Luxe ~ Anna Godbersen

Publisher: Harper Teen (2007)
ISBN: 978-0-06-134566-1
433 pgs

Classification: Fiction
Genre: Historical fiction, mystery, romance
Age Level: 13+

Reader’s Annotation: The events leading up to the funeral of 17-year-old Elizabeth Holland reveal that all that glitters is not gold, especially amid the upper class of Victorian New York.

Summary: The novel opens in 1899 with the funeral of Elizabeth Holland, a dearly loved daughter of New York’s high society. From Elizabeth’s funeral, which is attended by the extensive cast of characters including Diana Holland, the deceased’s sister, the story flashes back to the short weeks leading up to the tragedy. What really happened to seventeen-year-old Elizabeth that fateful morning by the river? At least two people wish her dead: her best friend/chief rival who covets her fiancé, and her ladies maid who covets her true love. Possibly Elizabeth’s life is in danger from the debtors who extracted payment from her father by killing him. But in a world where mothers lie to their daughters and best friends lie to each other, how will anyone uncover the truth?

Notes: Book one of series. An entertaining read with a predictable conclusion, this novel never gives the reader a good reason to love any of the numerous characters introduced. The plot rather than the characters engages the reader.
Flags: 4

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Movie)

Based on Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Studio: Columbia Pictures (2008)
Rating: PG-13

Genre: Comedy
Director: Peter Sollett
Main Cast: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings

Viewer’s Annotation: Nick and Norah meet by chance one night at a club, and over the course of the next several hours they discover all that they have in common.

Summary: Nick is having a hard time getting over ex-girlfriend Tris. Norah randomly kisses Nick at a club and the two spend a crazy night driving around New Jersey and New York looking, alternately, for Norah’s drunk best friend Caroline and their favorite band Where’s Fluffy? In the course of the night, Nick and Norah discover that they are “music soulmates” and have quite a lot of other things in common too. But will Tris come between them? Or will Norah’s boyfriend Tal? Will they find Caroline? Or Fluffy?

Notes: This witty film features great music and is similar to Go, another teen movie spanning one crazy night of music, cars and conversation.
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