Ten Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You directed by Gil Junger, ASIN: B00000K31Q, Touchstone Pictures, PG-13, 1999

Teaser: Cameron wants to date Bianca, but Bianca's sister Kat must date someone before that can happen. 
Plot Summary: This movie begins at Padua High School where Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the new student.  During his tour of the school with Michael (David Krumholtz) he sees Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and immediately falls in love with her.  Michael informs him that it is a well-known fact that the Stratford sisters do not date.  Eventually we learn that the circumstances have changed and Bianca can date if her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) dates.  She is overjoyed, but then realizes that her sister hates boys.  Cameron learns of the new rules and he and Michael enlist the help of Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to date Kat (he is being paid to date Kat with money from Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), who thinks he is getting Bianca in the deal).  Chaos ensues and love is found in this teen movie.
Critical Evaluation:  This is an excellent teen movie that is based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew play.  The movie shows the ups and downs of high school love and also showcases the different social statuses and cliques that teens have while in high school. 
Director Information: According to http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0432627/bio, "Gil Junger was born on November 7, 1954 in New York City. He began his career in Hollywod by attending the University of Texas in Austin's Radio, TV, and Film School. After graduating, he became a gofer. He moved onto directing television, and has worked on such series as "Dharma & Greg" and "The Golden Girls." He was nominated for an Emmy and a Director's Guild Award for directing the episode of "Ellen" in which the lead character reveals that she is a lesbian. He broke into feature film directing with "10 Things I Hate About You." He is an avid photographer, golfer, and musician, and is in a band called Mid-Life Crisis."
Genre: Teen Movie
Curriculum Ties: Shakespeare
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about different social cliques that are formed in high school.  Also talk about how the movie compares to Taming of the Shrew.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+
Challenge Issues: PG-13 movie with teenage drinking, partying, drugs, and references to sex. 
Why included? I loved this movie as a teen and still love it.

Hope in Patience

Hope in Patience by Beth Fehlbaum, ISBN 978-1934813416, Westside Books, 2010, 312 pages.

Teaser: A story of a teenage girl and how she finds the courage to survive.
Plot Summary:  In the beginning of the story we learn that Ashley Nicole Asher has moved to the town of Patience, Texas to be with her birth father after she finds the courage to tell someone that her stepfather has been abusing her emotionally, sexually, and physically.  After her move to Patience, Ashley has a long ways to go before she is completely healed.  She attends therapy sessions and joins the school cross country team with her friend.  Ashley has many secrets that she tries to hide throughout the novel.  This is a powerful story about how Ashley finds the courage to recover and love the ones that love her.
Critical Evaluation:  This book is the second in the Patience Trilogy written by Beth Fehlbaum.  It was a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.  Ashley is one tough character and throughout the book she feels a lot of self pity and many times she resorts to harming herself.  She does not realize that her father and her stepmom love her so much, they will do anything for her.  Ashley's wounds are so deep she loses site of all the love she has around her.  By the end of the book I was tired of the way Ashley acted, but I was glad that she found hope.  She began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  This book had some very tough material, including a scene of sexual abuse.  These topics should not be taken lightly and this is a great book in the fact that Fehlbaum tackles sensitive issues.  I like that this book is a book that can be given to teens that might be going through the same issues as Ashley.  They might be able to relate and find answers they are looking for, that what they are going through is not something that they are alone in. That they will be able to survive.
Author Information:  Beth Fehlbaum was inspired to write this trilogy from her own experience with abuse.  She was born in Dallas, Texas and she married her high school sweetheart, with whom she has three children with.  Beth has a BA in English and a minor in Secondary Education from the University of Texas at Arlington, and an M.Ed. in Elementary Education, specializing in Reading, from Texas A&M. Today she teaches 5th grade students.  When she is not teaching she loves to write on her front porch and she is currently in the final stages of the third book in the trilogy, Truth in Patience.
Genre: Realistic Ficiton
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about the healing power of animals.
Reading Level/Interest Age:  13+
Challenge Issues:  Sexual Abuse and Self Torture.

If the book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.

Why included? I read this book for class and decided to include it because it could be a good book for someone to read that is experiencing what Ashley experienced.

Pendragon Book One: The Merchant of Death

Pendragon, Book One: The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale, ISBN 978-0743437318, Aladdin, 2002, 372 pages.

Teaser: Bobby Pendragon has a perfectly normal life until his Uncle Press informs him that he is a Traveler and he must save the world.
Plot Summary:  While preparing to play in an important basketball game Bobby Pendragon has his first kiss with a girl, but his Uncle Press comes and ruins everything.  Bobby is told that he is a Traveler and must save the world.  He is no hero, Bobby only wants to go to his basketball game and live his normal life, but Uncle Press has other plans and Bobby is taken to an alternate dimension known as Denduron.  The only way for Bobby to go back to his normal life is to accept that he is a Traveler and begin to save the world.  The only way for Bobby to stay sane is to keep a journal that he sends to his best friend Mark.  With this journal Mark knows that Bobby is still alive.  The rest of the book revolves around Bobby learning more about being a Traveler and realizing his destiny is to save the world.
Critical Evaluation: MacHale introduces the reader to a completely new world as seen through Bobby Pendragon's eyes.  He is just living a normal live, playing on the basketball team, along with having just kissed his first girl, and then he is thrown a loop and told that he is a Traveler and must save the world!  That is almost more than Bobby can take.  MacHale makes Bobby a believable character by showing his vulnerability.  I love that Bobby acts just like a teenage boy would.  He uses popular language that expresses what Bobby is feeling.  Bobby is not always confident that he can save the world, but with the help of his friends he knows that he is capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.
Author Information: According to http://djmachalebooks.com/the-author/ D.J. MacHale was raised in Greenwich, CT. He attended NYU and earned a BFA in film production.  He has written and produced many television shows such as Are you Afraid of the Dark? and Flight 29 Down,which earned him the Writers Guild of America award for “Outstanding Children’s Script. He has written several books and is famous for the 10 book Pendragon series. D.J. now lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter.
Genre: Fantasy
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Would you be able to keep a secret as big as Bobby's a secret?  How long before you would tell your closest friends or your parents why you were gone? How would you explain it so they would believe you?
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+
Challenge Issues: Magical Themes. If the book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.

Why included? My sister recommended I read this book because she knew I liked the Harry Potter series a lot and this series is similar. 

 

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Illustrations by Dave McKean, ISBN 9780060530921 , Harper Collins, 2008, 309 pages
Teaser: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a graveyard?  Here is your chance.

Plot Summary: Nobody Owens is a regular boy by all means, except for the fact that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the cemetery. The book begins by telling us how Nobody, Bod for short, comes to live in the graveyard.  After his family is murdered Bod survives and is raised in the local graveyard.  As he grows up he explores the graveyard and longs to see the outside world.  His guardian, Silas is there to guide him as he grows up.  Bod learns many things in the graveyard and eventually he wants to find out what happened to his real family and sets forth his journey of discovery. 
Critical Evaluation: This novel is told from the perspective of a young boy as he grows up in a graveyard. 

Author Information: According to the author's website http://www.neilgaiman.com/ "Neil Gaiman's work has been honoured with many awards internationally, including the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. His books and stories have also been honoured with 4 Hugos, 2 Nebulas, 1 World Fantasy Award, 4 Bram Stoker Awards, 6 Locus Awards, 2 British SF Awards, 1 British Fantasy Award, 3 Geffens, 1 International Horror Guild Award and 2 Mythopoeic Awards.

He was born in Hampshire, UK, and now lives in the United States. Gaiman credits librarians with fostering a life-long love of reading: "I wouldn't be who I am without libraries." He began his writing career as a journalist in England.  He started writing other things and his first big success was the 'Sandman' graphic novel 75 issue series. He has written many award winning books for children, teens and adults. Some of the titles include, Stardust, Coraline, Anansi Boys, American Gods, The Dangerous Alphabet, and Crazy Hair.  Many of his books have been made into movies.  

Genre: Paranormal, Gothic Horror, Fantasy

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Discuss what it would be like to be raised in a graveyard.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 10+

Challenge Issues:  The novel could be challenged due to the evil nature that some parts of the book contain, for example the telling of a murder and the fact that a boy is raised in a graveyard. If the book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.

Why included? Neil Gaiman is a very popular author for all ages and this book was one of Boise Public Library's Young Adult Reader Choice Awards nominees a few years ago.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, ISBN 0375842209, Alfred A. Knopf, 2007, 576 pages.

Plot Summary: This book is about Liesel Meminger, a girl living outside of Munich, Germany, in WWII.  Liesel does not have a home and she steals to survive.  While doing so she happens upon something that she cannot resist, and that is books.  She eventually learns to read from her foster father and she begins to share her stolen books with others.
Critical Evaluation:  The book has a unique narrator, which is death.  With death being the narrator and the topic at hand, the Holocaust, the book can get very sad.  I feel like this novel is one for mature teenagers.  It can be a good book to get to know what was going on in this part of our history.  This is an important book that tells about a difficult time in history, but it is a time that should not be forgotten and this book depicts WWII Germany very realistically and it is not for the faint of heart.
Author Information: According to http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/ Markus Zusak is an Australian writer and he grew up hearing stories about the Holocaust and knew he wanted to write a story about that.  At first he wanted to be a painter like his dad, but after reading many novels that spoke to him as a teenager he eventually realized that he wanted to be a writer.  It took him seven years to get published but once he did he was glad for all the failures, because they helped his write better. Genre: Historical Fiction
Curriculum Ties: WWII, Holocaust
Booktalking Ideas:Talk about the power of books.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: If the book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why included?  I love history and several librarians have recommended this novel.

King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography

King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher, ISBN 978-0060502492, Greenwillow Books, 2003, 260 pages.
Teaser: Chris Crutcher writes his autobiography.
Plot Summary: The life of Chris Crutcher as he grew up in Cascade, Idaho and later became a famous author of young adult novels. Also see below for author information.
Critical Evaluation:  I love Chris Crutcher novels and reading his autobiography was a great way to see into the life of a great author.  I was able to notice that Chris Crutcher based a lot of his novels on things that had happened in his own life.  I was also pleasantly surprised to find that he grew up in Cascade, Idaho, which is a few hours from where I live in Boise, Idaho. 
Author Information: According to http://www.chriscrutcher.com/biography.html  "Crutcher was born on July 17, 1946 in Dayton Ohio to a WWII bomber pilot and a homeaker, Crutcher grew up in Cascade, Idaho, a logging town north of Boise.  He graduated from Eastern Washington State College -- now Eastern Washington University -- with a BA in psychology and sociology.  He later earned his teaching credential and taught primary and secondary school in Washington State and California.

He admits he was a popular teacher, but not a good one.  However, once offered the chance to direct a "last chance" alternative school in Oakland, CA, he thoughtfully served at-risk K-12 students for almost a decade before returning to the Pacific Northwest to write his first book.
RUNNING LOOSE was his debut novel for Greenwillow, published in the early 1980's.  Nine other novels -- STOTAN!, CHINESE HANDCUFFS, THE CRAZY HORSE ELECTRIC GAME, THE DEEP END, STAYING FAT FOR SARAH BYRNES, IRONMAN, WHALE TALK, THE SLEDDING HILL and DEADLINE-- as well as two short story collections -- ATHLETIC SHORTS and ANGRY MANAGEMENT-- and his autobiography, KING OF THE MILD FRONTIER -- followed. Other books, including more short stories and nonfiction as well as several motion picture projects are also in development.   
Crutcher's fast-paced fiction -- heavily influenced by his vast experience as a child and family therapist and child protection advocate -- is known for its expert balance of comedy and tragedy, as well as its unflinching honesty and authentic voice.
He has been honored with dozens of awards and honors including the CLA's 2005 St. Katharine Drexel Award, Writer Magazine's 2004 Writers Who Make A Difference Award, the ALA's 2000 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, the NCTE's 1998 National Intellectual Freedom Award and the ALAN Award.  And he takes great pride in landing on the ALA Freedom to Read Foundation's top ten banned books and authors lists, whenever it happens. 
A popular columnist (Voices from the Middle, Family Energy Magazine, the Signal Journal, iParenting) and public speaker, Crutcher lectures at universities, conferences, libraries, schools and bookstores across the United States and around the world more than 200 days a year.  He makes his home in Spokane, Washington.

Genre: Autobiography/Non Fiction
Age Group/Interest Level: 14+
Curriculum Ties: Biography/History
Booktalking Ideas:
Challenge Issues: Most of Chris Crutcher's novels have been challenged so I assume that his biography would be challenged also.   If the book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why Included? I have read many Chris Crutcher books and I wanted to know more about the author and I found that he wrote an autobiography so I knew I had to include it.

Going Bovine

Going Bovine by Libba Bray, ISBN 978-0385733984, Delacorte Press, 2010.

Teaser: Cameron just wants to make it through high school, but he learns that he is going to die, so he decides to go on a huge road trip to find a cure.
Plot Summary: Cameron is a 16 year-old boy that is very lazy and puts minimal effort into whatever he does.  He spends a lot of time smoking weed.  His dad is a college professor and one day when he was visiting his dad's office he saw a picture with a bunch of college students and a dwarf.  His dad told him it was a game to see who could take the best picture in a crazy place with a dwarf.  With his parents prodding, he gets his first job at a burger joint and soon after he is diagnosed with Mad Cow Disease.  While at the hospital he befriends one of his angel hallucinations.  This angel tells him that she knows of a cure, but Cameron must go on a road trip to find this cure. So Cameron escapes the hospital and sets out on his road trip with Gonzo, a dwarf and the reader is left wondering if this trip is really real or not?
Critical Evaluation:  This is a wonderfully written book by Libba Bray, she really gets into the head of a 16 year old boy.  Even though the language gets a little over the top for my taste, I was still able to laugh my way through this book with all the hilarious situations that Cameron got himself into.  Bray is a master of writing funny and witty books.  I loved how she interlaced Cameron's imaginary ideas with reality.  It was great to read a book from the perspective of a male character and you can't help but root for Cameron to find the cure.
Author Information: According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libba_Bray Libba Bray was born in Alabama on March 11, 1964.  She lived in Texas, until she moved to New York at the age of 26.  She now lives in New York with her husband and son. She graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a Theater degree. She moved to New York to try her hand at playwriting.  In New York she worked editorial jobs and such, but she was encouraged to write a young adult novel by her husband.  She went on to write several young adults novels, included Going Bovine, which won the 2010 Michael L. Printz award.
Genre: Adventure
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Read the part when Cameron gets his first job and talk about first jobs. 
Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: This book is likely to be challenged because of foul language and drug usage.

If the book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.

Why included?  Libba Bray is a very funny person and I wanted to read one of her books.  This book is also a YRCA book at my library.

Sisterhood Everlasting

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares, ISBN 0385521227, Random House, 2011, 349 pages.
Teaser:  Four friends that have a pair of magical jeans have drifted apart in their late 20s, until they are suddenly brought together by a mysterious letter from one of the friends. 
Plot Summary:  This book brings us back one final time to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  Lena, Carmen, Tibby and Bridget are adults now and have gone their separate ways and barely stay in contact until Tibby writes them and wants to meet at Lena's grandmother's home in Greece. The girls are shocked and feel a little guilty for not staying in touch with each other as the years have gone by.  When the go to Greece Tibby does not come and they wonder why?  They begin to worry because Tibby was the one that left the group a few years ago to live in Australia with her longtime boyfriend, Brian.  Now Bridget, who is still trying to discover her true self as she lives in San Francisco with her boyfriend, Lena, a budding artist, and Carmen, a successful actress are left wondering what to do.  Bridget eventually decides to pack up and go to find Tibby in Australia.  She learns a devastating truth that will by the one thing that brings the friends back together.
Critical Evaluation: This book will give fans of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants the one last look into the fours girl's lives that they are yearning for.  The girls are on the verge of turning 30 years old and they have drifted apart.  As the girls are brought back together they remember all the good times they used to have together and they want those times back.  They also face a tragedy amongst the group and as they deal with that they come closer together.  Readers will laugh and cry along with the characters.  This is a wonderful story of how the bonds of friendship can never be broken.
Author Information: According to http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/691/ann-brashares "Ann Brashares grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her three brothers and attended a Quaker school in the DC area called Sidwell Friends. She studied Philosophy at Barnard College, part of Columbia University in New York City. Expecting to continue studying philosophy in graduate school, Ann took a year off after college to work as an editor, hoping to save money for school. Loving her job, she never went to graduate school, and instead, remained in New York City and worked as an editor for many years. Ann made the transition from editor to full-time writer with her first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Brashares and her husband, 42-year-old portrait painter Jacob Collins, live in a four-story building in the East 60s in New York with their three children, Susannah, Nate and Sam, who range in age from about 5 to 11.
Brashares' books in addition to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books include Forever in Blue, The Last Summer (of You and Me), and My Name is Memory.
Genre: Chick Lit / Friendship / Adult Crossover

Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Have the students talk about how their friends have shaped their lives.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? I loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series and this is an excellent book to recommend for fans of the series to read because it completes the story.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, ASIN: B001UV4XFG, Summit Entertainment, Actors: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner Director: David Slade, PG-13, 2010.

Teaser:   The third movie in the Twilight Saga
Plot Summary: Bella (Kristen Stewart) is about to graduate from high school and she must choose between her love for vampire Edward  (Robert Pattinson) and her friendship with werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner).  To complicate the situation there are a series of murders happening in Seattle, that have gone unexplained.  Bella is still being hunted by a revenge filled vampire and the vampires and werewolves must come to together to save Bella.  And Bella must make the toughest decision of her life.
Critical Evaluation:  Twilight fans will not be disappointed with this book adaptation.  The movie is intense as Bella is being hunted by a revengeful vampire.  Most viewers will know what is going to happen because they have read the books, but if you are one of the few who have not read the books, then you are in for a suspenseful ride.  Kristen Stewart does some believable acting as she struggles to make a decision: Edward or Jacob.  If you have watched the first two movies then Bella's decision is fairly predictable.  The one thing that I was disappointed in, was the fact that Bella is not a strong female character, she needs to be rescued all the time, but that might be the appeal to some girls, that Bella has not only one but two knights in shining armor.   
Director Information: According to Internet Movie Database David Slade was born on September 26, 1969 in the UK. He has directed many music videos for bands such as System of a Down, POD, Stone Temple Pilots and 3 Colours Red. He has directed 13 movies/tv shows, including The Last Voyage of Demeter, Meat Dog: What's fer Dinner, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Hard Candy, and Making the Video to name a few.
Genre: Teen Movie/Vampire Romance/Fantasty
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Compare movie and book.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+
Challenge Issues: PG-13 rating. If this movie was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why included?  The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer is one of the most popular series published and the movie is no different.  It has made millions of dollars at the box office and I wanted to see what all the teens were swooning over.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, ISBN 9780385342308, Delacorte Press, 2009, 373 pages
Teaser: An 11 year-old witnesses a man dying in her family's garden and she tries to solve the murder by herself. 

Plot Summary:Flavia de Luce lives with her father and two sisters in their English mansion, named Buckshaw. Flavia is an 11 year-old aspiring chemist that loves poisons.  In the summer of 1950, Flavia find a dead bird with a stamp stuck to its beak and then hours later she witnesses a man dying in the cucumber patch.  Her father is eventually taken into custody and accused of murder.  As a police investigation ensues, Flavia decides to try to solve this case herself and get her father out of jail. While speaking with her father, he tells her the story of his school days and how one of his professors loved to collect stamps.  It eventually became a hobby of his father and the murder victim.  A prized stamp was stolen and then the professor was found dead outside from an apparent suicide.  This adds fuel to the fire and Flavia is more determined than ever to solve the crime.  She visits the local library and does more sleuthing. As Flavia finds the clues, it is only a matter of time before the reader realizes who the killer is.
Critical Evaluation: Flavia is a brilliant heroine.  She is only 11 years old, but she is so spunky and crafty.  As she tries solves the mystery of the mysterious death, she notices little things that adults might miss.  She often time goes unseen, so she can easily do things.  Her deep love for her father is always present, because the prime reason she wants to solve the mystery is to save her father from impending jail time.  I was also amused with how Flavia gets along with her sisters.  I can relate to what she was going through as I also have two sisters like Flavia.  I enjoyed reading this book with Flavia's 11 year old mind working through the clues. 

Author Information: According to http://www.flaviadeluce.com/view-authors-bio/ "Alan Bradley was born in Toronto and grew up in Cobourg, Ontario. With an education in electronic engineering, Alan worked at numerous radio and television stations in Ontario, and at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto, before becoming Director of Television Engineering in the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK, where he remained for 25 years before taking early retirement to write in 1994.  His debut novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie won the Debut Dagger Award in 2007.  He lives in Malta with his wife."

Genre: Mystery, Adult Crossover

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas:

Reading Level/Interest Age: 15+

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why included? I wanted to find teen book similar to Harriet the Spy and was told about this book and it is also a current Young Reader's Choice Nominee book at my library.

Shiver

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, ISBN 978-0545123266, Scholastic Press, 2009, 400 pages. 

Teaser:  Grace is drawn to the wolves she sees in the forest next to her backyard, one in particular, with the yellow eyes.  She longs to be a part of them.

Plot Summary: Grace was attacked by wolves as a young child and has always felt a connection to the wolves of Mercy Falls.  In particular she thinks of the wolf with yellow eyes as her wolf.  One day Grace find the bloody body of a boy on her back porch.  As she helps the boy she sees that his eyes are yellow and she realizes that he is her wolf.  She hides Sam from her parents and fights the urges of her teenage hormones, while at the same time Sam must stay warm so he won't turn back into a wolf.  It is getting harder and harder each day as winter approaches.  But with the mysterious disappearance of a classmate, Grace has even more reason to keep Sam alive and she does not want him to be hunted down like the other wolves are being hunted.   
Critical Evaluation: This book is written with alternating perspectives in the chapters, that of Grace and that of Sam.  The reader is able to see first hand both sides of the story. The character of Grace is one that longs to be a wolf.  She was bitten as a young child, but never turned into a werewolf.  She feels that she connects with the wolves because of what happened to her as a child.  It is also something that intrigues Sam.  He wonders why a human would want to become a wolf.  He knows what it is like and does not wish it on anyone.  I liked the way the author wrote the novel from two perspectives.  The reader is able to get more details about what is going on this one.  It is not a one sided story.  Sam is a believable character and you find yourself rooting for him to stay warm so he doesn't change into a wolf.
Author Information:
(http://maggiestiefvater.com/faq/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Stiefvater)
Genre: Chick Lit/Fantasy/Wolf Romance

Maggie Stiefvater was born on November 18, 1981 and she now lives in Virginia with her husband and two children.  She was a navy brat and moved around a lot and she was home schooled from 6^th grade on.  When she was 16 she legally changed her first name from Heidi to Margaret.  She went to college at Mary Washington University and earned a BA in History. 

Shiver is the first novel in the Mercy Falls Trilogy and it was a New York Times bestseller.  It is in the process of being made into a movie, but no actors have been cast at this time.  Stiefvater has also written the Books of Faerie: Lament and Ballad, and there are two other books after Shiver called Linger and Forever.  Her latest novel is The Scorpio Races.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Stiefvater and http://maggiestiefvater.com/

Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about what Grace feels when she learns how Sam became a wolf.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included?  I wanted to read something similar to Twilight and I was recommended this book by a library co-worker. Another fascinating thing about this book is that it is printed with blue ink.