Stotan

Stotan! by Chris Crutcher, ISBN 0440200806, Laurel Leaf- Dell Publishing Company, 1986, 183 pages.

Teaser: A Stotan is a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan.  Four high school swimmers embark on a week long journey to become a Stotan as they are tested by their coach. 
Plot Summary:Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff are in their final season of swim team and all four accept the challenge from their coach to participate in Stotan week.  It is a week long grueling 4 hours each day that will test the boys mentally and physically. Lion is an orphan, Nortie lives with his abusive dad.  He loves his dad but can never please him.  Jeff is dealing with the fact that he is terminally ill. Walker is the captain of the swim team.  During Stotan week the boys become men as they face typical teenage issues and also very serious issues such as racial prejudice, and impending death. 
Critical Evaluation: Going through Stotan week we learn a lot about the four main characters.  They are facing very tough stuff for teenagers.  By reading this teens will feel comforted and have characters they can relate to.  In the week the boys are tested to the brink and their strength is what saves them.  We learn that even when you are down to your lowest, there is always a way to build yourself back up.
Author Information: Please see my entry for King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Sports/Coming of Age Fiction
Curriculum Ties: Sports/ Physical Education
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about what it takes to be a Stotan and ask the students if they think they would be able to do it.
Reading Level/Interest Age:  14+
Challenge Issues:   Lots of Christ Crutcher novels are challenged and this book will probably be no different.  It might be challenged due to language, and teen thoughts of sex. This book also deals with abuse, suicide, orphans, tough family lives, racial prejudice, terminal illness, teen tho.  If this 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 my English class in my freshmen year of high school and feel that Chris Crutcher is one of the great young adult writers out there today.

Just Listen

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, ISBN 9780142410974, Speak-Penguin Group, 2006, 371 pages.
Teaser: Have you ever felt judged because your looks or because of something you were rumored to have done?  Annabel Greene has to deal with the consequences of being judged.
Plot Summary:  Annabel Greene seems to have everything she wants, great friends and a modeling gig.  But that all crashes down when her best friend catches her with her boyfriend.  What her best friend doesn't know is that it was attempted rape.  With her life ruined from the horrible summer, Annabel must go back to school and face her worst nightmare, her old friends.  She is also dealing with her sister's eating disorder and along the way she befriends the school's loner, Owen.  Annabel goes through a lot and this is a great coming of age story.
Critical Evaluation: This book attempts to tackle some very tough issues such as eating disorders and attempted rape.  Annabel Greene used to be very popular, but because of one event she is ostracized by her peers and she must find completely new friends. I was glad to see Annabel have flaws and struggle to face a devastating past.  The reader goes deeper into the minds of these believable teens with every turn of the page. 
Author Information: According to the author's website, http://sarahdessen.com/, Sarah Dessen was born in Illinois, but grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She attended UNC-Chapel High and earned a degree in Creative Writing.
Genre: Chick Lit/Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Have teens talk about how they think other people perceive them.
Reading Level/Interest Age:14+
Challenge Issues: This book could  be challenged due to the fact that it talks about eating disorders and attempted rape. If this book was challenged I would go to, ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why included? I had been told that Sarah Dessen is a very good writer and have wanted to read her novels for a long time and now I finally can say I have.

Ender's Game

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, ISBN 0812550706 , Tor Science Fiction, 1994, 324 pages

Teaser: The story of a little boy being sent into the military to help save the world from the Buggers.
Plot Summary: Ender Wiggin is chosen for the soldier training program that the government has made to secure a defense against the Buggers.  They are training genius children to become leaders.  Ender has to leave his parents, his brother, Peter, and his sister, Valentine, whom he loves deeply.  Ender is drafted into the orbiting Battle School. Ender becomes one of the best students and his skills make him a leader and he is respected in the Battle Room. One of his only friends is a tiny boy named Bean, together they create an unstoppable team in the Battle Room and gain the respect of their older peers.  In the end the reader will find out if Ender is really the answer the government has been looking for to defeat the Buggers.
Critical Evaluation: Even though Ender is one of the most brilliant child soldiers that Battle School has ever seen he suffers quite a bit.  He is very lonely and he receives extreme pressure from his teachers and he suffers isolation and peer pressure.  He misses his sister Valentine and when he is able to see her when he is older, it is not the same between them because he has been away for so long. 
Author Information: According to http://www.hatrack.com/osc/about.shtml"Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.
Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University. Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret."

Genre: Science Fiction
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas:
Reading Level/Interest Age: 11+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included?  I love science fiction and this is one of the top books in the genre.

NoveList

NoveList Database, powered by EBSCOhost
http://web.ebscohost.com/novp/search?sid=de758fb0-27e3-41f0-85f9-3c482f361d5e%40sessionmgr4&vid=4&hid=10. Accessed through the Boise Public Library, must have a library card to access it from there.

Summary and Evaluation: NoveList is a database that library patrons can access from anywhere as long as their library owns a subscription.  From the database library card holders can access reader's advisory material and find similar titles from authors they enjoy.  This database is an excellent tool for librarians to use when conducting RA and they can also educate patrons on how to use it for themselves.  Teens will find this site useful because it is similar to goodreads.com in the fact that you can find book suggestions and similar authors just by typing in a favorite author.  If you want to have a more in depth experience you can create a login name.
I used NoveList at my library, the Boise Public Library, and on the left side I chose teen and it can up with many genres that I could search in to find a book I would like. I chose a genre and another window popped up with sub genres.  Once I selected a sub genre the site showed me recommended titles. By scrolling over a title I got a short synapses of what the book was about and if I liked it I could add it to my folder.  By clicking on the title I received in depth information on the book and I was also able to check to see if my library had the book in the catalog, which is a very smart feature to have.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age:  10+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? A great database to look up authors, titles, and also to find suggestions for new book ideas.

Teen Ink

Teen Ink is an independent print publication of The Young Authors Foundation, Inc. started in 1989.


Summary: Teen Ink is monthly a nonprofit magazine that wants to listen to the teen contributors and provide a forum where teens can express their own ideas through poetry, essays, stories, reviews, art, and photography. The magazine is a great source for the want to be teen writer or artist. Teens can submit their own work to the magazine and maybe get published.  With many schools having budget cuts and losing their school newspapers, Teen Ink, is a great tool for students to submit their writing and artwork to.  By having teens go through the process of submitting work, they are learning valuable lessons in life and they will drastically improve their writing and artwork.
Evaluation: By having teenagers ages 13-19 submit their own writing to be read and then chosen to be published is a great thing for an aspiring writer or artist.  It teaches the teenager that your work has to be good to be published.  This magazine is also great because it is a nonprofit organization, so teens are the ones that win, not the publishers. 
Genre: Teen Magazine
Curriculum Ties: English
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? This is a magazine all about teens and what they can do.  There are no staff writers or artists, only submitted work by teens is accepted and has the possibility to be published.

What Happened to Cass McBride?

What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles, ISBN 978-0316166386, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006, 211 pages.

Teaser: Kyle Kirby blames Cass McBride for his brother's suicide, so he buries her alive.  Will Cass survive?
Plot Summary: Kyle Kirby's brother, David, has just committed suicide and he wants someone to pay for it.  David is pressured by his abusive mother to ask out a girl, so he asks Cass out and then finds a note she wrote to a friend about being asked out by someone so low on the social status chain.  He then hangs himself.  Kyle holds Cass McBride responsible for his brother's death and for that he kidnaps her and buries her alive.  Cass is known for her way of getting what she wants so she tries to talk with Kyle about his feelings, in the hope that he will let her free.  We learn that both characters have some skeletons in their closets and they both learn tough lessons about themselves as the clock is racing to save Cass McBride.
Critical Evaluation: The fact that the book is written from the alternating perspective of three different characters is intriguing.  We hear the story from Cass, Kyle, and a policeman's view.  Cass and Kyle both have secrets and even though Cass is buried alive she knows that she has to outwit Kyle if she has any hopes of getting out alive.  Cass has a way with words and the author's descriptions of being buried alive are very realistic and might frighten some readers.  This psychological thriller will keep the reader on the edge of their seat, and at times they will feel the horror that Cass feels talking with her kidnapper.
Author Information:

Gail has written 10 books.  She is a former high school teacher and lives in Texas with her husband, 2 dogs and 3 cats.  She has 1 son and 2 grandsons.  She loves her family and pets.  She began her love of writing in the fourth grade where she was a troublemaker. She went to Catholic school and the nun did not like her making trouble, but one day the nun was having a bad day and asked if she would write a funny story to cheer her up.  That began her journey as a writer, when she was able to make the nun laugh out loud.  Most of Gail’s books are about teenage boys.  She is inspired by things that have happened in her life and she is inspired by the places she has lived, such as Texas, Chicago and Alaska. Gail’s first book, Shattered Glass won many awards including YALSA Best Book for Young Adults. She also lived in Alaska for a while and her time there inspired the book, What Happened to Cass McBride? For more information about Gail and her books please visit http://www.gailgiles.com

Genre: Mystery
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas:  Read the passage from the beginning of the book about Cass being buried alive.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues:  This book could be challenged due to the fact that a character is buried alive or from parts of the book that deal with a dysfunctional family and abuse.
Why included? I research this author for the genre project.  She writes a lot about teenage boys, so I felt this book would be a good book to suggest for a male reader. 

Ocean Eyes by Owl City

Ocean Eyes by Owl City, ASIN: B002ECN4NM, Universal Republic, 2009.
Summary and Evaluation:
Ocean Eyes is the first major studio album from Owl City with Universal Republic.  It includes 12 songs all written by Adam Young.  Three singles were released from this album including Fireflies, Umbrella Beach, and Vanilla Twilight.  “Fireflies” topped the US and Canadian charts and the album reached the top 10 on the US album charts and topped the US electronic charts.  In 2010, it was certified Platinum. The music has a great electronic sound that can be great to use at school dances to get kids onto the dance floor. 
Track Listings:
1. Cave In
2. The Bird and the Worm
3. Hello Seattle
4. Umbrella Beach
5. The Saltwater Room
6. Dental Care
7. Meteor Shower
8. On The Wing
9. Fireflies
10. The Tip of the Iceberg
11. Vanilla Twilight
12. Tidal Wave

Author Information:

Owl City is an American electronica musical project created by Adam Young in Owatonna, Minnesota.  Adam Young began this group in 2007.  He started playing music in his parents basement and gained a following on MySpace and in 2008 was signed by Universal Republic. In 2009, Owl City’s first major label album, Ocean Eyes, was released.  It debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200.  The top song from that album was Fireflies which topped the US and Canadian charts.   Owl City has released 3 studio albums and when Owl City is live on tour Adam Young is accompanied by supporting musicians. 

Genre: Electronica/Pop
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? Owl City is a popular musical act and it is great to dance too.  I have noticed many teenagers checking out this CD.

Taylor Swift: Fearless

Fearless by Taylor Swift, ASIN: B001EYGOEM, Big Machine Records, 2008.
Plot Summary: Taylor Swift's second country album.  
Track Listing:
1. Fearless
2. Fifteen
3. Love Story
4. Hey Stephen
5. White Horse
6. You Belong With Me
7. Breathe
8. Tell Me Why
9. You're Not Sorry
10. The Way I Loved You
11. Forever and Always
12. The Best Day
13. Change
Critical Evaluation: Fearless topped the Billboard 200 charts for 11 weeks straight and has been certified platinum 6 times. At the 52nd Grammy Awards Fearless won the Best Country Album and Album of the Year.  The top singles from the album are "Love Story", "You Belong With Me" and "Fearless". The great thing about Taylor Swift's music is that she writes and co-writes all of her songs.  Her lyrics and voice are a perfect blend with the music she creates.  Teens also can relate to her music because she is only 21 years old and she has gone through many of the things teens are also going through.

Author Information:

Taylor Swift was born in 1989, and raised in Pennsylvania and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee.  The singer-songwriter signed with Big Machine Records when she was 14 years old and has been a country superstar since 2006 when she released her debut single Tim McGraw. She writes most of her songs and has won numerous ACM, CMA, AMA and Grammy awards.   According to billboard.com she has sold over 20 million albums and 34.4 million singles worldwide.  She has released 3 studio albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, and Speak Now.

Taylor Swift has also dabbled in acting, playing a role in Valentine’s Day.  She has also been a cover model for Cover Girl and has appeared in numerous magazines.

Genre: Country/Pop

Age Interest: 10+ 
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Challenge Issues: N/A

Why Included? Taylor Swift is one of the most popular singers performing today.  She is the current AMA Artist of the Year. 

Not Another Teen Knitting Book

Not Another Teen Knitting Book by Vickie Howell, ISBN 1402720661, Sterling, 2006, 128 pages.

Teaser: Yes, another teen knitting book!
Plot Summary: This knitting book is designed to look like a high school yearbook.  It has numerous patterns for every type of person out there, such as theater masks and seat belt cozies.  The patterns are also ranked from Freshman (easy) to Varsity (difficult). 
Critical Evaluation: This is a great book for teens that want to learn how to knit.  There are simple projects and more advanced projects.  Also included is a "Knitting 101" to teach beginners how to knit.  This knitting book is fun and easy to understand and beginners and veterans will enjoy the patterns.
Author Information:According to http://vickiehowell.com/about/ "Vickie Howell is a mother, designer, writer, spokesperson, viral marketing consultant and DIY Lifestyles expert with a focus on the Needle Arts and environmentally conscious crafting.
Vickie is most well-known as the Host and Creative Consultant of 8 seasons of DIY Network & HGTV’s show, Knitty Gritty.  She was also the co-host of DIY’s Stylelicious, Lifetime Television’s web series, CRAFTED, and several craft-based TV specials."  She is also the author of numerous craft books.
Genre: Crafts/Non-Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why Included? I love to knit and knitting is coming back into style and I felt this was good book for teens to learn knitting.

Freaks and Geeks (tv show)

Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series,ASIN: B0001EQHXO, Created by Paul Feig, Executive Produced by Judd Apatow.  Shout Factory, Theatr.
Summary: This cult favorite only lasted for 1 season, 18 episodes, on NBC before being cut.  The show follows former math genius Lindsey (Linda Cardellini) and her younger brother Sam (John Francis Daley), as they go through high school in Michigan circa 1980.  
Evaluation: This is a television show that teenagers will be able to identify with because it shows the "Freaks and Geeks" side of high school and many teenagers fall into that category.  The characters are so good, that the viewer feels as though they are in high school.
Author Information: According to http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0270552/ Paul Feig was born on September 17, 1962 in Royal Oak, Michigan.  He always wears a suit and tie when he directs.  He is married. The fictional town in Freaks and Geeks is loosely based upon his own home town of Mt. Clemens.
Genre: Television show
Curriculum Ties: This would be a good television show to watch to discuss stereotypes.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? This is a good tv series to showcase what it is like for the unpopular people in high school.

Mad (magazine)

MAD (ISSN 0024 9319) E.C. Publications, Inc., 1952.

Plot Summary: A magazine for teenagers that parodies pop culture, politics, media and American life.
Critical Evaluation: The magazine is published six times a year. Alfred E. Neuman is MAD's gapped-tooth moronic mascot.  This magazine is a great magazine to get reluctant readers to want to read.  The stories and pictures are funny.  It is a great segway into teenagers being aware of what is going on in the world around them.  They know the stories are made up, but it is a great way for them to laugh at things.
Author Information: N/A
Genre: Teen Magazine
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+
Challenge Issues: May cause teens to challenge authority.

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

Why included? I included this magazine because it has been around since 1952 and with it's humor it is a great way to get teens reading.

The Eleventh Plague

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, ISBN 9780545290142, Scholastic Press, 2011, 304 pages

Teaser: Imagine the world is nothing like you know it to be.  Enter Stephen, as he tries to survive in a dystopian world that has had most of its residents die from influenza. 
Plot Summary:  Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family have survived one of the deadliest strains of influenza America has seen from the aftermath of war.  The plague took two-thirds of the population.  The only way for Stephen and his family to live is to become salvagers and keep moving.  After Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father goes into a coma after an accident, Stephen happens upon a community known as Settler’s Landing.  It is almost to good to be true as he is accepted into the community.  As Stephen goes to school and participates in baseball he meets Jenny, a girl that is strong, rebellious, and mischievous.  They plan a prank together that backfires and as they deal with the aftermath Settler’s Landing and their lives are changed forever. 
Critical Evaluation:  Stephen has lived his whole live as a salvager.  When the story begins, he has just lost his grandfather and his father goes into a coma after an accident.  Stephen is lucky to be taken in my a local community and the reader glimpses Stephen as a boy that does not like to make a scene.  At first it seems as though this town is almost like 'Pleasantville', it is so perfect, but as the novel continues we learn things about the community that they wanted to be kept secret.  Throughout the book Stephen stays true to himself and does not let the new kids change him.  His friendship with Jenny introduces him to a whole new world.  He begins to see the community in a different light. He tries new things and breaks rules for a change. When they decide to pull a prank on the town bully everything goes wrong and the lessons they learn from the aftermath make this book a worthwhile read.  Teens will be able to relate to the reluctant hero of this story.  Stephen is a believable character, he is a hesitant hero, and he is aware of the decisions he makes.
Author Information:  According to the author’s website http://www.jeff-hirsch.com , he is from Richmond, VA and he studied acting at East Carolina University.  He had always been interested in writing and after moving to New York to try to his hand at acting he decided to give writing a try and went to UC San Diego where he got an MFA in playwriting.  He began to read famous young adult authors and was impressed with the quality of writing for teens.  He wrote a book that was an adaptation of one of his plays (he does not plan to publish it though).  Now he is back in New York and has one published book under his belt, The Eleventh Plague, with more to come.
Genre: Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas:  Ask teens what they would do if the world were nothing like it is now from the aftermath of war and sickness.  How would they survive on their own if they were a survivor? 
Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? A great book for the fan of apocalyptic literature.