Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman - PUBLIC ONLY

Goodman, Shawn  Kindness for Weakness, 261 pgs. Delecorte Press, Random House, Inc., 2013.   $16.99.  Language: R 200+swears 50+”F”; Mature Content: R; Violence PG-13

Kindness for Weaknessdescribes the journey of a young, 15-year-old boy named James as he learns what it means to grow up and become a man.  James comes from a dysfunctional family constituted of a missing father; a run-down, alcoholic, mother; a live-in, abusive boyfriend; and a run-away older brother.  Desiring anyone to want or care about him, James latches onto the praise and compassion of his English teacher, Mr. Pfeffer, who encourages him to find answers in literature--which he does.  Also fulfilling a need to be accepted, James agrees to deliver drugs for his older brother Louis which ultimately leads to his arrest and sentence to a juvenile detention center.  The remaining pages of the book detail the cruel scenes he both witnessed and experienced while in Thomas C. Morton Jr. Residential Center.  There is conflict on all sides from tough guards to encouraging counselors, from a homosexual friend to threatening inmates, from little to no family visits to encouraging letters from a teacher. Often using comparisons to the one book he has to read, The Sea Wolf, James tries to distinguish between kindness and weakness as he attempts to figure out how to stand up for himself without using violence--hoping he will make it out alive.

PUBLIC ONLY.  Reviewer:  Donna Huxford

Anywhere but Here by Tanya Kyi - OPTIONAL

Kyi, Tanya Lloyd Anywhere but Here, 320 pgs. Simon & Schuster, 2013. $9.99. Language: R (44 swears, 11 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG-13. 

After the loss of his mother to cancer, Cole’s goal during his senior year is to find a way out of his hometown. Webster is a small town that Cole feels traps its citizens in an inescapable “web”. Cole tries to break all ties that might bind him to his hometown, including breaking up with his long-term girlfriend. He struggles with complicated issues such as drinking, drugs, teenage sex, as well as a depressed and drunk father. Some of Cole’s actions, however, prove to have consequences that may keep him in Webster. 

This book dealt with a lot of real-world, mature issues and showed teenagers living with an unrealistic amount of freedom. The writing is very fluid, descriptive, and compelling. While Cole’s dilemma pulls the reader in emotionally, the lack of rules in Coles world and lack of consequences is somewhat disappointing. 

HS-OPTIONAL. SBenson

Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell -- ESSENTIAL

Coriell, Shelley Goodbye, Rebel Blue, 320 pgs. Amulet Books, 2013. $16.95. Language: PG-13 (33 swears; 1 'f'); Sexual Content: PG; Violence: PG.

When Rebecca "Rebel" Blue ends up in detention yet again, she finds herself sharing the room with too-perky Kennedy Green. It's only when Rebel finds out that Kennedy died soon after their encounter that she begins to regret the way she treated the other girl. To make amends, Rebel makes it her goal to complete Kennedy's bucket list. But along the way, Rebel begins to reevaluate her loner ways and open herself up to love and friendship.

Goodbye, Rebel Blue is a fantastic read that should appeal to fans of Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. Rebel is a loner, and understandably angry without being obnoxious or overly acerbic. Her growth throughout the book is tender and realistic, and I found myself rooting for her the whole way. The romantic thread is woven throughout, but does not overwhelm the main plot line and, in fact, adds to Rebel's growth. Underlying questions about spirituality, fate, and free will should appeal to students who love to contemplate the deeper issues. To add a bit of fun, astute readers of Coriell's previous book, Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe should recognize a cameo appearance.

HS -- ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Caryn

Counting Backwards by Laura Lascarso - ADVISABLE

Lascarso, Laura  Counting Backwards, 279 pgs.  Atheneum Books, 2012.  $16.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (18 swears; 3 F); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13. 

Taylor has been living with her alcoholic mother and covering for her mistakes ever since her father left them.  After tripping on a drunk man in the hallway in the middle of the night, Taylor decides that she wants to run away from it all.  She takes the man’s car keys and steals his car.  When the police catch up to her, she resists arrest and finds herself before a juvenile detention judge.  Taylor’s father asks the judge to put Taylor in Sunny Meadows, a place where she can get help from psychiatrists, instead of in juvenile detention.  When Taylor arrives at Sunny Meadows she obsesses about escaping the prison-like setting and with the help of her new friend, A.J. she feels even closer to her goal of freedom. 

This is a great book that shows consequences for bad actions.  Taylor is like any tough teenage girl and she thinks she has all the answers, but when pushed to her limits and humbled to finally seek help she realizes that there are people out there that might be able to help her navigate her life.  The characters in this book are easy to relate to and as a reader I found myself cheering for their success.  This was a satisfying read and realistic about the consequences of illegal behavior. 

MS, HS-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean - OPTIONAL

Dean, Carolee  Forget Me Not, 374 pgs.  Simon Pulse, 2012.  $16.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (29 swears); Mature Content: PG-13 (suicide, underage drugs and drinking, sexual situations); Violence: PG-13. 

Ally used to be part of the popular crowd, but ever since a photo of her in bed with her best friend’s brother has been texted around the school she has become a social pariah.  She quickly loses any friends that she thought she had and finds that the boy she slept with actually is back together with his manipulative girlfriend who plans on making Ally’s life a nightmare.  One night after a roof party, Ally finds herself stuck in an abandoned school hallway with a group of other teens that seem to have horrible high school stories as well.  The only person who can coax her out of the hallway is her old friend, Elijah. The question is can he get her to value her life enough to stay out of the hallway. 

This book is full of teenage angst and bullying.  The main character made some poor decisions, but tries to fix them in the end which makes her growth worth reading.  The whole book is written in either poems or as a play script, which is well written.  Overall, it’s an interesting enough read, even though I did have a hard time with the main characters sexual promiscuity. 

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson - OPTIONAL

Patterson, Janci  Chasing the Skip, 228 pgs.  Henry Holt and Company, 2012.  $16.99  Content: Language: R (38 swears; 2 “F”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13. 

Ricki’s dad has not been a part of her life until now.  Her mother’s gone to California and told her dad that it’s his turn to watch Ricki.  At the age of fifteen, she can’t imagine anything worse than having to leave her friends and boyfriend to live with her dad who lives out of a travel trailer.  Her dad is a recovering alcoholic and works as a bounty hunter traveling in the Denver area.  When he picks up a seventeen-year-old, Ian, who has jumped bail and has a violent past, Ricki finds herself attracted to him.  In her attempts to figure out her relationship with her dad she makes poor decisions with the skip, Ian. 

This book gave me anxiety.  The main character, Ricki, was super whiney and made poor decisions.  The development of the relationship between Ricki and her father was interesting, but Ricki was hard to like. 

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

When we Wuz Famous by Greg Takoudes - - ADVISABLE

Takoudes, Greg When we Wuz Famous, 310 pgs. Henry Holt and Company; 2013. $16.99. Language: R ( 100+ Swears 17 Fs); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13.  

When basketball star Francisco gets a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in upstate New York, he leaves his friends, his girlfriend and his “Krew” behind.  But when trouble shows up when he comes home for a long weekend, Francisco must decide between staying in school and being loyal to his friends.  

Based on Takoudes film “Up with Me”, this gritty look at the inner-city youth of Spanish Harlem shows how hard it is to break away from the life there. The violence is mild without losing the feel for the danger.  Although quite sweary, High School students would really enjoy this novel.  

HS ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - OPTIONAL

Han, Jenny and Siobhan Vivian  Burn For Burn, 356 pgs.  Simon and Schuster, 2012.  $17.99  Content: Language: R (100 swears; 2 “F”; 23 God); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG. 

Three girls, Mary, Lillia and Kat, all have revenge on the mind.  So when Kat decides to quit waiting for karma, and take matters into her own hands, she swears the other two girls to a secret plan to destroy the three people who have made their life hard.  Mary was tortured by Reeve, a boy who pretended to be her friend in private, but publicly called her fat and turned their small private school against her.  Lillia thought she could trust her friend Alex, he wants to be more than friends, but he’s always been respectful of Lillia, until she finds her little sister’s clothes in his bedroom.  Kat wants revenge on Rennie, her childhood best friend, who has labeled Kat as a druggie and slut.  The three girls share their heartache with each other and then meticulously make a plan to ruin their nemesis. 

This book is uncomfortable to read because revenge turns good people bad.  The girls vacillate between satisfaction in their acts and deep regret.  The book has the feel of Pretty Little Liars meets Mean Girls, with all the high school social drama.  I cared about the characters, so when the ending left the whole story unresolved I was very frustrated.  There is going to be another book in the series that hopefully allows the girls to redeem themselves. 

HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler - OPTIONAL

Ockler, Sarah  Bittersweet, 378 pgs.  Simon Pulse, 2012. $9.99  Content: Language: PG-13 (58 swears; 12 God); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G. 

Hudson used to be an ice skater with Olympic dreams, and she used to have a dad who helped her with those dreams, but then her dad cheated on her mom and Hudson gave up her dreams of ice skating.  Now she helps her mom at the family diner by making cupcakes.  She receives an invitation to participate in an ice skating competition for a college scholarship and she decides that she wants to get back into skating.  While skating at the lake, she runs into the co-captain of the hokey team, Josh.  Josh tells Hudson that if she helps the team improve then he will get her ice time on a real rink.  Hudson soon finds herself with too many things going on in her life and she is letting down the people that she loves. 

This is a good book about following your dreams, but also loving where you are in life.  Hudson learns important lessons about trusting her friends and family.  The romance makes the story sweeter, but at times Hudson’s lack of communication can be really frustrating. 

MS, HS-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson. 

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown- ADVISABLE

Brown, Jennifer. Thousand Words, 284 pgs. Little, Brown and Company, 2013. $17.99. Language R (50 swears, 1 ‘f’), Sexual Content R (Nudity, sexting), Violence G.

It’s the end of the summer, and Ashleigh is at a party. Her boyfriend is out playing baseball with his buddies, and she knows that he’ll be leaving for college soon. Under the influence of her friends and alcohol, Ash decides to take a nude picture of herself and text it to her boyfriend to ensure that he won’t forget her. When Kaleb and Ashleigh suffer a bad break up a few weeks later, Kaleb send the photo to everyone in his contacts, and both of them have to suffer the consequences.

This was a decent book. I think it portrays pretty well the dangers of sexting and the consequence it can have. However, the protagonist annoyed me at some points. She would act like the whole mess was Kaleb’s fault, when she just shouldn’t have taken the picture in the first place. HS – Advisable. Reviewer: AL

Breath by Jackie Kessler - ADVISABLE

Kessler, Jackie Morse Breath, 318 p. Graphia (Houghton), 2013.  $9.  Language: PG-13 (27 swears, 0 ‘f’); Violence: G; Mature Content: G.  

Xander Atwood is living the best time of his life.  He has the hottest girl in school as his girlfriend and they are totally connected – life is good.  Until the day he meets Death – and Death is depressed – suicidal even.  Who is the First Horseman of the Apocalypse?  What is his origin?  What happens when it is time for him to change – or die?  Sorry.  I’m throwing up a lot of questions and handing back no answers.  Just read the final book in this series and enjoy.  

MS, HS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch - OPTIONAL

Murdoch, Emily If You Find Me, 256 p. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013.  $18. Language: R (25 swears, 2 ‘f’); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG-13.  

For ten years, Carey and Janessa have been hiding in the woods with their mother.  She’s been gone for months now, however and they are going to starve unless something changes – and it does.  Carey’s father has appeared to take them in.  Carey doesn’t want to know it, but he has been looking for her every single day.  The lies her meth addled mother told her all those years make it hard for Carey to trust.  But finding the right friends at school and allowing her new family to love her can go a long way to heal any wound – including the deep, dark secrets that Carey is trying to hide, even from herself.  

Don’t read this unless you want to cry.  I don’t really care about the language rating and if you will read it you will understand why the mature content rating is so high, but you will also understand why it is exactly perfect, justified and fits exactly what needed to be shared.  If I were in a high school, I would totally have this on my shelves.  

HS – OPTIONAL (check the ratings) - Cindy, Library Teacher