Jumped

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Jumped. New York: HarperTeen, 2009.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
This narrative about one violent day in an urban high school is told through the eyes of three girls.

Booktalk Review:
Experience bullying in a day in the life of an urban high school student. Read this narrative told from the points of view of three female students to feel the escalating tension over the course of a violent day. Seemingly inconspicuous acts can have serious consequences, like getting Jumped.

Author's Website:
http://www.ritawg.com/

Big Fat Manifesto

Vaught, Susan. Big Fat Manifesto. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.

[Book cover credit: www.worldcat.org]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
This is a book about an overweight teenage girl who writes about what it is like to be overweight in a weekly column called Fat Girl in the high school newspaper.

Booktalk Review:
Jamie Carcaterra, is a bold, full of life, ambitious teenager who writes about the reality of being overweight in her weekly high school column, Fat Girl. Read what she has to say to her high school in the Back To School Special Edition:

I am so sick of reading books and article about fat girls written by skinny women. Or worse yet, skinny guys. Tell me, what in the name of all that's creamy and chocolate do skinny guys know about being a fat girl? [p.1]

Her tell-it-like-it-is frankness, in-your-face humor and wittiness make this book a page turner.

Awards, Recognitions, Honors, etc.:

• Featured on Oprah.com on the Kids Reading List (12 and up)
  

Author's Website:
http://www.susanvaught.com/

Bird

Johnson, Angela. Bird. New York: Dial Books, 2004.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
Bird, a thirteen year old girl, was crushed when she lost her stepfather. This is a story of her quest to convince him to come home and the relationships she makes along the way.

Booktalk Review:
Bird is devasted that her stepfather, Cecil, has left the family.

Cecil used to wake me up at about five o'clock in the morning to go out and run with him. He said he couldn't think of anybody else in the world who didn't mind getting up that early and had the energy of a hummingbird.
I guess that's why he always called me Bird.
When he left I began thinking that nobody else would ever call me that again, and my heart started to hurt. I remember that I sat out on the stoop and watched people go by for hours and hours without seeing any of their faces. I sat there till the sun started to go down and Mom finally came out and said, "He's not coming back, so you might as well come on in and get on with it."
I did get on with it. [p.9]

This beautifully written book will suck you into the life of the unforgettable Bird.

Check out this website for more information about the author:
http://www.visitingauthors.com/authors/johnson_angela/johnson_angela_bio.html

High School Hazing: When Rites Become Wrongs

Nuwer, Hank. High School Hazing: When Rites Become Wrongs. New York: F. Watts, 2000.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
This nonfiction book exposes the the often hidden world of hazing. It provides lots of information about hazing including definitions of the two different types, how to recognize it, it's relationship to alcohol, sports, and gangs, and 15 suggestions on how to end it.

Booktalk Review:
This book is a great resource for any teen or adult who is interested in learning more about hazing. Although hazing is not new, it seems as though it is becoming more destructive and even fatal. People who are victims of hazing are many times left with negative feelings. This is the perfect guide and reference book for anyone who thinks they, or someone they know, is a victim of hazing. If you think you or someone you know is a victim of hazing, please seek help from a trusted adult immediately.

Author's Website:
http://www.hanknuwer.com/

Monster

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
Steve Harmon is a 16 year old who is in jail and on trial for being an accomplice to murder. This fiction book is his account of his life at that time in screenplay and diary format.

Booktalk Review:
Steve Harmon is only 16 and is a prisoner in jail. While on trial for murder, he creates this oh so clever and witty screenplay, with a smattering of journal entries. He paints a colorful picture of the characters and events, and he does so in a way that adds comedy relief to this serious story. Truly, this is one of those fast reading books that you don't want to put down. Read it and find out the outcome of the trial. Who really is the Monster?

Awards, Recognitions, Honors, etc.:

• 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Yound People's Literature
• First-ever recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
• Coretta Scott King Award

Teen Review:
I read this for school. What a cool book! It made me want to write a screenplay about my life or something. Laura, 16

Author's Website:
http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/

A Field Guide To High School

Walsh, Marissa. A Field Guide to High School: A Novel. New York: Delacorte Press, 2007.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
This is a hilarious guide to high school. It covers anything from the cafeteria to the jocks.

Booktalk Review:
Written as a guide from one college-bound sister to her younger sister about to enter high school, this read is sure to make anyone laugh. Here is an excerpt from the book that describes a certain type of girl:

SHREWS AND GILA MONSTERS
[HILTONS]

SIMILAR SPECIES: Mean girls. The plastics. The Heathers. Pretties. Princesses. Popular People. Cheerleaders. Beautiful people.
EXAMPLES: Heathers. Cher from Clueless. Kelly from Saved by the Bell.
BEHAVIOR: Frequent hair whipping, color/outfit coordinating, not eating.
IDENTIFICATION: Long hair. Evil eye. Little dog.
AS SEEN IN: Heathers. Mean Girls. Popular. Clueless.
HABITAT: Mall. Bathroom.
NOTE: Dig below the surface and they're just like everybody else. [p.104]

Her spot-on and sometimes vicious descriptions and mocking flavor make this gossip-worthy book an enjoyable read.

Teen Review:
Shut up! It was so funny how she made fun of everybody! I think some of the advice is crazy, but some of it is good. Laura, 16

Check out this website for a short bio of the auther (it doesn't have any info on this book, though):
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Marissa-Walsh/37119608

Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
This is an amazing story of a misunderstood teenager who was raped by an upperclassman at a party and lost all of her friends. Her world was devastated until something unexpected happens.

Booktalk Review:
Melinda was raped by an upperclassman at a party the summer before her freshman year. When she called the police, they only broke up the party and she never made sure they knew what had happened to her. As if this could not get any worse, when school started she was an outcast because she broke up the party. FYI...her home life was not much better. No one knew what had happened to her. She went through each school day as a silent, shunned, meek rat. Melinda even received harsh treatment from her teachers! Alone and miserable, her old best friend, Rachel, didn't even want to talk to her. Well, Rachel began dating the upperclassman who had raped Melinda, so what will Melinda do? Will she ever tell her story? Will she ever Speak?

Awards, Recognitions, Honors, etc.:

• A Michael L. Printz Honor Book
• A National Book Award Finalist
• An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
• A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
• Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award
• An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
  
• An ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults
• An ALA Quick Pick
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• A Booklist Top Ten First Novel of 1999
• A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
• A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• An IRA Young Adult Choice
• A Junior Library Guild Selection
• A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
  
• A Horn Book Fanfare Title
  
• A New York Times Best Seller
• A Publishers Weekly Best Seller
• A winner of eight state book awards
• A finalist for eleven state book awards
  

Author's Website:
http://www.writerlady.com/