Everlost book trailer

Everlost book trailer created by Brooke Austin

My favorite books

I was telling a friend about this class and she asked if I had a hard time finding books to read that were any good. Ha! I believe this to be a common misconception about young adult literature. The selection of great young adult literature is nearly endless.

So give young adult literature a try. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Here are my 5 favorite books from this class:

1- Midnighters by Scott Westerfield

2- White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

3- The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

4- Code Orange by Carolyn Cooney

5- Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

The Summer Set

The Summer Set

Love Like This

The Militia Group, 2009

ASIN B002MXA7PG

4 (out of 5) STARS

Plot summary

1- The Boys You Do

2-Punch-Drunk Love

3-Chelsea

4-Young

5-Take it Slow

6-Can you Find Me?

7-Love like This

8-Girls Freak Me Out

9-This is How We Live

10-Where Are You Now

Critical Analysis

This is a great group! They are a bit off the beaten path and not very well known. I guess they sound a bit like any other rock band coming out right now, but still enjoyable. They sing about all the normal teenage stuff; love, friendship, etc.

Reader's Annotation

N/A

Information about the artists

Co-founded by brothers John and Stephen Gomez, the Summer Set took shape in 2007 in Scottsdale, AZ. The Gomez siblings rounded out their lineup with guitarist John Montgomery, drummer Jess Bowen, and vocalist Brian Dales, and the teenagers chose their band's name after opening an atlas and happening upon the town of Somerset, NJ. Despite the East Coast reference, Arizona proved to be the Summer Set's muse, and the group took inspiration from such local acts as Jimmy Eat World and the Format while composing its own emo-pop songs. After gathering a modest audience on MySpace, the Summer Set began playing local shows and issuing several EPs while still in high school, eventually signing with Razor & Tie shortly after graduation. Released in 2009, Love Like This marked the group's official debut. ~ Andrew LeaheyMySpace, the Summer Set began playing local shows and issuing several EPs while still in high school, eventually signing with Razor & Tie shortly after graduation. Released in 2009, Love Like This marked the group's official debut.

http://www.billboard.com/artist/the-summer-set/bio/997012#/artist/the-summer-set/bio/997012

Genre

punk rock

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

age 14 and up

Challenge Issues

The lyrics have quite a bit of swearing of the milder swear words.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

*The above information applies for a music CD.

Why Included?

One of the teens I interviewed said this was one of her favorite groups.

19 Varieties of Gazelle

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East

by Naomi Shihab Nye

Greenwillow Books, 2002

ISBN 0060097655

141 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye has brought together a collection of her poems about the Middle East, shedding powerful, tender light on a region filled with rich history and much turmoil. Nye, who is of Middle Eastern descent herself, speaks from the heart, capturing an entire culture in strong images -- especially in "Biography of an Armenian Schoolgirl," "Rock," and the poem that gives the anthology its title. Both remarkable and enlightening, this collection of poetry will help foster understanding in young and old alike for an area of the world most of us know only through nightly news broadcasts.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/342068.19_Varieties_of_Gazelle

Critical Evaluation

Although I do not usually read poetry, I enjoyed this book. A quote on the very first dedication page says, "If you look at the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions, their first commandments are the same: 'Thou shalt not kill.' It's not taken seriously." This collection of poetry is full of imagery and questions. Questions about war and fighting, about intolerance and selfishness. The poems are beautiful and make me pause and think.

Reader’s Annotation

A collection of poems about the middle east.

Information about the author

Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. Her experience of both cultural difference and different cultures has influenced much of her work.

Nye told Contemporary Authors: “I have always loved the gaps, the spaces between things, as much as the things. I love staring, pondering, mulling, puttering. I love the times when someone or something is late—there’s that rich possibility of noticing more, in the meantime…Poetry calls us to pause. There is so much we overlook, while the abundance around us continues to shimmer, on its own.”

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/naomi-shihab-nye

Genre

poetry

Curriculum Ties

poetry. current events. geography. history.

Booktalking Ideas

*Close your eyes, breathe deeply. What do you hear, smell, feel? Can you write about your thoughts? Slow down. Notice things around you.

Reading Level

age 11 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I believe poetry adds a depth to a library collection. Some teens really respond to poetry. I also appreciated that this book was about other countries and cultures.

Gale Student Resource in Context

Gale Student Resource in Context

Subscription Database

Gale Group, Inc.

Plot Summary

Gale Student Resources In Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on a broad range of topics, people, places, and events. The new solution merges Gale's authoritative reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience combined with new features such as "Search Assist" and quick fact boxes.

http://www.galesites.com/menu/index.php?loc=avon12

Critical Evaluation

WOW! This is an amazing database. I wish I had discovered it a few years ago. My daughter is in sixth grade in an accelerated program and this is perfect for her. She is currently working on a project about Edward Jenner who discovered the vaccination for small pox. So I browsed the database looking for information about him and small pox. There was a wealth and variety of information. We will definitely be using this database for many years to come in my home.

Reader’s Annotation

N/A

Information about the author

Gale®, part of Cengage Learning, is a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses. Best known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform.

http://www.gale.cengage.com/about/

Genre

all different topics

Curriculum Ties

Absolutely amazing resource guide for nearly any topic.

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I went to my local library teen space on the library website. I just randomly picked a few databases to look at and play around with.

Learning Express Library

Learning Express Library

Subscription Database

Plot Summary

LearningExpress Library is an innovative, Web-based learning solution that provides patrons, from elementary students to adult learners, with instant access to the most comprehensive collection of test preparation tools, skill-building materials, and career resources available. Over 770 online practice tests and interactive skill-building tutorials are available, along with more than 130 eBook titles-all developed by expert academic and industry professionals.

http://www.learningexpressllc.com/products/home.cfm

Critical Evaluation

Very cool! There are tons of different resources and tests for students and adults of all ages. I think teens will find this database very beneficial because there are lots of college prep tests they can take. For example, there are ACT prep tests. What a wonderful resource.

Reader’s Annotation

N/A

Information about the author

LearningExpress, LLC was founded in 1995 to provide customized test-preparation materials for students and adults to improve their performance on academic, licensing, and certification exams. The company quickly emerged as an industry leader in both online and print resources, with special emphasis on career guidance and preparation, academic and career test preparation, and basic skills improvement.

Since its founding, LearningExpress has continued to pair innovative technology with a strong foundation in research-based test and course development. All of our products are developed by leading educators and professionals, and follow rigorous standards. Today, the company serves over 4,000 public libraries, 5,000 schools, and 800 colleges across the United States and Canada, and maintains over 20 statewide contracts for its online learning platforms.

http://www.learningexpressllc.com/company/home.cfm

Genre

nonfiction.

Curriculum Ties

test help for nearly every subject

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

elementary school age children and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I was looking for a database that would specifically appeal to teens. This database has tons of tests to help students get ready for anything that they need to prepare for.

Fruit Basket

Fruit Basket

by Natsuki Takaya

Tokyopop Manga, 2007

ISBN 1427806896

434 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Tohru Honda was an orphan, living with her grandfather, when one day fate kicked her out of the house and she was forced to take up residence in a tent in the forest. Little did she know that the land she was staying on belonged to the Sohma family, a mysterious clan. After stumbling upon the teenage squatter, the Sohmas invite Tohru to stay in their house in exchange for housework. Everything's going well until she discovers the Sohma family's greatest secret: when hugged by members of the opposite sex, they each turn into their Chinese Zodiac animal!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/271199.Fruits_Basket_Vol_1

Critical Evaluation

This was a brand new experience for me. This is the first manga book I have ever read. I chose this one because it was referred to positively in the Manga's genre group presentation earlier in the semester.

There were quite a few things I liked about the book. 1- The artwork. I particularly enjoyed the artwork of the people. Somewhere I read (can't remember where now) that the author of Fruits basket likes to draw her men slender. That would be for sure. The men in the book are very beautiful also effeminate. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the males and females. 2- I liked the story line. It is interesting to have the characters turn into the different zodiac animals.

My only real problem with the book was getting used to the style. I still get confused about which way to read the pages. At the back of the book I found a "map" for how to read each page. But not each page perfectly follows that format and then I get confused. I followed the gist of the story just fine but sometimes I would read the dialogue in a backward manner.

Reader’s Annotation

When Tohru's mother dies in a car accident, Tohru lives in a tent. But she is soon found by some classmates and invited to live with them.

Information about the author

Natsuki Takaya (高屋 奈月 Takaya Natsuki, real name Naka Hatake) is the penname of a Japanese manga artist best-known for creating the series Fruits Basket. She was born on July 7, 1973; (Tanabata). Takaya is left-handed and once revealed that she wanted to be a mangaka since first grade, when her sister started drawing.

She was born in Shizuoka, Japan, but was raised in Tokyo, where she made her debut in 1992. She enjoys video games such as the Final Fantasy series or Sakura Wars, or working on her different manga series, such as Fruits Basket, which is the second best-selling shōjo manga ever in Japan, and the top selling shōjo manga in North America. Fruits Basket has also been adapted into a twenty-six-episode anime series.

In 2001, Takaya received a Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga for Fruits Basket.

According to Takaya (in a sidebar of a Fruits Basket manga volume), she enjoys drawing girls (girly ones) more than she does boys. Takaya also enjoys electronics and music, but dislikes talking about herself. Also revealed in a sidebar of Fruits Basket, Takaya broke her drawing arm (left) after Fruits Basket volume six was published. She had to go into surgery, and as a result, had put Fruits Basket on a brief hiatus. Takaya made a full recovery, but complains that her handwriting had gotten uglier, due to the surgery. During her hospital stay, she gained an interest in baseball.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/26306.Natsuki_Takaya

Genre

manga. fantasy.

Curriculum Ties

literature. Japanese culture.

Booktalking Ideas

*What do you know about the twelve zodiac animals? What year were you born? And so then, which zodiac sign are you?

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

Manga is continuing to gain popularity and is a necessary part of a ya collection. Fruit Basket has great reviews and seemed like a good place to start for my introduction into manga.

J-14

J-14 Magazine

July 2011.

Plot Summary

J-14 is a monthly teenage magazine marketed at girls in their early teens and younger. It is published by Bauer Publishing, the United States division of the German firm Bauer Verlagsgruppe. The contents of these magazines include features like teen gossip, quizzes, fashion, posters, and information on celebrities that pertain to the readers. The first issue was released in January 2001. The name of the publication is a sound-alike abbreviation of its tagline "Just For Teens". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-14_(magazine)

Critical Evaluation

Personally, not my favorite. However, I believe it has a place in a YA collection. There are many teens who love to follow the celebrities and this is the magazine to do just that. I thought the magazine was very busy and a bit confusing. I think the cover indicates that as well. The cover is very busy and bright and the inside of the magazine looks just the same. I feel that these magazines often sexualize girls way to young. Also some of the advice I don't think is realistic or healthy advice.

Reader’s Annotation

N/A

Information about the editor

Rachel Chang is currently the editor-in-chief at J-14 Magazine, the top-selling teen magazine on newsstands published by Bauer Publishing. Prior to this, she was the entertainment editor at CosmoGirl Magazine, entertainment editor at J-14, and associate editor at Popstar! Magazine. She’s also written for Alternative Press, Glamour, Audrey, USOpen.org, and Clear Channel Online Music & Radio, as well as interned at In Style, YM, and the Daily Record. Rachel began her career in entertainment while she was an undergraduate at UCLA, interning at Nickelodeon, the Dawson’s Creek writers’ office, Buena Vista Pictures, Comcast, and The WB Television Network — and worked at The WB in photo publicity during its pop culture reign before heading to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she earned her masters in Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism.

http://www.bauerpublishing.com/teen-group/j-14/editor-bio/

Genre

magazine

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

There is quite a bit that a parent could object to.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

*Above information applies to magazines as well.

I think it would be/will be more difficult to defend materials that I personally do not like or care for. However, it is still important to keep it on the shelf.

Why Included?

This magazine circulates well and the copies always look very well loved. I thought it would be a good addition to the YA collection.

Tweak

Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines

by Nic Sheff

Ginee Seo Books, 2007

ISBN 1416913629

336 pages

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Nic Sheff grew up in California. His parents divorced when he was young and he lived the majority of his time with his dad. His dad treated him like an adult and took him everywhere with him. Nic was exposed to drugs, sex, violence at a very young age. By the time he was twelve he had started drinking, smoking and trying drugs.

When he went off to college he really became addicted and his life began to be out of control. Nic went through many cycles of sobriety and relapse. He lied, stole, broke into family's home, prostituted, etc. At one point in his early twenties he was diagnosed as being rapid cycle bipolar.

The book concludes with Nic having been sober for one year and living in the southern part of the United States. The book was published in 2007. I hope Nic is still sober.

Critical Evaluation

This was a very difficult book to listen to. (I listened to it as an eaudiobook). There is a lot of swearing, much more swearing than I prefer to listen to. There was some descriptive details about doing the drugs. There was also a lot of sex but no descriptive details.

I found myself alternating between feeling sorry for Nic and feeling frustrated with him. Sometimes I related to Nic. He talked alot about how difficult life is and I relate to that. But all of his behaviors made his life so much more difficult. Often I tried to think how I would feel as Nic's parents. That would be so hard. I know they loved him so much but time and again he hurt them. He would steal from them, lie to them, etc. Becoming involved with drugs very quickly ruins lives. It was amazing to listen to the descriptions of all that he put his body through. Not only were the drugs horrific to his body but injecting all those needles repeatedly into his body was damaging. And when he was in the middle of huge drug cycles he did not eat

or sleep so his body was wasting away. Nic was essentially killing himself.

Reader’s Annotation

Nic Sheff became addicted to drugs and cycled through drug abuse and sobriety over the course of many years.

Information about the author

Nic Sheff is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. Still in his early twenties, he continues to fight daily battles with his addictions. His writing has been published in Newsweek, Nerve, and the San Francisco Chronicle. TWEAK is his first book.

http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/nic-sheff

Genre

memoir

Curriculum Ties

Drug abuse.

Booktalking Ideas

*What happens to your body when you get addicted to drugs? What happens to your life?

Reading Level

grade 10 and up.

Challenge Issues

Drugs, sex, swearing.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

Why included?

I included this book because enjoy memoirs. Nic's father also wrote a book about Nic and this time in his life. It is called Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Meth Addiction by David Sheff. I have not yet read this book but plan to in the future.

Seventeen

Seventeen Magazine

July 2011

Plot Summary

Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications.News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications (later Primedia) in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the forefront of newsstand popularity among growing competition. This magazine is mostly for young girls and women from the ages of 12–19.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_(magazine)

Critical Evaluation

Again, not a big fan of this magazine. In fact, most magazines like this I just do not care for. The girls are sexualized way to early. There is very little substance in the magazine. And much of the advice given is not really realistic or healthy. In my pursuing of YA magazines I found a great one. It is entitled New Moon. (nothing to do with Stephanie Meyer's new moon). It looks absolutely wonderful but I believe the market is for younger girls not older teens.

Reader’s Annotation

N/A

Information about the editor

Ann Shoket has been Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen Magazine since January 2007. Prior to that, Ms. Shoket served as Executive Editor of the award-winning CosmoGIRL! Magazine since October 2003. She had been with CosmoGIRL! since its launch in 1999, joining as senior editor. In less than two years, she helped lead CosmoGIRL! to become the number one teen magazine on newsstands. While there, she developed some of the most popular sections of the magazine devoted to the topics closest to teen girls' hearts: friends, love and celebrities. In 2004, in response to an epidemic of teen obesity, which flourished in counterpoint to a surge in anorexia, she re-imagined and expanded the magazine's health coverage to include a nutrition and exercise campaign to help all readers live healthier lives. Ms. Shoket has also made her mark as a champion of young women's leadership. She created a "CosmoGIRL! Born to Lead" patch program with The Girl Scouts and she developed a national leadership survey with The White House Project. As the editor in charge of CosmoGIRL!'s leadership campaign, Project 2024, she secured high-profile interviews with leaders such as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, ABC News' Barbara Walters, and designer Vera Wang. Before CosmoGIRL!, Ms.Shoket served as Senior Editor with the Parade family of publications, where she launched the style section for Parade's teen news magazine, React. At the beginning of the dot-com boom, she created the independent Web magazine Tag, which gave voice to an online community of artists and writers. She began her career as a reporter with renowned journalist Steve Brill at The American Lawyer. Ms. Shoket has B.A., cum laude, from New York University and a certificate in Media Management from The New School.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=42084900&privcapId=4424815&previousCapId=4424815&previousTitle=Seventeen%20Magazine

Genre

N/A. format - magazine

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

girls age 12 to 19.

Challenge Issues

Always room for challenges with girl fashion magazines.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

*Above information also works with magazines.

Why Included?

As much as I do not care for it, Seventeen has been a very popular magazine for many years now. It is a staple part of a YA magazine collection.

Beastly

Beastly

Movie

Directed by Daniel Barnz

CBS Films, 2011

ASIN B0052QXAEK

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

'Beastly' is an edgy teen romance about learning how to see past false surfaces to discover true inner beauty.

Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has it all -- looks, intelligence, wealth and opportunity -- and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating "aggressively unattractive" classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra, inviting her to the school's extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is -- a task he considers impossible.

Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle’s callous father banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) if she will consent to live in Kyle's Brooklyn home. Thus begins Kyle's journey to discover true love in this hyper-modern retelling of the classic 'Beauty and the Beast' story.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/beastly/37954/synopsis

Critical Analysis

I always enjoy variations of fairy tales. I really looked forward to watching this movie but then thought it was only ok. I realize that a retelling of a fairy tale in some ways will always be predictable but this movie was even more predictable than I would have enjoyed. There was nothing special or unusual that made this telling of Beauty and the Beast unique or special. The change in the "beast" was not really very believable.

Other fairy tale movies that I enjoyed more are Red Riding Hood (released March 11, 2011), Tangled (released November 24, 2010) and Ever After (released July 29, 1998).

Reader’s Annotation

Another basic retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in modern time.

Information about the director

A veteran of Ivy League Yale University and the University of Southern California Film School, writer-cum-directorDaniel Barnz spent almost a decade circulating his original scripts among the studios, and culled interest from a substantial roster of A-list talent including Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson, but could never actually cross the line and get one of the scripts produced. Barnz's fortunes shifted in late 2006, when his Phoebe in Wonderland -- an offbeat drama about a troubled young girl drifting ever more deeply into a fantasy world of her own design -- received a greenlight from executive producers Chris Finazzo and Doug Dey, with Barnz himself attached to direct.

http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/daniel-barnz/2380177/biography

Genre

fantasy.

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

rated PG-13

Challenge Issues

This movie is fairly tame. However, there is some violence, underage drinking, and kissing.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

*The above information also applies to movies.

Why Included?

One of the teenage girls that I interviewed said this was one of her new favorite movies.

Bras & Broomsticks

Bras & Broomsticks

by Sarah Mlynowski

Delacorte, 2006

ISBN 0385731841

320 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Rachel comes home from school one day to learn that her mother is a witch and that her sister has just discovered magical powers as well. Unfortunately, Rachel has not been blessed with any of these magical powers. Rachel really wants to be popular, to have a boyfriend, get a date to the spring fling, have a larger bra size and dance in the cool annual fashion show. Rachel convinces Mira to use some magical spells on her to grant some of these wishes.

Rachel and Mira's father is also planning on getting married very soon to a woman neither of them much care for. They think Jennifer is mean and that she acts one way in front of their dad and another way when he is not around. So the girls plot to use magic to foil the wedding plans.

Magic can be dangerous and often have disastrous effects and the girls learn this the hard way.

Critical Evaluation

This book was a fun, easy read. The mood of the story was light and breezy. I found this to be true of all the chick lit books that I read for this class. Actually I believe this to be a selling point of chick lit. I have quite a few friends who say "life is hard enough, why do I want to read about more of life's problems?" Chick lit may have a few problems but they are all nicely tied up at the end. In Bras & Broomsticks there were a few loose ends but this book is the first in a series so I imagine everything will continue to flow nicely and problems will be solved as we go along. I would be interested to read the rest of the books in this series.

Even though chick lit, in general and this book in particular, can be predictable, I still appreciated the themes of this book. Two strong themes presented themselves in this book: 1- messing with fate and the universe by using magic (or any other technique) can prove dangerous. And 2- If people do not like (or love) us for who we are then using magic or bribes or pretending to be someone other than we are, etc., will not bring lasting friendship and happiness. Those who truly love us, love us for who we are.

This was my favorite chick lit book of the class.

Reader’s Annotation

Rachel finds out her mother and sister are witches.

Information about the author

Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel MILKRUN.

Since then Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: FISHBOWL, AS SEEN ON TV, MONKEY BUSINESS and ME VS. ME, and the teen novels BRAS & BROOMSTICKS, FROGS & FRENCH KISSES, SPELLS & SLEEPING BAGS and PARTIES & POTIONS—all in the ‘Magic in Manhattan’ series, as well as GIMME A CALL and TEN THINGS WE DID (AND PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE).

http://sarahm.com/bio.php

Genre

Chick lit.

Curriculum Ties

Family relationships. Reading for pleasure.

Booktalking Ideas

*What would you do if you found out your sister was a witch? *If you had magical powers, what would you wish for?

Reading Level

Grades 6 to 9. So technically this may be a bit below this class level. But I still think older teenage girls would enjoy it.

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I included this book because I needed some Chick Lit in my database. I got this title from the Chick Lit presentation for our class.

Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood

Movie

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

Warner Home Video, 2011

ISBN 9780780677029

4 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Valerie (Seyfried) is a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter (Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie's older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast, offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice. But under a blood red moon, the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter, Father Solomon (Oldman), to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon's arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. As the death toll rises with each moon, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. As panic grips the town, Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect...and bait.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1486185/plotsummary

Critical Evaluation

From a purely entertainment stand point I enjoyed this movie. I really enjoy fairy tales and like to see different takes on them. Unlike Beastly, I thought this movie had something new to add. The director was also the director of the huge Twilight movie and the similarities were apparent.

Reader’s Annotation

Another retelling of Red Riding Hood.

Information about the director

Born in the border town of McAllen, TX on Oct. 21, 1955, Hardwicke studied art in Mexico and received her degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. Among her post-graduation projects was a 20-acre solar townhouse complex built around a manmade lake, complete with waterfalls and swimming pools. Despite her success in her chosen field, she saw her true calling in film, so she relocated to Los Angeles to study at UCLA.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800196628/bio

Genre

fantasy

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

N/A

Reading Level

PG-13

Challenge Issues

violence, sex, swearing, drinking.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

*The above information also applies to movies.

Why Included?

It is a new movie just released this year that looked like it appealed to teenagers.