Bog Child

Dowd, Siobhan.  Bog Child.  Oxford: David Fickling Books, 2008

ISBN 9780385614269 | Hardcover |  321 p. | $16.99 USD

Annotation:  Fergus is digging for peat with his Uncle Tally when he finds a murdered child preserved like a mummy the bog.  Bog Child serves as two historical novels intertwined together: one of Fergus during the height of the Troubles in Ireland, and one of Mel, the girl murdered and left in the bog, many centuries earlier.

Awards / Honors: 

- ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults: 2009

- Carnegie Medal in Literature: 2009

- Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult: 2009

- TAYSHAS High School Reading List: 2010

- USBBY Outstanding International Books - Grades 9-12: 2009

Book Whisper Booktalk: Fergus is trapped between warring factions in Ireland, and can't decide on his future. But none of this matters to him once he finds the body of Mel buried in the peat and begins to unravel the mystery of the murdered Bog Child.

Listen to an audio clip from the book:  

Strings Attached

Blundell, Judy.  Strings Attached. New York: Scholastic Press 2011.

ISBN: 9780545221269 | Hardcover | 320 p. | $17.99 USD

Annotation: Kit Corrigan dropped out of school and moved to New York City in hopes of becoming a Broadway star.  Kit accepts help from her estranged boyfriends father but soon finds that his help comes with a dangerous price.

Awards / Honors:

- Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of the Year: 2011

- YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2012

Index Card Booktalk: 

- 1950's New York City

- stuggling Broadway star

- hot headed boyfriend enlists in Korean War

- boyfriend's father gives her new apartment, clothes

- ends up involved with gangsters, can't escape

- web of family secrets unravel

- murder

Watch the book trailer to find out more:

Revolution

Donnelly, Jennifer. Revolution.  New York: Delacorte Press, 2010.

ISBN: 9780385737630 | Hardcover | 471 p. | $18.99 USD

Annotation: Andi Alpers has ben suffering from depression since the death of her brother so her father brings her to Paris in hopes of helping her.  She finds a diary of Alexandrine, a girl living through the French Revolution and Andi's own life becomes intertwined with Alexandrine's revolutionary struggle.

Awards / Honors:

- ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults: 2011

- Amelia Bloomer Lists - Young Adult Fiction: 2012

- Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction: 2010

- Indies' Choice Book Awards: Young Adult Fiction

- Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award: 2011

- Parents' Choice Awards - Fiction: 2010

- School Library Journal Best Books: 2010

- YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2011

Open End Booktalk:  Who cares about some teenage girl who lived 200 years ago? Andi has a dead brother, a crazy mother, an absent father, and she just doesn't care about much of anything anymore, except for her music.  When her father swoops in and drags her off to Paris where she can work on her senior project, she finds an diary of Alexandrine Paradis in an old guitar case.  Andi can't stop reading the diary about Alexandrine's struggles through the French Revolution, and suddenly the line between Alexandrine's world and her own becomes blurred.  Has Andi officially gone crazy? Will she ever find peace after the death of her brother or is her depression going to get the best of her?

Follow author Jennifer Donnelly's facebook page for updates on her other YA books: https://www.facebook.com/JenWritesBooks

Check out the official Revolution book trailer:

Hidden Roots

Bruchac, Joseph.  Hidden Roots.  New York: Scholastic Press, 2004.

ISBN 0439353580 | Hardcover | 136 p. | $16.95 USD

Annotation:  Sonny knows there is something different about his family, but he struggles to discover the secrets his mother and father are hiding from him.  This slow paced novel allows the reader insight into the mind of an 11-year-old as he attempts to understand the world around him.

Awards / Honors: 

- American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book (2006)

Wrap Back Booktalk: As Sonny is growing up, he begins to notice the strange atmosphere in his household.  His father slips into angry rages at the drop of a hat.  His mother seems fragile and scared next to his father.  And his Uncle Louis keeps coming around, which makes his mother happy and drives his father crazy.  As Sonny begins to ask questions, he beings to understand his family's Hidden Roots.

Read more about the author and listen to him perform Native American music and poetry on his website: http://www.josephbruchac.com

Flygirl

Smith, Sherri L.  Flygirl. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2008.

ISBN 9780399247095 | Hardcover | 275 p. | $16.99 USD

Annotation:  Ida Mae Jones loves to fly planes, but there aren't many piloting opportunities for young black woman in the 1940's.  When she hears about the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), she signs up to aid in the war effort.  Ida uses her light skin to pass as a white woman to get into the program, but struggles to hide her true identity as she trains as a pilot.

Awards / Honors:

- Amelia Bloomer Lists - Young Adult Fiction: 2010

- TAYSHAS High School Reading List (2010)

- YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2010

Open End Booktalk:  Would you deny who you were in order to follow your dreams? This is the dilemma Ida Mae Jones faces as a young black woman who wants to become a pilot during WWII.  Ida has loved flying since her dad taught her as a young girl, but because she is black she is not allowed to become a pilot. Ida takes advantage of her light skin to pass as a white woman and is determined to aid the war effort as a pilot.  But changing her identity is much harder than she bargained for. Will she be able to keep her secret in order to become a pilot?

Check out this video two students created after reading Flygirl:

Keeping the Castle

Kindl, Patrice.  Keeping The Castle. New York: Viking Children’s Books, 2012.

ISBN: 978-0670014385 | Hardcover | 272 p. | $11.98 USD

Annotations:  When Althea's family faces financial problems, she must find a suitor to marry to support her family and save their castle.  Althea is a sharp but lovable protagonist in this witty romantic novel.

Awards / Honors:

N/A

Wrap-Back Booktalk: Althea Crawley is seventeen and stuck. Her mother and little brother Alexander are relying solely on her marriage to a wealthy man in order to keep themselves and their broken down castle all in one piece (literally), while wicked stepsisters Prudence and Charity offer little in the way of help (and usually just cause more problems). Althea’s smart and sassy attitude scares off a number of potential suitors, and the situation looks grim until Lord Boring and his rude friend Mr. Frederick’s move in to Lesser Hoo. Boring seems like prefect husband material – he’s rich, young, handsome, and friendly to boot, and Althea quickly sets her sights on marrying him. Unfortunately for Althea, very few things ever go according to plan. What will Althea sacrifice, and what will she discover about herself along the way, as she faces the task of Keeping the Castle?

Do you ever wonder what an author imagines her characters look like? Autho Patrice Kindl shared her images the characters from Keeping the Castle on this blog:  http://mybookthemovie.blogspot.com/2012/06/patrice-kindls-keeping-castle.html

Darker Still

Hiebner, Leanna Renee. Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul.  Chicago: Sourcebooks Fire, 2011.

ISBN 9781402260520 | Paperback | 336 p. | $8.99 USD

Annotation: Natalie Stewart is drawn into a painting and transported back to New York City in 1882 to try to free the young man trapped there. .  Hiebner's suspenseful tale blends together historical fiction and paranormal romance.

Awards / Honors:

- Daphne du Maurier Award Finalist

- Indie Kids' Next Lists: 2012

Open End Booktalk: What would you do if you fell in love, only to realize that your soul mate was trapped in a picture frame? When Lord Denbury’s dark and mysterious picture enters Natalie Stewarts’ life, she quickly realizes that she has a stronger attachment to the picture than most people – she can interact with the man in the frame. Although Natalie is mute, she finds herself able to communicate with the trapped Denbury, and realizes he is a man desperately in need of her help. Natalie is quickly pulled into his dark world and must come face to face with demons and other creatures only encountered before in her nightmares. Will Natalie be able to find her voice and save her love, or will they both end up trapped forever?

Check out the official book trailer:

"I'd say I'm more into fantasy horror books.  I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but I like to read...I find out about good books from my friends, we read a lot of the same types of books."  - Nicole F.