Sabriel

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Nix, Garth. Sabriel. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Print. ISBN: 9780061474354. $9.99. 336 pages.

 

Awards & Honors:

 

Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel 1995

Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel 1995

Ditmar Award for Best Long Fiction, shortlisted 1996
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 1997
ALA Notable Children's Book 1997

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee 1997
ISFDB Top 100 Books-Critical List
ALA Popular Books for Young Adults 2003, 2009

Annotation:

Sabriel thought she knew what she wanted to do after her schooling ended, until she learned from the other side that her father, Abhorsen the necromancer, is trapped in death and needs her to come over to the other side and save him. Sabriel is a fantasy adventure that will keep readers biting their nails and cheering for a brilliant heroin.

 

Review:

 

Sabriel tells the story of a young girl, who must set out on a quest to save her father, Abhorsen, from the trappings of death. Sabriel, daughter to Abhorsen, is not a normal girl and neither is her father, who is a necromancer, binder of the dead to death. How can Sabriel find her father and free him from an enemy that she has never seen in a world in that she has never visited?

The first part of the book focuses on introducing readers to Sabriel and the Old Kingdom, where she must travel to find her father.  As the book progresses on, we meet incredible characters like Mogget and Touchstone, who help Sabriel on her quest.  Nix has created a world filled with fear, death, humor, and love, and Sabriel is an admirable heroin.

 

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Sabriel is the first book in the Abhorsen Trilogy.  Lireal is the second installment and Abhorsen concludes the trilogy.

 

 

Watch this great book trailer

 

The Coldest Winter Ever

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Le Souljah, Sister. The Coldest Winter Ever. New York: Pocket Books, 2006. Print.
ISBN: 9781416521693. $7.99. 545 pages.

Annotation-

Winter Santiago is gorgeous, smart, and privileged. Her father is a drug lord, her mom was shot in the face, and money drives everything Winter does. When her father goes to prison and her family is torn apart, Winter must learn to survive without money and material things.

The Index Card Trick

• Inner Cities
• Brooklyn, New York
• Drug Lords
• Sex
• Violence
• Materialism
• Guns
• Murder
• Anger
• Prison
• Wealth
• Family
• African American Women

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Boy Meets Boy

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Leviathan, David.  Boy Meets Boy.  New York: Albert Knopf. 2003. Print. ISBN: 9780375824005. $17.99. 194 pages.

Annotation: 

Paul is lucky, because he lives in a town where it is acceptable to be gay, but when he finds that acceptance isn't the only path to happiness, he must overcome a broken heart and rediscover himself.  Boy Meets Boy deserves a place in libraries everywhere and more books like this should be available for teens.

Booktalk Style: The Index Card Trick

• Gay is normal
• Acceptance
• Heartbreak
• Boyfriends
• Popularity
• Friendships end
• Falling in love
• Left alone
• Loss of everything

Booktalk Style: Cut to the Cut

Being gay in town where everyone accepts you is easy. Right? Paul lives a charmed life.  He is popular and knows exactly who he is.  Then, the world falls apart.  His heart is broken and all of his friends find companionship elsewhere.  Is this what happens when a Boy meets Boy?

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Listen to these book reviews

 

 

 

Read what David Levithan says about the book on his website.

Stargirl

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Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York: A. Knopf, 2000. Print. ISBN: 0679986375. $17.99. 188 pages.

Awards:

Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book 2001

ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2001

Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award 2001

Garden State Book Award (Teen Fiction Grades 6-8, 2003)

Iowa Teen Award Nominee 2002-2003

Iowa Teen Award Winner 2002-2003

South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee 2002-2003

Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee 2002-2003

 

Young Hoosier Book Award Winner 2002-2003

 

ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults 2005

 

Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award Nominee 2006

 

Annotation: 

Stargirl isn't like everyone else, she marches to the beat of her own drum, but when the boy she loves tries to change her, she must decide what matters more to her: fitting in or being true to herself.  Reading Stargirl took me back to my awkard teen years and made me appreciate individuality once again. 

Booktalk style: Open End

What is it like to be different? Picture yourself as the new kid in a school where being popular means being like everyone else.  Picture yourself sticking out, but not even caring about popularity or fitting in.  Most of us draw back at the thought, but not Stargirl.  She is like Van Gogh’s white flower in a field of color.  She does kind things for strangers, strums her ukuele as she sings to classmates on their birthday, dances in the rain, and even cheers for the opposing teams during games. 

I am Leo, and Stargirl likes me.  I thought I valued her individuality, but when the school turns on her, I convince her to be more like everyone else.  I made her change because I wasn’t brave enough to love her like she loved me.  Now what will happen to my Stargirl?

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More than Friends

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Holbrook, Sara. & Wolf, Allan.  More than Friends: Poems from Him and Her. Honesdale: Boyds Mill Press, 2008. Print.  ISBN: 9781590785874.  $16.95. 64 Pages.

Annotation: Being in love as a teenager is hard and More Than Friends perfectly captures the awkward, tortured, and exciting journey that teens take when they fall in love.  This book of poetry should sit on library shelves, as teens need resources that show them that their feelings are totally normal.

 

Review:

 

Holbrook and Wolf explore teenage love from his and her points of view through the use of alternating forms of poetry in More than Friends: Poems from him and her.  Young love is fraught with drama, awkwardness, fear, conflict, dreams, wonder, and utter happiness, which Holbrook and Wolf express and convey through their witty use of poetry.  From parental interference to maintaining friendships, and learning to accept and love their differences, the poets capture how truly agonizing and blissful first love can be.

 

I would recommend this book, because it really does capture those conflicting feelings young adults have when they are experiencing and exploring their first relationship.  I would place it in the Young Adult non-fiction section and display it often on tables.  Though the poems are written from both the male and female point of view, I don’t think it appeals to young men.  The dual perspective, however, is perfect for girls, as they yearn to understand how the guys around them think and feel.  The book is poignant and insightful and makes a perfect addition to any young adult collection.