Matched by Ally Condie

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

I really enjoyed this book.  This society seems so perfect on the surface but the more you read the more you learn that it is not.  Ky and Xander are both great guys and it is hard to see Cassia struggle between them-- lucky girl right!  As you read you learn that there is a lot more to both of these guys than you first think.


This book is the first in what will be a trilogy.  I am anxiously awaiting the next one!  


High recommeneded!..






Check out the interview with author Allie Condie below.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

This is one of my favorite books- it is incredibly thought provoking!  


Here is a Book Trailer from You Tube:


  

After by Amy Efaw

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . .
Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made—Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there’s only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer.
And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible— she turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon’s unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

Devon does one of the most horrible things I can imagine in this book and yet I found myself sympathizing with her!  I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it.


Here is a interview with Amy Efaw for you to check out!

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

They said his uncle Ian died in a car accident. Alex Rider knows that s a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle s car confirm the truth. But nothing can prepare him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for Britain s top-secret intelligence agency. Enlisted to find his uncle s killers and complete Ian s final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, with no way out. The original novel that started the worldwide phenomenon is now a major motion picture!

Here is the movie trailer...

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Book Summary from Book Browse

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode. 

This is an incredible book.  I really enjoyed the alternating chapters between the past and present.  This is a historical fiction title that will appeal to all students.  I can't wait to see the movie!

Check out this video interview with the author and the book trailer made by an AP Lit class I found on You Tube

Brutal by Michael Harmon

 

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

With her martyr-doctor mother gone to save lives in some South American country, Poe Holly suddenly finds herself on the suburban doorstep of the father she never knew, who also happens to be a counselor at her new high school. She misses Los Angeles. She misses the guys in her punk band. Weirdly, she even misses the shouting matches she used to have with her mom.

But Poe manages to find a few friends: Theo, the cute guy in the anarchy Tshirt, and Velveeta, her oddly likeable neighbor and a born victim who s the butt of every prank at Benders High. But when the pranks turn deadly at the hands of invincible football star Colby Morris, Poe knows she s got to fix the system and take down the hero.

With insightfulness, spot-on dialogue, and a swiftly paced plot, Michael Harmon tells the story of a displaced girl grappling with a truly dangerous bully.

One of my students read this book and LOVED it so I couldn't wait to read it for myself.  I took this home over the Thanksgiving break and wasn't disappointed.  Brutal would make a good book club discussion book! 

Borderline by Allan Stratton

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:

The truth is closing in.
Life's not easy for Sami Sabiri since his dad stuck him at a private school where he's the only Muslim kid. But it's about to get a lot worse.
When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious. . . . He's not the only one. In a whirlwind, the FBI descends on his home, and Sami's family becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation. Now Sami must fight to keep his world from unraveling.
An explosive thriller ripped from today's headlines, borderline is the story of a funny, gutsy Muslim-American teen determined to save his father, his family, and his life.

The main character in this book is a funny and very realistic teenager.  I liked the fast pace of the novel and the fact that the story was thought provoking without being a heavy social commentary.  One of the reviews I read mentioned the cover art was not the most appealing and I agree with this.  I urge you to not judge this book by the cover and to give it a try! :)

Check out the author's website

The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer

 

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

Abby Goodwin is sure her sister Maya isn't a murderer. But her parents don't agree. Her friends don't agree. And the cops definitely don't agree. Maya is a drop-out, a stoner, a girl who's obsessed with her tutor, Jefferson Andrews...until he ends up dead. Maya runs away, and leaves Abby following the trail of clues. Each piece of evidence points to Maya, but it also appears that Jefferson had secrets of his own. And enemies. Like his brother, who Abby becomes involved with...until he falls under suspicion.

Is Abby getting closer to finding the true murderer? Or is someone leading her down a twisted false path?

This book was a fun and easy read that has a surprising ending!!

Willow by Julia Hoban

Book Description: 
Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy —one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.

Told in an extraordinary fresh voice, Willow is an unforgettable novel about one girl’s struggle to cope with tragedy, and one boy’s refusal to give up on her.

This is a great book that I read in one day!  Check out this book trailer I found on YouTube.