Author Archives: SSBRC Former Member

The Witching Hour (Midnight)

Posted on by

The Witching Hour is part of the Midnight) series of scary stories, which are similar in length to the Goosebumps series, but intended for teen readers. The Witching Hour focuses on Rosie, a teenage girl who moves to the town of Middleton shortly after Mackie, a star played on the high school football team, has died in an accident. There is speculation that Mackie’s best friend Omar may have been at fault in the death. Rosie befriends Omar and tries to help him overcome his grief, which isn’t an easy task, as many in the town believe that it was Omar’s fault.

How does Rosie deal with all the unexplainable things that keep happening? How does she and Omar cope with  Mackie’s ghost?  What can they do to stop the haunting?

This short, easy to read book will appeal to teens who like ghost stories.

Dallas

Posted on by

Dallas is part of a new series called Texas Fridays by sports writer Sam Moussavi. This series is football themed. Moussavi wrote the Hoops basketball series, and many non-fiction sports biographies.

In Dallas we meet Bobby Dupree,  a backup quarterback who has been trying to make an impression on his coach, and also on girls at school.  When the starting quarterback suffers a knee injury, Bobby is thrust into the starting position, and the hopes of Trinity High School’s football team rest on his shoulders. Will Bobby be able to handle the pressure?

Like Moussavi’s other books, Dallas is easy reading and high interest, and will appeal to teens who enjoy teen sports stories.

The Baby

Posted on by

The story starts with a 17th birthday party for Olivia at her home, and moves quickly to the totally unexpected delivery of a baby on the bathroom floor by her best friend,  Nicola, who didn’t even know she was pregnant. Nicola is not at all ready to be a mom. As the story progresses, Nicola expects Olivia’s help, but Olivia has her own problems to deal with, including her bullying boyfriend, Jonty, and keeping an eye on younger sister Alice. There is also Nicola’s friend Ben, who is struggling with secrets of his own.

Written from the various points of view of the five main characters, each chapter covers one month from February through June. The author, Lisa Drakeford, is British and the book is set in England.  This is a well written YA book exploring the impact and consequences of an unplanned baby on a group of friends, their families and their futures.  Teenage pregnancy, and especially teenage parenthood, is an important issue which doesn’t appear very often in YA literature. In The Baby the focus is on not only teen pregnancy but also about being a parent, experiencing bullying, domestic violence, and friendship.

 

Confessions of a High School Disaster

Posted on by

Confessions of a High School Disaster is the humorous story of  Chloe Snow, a high school freshman told from pages of her diary.

It is reminiscent of Bridget Jones’s Diary,  although Chloe is only 14. Chloe makes many bad choices, including drinking alcohol at parties, and being tempted to engage in sexual activities with older boys. She can also be mean to her friends.

Below is one of her entries that will give the reader a snapshot of her life:
I’m Chloe Snow, and my life is kiiiiind of a disaster.

1. I’m a kissing virgin (so so so embarrassing).
2. My best friend, Hannah, is driving me insane.
3. I think I’m in love with Mac Brody, senior football star, whose girlfriend is so beautiful she doesn’t even need eyeliner.
4. My dad won’t stop asking me if I’m okay.
5. Oh, and my mom moved to Mexico to work on her novel. But it’s fine—she’ll be back soon. She said so.

Mom says the only thing sadder than remembering is forgetting, so I’m going to write down everything that happens to me in this diary. That way, even when I’m ninety, I’ll remember how awkward and horrible and exciting it is to be in high school.

This book will appeal to teen readers who enjoy lighter reads, teen angst, and humor.

Finding What’s Real

Posted on by

Finding What’s Real is the sequel to Escaping Perfect and does not stand alone, as it picks up right after the first book ends, and the plot continues where it left off. The main character, teenager Cecilia Montgomery, who was on the run for two weeks to escape her overbearing politician mother, has returned to her hometown. She misses the anonymity she enjoyed in the small town, but there is no way she can escape back to that life. Not now that her mother has announced that she is running for the presidency of the United States.

Now Cecilia is not only trapped with her mother, but surrounded by those who may be false friends, liking her only due to her family fame.

I wasn’t that impressed with the first book, and find the second one similarly predictable.  Young Adults readers may enjoy the drama, but I wasn’t enthralled with either book.

The Day I Became A Bird

Posted on by

Day I became a bird

Originally published in Spain: El dia en que me converti un pajaro
A simple but sophisticated international title for your collection.

The first day of school a little boy falls in love with Sylvia, the girl that sits in front of him. The story is told as the picture show another story – the construction of the bird taking place. Our protagonist has learned that Sylvia is wildly into birds, so he has decided to become one to get her to notice him. He wants to stand out, as a bird, even though it is hard to climb trees, to keep his balance playing soccer and to even walk. He doesn’t care that others are giggling at him.  Matter of fact, nothing else seems important. All that he cares about is Sylvia.

A sweet, innocent tale of first love. Guridi is clever in use of minimalist drawings and sparse use of color set against a beige background. This allows the reader to really focus in on the story. thedayibecameabird5

Wearing the bird costume constantly has caused it to breakdown to the point where we see the boy’s face. This is the moment when Sylvia notices the boy. This is a great scene to open the discussion of loving others for who they really are and about just being thedayibecameabird0ourselves.

 

 

 

 

A good read aloud for older grade levels too.

Snail & Worm

Posted on by

Tina Kugler has credownloadated an engaging beginning reader book. This book contains three short story that feature Snail and Worm.  Snail is a happy, likable guy that is sometimes misguided in his understandings. Worm is more astute and is friends with Snail.

The repetitive words and phrases are enhanced by the colorful, simple drawings.  The page layout is a mix of traditional full page with minimal text and multiple images with in-line text.  Younger readers will laugh at the absurdity of Snail playing tag with a stick and a stone, but may miss the secondary joke concerning Snail’s speed. They will giggle as Snail climbs a flower that bends under his weight, leaving him 1/2 inch from the ground. Worm cheers him on as he makes the climb. “Wow, I can see so much from up here!” Snail exclaims. Worm responds, “I’m so proud of you.” What a supportive friend!

Snail & Worm will provide the beginning reader a sense of maturity as this book is a bit different than the traditional beginning readers in shape, layout and content. It will also offer the struggling older student a good choice without embarrassment.

 

Understanding Suicide: A National Epidemic

Posted on by

Understanding Suicide: A National Epidemic is a source book for those seeking to understand more about the global epidemic of suicide. Written by Connie Goldsmith, a registered nurse who also holds an Masters of Public Administration who has written sixteen non-fiction books for middle and high school readers, this text looks at true stories of families dealing with the death of a child, presents the risk factors for suicide, discusses suicide in children and teens, examines the escalating tragedy of suicide in the military, looks at suicide among the non-military adult population, and highlights how intervention and treatment can save lives.

The text includes source notes, a glossary, a selected bibliography,  photos and side bars, an index, and sources where readers can find additional resources, including books, video and audio, and websites.

This is not recreational reading, and is a bit dry. But with the epidemic of suicide, this new text (2017) will be a good addition to a school library.

In-Between Days

Posted on by

In-between Days, by Australian young adult author Vikki Wakefield, gives a real look into the lives of people in a small, rural town. Known for its “Suicide Forest”, Mobius feels like a dead-end town, and Jacklin, a 17 year old girl, feels trapped there. Jack’s life is filled with sibling conflict, an overbearing mother, a dad who has left the family,  a miserable job, and a tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend, who breaks her heart.

Jack struggles to truly find herself after losing everything.   She makes a new friends in a man named Pope, a wanderer camping in the woods behind her house, and begins a new relationship with Jeremiah, the boy next door.  Jack’s internal struggle between sexual desire and true intimacy puts this book right on the edge of adult fiction. Readers who likes books with female main characters, teen angst, family conflict, and other realities of  life will enjoy this book.

My Brilliant Idea (And How It Caused My Downfall)

Posted on by

My Brilliant Idea is about a fifteen-year-old schemer, Jack Dawson, who daydreams in class and ironically gets the brilliant idea to invent an app that stops you from daydreaming in class. This leads to him developing a series of complicated events with other characters that eventually build up to his initial plan.  But Jack runs into some trouble, and suddenly his idea that will lead him to fame and fortune doesn’t seem quite so sure.

It was hard to like Jack, as he was so annoying. And other characters, the weird girl, an even weirder boy, the stupid dad, the evil teacher, and the busy mom, just stayed stereotypes and did not develop.

Too predictable of a plot with non-engaging characters.