Teen Read Week-Author Interview-Diana L. Sharples

Equilibrium. That's what Stacey and Calvin found in each other. He is as solid as his beloved vintage motorcycle and helps quiet the constant clamor in Stacey's mind. She is a passionate, creative spirit---and a lifeline after Calvin's soldier brother dies.But lately the balance is off. Calvin's grief is taking new forms. Voices of self-loathing are dominating Stacey's life. When struggles with body image threaten her health, Calvin can't bear to lose another person that he loves. Taking action may destroy their relationship, but the alternative could be much more costly. (From LCPL's website)

Click HERE to request a copy.  You will need your library card number and pin.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue follows Cricket Thompson who is planning on having the summer of her dreams.  She's going to
Nantucket with her best friend Jules, and she plans on making her crush Jay hers.  Shortly before they are supposed to leave Jules' family suffer a tragedy that tears the two friends apart.  Cricket still decides to spend the summer in Nantucket-but is stuck making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support her.  Cricket also finds time to fall for someone that should be off limits.

Howland's weaves together a wonderful story of loss, love, friendship and finding who you are.  I loved Cricket, she did not give up when her plans were messed up a few times in Nantucket.  She got to experience so many things that she wouldn't be able to if her and Jules didn't have a falling out.  All the characters were great in the story. I absolutely hated Jules who I know was going through a lot of family grief but that did not make it all right for her to be such a brat to everyone.

Make sure you check out Nantucket Blue if you're looking for a great young adult romance book.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

Reading Level: Young Adult

On my massive reading list!

From the catalog: Astrid Jones copes with her small town's gossip and narrow-mindedness by staring at the sky and imagining that she's sending love to the passengers in the airplanes flying high over her backyard. Her mother doesn't want it, her father's always stoned, her perfect sister's too busy trying to fit in, and the people in her small town would never allow her to love the person she really wants to: another girl named Dee. Little does she know just how much sending her love-- and asking the right questions-- will affect the passengers' lives, and her own, for the better.

Stay With Me by Paul Griffin

Reading Level: Young Adult

On my massive reading list!

From the catalog:  Mack, a high school drop-out but a genius with dogs, and Céce, who hopes to use her intelligence to avoid a life like her mother's, meet and fall in love at the restaurant where they both work. When Mack lands in prison he pushes Céce away and only a one-eared pit-bull can keep them together.     

Freefall by Mindi Scott

Reading Level: Young Adult

On my massive reading list!

From the catalog:A bass guitar player in a teen rock band deals with alcoholism, his best friend's death, and first love.

From the cover of the book: Sometimes the edge is closer than you think.

This looks like a good one!  The catalog description only whets your appetite on this one.

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Reading Level: Young Adult

On my massive reading list!

From the catalog: When Rosie's mother dies from Huntington's Disease, a devastating secret is revealed. Rosie embarks on a journey from England to the United States with her ex-boyfriend, where she discovers yet more deeply-buried and troubling secrets and lies.     
 

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA authors.  Her writing is fresh, in your face, and the romance is smoking hot.  The characters she creates stick with you long after you read the last page.  I am still just so thrilled I got to see her speak at an ALA conference and bummed that I didn't get to meet her at the book signing (she ran out of books). :(  Ms. McGarry is from Kentucky which isn't too far away so hopefully she will do a book signing not too far away.  One can only hope.  With three books to be published in the near future she doesn't seem to be slowing down.  Which I am so happy about!

This is technically the third book which will be coming out in May, May 28 to be exact.  The second book, Crossing the Line, about Echo's best friend Lila, from Pushing the Limits will be published in e-book format in April.  For those who are fans of Ms. McGarry never fear because Isaiah's story, Crash Into You, is coming soon probably next year.

Now that we have that out of the way Dare You To is about Beth.  Beth has been hiding what her home life is really like and when she can't hide it anymore she gets shipped off to live with her uncle who has been MIA for most of her life.  Ryan is the baseball star golden boy, but looks can be deceiving.  When these two come together it is explosive.  My only complaint is that they were away from each other to long on the page.  Ms. McGarry deals with very real, heavy topics.  Topics that teenagers shouldn't have to deal with but in reality many do.  I think that she does a good job with it.  She has them work through it and not just sweep it under or say okay my life is fine now without dealing.  I can't wait to read Lila's story and then Isaiah's.  I hope Isaiah's cover has him on the front showing off his tattoos.  A girl can only dream!

Keep an eye out for Dare You To coming to the library in May!

Easy by Tammara Webber

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)

Being dumped by your boyfriend of three years has to be devastating.  But hearing his reasoning for it, "Jackie, I'm going to be a politician one day and I won't be able to get my hand down every girl's skirt I meet because it would cause a scandal so I have to do that now while I'm in college."

I might have put my own spin on that but I'm sure you get the gist.  Jacqueline, who was called Jackie by her ex-boyfriend Kennedy, I know right! isn't having a very good couple of weeks.  First she gets dumped by her boyfriend and second she gets attacked.  Thank heavens she has a guardian angel in the body of smokin hot tattooed, pierced Lucas.  He swoops in and saves her.

Jacqueline doesn't know what to make of him.  Lucas is everything she is not, laid back, slackerish, and oh so bad, in a good way.  Her friends push her at him to try and get her out of her break up funk.  But she also seems to have a flirtation going on with her economics tutor, Landon, online.  Although she hasn't seen him in person he is everything she likes in a guy, motivated, smart, and easy to talk to.  Will Jacqueline end up with Lucas, Landon, or both.  I have to keep you guys guessing until you read the book, which you must.  It was so good.  Hurry, go get it now!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Before you sit down to read this book grab a box of tissues.  You don't need them right away but trust me you will.

All the librarians are talking about this book.  Amy told me I had to read this book.  I'm not sure I'm going to take any more recommendations from her...:)  I kid!

This really is a moving book.  Although I just knew it was a tragedy from the beginning, how could it not be when most of the characters have some form of cancer, you can't put this book down.  Mr. Green writes the main characters, Hazel and Augustus, with such humor and grace you hardly can believe that they are only 16 and 17.  I think that the reality of having a disease like cancer can age a person, make them sound and feel older than they really are.  But they still have their moments of teen angst.  Hazel Grace has a type of cancer that cannot be cured, it can only be treated.  She knows her days are numbered.  Then she meets Augustus Waters at a Cancer Kid Support Group and he completely turns her life around.  Augustus had the type of cancer that took his leg, but is in remission.  Hazel doesn't want to get involved with Gus because she is afraid of him seeing her die.  But Gus doesn't take no for an answer.

I bawled twice while reading this book, twice.  So please have your tissues ready.  But this book is so worth the crying because before the tears there is laughter and young love.  Oh and it takes place in our very own Indianapolis!  Very cool!

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

"Stuck in Neutral" is a book about a 14-year-old boy, Shawn, with Cerebral Palsy. He can't control any of his muscles. He can't speak; he can't even control his eyes! Shawn does have a gift, though; he remembers every sound he has ever heard. Even though his family and others don't know he can understand them, they still talk to him and he listens. He is also smart and can read, but he can't communicate, so no one, not even his mother, knows the real him. Shawn also has seizures, which he loves because then he can do in his mind all the things other people can do with their bodies, like run and jump. Unfortunately, his father believes Shawn is in pain during the seizures and would do anything to end
his pain. His dad is a writer who is writing a book about a man who killed his
disabled son. This gives his dad an idea about how to end Shawn's pain, as Shawn quickly realizes.

The book ends when Shawn's mother and siblings go on a trip to Spokane and leave him with his babysitter. His dad comes in and lets the sitter go home for the night. He sits with Shawn and talks to him with a pillow in his lap. When the conversation ends, Shawn has a seizure and seems happy. He says that whether
dad kills him or not, it doesn't matter because he is free.

I liked the book. It was easy to read and it was interesting to hear Shawn's story. My brother and mother read it and recommended it to me. I felt bad for Shawn because he was very smart and caring, but his family never knew. 

Submitted by Stephanie 

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

I'm not a sports fan so I'm not sure how I get sucked into these sports themed books I read. First it was the baseball books by Kate Angell and now this one is about football. I'm a girl and I was intrigued to read about a girl playing high school football. Not only does Jordan Woods play she is the captain of the team and the quarterback. She has the respect of her teammates and she is one fine player. But everything she has worked so hard for is threatened when Ty Green moves into to town. Not only is he an amazing quarterback but he has Jordan panting over him and she just doesn't do that. Throw in her hottie best friend Sam Henry and we have ourselves a love triangle. I love a good triangle but I have to tell you I'm cheering for Henry. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast read and even though I don't know a thing about football I didn't feel left out. Ms. Kenneally's next book Stealing Parker, which she promises will have familiar faces, will be out in October. Yeah, I hope to see Jordan and her friends again. The next book is about baseball.

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Return to Paradise is the sequel to Leaving Paradise. For the review on Leaving Paradise click here: Leaving Paradise

When this book first came out the library didn't buy it so I went and bought it but didn't sit down to read it until the other night. But the library owns it now and you also have access to Leaving Paradise. I read Return to Paradise in 3 hours. I couldn't put it down once I got started. I'm very happy with the ending.

At the end of Leaving Paradise Maggie has found out the truth about who was really behind the wheel of the accident and Caleb has left her to go to Chicago. Eight months later Caleb finds himself in trouble again and instead of going back to jail his old probation officer is taking him and five other teens traveling around giving talks on reckless driving. Maggie just so happens to be on this little excursion as well. In the four weeks they are together tempers fly, sparks ignite, and the truth comes out. Can Maggie and Caleb get a fresh start?

The Secret Life of Samantha Mcgregor series by Melody Carlson

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Bad Connection is the first in a four book series about a girl named Samantha Mcgregor. Samantha is not just an ordinary girl, she gets visions from God. When Samantha's classmate Kayla goes missing she doesn't think anything of it. Kayla liked to party and she kept telling everyone she was going to meet her online boyfriend. Then Samantha starts getting visions about Kayla and Kayla is not okay. With the help from her friend Olivia and Detective Ebony Hamilton Samantha is able to make sense of these visions and hopefully find Kayla before it is too late. This is an inspirational fiction book. Don't forget to check out the rest of the series, Beyond Reach, Playing with Fire, and Payback. Each book just got better and better.

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Rules of Attraction is a sequel of sorts to A Perfect Chemistry. A Perfect Chemistry was about Alex Fuentes and Rules of Attraction is about his brother Carlos. Carlos gets sent to live with Alex in Colorado when his gang ties in Mexico get him in trouble. Carlos is good looking, arrogant, cocky, and has a bad attitude. He doesn't want to be there and he doesn't follow rules. On his first day of his senior year he gets assigned a peer guide. Kiara Westford doesn't realize what shes getting into being Carlos peer guide. They don't instantly click but you know how they say opposites attract. When Carlos gets busted for drugs he gets sent to live with Kiara's family. Her father is a Professor and had Alex as a student and wants to help him out. Kiara isn't the type of girl Carlos usually goes for but he finds himself falling for her and falling deeper in trouble with gang issues. Can he get himself on the straight and narrow? Will he and Kiara find true love?

I thought that Carlos was harder to love than Alex. Alex was arrogant and cocky but I liked him sooner than I did Carlos. Carlos is a wise you know what but he grew on me and you can't help but root for him. What I really like about these two books is that Ms. Elkeles wrote an epilogue for both and you get to glimpse into their future and I really like that.

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Have you ever wanted a book that the library doesn't own? I know I have many times. If the item is new you can send in a Purchase Request form to see if the library will purchase it. Titles not yet published or released will only be accepted within one month of availability. We can't always fulfill each request due to reviews or budget restraints but we do look forward to your suggestions. Now for the books that are two years old or older we can Interlibrary Loan them from other libraries around the country. This is a free service to our resident library card holders. If the book is out there and available then we will find it. The Interlibrary Loan staff is awesome.

Leaving Paradise is a book I wanted to read that the library did not own so they were able to get it through Interlibrary Loan for me. I'm glad that they did because this was a really good book. I wasn't thrilled with the ending but got over it when I turned the last page and read that their will be a sequel continuing Caleb and Maggie's story due out sometime this summer. I can't wait.

What happens when the person who damaged you for life becomes the person you trust the most? (off of the back cover). One fateful night Maggie Armstrong is hit by a drunk driver and Caleb Becker confesses to the crime and gets sentenced to juvenile detention. For the past year Maggie has endured several surgeries on her leg and painful physical therapy. Caleb has endured being behind bars and praying for freedom. When Caleb is released he heads back to Paradise and encounters Maggie. Maggie hates Caleb but they seemed to be drawn to each other. Elkeles has written a story that sticks with you and leaves you wanting more. Throw in a few twists and turns and you are so ready for the sequel. And according to Amazon the sequel is called Return to Paradise and will be out September 1, 2010.

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Reading Level: Young Adult
4 out of 5


What happens when you put together the head cheerleader and a gang member? Love of course. I'm not making fun I really enjoyed this book and I like when opposites attract. At Fairfield High School, in the outskirts of Chicago, the south siders and the north siders don't mix well. So when Brittany Ellis (head cheerleader) and Alex Fuentes (gang member) get paired up in chemistry sparks start to fly and they are not generated from lab experiments. Brittany thinks that she has Alex all figured out and Alex thinks the same of Brittany but in reality they don't know anything.

Hold Still by Nina Lacour

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

How would you feel if one day you are laughing with your friend and the next day she is gone? Gone by suicide. Caitlin and Ingrid are best friends. Ingrid tells Caitlin that she will go wherever she goes and by the next day Ingrid is dead. Caitlin is devastated. How did she not see the signs? Could she have helped her friend? One day Caitlin finds Ingrid's journal under her bed. Ingrid had to have deliberately put it there because Ingrid didn't go anywhere without her journal. Caitlin lets herself read one entry a day so she can keep Ingrid with her as long as possible. The days and months after Ingrid's suicide Caitlin starts to heal with the help of her parents, her new friend Dylan, love interest Taylor, and Ingrid's journal. This is a very heartfelt book and you feel for Ingrid and Caitlin. Suicide is sad and hard to understand, especially for the ones left behind. From the book jacket, "Nina LaCour brings the changing seasons of Caitlin's first year without Ingrid to the page with indelible emotion and honesty."

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

This book is like watching a train wreck. It's horrible but you can't look away. These girls are so mean and the adults are oblivious to it all. Once I picked up this story I couldn't put it down and it really makes you think. Sometimes the saying, "What goes around comes around," is true but do people really deserve what they get at the end. Just when you think it can't get any worse it does, but fear not it does have a somewhat happy ending.

In Some Girls Are, Regina is apart of the Fearsome Fivesome. Anna is the leader and Regina's best friend. At a party Anna's boyfriend Donnie tries to rape Regina. Regina tells Kara, who isn't Regina's biggest fan, and Kara ends up telling Anna that Donnie and Regina slept together. They go from being best friends to enemies in 90 seconds flat. The now Fearsome Foursome are out for Regina's blood and some of these pranks are over the top. Regina finds some solace in Michael but they have a timid friendship because Regina wasn't very nice to Michael in the past.

Six Word Memoirs edited by Smith Magazine

Can you sum up your life in six words? If you can go to www.smithmag.net and submit your six word memoir. Mine is Read, Love, Laugh, Eat good food.

In I Can't Keep My Own Secrets teens wrote their six word memoirs. Some are funny and some are heartbreaking but all are real.

First Love was Worth Every Tear by Anna K.

A Purring Cat Makes Everything Better by Callista W.

Family Night is Secretly My Favorite by Lindsey D.

Six Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak is about first loves and painful breakups.

First College Sweethearts now Happily Married by Jason Pintor

We Belly Laugh Every Single Day by Michelle Ottey

My personal favorite is: My Apartment is Much Cleaner Now by Daniel J. Stasiewski

I Fell in Love Twice Today by Vanessa Aricco.

Love has Healed My Many Wounds by Inara de Luna

These two books are fun to read. Check them out!!

What the Moon Saw by Larua Resau

Reading Level: 10 and Up

What the Moon Saw focuses upon a fourteen-year-old girl named Clara Luna which in Spanish means Clear Moon. Clara lives in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland with her mother, father, and brother. Her father is Mexican, having illegally immigrated from Mexico and started a landscaping business. All of the houses look the same. The yards look the same. She is looking for something else, something more real, but she doesn't know what it is. She also wants to learn who she is. One day, a letter arrives from her grandparents, inviting her to spend the summer in Mexico with them. They live in a poor village in southern Mexico called Yucuyoo. Clare accepts their invitation and finds that she truly loves them and life there. She discovers that her grandmother, Helena, is a healer and learns eventually that she too is a healer. This is her true calling. Laura Resau tells the story, using soft, poetic language. She alternates back and forth between Clara and Helena. This is a beautifully written book which has won many awards.

Written by Karin Olsen.