2014 Teens’ Top Ten Titles Announced!

YALSA unveiled their list on October 20, 2014

Teens all over the world voted starting Aug. 15, with voting lasting through Teen Read Week™ (Oct. 12-18, 2014). Altogether, over 12,000 votes were cast for the 25 nominees.

The official 2014 Teens’ Top Ten titles are as follows:

"Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
"Splintered" by A.G. Howard
"The Rithmatist" by Brandon Sanderson
"The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey
"Monument 14: Sky on Fire" by Emmy Laybourne
"Earth Girl" by Janet Edwards
"The Testing" by Joelle Charbonneau
"Steelheart" by Brandon Sanderson
"Siege and Storm" by Leigh Bardugo
"The Eye of Minds" by James Dashner 
(source: ALA)

Marie Antoinnette Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger.
With a title like Marie Antoinnette Serial Killer there was a lot of potential for cheese in the story. Instead, what I found was a well-written and interesting, fun romp through Paris. I seem to be on a bit of a ghost story kick right now and this book fit in very nicely. Both a modern day and historical mystery, Marie Antoinnette Serial Killer was finished in one delightful sitting.  I enjoyed the development of the characters - nothing in their descriptions wasted. The history of the French Revolution was a major plot point and was described with a liveliness and personality not always found in history records. Alender takes the reader on an intimate tour of Paris where you can almost feel the textures of the stone walls and feel the breeze as you navigate the narrow streets.

This is another title taken from our Scholastic book fair and because of the title the subject matter and once again a mature sticker on the book there was some question as to whether or not it was appropriate for the intermediate students. I was quite pleasantly surprised to find that this book is captivating and well written and one that I can easily recommend to my students. 

Ruined by Paula Morris

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her Aunt Claudia, who reads Tarot cards for a living. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city.

Hailed as Twilight with a ghostly twist, Ruined happily exceeded that dubious description.  I picked this up from the last school book fair.  I was intrigued by the cover art and the mature warning sticker on the cover.  While I didn't find anything objectionable in the book, certainly nothing more daring or shocking than in many other books we carry, I suspect the violence of a murder story line was what prompted the warning.   The ghost story and mystery are interesting and well written.  The characters sometimes fell into stereotypes of evil vs good and could have been a bit more fleshed out, but the detail surrounding the story of our ghost, Lissette, was very well done.  The highlight of this novel is the city of New Orleans.  Morris brings the beauty, history and strength of the city to life throughout the pages.  It was quite unexpected, especially in a YA novel. This is what elevated the book from being not bad, to one I will recommend to my students.

------

Morris has followed Ruined up with Unbroken (Ruined #2) where we catch up with Rebecca one year later as she returns to New Orleans and becomes involved in another ghostly mystery.

Welcome back to New Orleans.Where the streets swirl with jazz and beauty.
Where the houses breathe with ghosts.

A year ago, Rebecca Brown escaped death in a New Orleans cemetery. Now she has returned to this haunting city. She is looking forward to seeing Anton Grey, the boy who may or may not have her heart.

But she also meets a ghost: a troubled boy who insists only she can help him. Soon Rebecca finds herself embroiled in another murder mystery from more than a century ago. But as she tries to right wrongs, she finds more questions than answers: Is she putting her friends, and herself, in danger? Can she trust this new ghost? And has she stumbled into something much bigger and more serious than she understands?

Go Figure by Jo Edwards

Ryan is not obsessing....

But she does want to lose weight. Ever since she was outted as a "fat girl" at chearleading camp in fifth grade, Ryan's been on a mission to shed more than a few pounds.

Lately she's also on the hunt for a new relationship. Now that her ex- boyfriend is a rock star - currently posing on the cover of Rolling Stone - Ryan seriously needs to move on. They haven't spoken in months, but in the magazine Noah's wearing the bracelet Ryan gave him. She can't wondering what that means...Not that she wants him back or anything.

No, Ryan's plan is to make the most of senior year. After all, she's popular, funny, a talented photographer...she's got a lot going for her. So it's not all about losing weight or gaining a boyfriend. It's about getting what she wants. And it's about time.

********

Have you ever read a book and once a few chapters in, realize that you are just to old for the story? I think I may have enjoyed this novel in junior high, but at this point, I found the characters immature and the conversations lacking. The idea was worthy but the author didn't go deep enough, throwing in family issues and character histories as written explanations rather than weaving them into the characters themselves.  From the main characters, I had expected more during their interactions: more believably, more depth.   I was especially disappointed in the best friend relationship.  There was a lot more promise to their dynamic than was explored.  A life-long friend who had shared so many of the same issues and experiences could have been used as a mirror and touchstone for Ryan.  Instead, the friend (who's name I can't even recall now) remained one dimensional and distant. Spending more time here may have given the novel some needed soul.  In the end, I found that I felt as though I had read an outline of a great story that had every opportunity to connect with its reader, but didn't take advantage of it. The lack of character growth by any of the four main characters, especially Ryan gave the story a flat and unsatisfying ending. 

A quick, easy read with relatable YA topics,  I can not recommend this title. Instead I suggest Meg Cabot's Heather Wells Mysteries which also has the larger girl, pop-star romance plot.

Yellow Line by Sylvia Olsen

Where I come from, kids are divided into two groups. White kids on one side, Indians, or First Nations, on the other. Sides of the room, sides of the field, the smoking pit, the hallway, the washrooms; you name it. We're on one side and they're on the other. They live on one side of the Forks River bridge, and we live on the other side. They hang out in their village, and we hang out in ours.


 For generations separation and suspicion have made the decisions for the polarized town.  Sherry, a white teen, and Steve, a native boy from the reserve, start seeing each other. Vince, the narrator of the novel, feels slighted because he and Sherry used to be close friends and now he has to face his feelings of jealousy and racial outrage.  This High Interest/Low level book tackles several tough issues.  There is the racism on both sides of the line, a sexual assault (suggested and not graphic in the text), intense peer and social pressure, and the question of when to follow what adults and a lifetime of beliefs and when to follow your own instincts.  Intense and engaging, this short novel pulls the reader into the battles of this small town.  One of the things I like best about the Orca Sounding series is that each novel addresses serious social issues without being preachy or patronizing.  They also don't offer simple solutions.  Each story leaves a somewhat ambiguous ending where we know what the main character feels and is going to do, but without providing a neatly wrapped up ending.  Readers are left to contemplate how characters will deal with the events and how the reader themselves will react to the events.  These are great books for initiating conversations and exploring our own perceptions. 

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. 

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up? 

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.

This story is a satire about the superficiality of consumer culture, politics, and mega-corporations that control everything we watch, read, and buy. It deals with racism, disability, and sexuality. There is adventure, mystery, and a dollop of romance. There are important messages here about survival, friendship, beauty, acceptance, independence, and what it means to be a woman. - excerpt from Nancy's review on Goodreads

I grew tired of this silly female tale, there was too much conversation concerning makeup and pedicures, products and dresses and the ridiculous rules or what girls are supposed to be.  What really bothered me that all this is going on while the text this story showed that they were actually incredibly smart girls who were able to invent things, use advances science and geography skills. I know that was part of the satire and part of the lesson of this novel -  to show that despite being the beauty queens with obsessive concerns over outward appearances, that they were more than that to begin with.  But it dragged on for so-o-o long.   I was just waiting for this book to hurry up and get on with it already! They did intersperse amongst the super girly prattle, almost hiding it, plotlines showing how these girls were smart AND capable AND independent. Again,  I get that it was part of the style of this story .  They were continuing to evolve and learn, even beginning to see each other as being capable of more than waving in a pageant parade or talent competition.  They were starting to understand that there was more to living than just being pretty;  they were starting to acknowledge this even in each other. It was still beyond annoying to have to read it page after page after page.

Another really annoying thing - which I suppose could have been a cute little quirk of the book to other readers- was the number of footnotes, references to television shows, and products and advertisements.  I get what the author was going four and it's a great idea. It just didn't translate well for me.  The presence of the notes at end of the page broke up the story.  I would have this great flow going, reading along and then BAM! stop. backtrack. look up the footnote. where was I..oh yeah, back to the story. I much preferred the character forms that peppered the book.  Giving information on the contestants, thoughts, dreams and showing how those ideas were often edited by the Corporation running the world media  pageant.  These were great and served to give a better insight into the true nature of each contestant.

"Maybe girls need an island to find themselves maybe they need a place where no one's watching them so they can be who they really are" (page 177)

This is a worthwhile story coated in Shiny glittery plastic. The way the story is told is it's own illustration of the moral it has to share with the reader:  that we need to look deeper beneath appearances and surface surface expectations down to what is important to the truth of who we are.  Great concept, wonderful quirkiness, OK execution.  Another book that I had to force myself to keep reading past the drawn-out middle to a last third that I really enjoyed.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower .. and liked by Judy Blume

The recent reinstatement of this title at Glen Ellyn, IL library  prompted me to move it up to the top of my reading list, where it has been languishing in limbo for a few years.

Awesome!! Perks of Being a Wallflower RT@ALALibrary Glen Ellyn (IL) board listens to Blume, reinstates YA novel http://ow.ly/lV6qV 

Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Because it's okay to feel things. I was really there. 

― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

From the back cover: 

Charlie is a freshman.

image source: prinsesamusang.wordpress.com

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

“This moment will just be another story someday.” 

My thoughts:
I am not going to link the movie trailer here.  Not because I think there is anything wrong with the move, I haven't seen it so I can't say either way. I  won't be linking it because, for now anyways, I want to preserve the purity of the novel.  This book has left a raw, nostalgic aura that is still following me around the house.  Had I read this book when I was in high school I  think I may have become obsessed with it.  Charlie has his own questions and journeys in the book.  They are not my journeys.  And yet, they are.  The specifics of the thoughts and experiences differ but the rawness and honesty and emotion of Charlie's letters lead me back to that time in my own life.  I recognized the longing. I recognized the angst.  The loneliness, The fear. The joy. Those elusive connections that, as it turned out, weren't as elusive as I had convinved myself.  The pattern of the day unfolding and the anxiety in trying to just make it to the next one. When the words didn't match my own experience, the impact and emotional memory brought me right back to those days.  I think I would have loved to have read this back then because it felt in many ways like my own journal.  The book understood the me I was back then.  It broke my heart a little.  I healed my sixteen year old heart a little too.

"We don't get to choose where we came from, but we can choose where we go."

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...


Before reading this book, I looked on Goodreads.com for some reviews.  I caught sight of some quotes from the novel and that is was made me eager to read it.

“In my mind I am eloquent; I can climb intricate scaffolds of words to reach the highest cathedral ceilings and paint my thoughts. But when I open my mouth, everything collapses.” 

“There is no ideal world for you to wait around for. The world is always just what it is now, and it's up to you how you respond to it.” 

“We're fumbling in the dark, but at least we're in motion.” 

“There is a chasm between me and the world outside of me. A gap so wide my feelings can't cross it. By the time my screams reach the other side, they have dwindled into groans.” 

“The world that birthed that story is long gone, all its people are dead, but it continues to touch the present and future because someone cared enough about that world to keep it. To put it in words. To remember it.” 

and so many more...


My thoughts: 

The trailer for the movie also works well for the book.

Zom-B by Darren Shan

Love the cover! 
            Love the title!
                     Almost liked the book.

"When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke— but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish.
B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. And when dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks.
That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers."

The premise of the book and the prologue where great.  I started the first chapter with anticipation..and then waited, and waited, and continued to wait for the greatness I was sure was to follow.  I didn't find it.

Zom-B is described as the first in a 12 book series about B Smith, "a teenager who must struggle to find a place in a world of racism, zombies and darkness."  This book is obviously meant to introduce B's background and set the stage for the character development.  The majority of the novel was spent on B's home life and behaviour issues.  The Zombie attack didn't make an appearance until much later. Where it not for the prologue I might have forgotten it was part of the plot entirely.  When the zombies did finally show up, it was so fast and violent that the feel of the book finally approached what was promised.  Then a single line from the page made the whole thing seem ridiculous!  Apparently, the action packed fervor taking place on the page - which provided tension, horror, and feelings of urgency as a good Zombie novel should - took place in such a short time frame that it ruined the book for me. All that running and fighting, thousands killed, converted and now spilling out to spread the attack, in only 60 minutes?  Nonsense.  

The underlying themes of 'B's' life - racism  bullying, finding your own identity - were well done.  For that alone I would be interested hearing about the rest of the series, but am unlikely to read it myself.  I do give kudos for the twist involving who one of the characters really is.  I enjoyed the use of reader assumptions to deliver the surprise. The story has good bones and interesting (if not always likeable) characters but certain aspects such as the secretly racist principal and compressed timing of the conversions quickly remind me as a reader that this is just words on a page.  I prefer and expect fiction to deliver me into another world.  Suspension of disbelief is not enough to overcome these sections of Zom-B.

Ghost Messages by Jacqueline Guest

Who is the mysterious Davy? 

Foilhummerum Bay, Ireland, 1865

Thirteen year-old Ailish, a feisty Irish fortune-teller, is about to become part of history. She becomes trapped on the mighty Great Eastern just as the ship sets off on its voyage to lay the very first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. Escape is impossible! Ailish must pretend to be a boy to keep from being pitched into the ocean by the superstitious sailors, while dodging a dangerous ruffian who has stolen her golden treasure. She frequently gets help from a pale young boy named Davy, who seems to know everything about the Great Eastern, but won't ever 

come up on deck. Will Ailish's wits, her determination, and her friendships help her to survive the trip, find her treasure and solve the mystery of her young companion?

An interview with Jacqueline Guest

A mixture of history and the paranormal, Ghost Messages draws in readers with a ghost tale and before they know it, they have learned how modern communication started.  All those cell phones, iPads and laptops students use daily have a direct connection to the story.  A kid-centric tale, Guest uses facts, mystery and action sequences to reveal a little known piece of Canadian and world history.  Perfect for grade 3-6, this story was enjoyable, well-paced and informative.

Blood Sinister by Celia Rees

I really enjoyed the way the mystery of the book was revealed slowly through the main character Ellen Reading her ancestor's diaries. It allowed the story and the characters to be revealed at a steady pace. The use of Ellen's illness managed to create a sense of anticipation for the next clue. Overall the story was quite tame for a vampire tale. While I like the characters and the relationship between Ellen and Her grandmother, the relationship between Ellen and Andy could have used more depth And more intensity. I also really liked the character of nurse Jenny and appreciated her role in the end chapters but felt that the Swiftness with which Ellen and Andy trusted her and reveal their secrets and the ease with which Jenny accepted their story and willingly took on such great risk required more suspension of disbelief than this reader could muster. 

The cover art on this book was what grabbed my interest and it having a 'mature read' sticker from the Scholastic book fair let me to believe that it was going to be a deeper more intense and more intricate story and it actually turned out to be. Overall this was a satisfactory book for younger YA readers who may be interested in vampire mystery but who are not looking for the intensity or violence and gore that is common in this genre. 

The Romeo and Juliet Code by Phoebe Stone

 SEVEN MYSTERIOUS LETTERS.

A BOY WITH BROWN SUGAR EYES.

A FIRST BIG CRUSH.

When Felicity's glamorous parents leave her with distant relatives in Maine, Felicity isn't happy.  Her Uncle Gideon hides things.  There's an odd person in the house who won't come out of his room.  And the only kids around is too handsome for his own good.  Felicity is on her own, but soon she know that she needs help.  Gideon is getting coded letters from Felicity's parent, and she's sure they're in trouble.  Can Felicity crack the code, heal the family, and save her parents ... all while surviving her first big crush?

I did enjoy this book, which was a surprise given that the cover and back cover synopsis gave no hint to a major part of the story.  When I started reading, I had no idea that this was actually a WWII story or that it took place anytime but the present.  That did cause a bit of confusion at the beginning and I am not sure I would have chosen this book for my weekend read had I known.  Once I understood the setting, the story started to flow.  Stone is quite good at conveying the emotions and mindset of Felicity and her motivations.  Her experiences as a youth in London during the bombings, sneaking on a ship to Maine with her parents and being left in the care of relatives she has never met are well described. As a reader, I was able to understand the isolation and fear she felt.  Young readers not yet familiar with the events surrounding WWII, the bombing of London, the redistribution of English children for safety and how America struggled with the timing of entering the war, will learn in a non-graphic and age appropriate telling.

There was an aspect of the story that I felt was somewhat out of place in this story and, perhaps, in a book for young readers. Some of the secrets and tension that Felicity must deal with concerns a falling out between her parents and the relatives she come to stay with. I found this thread of the story to be unnecessary and somewhat out of place.  I think another cause for the familial falling out would have been welcomed.

Whatever After Series

A brand-new series for middle-grade readers.

Every time Abby and Jonah enter their basement mirror, they find themselves messing up a different fairy tale!

I read the first in the series, Fairest of All

Mirror, mirror, on the basement wall . . .Once upon a time my brother and I were normal kids. The next minute? The mirror in our basement slurped us up and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale.
I know it sounds crazy, but it's true.
But hey -- we're heroes! We stopped Snow White from eating the poisoned apple. Hooray! Or not. If Snow White doesn't die, she won't get to meet her prince. And then she won't get her happy ending. Oops.
Now it's up to us to:
- Avoid getting poisoned
- Sneak into a castle
- Fix Snow White's story

And then, fingers crossed, find our way home.

This is a cute series told from the point of view of the quirky, likable and lively Abby.  The humour is genuine and relatable for young girls. Perfect for grades 2 & 3, it is a great precursor to Meg Cabot books.  The familiarity of fairy tales makes this series very approachable for reluctant readers.  It explores how changing one part of a story can affect the outcome.  A large part of the appeal is the empowerment Abby gains as she realizes her actions affect the storybook world and that her ability to empathize with the characters and devise plans make her an important and valuable part of the new story.

Behind the Gates by Eva Gray (Tomorrow Girls Series)

The first in the Tomorrow Girls four book series, Behind the Gates sets the background for a near-future post-war world where young teens are sent away to safety.  North America struggles to survive a war with the mysterious group known as  The Alliance.  Canada is rumored to be saturated  Alliance agents.  Our main character Louisa, has grown up sheltered from the war due to the advantaged provided by her wealthy parents.  Her best friend Maddie is a somewhat more aware of how harsh life can be.  Her parents are both soldiers and not nearly as well off as Louisa's family.  The wealthy are able to send their children off to safety by paying for admittance into secret boarding schools.  Not even their parents will know where they are located. Communication is forbidden.

Louisa is nervous about being sent away to a boarding school -- but she's excited, too. And she has her best friend, Maddie, to keep her company. The girls have to pretend to be twin sisters, which Louisa thinks just adds to the adventure! Country Manor School isn't all excitement, though. Louisa isn't sure how she feels about her new roommates: athletic but snobby Rosie and everything's-a-conspiracy Evelyn. Even Maddie seems different away from home, quiet and worried all the time. Still, Louisa loves CMS -- the survival skills classes, the fresh air. She doesn't even miss not having a TV, or the internet, or any contact with home. It's for their own safety, after all. Or is it?

I wasn't expecting much from this book other than a quick read and hopefully some smart-not-silly female protagonists.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I fell easily into the narrative, travelling along with Louisa and Maddie.  Hints of tension lace the story from the beginning preparing the reader for the big reveal.  Louisa feels safe at her new school and even enjoys the unusual but exciting classes.  Still,  she and her roommates can't help but notice that there's something odd about their classes and surroundings.

I liked this book not only for the characters and plot, but because it is clearly written for brand-new teens.  The popularity of dystopian novels has captured the interest of many of my younger students whose  comprehension and reading maturity have not yet reached the level in the most popular titles.  Eva Gray managed to bring to life a dystopian world without the violence and bloodshed and moral ambiguity found in much of the genre.
She also manages to leave the reader hanging on the last page, prompting a mad rush to get the next in the series.

End of Days by Eric Walters

It's 2012 and the world's most renowned astrophysicists, astronomers, and theoretical mathematicians have all died within the same 12-month period. But as these scientists discover, none of them are really dead after all. They have been taken hostage by alien forces. And while their family and friends are mourning their passing, and with the help of a 16-year-old with rare gifts, they face the ultimate struggle of prevailing over evil and returning themselves--and the earth--to safety.


Working in elementary school libraries, I have skimmed about half of Eric Walters titles.  While I recognize good writing and the popularity of his work with students, I, myself, have not been a great fan of his stories.  End of Days has become an exception.  Stopping at page 33 to answer my phone, I remember thinking that this book was "really good!".  I stopped again at page 165 to grab a glass of water and not again until the last page.  

Gripping from the first page, I enjoyed the dual story lines, anticipating the moment they would merge.  Well laid out, the plot was interesting, tense and allowed readers time to digest the technical information but didn't drown them in it.  It felt as though I was reading    an action-packed movie.  

Seeing Cinderella by Jenni Lundquist

Calliope Meadow Anderson wishes her life could be more of a fairy tale—just like the stories she writes. Her best friend, Ellen, is acting weird, her parent's marriage is falling apart, and to top things off, she found out she needs hideously large and geeky glasses.

But Callie soon learns they aren't just any glasses—they are magical and let her read people's thoughts. For the first time ever she's answering all the questions right in math class, and gets a glimpse of what goes through people's minds all day, including what Ellen—and her longtime crush—really think of her.

As if dealing with these crazy glasses weren't enough, Callie tries out for the lead in her school's production of Cinderella and actually gets the part. Instead, Callie chooses to let Ellen have the lead and be Ellen's understudy—just like she has done for their entire friendship.

Add in a new girl who has something to hide, a secret admirer, a best friend stealer who isn't what she seems, and Callie's year just went from ordinary to extraordinary.

Can this supporting actress learn to be a leading lady in her own life? Or is she destined to stay in the background forever—even with her super-freaky-magic glasses?

This is a fun, quirky tale that lets the reader try out a superpower we have all wanted, or thought we wanted, at one time or another.  What do people really think?  Would you really want to know?  Would you want someone else to be able to see what YOU really think?  How would it change things?  Is it better not to know?   I liked the way Lundquist explored Callie's awkwardness and uncertainty.  We've all been that age and even as we grow up, we all still have those moments and thoughts that cause us to cringe inside with embarrassment and self doubt.  Without becoming preachy, Seeing Cinderella travels a path of evolving friendships, learning to trust and seeing what is truly in front of you.  I recommend this book for any middle grade girl who is navigating her way through the daily changes going to school, growing up, life and family throws at her.

39. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

38. Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

What a cool idea!  Intermixing journal entries and a video diary to tell a story. This feels as though it was inspired by the Blair Witch Project.  The format  feeds the tension and suspense.  No third party narrative to foreshadow or explain beyond what the Ryan ans Sarah know.

Skeleton creek is broken into two parts - Ryan's text in the book, and Sarah's videos on a special website, with links and passwords given throughout the story. Skeleton Creek is a book and a movie at the same time. The format contributes greatly to the series appeal.


Carman uses suspense and fear to drive the plot.  The concern that housebound Ryan has for Sarah as she investigates alone creates the urgency this story needs. The grainy video provides a horror movie feel (although the acting could be much better!).  The special effects are effective.  In fact, they may be too much for younger, more sensitive viewers.  The back and forth from text to video also feeds the urgency of the situation by echoing the emotions of the main characters.  As they  hide their searching from their families and wait for 'safe' moments to send messages, the readers need to switch from reading to firing up the computer echo  those actions.


A great mystery ghost story for middle school to teen readers!

Book 1: Skeleton Creek

After an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam in the haunted woods beyond Skeleton Creek.

Ghost in the Machine

Clues from Ryan’s journal and Sarah’s videos all point to one thing: someone will do anything to stop them from uncovering the deadly truth. 200 pages, nine videos, and a shocking end to the story that started a revolution in reading.

• The Crossbones

  Ryan and Sarah Have solved one mystery . . . only to find themselves trapped by another. At first it seemed that the crossbones was a secret society limited to Skeleton Creek. But now new facts are being unearthed — with new dangers attached.

• The Raven

  Ryan and Sarah have solved old mysteries. They’ve followed clues all over the country and underground. They’ve investigated secret societies. They’ve found their answers.
  Or so they thought. Because there are still some secrets that Ryan and Sarah haven’t uncovered yet. And there’s still a shadowy figure standing in their path…someone who doesn’t want Ryan and Sarah digging up any more of the past.

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