VAASL Conference: Questions from the session on SSR and Secondary Students

Thank you to everyone who attended one of the SSR and Secondary Students sessions.  I enjoyed talking with you all and appreciate you posting your ideas, questions, etc on the poster boards on your way out.  Here are the posts from the Questions Poster:

Questions:

1. YA titles and Middle Students- what titles are acceptable?
2. I think I need more help getting started/getting teachers on board.
3. How long for book talks with your classes?
4. How do you get your administrators on board?
5. Some students won't read independently
6. Our assistant superintendent is against SSR.  How do you convince someone who seems dead set against it?

Great questions- and I need help from you all with these!  

1. YA and Middle School-- this is a great question because the content in YA books can be quite mature.  I would rely on reviews and only add titles that say grade 8 or age 14.  I have a friend who is a middle school librarian and she puts an 8th grade sticker on these titles.  If a younger student wants to check them out, they must bring a permission slip from home.  

2, 4 and 6  All of these questions have to do with buy in and getting started.  I would try to start with one or two teachers to get started.  I would ask to present in department meetings and I would also recommend trying the one to one conversation whenever you get a chance to encourage SSR.  I started by asking the teachers to give the high school kids library time for check out.  Even if you can't do SSR it is worthwhile for the students to come to the library for check out time every so often. 

The part of this question that asked about administrators and superintendents is tough.  I would prepare a way to share the evidence.  I am thinking of doing this myself in the form of a short Animoto video or something like that. 

At the end of the day, if you can't do SSR you can still encourage reading as much as possible.  Anything we can do to encourage reading is worth doing!

3. I tailor the book talks to the class and teacher.  Most of the time they last about 30 minutes.  I talk up some titles and do some follow up activities on the books they have been reading for about 20 minutes and then give the class about 10 minutes to find a new book to check out.  I have done books talks in as short of a time as 15 minutes though. I sometimes use a timer to keep myself from going on and on too long.  I love to talk about books so I have to be careful to respect the time the teacher has alloted for book talks.

5. The question about some students not reading is a hard one that I do not have a magic answer for.  I sure wish I did!  I try lots of things that are successful some of the time.  I encourage Orca titles that are short and easy to read. I try to have lots of nonfiction that appeal to the non-reading students- I purchase based on these kids too!  At my school lots of books on hunting are good. An idea I got from the SSR Handbook is to let the kids take multiple magazine, books, etc to their desk to look over during the SSR time.  I also think that reading aloud to hook the kids into a good story is a good idea.

I don't do much with audiobooks but I am interested in trying more of this.  I have a question about these- I wonder if listening to a book is as beneficial?  Can students get the great gains of SSR if they listen to a book?

Ok, there are my thoughts on some of your questions.  I hope you all will join in the conversation!

VAASL Conference SSR and Secondary Students: Sharing Success Stories

Thank you to everyone who attended one of the SSR and Secondary Students sessions.  I enjoyed talking with you all and appreciate you posting your ideas, questions, etc on the poster boards on your way out.  Here are the posts from the Success Poster:

Success:

• Teachers make SSR the best with collaboration
• I genrefied the sports fiction and the boys have loved it
• one English teacher has their students sell their books (2 students at a time). The class votes on the winning book.
• Book pass- students choose books from a large selection. Read 3 minutes and move on to another one.  Go back to pick one you want to read.
• The Book Whisperer changed my whole view of teaching.  My students and I cherish our independent reading time- 20 minutes every day.
• One to one with individual non-readers
• Book talks
• Reading Zone- with 9 and 10 Academic classes.  They read every English class and come read for 1/2 hour each week in the library.  Reading scores went up!!
• We had school-wide SSR at my former school until the admin changed.  Everyone read.
• Loved the idea of the graffiti wall. May adapt it for my readers.

Recap:  

Thank you all for sharing your successes.  I love the book pass idea, what a great way to give kids access to lots of great books!  I am also a huge fan of The Book Whisperer, and in fact it was from Donalyn Miller's twitter account that I got the idea of using a graffiti wall for reading comments. I have not genrefied the fiction section of my school library.  I do a lot with genres and pull lots of genre displays though.  I have been a bit resistant to this idea because it is not clear cut what genre a book belongs in.  I do see the appeal to kids though and that is one of the key elements of successful SSR.  I would love for you all to comment on this topic!

Any other success stories?  These stories can be powerful indicators of the importance and power of reading!

VAASL Conference SSR Session New Ideas Share

Thank you to everyone who attended one of the SSR and Secondary Students sessions.  I enjoyed talking with you all and appreciate you posting your ideas, questions, etc on the poster boards on your way out.  Here are the posts from the NEW IDEAS Poster:

NEW IDEAS:

• bring in therapy dogs
• kids commenting on morning announcements
• reorganize the library by genre
• use Glogester
• Mockingjay PreMovie release party
• English teachers can use SSR for small group remediation
• Steven Lane, The Passion of Reading (speed dating for books)
• let kids put sticky notes on books-- no spoilers
• Reading Fair, like a science fair, to promote new books
• Give your administrator a copy of The Power of Reading
• Have classes do SSR outside during National Library Week
• QR Codes with book trailers- kids can scan with their phone

Recap:  Great ideas shared here!  I too am planning a Mockingjay movie release party.  I do a monthly lunch in the library with a different theme each time.  I think these events help with the appeal factor of SSR.  I try to use my library programming to let kids know what books we have and to have access to them.  I love the Reading Fair idea!  I do New Book Preview Parties which is a little like this.  I thought the science fair board for a genre, a book series or an author could be a great follow up research opportunity for a student.

Which new ideas really speak to you?  Do you have any additional new ideas for SSR at the secondary level to share?

Conference Day is here!

I am excited about today's sessions and evening event, dessert with best selling author David Baldacci!  I am currently setting up for my concurrent session on SSR and Secondary Students.  I am VERY excited to hear Dr. Stephen Krashen give his keynote address today, Dr. Krashen is the expert on Free Voluntary Reading and his book The Power of Reading is an important part of the session we are presenting this morning!

My coworkers, Renee Favaro and Kate Givens, should be here soon.  I am so glad they were willing to present with me and will be able to enjoy the conference today.  They are both English teachers at Lord Botetourt and I am so grateful for the strong library-classroom collaboration we have.

I hope you will check back later to see what participant questions, ideas and success stories we have to share after the 9am SSR and the Secondary Student session.

2014 VAASL Conference: SSR Session

I am so excited that the annual Virginia Association of School Librarians Conference begins tomorrow!  I am co-presenting with two of my coworkers on Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) at the Secondary Level.  The keynote speaker later in the day is Dr. Stephen Krashen, an expert in the area of SSR.  It should be an awesome day.

At the end of our presentation, we have an activity where participants can ask questions and share success stories and new ideas.  I plan to post the information from this activity here and hope that the blog format will allow for further professional discussion on the topic of SSR.

Labor Day Weekend

I enjoyed the long Labor Day weekend and read several books! I have a lot of students coming to the library this week so I am happy to have a few new titles to talk up.

Finished The Fifth Wave- Sci Fic title that I am looking forward to book talking.  I predict that this is a popular title this school year.









Loved After Ever After- great realistic fiction title with a male main character.  The age of the main character (8th grade) may make this a little hard to sell to my high school students.  So many students read The Fault in Our Stars this summer though that I think this will appeal to some. I enjoyed it...and cried.







Survive was a great adventure novel.  I read this almost in one sitting.  I look forward to book talking this one!  Wish it had a different cover because I think boys will like this story but not all boys will check out a book with this cover.









Quarantine: The Loners has circulated really well every since I put it out on the new book shelf last year.  I read it this weekend and enjoyed it.  This novel made me think of Lord of the Flies.

LB Reads 2013 Summer Reading

We are using the high school Virginia Reader's Choice books as our list for summer reading.  (This is our 4th year using the VRC list!)  We held summer reading assemblies recently and I am so excited about the interest in the titles.  I REALLY like the list this year!

I am having a hard time selecting one favorite from the list this year.  Here are a few thoughts on each title.

Anya's Ghost- a graphic novel, which is honestly not really my thing.  I did like the simple drawing style of this novel and the story grabbed me and I was compelled to read the entire book quickly to find out how the mystery was resolved.

Choker- a very fun, quick read with a few surprises!  This is one you will enjoy talking about with a friend once you have both read it.  A good choice if you like a mystery.

Between Shades of Gray- Incredible historical fiction novel set in WWII.  I read this novel awhile ago and have been recommending it ever since.  I really enjoyed reading about the WWII time period from a very different perspective, a young Lithuanian girl in the Stalin Era Soviet Union. I highly recommend this one and male and female readers have enjoyed it.

Scorpio Races-- a great surprise.  This book did not appeal to me at first but I read it because it was on this list and really, really liked it!  Mythology, fantasy and a great plot- a great combination. A good choice for guys and girls.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone- one of my all time favorites.  I read this last year and devoured the sequel when it was published.  This is a well written fantasy novel.  Maybe my favorite on the list....

The Fault in Our Stars- While I just said that Daughter of Smoke and Bone could be my favorite, well this one is also pretty darn awesome!  Time Magazine ranked this the #1 Fiction novel for 2012 for all ages and it is popular in the Young Adult as well as Adult market because it is so well written, so thought provoking, and so universal.  Warning... have tissues handy when you read this one!

This Dark Endeavor- A great Science Fiction title about Victor Frankenstein as a teenager.  A great adventure that is a good choice for male and female readers.

Something Like Hope- I really liked this novel and I would love to have a book club discussion with students who read this book.  The author made me really care for the main character and I felt a variety of emotions, including hope, as I followed her journey to her 18th birthday and freedom from incarceration in a juvenile detention faculty. I was so interested in the problems with the juvenile detention system after I read this book that I was interested in learning more about the issue.  I LOVE it when a fiction novel makes me think about the problems in society and how they can be addressed.  Give this one a try!

Hold Me Closer Necromancer- Funny/Horror- what a combination!  This is a great choice for guys and girls alike.  Each chapter starts with the title of a song and the chapter relates in someway to the title.   I just checked out the sequel to this novel it was so good! A very clever novel that does not take itself too seriously- I predict this will be a popular title with my students.

Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love: A wonderful true story about an abused puppy.  This is a sad AND happy/hopeful story.  If you love animals, you will love Oogy!

The Rules for Disappearing

Awesome book- and something a little different then so many books currently out.  I read the entire book in one day- today was a snow day so we had no school! I enjoyed the Ethan-Meg/Anna romance as well as the mystery of why Anna was in the witness protection program. I was able to predict a few things but was also surprised by others. The ending was great and I was happy to find room for more about Anna in the future. Thank you to Disney Book Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC. I will definitely add this to the library's collection.

5 of 5 stars :)

The Rules for Disappearing releases in May, 2013
Genres: Mystery/suspense/romance
Interesting cover

VaASL 2012 Conference

I just got home from the VaASL conference in Hampton, VA.  What a great, inspiring conference.  I left convinced that I must make time for professional activities like blogging for my library.  On the ride home I decided to change the focus of this blog.  I am going to borrow Christi the Teen Librarian's idea of super short reviews to post information about books I read and enjoy, and I will also use this forum to post what is happening in the LBHS library.

A few items on my "things to do" list from the conference:

1. Revamp library orientation using QR codes.
2. Check out Edmodo as a possible source for summer reading and/or the book club
3. Spend more time on library advocacy-- create and share a monthly newsletter (through this blog I think) with administration, staff, parents, kids, anyone I can get to look at it!
4. Read up on the Teacher Eval standards-- great suggestions from Audrey Church
5. Learn how to make screen casts and create some
6. Work on my Destiny account-- get the MARC records for all my e content into the catalog for one stop searching for my students.
7. and much more....

This list was from the top of my head-- I really need to look back at all the notes I took at the conference to make sure I don't forget anything.

So, thanks for reading and I will be around more and in a different way.

Currently reading...

Insignia- awesome so far!

Book I am most looking forward to reading next-- Book 4 in the Beautiful Creatures series.  I saw it at Target the other night and can't wait to get my hands on it!!

Author I recently met- Gordon Korman!  While he is not an author with a huge presence in a high school library he has a few great YA books.  (Pop for one)  My own kids really like this author and I am excited to have some signed books to give them.  Gordon Korman gave a great speech at the VaASL Author Banquet- I really enjoyed it

Slide by Jill Hathaway

2012 DAC

ARC courtesy of Net Galley

From Good Reads:


Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered. 

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body. 

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane. 

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.


My thoughts:


I really enjoyed this book!  The concept was interesting and the story line was suspenseful and unpredictable.  Vee's ability to slide into other people's minds is both horrifying and fascinating.  


The pacing and plot of the book are well done.  Vee's gift/curse is explained  in the opening chapters of the book and the reader learns important information about Vee's sister and social scene at their high school.  Vee's  relationship with Zane, the new boy, and Rollins, her best friend, is also well developed.  This is not a romance book yet the small amount of relationship angst works well with the plot.  What I liked mostly about the book is trying to figure out who the murderer was, and the killer's true identity and motive is well hidden to the very end of the book.  


Overall, a great debut and one that I will enjoy recommending to my students.  

Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan

From Good Reads:
Nobody gets away with telling Eleanor Crowe what to do. But as a pregnant sixteen-year-old, her options are limited: move to Kenya with her missionary parents or marry the baby’s father and work at his family’s summer camp for overweight kids. 

Despite her initial reluctance to help out, Elly is surprised that she actually enjoys working with the campers. But a tragedy on the very day her baby is born starts a series of events that overwhelms Elly with unexpected emotions and difficult choices. Somehow, she must turn her usual obstinance in a direction that can ensure a future for herself—and for the new life she has created.

My thoughts:
Open this book with the cute name and cute cover and discover a moving story about sixteen year old Eleanor Crowe,who is indeed pregnant.  Unsure about whether the baby with just be a pause in her life or if the baby will forever change her life, Elly has a lot of decisions to make and growing up to do.

I really liked a lot of different aspects of this novel.  I really liked Elly to begin with.  She is honest and real and has flaws that really bring her character to life.  Elly knows she has made a lot of mistakes in her life, and even as she makes some positive changes for the baby's sake she is still an immature, child/woman who does not know what to do. Elly does not have a strong support system and that made me feel empathy for her character.  Elly's immaturity, especially with relationships, made me feel exasperated with her at times.  Finally Elly's compassion for the campers and her baby made me love her.

This story does not glamorize teen pregnancy in any way and I really liked that.  It is clear that Elly's life is forever changed, no matter what she decides to do with her baby.

While this book tackles a hard topic and does have references to sex, drug and alcohol use, it does so tactfully and in a way that I think will make people NOT want to engage in these types of behaviors.

The conclusion to this book contains several unexpected, an emotional, twists. I enjoyed the story and the find the outcome very thought provoking. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes edgy realistic fiction.

Fracture by Megan Miranda

2012 DAC 

From Good Reads:


Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it? 

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening? 

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.


My thoughts:


Fracture is a great debut novel!  I found the story to be quite a page turner and I really liked the author's writing style.    Delaney's story is very interesting- from the fracture in the ice to understanding how Delaney has been changed by her accident.  


In addition to the supernatural elements of Delaney's strange ability to predict death, the story has a nice amount of relationship and family dynamic issues.  For example, Delaney feelings for her best friend and neighbor, Decker.  I also enjoyed knowing a little of how  Delaney's parent's felt about the accident and the changes to their daughter.  

The cover art on this novel is great!  I found myself studying the cover some as I read the book.  I also think the cover will entice students to pick this book up off the shelf.  I know people say to never judge a book by its cover but as a high school librarian I know that students do judge books by their covers!  

I highly recommend this title and look forward to talking it up at school!

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

From Good Reads:

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

My thoughts:

I just finished reading this book in one afternoon-- it is the type of story that grabs you and you can't put the book down until you know what happens. I don't want to put spoilers in my write up so all I will say is that hours later I am still pondering the ending. This would be a great book to discuss! This one is going to be popular with my student patrons!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012 Debut

From Good Reads:


Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl... Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.


My thoughts:

The start to another great series!!  Cinder, a loose retelling of the Cinderella story, is set sometime in the future in a place called New Beijing.  Cinder lives with her step mother and two step sisters and desperately would love to go to the festival ball... but can't because she is a cyborg and is not allowed by her step mother.  While all of this sounds familiar to the fairy tale there is a LOT more to this story.  The population of New Beijing is in danger due to a terrible plague that is killing so many.  There is also danger of potential war if an agreement is not worked out with the Luna population that live on the moon.  Cinder, a gifted mechanic, meet Prince Kai who needs her help to repair an android who just may have information that will save New Beijing.

Cinder is a fast paced, interesting, and well written novel.  I loved the cover art with the picture of a leg in a red high heel with the metal cyborg part showing.  I anticipate this will be a very popular book with my students.  I definitely have the rest of the series on my TBR pile as the books release.  While it is hard to wait, the conclusion to Cinder is satisfactory- a must for me in series books.  Highly recommended.

First Date

2012 DAC

From Good Reads:


The orphaned daughter of missionaries, Addy Davidson discovers God's unexpected plans for her life when a reality TV show turns her quiet existence on its head.




My thoughts:
The premise behind "First Date" is really cute- a reality tv show for teenage girls all trying to win a prom date with the President's son.  The main character, Addy, is encouraged to participate in the contest by her guardian/uncle and her school principal but she really does not want all the attention the show brings.  Many aspects of this novel are a bit unrealistic, but that did not detract from the appeal of the story for me.  I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable.  In fact I felt a few moments of panic when it seemed the E Galley had only downloaded half the book to my Nook! Thank goodness I got the problem resolved and was able to read the rest of the book!

Addy is a very like-able girl and I really liked her dedication to her principles and religion.  I also liked the fact that she was not made to seem perfect.  Addy is a devout Christian but she struggles with how to share her beliefs with the reality show she is on.  First Date is a very refreshing  read about a teenager with strong values and a sense of purpose in her life that is not tied up in a boy for happiness.  The fact that the teenager finds a nice boy just makes the story romantic and delightful! 

Author website:

http://www.kristamcgee.org/

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

From Good Reads:
This is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss. The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming. . . .

This monster, though, is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.

Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final story idea of Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel about coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.

My thoughts:


A Monster Calls is a masterpiece. I was captivated by the story behind this book- that Siobhan Dowd had the idea but was not able to write the novel before dying from cancer. I LOVED the author forward where Patrick Ness explained why he was at first hesitant to write someone else's story and why he ultimately did. I am so happy that I loved the actual book as much as I loved the backstory to the book. 

The emotion in this book is so powerful and the black and white illustrations are magnificent. It is pretty unusual to have illustrations in a YA novel and they really help to capture the horror and hope of this story. 

I am anxious to see what my student readers think of this book. I suspect they will really like it, although for different reasons than me. As a mother I found myself relating to how Conor's mother must feel. You hear about adult titles that appeal to a YA market, well I think this is a YA title that will also appeal to an adult market. 

As I said at the start of this review-- it is a masterpiece.

Top Ten Tuesday 1

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's topic is the Top Ten Books That Would Make Great Book Club Picks.  This is actually my very first time posting a Top Ten Tuesday and I happen to be in a unique position to address this particular topic.  I am lucky enough to run a book club at my high school with the awesome blogger at Indie's Book Shelf  and we decided to co-post a top ten list this week.  We actually posed a similar question to our students in our club, and they, along with the two of us, compiled this list.  In no particular order.  

Top Ten (or at least Ten Really Good) Book Club Book Picks:

1.  Unwind by Neal Shusterman:

There is plenty to discuss with this book, it appeals to boys and girls, and it is extremely exciting and well-written.  Lots of fun to be had by a book club!

  

2.  Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King:

We've been mulling this book over as it deals with a timely topic for high schoolers:  bullying.  Again, the appeal for both male and female readers, as well as the multiple discussion opportunities, makes this a good choice for our kids.

3.  After by Amy Efaw:

Dealing with a very controversial issue is exactly what books are for, and having a supportive group in which to discuss these topics makes that experience even more valuable.  This novel deals with a teenager who is put into juvenile detention for abandoning her newborn baby in a Dumpster.  Though it is gruesome, the ending leaves a LOT to be discussed - we had many students who enjoyed reading this over the summer as part of the Virginia Reader's Choice list.

  

4.  Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon:

This one was a student pick.  Though sometimes series can be tough to do with a club, the high level of action and suspense would make it a fun group read.  I haven't read this book yet, but a high school vampire slayer sounds right up my alley!

5.  The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson:

Ok, haven't read this one either... pretty sure it was our girlies' answer to Infinity. Again, though, the summary on Goodreads and on the book jacket have put it in my TBR pile.  Romance, revolution, and a mysterious prophecy - sign me up!

6.  Not as Crazy as I Seem by George Harrar:

Another student pick, one that deals with Devon Brown and his struggle to fit into high school with OCD.  Again, I haven't read the book, but I admire the students' sensitivity in selecting this one.  Tolerance and compassion are excellent lessons, and two our school is focusing on this school year.  Discussing both the plot as well as learning about something new would be a great way to meet as a club.

7.  Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

This book won the 2010 Printz Award is absolutely fantastic.  While I have a little bit of a hard time selling this book to kids, no one who has read it dislikes it.  I really enjoyed the writing in this dystopian thriller.  The fact that there is a strong male protagonist in this novel is a real strength as well.  

8.  The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin:

This is a great psychological thriller that I know kids will have fun discussing.  The ending of this book is unreal too- it really lends itself to a great book club discussion of what we think may come next.  Knowing that book two is coming in the fall sets the club up to read and discuss the sequel too!

9.  Divergent by Veronica Roth:

Our book club actually read and discussed this novel as a group.  We enjoyed talking about how this society came to be, what faction we would be in if we had to choose, and what we think will happen in the next book, Insurgent.

10.The Bitter End and/or The Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Both of the fabulous realistic fiction novels by Jennifer Brown are prime for discussion!  The Hate List deals with the aftermath of a high school shooting and The Bitter End is about a teenage girl who finds herself in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend.  


What tips and tricks do people have for running a YA book club?  We are in our first year, and any help would be welcome!

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
338 pages
Published: 9/29/2011
Publisher: Dutton Books

From Good Reads:


Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. 

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.


My thoughts:


LOVED IT! This was even better than Anna and the French Kiss, which I also loved. Stephanie Perkins really has a knack for creating a character on paper who seems real. The premise behind this story is not original, but Lola makes the story unique. I loved her confidence and all her cool costumes. I also loved her insecurity and indecision that made her such as authentic character. Although this is a romantic girl falls for the boy next door book, it is also so much more. I found myself thinking of parental love and what makes good parents as I read about Lola's Dads and all their rules. I thought of sibling love and how important the sibling bond can be as I read about Calliope and Cricket's relationship. The book also made me think about forgiveness and how important it to be accepting and tolerant of the people in your life as I read about Lola's birth mother, Nora. This simple story has many, fun, layers. 

I read Anna and the Boy Next Door in one sitting into the wee hours of the morning and I just did the same thing with Lola. These books consumed me and I did not want to put them down until I reached the end. It was also fun to read about characters from Anna and the French Kiss  (Anna and St Claire) in Lola and the Boy Next Door. 

A five star review for me! I anxiously await Stephanie Perkins next book!

Stand Alone Reading Challenge

The bloggers at Icey Books and I Like These Books are hosting a Stand Alone Reading Challenge that I have decided to participate in.  I personally love to read a series but I really need some good, new titles to booktalk to library patrons who want a standalone.  I looking forward to reading:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

Fracture by Megan Miranda 

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard 

Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala 

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour 

The Story of Us by Deb Caletti 

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard 

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler 

Cracked by K.M. Walton 

Double by Jenny Valentine

Where it Began by Ann Stampler

Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale 

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London, Book 1
Pages: 372 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Date of Publication: Sept. 29, 2011
Format: Library Book






From Good Reads:
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

My thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this book.  Truly, it is my new favorite!  I always enjoy a great mystery story and this is a mystery with opps, I can't say it without giving away too much!  :)

The novel opens with the discovery of the first murder in a string of Jack the Ripper copy cat killings.  Soon after the discovery of the first body, Aurora "Rory" Deveaux arrives in London for her senior year abroad.  Rory comes from a small  town near New Orleans and I loved "seeing" and learning about London through her eyes.  Johnson did a great job of writing this novel.  I found Rory's voice to be very believable and likeable.  Her experiences as the new foreign student at Wexford, her boarding school,  were believable as well.  

Just as Rory arrives at her new school, the Jack the Ripper style killings begin and Wexford is smack in the middle of the Ripper killing zone. Rory and her new friends are soon caught up in the "Rippermania" that has grabbed London.    Rory gets way more involved than she wants when she sees the suspect.  But why didn't her roommate see him too?  

I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen as Rory, and the rest of London, waited for each day that the original Jack the Ripper killed his victims.  Would the new Ripper strike too?  What was he going to do about Rory, the witness?

The Name of the Star is Book One in the Shades of London series.  I can't wait until book two is out in September 2012! This was my first Maureen Johnson book, I plan  to read more!