The End of the Line by Angela Cerrito
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

13 year old Ryan is dead. 13 year old Robbie killed him. What moves a basically good kid from a good, loving family to do the unthinkable? How has it changed him? Will he recover? Robbie is at the "End of the Line". His family, the school, YDC has tried everything else. Now he starts in an empty room and has to earn his way back: to food, to shoes, to reality, to home.

The concept is fascinating, but the story drags. The book is written in an alternating series of "now" and flashbacks. At first, Robbie isn't likable at all, but I was curious. As the book continues, Robbie becomes a more likable character, but I wasn't drawn in. Ultimately, I finished the book out of morbid curiosity, not because I cared what happened to him.

TEEN SUMMER READING WRAPS UP!

PROGRAM A HUGE SUCCESS!  

Our thanks to all the super fantastic teens who participated in Own the Night to make this summer's reading program such fun! We did things a bit differently this year, counting pages read rather than number of books read. Here are the amazing results for this summer's participants: 15,300 pages read!!! The highest number of pages read by one teen was 3,400.Yikes! That's a lot of great reading--and a lot of chances to win great prizes!

We raffled off the five -- actually six because Eastern Mountain Sports donated a 2-day $100 paddle board rental -- prizes at the Pizza Party on August 16. Six lucky teens who joined Own the Night and finished reading and writing book forms for 1000 pages won the following great prizes:

a $50 gift certificate to EMS
a $100 paddle board rental from EMS
a $50 gift certificate to Barnes&Noble
a $50 gift certificate to Island Cinemas
a $25 gift certificate to the Gas Lamp Grille
a $25 gift certificate to the Smoke House Cafe.

Congratulations to our winners-- and to everyone who participated. We hope to see even more teens taking the challenge next summer. Read, attend programs, make new friends, and earn chances to win more great prizes!

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The writing here is not top shelf, but I really like the concept. It is definitely something that hasn't been done over and over and over again despite being a modern retelling of Lysistrata, a Greek tale I've never read. The story depicts a modern day battle of the sexes over an in school sports rivalry, but it is more than that. It shows a control freak learning to let go and to overcome the after affects of her mother's death. It shows just how conveluted relationships can be and the importance of open communication. It is a women's lib story, a secret and not so secret rebellion, it is about moving on, taking control and releasing control; all wrapped in a package of less than stellar, but not horrible writing.

If you are looking for a classic, this isn't it, but if you want a fresh, easy read, this book is a good stop.

View all my reviews

100 Best-Ever Teen Novels

From NPR Books, August 7, 2012:

Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels (Click to find the list)

It's almost a cliche at this point to say that teen fiction isn't just for teens anymore. Just last year, the Association of American Publishers ranked Children's/Young Adult books as the single fastest-growing publishing category.Which is why we were only a little surprised to see the tremendous response that came in for this summer's Best-Ever Teen Fiction poll. A whopping 75,220 of you voted for your favorite young adult novels, blasting past the total for last year's science fiction and fantasy poll at, dare we say it, warp speed.
And now, the final results are in. While it's no surprise to see Harry Potter and the Hunger Games trilogy on top, this year's list also highlights some writers we weren't as familiar with. For example, John Green, author of the 2012 hit The Fault in Our Stars, appears five times in the top 100.
Selecting a manageable voting roster from among the more than 1,200 nominations that came in from readers wasn't easy, and we were happy to be able to rely on such an experienced panel of judges. But deciding what does and doesn't count as a young-adult novel isn't an exact science. If you're surprised not to see some of your favorite books among the winners, you might want to look at this blog post, which describes the thinking behind the tough calls.
Summer, like youth, is fleeting. But the books we read when we're young can stay with us for a lifetime. Here's hoping that when the school bell rings in a few short weeks, it will find you engrossed in just such a memorable read, selected by the NPR audience. Enjoy. (For your convenience, here's a printable version of the top-100 list, and here's a list of the 235 finalists.)

Forgotten by Cat Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book: none of the regular teen angst and the further you get into the book, the more questions there are. It has a few slow spots, but the last third of the book takes off and hits you with something new around every corner. I never would have guessed the ending and I always like a book that can do that!

Why isn't Luke in her future? How can grandma be? Why is mom crying and dad hiding? Why is mom hiding dad? Who died anyway? How will she ever save her best friend without destroying her? It is definitely a bit much for one 16 year old to handle and the answers don't make it any easier, but a least they put London on the road to repair and maybe even a little bit of normal.

Dr. Strangelove Showing Wednesday Night for Teens!

Teens! Get out of the heat and have some fun at a special showing of the movie Dr. Strangelove on Wednesday, August 8, 6pm in the Library Program Room. We'll be making the movie even stranger with Mu V Chat, software that lets you text comments to the screen from your cell phone. To attend, you just need to sign up for the Teen Summer Reading Program and start reading. It's free & fun!

Amazing Teen Gymnasts at the 2012 Olympics . . . and Their Favorite Books!

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, lots of buzz has surrounded the ever-smiling, relaxed, and absolutely dazzling U.S. Women's Gymanstics Team. The fab five are: Gabby Douglas, age 16, from Virginia Beach, Va. (favorite book, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer), Jordyn Wieber, age 16, from DeWitt, Mich. (favorite book, The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks), McKayla Maroney, age 16, from Long Beach, Ca. (favorite book, Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway), Alexandra Raisman, age 18, from Needham, Ma. (favorite book, The Pact by Jodi Picoult), and Kyla Ross, age 15, from Aliso Viejo, Ca. (favorite book, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins).

The library doesn't loan Olympic gold, but we do have the Team's favorite books!