Fire-us

by Jennifer Armstrong

Summary:
It's been 5 years since the Fire-Us swept through the nation. The virus killed almost everyone, but left behind a few small survivors, none of whom were adults. This is the story of a small group of kids who survived the Fire-Us. A group who are trying to stay alive. But when a new kid comes to town, they begin to wonder if there are any more survivors, and take off for an unknown destination in search of something else.

Review:
The book is told from the perspective of the kids who survived the fire-us. The grammar is rough, written like children who have not been taught past the 3rd grade. For myself, it made the book difficult to read, but the story was interesting. Armstrong does a realistic job of portraying everything through the eyes of 7 or 8 year olds, even though the oldest child is now almost 13. The kids create a family group from what they remember before the virus killed all the adults and almost everyone else, which is both interesting and plausible.  Overall a good read for those who like dystopian novels. But if there is no interest in the genre it probably won't appeal to most.

Genre: Dystopian
Age Level: 7th Grade

Lucid

by Adrienne Stoltz

Summary:
Every night, Maggie dreams of Sloane's day. And every night, after living her day, Sloane dreams of Maggie's.  One lives in New York, struggling to become an actress, the other lives in a small town with her tight-knit family and dreams of the day she goes to college. Each wakes up as the girl she is, after spending their nights as the other. But as time goes by the lines between where one girl ends and the other begins is blurred. Only one of them is going to be able to keep going, but which life is the one that will fade away?

Review:
Cunningly constructed, Lucid alternates between the viewpoints of Maggie and Sloane. Both girls are well developed characters, which lives that are both fulfilling and lacking. What one has the other does not, for Sloane there is a loving family, but not the independence Maggie has.  Both girls have experienced the loss of  someone close to them, and both realize that their connection is not quite normal. The book gives an interesting perspective to mental illness, as well as to the barriers we put up to deal with our own issues. The book keeps you guessing til the end about which girl's life is the real one.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

Me, Him, Them and It

by Caela Carter

Summary:
16 year old Evelyn wanted to be the bad girl.  She was tired of being the perfect girl her parents wanted her to be, and why should she be when they barely acknowledged her and cheated on each other. But when she finds out she's pregnant, she's suddenly forced to make decisions that she's barely able to. And is forced to rely on a family that she thought had given her up.

Review:
Me, Him, Them and It does a really impressive job of realistically portraying how a smart teen, who gets good grades and does everything else right, ends up a teen mom. The book shows her as she goes through the decision making process, weighing abortion, adoption or raising the child. At times you really don't like Evelyn, she tends to curl into herself and let decisions be forced rather than make them herself, but in that way the book is very realistic. The book will appeal to older teens, but less so for younger teens since the situation is a little harder for them to place themselves in. Older teens will relate to how Evelyn, who does so much right, finds herself making one choice that will define the rest of her life.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

Code Name Verity

by Elizabeth Wein

Summary:

When Verity is arrested as a spy in occupied France, she knows that the only way she will escape being tortured by the Gestapo is to collaborate. She knows that regardless at the end of her usefulness to the Germans she will be executed, so she might as well live out her last few days in comfort. The story she tells them is not just about her mission, but about two friends, Maddie and Julie. Two girls from different walks of life who might never have met but for the war. Whose fate is intertwined beyond what they even know themselves. For captured Verity and her pilot friend Maddie, trapped behind enemy lines, the mission of their lives may have only just begun.

Review:
Code Name Verity is one of the best books I've read in awhile. The book is full of intrigue, leaving the reader unsure til the end of the real motives of half the characters in the book. The more Julie reveals about herself in her writings for the Gestapo the more you wonder how she could become a collaborator.  The book has tons of twists and excitement, making it great for anyone who likes spy novels or thrillers.  I won't give much away, but it's definitely worth the read. (Full disclosure the book didn't completely grab me until about 100 pages in, and then I couldn't put it down). I would be cautious recommending it to younger teens just because of the torture scenes (they aren't terribly graphic, but because these things actually happened to people it might be a little hard for less mature teens to read).  Personally, the book made me wonder if I would ever have the courage to do what girls like this did during WWII.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Level: 8th Grade

Janie Face to Face

by Caroline B Cooney

Summary:

We’ve all probably wondered at one point in our life what it would be like if we weren’t related to the people that raised us. Maybe we are actually prince’s or princesses, maybe the child of rich billionaires who are just waiting to rescue us from a life of monotony  For Janie, finding out who her real parents were became a nightmare. A kidnapped child who 13 years later spotted her own face on a missing children’s ad on a milk carton. A girl who had to come to terms with what her life has done to two families through no fault of her own. In this conclusion to the face on the milk carton, we find out more about the kidnapper herself, and it’s only a matter of time until they meet again. But this time the chances of a happy ending are slim.

Review:

Janie Face to Face is a great conclusion to the Face on the Milk Carton series.  While a bit skeptical, since the last one was written a long time ago, Cooney does a great job of finishing up a series.  The book is written for a younger audience, and her attempts to update the book by mentioning modern technology are a bit silly (almost trying too hard), the book overall has the same feel as the rest of the series. It does wrap up the series nicely, with Janie and Reeve finally getting together, but feels a bit too happy ending contrived. It's a good read for fans of the series or younger teens. But for an older teen with no vested interest in the book it won't hold their attention. 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Age Level: 6th Grade