Are You in the House Alone? by Richard Peck

Are You in the House Alone? by Richard Peck

Sixteen-year-old Gail is living the upper-class suburban life when she begins receiving terrifying phone calls and notes in her locker. And the calls keep coming. When she's attacked by the town's golden boy everyone refuses to take action against him and his powerful family. A frightening drama that deals with heavy teen issues and the idea of justice (or lack thereof) from bestselling author Richard Peck.

Are you in the House Alone? is so well written. Richard Peck is a talented author who eliminates any unnecessary words and uses phrases that flow so well. I was immediately drawn into this horrifying story and couldn't even put the book down. Gail is the target of a psychotic rapist who is following her every move. He watches her with her boyfriend, Steve and calls her when she is babysitting. When she starts finding threatening notes in her locker, Gail is at a loss about what to do. There is mature content in this book, but adolescents can learn so much about what to do or not to do if found in a similar situation.

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

I had high expectations for "Paper Towns", but it didn't quite meet them. The beginning of the book is very entertaining. I love Quentin's friends; Radar and Ben. They are absolutely hysterical and their jokes about the male anatomy had me laughing out loud.....truly crude humor. The story really starts to drag when the mystery around Margo's disappearance begins. Green's use of Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself" is creative, but the clues surrounding it are quite a stretch. The metaphors abo I had high expectations for Paper Towns, but it didn't quite meet them. The beginning of the book is very entertaining. I love Quentin's friends; Radar and Ben. They are absolutely hysterical and their jokes about the male anatomy had me laughing out loud.....truly crude humor. The story really starts to drag when the mystery around Margo's disappearance begins. Green's use of Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself" is creative, but the clues surrounding it are quite a stretch. The metaphors about the meaning of life and our ability to connect with others is touching, but not exactly memorable. This book is better suited for a mature high school audience, as middle schoolers would fail to understand the symbolism and allusions used. Just a so-so book. I'm glad I read it, but it just didn't make a lasting impression.

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer

He could be any man, any respectable, ordinary man.

But he's not.

This man watches the five Herbert girls—Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy, and Autumn—with disturbing fascination.

Unaware of his scrutiny and his increasingly agitated and forbidden thoughts about them, the sisters go on with their ordinary everyday lives—planning, arguing, laughing, and crying—as if nothing bad could ever breach the safety of their family.

In alternating points of view, Norma Fox Mazer manages to interweave the lives of predator and prey in this unforgettable psychological thriller.  

This book rotates among multiple perspectives which include; Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy, Autumn, and the abductor. The five sisters are being watched by a dangerous stranger who is obsessed with them. He fantasizes about abducting one of the girls and taking care of them. When one sister is separate from the others, the abductor's fantasy comes true. This book is written in a completely school appropriate way while still getting across the dangerous and threatening situation which befalls one of them. Some parts were interesting while others dragged a bit. "The Missing Girl" would appeal to female readers.

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

Typically I love anything by David Leviathan, but this book was just too slow moving and very predictable. Stephen is invisible and his new neighbor, Elizabeth is the only person who can see him. Together the two characters try to uncover the mystery behind his curse, as well as fall in love. I enjoyed the fantasy this story created, but the story really went nowhere and the characters were very two-dimensional. Adolescents may enjoy the love story, but the lack of action may be a turn-off.                  

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Another highly engaging Rainbow Rowell book. I still preferred "Eleanor and Park", but this book was very good. Cath's description of dormitory life brought me back to my college days. While I think some junior high girls would like this book, it is better suited for a high school audience. Cath and Wren are twin sisters who head off to college and start living their own separate lives. Cath must deal with her first love, first writing disappointment, and possibly meet her mother who left when she was 8. The fan fiction writing about Simon Snow and Baz was fine, but really didn't add much to the general plot.  

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future.

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

For such a short book, I took my sweet time reading reading it. Fahrenheit 451 is a classic, must-read book for everyone. A book written in the 1950s, really does foretell the way our society is today and what it may turn out to be in the future if we stop reflecting on what literature can tell us about ourselves. Things like reality TV, social media, cellphones, etc. actually cause us to connect less with our world and the people in it. We need time to talk with others face to face, reflect on the situations characters in books face, and determine the type of people we want to be. Books, movies, plays, etc are the words and stories we relate to as human beings. They are the common texts which bind us together as a civilization. If we lose these stories.....we lose ourselves.

Guy Montag begins to question the actions of his world when he meets a teenage girl named, Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse takes the time and effort to talk to him and actually sees him as an individual. Montag begins to wonder why firefighters are told to start fires as opposed to stopping them. Why do the firefighters want to destroy books? The fire captain, Beatty shares with Montag why books are dangerous, but this makes Montag question even more why he should not be allowed to read them. When he recruits the help of a former professor named Faber, Montag finally begins to change the mundane world he was used to.

I can't recommend this book enough! Wow!!! Bravo Bradbury!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

We Were Liars is a very enjoyable, quick read. Cadence was easy to connect with and the mystery surrounding her migraines/head injury kept me perplexed until the very end. The map of the island at the beginning of the book was helpful in visualizing the various homes and characters. One aspect of the book that will be challenging for adolescent readers is the sheer number of characters to remember and the switching between flashbacks and present day. There are some curse words as well. This book should be recommended to adolescent girls who like reading and realistic fiction. I'm definitely glad I read this title.