Altered by Jennifer Rush

I picked this one up at Chapters a few weeks ago- I had never read anything about it, but boy did I like it. I am not sure what to classify it as- it is sort of dystopian, but not really, it is sort of fantasy, but not really. Either way it is a great book. The main character is Anna, who lives her life on the outskirts of town with her dad, and the four boys he has kept in the lab below their farmhouse. Her dad works for a company called the Branch- and these four boys are in his care for monitoring and treatments, although Anna isn't sure for what. These four boys are part of Anna's family- she looks after them and goes out of her way to make their lives happier. She is closest with Sam, he is the one who holds her heart. One day, the boys escape and suddenly, Anna is being pushed to run away with them by her father. Now Anna and the boys are on the run from the Branch, who will stop at anything to get them back and under control. Anna and Sam learn a great deal about themselves when they are on the run with the other boys, but there are still many questions that are not answered. This book was full of action and interesting events. Anna is a great character. At first, she seems very meek and just wanting to make the boys (Sam) happy. But as the story progresses and Anna learns more about her life, she develops into this great character-both strong and determined. Anna is one of those characters that both boys and girls can relate to. The action in this story will make it appealing for both the boys and the girls. I can't wait to share this one with my class in September!

Tease by Amanda Maciel

I know this book has been sitting in my "To be read" photo on this blog, and it isn't that I didn't want to read it- it is just that other books kept cropping up first! I do need to say right off that bat, that I think this book is too mature for Intermediate students. But my high school friends (Becky and Karen) - you guys need this book in your library! In many ways, Tease is like Thirteen Reasons Why. A young girl (Emma) has committed suicide and the book is dealing with how it happened. This book is told through the eyes of Sara- she is a classmate of Emma's and is being held accountable for her role in the suicide. Sara and her best friend admit they teased Emma, but they always felt she had it coming. Emma's actions demanded that Sara and her friends call her on it. As the story goes on, Sara really struggles to understand why she is being charged with bullying- she spends a great deal of time blaming Emma and keeping the blame off of herself. This is a great read! Really shows the power of words, and how hurtful they can be. It also shows how easily kids can push something off just by saying 'it's just a joke'. But most importantly, this story deals with how people can fall into behaviours, even when they know they are wrong and how these can have a strong impact on other people. I really would love to have this book in my classroom, but there are too many sexual references in it for my comfort. I think it would make for a great read, and a great literature circle book. This is one that demands to be talked about!

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I am not exactly sure how to label this book. It has tinges of fantasy, but also could be classified as dystopian. Whatever tag you want to put on this, Dorothy Must Die is a great read. We all know the story of The Wizard of Oz and how Dorothy went back to Kansas, but when another Kansas girl- Amy Gunn finds herself in Oz, she realizes that that was just the beginning of the story. The Oz Amy finds isn't anything like the Oz she grew up watching. In this Oz, wicked is good, good is evil, and Dorothy has all the power. Amy finds herself trying to understand what is happening in this world, and knowing who she can trust. It isn't easy when everything she knows has been turned upside down. It turns out that Amy can only depend on herself. I had resisted buying this book for a while because I thought it was more appropriate for older students, but it isn't. I will put it in my grade 7 classroom this fall. I enjoyed the references to the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz, but did get a bit lost in understanding all the different characters. That might have just been because of the timing of my week and how busy I was. I liked Amy- she is a tough character who isn't afraid to do what is necessary to help her friends. I am looking forward to the sequel to this one. There is a bit of swearing in this book, not much, and it is very appropriate to the plot. It won't stop me from suggesting it to my students in the fall.

Absolutely Almost by Linda Graff

This book has been getting lots of talk about it on Twitter. I read on one tweet that it was a good follow up from reading Wonder, and I can definitely see the similarities to Wonder. In this story, Albie is in grade 5. Up until this point he has always gone to a private school, but when a letter came in the spring, his parents suddenly decided it was time for him to go to public school. This is tough for Albie, since his best friend still goes to private school. But, Albie decided to make the best of it, and knows he can still visit his friend at home. At the same time Albie is starting in his new school, his parents hire him a new babysitter/ nanny. He spends a great deal of time with Calista and she introduces him to lots of new ideas. Life for Albie isn't easy, things at school don't come easy to him. He wants to do well, and studies hard, but there is just something that makes school difficult for him. He also realizes he isn't one of the 'cool' kids, but he is pretty content with the friends he has. As Albie goes through fifth grade, he is faced with some challenges and must decide what feels right for him. I enjoyed reading this book. Albie is a great character, and I loved the relationship he had with Calista. I can also see kids enjoying reading this after reading Wonder. I do think it might be a bit young for my grade 7 students- but I can see students in grades 5 and 6 really enjoying it.

The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab

This is another book that was on the sale rack at Chapters- I love that rack! I tend to find some great reads, and they are hardcovers too. The Opposite of Hallelujah was a really great read! Caro is 16 and likes her life just the way it is. She lives with her parents, and even though they are pretty strict, she has a good relationship with them and she recognizes that they only want what is best for her, she has two best friends and a boyfriend. Caro is a great student and basically has a great life. But she does have one secret, she has a sister who is 11 years older than her who has been a nun for the last 8 years. Caro has no relationship with her sister and doesn't miss her at all. But then her sister decides to come back home and leave the life she has always known. As Caro struggles to deal with a stranger in her house, her parents response and to decide what to tell her friends, her sister Hannah is struggling to cope in the outside world. I really loved this book. Caro is a great character- she isn't perfect, she is kind of mean to her parents, but she is a good kid at heart. Hannah is a strange character who is very withdrawn and is basically the opposite of Caro. Watching the two try to sort out their relationship is very interesting. I even found the religious references to be interesting. One of the characters is a priest and he isn't what you would tend to think of in a priest, he is someone that relates well to younger people and I liked that about him. I even liked watching Caro's parents try to sort it all out- they aren't absent characters which is so often the case in YA books- they are real and present and flawed. Since Caro is 16, there are some references to parties and drinking, but it is totally appropriate and not glorified at all. This book is definitely going into my classroom next year. I've never reading anything by Jarzab, but I have just ordered her first book- All Unquiet Things. You can check out her website here.

Wasteland by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan

I love the sale desk at Chapters. I am trying hard not to buy hardcover YA books anymore- they are just too expensive. But when they are in the sale rack for $5.99 I can't resist at all! I picked up Wasteland, along with several other books just before the summer and I am now working my way through them. It's my favourite genre of all- dystopian! Wasteland is set in the future, although you don't have any idea how far in the future it is, or where it is. Life is basically about survival. There is never enough food or water- any water you can find in the ground or falling from the sky is poisoned. Nobody lives past the age of 19. Ester wants nothing to do with how life is run in her community- she just wants to hang out with her best friend, even though she is a variant and is considered to be the enemy. The young man running the community is threatening to banish Ester if she doesn't start playing by the rules everyone else follows. But then a stranger comes into town and Ester realizes there might be hope for her, and her family. As Caleb and Ester learn more about the power struggle going on, they must risk everything to help their community. I didn't love this book, I found the plot a bit hard to follow and I didn't find that I understood all the different characters and their motivations. But, it is filled with action and adventure and I think many kids will enjoy it.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I know I say this a lot, but this book has been talked about a great deal on Twitter. I ordered it about a month ago but I was doing some adult reading so I gave it to my niece to read. I just got it back the other day and read it in one sitting- it is that good! We Were Liars is the story of a well off family who summer on a private island off the coast of Massachusetts. This family has everything they could ever want. On the island there are four homes- one for the grandparents and one for each of their daughters and their children. But all summer long, the children swim, eat, boat and hang out together. They live for their summers on the island. The 3 oldest children- Mirren, Cadence, Johnny, and his best friend Gat are inseparable each and every summer. They are called the Liars because they are always up to mischief. The 15th summer on the island starts out as normal, but then tragedy strikes and life for Cady is not what it once was. The remainder of the book is about Cady trying to get her memories back of the one night that changed everything she has ever known. I loved this story! Really, really loved it. I found it hard to keep all of the characters straight at the beginning of the novel, but as soon as I realized the story was about Cady, Johnny, Gat and Mirren, I didn't worry much about the other characters. I felt a very big connection to the grandfather in the story. He loved his family above all else and held them to a pretty high standard, there were many things about him that reminded me of my own relationship with my grandfather. The setting of this story is what every child would want out of a summer- swimming, beaches, barbecue suppers and lots of family. The mystery behind what happened in the fifteenth summer is unveiled slowly in the later part of the book and the ending totally shocked me. There is a bit of language in the book that some might not appreciate, but I wouldn't hesitate to have it in my grade 7 classroom at all. As a matter of fact I will be recommending it to lots of readers in the future!