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!

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

This is a book I had heard about in the fall and I placed it on my wish list at Chapters. A few weeks ago, I was going through my wish list and decided I should probably order it. The Water Wars is about a time in North America after many wars have been fought over the ownership of water. Canada is painted in a pretty bad light, because we denied access to all of our clean water to other countries. I found this bit pretty interesting since I have a friend who has told me that the next war will be fought over water, and we have so much of it. This story is set in the Midwest where the struggle for water is a constant battle for families. The main character is Vera, she is a 15 year old girl who lives with her brother and her parents. One day, Vera meets a boy who seems to have a causal disregard for water, he seems to have an unlimited access to clean, fresh water with no explanation. As Vera and Kai grow closer, he still remains a mystery. Then one day, Kai goes missing and Vera and her brother realize he has been kidnapped. They start out on a journey to find Kai, but what they learn along the way makes them question everything they have ever been told about the world's lack of water. This book has many exciting parts. I liked the relationship between Vera and her brother, they are really close which was nice to read. The relationship between Vera and Kai was a bit stranger, he was so secretive and Vera seemed to just accept that. I really enjoyed the introduction to the way of life of the people who are struggling with limited access to water. Once Vera and her brother started on their adventure, things sped up really quickly. I like to read a bit more about the action, but this book seemed to skip right over the action. It seemed to me that there were too many characters introduced and too many situations that Vera faced that were easily resolved. So, while I enjoyed the read, I felt that I needed more details and description of what was happening. I can see kids who enjoy dystopian novels enjoying this story, as well as readers who enjoy a fast paced plot with lots of excitement. For me though, I just needed a bit more information.

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

A new dystopian novel! Earth Girl is set on Earth in the very far future. Many planets have been explored and are now home to humans- interplanet travel is easily accessible and people are free to go from planet to planet. Except for a few handicapped people- when they are born on another planet, they have a matter of minutes before they will die, unless they make it to Earth. Earth is now home to all of these handicapped people-they are considered to be a inferior group of people and people on other planets poke fun at them and pity them. Jarra is a young girl who is very resentful of her lower status, when she is given the choice of post-secondary education, she choose one that will put her in direct contact with those who consider her less. She goes into the situation hoping to fool them all and then when she has proven her worth, she will let them all know how wrong they are. But as Jarra gets to know these people from other planets, she is surprised to discover that they are just like her, they have their doubts about their abilities and their life path. Soon Jarra must decide how to live the rest of her life, even when it goes against everything she has ever believed. There were many parts of this story that I really enjoyed. Trying to understand what was happening and the history of the future of earth (if that makes any sense) was very difficult and seemed unnecessary at times. Jarra is a great character- she is tough- like Katniss and Tris and she has something to prove. I love female characters like that! The story was hard to follow in some spots- it is really hard to visualize the work Jarra did, but at the same time, it was quite interesting as well. I will recommend this book- to both boys and girls- I can see both enjoying the story. I think one of the best parts about this book is that it ended within the book, that means I don't have to wait for a sequel and to try and remember what happened in the first book. And for that alone- it is a great read!

Slated by Teri Terry

Pulled this one off the pile of TBR that is sitting in my den yesterday. I love dystopian novels and sometimes it is hard to keep finding new ones to read. This story is set in the future- a world where if you don't agree with the government, or you are a criminal, and under the age of 16 you can be slated. This is basically a reboot- all of your memories are wiped clean. You are given a new name, new family and a device called a Levo that monitors your emotions. Any time you are too happy, too angry, too sad, your Levo sends reports to your doctor. If you get too low, you go into convulsions and can die. The idea is to just get along,not get involved and at all costs, stay out of trouble. We meet Kyla 9 months after she has been slated. She is going home to her new family, a mother, sister and father. She is trying her best to fit in and stay low. But then things start to happen around her that have her questioning her memories, her friends and new information she is learning. Kyla must decide how to react to these things. Should she do what is expected, or do what her heart and mind are telling her? As with any dystopian book, it takes a bit of time to understand the world that is being described. It is sometimes hard to figure it all out. It also seems to me that dystopian novels are now purposely being written to span three books, so I finished this one dying to know what is going to happen next. And now I have to wait until August- where I will have forgotten the plot of this one. I find that a bit frustrating. However, I did enjoy this book. There is excitement, drama, a bit of romance and teenage angst as well. All in all, a nice quick read with a good plot.