Science Fiction

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Bibliographic Information: Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. NY: Doubleday, 2011. Hardcover.

ISBN: 978-0-385-53463-5. $26.95. 387 pages.

Awards/Honors:

•           Nominated for the 2011 Guardian First Book Award
•          Winner of an Alex Award from the ALA
•           New York Times Best Seller

Annotation: This fantasy novel detailing the mysterious night circus and its many followers, called “reveurs”, is a great addition to a public library’s collection. This book is best for older teens, eighteen and up.

Wrap Back to the Title/Book Whisper:

 “There are no nets” (Morgenstern, p.105) in The Night Circus. Here, trapeze artists fall with no warning and walk away unharmed. With no announcement, this turn of the century night circus pops up in a town, opens from dusk to dawn, and leaves on a whim. Far from your average circus, the night circus relies on real magicians to create a dazzling show. But behind this beautiful and magical facade, Celia and Marco, young magicians with a budding romance, are forced to compete against each other in a magical showdown to the death. Find out what lies behind the black and white tent and experience the magic of The Night Circus.  

Useful Links:

Erin Morgenstern's official website includes reviews of The Night Circus, a book trailer, and the author's blog. You can also sample the first twelve pages. 

Watch the book trailer below:

Graphic Novel

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Bibliographic Information: Brosgol, Vera. Anya’s Ghost. NY: First Second, 2011. Hardcover

ISBN: 978-1-59643-713-5. $19.99 US. 221 pages.

Awards/Honors:

• 2011 Cybils Award
• American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children’s Book
• ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
• Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) Great Graphic Novel for Teens
• BCCB Best Book of the Year
• Graphic Novel Reporter Best GN of the Year
• Jezebel.com Best Female Creator of the Year 
•  2011 Eisner Award Winner
• Booklist Editor’s Choice
• Kirkus Best Book of the Year
• Library Media Connections Best of the Best

The Graphic Form:

Anya is a first generation Russian immigrant just trying to fit in and be a normal American high school student (flip through the first 10 pages). However, Anya’s search for normalcy gets a little complicated when she falls in a well (show page 13) and meets the ghost of Emily. Emily’s bones have been sitting in the well ever since Emily was murdered about a century ago.  One of Emily’s bones mysteriously winds up in Anya’s bag, and now Emily can go anywhere Anya can, as long as Anya has the bone (show p.101 of Emily flying) At first, everything is great. Emily helps Anya score higher on tests (show p. 35), helps her get closer to the boy of her dreams (show p. 111), and Emily enjoys her new freedom. However, once Anya starts digging into Emily’s past, things get a little complicated. Who exactly is Anya’s Ghost? 

Useful Links:
View a preview of the novel on the publisher's website, watch a trailer for the book, read the author's bio, and find out how to purchase a copy, all right here.  

Watch the book trailer here:

Multicultural

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 

by Mark Haddon

 

Bibliographic Information: Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. NY: Doubleday, 2003. Hardcover.

ISBN: 0-385-50945-6. $22.95 US. 226 pages.  

Awards/Honors: 

• Whitbread Book Award for Best Novel of the Year 
• Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best Book 
• Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize  

Snap’N Read:  

            Christopher John Francis Boone narrates this unconventional mystery. Christopher is an autistic 15-year-old living in a middle class English suburb. When Christopher goes for a late night walk and finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, murdered on the lawn, Christopher takes it upon himself to find Wellington’s murder. Along the way, Christopher unearths some very dark family secrets that take him on a frightening journey to London. In the end, he rediscovers the family he thought he had lost forever.  

     Christopher sees the world from a unique point of view. He is extremely intelligent and honest, and expects the same honesty from the rest of the world. He states on pages 19 to 20:  

A lie is when you say something happened which didn’t happen. But there is only ever one thing which happened at a particular time and a particular place. And  there are an infinite number of things which didn’t happen at that time and that place. And if I think about something which didn’t happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn’t happen… This is why I don’t like proper novels, because they are lies about things which didn’t happen and they make me feel shaky and scared. 

              However, Christopher’s worldview becomes shaken, and big lies are unearthed during his journey. Discover the secrets behind The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.  

Useful Links:  Read Mark Haddon's blog, read his bio, view his artwork, and get his contact information all on his official website. 

Find out about a London theater's stage adaptation of the novel here.

 

Street Lit

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

Bibliographic Information: Souljah, Sister. The Coldest Winter Ever. NY: Pocket Books, 1999.
355 p. $14.00 U.S. ISBN 13: 978-7434-7010-6

Honors: Sold over one million copies

Annotation: Winter Santiaga, born to a wealthy drug-dealer in New York, has the life of a smart, modern-day princess. But life changes after her father is sent to jail.

Open End: Who can Winter Santiaga trust? When your father has seemingly endless money and gives you a fairytale life, what can go wrong? But when your father is a New York drug dealer, your life can never be stable. After her father ends in up in jail, what will happen to Winter? Will she follow in her father’s footsteps? Can she ever stop chasing after money and have a better life?

Index Card Trick:
- Winter Santiaga: born during a blizzard, told from her point of view
- Lives in Brooklyn, New York
- Sisters: Portia, Mercedes, Lexus
- Father (Ricky): Drug Dealer
- Daughters are really spoiled
- Mother is shot by father’s rivals
- Father is arrested: what will happen to his daughters?
- Can Sister Souljah,
- Will Winter follow in her father’s footsteps, or can she stop chasing after money?

Useful Links: Sister Souljah’s website has contact information, podcasts, crisis help, and information on all of her works.

Chick Lit

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Bibliographic Information: Cabot, Meg. Valentine Princess. NY: HarperCollins, 2006.
86 p. $8.99 U.S. ISBN 13: 978-0-06-084718-0.

Annotation: Volume VII and ¾ in the Princess Diaries series finds Princess Mia and her boyfriend, Michael, on the precipice of their  first Valentine’s day.

Booktalk: Open End: With Princess Mia’s Grandmere trying to convince her that Michael, Mia’s boyfriend, isn’t the “one”, and with Michael’s lack of enthusiasm about their first Valentine’s day, can anything go right for princess Mia? Mia has to watch her friends enjoy Valentine’s day with their boyfriends, but Michael doesn’t want to participate in such a commercial holiday. On top of all of that, is someone planning to kidnap Grandmere? Being a Princess is hard work, but why should it  be this hard to be Michael’s Valentine Princess?

Useful Links:  
Meg Cabot’s website has information on all of her title, join her fan club, and buy her titles.

Teen Reads gives a review and summary of the work.

The publisher’s website has information on Meg Cabot, interviews with the author, information on her other works, and reading guides to The Valentine Princess.

Horror

Dangerous Girls by R.L. Stine

Bibliographic Information: Stine, R.L. Dangerous Girls. NY: Parachute Publishing, 2003.

ISBN: 0-06-053080-4. Hardcover. 247 pages. $13.99 USD.

Awards/Honors:

• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
• ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Open Ended Booktalk:

How dangerous can summer camp be, and why are twins Destiny and Livvy feelings so funny when they return home? Can their new found hunger for blood have anything to do with the mysterious Renz? Are their friends and family hiding dark secrets of their own? Is there any hope for the twins to return to their normal life? Just who are these Dangerous Girls? 

Fantasy

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Bibliographic Information: Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 2008. $8.99. ISBN:978-0-439-02352-8

Annotation: This popular dystopian novel narrated by Katniss Everdeen, the young bow and

arrow wielding hero, is the story of the 74th Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are an annual

competition in which residents of Panem (modern day North America) who are eighteen and

under are chosen at random to compete in a to-the-death style competition. The last teen standing

wins. Katniss volunteers to compete for her hometown, District 12, in place of her young sister.

The games began after citizens of Panem lead an unsuccessful uprising against their oppressive

government. Now, the government holds the games each year to remind the citizens of their

failed revolution and of the power the government has over them.

Will Katniss make it out of the Hunger Games alive? Can she help free Panem from the grip of

the oppressive President Snow?

Awards:

• Publisher's Weekly's Best Books of 2008 in Children's Fiction
• An American Library Association Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults Selection
• Indies Choice
• 2008 Cybil Award for Fantasy & Science Fiction
• 2009 Children's Choice Book Award for Teen Choice Book of the Year Finalist
• A Kirkus Best Book of 2008
• A Horn Book Fanfare
• School Library Journal Best Books of 2008
• LA Times Favorite Children's Book 2008
• Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2008 for Kids and Teens
• Borders Best Books of 2008 for Teens

Power-full Points Presentation: