A Giraffe Goes to Paris: Just a Really Nice Book

In the unusual picture book, A Giraffe Goes to Paris by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell, we learn the true story of Belle, a nineteenth century famous traveling giraffe. Belle, born in 1824, was an elegant gift from the pasha of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, to the king of France, Charles X. Belle's story is told by her loving caretaker, Atir. He answers our pressing questions: how does a giraffe, never before seen in France, get there from Egypt in 1826? What does she eat on her journey? What company does a single giraffe keep? Belle fascinated the people, who couldn't figure out what she was, and started a giraffe merchandising craze! I think that this is just a dear book, beautifully illustrated in watercolor and ink, with actual historical artifacts and art from Belle's heyday. A French pronunciation guide is included.

An adult book has also been written about Belle, Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris by Michael Allin, which is now on my reading list. Interestingly, Mary Tavener Holmes has written another true picture book about a journeying animal, this time a hippo, My Travels With Clara. I can't wait to get my hands on it. Adults can also choose Clara's Grand Tour: Travels with a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-Century Europe by Glynis Ridley, which I've been meaning to read for years. Pick up one of these titles and see our beautiful creatures through fresh and wondering eyes!

Moments With Baxter by Melissa Joseph

A co-worker brought my attention to Moments With Baxter: Comfort and Love from the World's Best Therapy Dog by Melissa Joseph, photographs by Dennis Bussey. Amy knows how animal crazy I am, so as soon as this was checked into our library, she pointed it out. As you can see above, the dog on this book's cover is incredibly cute, which hooked me immediately. But, this book has much more to offer than a sweet cover.  If you are an animal lover and are interested in some inspirational non fiction, you should literally check out the story of Baxter.

Now deceased at the age of 19, Baxter, a Golden Retriever and Chow mix, brought much love and comfort to people during his lifetime. He was a rescue dog turned gifted therapy dog, regularly visiting the folks in San Diego Hospice and actually getting in bed with them for a cuddle.Heavily illustrated with color photos, the book covers 36 brief stories of Baxter's relationships with his hospice friends. He loved them all, young, old, disfigured, frail, it didn't make a difference to him. I found this book incredibly touching and it inspires me to spread kindness in the world. I would love it if my daschunds could be therapy dogs, but we have a ways to go. Joseph describes the things that Baxter had to do to pass his certification test. Our doggies would flunk  early on, beginning with ignoring other dogs. There's some obedience training in this pet parent's future. :)

All proceeds from this title go to charity. Enjoy meeting this "Angel of the Hospice."

The "Real" Alice in Wonderland: Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

Alice Liddell

Alice and Rev. Dodgson

Dodgson/Carroll

Young lady Alice

Mrs. Alice Hargreaves, mother of three

Eldest sister, Lorina Liddell

Edith Liddell

Prince Leopold

As I have mentioned before, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are definitely my favorite children's books and probably my favorite books ever. This, of course, creates my curiosity about Charles Dodgson and the real child who inspired his book, Alice Liddell. So, I was interested to learn of the new book Alice I Have Been: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin, which presents a fictionalized version of the "real" Alice's life. Benjamin gives us Alice as a privileged child with a special friend who will become "Lewis Carroll", as a haunted young woman in love with Queen Victoria's youngest son, Leopold, and as a mature woman mourning the loss of two of her sons in World War I. This Alice has spent most of her life trying to reconcile her identity compared with Carroll's fictional girl. Who has seen Alice most clearly? She has tried to get beyond her past and avoid the gossip, insinuations, and questions about her family's abrupt break with Rev. Dodgson. What happened between them after all and how has this shaped her life's path?

Reading, I believed in Benjamin's characterization of her Alice, and saw enough of Carroll's Alice in her to be satisfied and drawn into her story. I felt for Alice in her confusion, sadness and  strength. Naturally, the book made me want to read more about Dodgson/Carroll and happily, it piqued my curiosity about the other characters: Liddell's family, especially her sisters Lorina and Edith, Prince Leopold and his royal bride, and the unflatteringly portrayed John Ruskin and his women. The book also made passing reference to photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, whom I admire, which encourages me to read more about Victorian photographers.

If you are interested in nonfiction material, take a look at The Other Alice: The Story of Alice Liddell and Alice in Wonderland, a book aimed at children. It is a nicely illustrated little treasure for Alice fans.

Some of my other favorite "Alice related" fiction titles are Fantastic Alice: New Stories from Wonderland, a book of short stories by various authors, and Dreamhouse by Alison Habens, a trippy novel with many Alice references.

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor was a National Book Award finalist in the Young People's Literature category in 2009. I had read and enjoyed Taylor's Blackbringer (Dreamdark), so I've been eager to read this latest, especially with the critical acclaim that it has received. It didn't disappoint me.

Taylor's book is actually three separate stories: "Goblin Fruit", "Spicy Little Curses Such as These" and "Hatchling." Each tale is preceded by illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo and each contains an important kiss. "Goblin Fruit" has its roots in Christina Rosetti's poem "Goblin Market," in which two sisters are tempted by the rare offerings of Goblin men, with near disastrous results. Taylor's story centers around the grandaughter of the more prudent of these sisters, who, like her elders, runs smack into some wicked temptation.

In "Spicy Little Curses..." We meet an elderly widow who has spent her life bargaining with a demon from a hell beyond the Judeo-Christian understanding, saving innocents from premature deaths. This insistent fellow jockeys to get his best deal, trading many lives for the demonic pleasure of a curse placed on one baby girl. She will have an incredibly lovely voice, but all those who hear it will die. This child's fate is the crux of this fairy tale and myth infused story.

The longest tale in the collection, "Hatchling," offers multiple points of view in a story of shapeshifting, souless Drujs (demons), their beautiful, blankly cruel queen, and the unfortunate humans whose lives she has roughly shaped. The Druj queen lives in a rocky domain surrounded by hungry, grasping beasts, and keeps a string of human girls for pets. It takes a Druj unlike any other to offer the possibility of a different future for the Druj race and the humans that they use for entertainment. This complex story explores abuse, betrayal, unwise choices and eventual healing.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Honestly, I'm weary of the vampire, werewolf, and zombie trend in books of late. I guess that they're just not my supernatural cup of tea, since I'm still interested in books about the faerie world, especially urban faerie stories. I wasn't sure about City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, because I saw that it's about demon hunters, but it came highly recommended from strangers whose reading taste I trust. Also, I loved The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding, which featured a "wych-hunter", so I wanted to give this a chance. And guess what, I really like it and I'm on to the next in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Ashes.

Every day I drive back and forth an hour each day to get to work, so I like to have an audio book to pass the time. When I find one that I especially like, it's a great pleasure. When it's a series, it's a bonus. I borrowed City of Bones, read by Ari Graynor, from my library and it's just fun! The enjoyment reminds me of when I listened to all of Libba Bray's series about Gemma Doyle, read by Josephine Bailey. Sometimes it's very satisfying to just glut yourself on certain characters' stories.

In City of Bones, fifteen year old Clary and her best friend Simon go out to a nightclub, and Clary experiences some weird goings on and meets some maddening but fascinating teens. When Clary returns to her home to find her mother missing, her apartment destroyed and a nasty demon creature hungry for her flesh, she learns some alarming information about her new friends and herself. This leads her to dealings with warlocks, fortune tellers, an enchanted rat, various night creatures and a sarcastic and appealing guy named Jace.

I found the story exciting, enjoyed the various surprises in the plot, and appreciated gutsy Clary.
Since I'm not on the cutting edge here, Clare has finished City of Ashes and City of Glass, and apparently will release one more book in the series, as well as a new series, the Infernal Devices, due in August, beginning with Clockwork Angel. Learn more at: http://cassandraclare.com/ .

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

To my knowledge, their are very few books written for teens with transgender characters. I have read Luna by Julie Anne Peters, told by the sister of a M to F girl and Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger, from the point of view of a F to M guy, and appreciated both, for their excellent writing and the authors' willingness to break new ground and tell the stories of people we haven't before met on the page. Brian Katcher continues this work, introducing us to high school senior Sage, a girl with a big secret, and Logan, her classmate and friend who falls for her.


This is Logan's story, as he struggles with his complicated relationship with Sage. Living in a small Missouri town, Logan has recently been betrayed and dumped after a three year relationship, and is wary of females. Then Sage shows up in his biology class. She is living as pretty, fun-filled girl, and no one, Logan included, has any idea that she was born biologically male. He likes her and then hopes to date her. After Sage reveals her secret to Logan, he struggles with the truth. What does his attraction to Sage say about him? Can he continue to be her friend and lend her support when her parents won't? Could Logan and Sage possibly still be more than friends? And what if her secret is discovered by others?

Katcher has created characters that you enjoy one minute and want to shake the next, but that you always care about. In Sage, he shows the courage that transgender people must have just to live their lives being true to who they are. Though Sage's road is rough and sometimes dangerous and Logan is shaken out his comfort zone, they continue to grow. They work through issues of trust, love, honesty and beginning anew in this bittersweet novel.

Gentleman, please!

In Michael Northrop's Gentlemen, Mr. Haberman's remedial English students are surprised when he brings in a barrel and asks them to whack it with a fish club and guess what's inside. Haberman does it as a teaching hook to get them thinking about Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and guesses range from a watermelon to a big slab of meat. This is not his usual teaching style, and he never tells what is inside.

Students Mixer, Bones and our protagonist Micheal (misspelling intended) think Haberman is a jackass, but when he asks them to help move the barrel to his car, what can they do? The bulky container won't fit in the teacher's small sports car, so they dump out the wrapped contents, which seem strangely jointed. Haberman still won't reveal what's inside, and as the days pass, he seems to be taunting the guys as he discusses murder in Crime and Punishment. Since Tommy, a student in his class, has gone missing, this seems suspicious and more than a little threatening.

The guys have been friends since grade school, and although Tommy has occasionally vanished, it has never been so long without word. Is Tommy off crashing with a friend, or has he met a worse fate? What game is Haberman playing? And what, if anything, can his friends do about it?

Ghost story for adults: The House of Lost Souls

Several things attracted me to The House of Lost Souls by F.G. Cottam. Its story spans from the the 1920s to the 1990s, partially centers around a beautiful flapper photographer, and involves a malevolently haunted house in the British Isles. So, creepy tales from the past, a mysterious woman, and a scary house full of secrets. Check! and I'm in.

In the 1980s, Paul helps his new girlfriend with her dissertation by researching Pandora Gibson-Hoare, an edgy fashion photographer of the 1920s who ran with a rich and decadent crowd. Ten years after her career peaked, she ended her life seemingly destitute, her body discovered in a scummy river. Paul sneakily procures her journal from an attic trunk and soon, learning more about Pandora becomes an obsession, leading him into a house of incredible evil and black magic from which he barely escapes.

Twelve years later, he has remade his life as best he can, when he learns that four college students and their professor have entered the house, with one girl already a suicide and the others mad and apparently headed in the same direction. A call from an old acquaintance encourages him to help those women and their families. And his haunting begins again, with music wafting from his aged and unplugged cassette player...

This is horror with a slow build and a careful back story, without a lot of gore and with some extremely shivery moments. I enjoyed Cottam's mentions of real people such as Aleister Crowley, Nick Drake and Sandy Denny from the band Fairport Convention. It was pleasant for me to do a little back up reading on each of these people, and learn how Cottam uses them to enrich his fiction.

If you like a subtle scare, give it a try!

Kid's Halloween Read: Half-Minute Horrors

Half-Minute Horrors, edited by Susan Rich, is a timely new collection of 71 very short, fun and scary stories. This is an excellent variety of authors known for writing for adults (Faye Kellerman, Gregory Maguire) teens (Libba Bray, Melissa Marr), and of course, kids (Lane Smith, Lemony Snicket). All kinds of frightening topics are visited, such as creatures under the bed, alien takeover, unpleasant babysitting gigs and (shudder) clowns. Some of my favorite tales include "Grand Entrance," by James Patterson, "The Legend of Alexandra and Rose," by John Klassen, "Chocolate Cake," by Francine Prose and "The Final Word," by John Greenhut and illustrated by Brett Helquist.

This is a very quick read and would make good read aloud material for families and classrooms!

Keturah and Lord Death

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt, is a must for my Fairy Tale related book collection.

This was a National Book Award finalist ( in my opinion it should should have won the Young People's Literature category)and gives us an exciting, mysterious story with a brave and tenacious heroine.

Following a seemingly enchanted hart into the forest, Keturah soon becomes lost and, after several days, is close to death. Yet when she meets Lord Death, she is able to strike a bargain with him that may save her village from plague, give her friends and family their heart's desires and provide her with a chance to find her own true love. To accomplish these tasks, Keturah must deal with the village witch, hostile townsfolk, many possible loves, and her own uncertainty, not to mention the handsome and imposing figure of death.

Levine subtly references several tales, and I greatly enjoyed picking them out. I noticed :

• similarities to Scheherazade's suspenseful storytelling in One Thousand and One Nights
• a character with the sight to know if someone will live or die as in Grimms "Godfather Death"
• willful boasting spurring action such as in "Rumpelstiltskin," where the maiden's father brags that she can spin straw into gold
• a potential but frightening lover and the good woman as in "Beauty and the Beast."

There may be more. What can you find?

No Choirboy: Murder, Violence & Teenagers on Death Row

I have to confess that I didn't really want to read No Choirboy. It's dark subject matter, and I get plenty of that in the teen novels that I like to read. This is non-fiction, and I thought that it just might be too much, or else written with so much restraint that it would be dry and impersonal. But, it is on the reading list for a Minnesota reading camp that I'm counseling at this summer, so I took it home. I'm so glad that I did, because it is excellently done: compelling, heart wringing and ultimately hopeful.

The men in this book were accused of murder and sentenced to death when they were still teens. Each chapter gives voice to a different person. The focus is not on the crimes committed, but of life afterward. Three prisoners talk about their experiences, regrets and hopes for the future. One chapter is devoted to an executed man's family: the feelings of his mother and younger brother. Another is from the points of view of the siblings of a seventeen year old employee senselessly killed in a fast food restaurant robbery.

Overall, I found the stories interesting and moving. It put a human face on the issue. These people were not necessarily given fair trials. Some had no criminal records and were successful in school and life prior to their crimes. In prison they try to do more than just survive. I was especially impressed with prisoners Roy and Nanon trying to grow and improve themselves as much as the system allows.

Even if this is not your typically reading material please give it a look, especially if you work with teens. It's worth the time.

Amazing Read: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

I haven't been so shocked, sickened and fascinated by a vision of the near future since reading M. T. Anderson's gritty teen classic Feed. It's made me an instant fan of Shusterman, and I'm definitely going to catch up on his many other titles. Unwind will definitely grab your teens and get them thinking and discussing.

It's after the United State's second Civil War, and if you're a certain kind of teenager, you had better watch out. If you've broken your parents' hearts, or taxed the system's resources a little too long, or if your parents believe in tithing with all that they value, you might learn first hand about a new process called Unwinding. In this society, abortions may no longer happen, but unwanted teens are scrapped and put to a new use, as organ donors. Every piece of them is kept alive within other humans. This may have satisfied the warring factions of the Life Army and the Choice Brigade, but for runaways Connor, Risa and Lev, it is not just a political move that ended a war, it is their horrifying intended fate. Follow them through this thriller and witness storking, clappers and the eerie urban legend of Humphrey Dunfee, whose family had him Unwound... but, in spite of regrets, couldn't put Humphrey together again.

Nothing But a Smile

If you, like me, enjoy 1940s culture, vintage pinups and a good story, you should read Steve Amick's slightly naughty new book, Nothing But a Smile . It's nearing the end of World War II and Wink is a former serviceman, an artist with a newly disabled drawing hand. Sent by his military buddy Chesty to deliver a message, Wink meets Chesty's wife, Sal. She is minding the family's ailing Chicago camera shop and is secretly supplementing their income with a new business venture-- girlie photos, with herself as the model.

I enjoyed watching Wink and Sal's relationship develop, their saucy friend Reenie, and the "cameo" appearance by Gil Elvgren. It was also interesting to read about the carefully staged pinup shoots, tailored to suit the climate, with suggestive but wholesome shots for the boys at war and more skin once they returned to their women at home. I had bonus fun because part of the story is set in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I once lived.

Love, Ruby Lavender

Years ago, I heard that this was a special book. When we recently received the audio book, narrated by Judith Ivey, I thought that it was time to give it my attention and I loved it! Ruby is a funny, plucky, imperfect nine year old with a loving and supportive grandma, a newly "liberated" small flock of hens, and a curly-haired, tappity-shoed enemy, Melba Jane. When Miss Eula (her grandma) decides to leave their town of Halleluia, Mississippi and take an open-ended vacation to Hawaii, Ruby thinks that her summer will be miserably boring. But, that is before she meets Dove, an aspiring anthropologist, prepares for new arrivals in the Pink Palace greenhouse, squares off with Melba and reports it all in her frequent letters to Miss Eula. I loved the memorable characters, the gently-handled theme of forgiveness and Ms. Ivey's amusing delivery of Ruby and company.

Prom is fun!

I admit it. I loved the prom, and I love Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Many years ago, I went to the proms my sophomore-senior years. My favorite thing about them was putting together my outfits. Dates and the actual proms were secondary. :) For my senior prom, I wore a vintage white eyelet lingerie dress, a family heirloom. My mom made a pink satin sash to go with it and I wore a ring of pink rosebuds in my updo. I loved getting together an entire look, from gown to jewelry to shoes. I loved going out to a fancy restaurant on a double date with my best friend.

Unlike me, Ashley in Prom, doesn't want those things. She doesn't care about the foof and the sparkle and what she really wants is to get out of school and move in with her boyfriend, T.J., and out of her family's noisy house. But, when the school's budget for the dance disappears, Ashley's best friend Nat is desperate for help in scraping together some kind of prom, no matter what. Things get awfully busy for Ash as she works as a dancing rat in a pizza parlor, staves off T.J.'s alarming apartment choice, handles her crazy, loving family, worms her way out of her many detentions and plans for the year's biggest dance, which she may not even attend.

Prom is an enjoyable read whether you're attending your first prom, blowing it off, or waxing nostalgic like I am. For added pleasure, try listening to the audio version, read by Katherine Kellgren. She does a terrific job bringing the character's off the pages!

Faith Club

This was a very thoughtful and interesting book. Apparently, I'd been living under a rock, because when a patron came in to ask for it, I had no idea what she was talking about, in fact, I was worried that she was telling me a joke ( A Muslim, a Jew and a Christian...). In case you aren't familiar with it, it is about moms from three faiths who get together to write a children's book with stories from each of their religious traditions. Before long, conflicts arise, and the women realize that they need to talk about their religions to gain some understanding. So, instead of turning tail and fleeing, they develop very real supportive relationships and wade through the difficult parts together. They learn about each other's traditions and reexamine their own.

I really enjoyed their candidness. I also learned a lot. I'm still learning about my new (adult) Christian faith, and it was very cool to learn about Jewish and Muslim beliefs from women that I could relate to. At some point, I would like to join a faith club with similar goals of understanding. For now, I'm studying my own bible, reading liberal scholars and trying to be the most compassionate, open-minded Christian I can be. I've copied the Faith Club questions in the book, and I plan to examine my own beliefs in depth.

http://www.thefaithclub.com/

Black Box by Julie Schumacher

I loved this brief and important novel. If you or someone close to you has suffered from depression, you will be able to identify with Elena and her family as her sister Dora slides into mental illness.

In Elena's close knit family, she is the steady one, the level one, the one who never cries. Her older sister Dora is more fun and popular until her sudden change into an angry, apathetic and suicidal stranger. The family and especially Elena are left reeling. She knows that she must save Elena, but what does that mean? Why are her parents keeping secrets from her and refusing to listen to her opinions? With support from her "grandma therapist" and her new friend Jimmy, Elena will try to muddle through this dark and lonely experience.

Here's to One Hundred More!

I like Polly Horvath's books. I have read Everything on a Waffle, The Trolls, The Canning Season and now, My One Hundred Adventures.I think that this new book may be my favorite.

The summer that Jane is twelve and living with her poet mother and younger sister and brothers in their home on the beach, she prays for 100 adventures. Her prayers are nearly answered (okay, she has fourteen adventures, but they're special ones) as she gets roped into heisting a hot air balloon to deliver bibles, treks around a lake looking for a transparent "poodle," is blackmailed into babysitting a family of untidy, unruly little children and more. Throughout the summer, Jane meets several of her mom's former boyfriends, and learns a lot about the adults around her.

My favorite thing about Horvath's books is her quirky sense of humor. Jane describes a farmer walking down the road with his cows, "It would be peaceful to walk some cows. They wouldn't bark alarmingly. They would moo in celestial harmony." I get a huge kick out of this!

This is fun reading and a nice change for me. It is lighter, without being fluff. Adults like me can read it and enjoy themselves, and I think thoughtful kids will like it too.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

This book has certainly caused a lot of buzz. You've probably heard of it. Like 33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp, which puts us readers into the lives of abused, sexually exploited and damaged kids, or Doing It by Melvin Burgess, that delivers us teen sexual fantasies with more detail than any of Judy Blume's most censored material ever did, it expands the limits of Teen fiction. I feel that, like 33 Snowfish, it does so successfully and seriously.

Our 15 year old narrator, known as Alice, was abducted five years ago from a school field trip. Since then she has been raped, abused and completely controlled by Ray, who is unstable and certainly capable of murder. Alice's brightest hope is to die, but then one day Ray decides that she should help him pick her replacement, a sweet little girl who will never be allowed to grow up. Alice will accept any means to free herself from Ray. Or so she believes.

It is horrific stuff and Scott tells her story without flinching. She also completely gets inside her character. I kept wondering why I was subjecting myself to something so disturbing, but it seemed important that I finish. There was no bizarre plot twist (I'm think Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson), no scenes of hyped up drama. The story itself is riveting enough, and although it's terrible to ingest, it's beautifully and straightforwardly told.

Final BBYA List: More I want to read!

The final list of the Best Books for Young Adults nominations has been released. Here are more that I'd like to read. Annotations are from the BBYA list.

Find the complete list here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/titlesnominated.cfm

Ain, Beth Levine. The Revolution of Sabine. Candlewick. 2008.

Sabine Duraund lives in the 1776 French era of elaborate balls, beautiful dresses and the trappings of aristocratic society but childhood friend Michel exposes her to revolutionary ideas.

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. The Boy Who Dared. Scholastic. 2008.

Told through flashbacks, this is a fictionalized biography of German teenager Helmuth Hubener, who was imprisoned and executed in 1942 for openly resisting the Nazis.

George, Madeleine. Looks. Viking. 2008.

Meghan, the invisible fat girl, and Aimee, overlooked and anorexic, form an uneasy alliance to get revenge on a mutual enemy.

Halam, Ann. Snakehead. Random House/Wendy Lamb. 2008.

Perseus and Andromeda, caught up in the dealings of a jealous group of Supernaturals—the gods of Greek myths—embark on a quest to confront the monstrous Medusa.

Harmon, Michael. The Last Exit to Normal. Alfred A. Knopf. 2008.

To get him on the right track, Ben Campbell's dad and stepdad accompany him to Montana, where he encounters small town life, homophobia, an abused boy, and a special girl.

Harris, Joanne. Runemarks. Alfred A. Knopf. 2008.

Outcast Maddy has only the mysterious One-Eye as a friend. Magic, along with the Good Folk, cease to be important but what about the runemark on her palm?

Hearn, Julie. Ivy: A Novel. Simon and Schuster. 2008.

Ivy, a child of the streets, does not understand what is about to befall her when her ethereal beauty attracts an artist’s attention.

Horvath, Polly. My One Hundred Adventures. Random House/Schwartz & Wade. 2008.

Twelve-year-old Jane is restless and wishes for adventure. Beginning with the arrival of a man her mother calls “your father”, Jane’s summer is filled with surprises and complications.

Jocelyn, Marthe. Would You. Random House/Wendy Lamb. 2008.

The two sisters have always been unusually close, but after an accident that leaves Claire in a coma, Natalie is left with just her grief and too many unanswered questions.

Kadohata, Cynthia. Outside Beauty. Simon & Schuster. 2008.

Four close sisters must go live with their four respective fathers while their beauty-obsessed mother recovers from an accident that scarred her face.

Kluger, Steve. My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park. Penguin. 2008.

Augie, Alé and Anthony make unlikely friends, but with help from each other, the three high school freshmen survive heartbreak, find first loves and discover their callings.

Lanagan, Margo. Tender Morsels. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf. 2008.

Liga has suffered unspeakable assaults and creates a magic, safe haven for herself and her two daughters, but the real world intrudes and they cope with beauty mixed with brutality.

Lecesne, James. Absolute Brightness. HarperCollins. 2008.

$17.99Flamboyant, outrageous, fourteen-year-old cousin Leonard covers his own sorrows and brings hope and new beginnings to Phoebe's troubled family until the day of his mysterious disappearance.

Levithan, David. How They Met, And Other Stories. Alfred A. Knopf. 2008.

Levithan's eighteen short stories - written during high school and college - capture the humor, bliss, disappointment and magic of falling in love.

Marillier, Juliet. Cybele's Secret. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf. 2008.

Paula travels with her merchant father to Istanbul and discovers a world filled with eunuchs, pirates, dervishes, and an entrance into the Other Kingdom.

Marr, Melissa. Ink Exchange. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2008.

Choosing a dramatic tattoo as a consequence of being raped, Leslie doesn’t realize she’s inked with the blood of the faery Dark Lord and will be under his power.

McNish, Cliff. Angel. Lerner/Carolrhoda Books. 2008.

A friendship develops between Freya, who was hospitalized because of her obsession with angels, and social outcast Stephanie who also has visions of angels.

Murdock, Catherine. Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts. Houghton Mifflin. 2008.

When unexpectedly orphaned, 15-year-old Benevolence must live with her cold grandmother, Queen Sophia, who demands she shed her unrefined ways and assume the role of the throne’s next heir.

Noyes, Deborah. The Ghosts of Kerfol. Candlewick. 2008.

Five short stories center around the estate of Kerfol and ghosts of previous inhabitants, including a tyrannical lord who was savaged by a pack of dogs.

Owning It: Stories about Teens with Disabilities. Edited by Don Gallo. Candlewick. 2008.
Teenagers may deal with issues that are a combination of psychological and physical disabilities. This set of stories reassures disabled teens they are not alone.

Scott, Elizabeth. Living Dead Girl. Simon and Schuster/Simon Pulse. 2008.

Abducted at the age of ten, Alice has lived as a sex partner for Ray for 5 years until he informs her that she’s "too old" for his love.