Itasca Community Library » Teen Reads

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

karyn — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:11:34 +0000

Hudson Avery gave up a promising competitive ice skating career after her parents divorced when she was fourteen years old and now spends her time baking cupcakes and helping out in her mother’s upstate New York diner, but when she gets a chance at a scholarship and starts coaching the boys’ hockey team, she realizes that she is not through with ice skating after all.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Rob Sharenow

beth — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:40:33 +0000

Berlin in the 1930s, during the rise of Nazism, is the dramatic setting for this novel told from the perspective of teenager Karl Stern. Growing up in a secular middle-class home, he has always ignored his Jewish identity until he is expelled from school, the Hitler Youth harass him, and his father arranges for Karl to have lessons with the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Boxing has never been one of Karl’s interests, but it quickly becomes his main focus. Prior to his humiliation at school, drawing cartoons was his passion and they are cleverly interspersed in the story.

This compelling book offers a unique perspective on the Holocaust with complex characters, gripping history, and intense emotion.

Jersey Tomatoes Are the Best by Maria Padian

beth — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:11:30 +0000

This tale of friendship is told in alternating chapters by two Jersey girls – Henry, a tennis dynamo, and Eva, and ultrafocused ballerina. When they each leave for summer camps in different states in their chosen fields, their friendship must survive the long distance, hard-core helicoptering parents, and, in Eva’s case, an extreme personal meltdown.

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl

beth — Wed, 25 May 2011 01:26:34 +0000

London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza’s dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady’s maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant’s world below-stairs as well as the trickery above.

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

karyn — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:36:29 +0000

Teenaged Cara, solitary and bullied in high school, is delighted to reconnect with her childhood best friend Zoe whose support and friendship help Cara gain self-confidence, even as her classmates start dying.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

beth — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:06:42 +0000

In a single moment, everything changes for 17-year-old Mia. In this heartwrenching story, a car crash that kills Mia’s family leaves her in a coma. Alternating between the present and her memories of the past, Mia weighs whether to live or join her family in death.

Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

karyn — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:30:14 +0000

Some schools have honour codes.Others have handbooks.Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school where the students are exceptional, the faculty trust that everyone does the right thing, and the administration sees only what it wants to see – perfection. So when Alex spends a drunken-night with a male student and awakes to evidence of a sexual encounter she can’t remember, she doesn’t know where to turn for help. As she slowly comes to terms with the fact that she was date raped, she enlists the help of the Mockingbirds – a secret society of her peers whose mission is to right the wrongs that the faculty and administration don’t even know exist.In standing up to her attacker, Alex discovers a strength she never knew she had and begins to understand that if you love something or someone – especially yourself – it’s worth fighting for.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

beth — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:04:03 +0000

The matriarch of the Sullivan family, known as Almighty, announces that she has been wronged by one of her six grandchildren and threatens to cut the entire family out of their inheritance. If she doesn’t get a confession from the appropriate person, then she will donate all her money to charity. Told in three letters to Almighty by the three teenage Sullivan sisters, 17-year-old Norrie, 16-year-old Jane, and 15-year-old Sassy, each confesses in order to save the family’s money and to air their wrong-doings. Each of the letters provides a thoughtful and funny glimpse into the lives of the wealthy, socially-connected sisters.

No Moon by Irene Watts

beth — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:50:47 +0000

No Moon tells the story of a young British girl at the turn of the 20th Century. As a young teen, Louisa jumps at the chance to become a nursemaid for a wealthy family in London, as it means she can help her parents support their large family. It’s hard work and Louisa quickly learns her place in the hierarchy of the staff. Her dedication to her job doesn’t go unnoticed, though, and she is asked to join the family on their vacation to New York when the head nanny falls just before the trip. Louisa and her young charges set sail on the doomed Titanic.

This book offers a very interesting glimpse of life in England at this time and the stark divisions between the different classes. Fans of stories about the Titanic will also enjoy seeing the journey from Louisa’s perspective.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

karyn — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:30:38 +0000

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.