Teens Read, Review, Recommend

Tears Of A Tiger By Sharon Draper
Tandem Library, October 1999, Teen/Social Issues

I really loved the book Tears of A Tiger by Sharon Draper. It was very interesting. The book was also very sad. I had no idea the book would end the way it did. I was almost in tears while reading it. I believe that anyone who picks this book up will love it. I would recommend this book for any one that can read, there is no use of profanity or no use of adult topics. I am really looking forward to reading the second part, Forged By Fire.

Marquetta

Service Learning Student

Junior

Hannah Pamplico High

The Truth About Forever, Sarah Dessen, Viking Juvenile, May 11, 2004, Teen/Social Issues

After all of Sarah Dessen’s success on How To Deal and This Lullaby, she captivates young readers with her amazing writing in the book The Truth About Forever. This book helps young adults learn how to deal with emotions, the good and bad, along with Macy, the young girl who had just lost her father. Not only is she dealing with the lost of her father, but also with the troubles of boys. The Truth About Forever is the book I would tell anyone who has a craving for a great book and a good love story to read.

Emily,
Service Learning Student
Junior
Hannah-Pamplico High School

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Little, Brown Young Readers, October 5, 2005, Teen/Drama/Horror

Stephenie Meyer has really gone the extra mile with Twilight. She will captivate you with her story of a human who falls in love with a vampire. Even though this book was written for the young adult crowd, adults will enjoy it too.

 By Lee

Library Media Service Learning

Junior

Hannah-Pamplico High School

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Dutton Juvenile, September 21, 2006, Teen/Social Issues

Colin is a former child prodigy whose girlfriend just broke up with him. Not unusual, except she was K-19, the latest in a very long line (19 to be specific) of Katherines that have dated and dumped Colin. Now Colin and his best friend set off on a road trip for some introspection and new direction in life. Their trip leads them to Gunshot, Tennessee, where Colin tries to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, a method of predicting in any relationship who will be the Dumpee or Dumper and when. Anagrams and math formulas both meander through this novel, but neither interfere with the enjoyment of this candid coming-of-age story. The math and graphs are completely optional, but can also be explored further in the footnotes. Take a peek at the author’s website (www.sparksflyup.com) to chart your own relationship! But only after finishing this engaging story of a geek coming into his own in that unique brief time between high school graduation and college.

Amanda Stone
SC State Library

Freaky Green Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates

 HarperTempest, September 2, 2003, Teen/Relationships

Franky is a 15 year old telling the events leading up to and surrounding her mother’s disappearance. While her mother would always call her Francesca, and she insists on Franky, she now has a part of herself known inwardly as Freaky green eyes.  This part of Franky realizes that something is very wrong in her family as she struggles to understand the truth behind her parents’ relationship.  Teens (and adult readers sneaking in to visit Oates’ YA books) will empathize with the central character as a believable narrator coping with serious family drama. 

Fortunately for most young adult readers, they are probably too young to compare Franky’s former-football-star father and missing mother with the O.J. Simpson case, which becomes an inevitable and somewhat disconcerting parallel.

Amanda Stone
SC State Library

Slam by Nick Hornby

Putnam Juvenile, October 16, 2007 (paperback edition), Teen/Relationships/Social Issues

Nick Hornby is known for his adult novels About a Boy and High Fidelity. Slam is for the YA crowd, but also very appropriate for the willing adult reader, who may occasionally wince while personally remembering just how naïve 15 really was. The subject headings in Amazon have the story dead on: Children: Young Adult, Social Issues-Pregnancy, Babies, Teenage fathers, Humorous Stories. The last subject heading is the most telling; Slam may be voiced by Sam, a teenage father dealing with serious issues such as a pregnant ex-girlfriend around his schoolwork and skating. But it is also funny, from its descriptions of British teen life (such as Sam talking to his Tony Hawk-which talks back) to situational humor arising from Sam’s unexpected visits to the future.

This novel might just be enjoyed best by the YA male reader, as long as he can be convinced it is not simply a morality story but a good read.

By Amanda Stone at the SC State Library

The South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy has started the Teen Reads Blog! We are asking all media specialists and teachers if they have students interested in reading and reviewing new Young Adult books, to please let us know! We want to post these reviews and I will share with publishers and others so that we can all know what our teens love to read! We will award the students and will also have a big party at the end of the school year for all those who completed reviews! Please contact me , Ellen Shuler, at shulere@gwm.sc.edu for further details and if you are interested in participating! Thank you