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| Brooks, Kevin |
Martyn Pig
Martyn Pig has never felt too
good about himself. He is stuck with a strange name, abandoned
by his mother, left in the care of an abusive, alcoholic father
and has an aunt who wants Martyn removed from his home, but can't
prove that Martyn's father is unfit. One week before Christmas,
his father dies accidentally. Martyn is fearful that he might
be blamed for the death, about which he is not mourning and worried
that his only surviving relative is his dreaded aunt with whom
he does not wish to live; so he does not report the death. This
inaction sets in motion a series of events which is agonizingly
suspenseful. |
| Cormier, Robert |
Rag and Bone Shop
This was Cormier's last book.
He died shortly after the book was finished. It is a difficult
story to read. What seems like a simple story of right and wrong
and good and evil is not so simple after all, complete with an
ending which is startling and disturbing but thought provoking. |
| Duncan, Lois |
Killing Mr. Griffin
The books jacket says it all,
"They only planned to scare their English teacher. They
didn't mean to kill him." Mr. Griffin is not a popular teacher.
He is humorless and demanding. Needless to say, he has enemies;
but does that give the students the right to kidnap their teacher?
What happens when they discover their teacher has unexpectedly
died? This book was written 25 years ago; before the increase
in school violence, but it feels very contemporary. |
| Giles, Gail |
Dead Girls Don't Write Letters
Sunny's family fell apart after the presumed death of Jazz, Sunny's
perfect older sister, clearly favored by both of the her parents.
Now her mother is a zombie on sleeping pills and her father has
started drinking again. When Sunny receives a letter from Jazz,
she almost doesn't want to tell her parents. When Jazz shows
up, she looks like Jazz, writes like Jazz but is clearly not
Jazz to Sunny. Her parents are completely fooled by the "not-Jazz"
as Sunny begins to call her.
There is much that is intriguing about
this "psychological thriller." I will admit to feeling
disappointed in the ending, however, mystery is not my genre
of choice.
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| Haddon, Mark |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night-time
The narrator of this wonderful
book is fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone who discovers his
neighbor's dog dead one night. Christopher tells us that he knew
the dog was dead because it wasn't moving and had a pitchfork
sticking out of its chest. Christopher is autistic, attends a
special school, lives with his father, is afraid of strangers,
dislikes being touched and really wants to find out who killed
the dog because it's wrong to kill a dog. That he is initially
blamed for the dog's death isn't the reason he wants to solve
this mystery.
He must overcome his fear of strangers,
his dislike of the colors yellow and brown and other worries
in his attempt to emulate his favorite detective, the impeccably
logical Sherlock Holmes.
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| Lester, Julius |
When Dad Killed Mom
The title says it all in this
jarring book. The story is told in alternating chapters by a
brother and sister whose mother was gunned down on Main Street
by their father. Not only do the children need to come to grips
with the death of their mother, but they have to face the fact
that their father killed her. He is trying to discredit their
mother, claiming abuse by her and is attempting to manipulate
his children into testifying that this was true. It is a difficult
but gripping read for young adults. |
| Plum-Ucci, Carol |
What Happened
to Lani Garver
This is not an easy book to read and
is recommended only for students in grade 8 and above. Claire,
a sixteen-year-old leukemia survivor is a cheerleader and a musician
and very much in the "in-crowd" at her south Jersey
high school near the sea. She has an alcoholic mother, a demanding
boyfriend, an eating disorder and is terrified that her leukemia
is no longer in remission. Sounds like heavy enough material
for a book by itself, but in walks Lani Garver. The question
is not who is Lani Garver, but what is Lani Garver? Neither Claire
nor her fellow students can tell whether Lani is a boy or a girl
and Lani does not help them. To the dismay of her crowd, Claire
develops a friendship with Lani because he is incapable of telling
a lie and she appreciates his honest, straightforward, non-judgmental
manner. This book has strong language, portrays homophobia in
all its violence and ugliness but is beautifully written and
thought-provoking. |
| Plum-Ucci, Carol |
The Body of Christopher
Creed
Chris Creed emails his high school principal with this message,
"I wish no one malice, I wish only to be gone." And
gone he is without a trace. He also happens to be a misfit and
punching bag at home, as well as in school. As rumors of his
whereabouts and condition fly, Torrey, a neighbor "with
everything" whom Chris idolized, examines his own dealings
with Chris and tries to defend another misfit, Bo, a have-not,
a "piney" from the wrong side of the tracks, from taking
the fall for his "murder." |
| Werlin, Nancy |
Double Helix
Seventeen-year-old Eli Samuels
stands six foot seven and is an accomplished athlete and scholar.
He would be his class valedictorian, but he held back in order
to let his girl friend, Viv, have that honor. He has also decided
not to go to college. He is undecided about his future and wants
to feel "in control." There is much about his life
that is beyond his control, especially the fate of his mother,
formerly a brilliant scientist, who is dying of a genetic disorder
in a nursing home. Eli's taciturn father can't understand why
Eli won't get a blood test to determine whether or not he has
the markers for the disease.
On a whim, Eli emails Quincy Wyatt, the
world famous, Nobel Prize winning head of Wyatt Transgenics asking
for a job. He is at first leery, then thrilled to be offered
a job as an assistant. When his father urges him not to take
the position, Eli can't understand why and takes it anyway. Why
would Quincy Wyatt hire Eli to work in the labs when even the
lowliest assistant has a Masters Degree? Why would his father
ask him to stay away? And just who is this beautiful Kayla that
Dr. Wyatt introduces to Eli?
The questions and suspense mount in this
medical mystery.
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