Bluford series: Five new titles are here!

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

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The popular Bluford series  is here! We’ve got all 15 titles now. And there are 5 copies of each one, so come on over and check them out!

If you want to know which of the Bluford books are sequels or what order you might want to read them in, click here for a list of all 15 books and see which ones are related to others.

Newest five in the Bluford series:

No Way Out by Peggy Kern

Bluford High freshman Harold Davis is trapped. Medical bills for his sick grandmother are piling up, and a social worker has threatened to put him in a foster home. Desperate for money, he reluctantly agrees to work for Londell James, a neighborhood drug dealer. Will Harold escape the violence that surrounds him?

The Test by Peggy Kern

Liselle Mason is in trouble. For weeks, she ignored the changes in her body and tried to forget her brief relationship with Oscar Price, her moody classmate at Bluford High. But when Liselle’s clothes stop fitting, and her brother notices her growing belly, she panics. A pregnancy test confirms her biggest fears. Unwilling to admit the truth, Liselle suddenly faces a world with no easy answers. Where will she turn? Who will she tell? What will she do?–From back cover.

Breaking Point by Karyn Langhorne Folan

Vicky Fallon can’t take it. Her father has lost his job. Her parents are constantly fighting, and her troubled little brother is out of control. Once an honor student, Vicky is quickly falling behind in her classes at Bluford High. Now her teachers, friends, and new boyfriend, Martin Luna, want answers. Pressured from all sides, Vicky knows something is about to snap. But the explosion that hits her home is worse than anything she could image.–Book back cover.

Pretty Ugly (sequel to Breaking Point)by Karyn Langhorne Folan

Jamee Wills never expected Vanessa Pierce and her friends to go this far. The trouble starts at cheerleading practice when Vanessa begins teasing Angel McAllister, a shy new girl at Bluford High. When the insults turn nasty, Jamee tries to stop them. She wins Angel’s friendship but makes many enemies. Now Jamee is a target, and someone is texting lies and pictures of her all over school. Unwilling to tell her family or snitch on her fellow cheerleaders, Jamee is cornered. Will her next move solve her problems–or make them worse?–From back cover.

Schooled by Paul Langan

There’s no backing down for Lionel Shepard. With a dream of joining the NBA, all he wants to do at Bluford High is play Basketball. But everyone’s trying to stop him. Bad grades, bad advice from family members and friends. Will he pursue his dream or get caught in a nightmare?

Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Young Adult Literature | Tagged | 1 Comment

Horror: Night Fall series

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

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More interesting books for high school students who are learning to read or improving their reading skills. Today we’re looking at Night Fall, a horror series.

At Colony High, we’ve created a section in the book stacks just for these new books. Look under the call number 372.41. (Don’t be shy about asking for help if you need it. That’s what we’re here for!)

Night Fall titles:

Unthinkable by Shirley Duke

Omar Phillips is Bridgewater High’s favorite local teen author. His Facebook fans can’t wait for his next horror story. Lately, though, Omar’s imagination has turned against him, presenting him with horrifying visions of death and destruction. The only way to stop the visions is to write them down, until they start coming true. Sophie Minax, the mysterious Goth girl who’s been following Omar at school, tells him how to end the visions, but the only thing worse than Sophie’s cure may be what happens if he ignores it.

Thaw by Rick Jasper

“A July storm caused a major power outage inBridgewater. Now a research project at the Institute for Cryogenic Experimentation has been ruined and the thawed-out bodies of twenty-seven federal inmates are missing. At first, Dani Kraft didn’t think much of the breaking news. But after her best friend Jake disappears, a mysterious visitor connects the dots for Dani. Jake has been taken in by an infamous cult leader. To get him back, Dani must enter a dangerous, alternate reality where a defrosted cult leader is beginning to act like some kind of god.”–Amazon.com.

The Protectors by Val Karlsson

“Luke’s life has never been ‘normal.’ How could it be, with his mother holding seances and his half-crazy stepfather working asBridgewater’s mortician?”–P. [4] of cover.

The Club by Stephanie Watson

Bored after school, Josh and his friends try out an old game called “Black Magic” that promises the players good fortune at the expense of those who have wronged them. As the club members’ luck starts skyrocketing and horror befalls their enemies, the game stops being a joke. How can they end the power they’ve unleashed? Answers lie in an old diary, but ending the game may be deadlier than any curse.

Skin by Rick Jasper

Nick’s face is breaking out. The symptoms, besides his complexion, include an abiding coldness and nightmares. As his face worsens, a neighbor sends over a priest. The priest remembers a teenager who had a similar attack. He has the teen’s journal. Another teen comes into the clinic with a similar case. Does the resolution lie in the old journal?

Messages from Beyond by Stephanie Watson

Some guy named Ethan Davis has been texting Cassie. He seems to know all about her– but she can’t place him. He’s not in Bridgewater High’s yearbook either. Cassie thinks one of her friends is punking her. But she can’t ignore the strange coincidences– like how Ethan looks just like the guy in her nightmares. Cassie’s search for Ethan leads her to a shocking discovery, and a struggle for her life. Will Cassie be able to break free from her mysterious stalker?”–P. [4] of cover.

Posted in Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Multicultural, Young Adult Literature | Tagged | Leave a comment

Surviving Southside

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

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Finally!

Some good, interesting books for high school students who are learning to read or improving their reading skills. I’ve mentioned that we’ve been buying these books. Well, now most of them are here. I plan to post about different series. See which series sounds good to you and then come check out a book.

At Colony High, we’ve created a section in the book stacks just for these new books. Look under the call number 372.41. (Don’t be shy about asking for help if you need it. That’s what we’re here for!) You’ll find a few hundred choices.

The first series up is Surviving Southside. Here are five titles:

Shattered Star by Charnan Simon

Cassie is the best singer in Southside High’s Glee Club and dreams of being famous. She skips school to try out for a national talent competition, but her hopes sink when she sees the line. Then a talent agent shows up out of nowhere, flattering her and saying she has “the look” he wants. Soon, she is lying and missing rehearsals to meet with him, and he’s asking her for more each time. How far will Cassie go for her shot at fame?

Recruited by Suzanne Weyn

Kadeem Jones is a star quarterback for Southside High. He is thrilled when college scouts seek him out. His visit toTellerCollegeis amazing, but then NCAA officials accuse Teller’s staff of illegally recruiting top talent. Will Kadeem decide to help their investigation, even though it means the end of the good times? What will it do to his chances of playing college football?

Bad Deal by Susan J. Korman

Fish hates having to take ADHD medication. It helps him concentrate, but it also makes him feel weird. When his crush, Ella, needs a boost to study for tests, Fish offers her one of his pills. Soon, more kids want pills, and Fish is enjoying the profits. To keep from running out, Fish finds a doctor who sells phony prescriptions, but suddenly the doctor is arrested. Fish realizes he needs to tell the truth, but will that cost him his friends?

Benito Runs by Justine Fontes

Benito’s father, Xavier, returns fromIraqafter more than a year suffering from PTSD–post-traumatic stress disorder–and yells constantly. He causes such a scene at a school function that Benny is embarrassed to go back to Southside High. Benny can’t handle seeing his dad so crazy, so he decides to run away. Will Benny find a new life, or will he learn how to deal with his dad–through good times and bad?

Plan B by Charnan Simon

Lucy has her life planned out: she’ll graduate and then join her boyfriend, Luke, at college inAustin. She’ll become a Spanish teacher, and they’ll get married. Deciding there’s no reason to wait, and despite trying to be careful, Lucy gets pregnant. Now, none of Lucy’s options are part of her picture-perfect plan. Together, she and Luke will have to make the most difficult decision of their lives.

Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Multicultural, Sports, Young Adult Literature | Tagged | Leave a comment

New books you asked for

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

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Students have asked for the next books in these two trilogies, so I wanted to announce that I have them now and they’ll be available at Colony in a few days. The third book in The Maze Runner series–The Death Cure–and the second book in the Matched series–Crossed.  I’m impatient to read Crossed, but I will give you the first crack at checking it out!

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“What Can(t) Wait”

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Perez 

Marisa’s dad is a Mexican immigrant. He’s had a hard life in the shadow of his stepmother and as an adult always reminds his kids that: family is everything; hard work is what matters; and you’d better never embarrass him. He’s tough and the best thing we can say about his relationship to Marisa is that he’s disapproving.

Of course, lots of parents disapprove of their teens. After all, if teens didn’t try to find their own way, away from their parents, what would the point of adolescence be? The problem with Marisa’s father’s disapproval is that it isn’t the kind that will help her improve her life. Just the opposite. If she’s a really good girl, it’s going to hold her back.

Marisa is very bright, is taking AP Calculus and getting good grades. But what matters most to her dad is that she work her shifts at Kroger’s (a grocery store—I don’t think there are any in California, but it’s a major chain), turn over half of her paycheck to her parents, watch her niece (the child of a sister who got pregnant in high school), cook meals and help keep up the house. With such a schedule, Marisa is having a hard time concentrating on her schoolwork. When she starts dating the boy she’s always liked, she starts to wonder if she can make it out of her Houston, Texas barrio. Though her mother is nice, she has a way of laying the guilt on pretty thick. If Marisa goes away to college, what will her mother do? How will she get by?

Marisa’ AP Calc teacher reminds her of her considerable gifts as a student. She encourages her to push on. But there’s a cultural divide, and the teacher doesn’t quite get what is holding Marisa back.

On this Thanksgiving weekend, I’m grateful that I picked up this book. I know I often tell you that great books will help you understand people whose lives are very different from your own. But it’s also good to read a book in which the protagonist is just like you. And Marisa is a girl a lot of students will recognize in themselves. Have fun reading this quick book, full of hope and realism.

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Multicultural, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Leave a comment

READ

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Victoria Waddle
“The importance of reading is only secondarily about literature. . . .[Studies show that] reading transforms lives. People who read have higher levels of academic success, of economic success. People who read do more volunteer work, they vote more, they exercise more. When you read, you’re sustaining a meditation about other people’s lives. What is it like to be Oliver Twist or Robinson Crusoe? It develops tremendous capacity to understand that other people are actually as complicated, as sensitive, as wonderful as you are. By understanding  their inner life, you begin to develop your inner life.”
–Dana Gioia in an interview with Patt Morrison of the LA Times
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“Start Something that Matters”

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie  

A perfect book for Thanksgiving.

“Many of life’s failures are people who didn’t realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

–Thomas Edison

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

–Winston Churchill

Quotes like these dot the text of Start Something that Matters. Its author, Blake Mycoskie, is the founder (or as he calls himself, ‘chief shoe giver’) of TOMS. For every pair of shoes that TOMS sells, it gives one away to a needy person. It’s this ‘One for One’ business model that Mycoskie discusses in his book. But Start Something that Matters is about much more.

Mycoskie asks: What matters most to you? Should you focus on earning a living, pursuing your passions, or devoting yourself to the causes that inspire you? And then tells his reader that s/he doesn’t have to choose, but can do all of these things. He, of course, is a living example. And the reason I so like this book is that Mycoskie shows how important it is becoming to be a creative thinker, to be a storyteller. Because without a memorable story, no one cares about your company or your charity, or the project you are trying to get your schoolmates interested in. Stories resonate with people in a way that facts wouldn’t.

To start something that matters, you will need to move beyond story and face your fears, do the thing you didn’t think you could. You can’t wait until the time is right because it never is. You have to be frugal and imaginative. You have to allow a broad forum of ideas, give free speech to those working with you. You must have an environment of trust. With trust, even mistakes can lead to good outcomes.

Best of all, you should start early. Like now. In high school. Work on your dreams. Start that club, that service project, whatever. Check out Start Something that Matters for hints on getting it all going. Create the model by which you intend to live your life.

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“Story of a Girl”

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

story of a girl When Deanna was only thirteen years old, her father caught her having sex in the back of a car with Tommy, a seventeen-year-old friend of Deanna’s brother.

Bad, yes. Embarrassing, yes. But what ruins Deanna’s reputation is that Tommy—who, after all, is much closer to adulthood—goes to school and tells everyone, making a joke of Deanna. With her reputation, Deanna’s school and social life are also destroyed. She is tagged as the school slut, and just about every comment directed at her is a nasty joke or sexual innuendo. There’s no escape for her, though she hangs on by writing in a journal.

Fortunately, Deanna has two friends, but the relationship among the three is complicated, and, in anger and jealousy, she even alienates them. Meanwhile, her brother has become a father far too early and is living in the family basement with his girlfriend and their baby daughter. Three years after the event, Deanna’s father is still angry and cannot forgive her. The family is a wreck.

When Deanna decides to get a job at a pizza place, she finds Tommy working there as well. What could be worse? And yet having to face Tommy forces the two to actually talk about what happened and why. And in that, there is healing.

This is a super-short, super-quick, and super-good read about life-changing events and how to move on into forgiveness. I recommend it to all. But be advised that it has some profanity and explicit discussion of teen sexuality.

Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Mature Readers, Young Adult Literature | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Blink and Caution”

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

   Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

While on the prowl for ‘guy books’ this week, I found a star.

“Guy books” is a sort of weird idea for me because it means that guys should like them. But girls should like them, too. When people in the book universe say ‘guy book,’ what they really mean is ‘not exclusively girl book.’

Blink and Caution is the story of two runaway teens, living on the street, desperate. We meet Blink first—so nicknamed because he is so nervous, so full of ‘Captain Panic’—that he has a tic, blinks constantly. He is prowling through a hotel, hoping to find some decent food leftover in the hallway, a room service tray put back out with lots of the meal left. Unfortunately, what he finds is a weird sort of criminal event across the hall. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but after a group of four men leave the room, Blink finds a wallet with 600 dollars and a cell phone. By picking up most of the money and taking the cell, Blink unwittingly enters into a crime that is national news.

Caution is so nicknamed because she considers herself toxic, harmful to those around her. Though the narrator doesn’t say directly why this is, as readers, we soon guess. (We are meant to guess, but Caution just can’t face telling the story). After running away from home, Caution finds herself hooked up with a drug-dealer who controls her, who beats her when he feels like it. She thinks he may kill her. In fact, she thinks she deserves to be killed. It’s a little miracle that she figures out how to run away from him, and of course, he is tailing her, actually has implanted a GPS on her clothing.

Blink finds the picture and phone number of a beautiful girl on the stolen cell. She’s the daughter of an important CEO whom all the news sources say has been kidnapped. But Blink saw him walk out of the hotel room. He decides to call the daughter and tell her that her dad is OK. Big mistake.

When Caution, having been rolled by a meth addict for all the money she took from the drug dealer, decides to steal from Blink, the two become inescapably connected and absolutely over their heads. That they have each other isn’t a given. One might desert the other, fearful of what will happen. But they both also have a sense that there’s nothing more to lose in life. By sticking together, they may learn to trust again and find their way in the world, forgive themselves for their imperfections.

Blink and Caution is super suspenseful. In addition it’s unusual in the telling, Chapters alternate between Blink and Caution. However, Blink’s chapters are told in the second person (“You lower your voice, curl into yourself.” ). It’s hard for a writer to make this work, but Wynne-Jones pulls it off. In fact, his excellent writing is one of the reasons you won’t put the book down. So if you’re a budding writer yourself, read this for a great example. If you’re not, just read it for the great, fast-action story.

Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Young Adult Literature | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“What Happened to Goodbye”

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen 

I wanted a good book—realistic, but one in which characters could work out their problems. Some good writing. So I picked up Sarah Dessen because I knew she’d deliver.

In What Happened to Goodbye, McLean, now in her senior year, has been on the move with her dad for a couple of years. This following a really ugly divorce after her mother admitted that she was having an affair and in fact, was pregnant, as it ends up, with twins. To make matters worse, her mom’s new husband (and father of the twins) is the coach of the Defriese University basketball team. McLean is named after the previous coach and her dad is a rabid fan. Or was, until his wife left him for the new coach and for the scandal that ensued.

McLean’s dad is a restaurant consultant. He works for a company that buys restaurants and reinvents them, creating profitable businesses. He has to move after each restaurant is fixed. McLean moves with him, reinventing herself at each new school—she changes her name and becomes a cheerleader in one place, a goth girl in another. Yet when the two arrive in Lakeview, McLean makes friends and realizes that she cares about others, especially her super-smart nerdy next-door neighbor, Dave.

Though as a child McLean always had great times with her mom when her dad was working night and day trying to make his own restaurant profitable, and though she is told that her parents’ breakup was both their faults, she can’t forgive her mom and doesn’t want to be around her or her new family. By not complying with the legal terms of custody, she frustrates her mom, who consistently tries to reconnect with her and is willing to involve lawyers to get what she wants.

Though Dessen makes some weird writing choices in the last quarter of the book, giving outcomes of scenes and then giving the details of the scene (thus foregoing some of the suspense), I loved the characters and how they interact with one another. I love how McLean has to come to terms with her new life, with her mother, and with her new friends.

It was fun watching a character work out serious problems in a way that’s not perfect—things can’t be perfect—but in a way that’s positive. Because I liked McLean and wanted a good future for her. I think you will, too.

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments