Tag Archives: book reviews

Common Core: Nonfiction: “Little Princes”

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan In 2004, Conor Grennan had no wife or children, and had saved some money. So he decided to take a year off work and … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Biography/Memoir, Faith-Based/Religious Element, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction | Tagged Adult books for teens, adventure stories, autobiography, biography, book reviews, child trafficking, Common Core standards, Conor Grennan, Himalayas, Little Princes, memoir, Nepal, nonfiction, orphanages, orphans | Leave a comment

Teen Book Fest Author: “Noggin”

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Noggin by John Corey Whaley When Travis comes back to high school after a five-year absence, one of his classmates calls out “Noggin!” And the principal frowns and the geometry teacher makes the boy apologize. Because it’s rude … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, cancer, cryogenics, friendship, gay teens, gay youth, John Corey Whaley, Noggin, Ontario Teen Book Fest, YA fiction, YA literature | 1 Comment

More sequels!

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

I know we’ve been working on these for a while–thankfully, they are now here! Unsouled (book 3 of the Unwind series) by Neal Shusterman Champion (book 3 of the Legend series) by Marie Lu Fever (book 2 of the Chemical … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fable/Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Romance, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Amanda Hocking Battle, Awaken trilogy, book reviews, Chemical Garden Trilogy, His Fair Assassin series, Hunted trilogy, Katie Kacvinsky Dark Triumph, Lauren DeStefano Tidal, Legend trilogy, Marie Lu Fever, Michael Vey trilogy, Neal Shusterman Champion, Nightshade series, Richard Paul Evans Prey, sequels, Skinjacker trilogy, trilogies, Unwind trilogy, Watersong series, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Realistic Romance: “Fangirl”

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Although Cath and Wren are identical twins who’ve always shared a love of Simon Snow Books (think Harry Potter) as well as a bedroom, when they go away to the University of Nebraska for college, Wren … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Over 375 pages, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Tagged abandonment, bipolar disorder, book reviews, college life in literature, Eleanor and Park, Fangirl, identical twins, mental illness, Rainbow Rowell, realistic romance, romance, twins, University of Nebraska in literature, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: “Mogworld”

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw For Jim, being dead has been kind of fun. After all, he’s gotten to go toward the light and has been sort of floating through his nonexistence quite nicely. Not that he didn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Over 375 pages, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Supernatural | Tagged book reviews, fiction, gamers, gaming, Jam, Mogworld, multiplayer online gaming, online gaming, science fiction, Yahtzee Croshaw, Zero Punctuation, zombies | Leave a comment

Teen Book Fest Author: “Where Things Come Back”

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley Cullen Witter must identify the body of Oslo, his teen cousin, who has just died of a drug overdose. The experience in the morgue leads Cullen to reflect on his life in … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith-Based/Religious Element, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Arkansas, book reviews, brothers, family problems, John Corey Whaley, kidnapping, religion, small towns, small towns in fiction, Where Things Come Back, YA fiction, YA literature, zealotry, zealots | Leave a comment

Teen Book Fest Author: Check out trailer for “Noggin”

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

“Listen—Travis Coates was alive once and then he wasn’t. Now he’s alive again. Simple as that. “The in between part is still a little fuzzy, but Travis can tell you that, at some point or another, his head got chopped … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, book trailer, John Corey Whaley, MTV book trailer, Noggin, Ontario Teen Book Fest, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Adult Classics for Teens: “Johnny Got His Gun”

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo Yes, an’ how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they’re forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind Bob Dylan Johnny … Continue reading →

Posted in "Banned Book", Classic Fiction, Controversial Issue/Debate, Fiction, Historical Fiction/Historical Element | Tagged Adult books for teens, anti-war books, book reviews, classic fiction, Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun, war, World War I | 1 Comment

Sci-Fi: “Ship Breaker”

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi In the aftermath of environmental apocalypse, in the world of ship breaking on the Gulf Coast, Nailer survives by pulling copper wire from grounded oil tankers. He, like everyone else he knows, is looking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Environmental Issues, Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, clipper ships, drug abuse, drug addiction, drug dealers in literature, environmental issues, moral dilemmas, New Orleans, oil tankers, poverty, recycling, science fiction, The Gulf Coast, wealth, YA fiction, YA literature, yachts | Leave a comment

“Knifepoint”

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Knifepoint by Alex Van Tol In a very short book, Van Tol has done a great job of telling a story of suspense, of getting into the mind of a crazed killer. Jill is working on a mountain ranch for … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Read 180, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, hi-low reading, horseback riding, horses, murder, Orca Soundings Series, psychopaths in fiction, reluctant readers, serial killers, wilderness survival, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment