The Dream Thieves

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

(book II of the Raven Cycle)

Continuing the story begun in The Raven Boys, the ley line has been awakened and now strange currents are racing through town.  Electrical surges, astonishing secrets, and weird dreams and nightmares are becoming more common.  In the middle of the magic are Blue, who is still not-quite-a-psychic, and the Raven Boys: Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah.

The hunt for the mysterious Welsh king continues, but the focus now is on Ronan's sudden strange ability to pull real objects out of dreams.  And, perhaps, out of nightmares.

This book does not stand alone, and leaves readers gasping for the two final books...which don't even have release dates from the publisher yet!  Ack.

The lush, imaginative writing should be no surprise to fans of this author.  But the plot twists!  If those don't surprise readers, there is truly no hope for redemption.  I am eagerly awaiting the audiobook edition, which early reports call "suspenseful" and "murky."  

No sex, no kissing (there's a reason!  not a lack of interest!) and only mild cussing, but plenty of action, magic and some scary violence and drug use. 

Recommended for readers who have already survived the first book, ages 14 to adult.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane  by Neil Gaiman

An unnamed adult narrator has returned to his Sussex hometown for a funeral, and afterwards drives around randomly...until he arrives at the home of his childhood neighbors. There, he is welcomed in by an elderly woman he recognizes, and he gradually remembers the events that occurred just after his 7th birthday, when he was drawn into a terrible adventure with weird creatures and splendid magic.

This is the author's first adult book since Anansi Boys (2005), and his storytelling skills have grown ever-stronger in the meantime.  Mythology, folklore, and motifs drawn from heroic tradition are seamlessly bound together to create a fabulous, eerie story that is familiar and yet completely fresh.   

Gaiman skillfully treads the line between "terror" and "creepy."  Although this reader is a self-acclaimed chicken-pants, I found The Ocean at the End of the Lane deliciously nightmarish without ever becoming gross; hair-raising but not horrible.  Still, very young and very timid readers are warned:  this story is scary.  

The audiobook read by the author is even better than the print version.  A word of caution: perhaps you should not listen to it while driving home alone in the dark.  (Ask me how I know.)

Recommended for brave readers and listeners, ages 14 to adult.  Minimal cussing, some sexual situations between adult characters, some blood and plenty of scary stuff.

100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents

100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents : straight answers to teens' questions about sex, sexuality and health  by Elizabeth Henderson & Nancy Armstrong, MD

When I have sex for the first time, will people be able to tell?
How old do I have to be to buy condoms?
What is the best birth control?
Does alcohol really kill brain cells?

These, and 96 other common questions are answered in simple, straightforward language. The questions are arranged in a random fashion (perhaps from most-frequently to less-frequently asked?), and the answers are succinct and factual--most Q/A entries are dealt with on a single page, with no fancy color formatting, no sidebars and no illustrations of any kind.

Most questions are related to sex and sexuality, but topics also include drug and alcohol use, suicidal thoughts, and friendships.  The "hot" topics of homosexuality, birth control (including abstinence, condom use and pills), and pregnancy are each addressed several times, but the topic of abortion remains untouched by this book.  Not all the responses are complete--it's notable that Planned Parenthood is not mentioned anywhere in the text or index, despite that agency's importance in the field of teen sexual health issues nationwide.

Index and glossary of terms are included. A list of additional resources, books, websites and governmental agencies would have been helpful, but was not included.

To Be Perfectly Honest : a novel based on an untrue story  by Sonya Sones

How can you tell

if Colette is lying?

Her mouth

is open.

Colette is a truly unreliable narrator.  She continually lies (she likes to call it "reimagining reality") to make her life seem more interesting...and to annoy her movie-star mother, who rarely pays attention to Colette and her little brother Will.

When Colette's summer plans change from "Paris with friends" to "San Luis Obispo with mom and Will and Mom's new co-star," she gets mad...and the lies start to stack up.  

In the middle of this comes Connor, Colette's first real boyfriend.  If only she could stop lying to him!  

HERE AT LAST is a book with a believable main character who actually says "NO, I don't want to have sex with you (yet) and sticks to her decision throughout the book.  Not because she isn't attracted to Connor--she is.  But because she really doesn't feel ready for sex.  

Connor is not prepared to accept "no" as a final answer from Colette...and he's prepared to lie through his teeth to get what he wants.

This book is a quick, fun book-in-verse filled with enjoyable--but unreliable--characters.  

No sex, but a few steamy close calls, some minor cussing, and some underage drinking and drug use.  The adults are easy to dislike at first, but they (especially Colette's mom) really redeem themselves at the end.

Recommended for readers ages 14 and up.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" starts off her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  

But the story is not the one that the Nazis think they are getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  

There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

No sex or overt sexual situations; this book is included on the SITL list because it features other controversial topics, including violence and torture.

Period.8

Period.8 by Chris Crutcher

Period 8 is an optional class period where students join a group under the direction of  “Logs,”  the outstanding teacher character for this book.  

It is a place where anything can be said, and nothing travels outside the room.  Period.  Period 8 Period.

Then, Mary Wells goes missing.  Then there are betrayals. And lies.

This is also a story where Hannah sees the world in black and white.  And where Paulie always tells the truth, no matter who gets hurt. So many absolutes, so little time.

Like all Crutcher books, once you begin to examine people as individuals, there is so much more to the story.

Mary Wells (called the Virgin Mary) has a freakish father; Arney is a master manipulator (or future politician); Logs is a teacher about to retire and is ambiguous about leaving kids.  

And as with all Crutcher books, nuances surround everyone.  

Of course nothing is black and white, in real life, and definitely not in Crutcher books.  And of course, there are still lots of loose ends…decisions still to be made….

If I Should Die

If I Should Die by Amy Plum

“If I should die…,”  I begin to say.  

Vincent cuts me off.  “Stop Kate!”  And then he sighs and his shoulders hunch slightly.  He knows it’s dishonest to pretend we’re all going to make it out alive.  He shuts his eyes and when he opens them, he looks resolute. 

“Whatever happens, remember that I will love you forever,” he says.  “Even if my spirit is dispersed and my consciousness released to the universe…."

We all wanted the romance.  We got the romance.  

In this third book in the Revenant trilogy, we see the champion revealed, Paris (mostly) freed from the numa, several romances, and a few tragedies.

But wait, wasn’t Vincent dead and burned, never to return from Violette’s clutches?  Not so fast, my friend.  Kate just doesn’t give up that easily.  On anything, including whether she is ready for sex.  But that’s jumping ahead just a bit.

Reanimating Vincent takes a turn toward necromancy, which is downright nauseating.  Is he back really?  

Secrets are revealed about nearly every character that keep readers guessing or nodding if their suspicions were correct.  The definition of the minor characters was one focus that solidified the story.

Defeating Violette is harder, but the battle could have been bloodier, and we thank Plum for keeping it to a minimum.

We didn’t like Book 1 very much, but Book 2 was wonderful and made it into the Sex in the Library book.  Book 3 was a pleasure.

Truly Kate has many surprises for us, making her one gutsy heroine and a book that is hard to put down. 

Drink, Slay, Love

Drink Slay Love by  Sarah Beth Durst

Of course this is a vampire romance.  Of course you don’t need another gutsy-comedic-teenage heroine.  Except you do.  Pearl is truly a unique find.  

Pearl comes from a long line of vampires.  She is a “born,” not “made” vampire.  Her parents expect a lot from her.  They don’t expect her to claim that she was stabbed by a unicorn as she was about to “snack” on her favorite ice-cream guy.   

Except it did happen.   

Now she can apparently cope with daylight.  This is not a desired trait in the vampire world; it seems more than a little traitorous.  

Pearl uses her new skill to her advantage to set up a “feast” for the incoming vampire king:  a whole horde of teenagers during prom night.  

Except that the closer they get to prom, the more she feels that she is beginning to “care” for other people, which is also not a desirable vampire trait. And she still sees “Mr. Sparkly-and-Pointy”- what does he want and why can’t she catch him?

Of course there are stereotypes;  of course Evan is too good to be true (we ARE reading about vampires…) 

Of course you see the plot twists coming.  That may just have been planned.  

The geek connection, while formula,  is hilarious.

The story is fresh, fun, and full of great lines.  Say yes to this vampire/unicorn/romance, and then go read Durst’s more serious books.

Ages 12 and up.

Ask the Passengers

Ask the Passengers by  A.S. King

“Justin and Kristina have been doing this dating thing since mid-sophomore year, so the people-being-overly-nice-to-Justin thing extends to her. Sometimes, it even extends to me, too, if I show up at times like this when they are mobbed in the parking lot, but today I don’t feel like it. They’re all probably saying, “Hope you win Homecoming king and queen! You’ve got my vote!” and stuff like that. I decide to get in my car and wait for the activity buses to leave. I reach into the glove compartment for a bottle of Rolaids and shake out three to chew on.”

Astrid and her father used to build picnic tables and birdhouses.  Now she lies on the picnic table, sending her love to the passengers on the planes overhead and making up stories about them.  Life at home right now is pretty loveless.  Her mother is the ultimate workaholic bitch; her father is dealing with life through marijuana; her younger sister is the ultimate daughter/soccer player.  

Astrid herself is an honors student with two gay best friends, disguising themselves as the ultimate boyfriend/girlfriend/Homecoming king/queen while having affairs.  Astrid is concerned about herself turning inward much of the time, articulating this nicely.  She loves Dee, a girl with whom she works, but doesn’t necessarily want to be forced into the “gay corner.”  She is confused with no one to turn to.

The story is thorough and subtly satisfying.  Within her dysfunctional family, Astrid is able to cope, even knowing she needs help, and love.  She wants to understand her life and those around her while not adhering to any stereotype.  Although she thinks she might be gay, Astrid has teen reactions to sex at too fast a pace.  Teachers’ reactions to Astrid, and students’ reactions to teachers are sometimes blatant, and sometimes subtle.  This all forms a great mix of important issues and memorable characters.

A teen’s search for identity, self-discovery, and love are themes incredibly well done, with humor and understanding.    Ages 12 and up.

The Tragedy Paper

Tragedy Paper by  Elizabeth Laban

The Irving Boarding School for high school students becomes the backdrop for this tragedy.  

The story is told by Duncan as he moves into his new room as a senior.  It is tradition that the exiting senior will leave a “gift” for the incoming senior. These have been everything from a book to a bottle of (illegal) scotch.  

Duncan’s gift was a series of CDs.   Not the music kind.  The “tell-all story” kind.  

Tim Macbeth is about to explain everything that happened to create a yet-to-be-understood incident last year that everyone knows about, won’t talk about, and nobody understands.

This could have been a good book.  The story was certainly unique.  

It was lacking several YA must-haves, however.  The first of these is the need to care about the characters, and the bottom line is that we just don’t.  Tim and Vanessa never seem real.  Vanessa seems like she cares for Tim, but not much. She doesn’t try to understand his albinism; but he never tries to explain it to her or to anyone else. 

Duncan and Daisy also never quite click.  Their reunion is too easy, too quick, too emotionless.  Patrick is the stereotypical jock/nemesis.  He does the kinds of things you would expect.  Readers never become invested in any of these characters.  

The second issue is medical.  There are YA books that deal with medical issues, so we learn about that issue through a character.  We learn very little about albinism, other than Duncan is alternately ignoring it so he can fit in or obsessing over the fact that Vanessa can’t love him because he is an albino.

YA novels should have an ending that surprises us.  The Ethan Frome (Wharton) -like ending should have made us flinch at least, but it makes us like Tim even less.

There were some nice scenes with Duncan’s teacher.  Some conversations between Daisy and Duncan approach teen issues.  There are some interesting references to recognize:  names aligned with tragedy; allusions to other novels.  It’s a quick read to get you into the school year.  Ages 12 and up.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" begins her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  But the story is not the one that the Nazis thought they were getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

And yes:  there's no sex in this book.  No romance at all, in fact (although the companion book forthcoming in September 2013 promises a bit of romance).  However, Code Name Verity is bound to be controversial, so we're including it on the list as a book our readers will want to know and share.