Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World  by Ashley Herring Blake

Ivy is 12 years old (almost 13!), and feeling adrift following the birth of baby twins in the family.  Her friends are just starting to think and talk about boys, but Ivy is starting to think about girls.  Then, Ivy's world literally flies apart:  a tornado flattens her house and leaves her family homeless.  

Ivy is a smart, talented, and creative protagonist who finds more than a little help from friends--new friends and familiar friends.  

This is a beautiful, sweet middle-grade book about Ivy and her family and friends, and their attempts to find their own places in the world.  Highly recommended for readers ages 10 and up.

Star-Crossed

Star-Crossed  by Barbara Dee

12-year-old Mattie is thrilled when her 8th grade class mounts a production of "Romeo and Juliet" but things get complicated when the handsome boy in the leading role ducks out of the play...leaving Mattie to play the part of Romeo, opposite the beautiful Gemma as Juliet. 

Gemma, whom Mattie...likes.  Like, a lot.

Mattie has a lot of questions about her crush on Gemma, and nobody around her gives her the answers.  

However, several people--including her best friends, her older sister, a sympathetic teacher, and even Gemma herself--allow Mattie the freedom to explore some answers for herself.  That is what makes this gentle little story so nice.

I learned about this book when the author wrote about a terrible experience booktalking in a school where she was asked to refer to the book only in general terms.  In other words: avoid talking about the book.  Even when asked direct questions about it.

As often happens, censoring a book sometimes inspires people to seek that book out.  

That's how it worked with me, anyhow.

Having read the book, I've got to say:  

It's a great book.  And I plan to talk about it.  A lot.  In schools.  To students.

With positive reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus as well as the sexy librarians here at Sex in the Library, you know that although "Romeo and Juliet" was a tragedy, Star Crossed definitely isn't. 

Highly recommended for middle-grade readers, ages 10 and up.

I Kill the Mockingbird

I Kill the Mockingbird  by Paul Acampora

Inspired by Fat Bob the English teacher, eighth graders Lucy, Elena and Michael decide that not nearly enough people read and enjoy Fat Bob's favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. 

To motivate more people to read the book, the teens make the book...disappear: they mis-shelve copies in bookstores and libraries, and they create a website, a Facebook page, and a Tumblr account to give the appearance of a conspiracy to keep people from reading Mockingbird. 

Soon, bookstores and libraries all over the country are reporting that their copies of the book are missing...and readers all over the country are discovering that they actually do want to spend their summer reading about Scout, Jem, Dill, and the elusive Boo Radley.

If you've ever dreamed of a literary conspiracy, here's your book.  Fast, funny, and full of quotable one-liners that readers will love to share with friends. 

Recommended for ages 14 to adult; two sweet kisses, no cussing, no bloodshed, and no mockingbirds are harmed.

Keeping the Castle

Keeping the Castle  by Patrice Kindl

17-year-old Althea needs to marry for money. 

She knows that the fate of her noble-but-impoverished family as well as the fate of the family castle depends on her ability to make a successful--i.e. a wealthy--marriage match.  At first, Althea is willing to marry anybody who is rich enough to pay the bills and repair the dilapadated ancestral home, but gradually she realizes that she would prefer to marry someone who is not only rich, but also well-bred, well-educated, well-mannered, good-looking, and smart enough to recognize those virtues in Althea herself.

Fans of Jane Austen's literary world will adore Althea and her eccentric family, and astute readers will immediately identify the character she should marry, even when Althea seems impossibly blind to his fine qualities.  This quick, charming book can also be a stepping stone to the world of Regency romance made so popular by Downton Abbey.

No sex or cussing (heavens forbid!); the sweet and funny romances in this story will mostly appeal to gently reared female readers ages 12 to adult. 

The Lucy Variations

 

The Lucy Variations  by Sara Zarr

 

Lucy Beck-Moreau was world-famous as a child prodigy at the piano, but at age 16, minutes before taking the stage at an illustrious competition in Prague, she walked away from the piano.  Her family was furious, but Lucy was adament: she did not want to spend her life competing and performing anymore.

 

Eight months have passed, and the family's attention is now focused  on Lucy's 10-year-old brother Gus, who is preparing for his first major public performance.  Lucy wants to help Gus, but she can't help being intrigued by the new piano teacher: a former prodigy himself, Will is attractive, attentive...and married.

 

Lucy's social development was clearly impaired by her years of grueling practice and performance scheduling, but with the help of a few friends, she's learning to relate to her age-mates.  The characters are well-rounded, the dialogues are terrific, and the relationships (even the inappropriate ones) are compelling.  This is a well-written story of a teen who is beginning to make decisions for herself. 

 

Recommended for ages 13 to adult.  A few kisses, and a bit of underage drinking, but nothing to alarm most readers.

How to Get Suspended and Influence People

How to Get Suspended and Influence People
by Adam Selzer
14-year-old Leon sarcastically narrates the events that result when he decides to make an avant-garde sex education movie as an assignment for his "gifted and talented" class. Leon's video is weird but comforting, irrational but informative...and very quickly, banned at school.

Leon and his classmates address some common contradictions found in public school where masturbation is often called normal but more often considered vulgar, where nudity may be classical but still censored, and where kids and adults will never see eye-to-eye.  Although the story is relatively predictable, the writing is quirky, engaging, and funny.

This fast-paced novel will appeal to middle-readers who wonder what "normal" is and if they will ever be it. No violence, some cuss words, frequent references to nudity, body parts, and all the other things that absolutely fascinate 14-year-old boys. The book has a few on-page kisses, but everyone stays fully clothed, even when the garage blows up. Ages 12 to 16.

Ten Miles Past Normal

Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell

When Janie was nine years old, she thought that that living on a farm and milking goats every morning was fun and cool and exciting. Now that she's a freshman in high school--in a city, where nobody else milks goats or gathers eggs before getting on the school bus--she thinks that living on a farm is weird.

Janie doesn't want to be weird. She wants to be normal. Then she joins the school Jam Band, meets an elderly man who turned a burned cross into yard art, makes friends with a sweet boy named Monster, and agrees to help her mother host a hootenanny. Before she knows what is happening, Janie has left "normal" ten miles behind her.

No cussing, no on-page violence (the civil rights activists do relate their fears of violence in Missippippi prisons during the 1960's but those events are far removed from the present action), no sex, but there are some very enjoyable romances and one romantic fail.

Recommended for ages 12 to adult.

The Grimm Legacy

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

Elizabeth, the unloved stepchild and new kid in school, has no friends and not much fun in her life until she takes a job as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository--a lending library for significant objects rather than books. Down in the basement are items collected by the Brothers Grimm as part of their fairy tale research: magic carpets, talking mirrors, dancing slippers, silk purses made from sow ears, and more. But something is wrong with the magic in the items...and Elizabeth's coworkers are the main suspects.

A light mystery in a delightful setting that will charm the socks off of library staff and library lovers. Note that many of the illustrations are correctly cataloged!

No sex or cussing or bloodshed. A little bit of romance and a few kisses, and some magic. Recommended! Readers ages 14 to adult.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Dash is scanning the shelves of his favorite bookstore. There, nestled between familiar book spines sits a red notebook. Inside the notebook is a challenge from Lily to find clues in the pages of books.

Over the course of ten days in December, Christmas-loving Lily and Christmas-hating Dash exchange dares and challenges that take them into the nooks and crannies of New York City: into familiar parks and obscure music clubs, outwitting her overprotective family and his indifferent one. Will it all end in romance? Or in a locked closet full of books? Or...possibly...both?

Sweet, fun, philosopical and mostly harmless. No cussing, no sex. A little nakedness, a few kisses, and some underage partying may keep this book out of school libraries, but I hope not.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

The Espressologist

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

17-year-old barista Jane Turner has a theory: people's personalities are reflected by their coffee drinks, and she keeps a notebook to keep track of her observations to support the theory.

Medium Iced Vanilla Latte
Smart, sweet and gentle. Sometimes soft-spoken but not a doormat. A good friend...

One day it occurs to Jane that a person who drinks a medium iced vanilla latte would be a great romantic match with a person who loves to drink a medium dry cappucino.

Medium Dry Cappuccino
Smart and simple....A little timid and soft-spoken but probably a powerhouse if ever tested. A good friend.

Thus, Jane invents a new "science" (which also happens to be a terrific marketing tool for the coffeeshop where she works): Espressology.

Soon, Jane is busy matching up hopeful singles by comparing their coffee preferences, with remarkable success. But will she ever find a romantic match of her own?

No sex or cussing or bloodshed, but a few kisses and a LOT of caffeine-induced drama. Readers (mostly girls) ages 14 and up will enjoy this cute, funny, frothy book.

Confessions of a Serial Kisser

Confessions of a Serial Kisser by Wendelin Van Draanen

Evangeline has just been keeping her head down since her parents separated. She didn't try out for the vollyball team, she refuses to talk to her dad at all (since the separation was his fault and she will never forgive him!); instead, she concentrates on doing her homework and trying to keep the condo tidy so her mom can relax a little. While sorting through the laundry, Evangeline discovers her mom's secret stash of bodice-ripper romance novels. Intrigued, Evangeline reads one of the books and decides that what she needs most is a fabulous, passionate kiss like the kisses between Delilah and Grayson in The Crimson Kiss.

Evangeline's search for the perfect kiss quickly gets out of hand, and soon she has a reputation as a "serial kisser." Will she ever find passion and happiness?

The pink cover art and chick-lit plot are misleading. This is actually a carefully-crafted, well-told story about a teen's search for identity and love. The unexpected ending was a delight.

Recommended for readers 12 to adult. No cussing or violence, and no sex...but plenty of kisses!

Skinned

Skinned by Robin Wasserman

17-year-old Lia is rich, popular, pretty, athletic...and technically, dead.

Futuristic technology has allowed Lia's brain to be salvaged from the traffic accident that killed her body. With her memories downloaded into an indestructible mechanical body, Lia tries to re-enter her old life where she left off. However, society now treats her as non-human, her friends have moved on, her boyfriend is freaked out, and her family doesn't want her back. Only Auden, an outcast boy from Lia's old school, is willing to be her friend. But, is there any future to a relationship between an imperfect, easily-damaged "org" and an immortal "mech head?"

This thought-provoking novel is first in planned trilogy that explores the definition of humanity. It contains few wispy hints of frustrated sexual activity (nothing on-page) and no cussing. Drug use is part of this society's normal experience--Lia's exclusion from drug use activities gives her and the reader an interesting perspective.

Recommended for readers who enjoy dystopic and futuristic novels, ages 14 to adult.

Eternal

Eternal
by Cynthia Smith

What we wanted was a sequel to Tantalize.

What we get is a companion novel- same quirky world of strange beings. This addition shows us Miranda, who wants to be a star. She is watched over by her guardian angel, Zachary, who has fallen in love with her and tries to prevent her death. That’s a real no-no in the angel world and not only does Miranda die anyway, she rises as the daughter of a vampire. Never fear, she meets Zachary again, and he is really intent on saving her soul now!

Not the romance we wanted, and not as much fun as Tantalize, but still a good ending. If you can conquer the first page, then anyone 8th grade and up would not have a problem with this one!

This is Mary Jo's review of Eternal.
To read Aarene's review of the same book, click HERE

Fat Cat

Fat Cat : a novel by Robin Brande

Cat's goals: Win the science fair, and beat her former-science-buddy Matt McKinney in the process.

Her topic: The measurable physical changes resulting from returning an overweight American teen to a more primitive lifestyle, including eschewing technology like computers and cell phones, avoiding modern transportation options like cars, busses and bicycles, and eating only simple and unprocessed food.

The result: Formerly fat science geek girl loses weight, gains muscle, stretches her imagination, and learns more about science -- and people -- than she realized could be possible from a single experiment.

Cat's candid narration wryly chronicles the changes in her body and outlook through the experiment. This is not a "get skinny and get the guy" book--it's much more fun than that. Read it for the characters, read it for the relationships, and read it for the poetry. Just read it for the fun of it.

A few hot kisses but no nekkidness, no cussing, and no violence. Recommended for ages 12 to adult.

Ice

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

Cassie grew up on an arctic research station raised by her grandmother, her father and the other scientists. She loved to hear Gram tell the fairy tale of the Polar Bear King and the North Wind's Daughter...until, on her 18th birthday, she discovers that the story is true: her mother, the daughter of the North Wind, has been captured by trolls and can be rescued by the Polar Bear King.

The price of the rescue is simple: Cassie must agree to marry the bear.

This retelling of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" is a less-complicated version than East (Pattou) and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow (George), but readers of the genre will welcome this contemporary, quick-paced interpretation of the old story.

No cussing or blood; tactful sexual situations are mostly off-page (Cassie is pregnant when she embarks upon her own quest to save her husband in the second half of the book).

Recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.

Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
In the summer between graduating high school and beginning college, Auden leaves her mom's house to spend some quality time with her dad, his new wife, and their new daughter Thisbe in the little beach town of Colby. Auden's hopes of spending the summer studying college textbooks and having meaningful discussions about life with her father are quickly dispelled: the baby cries continually and her father insists on keeping distance between himself and the other family members so that he can finish writing his book.

Left to herself for much of the summer, Auden wanders the streets of town at night and meets up with Eli, another teen with time on his hands. Together, Auden and Eli do the things that she never did as a kid: bowling, food fights, and delivering newspapers. But just because she learns to ride a bike doesn't mean Auden has really changed, does it? And will her family ever change?

A sweet story of friendship, families, and growing up. The book contains some kissing and a tactfully-vague "hooking-up" scene on the beach, but no cussing or violence. Fans of the author will enjoy the cameo appearances of characters from earlier books.

Recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.

Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love

Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love by Maryrose Wood

14-year-old Felicia and her pals call themselves the Kittens--supposedly the "Sex Kittens", although they admit that they aren't very experienced in the "sex" part yet. Felicia and the other Kittens attend the Manhattan Free Childrens School, and spend much of their school day skipping class, (supposedly) in order to work on independent and original learning projects. For example, Felicia writes poetry...endless reams of haiku poems mostly focused on the "Horn Dawg" (boy) of her desires, Matthew.

Matthew doesn't dream of poetry OR Felicia...he dreams of science. By making her science fair project a study of the "thing that makes the one you love love you back," Felicia hopes to finally capture the scientific heart of the Dawg of her Dreams.

Together Felicia and Matthew research, interview, hypothesize, and test their theories of love attractiveness: The Romeo/Juliet thing, the Romantic Setting, the Mutual Rescue, and the Opposite Attraction. But could it be possible that sometimes "Love Just Happens"? And why isn't Matthew falling in love with Felicia?

Light, fluffy, and fun, the racy title is the only racy thing about this book. There are no scenes of violence, no drugs, and no sexual situations--but there are many giggle-ful moments and a few sweet but unexpected kisses in the lives of the Kittens.

Recommended for girls ages 12 and up who enjoy The Princess Diaries and other tales of modern adolescence.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Nick: onstage with the band, totally not prepared for his Evil Ex-Girlfriend to show up and prove how much his heart can hurt.

Norah: watching the band, mailed her refusal to Brown University this morning in favor of joining her Evil Ex-Boyfriend on a kibbutz in South Africa--and just discovered that Tal isn't there, he's here.

And f*** you so much for asking.

In first-person chapters alternating between Nick and Norah, they journey through the New York music scene, to an all-night Korean grocery, an all-night Russian cafe, and eventually to the ice room of the Marriott. In 24 hours they cover a lot of territory...but are they getting any closer to love?

Co-written by two exceedingly hip authors, David Levithan (voice of Nick) and Rachel Cohn (voice of Norah) explore the lives and musical passions of two 18-year-olds who have experienced infinite heartache...but are gonna survive. The language is honest, painful, and heavily strewn with cussing, showing the strength of tender feelings each character hides within.
Recommended for mature teens who want to know more about life in the big city--and I'm not talking about Seattle.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman

Julie's best friend Ashleigh has gotten obsessed with candy-making, military strategy, reptiles, and the newest album by the Wet Blankets. But now Julie is enthusiastic about Julie's all-time favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. Determined to emulate the world of Jane Austen's characters, Ashleigh and Julie don vintage gowns and sneak into the only place where they might meet dashing swains dressed in formal attire with whom they may dance in a Quadrille.

At the private boarding school on the hill, the girls meet Grandison Parr and his friend Ned Downing. But, alas for Julie, Ashleigh thinks that Parr is her own true love--without realizing that Julie already has a crush on Parr.

Comedy, music, poetry, and heaps of happy surprises to satisfy readers who love modern love stories and old-fashioned romances.

Recommended for readers ages 14 and up.

Dangerously Alice

Dangerously Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Alice is now a junior in high school, squabbling with her step-mom, working on the school newspaper, hanging out with her friends, stressing out about the PSATs, and pretty sure that she's ready to unload her "Miss Goody-Two-Shoes" reputation. She knows what bad-boy Tony has in mind when he invites her home, and she's ready...right?

The twenty-second (!) book in the Alice series will not disappoint long-time fans, yet it stands alone nicely for new readers. Alice has come a long way since she appeared as a 6th grader in Agony of Alice (1985) but she is still clearly the honest, endearing and sometimes agonizing teenager that readers have loved for all these these years.

Recommended for readers--especially girls--ages 14 and up. No cussing or violence, but more than a few "body parts" are exposed in the course of the story. As always, Alice's adventures include laugh-out-loud embarrassing and awkward details; sensitive readers may be uncomfortable with the "heavy petting" scene with Tony.

The publisher has launched an "all-alice" website worth exploring: http://www.alicemckinley.com/ especially the Guide for Reading Groups, which proposes some excellent questions for discussion.