No More Dead Dogs: Humor in Young Adult Literature Ruth Gheysen, Rebecca Caudill Selection Committee Deborah ALTHOFF Will, Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award Nomination Committee

Young adult book themes have trends.

We used to be able to count on this guy for humor!

But then this book happened, and now tears are trending.

We Want to Bring You Books That are Humorous That Also Include quality writing Have characters that are believable or at least plausible Have original voices Do NOT rely on only sexual humor to convey humor Do NOT rely on only stories about body odor or other bodily functions as humor Provide a good story as well as clever characters

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John Eighteen-year-old Piper becomes the manager for her classmates' popular rock band, called Dumb, giving her the chance to prove her capabilities to her parents and others, if only she can get the band members to get along. School Library Journal:Gr 9 Up — When in a rush of uncommon bravado high school senior Piper offers to manage Dumb, her school's most popular student rock band, her family thinks it must be a joke. A retiring student and member of the chess team, Piper is neither the stereotypical band manager nor a typical teen: she is profoundly hearing impaired. After she discovers that her parents have spent the majority of her college money to treat her infant sister's deafness with cochlear implants, Piper's quest to get Dumb a paying gig leads her to consider her managerial role as a potential source of income. John's novel is written with a reverence for popular music—particularly the work of Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain—and a respect for its ambitious teen characters. Although Piper's hearing is a characterizing detail that could have been used solely to add a type of politically incorrect and screwball humor to the story, her abilities are seen as assets: while lip reading allows her access to public conversation, she is not above using sign language to obscure her intentions. The parallel attention to Piper's hearing family and the strain her parents' decision to treat her sister with cochlear implants adds to the greater story and informs the novel's direction and ending in a satisfying way. Set in the Pacific Northwest, this rock-and-roll novel joins the ranks of Randy Powell's equally thoughtful Tribute to Another Dead Rock Star (Farrar, 2003) and Blake Nelson's Rock Star Superstar (Viking, 2004).—Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston --Amy S. Pattee (Reviewed December 1, 2010) (School Library Journal, vol 56, issue 12, p116)

Schooled by Gordon Korman Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie, but when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school. BookList:Gr. 6-9 /*Starred Review*/ Homeschooled on an isolated "alternate farm commune" that has dwindled since the 1960s to 2 members, 13-year-old Cap has always lived with his grandmother, Rain. When she is hospitalized, Cap is taken in by a social worker and sent—like a lamb to slaughter—to middle school. Smart and capable, innocent and inexperienced (he learned to drive on the farm, but he has never watched television), long-haired Cap soon becomes the butt of pranks. He reacts in unexpected ways and, in the end, elevates those around him to higher ground. From chapter to chapter, the first-person narrative shifts among certain characters: Cap, a social worker (who takes him into her home), her daughter (who resents his presence there), an A-list bully, a Z-list victim, a popular girl, the school principal, and a football player (who unintentionally decks Cap twice in one day). Korman capably manages the shifting points of view of characters who begin by scorning or resenting Cap and end up on his side. From the eye-catching jacket art to the scene in which Cap says good-bye to his 1,100 fellow students, individually and by name, this rewarding novel features an engaging main character and some memorable moments of comedy, tenderness, and reflection. Pair this with Jerry Spinelli's 2000 Stargirl (the sequel is reviewed in this issue) for a discussion of the stifling effects of conformity within school culture or just read it for the fun of it. -- Phelan, Carolyn (Reviewed 08-01-2007) (Booklist, vol 103, number 22, p71)

Better than Perfect by Simone Elkeles Told from two viewpoints, Derek Fitzpatrick, kicked out of boarding school, must move with his stepmother to her childhood home in Illinois, where he meets Ashtyn Parker, who may be able to achieve her dream of a football scholarship with bad boy Derek's help. BookList:Grades 9-12 Everything is sliding into place for kicker Ashtyn Parker. She was just voted captain of her high-school football team, which ups her chances at a scholarship to a Big Ten college, and she’s dating Landon, the quarterback. Then bad-boy Derek Fitzpatrick shows up in her life, and everything Ashtyn has planned for is suddenly called into question. Thrown together by awkward family circumstances, Derek and Ashtyn fight their attraction for one another. When everything lines up to place them alone together on a road trip from Chicago to Texas, Derek and Ashtyn have to make some difficult choices when their passion threatens to overwhelm them both. Although this story has been told many times, award-winner Elkeles is very adept at creating three-dimensional characters and setting them up to make life-changing discoveries about themselves in believable ways. She also doesn’t shy away from realistic teen sexuality or language. In alternating first-person points of view, this start to the WildCardsseries shows that sometimes the person you’d least expect can make a huge difference in your life.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: New York Times best-selling author Elkeles created a massive following with her Perfect Chemistry and Leaving Paradise books, and fans will be clamoring for this promising start to a new series. -- Osborne, Charli (Reviewed 08-01-2013) (Booklist, vol 109, number 22, p82)

Chomp by Carl Hiaasen When the difficult star of the reality television show "Expedition Survival" disappears while filming an episode in the Florida Everglades using animals from the wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Crane's family, Wahoo and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna's gun-happy father. BookList:Grades 5-8 You can’t knock Hiaasen for inconsistency. In his fourth monosyllabically titled book for young readers (after Hoot, 2002; Flush, 2005; and Scat, 2009), he keeps to the same formula: set up a cast of plucky, lovable Everglades kooks, pit them against greedy, wildlife-hating outsiders and buffoonish swamp villains, and mix it all up with offbeat humor, swift plotting, and heartfelt environmentalism. Here, our heroes come in the form of Mickey and Wahoo Cray, a father-son team of wildlife wranglers who get hired by a hit reality show starring “survivalist” Derek Badger. It’s immediately clear that Badger is nothing more than a well-edited fraud who’d rather bite the head off a bat to spike ratings than paint an honest picture of Florida wildlife, but that’s only the beginning of their troubles, which are amped up by a pistol-toting drunk, a scheming producer, and the entirely justified lashing out of the animals themselves. Hiaasen is particularly adept at making the preposterous just barely plausible, and again turns in a finely tuned mix of satire and madcap adventure. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hiaasen’s built a sizable cadre of young fans, and his adult readers will also take notice of a new book for kids. -- Chipman, Ian (Reviewed 11-15-2011) (Booklist, vol 108, number 6, p57)

Smile by Raina Telgemeier An autobiography in graphic novel format describes how the author lost two of her front teeth in an accident when she was twelve, and her subsequent struggles with various corrective dental techniques throughout adolescence. School Library Journal:Gr 5 Up— When she was in sixth grade, Telgemeier tripped while running and lost her two front teeth. In the years that followed, she went through a torturous series of dental surgeries and repairs, the trauma of which was mirrored by the social struggles she experienced during her adolescence. A minor complaint is that there is no mention of when all of this took place, and readers may be puzzled by seeming anachronisms such as old-school Nintendo games. Telgemeier's full-color artwork is confident and light, and her storytelling is appropriately paced. This straightforward and entertaining autobiographical comic is sure to please.—Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada --Douglas P. Davey (Reviewed March 1, 2010) (School Library Journal, vol 56, issue 3, p186)

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall A romance between two college students, Gabe and Lea, is told through the perspectives of fourteen onlookers, from Lea's roommate to Gabe's best friend, their creative writing teacher, and the barista at the local Starbucks. BookList:Grades 9-12 Start with one boy, one girl. Put them together in a fits-and-starts love story and tell it from 17 points of view, including those of friends, a teacher, a barista, and a squirrel. Lea and Gabe share a college creative writing class and live in the same dorm. Are they interested in each other? Very. Can everyone else around them see that they should be together? Uh-huh. But something seems to always keep them apart. It is awkwardness, yes, and shyness for sure, but just about the time the audience (and Lea) are ready to give Gabe up as inept with romance, they learn why he is having so much trouble. This is the first in Macmillan’s Swoon Reads imprint, which allows new authors to submit their manuscripts online for readers’ votes, and the winner will be published. This is a sprightly first offering, and while it does go on too long—and Lea and Gabe seem more like high schoolers than college kids—the multiple perspectives make for a clever hook. Romance with a twist. -- Cooper, Ilene (Reviewed 09-15-2014) (Booklist, vol 111, number 2, p63)

How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart When thirteen-year-old David Greenberg's best friend makes the start of middle school even worse than he feared it could be, David becomes friends with Penny, who shares his love of television shows and posts one of their skits on YouTube, making them wildly popular--online, at least.

Two Parties, One Tux* a by Steven Goldman Junior year is turning out to be eventful for Mitchell Wells: his best friend has just come out to him (and only him); he's turned in a somewhat obscene claymation short film instead of his paper on The Grapes of Wrath (didn't go over so well); andone of the most popular girls at school suddenly likes him (huh?!). Prom is coming up, and at this rate, there's no predicting what will happen. -- Description by Ellen Foreman. /* Starred Review */ Gr 9 Up— A side-splitting slice of male adolescence, this novel turns the spotlight on the ridiculousness that is the average, contemporary American high school experience, much as Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999) did a decade ago, but with funnier results. Scrawny and slightly naive 17-year-old Mitchell's best friend comes out to him at lunch in the cafeteria, his younger sister railroads his not-so-social social life, he turns in a sort-of pornographic claymation film in lieu of an English paper, and somehow he finds popular Danielle encouraging him to go up her shirt. The plot takes a backseat to gems of dialogue ("virginity…. Keeps your wrist muscles supple") and inner voice ("I imagine every student in my English class. If I only have erections for the females, I'm straight. It's really the only way to tell"). Combined with gags aboutthe school administration, it all adds up to a story that's so funny and yet so realistic. As in most high schools, there is a lot of talk about beer, butts, and banging, but in his blasé cluelessness, Mitchell analyzes rather than glorifies such things (e.g., the make-out scene where he can't figure out where to put his hands). Readers should be prepared to laugh a lot, and to say "aw" at the tender resolution. A must-have for fiction collections.—Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library --Rhona Campbell (Reviewed October 1, 2008) (School Library Journal, vol 54, issue 10, p146) *and a very short film about the Grapes of Wrath

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nichols Eleven-year-old Sam McQueen, who has leukemia, writes a book during the last three months of his life, in which he tells about what he would like to accomplish, how he feels, and things that have happened to him. BookList:Gr. 3-7 "My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. I have leukemia. By the time you read this I will probably be dead." So begins a frank, guileless, unflinching first-person account of the last days of a young boy's life. Sam is writing a book of his experiences, and in a raw, keen voice, he confronts both the uncertainties and certainties of his illness, laying bare its physical and emotional toll. Nicholls balances passages of heavy despair with moments of inspirational bravery, and Sam's unapologetically sentimental narrative is always honest and never cloying. At the outset, he makes a list of things he wants to do, and that list becomes a map that helps guide his family and friends in their shared journey toward Sam's unwelcome, unavoidable destination. The story ends as promised, but Nicholls invests the final moments with appropriate grace, reminding the reader of Sam's courage, frailty, and resilient humanity. -- Barthelmess, Thom (Reviewed 11-15-2008) (Booklist, vol 105, number 6, p60)

Send by Patty Blount On his first day of school in yet another new town, Dan stops a jock, Jeff, from beating up an outcast kid named Brandon; he makes an enemy and a friend in the process, while developing a crush on a classmate, Julie. BookList:Grades 8-10 Ken Mele humiliated another kid online when he was 13. Now 18, he lives under the assumed name of Dan Ellison, haunted by his nine months in juvenile detention spent in the wake of the online victim’s suicide, crushed by guilt he feels about the death, and endlessly anxious that kids at his new school will discover his past. Blount writes smoothly and gives Ken/Dan an authentic character. However, the plot is packed full of coincidences, foreshadowed problems faced by Dan’s current schoolmates, and parents who treat him—to his delight—as though he’s half his age. Still, for teen readers more interested in exploring psychology and getting insights on how a reformed bully might see his past than reading a credible story, this should fit the bill. Fans of Kevin Brooks’ stories of the complex relationships between bullies and victims can find added details here. -- Goldsmith, Francisca (Reviewed 09-01-2012) (Booklist, vol 109, number 1)

Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden Irreverent, foul-mouthed, seventeen-year-old Cricket Cherpin, living under the watchful eye of Mother Mary at a Catholic boys' home in Maine, has such bleak prospects he is considering suicide when Wynona Bidaban steps into his world. BookList:Grades 9-12 Cricket Cherpin, 17, is ready to hurt someone. Again. As the oldest boy residing at the Naskeag Home for Boys, he is fiercely protective of the others, the “Little Ones.” Pick on one of the Little Ones and be prepared for a pounding from Cricket. Mother Mary, a formidable nun who has cared for Cricket since his arrival, eight years earlier, struggles to show Cricket that violence is not the answer. The true source of Cricket’s grief and rage is his personal horror story, which left him parentless and with a terrible scar on his face. As Cricket himself relates, “I stare until reality morphs into memory, memory into fear, fear into pain, pain into rage, and rage into energy.” Cricket’s narration is filled with razor-sharp wit and SAT vocabulary words that some readers will find exhilarating, while others may struggle to interpret them. But, through Cricket, Blagden offers a fine masculine viewpoint that expresses the intensity of grief. -- Colson, Diane (Reviewed 04-01-2013) (Booklist, vol 109, number 15, p75)

Rump by Liesel Shurtliff Relates the tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth, explaining why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned- queen. School Library Journal:Gr 3 – 6 — A beguiling take on a classic tale. In The Kingdom, one's name is full of meaning and power, and young Rump is sure that his is incomplete. Just before his mother died in childbirth, she only managed to utter, "His name is Rump…." And so Rump grows up with his grandmother, mining the mountain for specks of gold for their greedy king and suffering ridicule for his name. Shurtliff's world-building is inventive and immediately believable: gnomes rush about delivering messages they have somewhat memorized, gold-craving pixies are flying and biting nuisances, and wise witches live in the woods, as does a band of huge smelly trolls. All the elements of the original story are here-the greedy miller, the somewhat dimwitted daughter, and Rump's magical ability to spin straw into gold-but Shurtliff fleshes out the boy's backstory, developing an appealing hero who is coping with the curse of his magical skills while searching for his true name and destiny. This captivating fantasy has action, emotional depth, and lots of humor.—Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT --Caroline Ward (Reviewed May 1, 2013) (School Library Journal, vol 59, issue 5, p126)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White Evie, the only known human with the ability to see through supernatural "glamours," works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA) tracking down dangerous creatures. (Really, she finds the work dull and would rather be shopping, watching TV, or at the very least at home painting her weapons pink.) But when a mysterious shape-shifter invades the IPCA and brings news of a string of paranormal murders, things start to heat up. -- Description by Ellen Foreman. BookList:Grades 9-12 Sixteen-year-old Evie learns that she is not quite the person she thought she was in this creature-feature mash-up. Possessing the unique ability to recognize paranormals beneath their glamour, Evie has lived most of her life under the protection of the International Paranormal Containment Agreement (IPCA), an organization dedicated to the cataloging and neutralizing of paranormal creatures. After a mysterious entity begins killing paranormals around the world, Evie discovers some startling truths about her own identity. This is a fast-paced, entertaining debut, reminiscent of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series in its story of a seemingly normal girl coerced to work for a supernatural agenda that she doesn’t always understand. White creates compelling tension as Evie longs for a normal teenhood while trying to preserve the humanity she has always believed to be her birthright; a love triangle adds further conflict, as Evie must choose between not only two different interests but two starkly different destinies. Alternately funny and tragic but never maudlin, White’s debut will have broad appeal among fantasy fans. -- Dean, Kara (Reviewed 10-15-2010) (Booklist, vol 107, number 4, p61)

A Tale Dark and Grim by Adam Gidwitz If you think of fairy tales as nice, pretty little stories to bore children to sleep with, A Tale Dark & Grimm will make you think again. Weaving the disturbing bits of several Brothers Grimm tales and plenty of his own mischief into a single story, author Adam Gidwitz tells his own version of the (often gruesome) adventures of Hansel and Gretel. School Library Journal:/* Starred Review */ Gr 3 Up — With disarming delicacy and unexpected good cheer, Gidwitz reweaves some of the most shocking and bloody stories that the Brothers Grimm collected into a novel that's almost addictively compelling. He gives fair warning that this is no prettified, animated version of the old stories. "Are there any small children in the room now?" he asks midway through the first tale, "If so, it would be best if we just...hurried them off to bed. Because this is where things start to get, well...awesome." Many of humanity's least attractive, primal emotions are on display: greed, jealousy, lust, and cowardice. But, mostly it's the unspeakable betrayal by bad parents and their children's journey to maturation and forgiveness that are at the heart of the book. Anyone who's ever questioned why Hansel and Gretel's father is so readily complicit in their probable deaths and why the brother and sister, nonetheless, return home after their harrowing travails will find satisfying explanations here. Gidwitz is terrifying and funny at the same time. His storytelling is so assured that it's hard to believe this is his debut novel. And his treatment of the Grimms' tales is a whole new thing. It's equally easy to imagine parents keeping their kids up late so they can read just one more chapter aloud, kids finishing it off under the covers with a flashlight, and parents sneaking into their kids' rooms to grab it off the nightstand and finish it themselves.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY --Miriam Lang Budin (Reviewed November 1, 2010) (School Library Journal, vol 56, issue 11, p114)

Rash by Pete Hautman In a future society that has decided it would "rather be safe than free," sixteen-year-old Bo's anger control problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence program named Bork. BookList:/*Starred Review*/ Gr. 9-12. Its very likely that the world has never seen a sports novel quite like this one, which evokes Louis Sachars Holes (1998), M. T. Anderson's Feed (2004), and Chris Lynch's explorations of male aggression in Inexcusable (2005), all the while avoiding the merest whisper of predictability. In the United Safer States of America of the late twenty-first century, a national obsession with safety has criminalized even minor «antisocial impulses.» Bo's dad «was put away in '73 for roadrage»; the teen's own anger issues likewise land him in one of the country's privatized penal colonies. There, he makes pizzas for McDonald's until the camp's sadistic overseer recruits him to play football. The illegal sport is brutally violent but exhilarating--and Bo, a gifted athlete, slowly begins to question his culture's basic assumptions, identifying with crotchety Gramps' view that «the country went to hell the day we decided we'd rather be safe than free.» At times, Hautman takes his signature eclecticism to an extreme, placing Bo in confrontations with polar bears, an intrusive artificial intelligence entity, and officials who suspect him of causing a rash outbreak. Like the author's similarly audacious Godless (2004), though, this will satisfy teens with an appetite for big questions and gleeful ambiguities, while ratcheting up the mind-trip factor with a gimlet-eyed extrapolation of the future. -- Jennifer Mattson (Reviewed 05-15-2006) (Booklist, vol 102, number 18, p53)

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born. And so far, he's managed to get through life without ever reading an entire book from cover to cover. But now that he's in middle school, avoiding reading isn't as easy as it used to be. And when his friend Timmy McGibney decides that he's tired of covering for him, Charlie Joe finds himself resorting to desperate measures to keep his perfect record intact. "Hilarious...This debut is filled with passages that beg to be shared...With its subversive humor and contemporary details drawn straight from kids’ worlds, this clever title should attract a wide following.” --Booklist, STARRED review

Girl Parts by John M. Cusik The lives of David, wealthy and popular but still lonely, and Charlie, a soulful outsider, intersect when Rose, the female Companion bot David's parents buy to treat his dissociative disorder, forms a bond with Charlie. BookList:Grades 9-12 David, a typical empowered alpha teen, and Charlie, an introverted social fumbler, are cast here as two ends in the spectrum of dissociative disorder. David’s parents, at the behest of a guidance counselor, import an experimental “companion” (a lifelike robot girl designed to create a healthy relationship with her target human) named Rose from Japan. Of course, she is absolutely ravishing, and David can’t wait to get her clothes off. But when he finally does, he discovers that, anatomically, she is “a Barbie doll,” and he unceremoniously dumps her. Rose, who has by now developed her own personality, is crushed, and though she is programmed to love only David, she learns how to love Charlie. Readers will have to construct a pretty heavy-duty lattice to suspend disbelief, and there are plenty of potential eyebrow-raisers (par-for-the-course drinking and drug use and, yes, frisky business with robots—all handled tastefully). Nevertheless, this manages to balance outrageous adolescent wish fulfillment with a perceptive, provocative exploration of teen social, sexual, and identity issues. -- Chipman, Ian (Reviewed 09-01-2010) (Booklist, vol 107, number 1)

The One and Only Ivan by Katerine Applegate When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life. BookList:Grades 3-6 Ivan, a silverback gorilla, has lived in a glass, metal, and concrete enclosure at Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, “conveniently located off I-95,” for 27 years. Bored, he watches TV, draws pictures, throws “me-balls” (dried excrement) at visitors, and enjoys the company of a venerable elephant named Stella and a few other friends. After a baby elephant arrives, Ivan makes Stella a solemn promise that seems impossible to fulfill. The text, written in first person from Ivan’s point of view, does a good job of vividly conveying his personality, emotions, and intelligence as well as creating a sense of otherness in his point of view. His story is based on the life of a gorilla now living at Zoo Atlanta. The book’s wide-spaced lines, plentiful white space, and pleasing black-and-white illustrations make this a quicker read than the page count might suggest. Animals fans will enjoy this one. -- Phelan, Carolyn (Reviewed 02-15-2012) (Booklist, vol 108, number 12, p58)

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller When Travis returns home from Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother has stolen his girlfriend and car, and he has nightmares of his best friend getting killed, but when he runs into Harper, a girl who has despised him since middle school, life actually starts looking up. School Library Journal:Gr 9 Up — Travis Stephenson is back home in Florida, on leave from Afghanistan where he has been serving on active duty as a U.S. Marine. The war has changed him, and upon his return, he is overwhelmed by his hometown, his friends, and his family. His ex-girlfriend is now dating his brother, his parents are splitting up because his dad is having an affair, and he's haunted by nightmares and hallucinations. When he reconnects with Harper Gray, a girl he spread a rumor about in middle school, he finds relief from his anxieties. During his leave, Travis must come to terms with his best friend's death during combat and realize that his flashbacks and visions are not part of the standard post-combat experience and that he needs professional help. By the end of the novel, he finds the strength to speak at Charlie's memorial. The romance and tight narrative make this a dynamo of a soldier's story.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL --Leah Krippner (Reviewed September 1, 2012) (School Library Journal, vol 58, issue 9, p142)

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous A look at the deaths of several famous people throughout history and the circumstances surrounding those deaths. School Library Journal:Gr 5 – 9 — King Tut died of malaria; Edgar Allan Poe is suspected to have had rabies. Beethoven and Galileo both met their ends due to lead poisoning. Fifteen other historical figures, including world leaders, writers, and scientists, were felled by things as mundane as pneumonia and as unpredictable as angry mobs. Each entry provides the circumstances ofthe person's death and gives context to those circumstances, from discussions ofthe political climate to medical practices ofthe time. Chapters are separated by a spread of brief facts related to the individual, the demise, or the era. Lively, full-page caricatures set in decorative frames appear throughout, along with spot illustrations. Back matter includes a lengthy list of sources. The sometimes-snarky writing gives the material a casual, conversational tone that will appeal to many readers. The title alone provides an easy booktalk; expect this one to be passed around and pored over.—Brandy Danner, Wilmington Memorial Library, MA --Brandy Danner (Reviewed April 1, 2011) (School Library Journal, vol 57, issue 4, p189)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins Who wouldn't jump at the chance to spend her senior year at a boarding school in Paris? Anna Oliphant, that's who. Besides barely speaking French, Anna is perfectly happy at home in Atlanta, Georgia. But Anna's father insists, so Paris it is. And Anna does warm up to the city...especially after she meets gorgeous Etienne St. Clair, who seems to return her interest but already has a girlfriend School Library Journal:Gr 9 Up — Anna Oliphant has big plans for her senior year in Atlanta: hang out with her best friend, Bridgette, and flirt with her coworker at the Royal Midtown 14 multiplex. So she is none too happy when her father sends her off to boarding school in Paris. However, things begin to look up when she meets Étienne St. Clair, a gorgeous guy—with a girlfriend. As he and Anna become closer friends, things get infinitely more complicated. Will Anna get her Frenchkiss? Or are some things just not meant to be? Perkins has written a delightful debut novel with refreshingly witty characters. There is strong language and mention of sexual topics that make the book more appropriate for older teens. The chapters are concise, and the steady pacing leading up to the "will they or won't they?" moments will capture even reluctant readers. Teens will feel like they are strolling through the City of Lights in this starry-eyed story of finding love when you least expect it.—Kimberly Castle, Medina County District Library, OH --Kimberly Castle (Reviewed December 1, 2010) (School Library Journal, vol 56, issue 12, p122)

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach Just before his sixteenth birthday, Felton Reinstein has a sudden growth spurt that turns him from a small, jumpy, picked-on boy with the nickname of "Squirrel Nut" to a powerful athlete, leading to new friends, his first love, and the courage to confront his family's past and current problems. BookList:Grades 8-11 Everything changes for Felton Reinstein during his fifteenth year. A growth spurt and the discovery of latent athletic talent tilt how the world views the teen, who thinks of himself as a little slow on the uptake. Hitherto unpopular and the object of jokes, suddenly Felton, who narrates the story in a hyper, slightly astounded voice, is going out for football, taken under the wing of one of his school’s more popular jocks. Meanwhile, a paper route leads him to meet (and become sweet on) a musical prodigy, whose father is a visiting professor at the local college. If all this weren’t enough, things at home are falling apart: Felton’s mom has a breakdown as she tries to face Felton’s maturation and younger brother’s persistent probe of their father’s suicide many years earlier. Suffice it to say, nothing is quite what Felton thinks. In this struggling and often clueless teen, Herbach has created an endearing character coming to terms with his past and present in a small, well-defined Wisconsin town. -- Cruze, Karen (Reviewed 05-15-2011) (Booklist, vol 107, number 18, p48)