The latest reviews of fiction and nonfiction titles--including novels, historical fiction, and curriculum related content--for middle school and high school audiences from School Library Journal.
Grades 5 & Up 11/01/2009
Fiction AMATEAU, Gigi . A Certain Strain of Peculiar . 261p. Candlewick . 2009. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3009-6 . LC 2008935295. Gr 6–9—Overhearing a group of boys comparing her to worse-than-disgusting girls, Mary Harold, 13, feels another panic attack coming on. It seems easier to change her entire life rather than endure more days of being the outcast.
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Grades 5 & Up 10/01/2009
Fiction AVI . Murder at Midnight . 272p. Scholastic . 2009. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-08090-3 . LC 2009003214. Gr 4–8—In the Renaissance kingdom of Pergamontio, Italy, young servant Fabrizio's master, a stage magician, is charged with plotting treason against the king and dealing with demons.
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The Biggest Losers Brian Kenney, Editor-in-Chief - 10/01/2009
Dear Cushing Academy Parents: Soon, your child will have access to one of the most innovative secondary school libraries in the country. Over half-a-million dollars are being invested to transform your library into an interactive learning center with monitors providing news feeds, state-of-the-art computing, a cyber-cafe (with a $12,000 cappuccino machine!), and much more.
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Grades 5 & Up 09/01/2009
Fiction ALEXANDER, Jill S. The Sweetheart of Prosper County . 224p. CIP. Feiwel & Friends . Sept. 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-312-54856-8 . LC 2008034757. Gr 8 Up—Fifteen-year-old Austin Gray has not had an easy life. Her father died one rainy Christmas Eve when his car skidded off a bridge into a lake.
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Grades 5 & Up 08/01/2009
Fiction ABBOTT, Ellen Jensen . Watersmeet . 341p. CIP. Marshall Cavendish . 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7614-5536-3 . LC 2008000315. Gr 6–10—From birth Abisina has been an outcast because she doesn't have light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. Only her mother's status as Vranille's only healer has saved the 14-year-old from being abandoned outside the village walls, prey to centaur...
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Grades 5 & Up 07/01/2009
Fiction BARNES, John . Tales of the Madman Underground: (An Historical Romance 1973) 532p. Viking 2009. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-670-06081-8 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up–Karl Shoemaker, in group therapy at school since fourth grade, turns a new leaf on the first day of senior year, 1973. His goal is to be normal and avoid therapy while still keeping his friends, who are all part of t...
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Grades 5 & Up 06/01/2009
Fiction ABBOTT, Hailey . Summer Girls . 272p. Scholastic/Point . 2009. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-545-10268-1 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up—Like Summer Boys (Scholastic, 2004), this is a fun seasonal read. Jessica, Greer, and Lara couldn't be farther apart in style and personality. Jessica is the good-girl athlete hoping to replicate the wonderful summer days she spent with her older cous...
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SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
2008 National Book Awards Nominees in the young people's literature category graced the red carpet on Awards night Nov. 20, 2008.
The Alvin Ho Collection, Books 1 & 2 (unabr). 4 CDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2009. ISBN 978-0-7393-7997-4. $38. Gr 2-4–Alvin Ho, a quirky Asian-American second grader, is articulate at home but so afraid of school that he is unable to speak while he is there.
Clowning around at the second annual Atlantic City Free Public Library Family Fun Festival last weekend. About 2,500 people came out to enjoy the beautiful day and the many festivities, including an array of performances, face painting, poetry readings by local teens, games, and music.
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The Alvin Ho Collection, Books 1 & 2 (unabr). 4 CDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape (library.booksontape.com). 2009. ISBN 978-0-7393-7997-4. $38. 
