Young adult and teen books for the summer vacation
Last week we reviewed some books for younger
readers. This week we have a list of excellent books for young adults
and teenagers to enjoy over the summer. (All these books are in our
Amazon bookstore).
______
For younger teens
Holes
by Louis Sachar
The main story is about a very unlucky boy called Stanley Yelnats who is sent to a detention camp for a crime he didn't commit. Every day he has to dig a large hole, under the blazing Texas sun, without much water. He is told that it is character-building, but he soon realises that the camp owner is searching for something hidden in the dried-up lake-bed. Stanley finds tiny clues along the way and eventually works out why he and the other boys are being made to dig every day, and how this ties in with his own family's past, and future.
An absolute must for anyone, young or old, who relishes an intelligent, courageous and dynamic read.
Please click on a flag
____
Clean Break
by Jacqueline Wilson
Em adores her funny, glamorous dad who cares if hes not her real father? Hes wonderful to her, and to her little brother and sister. True to form, at Christmas, Dad gives them fantastic presents, including a real emerald ring for his little Princess Em. Unfortunately, hes got another surprise in store hes leaving them. Will Dads well-meaning but chaotic attempts to keep seeing Em and the other children help the family come to terms with this new crisis? Or would they be better off with a clean break just like Ems arm?
Jacqueline Wilson tackles another delicate subject that is close to many childrens hearts.
Please click on a flag
____
DreamScraps: A
Ma?ic Journal
by Katie Thompson
Ma?ic It's not a typo. The question mark gets to the heart of the word. Is magic real? It depends on what you believe. Katie, a shy teenager, is starting to believe that magic is real, not something only in books. Katie has discovered that by drawing sketches of what she wants in her DreamScraps journal, she can alter her reality. Soon Katie learns to travel to alternative dimensions.
Dreamscraps is an engrossing and original story set in a modern fantasy world not unlike that of Harry Potter.
Please click on a flag
____
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little
sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the
poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American
dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.
Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast
into the nations annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where
contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather
conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panems districts.
District 12s second tribute is Peeta, the bakers son, who has been in
love with Katniss since he was five.
Take a look at the first book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. It stars a girl... and a boy too. There's a lot of hunting, fighting, and survival... and a lot of romance, kisses, and cool outfits. There's strategy, the world's most fabulous fashion designer, weapons and a girl who knows how to fight. This is not a book that quietly slots into our preconceived stereotypes.
Please click on a flag
____
For young adults
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time
Indian
by Sherman Alexie
A semi-autobiographical tale written for teen
readers, that is in turns wacked-out, funny, heartbreaking, and
jubilant. It is the story of an Indian kid who has survived a precarious
infancy and is growing up on a reservation outside Spokane. It is a
powerful story of friendship between two teenage guys who have grown up
together on the reservation. It is the story of Arnold's journey after
he is persuaded by the math teacher to escape the rez school and
transfer to a high school 22 miles away.
The teen's determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty,
despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a
positive message in a low-key manner.
Please click on a flag
____
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. "I traveled the globe . . . handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity," Death writes. "I warned myself that I should keep a good distance from the burial of Liesel Meminger's brother. I did not heed my advice." As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. This is the story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands.
Zusak creates a mesmerizing and original story set during the Second World War and narrated by Death. An extraordinary narrative.
Please click on a flag
____
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams.
This is a book about love and suffering, hatred and faith, fear and courage. It is about women of strength and dignity who carry on and manage to care about others despite an unjust system.
Please click on a flag
_________________
