BAIT by Alex Sanchez

Bait was about a boy named Diego who was suffering with a horrible secret. The secret was he was raped and abused when he was younger by his stepfather. This caused him to worry he'd be gay or even turn gay. Than one day a boy at school who was gay was staring at Diego, Diego told him to stop and he wouldn't so Diego punched him in the face. This is when he met his PO (Parole Officer) Mr. Vidas. As he began to open up with Mr. Vidas we found out that Diego had tried to tell his mom that this was happening but when he brought it up she slapped him across the face, she wouldn't listen to him. Diego started to feel more and more comfortable with Mr. Vidas but once this happened he felt like he was being taken away because Mr. Vidas decided against having him be on Parole. Diego felt betrayed and worried Mr. Vidas was the only male figure Diego had in his life and he wasn't about to lose that. So Diego requested to have probation so he could talk more to Mr. Vidas. Mr. Vidas had no idea Diego was cutting him self and soon found out. After this, all Diego's secrets began spilling out eventually leading to Mr. Vidas' secret also being found out. Mr. Vidas is gay. Diego immediately felt betrayed and decided he was going into the ocean to fight the shark that appeared in his dreams so often. After almost drowning Diego made it back to shore and decided to talk to Mr. Vidas about what he had learned. Mr. Vidas confirmed to him that he was in fact gay and told Diego that he'd never hurt him, and Diego soon trusted him again. Eventually Mr. Vidas sent up a meeting with Diego's mom & himself and Diego told her about the abuse. Soon after opening up their relationship got better, and Mr. V tried an activity asking Diego to imagine that he could say what he always wanted to say to his stepfather (Mac). After this activity Diego began to feel like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, everything from then on out got much better.

I learned a lot about the struggle people go through when their abused and how it can really effect their lives if they don't talk about it. Also i learned how much impact not having a father figure in someones life can be.

An excellent book really draws you in and you can feel the pain Diego is suffering. And how desperate he is for a male figure in his life.

Recommended for grades 9-12 and adults


KH in Greenville

EVERYTHING IS FINE by Ann Dee Ellis

Independent and stubborn, Mazzy lives in a quiet house where her mother refuses to get out of bed. Her father is miles away working for a T.V. channel - neglecting his young daughter and depressed wife. She feels she is losing everything - she has already lost too much - and continues to push away the people who love her most (her father, her BFF, her friendly neighbor) in the subconscious effort to find herself. Analyzing her world in her creative, quirky way, Mazzy tells her touching yet sometimes humorous story of discovering herself and searching for her family.

Covering such topics as grief, depression, loss, growing up, and the search for identity, this book made me more fully aware of the difficulties teens face. The whole story and the presentation of these problems were very believable and touching - I felt I was able to understand Mazzy's experiences and tribulations.

I felt pulled into a story mixed with the humor of a creative, unique teen and the difficult, bitter realities she bravely faced. The references to recognizable television shows and people, such as Oprah and Bill Gates, grabbed my attention and made me more able to relate to the main character, Mazzy. The characters were also well developed, likable, and innovative and were an essential part of the story. However, the book's ending seemed abrupt; the story was finished before I felt satisfied with how the characters' lives would play out.

Recommended for grades 9-12.

SA in Greenville

YOU DON'T KNOW ME by David Klass

John goes through his life thinking noone truly knows him. He calls everyone he knows by different names because he thinks that truly they don't know him. John never met his real father (which he calls the man who named him after a toilet) but the man his mother brought into his house, (the man who is not my father) beats him. John doesn't have many friends but when hanging out with Billy Breezer he gets the idea to ask out a girl he calls Glory Hallelujia to the basketball game. Glory says yes and they go to the game, then back to her house. She invites him in the basement and practically makes him take off his shoes and shirt once this happens her father tries to get into the basement which is locked. Her father starts freaking out and screaming, telling Glory she better be alone she yells at him to bust down the door you. He does just that he busts down the door forcing John to find an escape route, and quick. He eventually leaves but now he is hated by anyone he ever knew. Once John gets home he gets beaten, and when he goes back to school he gets suspended for calling his teacher Mrs. Moonface. One of the days John was suspended, a girl from school called Violent Hayes shows up at John's door she eventually asks him to the Semiformal and he ends up going. But when John gets home he gets beaten worse than he's ever been beaten before. He tries to fight back, and he stabs his father in the cheek but this doesn't faze him. His stepfather then punches him in the mouth breaking teeth and cutting his lip. Then they both collide causing them to land outside where his not father punches him in the nose breaking it but just when John thinks he's going to die, Mr. Steenwilly appears and breaks it up. John is now safe and this is were John's mother finds out what's really going on and John realizes his mother really knows him after all.

I learned that there's always help when your getting abused, Mr. Steenwilly suspected something was wrong from day one and he stuck with it, saving John's life. Abuse is a very serious issue and you can help keeping it from happening or help someone who is being abused get help.

I found this book to be very interesting and I liked the character Violent Hayes.

Recommended for grades 9-12.

KH in Greenville

WHEN SHE HOLLERS by Cynthia Voigt

Tish is hiding a secret, a secret that is running her life and making her ashamed. Tish is being raped by her stepfather (sometimes called her father). Tish's stepfather taunts her and her mother just blocks it out. Tish finally gets fed up and gets a survival knife, the only thing that makes her feel safe. She threatens her stepfather with the knife but he just laughs it off. Finally after battling with her stepfather she heads off to school where all the talk is about the girl named Miranda (they call her Randy) who committed suicide. Miranda was 6 months pregnant. After Tish and her friends talk about this she heads off to gym, with the survival knife still in her Docs. Her coach tells her she'll have to take off her Docs and she refuses, this means she'll have to give up her protection. She refuses which leads into the coach trying to take off Tish's shoes causing Tish to scream and freak out scaring her entire gym class. Also it sends her to the nurse & eventually to the office. This is where she gets told her stepfather is on his way to get her, she can't have this. She asks to go the the bathroom and runs, fighting off Chrissie & Kipper, and ending up in Chrissie's fathers office (he is a lawyer). She ends up telling him what he did to her and he tells her he'll testify and he'll protect her. Tish now goes home and must face her stepfather Tonnie, but she still has her protection, her knife.

There is always help & you don't need to face these types of things alone, all Tish needed was Chrissie's Dad's help.

I wouldn't really recommend this book. Tish had me really confused all throughout the book. I wasn't sure what was going on most of the time. Half the time it had me thinking that Tish was pregnant herself, plus the ending didn't really explain much, it had you wanting more.

Recommended for all teens.


KH in Greenville

LOCK AND KEY by Sarah Dessen

Her mother abandoned her. She hasn't seen her father since she was a small girl. She is stuck between her old world of lies and poverty and the new one of questions and unfamiliarity. She can't rely on trusting her old or new friends, her troubled mother, or her loving sister and brother-in-law. Not even charming, sweet Nate Cross who lives behind her elaborate new home. Her hand falls to her old house's, the yellow house's, battered key, which she has strung on its delicate chain as a necklace -her sole comfort in her life of building a new Ruby Cooper.

The book contained a wide range of topics including and focusing on friendship, relationships, abandonment, and discovering oneself as a teen. It familiarized me with these topics and enforced powerful messages throughout the book.

Although about three-quarters through it the book got more engrossing, this book was very slow going and didn't have many strong conflicts - I wasn't exactly sure where it was going until the last few chapters. In some places, the book's messages were a little confusing and unclear, although overall they were powerful and the most beautiful part of the book. All in all, it was an okay book.

Recommended for grades 11-12.


SA in Greenville

LITTLE WING by Joanne Horniman

Little Wing is about a teenage mother, Emily, who tries to find herself after having her child. Emily runs away from her family to her grandmother to try to find herself. While staying at her grandmother's she befriends a househusband and his son. Through spending time with them Emily gradually becomes happier and stable. She was afraid that she couldn't love her daughter but she gradually wants to see her and touch her. In the end she goes back to her, after finding her way back to her original self.

Sometimes to find yourself you need to get away from other people and have new experiences. But sometimes when you're trying to find yourself you might cause other people to be sad and unhappy. Also, every mother loves her child even though she may not know that, just like Emily.

Little Wing is very interesting and realistic. It shows you how a teenage mother copes with herself after having a child whom she thinks she cannot love. It's a good read that I am sure everyone will enjoy.

Recommended for all teens.


JN in Howland

LAST NIGHT I SANG TO THE MONSTERS by Benjmin Alire Saenz

Zach's had an extremely rough life, his father was an alcoholic and his mother was a manic depressive. His brother who always did drugs would often go on angry rages and break things. Zach's mother would try to touch him, his father would drink and drink and his brother would beat him even one time breaking one of his ribs. Zach was surrounded by bad influences, but there was no way he could avoid it. Zach decided to binge drink and almost died, he was taken to the hospital and suffered alcohol withdrawal and was then sent to rehab. Zach's therapist Adam thinks of Zach as a very difficult client, Zach doesn't enjoy talking about his past and some of it he says he can't remember. Zach's only true way to get better is if he talks about what happened. Zach becomes close with his roommates Sharkey and Rafael. Rafael is the only true man he knows. He feels like he can relate to Rafael, because as a teen, Rafael was extremely similar to Zach. After weeks go by he finally decides to give in and realizes that "maybe living is supposed to be more than survival".

Everyone has monsters and you will find ways to face them.

Excellent book from start to finish really touching story.

Recommended for grades 9-12 and adults.


KH in Greenville

RATS SAW GOD by Rob Thomas

This was a book about a boy named Steve York who cruises through his high school career smoking pot until his guidance counselor tells him the only way he'll graduate is if he writes a 100 page paper about anything he wants. This book takes you through his high school years. Steve writes about his life, his astronaut dad, the girl he loved (Dub), his sister Sarah, and his mom. Steve talks about his life when he was living in Houston with his astronaut dad, when he meets his best friend Doug and creating a group called GOD (Grace Order of Dadaists), and falling in love with Dub. Then he talks about what happens and how he lost Dub, and how he ended up in San Diego with his mom.

I gained a lot about how pot can affect your life. Steve wasted his years lighting up forcing him to do this assignment for school so he can graduate.

I would recommended this book, although it was confusing because he was writing about his life during both junior and senior year, and I got confused because this book would keep flipping in between both.

Recommended for grades 11-12.


KH in Greenville

CUT by Patricia McCormick

Cut is about a girl named Callie. She was sent to "sick minds" (Sea Pines) because she was cutting herself. Callie has been hiding a lot about her life but she can't stay quiet much longer. Callie cuts herself and just lets it bleed, but this time she gets worried and goes to see the nurse Ruby. Callie has been hiding the guilt that her brother's sickness is her fault but finally she talks. She talks all about her brother, her mother and her father but avoids talking about herself. She breaks the silence multiple times saying it's her fault but she won't explain why. She gets so worried she breaks out of "sick minds" and runs away, calling her dad to come get her. The silence about the day her brother got sick finally comes out. Her father takes the blame, and Callie knows now that it wasn't her fault after all, and she asks her dad to take her back to Sea Pines.

I learned that you can't run away from your problems and there is always help to whatever problems you face, but cutting isn't the answer.

Yes I would recommend this book to a friend, her story is inspiring and gives hope to people who are cutting themselves to solve their problems.

Recommended for grades 9-12.


KH in Greenville

THE VAST FIELDS OF ORDINARY by Nick Burd

Dade Hamilton is about to go off to college, but before he escapes his small town, he has to endure the hardest summer of his life. It's hard enough keeping his sexuality secret from his parents (he's a closeted homosexual), but his "boyfriend" treats him like dirt, he has a crappy job at his local super market, and a girl from his town has recently gone missing. It's not all bad though. Throughout the summer, Dade makes friends with Lucy, a girl from Cali who is fun, friendly, and an out-of-the-closet lesbian. And let's not forget Dade's new crush, the handsome Alex Kincaid, who helps Dade get through his summer (far from unscathed, though).

If anything, this book is about finding who you are and accepting that person. The lesson to be learned is to accept yourself as well as others. If you don't, life can crush you.

Despite some grammatical errors, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good read.

Recommended for grades 9-12.


HS in NE-Millerton

SPLIT IN TWO: KEEPING IT TOGETHER WHEN YOUR PARENTS LIVE APART by Karen Buscemi

This book is all about how to help kids of any age deal with their parents getting or are divorced. The ideas the book gives the reader are very easy to do, and the child and parents will be able to do them together, even thought they live apart.

I gained helpful advice about how I would handle being organized, how I would be able to make both my homes feel like home, how to pack better when I go house to house and other helpful things.

I would recommended this book because it is very helpful to kids who have parents that are divorced.

Recommended for all teens.


SD in Howland

EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD by Lisa Levchuk

Edna's mother has cancer, she's not talking much to her dad, and since her mom went to the hospital Edna hasn't gone to visit. To top it all off she is having an affair with a teacher. She loves him and he loves her. Edna doesn't really take anything in her life seriously and jokes around throughout the entire novel. Her mom makes her go see a shrink, which does not make Edna happy. Eventually she breaks down and tells her friend Barbie about her affair with the teacher -- and then her nagging "frenemy" Patty finds out. She and the teacher don't care much until one day Edna has a revelation, goes to visit her mom and ditches her school field trip ... and she even begins to show interest in a boy her own age.

I found myself getting frustrated with the characters -- and unexpectedly feeling sorry for the teacher (isn't that terrible?).

Good.
Alex in Esopus

Edna's mother has cancer and her father seems distant, so she turns to Mr. Howland, her art teacher, for support and attention. Things go farther than she intended and now she must get control of her life.

This book moves very slowly and is not realistic, although it does give the message that family and friends are always there to help if you let them.

Marginal.
Meghan in Esopus

DISTORTED: HOW A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER UNRAVELED THE TRUTH, THE LIES, AND THE REALITIES OF AN EATING DISORDER by Lorri and Taryn Benson

Lorri Benson felt blessed that she had such a loving husband with a lucrative job in the financial industry. She had her own career as senior producer for a long running prestigious television show. She had three beautiful daughters and what seemed to be the perfect family life, until the day she walked into her oldest daughter Taryn's bathroom and saw her daughter throwing up. Realizing her daughter had an eating disorder turned her whole world upside down, and she began questioning where she had gone wrong as a mother. She embarks on a difficult journey to save her daughter's life.

This is a really great read that tells a true story, and teaches us that even if a family looks as if it may be perfect, it doesn't mean that it is.

Outstanding.
Musfera in Esopus

GIRL, HERO by Carrie Jones

Lily is a teenage girl who lost her beloved stepfather three years ago, which left her with just her passive mother. Her real father doesn't live too far away, but Lily is worried about his baby-blue stockings and bejeweled anklet. Add in the insecurity of her first year of high school, an old best friend who isn't the way she used to be and worse still -- a brother-in-law who is battering her sister. As if that's not enough to deal with, her mother gets a loser boyfriend. When Lily takes part in the school musical life seems to get a little bit better, but things from her past threaten her future.

This book shows you how to help yourself when you have huge problems. It teaches you that sometimes you have to be your own hero and stop depending on others -- sometimes the only person who can help is yourself.

Recommended.
Musfera in Esopus

BOUNCE by Natasha Friend

Evyn has always wished for a mother. But when her dad marries Elenia a single woman with six kids, it wasn't what she was expecting. Bounce is about Evyn trying to deal with things and trying to express herself in this crazy world of chaos.

This book encourages the reader to be yourself. This is a light, fun, beach read book that's simple, short and lots of fun, so I would recommend it to a friend. It's a great book to take a break with if you've just read a lot of really serious books.

Good.
Erica in Esopus

Evyn is a 13-year-old girl who has lost her mother and now her father is getting married to a woman with six kids of her own. Evyn and her brother Mackey are moving to Boston with the new family and are forced to have a relationship with this new assortment of people. To make things worse, she falls in love with her 20-year-old soon-to-be stepbrother -- and has to live with a stepmother she can't stand.

This is a good book that helps show the reader that you can manage your life even when it seems to be uncontrollable.

Recommended.
Musfera in Esopus

WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor

Addie is a twelve year old girl whose mother gets charged with child endangerment multiple times. All she wants is to be normal but it takes a disaster to get there.

It was a very good book with an eye opening view on what not to do.


Recommended
Joe G in Esopus