LLBC+Choices+Feb+2012

__** MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN **__

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in //Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children//, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, //Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children// will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows. media type="youtube" key="XWrNyVhSJUU" height="315" width="560" by John Green
 * __ The Fault in Our Stars __**

He's in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She's fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited. Sparks fly when Hazel Grace Lancaster spies Augustus "Gus" Waters checking her out across the room in a group-therapy session for teens living with cancer. He's a gorgeous, confident, intelligent amputee who always loses video games because he tries to save everyone. She's smart, snarky and 16; she goes to community college and jokingly calls Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book, //An Imperial Affliction//, her only friend besides her parents. He asks her over, and they swap novels. He agrees to read the Van Houten and she agrees to read his--based on his favorite bloodbath-filled video game. The two become connected at the hip, and what follows is a smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance. From their trip to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive Van Houten to their hilariously flirty repartee, readers will swoon on nearly every page. Green's signature style shines: His carefully structured dialogue and razor-sharp characters brim with genuine intellect, humor and desire. He takes on Big Questions that might feel heavy handed in the words of any other author: What do oblivion and living mean? Then he deftly parries them with humor: "My nostalgia is so extreme that I am capable of missing a swing my butt never actually touched." Dog-earing of pages will no doubt ensue. Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus' poignant journey. //(Fiction. 15 & up)//
 * Kirkus Reviews **

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__**Yummy : THE LAST DAYS OF A SOUTHSIDE SHORTY **__ By G. Neri

Based on the 1994 events that happened in a Chicago South Side neighborhood, this graphic dramatization recounts the gang-related killing of 14-year-old Shavon Dean. Narrated by Roger, a fictional classmate, the story follows 11-year-old Robert "Yummy" Sanifer as he eludes police for three days after his gang initiation takes a tragic turn. Searching for the truth, Roger begins to investigate Yummy's life, but his journey results in only more questions. Accompanied by illustrator Randy DuBurke's evocative renderings, Neri's book takes a "much-needed look at the terrifying perils of life on the margins that will have all readers pondering the heady question of moral responsibility" (KIRK).

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__**Scars**__
By Cheryl Rainfield

Fifteen-year-old Kendra realizes that she is being stalked by the man that sexually abused her for several years. Her abuser, whom Kendra is unable to identify due to the trauma she suffered, wants to silence her and instill fear. While Kendra resorts to cutting herself to cope with the pain, she becomes friends and falls in love with promiscuous classmate Meghan. As Kendra opens up to her therapist, gay mentor, teacher and Meghan, she is able to recover her memories and uncover her abuser's identity. School Library Journal declares, "This is one heck of a good book!" Teens dealing with self-mutilation, sexual abuse, same-sex relationships and more will appreciate the extensive list of resources included. media type="youtube" key="lF5xEKY0LAU" height="315" width="420"

**THREE QUARTERS DEAD**

By Richard Peck

Being the new girl at school is rough. But when the popular girls choose Kerry as the newest member of their ultra-exclusive clique, she thinks her troubles are finally finished. When her three new friends are killed in a horrifying car crash, her life seems over as well. But then the texts begin. . ..

Richard Peck returns to his contemporary teen- and ghost-story roots in this suspenseful page-turner with a subtle commentary on peer pressure that fans of television dramas such as //Pretty Little Liars// and //Vampire Diaries// will devour.

__** WHERE SHE WENT **__ By Gayle Forman

Set three years after Forman's previous novel, “If I Stay” (2009), this follow-up allows readers to see events unfold from Adam's perspective. Still upset over the the fact that Mia, his former girlfriend, left him soon after awakening from her coma, Adam has used his emotions to fuel his songwriting. As a result, he has managed to become a famous rock star, yet continues to feel a gaping hole in his life that refuses to heal. Mia, meanwhile, is advancing her own career as a cellist, and when a chance meeting brings the pair face-to-face in New York, fate awards them one last chance to set things straight and forge a future together. “ Fans of the exceptional first novel won't be able to put this one down” (SLJ).

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