If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Forman, Gayle. If I Stay. New York: Dutton, 2009. Print.

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Annotation:  Mia is in a coma after a car accident that kills her whole family, she can hear everything that goes on around her.  Mia has a choice to make should she stay here on earth or go and hopefully join her family wherever they are.

Booktalk:

"This cannot be happening. We are a family, going on a drive. This isn't real. I must have fallen asleep in the car."

I have a great life. I've been accepted to Juilliard to play the cello. I have the cool parents that everyone wants and a little brother I adore and a boyfriend who gets me.  But everything changed one February morning. On a family drive a semi-truck collided with our car.  They say I'm in a coma, I can see myself lying in the hospital bed, I can see and hear everyone who visits.  I have a choice to make.  What happens If I Stay?

"If I Say is one of my favorite books.  I got all my friends to read it."  Lyla S. age 15

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls

Nicholls, Sally. Ways to Live Forever. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print. 

Annotation: Eleven year old Sam McQueen is dying.  He is writing a book of facts, stories and experiences before he dies. 

Booktalk:

I am writing a book.  A collection of lists, questions and facts. 

1. My name is Sam
2. I am eleven years old
3. I collect stories and fantastic facts
4. I have lukemia
5. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead

This book is the last thing I want to complete before I die.  Once you read it you will know me, Sam McQueen. This book is one of my Ways to Live Forever. 

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"Ways to Live Forever was really good.  I cried a lot."  Taylor P. age 12 

Waterstone Children's Book Prize

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Sonnenblick, Jordan. After Ever After. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print.

Annotation: Jeffrey Alper's is cancer free but not trouble free, his big brother is gone, his best friend is keeping secrets from him and he is struggling with prep for the state tests.

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Booktalk:
Ever wondered what comes after Happily Ever After? Jeffrey Alper is living After Ever After.  His cancer is in remission but he still suffers from "late effects", the wonderful things that chemotherapy and radiation do to a body besides kill the cancer.  His big brother who was always there when he was sick has gone off to Africa to join a drum circle and can't be reached.  Despite the bad stuff, (late effects and no brotherly advise) Jeffrey thinks that 8th grade will be his year to be normal, just one of the guys.  There is even a cute new girl who might like him.  But life doesn't always go the way we hope.
"Now I am not just Jeffrey Alper, struggling eighth grader.  Since all this stuff has hit the fan, for the second time in my life, I am Jeffrey Alper, Official Town Cause. Go, me."  Check out this book to discover what comes After Ever After.

Schneider Family Book Award 2011

"I recommend After Ever After because it is funny and sad at the same time."  -Cameron T.  age 13

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Green, John. Looking for Alaska.  New York: Dutton, 2005. Print.

Annotation:  Miles Halter is in his first year at Culver Creek Prep where he meets Alaska, a girl that is perfect in his mind.  Miles wants Alaska to be his girlfriend but that might not be what she wants.

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Booktalk:

Miles Halter is new to Culver Creek Prepatory School.  He is immediately drawn to Alaska Young.  Alaska is sexy, mysterious, funny and a bit crazy.  Miles is enamoured of Alaska. She has opened Miles's eyes and now that he has met her he sees the world in a wholly different way.  After Culver Creek and Alaska life will never be the same.  Will Miles be forever Looking for Alaska?

Winner of the 2006 Printz Award
Finalist, 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2006 Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
2006 Teens’ Top 10 Award
2006 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A Booklist Editor’s Choice Pick
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
Borders Original Voices Selection 

Walking on Glass by Alma Fullerton

Fullerton, Alma.  Walking on Glass. New York: Harper, 2007. Print.

Annotation:  An unnamed teen is trying to come to terms with his mother's suicide attempt.

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Booktalk:

God, Forgive me
The thought of my own mother
dying
shouldn't leave the taste of
freedom
in my mouth

Murder
The unlawful killing of a human
being
with malice
afore thought
I'm thinking about it
Does that make it
murder?

I found her like that, I saved her but maybe it would have been better to let her go.  Dad thinks she will get better. Mom is gone but her body is still tied to the earth. Is setting her free murder or mercy? How do I decide?

"If you like books like Ellen Hopkins you'll like this one." -Jonathan S. age 15

By the Time You Read This I'll Be Dead by Julie Peters

Peters, Julie. By the Time You Read This I'll Be Dead. New York: Hyperion, 2010. Print.

Annotation:  Daelyn has been bullied so much that she is searching for a way to end her life, while she is waiting for the right time to kill herself she meets a guy who won't leave her alone.  She finds herself starting to care for him and maybe finding a reason to live.

Daelyn Rice is counting down the days until her Date of Determination.  She is a member of Through the Light a social network of people planning to commit suicide.  Daelyn has attempted to kill herself 12 times before, she is determined not to fail this tie.  There is only one thing standing in her way, a persistent boy who is starting to get to her.  He is starting to make her feel.  As her Date of Determination moves closer Daelyn has to choose: stay or go. What will she decide?

 An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2011

 Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best List 2010

An ALA Popular Paperback for YA: Sticks and Stones category

  An ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nomination, 2011

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"I liked how you didn't really know what happens at the end, you can decide"

-Jeanie Y.   age 17

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

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Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Print.


Annotation:  Christopher Shields an autistic 15 year old is accused of killing his neighbor's dog leading him to try to solve the mystery.  He uncovers more than he expected in his search.


Booktalk: 
Fifteen year old Christopher finds his neighbor's dog Wellington dead on her front lawn at seven minutes after midnight. He decides he must find the killer because he liked Wellington and "when someone gets murdered you have to find out who did it so that they can be punished". Christopher is autistic. He is fascinated by prime numbers and is supremely logical but to him human emotion is utterly incomprehensible. The novel is a first person account of Christopher's investigation which will open old wounds and expose secrets. It offers a portrayal of a mind that experiences the world in pure logic, an engrossing tale of mystery, lies and the chaos of life among illogical beings.


2004 Boeke Prize Winer
2003 Whitebread Book of the Year

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis:The Story of a Childhood. New York: Pantheon, 2003. Print.


Annotation:  The semi-autobiographical graphic novel of Marjane Satrapi's childhood in Iran.  It shows all the good and the bad of being stuck in the middle of all the fighting.

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Booktalk:

Persepolis is the tale of one girl's childhood in Iran from 1980 until 1984.  In the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution Mari is a member of a wealthy and educated family living under Islamic rule.  Satrapi offers an insider's view of Iran in the early '80's.  This graphic novel is at once funny and heartbreaking.  It is a portrait of open rebellion and the small quiet rebellions that takes place under the guise of conformity. 

Winner of the Angouleme Coup de Coeur Award
Winner 2004 ALA Alex AwardWinner YALSA Best Books for Young AdultsWinner Booklist Editor's Choice for Young AdultsWinner New York Public Library Books for the Teen AgeWinner School Library Journal Adult Books for Young Adults 

Interview with the author about the movie made from both Persepolis books.  

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

Coerr, Eleanor. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1977. Print.
Annotation: Sadako Sasaki is sick with cancer, she is trying to fold a thousand paper cranes, if she does her wish to get well will come true.

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Booktalk:
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is the true story of Sadako Sasaki, hero of the children of Japan.  Sadako became a symbol of strength and peace because of her courage in facing death.  Sadako died of leukemia as an effect of radiation from the atomic bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima.  This short book is her story which serves as a story of all of the many children that died as a result of the bombing.

Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel

McDaniel, Lurlene. Breathless. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. Print.

Annotation:  This story told from multiple points of view is about how far people will go someone they love.

Booktalk:
Travis has it all. He is a champion diver, popular at school, has a girlfriend, Darla, who he loves, a loyal best friend Cooper and a kid sister, Emily, who he likes to hang out with.  An accident sets in motion a chain of events that none of them could predict.  Loyalty, friendship and love will be tested.  Travis will ask all of them for the unthinkable.  The question will leave you Breathless.

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The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

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Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Penguin, 2012. Print. 

Annotation:  Hazel and Augustus, two cancer patients fall in love and learn about loss.

Booktalk:
Hazel Grace Lancaster is dying.  The fact is undeniable, but while not in remission, an experimental drug has halted the progress of her cancer indefinitely.  At a support group for kids with cancer she meets Augustus Waters.  He is hansom, smart, funny and understands what it is to live with cancer.  Hazel Grace and Augustus visit the Netherlands searching for answers from the author of their favorite book.  Along the way they discover the love of their lives. 

"Almost everyone is obsessed with leaving a mark upon the world.  Bequeathing a legacy. Outlasting death.  We all want to be remembered. I do, too.  That's what bothers me most, is being another unremembered casualty in the ancient and inglorious war against disease.  I want to leave a mark.  But... The marks humans leave are too often scars.  You build a hideous minimall or start a coup or try to become a rock star and you think, "They'll remember me now," but (a) they don't remember you, and (b) all you leave behind are scars.  Your coup becomes a dictatorship. Your minimall becomes a lesion."

The story of Hazel and Augustus is a tale of love, of dying, and of the scars we leave.

Watch author John Green read the entire first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars.