PSLA
TITLES FOR 2005 FICTION
Abbott, Hailey.
Next Summer.
The second in a Summer Boys Novel series with two
sisters and a cousin spending their summer in
Abraham, Susan Gonzales and Denise Gonzales
Abraham. Surprising Cecelia.
0-938317-96-2
. 230p.
$16.95. Gr. 5-8.
The novel recounts Cecilia’s
freshman year, from her first days when she was so excited to go to high school
but also embarrassed by her farm clothes and shoes. Cecilia struggles to do
both her schoolwork and household chores while meeting new friends and joining
school activities. Her desire to be a good student in order to go on to school
in
Abrahams,
Peter. Down the Rabbit Hole: An
2005. 0-06-073701-8. 375p.
$15.99. Gr. 5-8.
Thirteen year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill, an avid
Sherlock Holmes fan as well as lover of the theater (being an actress herself),
walked to soccer practice one day and got lost on her way. She ended up at the home of an odd, elderly
woman, “Cracked-Up Katie”, who helped Ingrid out by calling her a taxi to get
home. In her rush to get home, Ingrid
left her red soccer sneakers at the woman’s house. Ingrid learned the next day that the very
same “Cracked-Up Katie” was murdered, but she was afraid to come forward with
information because she feared getting into trouble with her mother. The story intertwines with Ingrid’s being
cast as Alice in the neighborhood production of “Alice in Wonderland”; and
Ingrid begins to feel like Alice plummeting down the rabbit hole when she tries
to solve the murder case on her own, using Sherlock Holmes as her guide. The playhouse and its history, the director
of the play, Cracked-up Katie, and those darned red soccer cleats all become
integral parts of this murder mystery. A
real page turner, and great fun to read!
Mystery. Jo Ann Supplee, Administrative Asst.,
Adlington, L. J.
The Diary of Pelly D.
Gr. 8-12.
On a planet settled by
genetically enhanced people, teenager Tony V discovers Pelly D’s diary while
working with his demolition crew. He
lives with a work group, traveling from city to city clearing the rubble from
the recent war. Since all discoveries must be reported, he begins to read the
diary in secret.
Science Fiction, Holocaust. Michelle Stone
Aida, Yu. Gunslinger
Girl: Volume 2.
Gr.
10-Adult.
In a war
against terrorists, how far are people willing to go? This thought-provoking
manga thriller, sparsely drawn in black and white, is a tale about a select
group of teenage girls transformed into cyborgs by an undercover arm of the
Italian government. Strengthened with prosthetics, rigorous training and
brainwashed of all childlike emotions, these young assassins are sent to stop a
mad bomber and rescue a man from an underground organization. Interspersed
between all the violence are touching moments when the girls remember their
humanity. This unusual tale will have
readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Graphic novel. Terrorists. Science Fiction. Randi Wall, Librarian, Cheltanham H.S
Akamatsu, Ken. Negima!
Gr. 10+.
Negima
is a ten year old teacher at an all girls school who is trying to become a
magister magi. His magical skills and
his students get himself into trouble, but somehow he manages to pull through
alive. The artistic style of Akamatsu is
uniquely drawn and the storylines are enjoyable. Negima does get himself into very
compromising positions with his students and there is nudity in multiple
scenes, but it is marked on the book cover for mature audiences, ages sixteen
and up so readers are forewarned. Negima
is still a comedic novel despite certain content and readers with romantic
inclinations will particularly enjoy it.
Graphic Novel (Manga). Andrea Ridgley, 11th
grade,
Alison, Jane. Natives and Exotics.
Enchanting tale using several
generations of a family to examine the impact of colonization in the Western
hemisphere. The family, uprooted from
its Scottish isle as imperialists brutally cleared the land for sheep herding,
attempt to make a place for themselves in the Portuguese Azores, then Australia
and finally in South America as part of the American diplomatic corps. Natives and Exotics attempts to
address the question of what it means to belong, and what it means to be moral,
in an ever-changing world. Historical Fiction. Tiffany Clark
Alton,
Steve. The Firehills.
Wiccan lore and Celtic
legend intertwine in this follow-up to The Malifex (2002). Charly, Sam, and Amergin call on their
special powers to battle the last of the Faerie people for control of the
world. Suspense and a fast-paced adventure;
recommended for libraries where the first book is popular. Fantasy.
Candy Blessing
Anderson,
M. T. Whales on Stilts.
What
is a girl to do when she goes to work with her father on Career Day, to the
Abandoned Warehouse that is full of guards, where she meets his boss with the
blue rubbery hand who wears a “pin –striped suit, very natty, with a grain sack
over his head with two holes cut out for his eyes”, and the boss announces that
he plans to take over the world by next month?
She calls upon her friends Katie Mulligan, who lives in Horror Hollow
and is the heroine of her own adventure series of books about “zombies,
werewolves, and flesh-eating viruses”, and Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, who
also has a series of books written about his exploits. Together Lily and her friends must save their
town, the state capital, and the world from destruction by the whales on stilts.
Constance
Roupp
Anderson, M. T.
Whales on Stilts.
M.T. Anderson brings this
thrilling tale of an alternative world where the boss wears a bag over his head
and has flippers, cools off by dumping water over his head and copy machines
are mule-powered. Visiting her father at his office, twelve-year old Lily comes
to realize that her dad’s boss is an evil genius about to set an army of
laser-firing whales on stilts out to conquer the world. This humorous, improbable novel will work as
a read-aloud. Sandra
Krieg
Anderson, M.T. Whales
on Stilts.
Twelve year old Lily Gefelty
and her best friends, Jasper Dash and Kate Mulligan, team up to rid their world
of dastardly invaders, whales on stilts. This is not at all unusual in a
neighborhood that is used to “vampires, madmen, flying saucers, and Bigfeet.”
Even so, the authorities do not believe Lily and her friends, and neither does
Lily’s dad, who works for the boss whale and the company that manufactures
stilts for whales. This tongue in cheek, off the wall science fiction requires
readers to suspend belief in the ordinary and to just have fun with the plot,
the illustrations and the author’s asides.
Science Fiction. Rosanne Zajko
Asakura, George. A
Perfect Pay for Love Letters. 1.
0-345-48266-2. unpaged.
$10.95. Gr. 9-12.
Basically,
Love Letters is a book with five
short love stories, all of which have to do with letters and such. The art in the book was exaggerated and a bit
different from the usual stereotype of anime and manga. It just didn’t quite appeal to me. The stories, however, were an entirely
different thing. Each story was
heartwarming and filled with romance.
There’s not a lot of mature content, but it would be a lie to say there
isn’t any. Graphic Novel (Manga). Melody
Yoo, 9th grade,
Bailey,
Tom. The
Grace That Keeps This World.
This
is a beautifully written story of family love that takes place in the
Adirondack region of upstate
Banks, Kate. Friends of the Heart: Amici del Cuore.
144p.
$14.95. YA.
Ollie and Lucrezia have been friends since birth. They
are also soul mates. As the story
progresses, the reader has the
sense of impending doom in the character’s perfect
world. The story is beautifully written with a kind of romanticism that
is not often seen today. To further illustrate this
point, there is senseless tragedy at the end. Even so, the family bonds of
friendship help keep the survivors strong. Friendship.
Banks, Lynne
Reid. Tiger, Tiger.
Two tiger cubs
are captured and brought to
Bateman, Colin.
Bring Me the Head of Oliver
Plunkett.
Sequel to Running with the Reservoir Pups, this book finds Eddie at a
private school in
Bauer, Marion Dane. A Bear Named Trouble.
Gr.
4-6.
This tender story of an
abandoned bear and the young boy who saves him from being put down will
interest animal lovers from the first page.
It is based on a true story of a bear from
Bechard, Margaret. Spacer and the Rat.
$16.95. Gr 7+.
The future in
this novel is bleak. Famines on Earth drive people to migrate into space where
they are looked down upon by the colonists who got there first. Parents abandon
their children when their money runs out knowing that the space station will
ship them back to earth. Some avoid capture and survive on their own. They are
called Rats. Jack has lived in space his entire life and is about to
start a new job. He run's into rat who complicates his life and challenges his
prejudices. Science Fiction . Barb Wray
Belgue,
Nancy. Summer on the Run.
Gr. 5-9.
It is 1931, and 10-year-old
Doris Stanley and 13-year-old Douglas Stanley, along with their mother, are
experiencing the hardships of the Depression.
Just as the summer is beginning,
Bennett, Holly. The Bonemender.
Gabrielle is an
unusual human. She’s a healer with the ability to mentally go inside her
patient and heal from the inside out. In
a twist of events she helps some elves and falls in love with Féolan, of the
Elves of Stonewater. They know it can’t
work so they part ways. War brings them together again to face their
common enemy; Gabrielle faces the death of a family member and is captured by
enemy forces. Fantasy. Ginger Bardi
Bennett,
Holly. The Bonemender.
A healer and daughter of
the King of Verdeau, Gabrielle has accepted that she will remain
unmarried. Her unexpected attraction to
the stranger who brings news of a coming invasion must be guided by the
knowledge that he is an Elf, and will live hundreds of years longer than
she. The characters are engaging in
this blend of romance and fantasy. Romance.
Candy Blessing
Berg,
Elizabeth. We Are All Welcome Here –
a Novel. NY: Random House, 2006. 1-40006-161-X. 187p.
$19.50.
Gr. AD.
Fans of Elizabeth Berg
will line up to read her latest novel, a story told by thirteen-year-old Diana
Dunn, whose mother Paige is paralyzed by polio contracted during her
pregnancy. Typically strong female
characters triumph over adversity: divorce, social workers, growing pains, and
racism of 1964
Black, Holly. Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie.
Gr.
9-12.
Another
winner by Holly Black! The underworld of
Fairie is still as dark and enticing as in Black’s first book, Tithe. Val is a normal seventeen year
old whose world is rocked when she stumbles upon her boyfriend and mother in an
embrace. She runs away and is befriended
by other teens that live in tunnels under the subway and make potion deliveries
fairies. The gripping plot will
intoxicate the teen fantasy reader with murder and edgy darkness.
Fantasy. B. J. Neary
Blacker,
Terence. Boy 2 Girl.
Romeo and Juliet set in the
present day, with a twist. Sephy is a
Cross, a member of the black ruling class in what appears to be
Bondoux,
Anne-Laure. The Second Life of Linus
Hoppe. NY: Delacorte Press,
2005. 0-385-90256-5. 200p.
$19.42.
Gr. 5-9.
When 14-year-old Linus
switches exam scores, trading his privileged Realm One existence for the
working class of Realm Two he finds himself facing a brutal future. Then a member of the underground movement
opposing the caste system rescues him.
Translated from the French, and may leave anyone who’s not read The
Destiny of Linus Hoppe. lost.
Science Fiction. Candy Blessing
Bonners,
Susan. The Vanishing Point.
Gr. 5-8.
Life
is changing quickly for young Kate Harris.
Her father is having back surgery, one sister is having a baby, and her
other sister is teaching at a riding school for the summer. Kate foregoes her traditional summer with her
grandparents and goes instead to spend the summer in a
Brashares, Ann.
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer
of the Sisterhood.
0-385-72935-9. 338p.
$16.95. Gr. 8-12.
This third book in the series
continues the entertaining story of the friendship between Tibby, Carmen,
Bray,
Libba. Rebel Angels. NY: Delacorte, 2005. 0-385-73029-2. 548p.
$14.40. Gr. YA.
Equal parts adventure,
romance and magic shape this novel as Gemma and her friends from the
Bray,
Libba. Rebel Angels.
A companion to A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003), Rebel Angels continues the story of
Gemma Doyle and her
Broach, Elise. Shakespeare’s Secret. NY: Henry Holt and Co., 2005. 0-8050-7387-6. 250p.
$16.95. Gr. 4-7.
Going to a new school is hard
enough even if you weren’t named Hero after a character from Shakespeare’s play
Much Ado About Nothing. While
resigned to the teasing that she will have to endure in the beginning of the
school year, Hero meets her neighbor, Mrs. Roth, and is drawn into a mystery
involving her family’s new home and a valuable necklace. The hunky son of the police chief volunteers
to help Hero search for the missing diamond and Hero becomes the envy of the
cool crowd. Share this with fans of Chasing Vermeer. Mystery,
Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, and Friendships.
Sandra Krieg
On his way to see a medical
specialist, Joe Beck runs into a beautiful young girl whom he is immediately
attracted to. Later, he sees the same
girl in a MacDonalds where he buys her a donut.
So begins Joe’s tragic relationship with the prostitute and drug addict,
Candy. As Joe’s involvement gets deeper and deeper, so does the danger. At one point, he is holed up in the country
with Candy when her pimp calls and threatens the life of Joe’s sister. While the writing and dialogue of this book
is not great, the story is compelling and will hold the attention of most young
adults. Drug Addiction, Prostitution, Family Relationships. Pat Bender
0345451120. 368p.
$26.95. Gr. 8-Adult.
Within Terry Brooks' fantasy Straken: High Druid of Shannara lies an
impressively creative addition to the long series of Shannara books. Brooks'
method of sustaining suspense throughout is to have characters ask questions
about the future that portray doubt, an effective way to fasten the reader to
the plot. The book is somewhat difficult
to understand in the beginning without having read the preceding books of the
series. However, battles rage, and the
climax at the end roils the blood as one has been hungrily anticipating one
great confrontation. J.S.
Student, The
Bruchac, Joseph.
Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World
War Two.
0-8037-2921-9. 231p.
$14.98. Gr. 5+.
This is the story of sixteen
year old Ned Begay, who enlists in the Marines to escape the Navajo mission
school. Life in the school taught Ned that honoring his ancestral ways was not
the way to be a “real” American. He quickly learns that the Army intends to
make use of his native language. Although kept secret until recently, the code
talkers provided invaluable service to this country and helped in the victories
in World War Two. Bruchac’s
characterizations and plot hold the reader’s interest, while the
well-researched history adds a new layer to stories about this era. Highly
recommended.
Navajo Indians/Cryptography Fiction/World War,
1939-1945 Fiction. Ilene Goldis
Bruchac, Joseph.
Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World
War Two.
0-8037-2921-9. 231p.
$14.98. Gr. 5+.
Ned Begay tells his story to
his grandchildren. He was 16 years old
when he illegally enlisted in the Marines to become a Navajo Code Talker during
World War II. The Navajo’s were
recruited to serve in order to use their native language to create an
unbreakable code. Ned attended a Navajo
mission school until his enlistment, and was taught that everything Indian was
bad. He learns in the Marines that it
is okay to treasure the language and culture of his people. World
War II Cryptology, Navajo Language. Susan Krenicky
Bruchac, Joseph.
Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World
War Two.
0-8037-2921-9. 231p.
$14.98. Gr. 5+.
This fictional story reads
like nonfiction. Navajo Ned Begay joins the Marines in WWII to
become a code talker. Ned tells his
story to his grandchildren. It is that
of a boy sent to a school off the reservation, forbidden to use his native
language, he learns to read and write English all the while secretly speaking
Navajo. Later on this makes him and many
other Navajos, secret heroes. Without
their help many of the Pacific battles would have not been won. Bruchac engages the reader not only in Ned’s
story, but also in the historical treatment of Native Americans and in the
War. This book makes the war become real
with rich description. This is would make an excellent extension to social studies
units.
Native Americans, World War II, Historical Fiction. Jeannie Bellavance
Buckhanon, Kalisha.
Upstate: A Novel. St. Martin’s Press, 2005. 0312332688.
256p. $10.05. Grades 10+.
The epistolatory novel
presents a decade of correspondence between
Butcher,
Nancy. Beauty.
Shades of Snow White!
Queen Veda of Ran obeys the wishes of her Beauty Consultant in all
things, just as her mother counseled.
After all, it is by his advice that she remained the most beautiful
woman in the realm. And her daughter,
Ana, has found out the hard way that the only way to retain her mother’s love
is become as ugly as possible, not bathing, overeating. But the day comes when she and the most
beautiful girls in the realm are invited to attend a new exclusive academy for
young women. But there is something
sinister going on at the academy, and Ana must make some painful
decisions. A fun, fast read with
surprisingly well-drawn characters. Fantasy. Pat Naismith
$14.95. Gr.
6-8.
In search of the father that
disappeared from her life ten years before, Samantha begins to suspect that her
twin sister, who supposedly drowned when they were three, is still alive. When
Samantha finds her father, she soon realizes she may lose him again when the
authorities discover that he had abducted her twin sister and allowed everyone
to think that she had died. A thought-provoking, realistic portrayal of child
custody issues. Family. Missing
Persons. Mystery.
Elizabeth McChesney
Butler, Octavia E.
Fledgling: a Novel.
If vampires are a favorite
subject and science fiction is a favorite genre, then Fledgling is the book for
you. Written by Nebula Award winner, Octavia Butler, this novel moves
effortlessly through the discovery of Shori being a vampire to the explanation
of why she and others like her are able to function in an almost human way.
Light does not “burn” her and she looks like she is a young girl, although she
is really fifty-three. We learn that she is an Ina, a race of vampires
genetically engineered to “walk in the light.” Her family has been destroyed by
someone who is terrified of her “uniqueness.” Although her dark skin enables
her to endure the light, Shori must still feed on fresh human blood supplied by
people who are symbionts. This story takes the classic gothic romance figure
and adds the modern twist of science fiction. Readers will enjoy this
benevolent vampire character. School
librarians should be aware of a very suggestive sexual relationship in the
book. Horror. Psychological Fiction. Ilene Goldis
Caletti, Deb. Wild
Roses.
Cassie Morgan‘s
mother left her father to marry a world famous musical genius, Dino Caveli. Her
mother is a gifted cellist in her own right. Their lives are controlled by the
madness of her stepfather. As he sinks deeper into depression and paranoia,
Cassie fears for her mother. A young violinist comes to study with Dino. Cassie
falls in love with Ian but is accused of distracting him from his music. Is
Dino who he claims to be? Well drawn characters make this a worthwhile
read. Mental Illness, Divorce.
Barb Wray
Caletti, Deb. Wild
Roses.
When Cassie Morgan’s mother
has an affair and remarries the mad, musical genius, Dino Cavalli, Cassie tries
to make herself as unobtrusive as possible so as not to encourage his wrath,
especially when her stepfather is composing. An impending deadline adds more
stress to the situation, and when Dino takes on a young protégé, Ian Waters,
Cassie tries to fight her attraction to the young violinist. When Ian breaks
his arm while on a secret date with Cassie, Dino’s mental state declines
further. This well-written book looks at
the problems of remarriage, mental illness and its effects on a sensitive
teenage girl in a realistic and sometimes humorous way. Divorce, Family Relationships, Mental Illness. Pat Bender
Carlson, Melody.
Burnt
Both the above titles deal
with very realistic teenage situations. The first deals with thoughts of
suicide, while in the second, the subject is teenage alcoholism. Carlson uses
realistic language and situation to reach her readers. Ultimately, the main
characters make decisions that will help them grow. They overcome peer
pressures and loneliness and find a way through their pain. These titles may be
too “realistic” for some libraries, especially middle school although they do
not contain questionable language. Some of the language does tend to be
“preachy.” The author has included both print and web resources on these
important teen issues. Realistic Fiction/Teen Issues. Ilene Goldis
Carman, Patrick.
Beyond the Valley of the
Thorns.
Gr. 7-12.
This sequel to The Dark Hills Divide is for fantasy fans who enjoy a young
protagonist, talking animals, medieval-type cities, and the eternal struggle
between good and evil. Alexa Daley, who thought her father’s and her city’s
enemies were defeated for good, must now gather her allies and leave her city
to fight in dangerous unknown
territories to save her land. She and her friends must avoid being eaten by
vicious bats, savaged by wild dogs, and slain by evil giants while fighting to
save lives and the last “Jocasta”, a magic stone which allows humans and
animals to communicate. A definite purchase for Harry Potter fans. Fantasy.
Nancy
Chrismer
Carman, Patrick. The Dark Hills Divide.
Twelve year old
Alexa dreams of what lies beyond the walls that surround her world. The death
of a mayor leads to a series of events that opens a path to the outside world.
She encounters magic as she struggles to unravel a conspiracy to destroy Elyon.
This is the first book in the Elyon trilogy.
Carman, Patrick. Beyond the Valley of the Thorns.
Gr.
4-8.
One year later,
Alexa receives a letter that sends her on an adventure to save her world. Giant
ogres stand between her goals. Fantasy. Barb Wray
Carter, Dorothy.
Grandma’s General Store: The
135p.
$16.00. Gr. 5-7.
Living in Florida in the
1930’s, seven-year-old Prince and his five year old sister Pearl are happy and
care-free until their parents move north in search of better jobs. They are
left in
Carvell, Marlene.
Sweetgrass Basket.
Taking place in 1879, this
moving historical fiction novel tells the aching plight of two Mohawk sisters
who are sent to the
Castellani, Christopher. The
Saint of Lost Things.
Gr.
10-A.
An Italian immigrant family
making the best of things in the
Castellucci, Cecil.
Boy Proof.
Victoria Jurgan, a high
school senior living in
Chapman, Karen
B. The
Inc., 2005.
0-7645-7831-6. 326p. $12.99.
Gr. 9-12.
For college-bound students who are anxious about taking the
Chapman, Karen B.
The Marino
Vocabulary
Words.
This is a cleverly written
novel that uses teenage angst to provide practice for the important vocabulary
words found in the
Ilene
Goldis
Cheng, Andrea. The
Lace Dowry.
Juli, a 12-year-old Hungarian
girl, wants only to keep dreaming about herself as a successful career woman,
but her mother wants her to prepare for marriage. Juli does not want the
expensive lace tablecloth that her mother has commissioned for her dowry, nor
does she want the dancing lessons that her mother insists she has. But Juli
finds a friend in the lacemaker's daughter, and rebels against her parents by
helping the lacemaker's family. An excellent multi-cultural and family
story. Family. Nancy Chrismer
Cheng, Andrea. The Lace Dowry.
12-year-old Juli can’t
understand why her mother insists on investing huge sums of money in a lace
tablecloth for her dowry when she has other plans for her future. Juli befriends Roza, a Hungarian lacemaker
yet their different backgrounds cause tension as well. Readers can relate to Juli’s narrative and
struggle to understand her mother, her friend, and her own emotions. Fascinating details on the art and history of
lacemaking. Historical Fiction. Mary Buxton
Cheng, Andrea and Ed Young. Shanghai Messenger.
$17.95. Gr. 5-8.
Eleven-year
old Xiao Mei is off to
Rosanne
Zajko
Clamp. Tsubasa
Vol. 1.