Title: Flipped
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Number of Pages: 224
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 13/8th grade
Language: no profanity
Sex: none at all
Drug/Alcohol Use: adults drink wine at a party
Violence: none
Social Issues: first love, unrequited love, standing up to friends, lying, discovery of parental fallibility, family member with a mental disability
Suggested Movie Grade: G
Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Penguin Group
Number of Pages: 224
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 14/9th grade
Language: no profanity
Sex: main character is raped but the act is never described
Drug/Alcohol Use: main character drinks beer in an episode that is only referred to, not described
Violence: main character is attacked by her rapist and nearly raped again
Social Issues: teen depression, rape, friendlessness, abandonment by friends, delinquency
Suggested Movie Grade: PG-13
Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Number of Pages: 480
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 18 years/NA
Language: no profanity
Sex: main characters have sex that is not graphically described
Drug/Alcohol Use: none
Violence: extreme – main characters are fighters and kill their enemies
Social Issues: independence, standing up for one’s self, doing what’s right, first love, protecting the weak, xenophobia, discrimination, abuse of power
Suggested Movie Grade: PG-13
Title: Beastly
Author: Alex Flinn
Publisher: Harper Teen
Number of Pages: 300
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 14 years at the beginning of the story/Freshman in high school
Language: no profanity
Sex: kissing and allusions to sex
Drug/Alcohol Use: main character and his girlfriend drink vodka after a dance, one character has a drug addicted parent
Violence: allusions to sexual assault but no actual events, main character attacks a drug pusher when his girlfriend is threatened
Social Issues: bullying and mean behaviour, using appearances to judge others, parental neglect, drug addiction, kidnapping, witchcraft and magic
Suggested Movie Grade: PG
Title: Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived the Seventh Grade)
Author: Denise Vega
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Number of Pages: 224
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 12 years/7th grader
Language: no profanity
Sex: kissing
Drug/Alcohol Use: main character’s older brother “appears” to be drunk, but no alcohol or drug use depicted
Violence: main character punches a mean girl when the girl makes fun of her but she is punished for this behaviour
Social Issues: bullying, peer pressure, learning to stand up for yourself, crushes, mean-girl behaviour, being publicly embarrassed, making new friends
Suggested Movie Grade: PG
Title: Megan Meade’s Guide to the McGowan Boys
Author: Kate Brian
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Number of Pages: 272
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 16 years/Junior in High School
Language: mild profanity
Sex: sex between two characters is described with no explicit detail only as a “rumor” passed between students
Drug/Alcohol Use: teens consume beer, one secondary character becomes drunk at a party
Violence: fist fight between brothers
Social Issues: bullying, loyalty between family members, first feelings of love, Aspergers Syndrome, sibling rivalry, problem of spreading rumors and lies
Suggested Movie Grade: PG-13
Title: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Author: Tom Angleberger
Publisher: Amulet Books
Number of Pages: 160
Advertised Age Level: Middle Grades (ages 9-12)
Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 12 years/6th grader
Language: no profanity
Sex: none
Drug/Alcohol Use: none
Violence: one student “attacks” another student in defense of a girl but no violence
Social Issues: peer pressure, acceptance of those who are different, first crushes
Suggested Movie Grade: G
