Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Number of Pages: 384
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult

Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 16 years

Language: no profanity
Sex: none at all
Drug/Alcohol Use: one character drinks heavily and is an alcoholic
Violence: extreme violence
Social Issues: dystopian world, oppression, starvation, children forced to kill each other
Suggested Movie Grade: PG-13

Premise: Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As punishment for their uprising, each district is forced to send one boy and one girl to participate in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat’s sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

Potential Points of Concern: The premise of The Hunger Games is how an oppressive government punishes its citizens and keeps them under control by forcing their children to kill each other as a form of sport and entertainment. It is an extremely intense, violent book and may not be appropriate for younger or sensitive readers.

Title: 11 Birthdays
Author: Wendy Mass
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Number of Pages: 272
Advertised Age Level: Ages 9012

Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 11/5th Grade

Language: no profanity
Sex: none at all
Drug/Alcohol Use: none
Violence: none
Social Issues: fighting with a best friend, popularity
Suggested Movie Grade: G

Premise: Amanda and Leo were born on the same day at the same hospital, and they’ve shared every birthday together since. But when Amanda overhears Leo saying some not-so-nice things about her at their tenth birthday party, she vows never to forgive him.

A year later, Amanda is about to face her first ever party without her best friend. To make matters worse, everyone in the 5th grade seems to be going to Leo’s party across town. She determines to get through her own party, glad to know she won’t have to face another birthday for a whole year.

But when Amanda wakes up the next day, she discovers to her horror that it’s her birthday all over again. Confused and a bit afraid she might just be going crazy, Amanda keeps reliving the same horrible day again and again. When she discovers that Leo is also stuck in the same time loop, the two must put aside their difference and figure out how to get time going forward again.

Potential Points of Concern: Amanda feels pressured by her best friend to try out for the gymnastics team when she’d rather try out for the marching band.

Amanda overhears Leo saying some mean things about her and her feelings are crushed.

Amanda is sad when it appears more kids from 5th grade want to go to Leo’s party than her party, including her best friend.

Leo and Amanda play hooky from school once they realize they will get a chance to live the day over again – that there will be no consequences for their actions.

Age Appropriateness: Ages 8 to 12

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

Premise: Juli Baker has loved Bryce Loski from the moment his moving van pulled into his driveway at the tender age of 7. Bryce, on the other hand, finds Juli nothing but annoying. Over the course of the next six years, Juli’s devotion to Bryce grows stronger, and her outward displays of her feelings grow more obvious. Bryce does his best to avoid this unwanted attention, convinced that Juli Baker is the last girl on the planet he’d ever want to be friends with.

When the two kids enter eighth grade, however, the whole world seems to flip. As Juli gets to know aspects about Bryce that aren’t so very nice, she starts to question her true feelings for the boy with the brilliant blue eyes. And just when it seems that Juli has lost all interest in him, Bryce suddenly begins to realize that maybe Juli is pretty special after all.

Told from alternating points of view, both Juli and Bryce tell their sides of the various events in the book as well as give insight on the private workings of their respective families. Juli learns of a mentally handicapped uncle that her family supports while Bryce comes to see his father as a man who behaves in ways Bryce doesn’t necessarily agree with. Both learn that growing up is hard.

Potential Points of Concern: Juli and her father visit a mentally retarded uncle in a private mental healthcare facility.

Bryce lies to Juli in order to save face in front of his father.

Bryce tries to give Juli a kiss in public and she runs off.

Age Appropriateness: Ages 10 and up

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

Premise: Melinda Sordino begins high school not just unpopular but as an outright pariah. None of her old friends will speak to her, and even the kids she doesn’t know personally are talking about her behind her back. She earned this ostracism by calling the cops during an end-of-the summer party which caused a lot of people to get into a lot of trouble. What no one knows – what Melinda will not even let herself remember – is that she was raped during the party.

As Melinda struggles to deal with her assault, she becomes more and more depressed. Her grades take a nosedive, she does everything in her power to avoid people, and she barely even speaks. Her parents are at a loss as to what to do with her. To top it off, she must face her attacker at school, powerless to do anything. When he begins dating one of her former best friends, Melinda finally begins to wake up again, knowing that she can’t allow anyone else to become the next victim.

Potential Points of Concern: While Melinda’s attack is not described graphically and is told in flashback/as a memory, it is still a very disturbing incident. She is raped in the woods during a party by a boy she doesn’t know after having drank a couple of beers. Then she is nearly raped again when her attacker feels threatened after she finally tells someone what he had done to her. The second attack is told in real time and is much more intense and violent although the actual rape is stopped.

As Melinda spirals deeper into depression, she cares less and less about school, grades, everything. She skips class, fails to do homework and withdraws to the point of near muteness.

Told from Melinda’s point of view, all of the teachers at her school save one – the art teacher – are incompetent bullies.

Melinda’s one and only friend, Heather, ditches Melinda when she becomes part of a more popular group.

Melinda’s parents are aloof at best, negligent at worst. While they show concern about their daughter’s poor grades, they don’t seem to take any steps to address her blatant depression and become hostile and defensive when a school guidance counselor questions the stability of their marriage.

Age Appropriateness: Ages 13 and up

NOTE: This book has been made into a movie. The movie is rated 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

Premise: In the fantastical world of the Seven Kingdoms, Katsa is a Graceling, a human being gifted with special powers known as her grace. No one graceling’s powers are like another’s, and Katsa’s particular skill set is killing people. Unbeatable in battle, Katsa’s ruthless uncle, King Randa, uses her to serve as his ultimate weapon, to instill fear and obedience in his subjects and to punish his enemies. While Katsa hates being what she sees as no more than a monster, she knows no other way of living, no way out.

In an effort to do some good with her ability, Katsa establishes the Council, a secret society determined to help those who need it. During a mission to rescue the father of one of the seven kings, Katsa meets Prince Po. Po is also a graceling, and his gift is incredible fighting abilities. Finally Katsa has found someone who can come close to beating her. At first wary of Po, Katsa soon comes to respect him, then befriend him, and to her dismay, develop strong feelings about him.

Together Katsa and Prince Po travel the kingdoms searching for the reason behind the kidnapping of Po’s grandfather. What they learn is a horrible secret that threatens to bring harm to every person in their world. Too, they also each learn something about their own graces, and Katsa learns how to trust both herself and other people.

Potential Points of Concern: Both Katsa and Po are fighters who do not hesitate to kill those who threaten them. Katsa has also engaged in torture in the name of her uncle, King Randa. The story contains violence throughout although none of it highly graphic.

Katsa and Po consummate their relationship, however the episode is very vague and non-explicit.

The bad guy that Katsa and Po pursue, King Leck, is very evil. He tortures small animals and people and, it is implied, may engage in acts of pedophile and/or rape. No specific incident is described in detail but the implications are very strong.

The dangers that Katsa and Po encounter are very intense and life threatening. Sensitive readers may not be able to handle the level of suspense.

Age Appropriateness: Ages 13 and up

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

Premise: Kyle Kingsbury is golden. He’s fantastically good-looking, rich, spoiled, and cares only about himself. He also possesses a mean streak that he likes to unleash on the ugly “losers” at his exclusive private prep school. When he makes the mistake of targeting a self-professed witch as his next victim, she determines to teach him a lesson. She transforms his exterior appearance to mirror his internal ugliness. With fur covering his body, fangs and claws, Kyle has become an honest to goodness beast. The witch gives him two years to undo the spell, two years in which he has to find someone that he truly loves and who loves him in return. Only then can he prevent remaining a beast forever.

Ashamed by his son’s hideous appearance, Kyle’s father shuts him away in a multi-storied brownstone with only a live-in maid and a blind tutor for company. At first Kyle feels only pity for himself, but slowly he begins to search for beauty in the things around him to make up for all of his own ugliness. When a drug addict breaks into Kyle’s beloved greenhouse, Kyle recognizes the man as the father of a girl he’d gone to school with. Ashamed at what he’s about to do but becoming desperate for a chance to find love, he bargains with the would-be-thief who agrees to send his daughter, Lindy, to live in the brownstone with Kyle.

As would be expected, Lindy at first resents Kyle – who now goes by the name Adrian since the old Kyle is gone forever – even as his feelings for her become warm and loving. But over the course of several months, he earns her trust and then her friendship. But time is running out, and he’s afraid he may never be able to earn her love and break the curse.

Potential Points of Concern: At the beginning of the story, Kyle is very mean to anyone he deems beneath him, which is most people. He also expresses misogynistic tendencies.

Kyle’s father is the epitome of neglectful, absentee parents. He buys Kyle things to make up for ignoring him. He all but abandons Kyle after Kyle is transformed into the beast and cannot be cured.

Kyle and his date drink Absolut vodka after a dance and while not described at all, it is implied they have sex.

A witch transforms Kyle into his beastly form and even later, after Kyle has changed for the good, is unable to break the spell. The witch gives Kyle an enchanted mirror that allows him to see anyone he wants at any time.

Lindy’s father is a drug addict who abuses her both emotionally and physically. He uses her to bargain his way out of trouble when he’s caught breaking into Kyle’s house, promising that Lindy will live with Kyle having no idea what Kyle’s intentions are.

Lindy is attacked by a drug pusher who implies that since she can’t pay him with cash he will rape her. Kyle is able to stop him before anything can happen.

Age Appropriateness: 12 and up

Note: The book has been made into a movie which is scheduled to be released in March of 2011. The movie has aged the character of Kyle Kingsbury and has been given a rating of PG-13. As of the date of this posting, I cannot evaluate the age-appropriateness of the movie as compared to the book.

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

Premise: From School Library Journal: Erin Swift, who is beginning middle school, keeps a diary on her own private Web page, which she never intends to post on the Internet. The year gets off to a rough start when she discovers that she and her best friend, Jilly, will not have any classes together. Then Erin punches her archenemy, Serena, for calling her Jilly’s puppet. Worst of all, Erin begins to wonder if she does follow Jilly’s wishes instead of her own and resolves to make some new friends and pursue her own interests. Things become more difficult when the boy Erin secretly likes becomes infatuated with Jilly. The only bright spot is the Intranet Club where Erin’s computer skills earn her a lead role in designing the school’s new web site.

Then disaster strikes when Erin’s secret Web page is accidentally posted on the school Intranet for everyone to read. Suddenly, she is faced with her biggest problem yet. - Linda L. Plevak, Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio, TX.

Potential Points of Concern: Erin defers to her best friend Jilly’s wishes even when her own desires are different. Jilly appears to take full advantage of her power over Erin although she is not mean or manipulative about it. By the end of the story, both girls realize what they’ve been doing and move to change.

Mean girl Serena bullies Erin and calls her Jilly’s puppet. Erin punches her in the face, however she is punished for this misbehaviour.

Erin develops a crush on Mark and is broken hearted when Mark, in turn, develops a crush on Jilly. When Jilly and Mark start “going out”, Erin is devastated.

Jilly and Mark engage in public kissing.

Erin suffers extreme public humiliation when her private web site is published on the school’s intranet site and all of her friends read about her thoughts. Jilly refuses to speak to her and Mark avoids her.

Erin proves to be a strong character who learns to stand on her own two feet and to be true to who she is.

Age Appropriateness: Ages 10 – 13

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

Premise: Megan Meade has had it with the constant moving around that comes with having professional Army parents. When they announce yet another transfer, this time to South Korea(!), Megan finally puts her foot down. She determines to stay in the US to finish her last two years of school. Her parents agree, but with a catch. Megan must live with family friends, a family that includes seven boys.

At first Megan looks at the prospect of having seven instant “brothers” as a chance to learn a little something about the male species. But the McGowan boys don’t exactly welcome her with open arms. The youngest brothers, Ian and Caleb, feel free to go through her things, vandalize her clothing, and sabotage her bike. Middle twins Miller and Doug come with their own problems, Miller’s in the form of Aspergers Syndrome and Doug’s with a giant chip on his shoulder and a determination to hate Megan no matter what she does. Older brothers Evan and Finn show some promise. Evan looks like he’s stepped off the pages of an Abercrombie catalog and Megan is immediately smitten. Finn offers a steady friendship that becomes a rock Megan finds herself leaning on more and more. And oldest brother Sean barely exists as part of the family.

Things become even more complicated when Megan becomes embroiled in the ongoing drama between Evan and his long time girlfriend – and Megan’s soccer team rival – Hailey. Even though Megan feels like she has a home at her new school with new friends and a promising soccer season ahead, her home life is a constant battle as she tries to be accepted by the McGowan boys.

Comments: The McGowan boys are openly hostile to Megan at first and do much to make her life difficult.

Megan develops a crush on handsome Evan McGowan although it never comes to fruition. Megan and Evan are punished when they come in late after a party, and the McGowan parents forbid any romantic relationships between Megan and any of their sons as long as she is living with them.

Megan experiences bullying in the form of soccer-rival Hailey, who is also Evan McGowan’s girlfriend.

Hailey has sex with Sean McGowan after she walks in on Megan and Evan having a purely chaste conversation in a bedroom at a party. Evan reacts very badly to this and instigates a brutal fist fight with Sean.

Hailey lies to Evan and tells him that Megan told her that she and Evan “hooked up” at the party, thus inspiring Hailey to seek revenge. Evan believes Hailey rather than the truth that Megan never approached her, and Evan accuses Megan of being the liar. The two stop speaking to each other.

Students believe the rumors that Megan caused Evan and Hailey to break up by “hooking up” with Evan even though nothing happened. Some of Megan’s friends turn against her for a while until she’s able to make them see the truth of the situation.

Sean McGowan is a troubled youth who is accused of vandalizing the school with some of his friends. While Megan is certain that Sean is guilty (he is), she lies to the principal and provides him with an alibi to keep him from getting suspended. Sean remains belligerent and rude to her.

Megan and Finn are caught kissing and are grounded for breaking the McGowan’s “no romances” rule.

Age Appropriateness: Ages 13 and up

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

Premise: Sixth grader Tommy usually finds classmate Dwight to be both strange and annoying. The kid certainly doesn’t seem to care if everyone thinks he’s a freak. Dwight is always getting into trouble and acting in strange ways. Tommy’s other pals barely tolerate Dwight who often sits at their lunch table. But one day, Dwight uses his one true talent – origami – to fashion an origami Yoda puppet. Oddly, Origami Yoda is nothing like his creator Dwight. Yoda offers great advice for solving all sorts of problems and at times it seems he can even predict the future. Before Tommy can understand what’s happening, the entire school is turning to Origami Yoda for advice.

Since Tommy himself seeks some pretty important information, he needs to know for sure if Origami Yoda is truly a guiding spirit imbued with The Force or just an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Dwight as just another one of his oddball schemes. Tommy interviews those affected by Origami Yoda and compiles a case file in hopes of finding out the truth before he can make a complete fool of himself by following Yoda’s advice.

Comments: Nothing at all offensive in this story. While Dwight is certainly an unusual character, he’s not friendless nor do the other kids pick on him or bully him.

Age Appropriateness: ages 9 to 12 (younger kids might appreciate it as well)

Title: Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 432
Advertised Age Level: Young Adult

Age and Grade of Main Character(s): 17 years/Senior in High School

Language: no profanity
Sex: Heroine loses her virginity, not explicit, one teen gets pregnant
Drug/Alcohol Use: teens consume beer, one adult character is a drug addict
Violence: war between characters results in some non-explicit violence, fire at the school and possible death of some students
Social Issues: abandonment, parental drug abuse, death of parents, child neglect, first love, teen pregnancy, teen death
Suggested Movie Grade: PG-13

Premise: When she was 11 years old, Taylor Markham’s mother abandoned her at a 7-11 on Jellicoe Road. Taylor was taken in by Hannah and given a home at the Jellicoe boarding school. Now that she’s a senior, she’s been elected the leader of the students in the clandestine war that occurs ever year between the Jellicoe school, the local Townies, and the Cadets, a group of city kids who come to the country to practice outdoor living.

Just as the war is about to begin, Hannah disappears and leaves behind a partially finished manuscript that holds all kinds of clues about the past. Taylor is hurt and confused, and as she tries to be a good leader to her fellow students, she struggles to put together the pieces of puzzle that make up her past in order to figure out what happened to Hannah. Meanwhile, Jonah Griggs is back as the leader of the Cadets and is causing Taylor to have all sorts of new feelings given their history together.

Underlying Taylor’s story and told in snippets of flashback set nearly 20 years back is the tale of five teenagers who play a key part in Taylor’s history.

Comments: Taylor struggles with the fact that she’s been abandoned by her mother and now Hannah. When she learns that her mother is/was a drug addict, she must come to terms with what that means.

Age Appropriateness: ages 13 and up