Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

A book review by Madeline Soucie

Samantha Kinston has it all -- she's popular and has great friends, a great boyfriend, and she is at the top of the school social ladder. 

February 12th is just another day to go to school with her friends and enjoy life. Or so Sam thought. Then she dies and wakes up to a second chance at life. Then another and another; seven chances actually. Seven redo days, no one else knows about, to change her life and death and to realize little things she never noticed.

Read this page-turning book to find out how Sam chooses to change her life and, in doing so, realizes how much the little things really mean. 

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Oliver, L.

Sleepless by Thomas Fahy

A book review by Madeline Soucie

This is a quick read for anyone who likes horror.

   

Students of Saint Oppurtuna High have been turning up dead lately.  Emma Montgomery has been having nightmares, as has her group of friends. And to make matters worse, no one wakes up where they should be; they've been sleepwalking. On top of that, the bodies only turn up when Emma or her friends were sleepwalking the night before.

   

Emma and her friends must team up to keep each other from sleeping until they can figure out what it is that's making them kill. 

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Fahy, T.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

a book review by Sydney Abbott

 

Fifteen-year-old Charlie is about to begin his freshman year of high school without his best friend, Michael, who committed suicide one month before the  story begins. In an attempt to cope with Michael’s death and his own anxiety of entering high school alone, Charlie begins writing letters to an anonymous stranger. Charlie does not feel that he can lean on his parents or older siblings for support because they never truly understand him. He feels that the only relative that he ever felt close to was his Aunt Helen, who was killed in a car accident on his seventh birthday.

At school, Charlie befriends two seniors, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick. He soon develops feelings for Sam, but he believes that he has no chance with her. Sam and Patrick introduce him to many new experiences and a group of upperclassmen friends. Charlie writes about situations that he gets into with his new friends, including going to parties, driving through his town's tunnel and feeling "infinite," seeing and performing in Rocky Horror Picture Show, going on his first date, and trying various drugs. After one party, the police find Charlie passed out in the snow. In a conversation with the police and his parents, Charlie reveals that he often has visions, which means that he is not mentally well.

Despite his feelings for Sam, Charlie briefly dates Mary Elizabeth, another girl in their clique. She takes him to their school's Sadie Hawkins Dance, and they go on a few dates. At first, Charlie does not mind how one-sided their conversations are. Even so, after Mary Elizabeth buys him a book of poems, he senses a change in their relationship that he does not like. In a game of Truth or Dare at a party, Charlie is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. He kisses Sam, which officially ends his relationship with Mary Elizabeth. Patrick decides that Charlie should stay away until their relationship drama calms down.

Sam also starts a relationship with an attractive older boy named Craig. Charlie does not think that Craig appreciates Sam. Sam and Craig soon break up, after Sam learns that Craig had been cheating on her with numerous girls. Read this book to see how things turn out!

 Find it in YA FIC Chbosky, S.

 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

A book review by Aisha Ali

              This book deals with an Indian Boy who lives on a small reservation. All his life he has lived there, and nothing seems to change. He starts his freshman year in high school, only to find out that the textbooks being used in class are books from the time his mother wen’t to school. His anger flourishes, and even though he doesn't mean to, he ends up throwing the textbook at his teacher.

                This was a crucial moment that would define his life forever. His teacher saw the potential he had, and sought to take action. The teacher told Junior (the main character'’s name) to leave the reservation. At first this was an unthinkable, never heard of decision, but it would be the one that would map out his future.

                Junior did leave the reservation. This came with a price. The people in his reservation turned their backs on him. His Indian people saw it as a form of betrayal to leave their reservation and go to a school where only white kids attended.They considered him a traitor. If this wasn’t bad enough, he had to come home everyday to deal with rude remarks from the people that lived in his reservation.

                At first it was hard to fit into this new school full of white kids, but soon after Junior's arrival he made friends who helped him make his time worth while. In the new school he went to, people were more welcoming, and most of all nonjudgmental. Back at the reservation, he would constantly get bullied. He only had one best friend on the reservation, Rowdy. Soon after leaving, Rowdy, too, turned his back on Junior.

                With the help from his new friends and coach, Junior was able to realize who he truly is. Through all the troubles he faced, he still kept going. His motivation and hardworking spirt is what makes this book inspiring.

Find it in YA FIC ALEXIE, S.