London Public Library White Pine

The Monkeyface Chronicles by Richard Scarsbrook

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:23:54 +0000

There is a lot going on in this novel – physical deformities, bullying, religious fanaticism, competitive sports, revenge … Whew! You might wonder how all these themes could possibly come together in one book. But once you start to read Philip Skyler’s story you will cheer him on. Told from his point of view you find out how being born with an extreme facial deformity made him the target of bullies. After a motorcycle crash at 18 he gets a “new face” and returns to deal with his demons.
Find this book at London Public Library.

Borderline by Allan Stratton

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:29:30 +0000

Sami has always stood out in his school as the only Muslim kid but things have just become incredibly worse: Sami’s father has been accused of being involved in an international terror plot. Put yourself in Sami’s shoes as he faces media on his front lawn, a bully at school and his doubts about his father. Will his friends stand by him as he tries to discover the truth or will he be left to face his fears alone?

Find this book at London Public Library.

Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:28:13 +0000

Do your parents know how you spend your days? Tim Blake thought that he knew his daughter as well as any father should but when she didn’t come home from her summer job one night, he discovered that what he thought he knew bout Sydney was full of lies and deceptions.
Fear the Worst is the intriguing and action-filled story of an average suburban father whose life is turned upside down as he attempts to retrace his missing daughter’s steps and finds himself tangled up in the dangerous world in which she disappeared.

Find this book at London Public Library.

Fishtailing by Wendy Phillips

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:27:28 +0000

Natalie’s a new girl at school who has a thing for cutting herself. Miguel’s lost his parents to a violent war. Kyle rides a motorcycle and sings beautiful poems for his crush Tricia. Tricia’s caught between her past and her mother’s ambition for a new life with her step-father. Their teacher Mrs. Farr would pin all 4 students’ work on her poetry display board if only they’d tone down the sexual references, the nihilism, and the violent, pessimistic diction. Hard to believe a book of poems can create such a powerful plot — you’ll keep reading just to find out what happens when the lives of these highschool kids collide outside their poetry.
Find this book at London Public Library.

Gravity Brings Me Down by Natalie Ghent

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:26:31 +0000

Sometimes, when gravity brings you down, you really need a good friend to bring you back up! Sioux Smith learns this lesson when she feels lonely and different from everyone else. When she and the elderly Miss Marple, who faces dementia, are both dealt lemons in their life, they learn to make lemonade together. Although it’s an unlikely friendship, Sioux enjoys Miss Marple’s warm friendship and kindred spirit. As Sioux examines deep questions such as “Why are we here? What’s the point of life? What’s the point of high school? Can we ever know ourselves?”, she learns a lot about herself and the tough world out there. With little drawings and sketches and excerpts from Sioux’s letters added to the main story, Gravity Brings Me Down is a fun, quirky, and also deeply touching book that will appeal to many!

Find this book at London Public Library.

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:24:53 +0000

Lucy and Solange have been best friends since they were tiny. They’re pretty typical teenagers, sharing lattes and secrets, except for one big difference. When the people in Solange’s family turn 16, they also turn into vampires. It’s genetic – no way to get out of it. Solange’s 16th birthday is only days away, and she’s starting to feel the change. Trouble is, many of the other vampires out there think she’s part of a prophecy to take over the vampire throne. Naturally, the current queen doesn’t want that to happen, and neither do the vampire hunters. This action packed series premiere is a great read for anyone who read Twilight and wished there was more action!

Find this book at London Public Library.

The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:22:56 +0000

This book is a very emotionally intense look at Danny and his very troubled family dealing with a situation they had never planned for. Danny is thirteen years old, and he had no idea that his father was abusing his mother until the day he almost killed her. Danny McMillan loves his dad, so coming to terms with the fact that the man is on trial for physically and emotionally abusing Danny’s mom is a really hard pill to swallow. Now his mother is in court fighting to have his father stay in jail to keep the family safe, and Danny is finding it hard to believe that his father is a danger to him. Danny’s mom thinks it is important for Danny to attend the sentencing hearing in hopes that he can come to terms with the reality of this horrible situation, but as Danny sits in court and listens to details of his life he never knew existed, anger and fear begin to build. Although he loves his mother, he still can’t believe that the father who spent time with him and taught him everything he knows is capable of the abuse being described in the courtroom.

There are limits in the justice system, so Danny’s father is released (after a short time, instead of the seven years requested), and his mother wants Danny and his sister to go into hiding with her. But, Danny sees this as an opportunity for a second chance for his family. This means there is hope that his father can return home, his mother can forgive and forget, and they can pick up with life as it was before all this drama.

This does not happen and they do end up moving to a different city and getting new identities. Danny is really angry at his mother and finds himself hating her for all the changes in his life. He also knows that she is working really hard to support the family, but he really misses his father. He has no friends in his new city, so he decides to hang out with a gang of bullies. Then he meets someone named Nixxie and things in his life begin to change and become easier to accept.

Find this book at London Public Library.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:21:57 +0000

Regina used to be at the top of the social food chain in her high school. That is until someone wanting to take her place starts spreading rumours about her and her best friend’s boyfriend. Now she finds herself frozen out of her group and at their mercy as they taunt, tease and harass her. In this gritty and fast-paced novel about discovering who you are outside of your friends, Regina must decide between redemption and revenge.

Find this book at London Public Library.

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:20:37 +0000

Matt Gratton, Sean Hance and Cooper Redmond, friends since kindergarten, have been members of the Lower Rockville Razorbacks swim team since grade three. Matt acknowledges that the three of them “happen to be the three least athletic kids on the team”. The trio is also certainly not numbered among their school’s in-crowd, and they still haven’t even gotten the courage to ask a girl out.

Matt, however, hopes to change that dating situation this summer as the Razerbacks have a new team member, Kelly West, someone Matt describes as “beyond hot”. While Matt’s two buddies try to convince him that Kelly is definitely out of his league, Matt perseveres and is provided with an opportunity to impress Kelly during the second week of swim practice as injury sidelines the Razorbacks’ male butterfly specialist. When Coach Luntz sets the bar very low (“We don’t need you to win. We just need you to place”), Matt impulsively volunteers, momentarily forgetting that the one-hundred-yard butterfly is the swim meet’s hardest event and that, at the moment, he can’t swim the fly even one of the necessary four laps without stopping to rest.

Swimming the fly without drowning, while still impressing Kelly, is just one of Matt’s summer challenges. The second he shares with Coop and Sean; the trio have a summer tradition of setting themselves a challenge that must be accomplished before the new school year begins, and this summer’s challenge, which was Coop’s idea, is for all of them to see “a real, live naked girl.” The challenge of trying to see a naked girl always ends up in a super embarrassing situation for the boys. I laughed really hard at this book, and think that it would make a great movie!

Find this book at London Public Library.

The Worst Thing She Ever Did by Alice Kuipers

London Public Library Forest of Reading Blogs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 14:18:36 +0000

What if you and your older sister got on a train, and only one of you came off alive? In this young teen’s journal, her feelings of guilt, sadness, anger and confusion are examined as she deals with high school, boys, and bewildering changes in her friends.

Find this book at the Library.