WESTCHESTER'S CHOICE 2008
Abzadis, Nick. LAIKA. First Second; First Edition.
The life of Laika, the abandoned puppy that became Earth's first space traveler, told in a graphic novel format.
Alexie, Sherman. THE ABSOLUTE TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. Little, Brown.
Junior leaves the reservation to attend an all-white school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. TWISTED. Viking.
Former social reject Tyler's new muscles attract the attention of a popular girl, but after a misunderstanding at a wild party his life twists out of control.
Blume, Leslie M. THE RISING STAR OF RUSTY NAIL. Knopf.
In the early 1950s, Franny wants to take piano lessons from a famous Russian musician who has moved to town. But some townsfolk think the newcomer might be a communist spy.
Brande, Robin. EVOLUTION, ME & OTHER FREAKS OF NATURE. Knopf.
When not even Mena's best friend will talk to her on the first day of school, she thinks things can't possibly get worse. But as her science class begins to study evolution, they do.
Brooks, Martha. MISTIK LAKE. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Seventeen-year-old Odella is haunted by family secrets and learns that the choice to follow your heart - or not - has caused suffering across generations.
Cabot, Meg. HOW TO BE POPULAR. HarperTempest.
Steph turns her life around when she discovers the secrets of popularity in an old book called, "How to Be Popular". She may reach the top of the middle school ‘it' crowd, but does she really have what it takes to stay there?
Cameron, Peter. SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
James is eighteen and determined to avoid becoming like any of the miserable adults in his life, especially his parents. He wants to leave New York and start over, but he's smart enough to know that some things in his life will never change.
Castellucci, Cecil. PLAIN JANES. Minx/D.C. Comics
When Jane moves to the suburbs, she befriends three other girls with the same name. Together the Janes fight against conformity through art.
Crutcher, Chris. DEADLINE. Greenwillow Books.
When a terminal illness gives high school senior Ben a brief time to live, he decides to pursue his greatest fantasies as he considers his life's purpose and legacy.
Downham, Jenny. BEFORE I DIE. David Fickling Books.
Sixteen year-old Tessa has six months to live and a list of things to do before she dies.
Gipi. GARAGE BAND. First Second.
Four troubled boys form a band and practice in a garage. Just when they are about to record a demo, they blow an amp. Trying to replace it, they find themselves in more trouble than they know how to handle.
Halpin, Brendan. HOW YA LIKE ME NOW. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
While coming to terms with his father's recent death and his mother's drug abuse, Eddie moves to Boston to live in his cousin's loft. Adjusting to his new life and the challenges of a multi-racial school he forges a special relationship with his cousin Alex.
Harazin, S.A. BLOOD BROTHERS. Delacorte.
Clay's hope of becoming a doctor will remain a dream so long as he can't afford college. His friend Joey, however, seems to have it all, until an accident renders him near death in the hospital where Clay works.
Hughes, Mark Peter. LEMONADE MOUTH. Delacorte.
A group of misfit high school students form a band to play at a school talent show and become oddly and wildly popular.
Koertge, Ron. STRAYS. Candlewick Press.
After 16-year-old Ted's parents have died in a car crash, he finds himself placed in a dysfunctional foster family and enrolled in a high school full of troublemakers.
Koje, Kathe. KISSING THE BEE. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
College-bound Dana's secret affection for Emil is hopeless because it seems unlikely that Emil would ever be attracted to a ‘worker bee' like her when his girlfriend is Dana's best friend and ‘queen bee' Avra.
Kraft, Eric. P. MIRACLE WIMP. Little, Brown.
Tom Mayo describes a year of high school during which he changes friends, deals with bullies, gets a girlfriend, begins to drive, and learns more about his eccentric wood-shop teacher.
Lockhart, E. DRAMARAMA. Hyperion
Two musical-comedy-crazed Ohio teens attend a drama camp together. Their friendship is put to the test when they discover that one has more talent than the other.
Marr, Melissa. WICKED LOVELY. HarperTeen.
Aislinn has always known that her ability to see faeries could put her in danger. What she didn't know was that it could also lead her to fall impossibly in love.
Mieville, China. UN LUN DUN. Del Rey/Ballantine.
When 12 year old Zanna arrives in an alternate London, she is immediately recognized as the one who prophecy says will save the world. But when things go wrong, it's up to her friend Deeba to put things right in this magical urban eco-fantasy.
Myers, Walter Dean. WHAT THEY FOUND : LOVE ON 145th STREET. Wendy Lamb Books.
Profoundly moving, realistic urban stories of finding love and hope in the face of poverty, war and heartache.
Schmidt, C.A. USEFUL FOOLS. Dutton Books.
After his mother is killed in a guerrilla terrorist bomb attack, fifteen-year-old Alonso and his girlfriend Rosa face poverty, political corruption, and brutality in war-torn Peru.
Schmidt, Gary D. WEDNESDAY WARS. Clarion Books.
While his classmates spend Wednesdays in religious instruction, Holling is in Mrs. Baker's classroom memorizing Shakespeare. Could it get any worse or is this the start of something extraordinary?
Sedgwick, Marcus. MY SWORDHAND IS SINGING. Wendy Lamb Books.
A gypsy girl reveals that the Shadow Queen is responsible for recent murders in Peter's village and he learns that the secret of his father's past may be the only way to prevent further mayhem in this chilling take on the classic Vampire tale.
Shusterman, Neil. UNWIND. Simon & Schuster.
In a bleak future that protects life from conception to age thirteen but allows parents and society to ‘unwind" troublesome teenagers by recycling their body parts, Conner and Risa know they must fight back and hope to find a way to survive.
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. TANTALIZE. Candlewick Press.
The heroine of this dark romantic fantasy is 17 year old, orphan, Quinze Morris, who loves a werewolf that may have murdered the chef of her Uncle's restaurant. Vampires and werewolves abound in this Buffy-esque thriller.
Straub, Wendy Corsi. LILY DALE : AWAKENING. Walker.
When her Mother dies unexpectedly, 17 year old Calla decides to spend the rest of the summer with her eccentric Grandmother in the spiritual community of Lily Dale, NY. As she experiences the strange and mysterious goings-on in Lily Dale, Calla starts to unravel her family's past and the secrets surrounding her mother's death.
Tan, Shaun. THE ARRIVAL. Scholastic.
This graphic novel wordlessly depicts with mysteriously surreal insight the universal loneliness and displacement experienced by immigrants and refugees.
Thompson, Kate. THE NEW POLICEMAN. Greenwillow Books.
When 15 year old fiddler J.J. attempts to grant his Mother's birthday wish for more time, he embarks upon a fantastical journey into the realm of fairy to discover the secrets about Time in this contemporary Irish folktale.
Varon, Sara. ROBOT DREAMS. Roaring Brook.
A compelling, mostly wordless graphic novel about a lonely dog's search for companionship, the robot he builds, and their fateful trip to the beach.
Wittlinger, Ellen. PARROTFISH. Simon & Schuster
Angela, who has struggled to feel comfortable as a girl, finally comes out as transgendered and begins life as Grady, a boy. He is not prepared, however, for the reaction he gets from his family, friends, and schoolmates.
Wizner, Jake. SPANKING SHAKESPEARE. Random House.
For Shakespeare Shapiro, life has been a series of catastrophes that began when his parents named him at birth. Now a senior in high school, he reflects on his social ineptitude and finds a way to turn his embarrassments to an advantage.
Zarr, Sara. THE STORY OF A GIRL. Little, Brown.
Deanna's life changes forever when she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend. This debut novel captures a girl's struggle to define her self with subtle grace, wisdom and emotion.
Zevin, Gabrielle. MEMOIRS OF A TEENAGE AMNESIAC. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.
After an accident, high school junior Naomi can't remember anything that happened after 6th grade - not her parent's divorce, her boyfriend, her half-sister, or the boy who says he's her best friend and with whom she begins to fall in love
SEQUELS & SERIES
Hino, Matsuri. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOL. 1-3. VAMPIRE KNIGHT SERIES. Viz Media.
There are two groups of students at Cross Academy: the day class and the night class. The day class doesn't know that the night class is full of vampires. Guardians Yuki and Zero protect the day class but each has a connection with the vampires!
Jordan, Sherryl. TIME OF THE EAGLE. Sequel to THE SECRET SACRAMENT. Eos
16 year-old Avala is the child of prophecy, whose fate is to free her people from the Navoran Empire and return them to their homeland. But Avala would rather be a healer than a warrior and struggles to achieve her true destiny.
Meyer, Stephanie. ECLIPSE. TWILIGHT SAGA, Book 3. Little, Brown.
Bella must choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision could renew the ageless fight between vampires and werewolves.
Murdock, Catherine. THE OFF SEASON. Sequel to DAIRY QUEEN. Houghton Mifflin.
D.J. begins junior year playing linebacker, but being the only girl on the football team is far from the biggest challenge she will face this semester.
Paver, Michelle. SOUL EATER. CHRONICLES OF ANCIENT DARKNESS, Book 3. Katherine Tegen Books.
Torak and Renn brave the frozen wilderness of the Far North in order to rescue their pack-brother, Wolf, who the Soul Eaters have taken and plan to sacrifice as part of their plan to open the doors to the otherworld in order to rule the forest.
Rabin, Staton. CURSE OF THE ROMANOVS. Margaret K. McElderry Books
Fleeing from Rasputin, doomed heir to the Russian throne Alexi finds himself in the future where he encounters his cousin working on a cure for the family curse - hemophilia.
Reeve, Philip. A DARKLING PLAIN. THE HUNGRY CITY CHRONICLES, Book 4. HarperCollins.
The truce is broken and Tom, Hester and Wren return to London and the secrets which lie within its ruins hoping to stop the Municipal Darwinism and save the world.
Riordan, Rick. THE TITAN'S CURSE. PERCY JACKSON and the OLYMPIANS, Book 3. Miramax Books/Hyperion
The goddess Artemis has gone missing and Percy and his friends must find her or else the Olympians could lose their battle with the titans.
Rowling, J.K. HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS. HARRY POTTER, Book 7. Scholastic.
The conclusion to this epic series is bittersweet and tragic, exhilarating and satisfying. Find out what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Hagrid and He Who Must Not Be Named!
NON-FICTION
Crisler, Curtis. Tough Boy Sonatas. Boyds Mills Press/Wordsong
Gritty and vivid poetry about young men in Gary, Indiana.
The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss. Edited by Claire Nouvian University of Chicago Press.
Things no one has seen and few could imagine photographed at the bottom of the sea.
Polly, Matthew. AMERICAN SHAOLIN : Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China Gotham Books.
With humor and insight, this coming-of-age tale explores the quest of one young American to become a kung fu master at China's legendary Shaolin Temple.
Saltz, Ina. BODY TYPE : Intimate Images Etched in Flesh. Abrams Image.
Vivid photographs, insightful commentary and heartfelt explanations from those who wear extraordinary tattoos.
Sis, Peter. THE WALL Farrar, Strauss, Giroux
This graphic memoir recalls the author's youth coming of age in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, when his country was on the Communist side of the Iron Curtain.
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