Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life

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Dork Diaries
by Rachel Renee Russell
ISBN 1416980067
New York: Aladdin, 2009
Graphic Novel
282 pages
12+
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Annotation: A Fourteen-year-old girl who named Nikki Maxwell writes and sketches in her diary about her struggle to be popular at her new private school, and about to give up on being part of the elite group, before figuring out a way to simply to be herself.
Summary: Nikki has moved to a new school and has made new friends, meets a mean girl and her group, and developes a new crush. Will a mean girl stop Nikki from entering an art contest? And will her crush notice her? With her friends encouraging her, she gains the support and energy to face this new school. Follow her adventures in this smashing book.

Critique: This book was smashing because it was in diary form so it was interesting and funny to read. There were also pictures to enhance the words. The book wasn't that good because some illustrations were scary like the hoodie without the face. Nikki was interesting since the people and objects she drew in her diary were not just stick figures (well, most of the time it was not). This book was eye catching in the bookstores. It looked a lot like The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which was a good book, so I started to read it. It turned out to be funny, interesting, and exciting. I especially liked her drawings.

Biography: Rachel Renee Russell is an attorney who prefers writing children's books to legal briefs. She lives in Aldie, VA. [1]

You can know more about her by visiting her website: http://www.dorkdiaries.com/

[1] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dork-Diaries/Rachel-ReneeRussell/e/9781416980063/?itm=1

[1] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9781416980063

Little Brother

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Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow
ISBN 9780765319852
Tom Doherty Associates Book
Science Fiction
384 pages
12+
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Annotation: Little Brother is realistic, timely, and fun novel. It won the 2009 White Pine Award[1] and 2009 Prometheus Award[2]. This book is also a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel[3].

Summary: Marcus, “win5ton and M1k3y”, is a seventeen year old who goes to high school. One day, the bay bridge was blown up by terrorists and Marcus is wrongfully thrown into a type of jail that is not really a jail by The Department of Homeland Security. When he is released, one of his friends is missing. After the attack, the city decided to put up FasTracks that can track wherever you go and whenever you go. It makes the whole city feel paranoid. Many people are being pulled aside just because they went to Berkeley at 9 pm! Others are being taken to jail because of suspicious activities that weren’t suspicious at all! After hearing this, Marcus decides to fight back for his country. Can one little teenager be able to stand up for the rights of an entire country?

Critique: Marcus was very smart and all knowing in the book. I didn’t understand parts of the book because of the advanced technology vocabulary. When they explained about the codes and Xnet, I got very confused. The book had a lot of feelings and it used a lot of details, such as when he was being tortured, to make the readers understand how the characters felt.

Biography: Cory Doctorow is a coeditor of Boing Boing and the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He writes columns for Make, Information Week, the Guardian online, and Locus. He has won the Locus Award three times, been nominated for the Hugo and the Nebula, won the Campbell Award, and was named one of the Web’s twenty-five influencers by Forbes magazine and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He hopes you’ll use technology to change the world.

You can learn more about him by visiting the website at:

http://craphound.com/.

[1] http://www.bpl.on.ca/teens/read/awards/whitepine.htm

[2] http://www.lfs.org/releases.htm

[3] http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/03/finalists-2009-hugo-awards/

[4] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Little-Brother/Cory-Doctorow/e/9780765319852/?itm=1



[5] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780765319852

Beneath My Mother's Feet

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Beneath My Mother’s Feet
ISBN 1416947280
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
2008
208 pages
Multicultural Fiction
12+
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Annotation: Which path should you take when faced with the choice between your own dreams and the needs of the people you love most?
Summary: Nazia is very obedient to her mother and she follows the tradition of India until her father is injured in an accident. She drops out of school to help her mother which leaves her in jeopardy for marriage. Will she marry or will she follow her heart's path?

Critique: This book is a wonderful coming-of-age story which takes place in Pakistan. Nazia is a dutiful daughter. She never question the fact that she will soon be married off and have to tend to her husband’s house, until her dowry is stolen, her family is kicked out of their house and her father abandon them. This book is about following the passions of your own and making the impossible happen.

Biography: Amjed Oamar graduated from The Ohio State University with degrees in English and psychology. She currently resides in Ohio and works for the Dublin City School District. Amjed lived in Pakistan for several years and returns regularly. This is her first book.

[1] You can know more about her by visiting her website:
http://www.amjedqamar.com/

[2] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Beneath-My-Mothers-Feet/Amjed-Qamar/e/9781416947288/?itm=1

[3] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9781416947288

Girl Overboard (S. A. S. S. Series)

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Girl Overboard
(S.A.S. S. Series)
by Aimee Ferris
ISBN 0142507992
Penguin Group, 2007
Contemporary Life

228 pages
12+

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Annotation: Marina goes on a huge field trip around the Bahamas! She interacts with several marine animals and meets new friends aboard including a cute Australian boy.

Summary: Marina has enrolled into S.A.S.S., or Students Across the Seven Seas and has been accepted into the program. She goes on an adventure in the Bahamas, the Bay Islands, and the Dominican Republic. In each destination, she interacts with dolphins, sea turtles, and whale sharks. During her journey she struggles with her relationship with her boyfriend back at her home in Vermont while falling in love with an Australian student aboard S.A.S.S.

Critique: This is a great book because it takes you on a journey through words. They really described the places well. Marina was my favorite character because she really enjoyed working with the animals and she seemed down to earth and not stuck up like some girls in the program.

Biography: Aimee Ferris spent five sun-soaked years in the Caribbean, where she trained dolphins, swam with whale sharks, transplanted sea turtle eggs, did well over a thousand SCUBA dives… and only fell overboard one. Visit her at

http://aimee-ferris.livejournal.com/

[1] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780142407998

Dial L for Loser: A Clique Series #6

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Dial L for Loser (Clique Series #6)
by Lisi Harrison
ISBN 0316115045
New York: Little, Brown Books, 2006
272 pages
Young Adult

Contemporary Life
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Annotation: When the PC (Pretty Committee) goes to a talk show, they never expected to become Hollywood Royalty.

Summary: Meet Massie, Dylan, Alicia, Kristen, and Claire, the members of the Pretty Committee (a.k.a. the PC). Dylan’s mom has a famous TV show called the Daily Grind which interview stars. One day, Dylan learns that Abby and Hadley is doing an interview for her mom for a movie that is coming out starring both of the girls. This is special since Hadley can not stand Abby and always refuses to do an interview with her. Dylan invites the PC to come and see the show. During the show, Abby pours tomato sauce on Hadley and Hadley quits the movie. Rupert, the director borrows Massie’s phone because his cell is ringing off the hook. He never gave it back, but the next day, Rupert invites Massie and her friends except for Dylan, to audition for a part in the movie. Since the PC is expelled from their school (read about it in the Pretty Committee Strikes Back), they have time to do the auditions. Alicia, Massie, and Claire are allowed to go. Who will get the part?

Critique: This book was awesome because I loved the details and the way the author described the room that Massie, Alicia, and Claire stayed in, the private jet that took them to LA, and the kind of outfits that they wore. The dialogue was great and had a lot of smart sayings in it. I liked Claire the most because she was the most innocent of the group. Massie was cool too because she figured out a lot of clever sayings such as…”Do you need a knife?” “No, why?” “So you can cut the cheese!”

Biography: Lisi Harrison was the Senior Director of Production Development at MTV, Music Television, and was responsible for creating and developing original programming for air on MTV. Ms. Harrison also served as Head Writer for MTV Production and before that she had her own column in JANE Magazine. She lives in New York City and is currently working full time on her seventh Clique novel.

[1] You can know more about Lisi Harrison by visiting her website: http://www.lisiharrison.net/lisi_harrison.html

[2] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dial-L-for-Loser/Lisi-Harrison/e/9780316115049/?itm=1

[3] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780316115049

Flush

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Flush
By Carl Hiaasen
ISBN 0375921826
New York: Knopf Books, 2005
264 pages
12+
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Annotation: Noah's dad gets jailed for trying to sink a ship that was illegally polluting the waters. Noah is determined to follow in his dad's footsteps successfully to make the Coral Queen (the ship that was polluting the waters) disappear for good with help from his sister and a friend.

Summary: When Noah's dad gets sent to jail for sinking a boat that was polluting the waters, Noah decides to fight back to save those fishes! He teams up with Shelly, Lice, and his sister Abby to stop the polluting ship once and for all. Along the way, they find trouble but a mysterious person turns up to help them. Who is the person? And will Noah's plan work or will it go down the drain?
Critique: I liked this book because Noah did everything he could to prevent the boat from polluting the waters. He was determined and I think it is a good character trait to have. There was also mystery in mixed in the book. The bad part was that there was excitement then no excitement then excitement again. Noah was adventurous and hard working so it made him a great character to have in the book. Abby, his sister, was also cute because even though she was a girl, she was strong both physically and mentally.

Biography: In his thrilling and hilarious mysteries, Carl Hiaasen does for the Florida Coast what Raymond Chandler did for L.A., embracing it in all its steamy surrealness, and elevating it to a kind of iconographic literary landscape.

Here is his official website: http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.shtml

[1] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780375841859

Nobody's Princess

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Nobody’s Princess
by Esther Friesner
ISBN 9780375875281
New York: Random House, 2007
305 pages
Young Adult
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Annotation: Helen of Sparta practices sword fighting, horseback riding, and hunting instead if doing things a girl in Sparta would normally do like sewing and carding wool. All the training was put to good use when she goes on an adventure with her brothers.
Summary: The beautiful Helen of Sparta is determine not to be girl that fusses over her looks and cards wool. Instead, she sneaks out to practice fighting with swords and spears, hunting, running, riding on horses, and even engages in a deadly battle with a boar (not alone thank goodness). Not your typical type of girl during that period but that is Helen for you!

Critique: This book was great because it was adventurous, and showed that girls don't have be who people think they are. The downside of this novel was that there was too much bloodshed so it made me feel sick. I loved Helen because she was headstrong and she did not do what others thought was proper. She stuck to her own goals and achieved them. Overall it was a great book.

Biography: Nebula Award winner Esther Friesner is the author of 31 novels and over 150 short stories, including the story "Thunderbolt" in Random House's Young Warriors anthology, which lead to the creation of Nobody's Princess. She is also the editor of seven popular anthologies. Educated at Vassar College and Yale University, where she taught for a number of years, Friesner is also a poet and a playwright. She is married, is the mother of two, harbors cats, and lives in Connecticut.

[1] You can know more about her at the website: http://www.sff.net/people/e.friesner/estgreet.html

[2] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Nobodys-Princess/Esther-Friesner/e/9780375875298/?itm=1

[3] Retrieved the image from: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780375875298