How would you feel if someone you loved died unexpectedly? It has been six months since Molly’s dad died. Nothing has been right since. Her mom is a shadow of herself. Molly is not sure of anything anymore. Molly and her dad had a special bond. They both loved baseball. When it comes time to go out for softball, Molly decides she is going out for baseball instead. No other girl has ever been on the team before. Will she make the team? If she does, will the team accept her as a teammate? How does she explain why she is even trying? Will anyone understand her need to play ‘real’ baseball instead of softball? She just knows it is something she has to do.

Reviewed by Linda K., North County Regional

See more titles featured in 2010 Mock Printz Award

Add your comments about this book

Marcelo, 17, has a condition similar to Asperger's and has "pervasive interests" in religion and music, especially the IM, the internal music that only he can hear. He wants to work with ponies and disabled children but his father decides he needs a job that will make him interact with the "real world" and hires him to work in the mail room of his law firm. While filing, he discovers a picture of a young girl with half a face. Marcelo's unusual way of seeing and doing things as he searches for the girl in the picture and uncovers deception and injustice ultimately force him to choose between his father and the consequences of doing the right thing. Brilliantly written, Marcelo's voice is unforgettable.

Reviewed by Vera B., North County Regional

See more titles featured in 2010 Mock Printz Award

Add your comments about this book

Miles and her cousin, Laura, have been inseparable their entire lives. But Miles finds she is spiraling out of control when Laura commits suicide. Already an outcast in many respects, Miles turns even more heavily to the drugs, cigarettes, and sullenness that she has hidden behind for so long. Her best friend starts spending time with another girl, leaving Miles feeling even more alone. Although she finds an unexpected connection with Laura’s father, Miles continues her downward spiral, causing the reader to wonder if she will ever recover. Rachel Cohn paints a very real portrait of one girl’s experiences with loss. Although the subject may make this book more suitable for older teens, anyone who has experienced the death of someone close will be able to relate to Miles.

Reviewed by Christine B., South County Regional

Add your comments about this book

Have you ever felt like you’ve outgrown your friends? Polly, Jo, and Ama met on the first day of third grade, and have been close friends ever since. But now, the summer before they start high school, there doesn’t seem to be much keeping them together anymore. This book is set in the same town as the author’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, and fans of those books will spot glimpses of a few characters from those books. But the focus of this charming and engrossing read is on the three new girls, and whether their friendship can survive.

Reviewed by Emily L., University City Regional

See more titles featured in Teen Chick Lit

Add your comments about this book

Have you ever had the choice between two things and neither option looked good? Kyra, who is almost 14, lives in a closed community with her father, his three wives, and her 20 brothers and sisters. When the whole family is brought together for a visit from Prophet Child, the leader of their community, the family thinks they may be getting promoted, which would mean a nicer house than the three trailers the family live in now. Instead, they learn that the Prophet has decreed that Kyra is to marry Hyrum, her sixty-year old uncle who has 6 wives already. Kyra does not want to, but as she starts to rebel, the consequences fall on people she cares about. Kyra must choose between her freedom and her family.

Reviewed by Emily L., University City Regional

See more titles featured in 2010 Mock Printz Award

Add your comments about this book

Evie Spooner would do anything to be just like her Mom. They’ve survived tough times together although things are looking up since her Mom married Joe. Now that Joe’s back from World War II, the family takes a vacation trip to Florida which turns into a nightmare. Her Mom and Joe are accused of murder and the young GI that Evie has fallen in love with has disappeared. Things suddenly have changed… did Joe have something to do with the disappearance? What secret is her mother keeping from her? Things are no longer clear to Evie, maybe her Mom is the last person on earth she’d want to be.

Reviewed by Julie S., South County Regional

See more titles featured in Teen Read Week 2012: It Came From the Library

Add your comments about this book

Growing up in a strict religious community is hard enough. Fifteen-year-old Alis believes that to obey the harsh rules of her community is the will of the Maker. But when she learns of her arranged marriage to her 40-year-old pastor, she immediately plans an escape. Leaving her beloved Luke behind, she ventures into the city to find shelter with her brother Joel, who escaped years before. She soon learns that the only way to survive, is to become a thief. Will she be able to put her morals aside to save her life? This is a wonderful, and very inspiring story of a young girl taking control of her own destiny, defying her community and religion, to make her own way in the world.

Reviewed by Amy H., Steele Creek Branch

See more titles featured in 2010 Mock Printz Award

Add your comments about this book

We all make mistakes, some more severe than others… but when Anne Green believes her rich master’s grandson; she must pay the ultimate price – her own life! Anne is sentenced to hang after being wrongly accused of murder. Her family and friends watch her death from the hangman’s noose and mourn her. Imagine their surprise to be told by medical doctors days later that Anne has survived the ordeal. Now Anne has the chance to atone for past mistakes, but will she make the right decisions in order to avoid being hung a second time?! Based on an actual occurrence in 1650 England, Anne’s story is an exciting historical read that you won’t be able to put down. Recommended for older teen readers.

Reviewed by Julie S., South County Regional

Add your comments about this book

If a genie granted you one wish, what would you use it for? Seventeen-year-old Annika tells her 6-year-old brother Jeremy that a genie gave her three wishes and she’s giving one to him. She expects him to wish for the new Teen Robin Hood action figure. Instead, he wishes for the real Teen Robin Hood, a character on a popular TV show, to come visit him before his surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Desperate to do anything for her sick brother, Annika heads to Hollywood to find the very cute actor and convince him to come back with her. Will the power of positive thinking lead Teen Robin Hood to a young boy in trouble, or will it lead Annika straight into hot water?

Reviewed by Emily L., University City Regional

See more titles featured in Teen Chick Lit

Add your comments about this book

Zeke first beats his father at chess when he is only six years old. He is thrilled to be able to beat someone older than he is. Until it starts happening to him. Now a senior in high school, Zeke's younger brother Randy is a freshman, and they've both qualified for the regional tournament that is a qualifier for the state final. Randy beats Zeke 9 times out of 10. When it is very possible that it will be a brother vs. brother match up in the semi-final, who will make the final checkmate? This quick read alternates between the brothers’ points-of-view.

Reviewed by Emily L., University City Regional

See more titles featured in Young Adult Books for Boys

Add your comments about this book