The Reading Nook

Black and White is very much a YA novel. It has scenes of fighting, guns, violence and love. But it also has even more serious issues, like going to jail, and even a riot scene. My reaction to this book is that none of the things portrayed in this book would actually happen in real life. They describe a scene a scene in which a boy get impaled with a chair. In reality, even the craziest of people would not impale somone with a chair leg. But otherwise, I liked the book, and it drove home a point even though it was not realistic.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was a very interesting book which kept me intrigued and wanting to read more. The main character of the book, Melinda Sordino, has a mystery wrapped around her the whole book involving a party and her not speaking. I thought that this mystery kept people reading the book the whole time. At a party she called the cops for a very mature reason and that is why this book can also be called YA. The tone of the book sarcastic and funny although they were dealing with some serious matters. The main character used a sense of irony the whole book when illustrating the story which kept us interested. I love how kids our age could really relate to the book because some people are dealing with the same matters and also she was going through school classes just as we are. All in all, Speak was a great book which enlightened people about serious matters among us.

The book “Who Am I Without Him” is a very interesting book which definetly classifies as YA. This book is a collection of short stories describing the lives of girls who are nothing without the men in their lives. “Who Am I Without Him” uses slang to illustrate each story. Each story has a different girl struggling to solve the mystery of men. The tone or theme of the story is sad and makes you feel pity for the characters. I thought that the book was very interesting because there were so many different issues presented between the characters. All in all, I thought that “Who Am I Without Him” by Sharon G. FLake was a very intriguing book that helps inform girls of real problems so they will understand how to deal with them.

I think it definatlly qualifies as a YA. It has a little bit of everything, fighting, cursing, sexual harasment, and love. Also a 19 year-old narrator that is very athletic and has a crush on his friend who like him but not in the way he wants.

This Y/A book disapointed me in one way. The only reason it did was because I have read the others before it in the series, and was expecting more drama or something. It did fit the aspect of having a teenage main character and having teenage problems and delemas, but it didnt have major trageties like death. In my opinion, the main character, Massie Block, along with her best friends (also main characters), did not mature. I also thought that throughout the book, Massie didnt progress in life or take control at all. She stayed selfish and picky. Although this is Y/A book, I think that it protrayed a different type of Y/A then described in the assignment. i think that it was more of a pleasurable, no moral story that was meant to be fun for kids my age to read, because they can relate to caring about looks and style. There was no emotional feeling in it, yet I loved it. This series entertains and excites me very much and I am looking forward to reading the next one. i recomend this book to all girls my age.

It’s Not Easy Being Mean by Lisi Harrison is about a clique of alphas (Massie, Claire, Kristin, Dylan, and Alicia.) The book is a 7th book in the series The Clique. All 7 books are catered to a female young adult category. This book deals with the 7th grade powerful and popular clique being threatened of their power. An 8th grader is in control of who is the popular clique in the many years to come, and the girls dont want their spots to be taken away from them. This is a YA book because the main characters are teenage girls, they use slang, it is a fairly short book, and many other factors creating this to be a book catered to young adults. these books are personal favorites of mine, not just Its Not Easy Being Mean, but all of them. these girls are rich privite school girls who worry about reputation, brands, and try to avoide last year’s uggs. therefore this book would be best read by teenage girls.

It’s Not Easy Being Mean by Lisi Harrison is about a clique of Alphas (Massie, Claire, Kristen, Dylan, and Alicia) The plot is of 7th grade girls who are the powerful clique of their rich privite school and are threatend of their popularity. This is a YA book because it deals with teenage issues, is fairly short, and it’s main character are a clique of teenage girls. This would be catered to a crowd of teenage girls because the characters focus their attention on apperance, popularity, wealth, and how to escape from last years uggs. This would be a book you would read for fun because it dosnt deal with issues worthy of a school assignment but it dosnt mean this book is “trashy” and not fun to read. It’s Not Easy Being Mean is the 7th out of 8 books in the series The Clique so far. All of the books are fun to read and deal with light but enjoyful issues.

The YA book The Year of Secret Assignments was a very interesting and intriguing book to read. It dealt with problems such as vandalism and harsh teenage social situations while still including an interesting plot. In this book their are five main characters, all of which are teenagers. It is written in different diary entries, and letters in the first person that do include curse words and bad language. Although this book is over 250 pages, it does qualify as a YA book, for it involves difficult situations that are inappropriate for young children. Towards the end of the book, it seems as though the five main characters mature, but not that much. As their personalities do change, it is not a significant amount. In this book, I liked how the characters were all different, and the reader is able to see many different points of view, yet the story lagged on when it should have moved faster, and I found myself becoming bored. Overall, though, I enjoyed reading this book.

“Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes” is a YA book. This book contains elements such as the main character being a teenager, being told from a first-person point of view, the main characters are outcasts and the fact that it deals with social concerns and issues that teenagers have to deal with. The main character, Eric Calhoune, was once fat and now swims on his school team. His good friend, Sarah Byrnes, was burned on her face when she was young. I thought that this book was really interesting to read. I had an extremely hard time putting it down once I had reached the middle of the book. I enjoy reading mysteries and I feel that this book became a mystery through out it. The friendship between Eric and Sarah Byrnes is very interesting to read through because of the changes and rough patches they go through together and still remain good friends. This book deals with issues like abortion and parental abuse, and it really gives you a good impression of what actually happens. I thought that this book dealt with many YA topics and was very intersting. I really enjoyed reading it.

Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen, is an intriguing book about a boy named Bryce and a girl named Julianna. The story is about their relationship. I enjoyed the way the book is written because it is written from both of the characters points of view. This is definitely a YA book because the characters come across many problems that they must deal with. Also both of the characters are teenagers, it is short, and they both start making decisions about their life. As well Julianna’s uncle is mentally challenged. She must deal with this in the book. This YA book is very delightful and really teaches the reader to think about how different people have different points of view.

This book, Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause, has a teenage girl, Vivian, as the main character. In the book, the events and problems are related to teenagers, and alot of the dialog erflects how teenagers speak. Some other things that make this book a YA book are that the book is not much more than 250 pages, the main character trys to take matters into her own hands, the girl is in a group of outsiders, she has to meet a bunch of challenges, there are family conflicts, she has to deal with her father’s death, she has a not ver good self perception, she has to deal with sex alot, and she gets a deeper understanding of her society.
I thought that this was a very good book; the characters were complex and interesting, there was a good science fiction theme, mixed in with her trying to fit in, and the language was easy but good. The setting was in a suberbian town-like place, and it fit in well with the rest of the story. I thought that the style of the book was very good, it was very easy to understand, and very interesting. The plot of this book was very creative; a werewolf girl who moves with her pack to a town where she has to stuggle to fit in, and it kept me reading the whole time. Overall, I thought that this was an extremely good YA book that I would recommend to everyone who likes that type of plot.

In the YA book I read the main character, Cole is a very emotionaly confused person. He has trouble getting rid of his anger in a non violent way and he has lots of anger. This is a YA book because Cole is a tennager with a large problem he has to overcome all by himself.

This is a novel written by Sarah Dessen. To me it was a YA book. It written in first person, the point of view of Colie, who is fifteen years old. She is a very independent character. Being a teen, her friends and her have used slang\curse words. The book is fairly short less than 250 pages (228 pages). Colie was an outcast, she had no friends for a long time. Because she was fat. Overall, I enjoyed Keeping the Moon, and I do think it would be catagorized as a YA novel.

The main character is a teenger named Jenna. She has a younger brother named Jeremy that also tells the story, they both tell it in first person. All conflicts and problems in When Dad Killed Mom are related to teenagers and are told in “teenage” speech. Jenna is a mature and out-going girl that really does not care what other people think. She tries to take matters into her own hands, many times and watches out for herself and her younger brother she is aware of her life. This novel is short its actually under 250 pages. Through out the book it makes one feel uncomfortable and sad during points in the book. Jenna does not really fit in, and her actions represent that. Jeremy and Jenna face various problems that incredibley effect both of their lives. They deal with violence and Jenna deals with underage inapropriate sex content. Both Jenna and Jeremy deal with death and loss, also maturness, and beginning to understand things a little bit deeper.

In this book from the Clique series, the main character Massie goes to an all girls’ school and finally gets the chance to socialize with the boys, during an inter-school trip. As Massie tells her story from 1st person, she and her friends encounter social problems with the boys, and they don’t know how to react. Most of the group’s problems consist of who likes who, and who wants to kiss who on the over-night fieldtrip. Over the course of the less than 250 page book, chats on IM and text messages on the phone lead to problems and insecurity. Towards the beginning of the book one of the girls cuts her hair, in hope that the boy she likes will end up liking her and her new look. The main characters form the clique ” The Pretty Committee”, alienates girls they don’t feel are as “cool”, “popular” or as “hot” as they are. Forcing the other girls into doing things they might not want to do with peer pressure, I would definitely say that this book is rightfully rated YA.

This book is a YA book. Although the book contains more than 250 pages it contains most the other required requirments to be a YA book. It is about a group of 3 girls and their relationship with boys from their brother school. The characters in the book are mainly teenagers and the problems are solved with little ot no help from adults. The book includes political injustice and although the book is not told in the first person, it is told through letters, the protagonists take matters into their own hands and try to solve the problem. I enjoyed the book because it was told through letters and I enjoyed the way the author, Jaclyn Moriarty, made it so that you never knew what was going to happen next. Overall, the book was enojoyable while it caused you to think about what was happening, and it has most of the neccessary requirments to to be a YA book.

This book was about three girls and three boys who underwent multiple changes and made friends or enemys through letters. They went on a journey to better themselves through the books also.

This book was about three girls who attend a private school who have to write lettters to threee boys. The girls have a perception about how the boys will act, and they are all surprised. They all undergo multiple changes during the process of the letters.

This book was about three girls who attend a private school who have to write lettters to threee boys. The girls have a perception about how the boys will act, and they are all surprised. They all undergo multiple changes during the process of the letters.

I read girls in love by Jacqueline Wilson which is a YA book. This book sugests in its title, cover, summary and writing that it is a book for females. The book gave me a new look upon my own grade. Girls have a very different “Social Hiarchy” that can be brutal even in a rough male’s perspective. The toughness of a girl is described many times in the book and shows how they can fight in verbal and almost violent ways. This book is a great novel for males too because it shows them how another gender can be much different. I highly reccoment it to almost anyone. The book qualifys as a YA because it has drug, puberty, adolecence and many other parts of a teen female’s life. I do not reccomend this book if you consider or are considered an “outsider” which is the base of our english unit. It offends any who are different and arent part of the “Clique” and this can hurt even the most popular of people. At points in the book I was almost astounded because of the insults that girls would make and try to “Bump” eachother out of popular groups. The book taught me how a girls life can be a violent and painful war.
Christiano

I read The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty, which definitely qualifies as a YA book. It’s about a group of friends who have pen pals with their brother school, and how chaos occurs. I enjoyed reading The Year of Secret Assignments because there was suspense, social difficulty, and a little bit of humor. Although it dealt with some upsetting concepts, overall the book was captivating and you could actually believe what was going on. This book agrees with most of the requirements set to describe a YA book. For example, the main characters Lydia, Emily, and Cassie, are all teenagers. Even though it is not told in the first person and instead letters, the novel is short and consists of problems and solution solved without the assistance of adults.  All of the dilemmas are relating to teenage life and the death of Cassie’s father. The Year of Secret Assignments also brings up drugs in many instances, which makes the reader slightly uncomfortable. Overall, the book challenges your mind, which makes it so interesting and enjoyable to read, and complies with most of the necessary elements.

I feel this novel definitely qualifies as a YA book. First of all the story is told by a teenager who goes to a place in which everyone has been abused, gotten raped, done drugs, tried to commit suicide, or been a prostitute. Abigail, the main character, thinks of herself as more grown up and capable than she is and tries to take all matters into her own hands. Throughout the book she fights for control of her life but because of her situation the result ends up involving restraints and confinement. When Abigail returns home she finds herself more mature and looking at life through different eyes. I thought this book was neither good or bad, it was ok. I believe it would have been better if her reports weren’t included because I felt they were boring and tended to skip over them. I also would have liked the book to be written with more interesting language, it was very simple. However I thought it was interesting how the author had dyslexia and wrote this book to prove herself to others. The author also mentioned how a lot of the situations came from people she knew or herself. Overall this YA book was an easy quick read but bored me with the writing.

Danielle Joseph

I think that this book is a YA book. In this story the main charecter, a girl named LaVaughn, is a teenager. The events that happen are told by her. Some of the events in this book are based on her but most of them are based on the women LaVaughn is helping, Jolly. The dialoge used is a lot of slang but most of the book is writen in normal english. The problems the main Charecter is going through are very emotional and mature problems. These problems can only be delt with with mature people. This novel is 200 pages. LaVaughn helped Jolly get her life back toghether but she did not take over her life and make her do things she didn’t want to do. This book does Chalenge your mind and make you ask questions like “are people really living like this everyday”.

If a tree falls in a forest, and no-one is there to hear it, did it really fall?
The situation is the same in this intreuging novel on a hated schoolmate, who many actually wanted to die…