The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller ~Realistic/Coming of Age Genre~

Image from Heather Childs

Miller, Leah Rae. The Summer I became a Nerd. Fort Collins, Colorado: Entangled Publishing, LLC, 2013. Print.

Paperback, $9.99, ISBN-13: 978-1-62061-238-5

Annotation
Maddie, who secretly is a comic book lover, meets Logan who introduces her to all things nerdy.

Booktalk
Madelyne Summers (Maddie) is the typical blonde popular girl, but inside she is a comic book lover. Maddie ends up meeting Logan who works at the local comic book store, and he introduces her to comic conventions, LARPing, and videogames.  At first, Maddie is embarrassed by her new nerd friend and tries to hide the nerd she is becoming.  She finally realizes that she is a nerd and Logan is a better guy then her quarterback boyfriend.  See how Maddie discovers and accepts her true self in The Summer I became a Nerd. 

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg ~LGBTQ Genre~

Image from Heather Childs

Konigsberg, Bill. Openly Straight. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2013. Print.

Hardcover, $17.99, ISBN-13: 978-0-545-50990-9

Annotation
Rafe attends an all boys prep school to start anew without his gay label.  Rafe decides to hide his true identity but it does not go as he planned.

Booktalk
Seamus Rafael Goldberg (Rafe) is an openly gay boy who is accepted in his small town, but he hates being defined by that fact.  Rafe decides to go to an all-boys prep school and start anew without his gay label.  Rafe discovers that it is not easy to hide apart of yourself and everyone is defined by some label, either good or bad.  This book focuses on accepting yourself and being honest with the people you care about.  See how Rafe handles being Openly Straight.

Awards 

~Sid Fleischman Award for Humor

~Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Finalist

~Lambda Literary Award Finalist

~YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2014

~YALSA Teens’ Top Ten nominee, 2014

~Texas Library Association’s TAYSHAS List (Top Ten Title)

~CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin) Choices Lost, 2014

~Best Books of the Year for Children and Young Adults, Children’s Book 

~Notable Book for a Global Society Award – IRA Children’s Literature and Reading SIG

~Georgia Peach Award nominee

~North Carolina Young Adult Book Award nominee

~Capital Choices Noteworthy Books for Teens List

Miles To Go by Miley Cyrus ~Biography/NonFiction Genre~

Image from Heather Childs

Cyrus, Miley, and Hilary Liftin. Miles To Go. New York: Disney*Hyperion Books, 2009. Print.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4231-1992-0; Hardback; $24.95

Annotation
Miley Cyrus is famous for her role as Hannah Montana and this is her biography.

Booktalk
This is the biography of Miley Cyrus before she went crazy and shows her struggle to become Hannah Montana and her journey of fame.  Miley was not handed the role of Hannah Montana, she had to prove that she deserved the role.  Miley shares her challenges in school, including being bullied.  She also shares her insecurities and her dreams for the future.

I think this is an inspirational book, that let's middleschoolers and young adults know that even famous people have their problems and insecurities.  The book is very personal and I felt sorry for Miley more then I thought, wow, I want to be her.  The life of a star is very stressful and comes with many disappointments and joys.

Forever by Judy Blume ~Classic Genre~

Image from Heather Childs

Blume, Judy. Forever. New York, NY: Simon Pulse, 2007. Print.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-3400-4

fromat: paperback

$8.99

Annotation
Katherine and Michael fall in love and decide to have sex.  

Booktalk
Forever is about a girl named Katherine for falls in love with a boy named Michael.  Katherine thinks Michael is her one and only and that they will be together forever.  They decide to have sex.  Then, Katherine goes off to camp and meets a guy named Theo and starts to have feelings for him.  In the end Katherine and Michael break up and they are not together forever.

This is a great novel for teens to read so they realize that forever might not actually be forever.  Having sex with someone is a very special and important event that should only be done with the person you know you are going to spend your life with (aka spouse, unfortunately with the divorce rate that's not always forever either).  I thought the novel was cute and had a good message, but it was a quick read and I felt like it needed more substance.

Awards
~1996 Margaret A. Edwards Award for Outstanding Literature for Young Adults

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ~Historical Fiction Genre~

Image from Heather Childs

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.

ISBN-13: 978-0-375-84220-7

format: paperback

$12.99

Annotation
A young girl is orphaned during WWII and she enjoys stealing books and reading.  Her and her new family take in a Jew and hide him from the Nazis.  

Mini-review
The Book Thief is a story about a girl named Liesel who lived in Germany during WWII with her foster family.  The novel is narrated by Death.  Liesel first steals a book from a grave digger and from there she steals a book that was supposed to be burned and books from the mayor's wife.  Liesel's papa welcomes a Jew named Max into their home to keep him hidden from the Nazis.  Max resides in the basement and is hidden under a flag when the Nazi's go around checking people's houses.  Sadly, in the end everyone, but Liesel dies in a bombing.

I enjoyed this book, but I did not read through this novel as quickly as I have other novels.  I did not enjoy the writing style, but I thought it was interesting using Death as the narrator of the novel.  I would recommend this book for middle schoolers and young adults.  I really connected with Liesel's love of reading and her desire to aquire more books.  

Literary Book Awards:

~ 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific)

~ 2006 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

~ 2006 Daniel Elliott Peace Award

~ 2006 Publishers Weekly Best Children Book of the Year

~ 2006 Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book

~ 2007 Michael L. Printz AwardMichael L. Printz Honor Book The Printz award is given to     

   the best book for teens, based only on the quality of the writing.

~ 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year