Nick and Norah...

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

By: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

208p
Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN-10: 037584614X
ISBN-13: 978-0375846144

Annotation:

High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart.

Summary:

When shy quiet recently single Nick glances at the headstrong and also recently single Nora across a bar in which they are both too young to be in, he realizes that she is his only chance to find a girl that will impress his beautiful and stuck-up ex-girlfriend Tris in time. He convinces Nora to be his girlfriend for the “next five minutes” and what happens next? You’ll have to read and find out.

This novel is filled with adventure and humor, and will sure to keep even the most reluctant of readers thoroughly entertained. Teens will fall in love with Nick and his attempts to do what is right even when things are not going his way.

Cohn creates a novel surrounding one night filled with wild antics, sexual frustration and of course lots of rockin’ music. A night in which two teens discover and explore the lives they have known and the future itself. This novel is filled with tons of music tidbits from heavy metal and punk bands to those oldies-but-goodies we know and love, perfect for the true music fan.

Strong Language is throughout this great teen novel, so readers beware.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns
By John Green

305p

Dutton Books

ISBN-10: 0525478183
ISBN-13: 978-0525478188

Annotation:
One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boring-ness of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.

Summary:

Many years ago, next door neighbors and childhood friends Quentin and Margo happened across a dead body. Now in high school, Quentin is the quintessential band geek while Margo Roth Spiegelman the quintessential queen bee herself. They are social worlds apart, until the fateful night Margo sneaks into Q’s window demanding his assistance in perform 12 act of revenge. Margo then mysteriously runs away, leaving Quentin with thousands of questions and only a few well placed clues to help him on his way.

Filled with literary references, Green mixes all the feelings surrounding the culmination of high school, the emotions of a secret crush and the mysteries of a disappearance to create Paper towns. Well written and exciting, Green creates not only main, but secondary characters that are well rounded and interesting, characters that are original and realistic. Readers will easily identify with and grow to care for these characters are concerned with the climax.

Green manages to create a story that is thoughtful, emotional and funny (at times) all in one. A great novel that will draw in readers and never let them go.

Hold Up

Hold Up

By Terri Fields

176p

Roaring Brook Press

ISBN-10: 1596432195
ISBN-13: 978-1596432192

Annotation:

Diverse teens each react differently to a shift at the Burger Heaven on a busy Saturday night that culminates in a showdown with two armed robbers.

Summary:

What determines a person's character, is it the behavior or how how they act in a moment of panic? This is the question teens must ask themselves as they open the pages to Terri Fields "Hold Up".

Told through the perspectives of nine different people, this novel portrays how we are all different yet in some ways still the same. Set against the backdrop of a robbery gone wrong. This poignant narrative of life and how the decisions one makes can have a startling affect on them for years to come. In this novel we are introduced to the characters in journal type submissions, some of these characters are cliché such as Jordan an overachiever who does what she is expected to do, even when she doesn’t want to, while some are very interesting and easy to relate to such as Manuel an impoverish yet intelligent boy who needs goading by a retired teacher to even think about going to college or Joe a boy described as “white-wall” by his classmates, who get mixed up with the wrong people all in the attempt to impress a girl.

Each character’s entries allow us to become more and more familiar with them and their individual needs and desires, leading up to the robbery. Everything changes once the gun is pulled.

Teens will enjoy this short young adult novel if only for the nonstop action and the suspenseful climax. This is novel can lend itself to an open discussion on the ideas of perception and how teens view themselves and others, perfect for teachers in search of an edgier novel for that reluctant reader.