Posts Tagged «romance»
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
by Louis Sachar, 336 pages, Grades 7-adult
At first Alton thought being forced to visit his elderly uncle was going to be pretty boring. He was pretty sure his uncle didn’t even know who he was, even though his mother had been making him call Uncle Lester, a.k.a. Trap, his “favorite uncle” ever since he was little.
He was even more certain that this was going to be boring when his uncle explained that what he needed was a cardturner for his bridge games each week since he could no longer see the cards; Trap had recently lost his eyesight. Alton could only remember old people playing bridge, and the game seemed to include a lot of complicated rules, not particularly, but he agreed to help his “favorite uncle.”
His “favorite uncle” also turned out to be pretty crabby at first, and was not a man to give compliments very often, but everyone has a story; there is a lot more to Trap’s story than Alton ever could have guessed. The mystery of Trap’s past is entertaining, bridge is intriguing, and when a pretty girl enters the picture Alton’s boring summer turns into one of the best of his life.
Connections: If you enjoy Louis Sachar, you might also like Holes. Another great read about younger and older generations connecting is called The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly.
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
Tags: bridge (card game), competition, cross generation, elderly, families, realistic fiction, romance, teens, uncles
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Friday, June 3rd, 2011
by Eileen Cook 256 pages grades 7 and up
Hailey Kendrick got the whole school on probation; no one can leave campus because of her. She has gone from popular to outcast in one night.
Hailey attends a fancy boarding, so fancy, in fact, children of movie stars, and teen stars themselves, are her classmates. She has no money worries, obviously, she is popular and is dating one of the most handsome guys in the school. Her life seemed pretty perfect until she got everyone on probation.
What is going on? Has Hailey lost her mind, or was there something already boiling beneath the surface that just had to burst free? And, how is she going to manage life when everyone she knows has dumped her?
Other fun realistic fiction with teen girl central characters are: Heist Society, by Ally Carter, Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer, and a fantasy with a teen girl central character is Matched, by Ally Condie.
Tags: friendship, girls, high schools, identity, realistic fiction, romance, teens
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Friday, March 25th, 2011
by Ally Condie, 366 pages, Grades 7 and up
In a future world where no one has to fear disease, malnutrition, crime, or other problems of past cultures, people trust The Society to make the best decisions about everything: the food you should be eating, the clothes you wear and even who is best suited to be your partner for life.
Cassia has reached the age of her matching, and at the ceremony while others are paired with people from other cities far away Cassia is surprised and grateful to find her match is Xander, her best friend from childhood. She leaves the ceremony feeling confident this is her ideal mate, but when she uses the computer to find out more about her match the face of another boy she knows flashes on the screen!
This little “mistake” opens Cassia’s eyes to the possibility that The Society might not really be as perfect as she has been brought up to believe; could this doubt put everyone she knows in danger? And, who is her real match?
If you enjoy dystopian fantasy, fiction that takes place in a future that is the opposite of an ideal world, you might also like: Unwind by Neal Shusterman, or Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Crossed, the sequel to Matched will come out in 2011.
Tags: coming of age, dystopian, families, fantasy, identity, love stories, romance, teens
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Friday, April 23rd, 2010
by Beth Fantaskey p. 351 Young Adult
More vampires anyone? Jessica’s adoptive parents wait until she’s a high school senior before telling her that her birth parents were vampires in Romania! They’ve also neglected to tell her that she was betrothed at birth to a vampire prince who has just shown up in her hometown to claim her as his fiance. Of course, this very rational mathlete doesn’t believe in vampires and so is having a very difficult time dealing with the arrogant, but very good looking, stranger who is posing as a foreign exchange student at her high school and living in the apartment above her garage. Filled with suspense, drama, romance, and humor this is a great read for Twilight fans.
Connections: Here are some other young adult vampire novels you might enjoy: Suck It Up by Brian Meehl, Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, and The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause. Though not about vampires, Beastly by Alex Flinn is a good romance with the beauty and the beast theme.
Tags: fiction, high school, humor, love stories, romance, teenagers, vampires, Young Adult
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Sunday, November 15th, 2009
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. p. 274 Grades 7-8
What a summer! Fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, works dawn to dusk on her family’s dairy farm after her father has hip surgery. Life is pretty dismal until the coach from her high school’s rival team asks D.J to coach his budding quarterback, the gorgeous Brian Nelson. While training and doing farm chores, the two teenagers become friends, but things get complicated when D.J. tries out for her high school’s football team.
Connections: The sequel is Off Season. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher is another football romance.
Tags: family problems, farm life, farms, fathers and daughters, football, friendship, high schools, love stories, realistic fiction, romance, teenagers, Wisconsin
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
by Alex Flinn. p. 304 Young Adult
Attention Twilight fans! This compelling romance puts a contemporary spin on the Beauty and the Beast tale. Popular fourteen-year-old Kyle Kingsbury is incredibly good looking, charming, rich, and really mean. After playing an especially cruel trick on a homely girl,at a dance, a witch casts a spell on Kyle turning him into a beast–making him as ugly on the outside as he has been on the inside. He only has two years to break the spell or live as a beast forever. In order to do so, he must fall in true love with someone who will love him back and give him, of course, a kiss!
Connections: Here are some other excellent versions of the Beauty and the Beast story: Beast by Donna Jo Napoli; Rose Daughter and Beauty by Robin McKinley.
Tags: Add new tag, Beauty and the Beast, fantasy, fathers and sons, fiction, love stories, New York City, popularity, romance, wealth, Young Adult
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Sunday, October 11th, 2009
by Dene Low. p. 196 Grades 5-8
What a funny, frothy farce! Set in Victorian England, this improbable mystery concerns sixteen-year-old Petronella who is about to have her London debut when her guardian Uncle Augustus swallows a giant beetle and develops an insatiable hunger for all insects. The story begins at Petronella’s sixteenth birthday party on her large country estate where her uncle swallows the bug, two of her celebrity guests disappear, and we meet the romantic Lord James Sinclair. Filled with Petronella’s witty observations and banter, lots of slapstick, luscious language,and some romantic possibilities, this books is a delight to read.
Connections: If you enjoy this book, try the short stories and novels by P.G. Wodehouse such as How Right You Are, Jeeves, Carry on, Jeeves, and Leave It to Psmith.
Tags: adventure, girls, guardians, historical fiction, humor, insects, London, melodrama, mystery, orphans, romance, teens, uncles, Victorian England
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Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
by Jordan Sonnenblick. p. 264 Grades 6-8
It’s tough being the new kid especially in January of the eighth grade. San Lee has moved around and changed schools a lot, and this time it’s because his dad has gone to prison for fraud. His mom’s short on money because of his dad’s legal fees, and even though it’s the middle of the winter in Pennsylvania, San heads off for his new middle school in sandals and the light windbreaker that were fine in Texas. Adopted from China as a baby, San is the only Asian American at his new school. When he discovers that his social studies class is studying Buddhism, which he studied last year, he pretends to be a Zen master. This deception wins him the attention of a beautiful girl but spins out of control in both serious and comical ways as more and more kids believe he’s the real thing.
Connections: Books where a new kid makes a big impact on the other students in a school are Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, The Gypsies Never Came by Stephen Roos, Schooled by Gordon Korman and, for mature readers, Jake Reinvented by Gordon Korman as well as Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardner. If you’d like to know more about Zen Buddhism, try browsing the 294.3 section of the library.
Tags: Chinese Americans, humor, love stories, middle school, multicultural, new kid, outsiders, romance, teens, Zen Buddhism
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Monday, May 4th, 2009
by Kristin Cashore, p. 471 – Grades 8 & Up
This award winning first novel by Kristin Cashore will have mature readers begging for a sequel. The king of Middluns first identified Lady Katsa’s “grace” when she killed a man at age 8, and he has been using her special talent to keep the people of his kingdom and the surrounding six kingdoms in line ever since. Lady Katsa rebels against the bullying king by secretly forming a council to protect those who have been treated unfairly throughout the seven kingdoms. The rescue of a neighboring king’s kidnapped father leads Katsa on a quest to find his captor, with the help of his grandson, who has an interesting “grace” of his own.
Connection: This book might appeal to those who enjoyed the combination of fantasy and romance in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books or the strong female protagonist in Garth Nix’s Sabriel series. — CRW
Tags: autonomy, fantasy, identity, justice, Kristin Cashore, love stories, rebellion, romance, Young Adult
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Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
by Brian Meehl, p. 318 – Grades 7 & Up
After graduating from the IVLeague (International Vampire League), Morning McCobb gets the opportunity to be the hero he had always hoped to be… rather than just the skinny, awkward teen he will eternally be. The president of the IVLeague offered Morning the chance to be the first vampire to reveal himself to “lifers” (humans) in the hopes that humans and vampires can live together in harmony. Morning is thought to be the perfect canidate since he only drinks a soy-based blood substitute rather than the farmed animal blood that most Leaguer vampires drink. A potential love interest and an angry “loner” (non-league vampires that still drink human blood) make the challenge of convincing humans that vampires are friends even more difficult.
Connection: This book is a good choice for those interested a lighter version of Twilight, told from the vampires point of view. –CRW
Tags: Brian Meehl, heroes, identity, romance, teens, vampires
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