What Teens Are Reading Now

Little Brother

by Cory Doctorow

I asked the high school librarian in our town what the students have been reading and this was the first on his list. I had not heard of it, but I chose it because the reviews were good. It is the story of Marcus, a smart 17-year-old computer geek who already knows how to work the system. After a terrorist attack, he and his friends are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and imprisoned for days. When they are released, he discovers that his city has become a police state and Marcus decides he must fight back. An interesting look at the surveillance world in which the author tries to depict opposing viewpoints. The book has two afterwords , one by a security technologist and one by a hacker. Also contains a bibliography for teens who are interested in learning more about intellectual freedom and information access.

Cirque Du Freak: Book 4: Vampire Mountain

by Darren Shen

According to the high school librarian, this series is very popular. Personally, I can't see why- first of all, the older covers for the series at the library were all really creepy. That was a turn-off for me right away. (But then again, I'm not a teenager who likes science fiction.) Second, it's another vampire series, which I'm not really into, other than Twilight, since it was more the romance than the vampires that I liked. Anyway, this story is another in the life of Darren Shan, who also happens to be the author. In this journey, his meeting with the Vampire Princes might restore his human side, or it may turn him more toward the darkness. I don't think I'm going to read it to find out.

Lock and Key

by Sarah Dessen

When I asked my daughters (grades 8 and 10) what everyone is reading, they both said anything by Sarah Dessen. I chose Lock and Key at the public library because it is one of her newer novels and because it is the story of a girl who is dropped unexpectedly into a rich lifestyle, which all the girls seem to love today. Ruby has been abandoned by her mother, father, and sister, until her sister learns she is living alone and comes to save her. Her sister's husband is wealthy, so Ruby suddenly has new clothes and a private school to attend. The problem is she doesn't know where she fits in anymore. A moving novel with well-developed characters.

Nutritious Books

Under the Persimmon Tree

by Suzanne Fisher Staples

I found this at the public library and I chose it because it was on one of the YALSA lists of best books for teens. This is the story of Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose mother and baby brother are killed in an air raid, and father and older brother are constripted by the Taliban. At a refugee camp, she meets Elaine, and American woman who is running the camp while her husband is missing. Their lives entwine as they both try to find the people they love. There is a lot of history and politics woven into the story, and also a glossary, map, and background notes. An important story for young adults and others to read since we know so little about that part of the world.

Open Your Eyes- Extraordinary Experiences in Faraway Places

edited by Jill Davis

I found this at the public library and I chose it because I liked the short-story format and the idea that it was about different cultures and countries. The editor has collected 10 travel stories from a range of writers, such as Lois Lowry, Jean Fritz, and Katherine Patterson. Each one shares an eye-opening and life-changing travel experience that they had as a young person. Some funny and some sad, they all convey the idea that if you are put into an unfamiliar culture or situation, you will need to think and grow and change.

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You

by Hanna Jansen

I found this book at the public library. I chose it because it is about the Rwandan Genocide, something that we as a country know very little about. It would be useful in a high school classroom since it is historical, thought-provoking, and about genocide. This is the true story of eight-year-old Jeanne, who witnessed her entire family being massacred during the 1994 genocide. She is then adopted by a German woman who helps this remarkable girl heal and tell the story of her life to the world.