A Joint Project of
Genrefluent and the Center for Adolescent Reading

Marriott, Zoe Daughter of the Flames Candlewick 2009

Daughter of the Flames was a well done book with a excellent twisting plotline. On the day Zira is to be accepeted as a novice warrior priestest outlaws attack and destroy her home. She must now lead her people to safety with a man they do not trust. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. 4P Broad general teen appeal. --Tyler, 15

Peterfreund, Diane Rampant HarperTeen 2009

Evil unicorns. My first thought was: It's about time! I'm surprised it took so long for someone to start writing a book about evil unicorns. These are not the sweet, gentle, healing creatures of childhood. No, these are man eating, poisonous, big as an elephant unicorns. Thank goodness they're extinct! No, not really, or else there wouldn't be a story. 16 year old Astrid has always thought that her mother was delusional for believing that her great great great great great aunt slew the last unicorn. But when a unicorn shows up and stabs her boyfriend, she begins having second thoughts. Turns out that Astrid is a descendent of Alexander the Great, and as a consequence has better reflexes, sharper senses, is faster, stronger, and one of the few people who can slay a unicorn. Astrid is sent off to a school to train to exterminate the unicorns, and the story pretty much takes off from there. The reason I'm not giving this a 4 out of 5 is because I thought the ending could've used more work. Nominate? No. 3Q Readable. --Andrea, 15

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 The cover was really awesome. It did reflect the contents because it is about Astrid and she is the girl on the front cover.The fact that unicorns are bloodthirsty man-eating beasts is totally awesome. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. Abby, middle school student
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The cover felt too feminine to me. However it reflects the contents well.Describe the most compelling aspect of the book. Bloodthirsty poisonous unicorns. It's premise suggests a funny action/adventure novel while the actual book is an attempt at a serious teen romance. I don't think serious teen romance is possible and this was a horrible book. Nominate? No. 2Q Needs more work. --Tyler, 16

Harrison, Mette Ivie The Princess and the Bear HarperCollins 2009

The sequel to the Princess and the Hound has arrived! This time, it follows the story of the what happened to the hound and the bear. A new danger has arrived in the forest. Something called the unmagic has arrived, destroying everything and not giving new life to anything. Now it is up to the bear and the hound to go back in time and stop it from becoming a problem in the present. Time travel books almost always bother me, but this one was alright. And it was actually as good as the first, just written in a different genre in many ways. Whereas the previous one was romance/fairy tale, this is adventure/fairy tale with a little romance. I recommend you read the Princess and the Hound first, but you could understand this one without much trouble. Nominate? No. 4Q Better than most. 4P Broad general teen appeal. Andrea, 15

Kinney, Jeff Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw Amulet Books 2009 - January

I thought the cover is great to attract new readers and showed Greg's personalityIt shows a true life situation some boys face and a funny, easy taken way to solve it. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. Kissondra, 15

Patterson, James Max Little, Brown & Co 2009 - March 16

The adventures of the mutant bird kids fly's off the page. It's exciting. Nominate? Yes. 5Q Hard to imagine a better book. Sarah, 15

Hurley, Tonya Ghostgirl Homecoming Little, Brown & Co 2009 - July

i like the book because its funny ,sad ,it just keeps you wanting more and more. i recommend for teens who like paramonormal Nominate? Yes. 5Q Hard to imagine a better book. 5P Everyone wants to read it. Jasmine, 15

Prineas, Sarah The Magic Thief: Lost HarperCollins 2009 - May

It is very addictive once you start reading it is very hard to stopI liked the fact that the cover shows two of the main characters and the evil sorcerer-king's locus magicalus The most compelling aspect of the book is that the book is in a boy named Connwaer's point of view which makes it very different and interesting because he used to be a guter boy but that all changed when he picked a wizard's poket and got cought.This is a must read because of its awesome description, mystery and unknown love. Nominate? Yes. 5Q Hard to imagine a better book. Dustin, 12

Kephart, Beth Nothing but Ghosts HarperTeen 2009 - June

This book is called Nothing but Ghost and it is really good acually if i had to rate it 8 or 9. It is about a girl (Katie) and her mother had passed a way. So the girl gets a job at a garden estate with a nice librarian and her brothers. Then there is something that started a mystery well she was working. This story is kinda like a mystery, but it is a love story acually. I don't want to say nothing else, because then I might give something important away. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. Charlee, 12

Sanderson, Brandon Warbreaker Tor 2009 - June

Rival kingdoms, arranged marriages, gods, and talking swords make for an epic adventure. The book has 4 main characters and a very rich world that would take awhile to explain so awhile just give a brief description about each character and their place in the book. Siri the black sheep of the royal family has been sent to the rival kingdom to merry their god king. Vivenna (siri's sister) who was suppose to merry the god king travels to the kingdom of gods in a hope to save her sister. Lightsong is one of the gods of halldren however he doesn’t believe in the religion that worships him. And Vasher is the mysterious man that carries a talking sword with the brain of a five year old, for the first part of the book you don’t know what Vashers goals or motives are so i wont spoil them. The book itself was very good but it took a bit to get started. Its not that the beginning was boring, it was interesting it just wasn't very exciting. However the only word that can describe the end is epic so i highly recommend it. Nominate? Yes. 5Q Hard to imagine a better book. --Brady, 13

Crowley, Suzanne The Stolen One HarperCollins:Greenwillow Books 2009 - July

It was a romance, mystery, michief; everything a good book should have. The cover greatly portrayed the book. I especially like the necklace and the little pear in the Kat's hands. It was the pear that drew me to the book, a splash of yellow in a sea of red. The most compeling aspect was the mystery surrounding Kat Bab and who she was. A beautifully worded tale of the 16th century child, whose past and history unknown, who begins a journey with the scent of a wolf and ends it with the taste of a pear. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. 4P Broad general teen appeal. Kathryn, 14

Lynch, Janet Nichols Messed Up Holiday House 2009

I really liked the book cover because the picture on it looks like a person is in trouble and it draws your attention to it and you want to find out what is going on. The most compelling aspect of this book is that it just brings you right in the story but it still makes you want to think what is going to happen next. And it makes you not want to put it down. The book Messed Up is a novel about a high school student whose grandma leaves for a younger man and his grandpa dies after his grandpa dies he keeps it a secret because he doesn’t want to be put in to foster care. This book is great for people that don’t like to read or people that doesn’t want to read a long books its short and really easy to understand. Nominate? Yes. --Chrystina, 15

Harris, Lewis A Taste For Red Clarion Books 2009

The cover was good, it showed the diabolicle and innocence of the characters.I was caught by the details and the smells of the book. Nominate? No. 3Q Readable. --Laura, 13

Williams, Tad and Deborah Beale The Dragons of Ordinary Farm HarperCollins 2009

I loved the cover! It was so cool! It reflected the contents as well!The most compelling aspect - The fact that there were dragons! Nominate? No. 4Q Better than most. Abby, 12

Kantor, Melissa Girlfriend Material Hyperion 2009

This book is picturesque, and so realistic at the same time. I love the Disney and teenage sides of the book.The cover did an amazing job of telling what the book's about, if I couldn't read but had to pick out a book I would choose this.I like the part where she talks to David the first time.Girl must follow her mother- about to gat a divorce- to the East coast from Utah to consol her mother. While she's there, she finds love. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. --Laura, 13

Vivian, Siobhan Same Difference Push 2009

The most compelling aspect of the book? How could Fiona do that? And what happens with Emily and Yates? I would have picked this up more readily if the summary and cover were better- I loved this book, but i didn't see it's potential through the cover. That's why next time I won't judge a book b it's cover. Teehee :) Nominate? No. --Laura, 13

Vaught, SR and JB Redmond Oathbreaker: Assasins Apprentice Bloomsbury 2009

A complex world with and amazing plot line. I hated the cover as it didn't look all that great and had no connection to the story what so ever. My master is lightning. Not physically, but he can make the lightning physical if he wishes. Yet, if I'm not careful, I can kill him with a single touch. Not just him either, anyone can fall to my carelessness. Understand I'm not talking about physical touch here. Its mental. I am a master at moving mentally. I can "touch" someone hundreds of miles away. This is a good summery of this amazing book. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. --Tyler, 16

Black, Holly & Cecil Castellucci, ed. Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd Little Brown and Company 2009 - August

an anthology centering around the life and interactions of geeks, the challenges they face, and how they interact with others, as well as how they are just people. Nominate? Yes. 4Q Better than most. 4P Broad general teen appeal. --Kendrick, 17

Gingras, Charlotte Pieces of Me Kids Can Press 2009 

The cover was very reflective of the contents, that's why I liked it.I've felt like Mira at times, surrounded by people who are telling you to constantly be afraid when all you want to do is explore.

Mira is almost 15, stuck in a life where she constantly has to take care of her paranoid mother whose house is almost full to the brim with the thousands of things she has knit and sewn, yet refuses to sell. Their only source of income is monthly checks from Mira's ex father and Mira is sinking deeper into despair when Cath suddenly bursts into her life. Cath has skirts that twirl, moves every year to a new place, and is the first real friend Mira ever had. With the arrival of Cath Mira's life is now irrevocably changed. Pieces of Me is written in an almost poetic style, with beautiful descriptions of Mira's love for nature, and excellent portrayals of emotions. I wouldn't have liked it half as much if it hadn't been written in the style it has. Nominate? No. 4Q Better than most. --Andrea, 16