An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines

John Green

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 272

Age Range: 12 and up

Year: 2008

Genre: Realistic

Right after intellectual child-prodigy Colin Singleton graduates from high school, his girlfriend (who, like the 18 young women and girls whom he claimed as girlfriends over the years, is named Katherine) breaks up with him and sends him into a total funk. His best friend, Hassan, determines that he can only be cured with a road trip. After some rather aimless driving, the two find themselves in Gutshot, TN, where locals persuade them to stay. There, Colin spends his spare time working on a mathematical theorem of love, hypothesizing that romantic relationships can be graphed and predicted.

Anyone who has enjoyed John Green books should like this one! Like most of his novels, it’s told from a male teenager’s perspective, but the female character is more well-rounded than in Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. Our main character, Colin, loves anagrams and math, so anyone with those interests might enjoy the story.

Ms. Ashley

Magician: Apprentice

Magician: Apprentice

Raymond E. Feist

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 512

Age Range: 12 and up

Year: 1993

Genre: Fantasy

While this book is the beginning of the fairly long ʺRiftwar Sagaʺ, it is the first two books which truly stand on their own. Magician: Apprentice, and its second half, Magician: Master, are Raymond E. Feist’s classic fantasy novels and deal with the idea of magic in a unique and interesting way. The main character, Pug, is also a relatable and fun companion throughout the story.

Anyone who loves fantasy should have a go at these ones. They are classics of the genre.

Mr. Coleman

 

 

1984

1984

George Orwell

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 328

Age Range: 13 and up

Year: 1948

Genre: Dystopia

1984 is George Orwell’s classic dystopian nightmare novel – read and loved (or feared) by millions; the date of doom may have passed, but its vision of humanity’s possibly bleak future remains eerily plausible today, and to some readers may appear to already have manifested itself in some respects.

Anyone who likes to think about politics and nations, the way the world works, or the way humanity works, will enjoy this book. It was not written for children by any means, but could still be understood by most middle schoolers.

Mr. Coleman

Firesong

Firesong

William Nicholson

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 428

Age Range: 13 and up

Year: 2002

Genre: Adventure. Fantasy

The third and final installment of William Nicholson’s Wind on Fire trilogy brings the epic saga of the Manth people to a head, as they break free of their former enslavers and seek a perhaps non-existent homeland. Bowman and Kestrel continue to grow older and are now young adults, with new problems and hopes and dreams.

If you enjoyed the previous books, you have to continue on to this final one. Not a let-down at all, like some endings to long stories can be.

Mr. Coleman

The Wind Singer

The Wind Singer

William Nicholson

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 486

Age Range: 13 and up

Year: 2002

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Realistic

The Wind Singer is the first of William Nicholson’s wonderful fantasy trilogy, but stands perfectly well on its own. A rich and interesting world with likeable characters, it deals with some sometimes heavy themes such as caste systems, family relations, and individuality.

All lovers of fantasy will enjoy this one, so will anyone who sounds interested in the more real-life themes above

Mr. Coleman

Slaves of the Mastery

Slaves of the Mastery

William Nicholson

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 434

Age Range: 13 and up

Year: 2001

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

In the second installment of William Nicholson’s trilogy, brother and sister Bowman and Kestrel are separated after their city is attacked by a far away empire. This book continues the deeper themes of the previous book, while focusing more on ideas about slavery, large empires, and other personal issues, as the characters grow older.

Anyone interested in fantasy or the above themes would like this book.

Mr. Coleman

 

Wildfire

Wildfire

Karsten Knight

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 393

Age Range: 14 and up

Year: 2011

Genre:Fantasy

This book is the first in a series of three about a girl named Ashline Wilde who finds out that she is an ancient Polynesian goddess reincarnated in a super sarcastic, boy crazy, tennis champion, fiercely independent teenage body. Ashline gets into a fight at her school and gets transferred to a private school out of state, where she meets some other kids who notice the same things that Ashline notices — things that only gods and goddesses are aware of. Everybody else’s knows what their power is, but Ashline is still getting used to hers and doesn’t know how to use it. Meanwhile, she starts falling for this guy who has finished high school already, and her older sister starts messing with her new life, trying to convince Ashline to leave all the mortals behind.

This book is awesome! Girls might like it more just because the main character is female and her perspective is one that a lot of girls can probably relate to. This book is action-packed with dangerous humans, dangerous gods, jerk boys, jealous girls, a suspicious headmaster, phantoms, a blind siren with the voice of an angel, and a MASQUERADE BALL! What!?!? I repeat, this book is awesome.

Miss Rachel

 

Not Your Ordinary Faerie Tale

Not Your Ordinary Faerie Tale

Christine Warren

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 320

Age Range: 13 and up

Year: 2011

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, SciFi

You are used to reading about women dating/marrying vampires and werewolves, what about someone who promises herself to never marry anyone who isn’t fully human. On a job to investigate leprechaun, she meets someone who she can potentially fall in love with. But this person is a fae. Will she fall in love with this person? Will she change her mind about inter species dating?

Everyone who is interested in the twilight series or interested in reading about ʺINTER SPECIESʺ dating, you might be interested in this book. It’s an interesting twist on love and it’s fun.

Ms. Nancy

Paper Towns

Paper Towns

John Green

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 320

Age Range: 12 and up

Year: 2009

Genre: Realistic and Adventure

To everyone who surrounds Margo Roth Spiegelman, she is an adventurous, unconventional, and intelligent person and a highly admired someone that everyone puts on a pedestal. So when Margo sneaks into Quentin Jacobsen’s room one glorious night and involves him in her crazy exploits, he can’t help but feel as if a new page has been turned, and just maybe he can be a part of the marvelous Margo’s life.

Paper Towns is such a smart book– written for young readers, but not written down to them. There’s a fun cast of supporting characters, and the journey Margo takes them through is good for anyone wondering about who they are.

Ms. Ashley

Buried Onions

Buried Onions

Gary Soto

Quick Stats:

Page Count: 142

Age Range: 12 and up

Year: 2006

Genre: Realistic

Eddie has been trying to stay out of trouble since graduating high school. But, it’s hard when your city is wallowing in their own tears from violence and murder. It seems as if Fresno has a buried onion underneath that makes its people cry out for their dead loved ones. Eddie deals with murder, gang violence, and considering the military as his only way out from the buried onion.

Great book for those who see and experience gang violence and murder in their city. And for those looking to escape an onion as well.

Ms. Brittany