The Teen Summer Reading Club is wrapping up, but our teens are still reading! Here’s a few more highly recommended teen selections.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

This book is about a girl named D.J., who has to run her family farm because her dad is having hip issues. D.J. goes to Red Bend high school, and her dad used to coach football at Hawley high school, whose archrival is Red Bend. Since her dad used to work at Hawley, the football coach sent his quarterback, Brian Nelson, to the family farm to help out. The Hawley coach then wants D.J. to train Brian. While training Brian, D.J. realizes she likes football, and tries out for the Red Bend team. I really enjoyed this book; it was so hard to put it down.

- Cara Ellen M.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait! is the hilariously funny story of a girl named Audrey who breaks up with her boyfriend, Evan. Evan is the lead singer of a band and he writes a (surprisingly good) song about their break-up called Audrey, Wait. The song becomes famous and so does Audrey. Now, no one leaves Audrey alone, strange people know her name, and she’s all over the news. Anything she does appears in the tabloids, and she gets a hundred messages and phone calls a day. All she wants is to have a normal life where she can go on a date with her boyfriend or hang out with her best friend without being harassed. When you read it you will love the main character Audrey, as well as her best friend, Victoria. It’s also realistic and makes you realize that being famous isn’t all its cracked up to be.

- Samiha A.

My Life in Pink & Green by Lisa Greenwald

This book is about twelve-year old Lucy Desberg, who lives with her mom and her grandma. Together they run their family pharmacy, only all their customers are now shopping at big stores. Money is tight, with Lucy’s sister Claudia in college, and they may need to sell the struggling pharmacy to pay off their debts. Lucy and her best friend Sunny find a grant for going green, and they decide it can help save the pharmacy. Claudia goes to an eco-spa and Lucy realizes that is exactly what the struggling pharmacy needs. Will they get the green grant and, will people stop treating Lucy like a little kid so her idea can work? I liked this book because it’s about girls going through troubles that kids my age can relate to. It has boy troubles, friendship troubles, and most important family struggles. Claudia and Lucy love doing make-up as a pastime and are good at it. I also like how each chapter begins with a beauty tip, business tip, or a quote from Laura Mercier.

- Bailey Rose A.

Marked is P. C. and Kristin Cast’s first book in the series called House of Night. House of Night is also the name of the school where Zoey will train to become an adult vampire. Everyone who is Marked is sent to the school for this special training. However, not everyone who is Marked makes the Change. It is lucky for Zoey that the vampire Goddess Nyx has Marked her as special, but she is not the only one at the House of Night with remarkable powers.

The House of Night is a new beginning for Zoey. When she first arrives at school, it’s a bit hard for her to settle in, but Zoey quickly becomes friends with Damien, Stevie Rae, Erin, and Shanuee. Together they have to work to overcome all the evil in the world — and it’s up to them to save it.

Marked does a great job in introducing us to the characters and the world of the House of Night. If you liked the Harry Potter or Twilight series, chances are you will like this series as well.

Tom Neary – Central Library

As long as there are libraries, you should — and likely will — have access to this book. Required reading for many middle and high school curricula, Agatha Christie’s (1890 – 1976) most famous novel And Then There Were None continues to weather the test of time. Widely considered to be the greatest mystery novel of all time, I’ve now read it three times — most recently as an audiobook narrated perfectly by Hugh Fraser. Fraser’s nuanced acting added many new layers of enjoyment to the story this time around.

Christie’s brilliance rests in offering the reader a perfect balance between revelation and secrecy. Ten seemingly unrelated characters are summoned to a house on a tiny island off the coast of England by a Mr. Owen. Upon arrival, it is discovered that none of the folks actually know Mr. Owen, who has not yet joined the party. Soon, one of them dies, although appearances point to mostly natural causes. An unfortunate beginning, they attempt to conclude. Their faith in such a conclusion is tested, however, when another guest dies under slightly less innocent circumstances…

How can a mystery novel provide the same, if not greater, thrills the third time you’ve read it? Once you know whodunnit, what is left to enjoy? Isn’t solving the crime the point of it all? True, with each chapter you are brought closer and closer to the explanations you long for. Yet, alongside this, through dark sub-plots which surround each character, Christie demands the attention of our consciences as well as our intellects. As the perceived innocence of the ten guests becomes harder to maintain, somehow, so does the reader’s — enough to make you feel like you might be on Indian Island right now…

Dan Curry – Savage Branch

Imagine you’re a senior in high school and life is pretty perfect. Your hip parents are loving and supportive. Your boyfriend — who adores you — is in a talented rock band just breaking onto the national scene. You’re almost certain to be accepted into Julliard to pursue the cello, an instrument which has become an extension of your own body. Can it possibly get any better?

One winter morning a minor snowstorm cancels school. On a whim, you, your parents and younger brother decide to turn the unexpected vacation into a day of exploring the area and visiting friends. Somehow the family car loses control and collides with a four-ton pickup.

It’s your choice. Will you choose to die or fight to survive?

Fritzi Newton – Retired Staff

Slam takes Nick Hornby’s signature “young guy making the transition to adulthood” theme to the extreme. Here, Hornby’s hero is younger than usual, and the transition that forces him to mature is more sudden than in Hornby’s other work. In skate parlance, a particularly bad fall is a “slam," and for high-school student Sam, the slam comes when he discovers that his first serious girlfriend, Alicia, is pregnant. The drama and tension in Nick Hornby’s novel are generated as the characters consider their future and evaluate their choices in light of this news.

Our teen hero, Sam, is a skater whose role-model is, naturally, Tony Hawk. This initially seems like a pretty straightforward mechanism for the character to deal with complex ideas and experiences, and to put his life in order. Sam bounces ideas off the TH poster above his bed, and the bird-man himself responds with relevant quotes from his autobiography. Things take a turn about half-way through the novel, though, as Sam is twice “whizzed” forward in time to experience his future. The first of these genre-bending time trips is a little unsettling for the reader, but they add a great deal to the novel and allow Sam to get his feet wet as a father before the arrival of his son “Roof.” Are these vivid dreams, panicked hallucinations, or does Tony Hawk have magical powers? You won’t know unless you read Slam.

This title is also available in audio format. Nicholas Hoult (who is familiar with Hornby’s world — he played Marcus in the movie About a Boy) provides narration that is pitch-perfect. The Library shelves this as a young adult novel, as the main protagonists are teens, but there’s definitely something here for adult audiences, and for fans of Hornby’s previous fiction. Take a look at (or a listen to) Slam today.

John Jewitt – Savage Branch

Nothing will make a teenager balk faster than being told to read a certain book. Despite that, most high-schoolers (and their parents) should take an opportunity to read Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher.

T.J. (The Tao Jones … go ahead, say it aloud) is a multi-racial high school senior in a small town in northeast Washington state, not an area known for cultural diversity. T.J. is more than a little independant and outspoken about certain issues, one of which is the sanctity of the athletic department at Cutter High. A gifted athlete, T.J. refuses to play for any of the varsity teams and takes heat for it from other students and the faculty. At Cutter High, sports reign supreme.

A favorite teacher asks T.J. to start a swim team, which he does in his own inimitable way. T.J.’s goal is to see the holy grail of Cutter athletics — the letter jacket — worn by as many misfits as he can get into local fitness club’s sorry excuse for a pool. T.J. finds the joy of a having a team and excelling at a sport, almost in spite of himself, which only serves to highlight how out of balance the high school’s love of all things sports-related has become.

The swim team’s success (of sorts) serves as a backdrop for all the other issues this fabulous little book tackles: racism, several forms of abuse, adoption, disabilities, redemption, dating, and how to take a moral stand (and even, when not to). And it tackles these issues straight on, no flinching, using honest and hurtful language.

Sounds like the kind of book that’s going to hit you over the head with a message. It does, but it’s delivered in T.J.’s frank, smart aleck, teenager-in-over-his-head (but thinks he’s handling it) first person voice, so you don’t mind too much. This book will make you laugh, and might even make you cry. It will definitely make you think.

I first read it a couple of years ago and loved it. Recently, my two high schoolers and I listened to it in the car. They were amazed and engaged by it, too.

Kristen Blount – Administration Office

Rushmore presents a comedic slice of the life of protagonist Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) as he learns to leave the world of private school behind and stand on his own two feet. At Rushmore, Fischer is the king of the extracurricular activity. Among his many commitments, he is Debate Team Captain, Lacrosse Team Manager, Calligraphy Club President and Astronomy Society Founder. Because Rushmore benefits from his organizational skills, Max is tolerated, but no one at school particularly likes him. More significantly, with all his time spent on clubs and societies, Fischer is not what you could call an academic success.

In spite of these difficulties, Fischer forges a friendship with local businessman Herman Blume (Bill Murray), who sees some potential in Max’s drive. Blume becomes Max’s friend, mentor, and ultimately competitor for the affections of elementary school teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). Cross is a likely candidate for Max’s first serious crush. She’s beautiful, sophisticated, educated, and compassionate. Of course, he falls in love. Complications arise when Max introduces Miss Cross to Blume, and finds that he may have sabotaged his own (non-existent) prospects for a relationship. To cope and keep hold of what is important to him, he must come to grips with reality outside the ivy-covered walls of Rushmore.

Director Wes Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson blend the real and the surreal seamlessly, creating a movie that is both ridiculously exaggerated and completely universal. You’ll laugh as soon as you see Fischer’s yearbook, and the war between Blume and Fischer over Miss Cross is a comedy highlight. Settle in for a good laugh, and watch Rushmore today!

John Jewitt – Savage Branch

Howard County Library announces a new initiative, Pass the Book. During Teen Read Week 2009, the Library will distribute copies of  The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld to teen readers throughout the community.

The Secret Hour follows Jessica Day as she arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, only to discover she’s at the center of a strange convergence of mystical energy. Sharing "the secret hour" between midnight and 12:01 with four of her classmates, Day finds herself on the front lines of a battle for the future of humanity; primeval "slithers" and "darklings" are using the secret hour to find their way back into our reality, intent on reclaiming the planet. The Midnighters must harness the unique properties of the secret hour to fight back using their own special abilities.

The Secret Hour is a great book to share, and with Pass the Book you’ll have the chance to introduce this title to readers in Howard County and beyond. Teens receiving a specially labeled copy of The Secret Hour are encouraged to read the book, track the book (by registering their copy at hclibrary.org/passthebook) and pass the book to another teen reader. Readers can return to the web site to see where their books have traveled. Throughout the year they will have the opportunity to participate in online discussions and challenges based on events in the novel. A display in each branch features read-a-like titles and the other books in the Midnighters series — Touching Darkness and Blue Noon. A number of Midnighter-themed events are also planned in connection with this initiative, including Midnighter Lore at Central Library, Slither Repellant at Elkridge Branch, and Triskaidekamania at Savage Branch.

Copies of The Secret Hour will be available on Monday, October 19. Join us online and in-person throughout the year for quizzes, reviews, and Midnighter-themed events as we pass this exceptional teen adventure around Howard County and beyond.

John Jewitt – Savage Branch

Good Enough is a window into the world of Asian American high school teens striving to find true happiness in life, reacting to high-pressure parents, and dealing with the racism around them. It is Paula Yoo’s first teen novel after her picture book biography Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story (2005). The author introduces us to Korean culture by interspersing ethnic recipes and famous Korean figures into the story. Who would have guessed that Koreans love Spam? A lot of what Yoo writes in this novel likely mirrors her own life experiences.

Using light-hearted humor, the author touches on the issue of racism in school and in the community.  Patti Yoon, the protagonist, is told by her parents to never “rock the boat”, which she takes to mean “never stand up for yourself” when encountering name calling. This advice is given to avoid any potential consequences from “rabble rousing” behavior that could possibly jeopardize Patti’s chances of getting into “HYP” (HarvardYalePrinceton)!

Yoo’s story replicates the lives of numerous Asian American teens of immigrant families. The expectations on these children to attend the best colleges often increases stress and strain in family relationships. Many high school seniors will probably relate to Patti’s life of SAT prep, college applications, and resume building. Good Enough’s laugh-out-loud humor but deep issues will hit home with a wide range of readers, parents included.

Mai-Leng Ong – Administration Office

Someone once said that high school is such a pivotal time in our lives (and memories!) because it’s when we have the greatest amount of hormones and the least amount of common sense. John Hughes‘ films (i.e., one of THE best 80s movies ever, Pretty in Pink!) would have us believe high school is one long angst-ridden fairy tale. But the truth is (for some of us, at least) it’s more Freaks and Geeks or Heathers, the 1989 film centering on high school student Veronica Sawyer (played by Winona Ryder), a member of one of the most popular groups in Westerburg High School.

Heathers wasn’t released until I was long out of high school, but I think my younger self would have related to it. The scary, sad, darkly comic aspects come from the truths we don’t want to hear about our own and others’ lives. For better or worse, high school is its own society, full of cliques (some cruel, some kind) and unwritten rules that have far harsher penalties than legal ones if they are broken. I like the fact that Heathers is uncompromising in its take on high school life and its administration’s patronizing attitude toward a mysterious rash of apparent suicides.

Given our current culture I seriously doubt this movie would be made today. In a way that’s a shame because underneath all the violence and discontent, there is actually a positive message in Michael Lehmann’s film about how lightweight the self-important Heathers (the names of three of the girls who form a clique devoted to tormenting their fellow classmates) of this world actually are in the grand scheme of things. Instead of being swept up in the cycle of eternal loser, the Martha "Dumptruck" Dunnocks (Dunnock is one of the many kids picked on by the Heathers) of the world come out winners (of sorts) because they see the world as it really is and know what it means to be human and kind in an environment that usually isn’t.

Angie Engles – Central Library