Hot Summer Reads for Teens

The hottest 'YA' novel this summer is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  It is actually the first of a series of three, followed by Catching Fire and Mockingjay.  First published in October of 2008, the movie release may have added to the resurgence of the novel's popularity but its literary excellence is supported by the novel's many awards.  Just to mention a few, it is the recepient of the Georgia Peach Book Award (2009), Buxtehuder  Bulle (2009), A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year  (2008), Cybils Award for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction
(2008). 

Have you already read Hunger Games?  Some similar books you may also enjoy are:  The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner.

A Closer Look
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second  book of the above mentioned dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of  a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights  about human nature.
It is presently the #1 title listed on Good Read's listopia "YA Novels of 2012.
For more information go to www.goodreads.com  

Recommendation of the month

-by Mary Ann Lewis
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a  gripping read not about cancer, but about the relationships among the people  affected by it. I'm not a fan of romance, but John Green did a terrific job  portraying young love at its finest. He has a knack for depicting intelligent,  often quirky, teens in a way that feels real. And he is an excellent  storyteller. This is an emotional read, to say the least. While some of the  events may seem a bit over the top, Green makes you believe that everything that  happens really could happen. I'll be recommending this book to both teens and  adults who want to tackle life and death issues through the eyes of precocious  teens.

John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L.  Printz Award presented by the American Library Association.  His second novel,  An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L.  Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and  won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most  recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide  critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career.  The praise included rave
reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning  author Markus Zusak.  The book also topped the New York  Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks.