Thursday, June 2, 2011 “Peak” by Roland Smith “You messed up, Pete.” “Peak,” I said. “Like in ‘mountain peak’?” “Right.” “Weird name.” “Weird parents.” Peak Marcello, as his name suggests, is a climber. His mom and dad, both mountain climbers, started him climbing at an early age, and his mom has encouraged him his whole […]
Saturday, May 28, 2011 “The Rules of Survival” by Nancy Werlin But how come there don’t seem to be any rules about when you ought to help others survive? Rules telling you when that’s worth some risk to yourself? Callie and I were working so hard for you, Emmy, but as far as I could […]
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 “Runaway” by Wendelin Van Draanen Well. Stupid me. You should see them now. They’re all huddled up arguing like crazy. Maybe they think I’m going to put a curse on them. I can’t believe it. They’re coming up here? Oh, crud. Frankie’s got a stick. Holly has gone from one foster […]
Monday, May 2, 2011 “My Father’s Son” by Terri Fields She tells us that we will need to understand and abide by the rules.“I hate rules,” Tattoo Tom says. Kevin Windor, 17 years old, is pretty average. He’s taking AP classes, lives with his mom but spends weekends with his dad. He has a best […]
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 Necessary Parties by Barbara Dana My parents never used to be concerned about other people’s opinions. I personally think it’s a poor idea to do something, or not do something, because of what someone else will think. No matter what you do there’s always going to be somebody, somewhere, thinking you’re […]
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 “Boy Meets Boy” by David Levithan “GUESS WHAT!” I said. She jumped, then tried to pretend she hadn’t been surprised. Since she didn’t closer her book-she only marked the page with her finger-I knew I didn’t have mch time.“What?” she asked.“I’m gay!”Paul, a sophmore at a school where the cheerleaders ride […]
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 “Heist Society” by Ally Carter “When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way […]
Monday, March 7, 2011 “The Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan “In Mary’s world, there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the […]
Friday, February 25, 2011 “Ship Breaker” by Paolo Bacigalupi “Set initially in a future shanty town in America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and […]
Friday, March 18, 2011 “Beast” by Donna Jo Napoli This is a lesson, O great hunter Orasmyn: Never attack dangerous beasts unless they are weak. Another lesson: Don’t assume they are weak.The Feast of Sacrifices is coming up. The Persian Prince Orasmyn is acting as a hajjiha, and he takes it upon himself to make […]