All These Things I've done by Gabrielle Zevin

This is a great book for anyone interested in dystopian societies. It follows the life of a young girl trying to run her abnormal family after both her parents die. She has to deal with the family and her own family. She ends up in trouble with the law and she experiences romance and heart break. I found this book so enjoyable I wasn’t able to put it down. There was always some struggle she had to get through so the book never got boring. I love books that keep the story moving. If a character is stuck on one issue for too long I get bored. This was a great book for me and a book I would highly recommend.

Victoria W.

Love Stories

February, the heart of Valentine's Day and what better time of year to talk about romance and tainted love. The four books featured this week are full of romance, love, and sometimes hate. 

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Shiver is on the 2011-2012 Abraham Lincoln Nominees list and is a New York Best Seller. It's also the first book in the series called Wolves of Mercy Falls. This Short Video captures some of this fascinating and unique romance.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Dreamland deals with a very tough but real problem for some teenagers. Sarah Dessen delves into teenage love and abuse with compassion and insight. On Caitlin’s 16th birthday her older sister Cass ran away from home with her boyfriend to see the world.

Cass’ behavior allows Caitlin to feel she could reinvent herself now that she has a runaway teen for a sister and in walks Rogerson. Caitlin meets Rogerson at a nursing home where she volunteers. Rogerson is serving community time where Caitlin watches as he sells drugs to one of the nursing home staff members. Rogerson is handsome, rich and no doubt about it the man about town. He sweeps Caitlin off her feet but it doesn’t last long. One day Caitlin witnesses the abuse Rogerson deals with from his father. Rogerson’s confides in Caitlin and once she is in his inner circle of trust he begins to abuse her. This is a story about tainted love and how dreamland is Caitlin's safe place.

Beastly by Alex Flinn
Another great hit this year on the Abraham Lincoln Nominee Award list. This story is based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast". How many of you have seen Beastly the movie? If you liked the movie you will love the book. Beastly won WEGO's heart and was selected as the Abraham Lincoln Award Winner for 2011-2012.

Before I Die by Jenny Downham
This is a riveting story that will make you think about your life and your relationships.  Tessa is just 16 and dying of cancer but in a typical teen fashion she decides to make a bucket list on all the things she wants to do before she dies. She wants to have sex, try drugs, fall in love, and say yes to everyone for a day. After completing the first two things on her bucket list she feels empty and unfulfilled until she meets Adam, the boy next door. Their love unfolds at the same time her life is coming to an end. Jenna Downham writes Tessa’s death in a way that you will remember. This book is sad no doubt but it is also filled with hope for the living. Read this with a box of tissues near!

Author Spotlight: Gabrielle Zevin

Gabrielle Zevin is a novelist and screenplay writer who has written three novels for teenagers (so far) and has had several screenplays optioned to be made into movies. Growing up, she loved to type on her grandmother's typewriter. She started writing plays at around age 8 and always thought she would grow up to be a playwright, not a novelist. She is a graduate of Harvard  and lives in New York City.

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Zevin, Gabrielle. All These Things I've Done.
Anya Balanchine's dead father was the head of Balanchine Chocolate and the head of one of New York City's most notorious crime families. It is 2083 and chocolate has been outlawed. When the crush worthy new boy turns out to be the new district attorney's son, she might have to choose between her family or true love.

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Zevin, Gabrielle. Elsewhere.
When she wakes up on a cruise ship that she doesn't remember boarding, Liz Hall thinks she is having a strange dream. But it's no dream. She has died and is going to a place called Elsewhere, the place you go when you die. It looks and feels just like Earth, except you can't die and you age backwards from the age at which you died. She was only 15. How will she live the rest of her life?


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Zevin, Gabrielle. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac.
Naomi Porter has amnesia. When she wakes up in the hospital after a nasty fall, she can't remember the past four years of her life. As she puts together the story of who she was before the accident, nothing makes sense. What did she ever see in her boyfriend Ace? What  was so great about being  the co-editor of the yearbook? Are we the sum total of our memories and experiences or are we something more?