Wake by Lisa McCann- First in a trilogy

Janie is haunted by other people’s dreams. She is mysteriously drawn into the crazy and mundane dreams of her high school classmates like being naked at a football game. No one else knows of her ability because she doesn’t know how she would explain it. But, all of a sudden she is drawn into a haunting and gruesome dream that involves a man with knives for fingers. Then enters Cabel who has been transformed over the summer into “superhotguy”. He and Janie are instantly attracted to each other and share a very rocky relationship throughout the novel. Cabel has a secret, however. He also can enter the dreams of other people. And, he has a secret job Janie doesn’t know about or understand until the end of the novel. Janie’s alcoholic mother is all but absent so this novel is about adolescents on their own. After a party where many people get arrested for drug use- including Cabel- Janie puts the pieces of her dreams and her relationship back together.
This novel will appeal to reluctant readers because it is fast paced and a quick read. Janie is a very realistic character and her budding romance with Cabel will appeal to teens. This is the first in a trilogy- 2nd book Fade was out Feb, 2009 and Feb. 2010 Gone will be published.

Savvy- By Ingrid Law

Mississippi Beaumont (known to her family as Mibs) is about to turn 13 and that’s when the members of her family find out their savvy or secret power. Her brother, Rocket, can create electricity, her brother Fish can conjure storms and hurricanes, her grandfather can move the earth in the form of quakes and her mother is perfect in everything she does. However, just before her birthday, Mibs’ dad is in a huge accident on the freeway and is in a coma in a hospital quite far away. Mibs’ mom and brother Rocket go immediately to tend to her father while the rest of the 5 children in the family stay with the pastor’s family.
On the morning of her 13th birthday Mibs seems to have the ability to wake people and thus she believes this is her savvy. At an impromptu birthday party thrown for her, Mibs leaves and states she is leaving for the hospital. Perhaps she can wake her father as well. She sneaks aboard the bus of the bible selling man followed by an entourage of her two younger brothers and a brother/sister pair who are the children of the pastor and his wife.
This unusual assortment of characters continues on their bus adventures while trying to reach Mibs’ father at the hospital. Along the way Mibs’ discovers that her savvy is actually related to ink. The tattoos of those around her actually come alive and talk- telling Mibs exactly what the person is thinking or feeling. In addition, Mibs can hear the ink drawn on anyone’s hand which creates quite a cacophony at certain times in the novel, but eventually ends up helping her in various ways.
Savvy is a sweet, feel-good kind of novel with honest and touching characters making some rather large discoveries about themselves. And, it’s not just the teens in the novel who have these flashes of self-realization

Thirteen Reasons Why

I can't believe I haven't read this yet! What a wonderful novel and I'm flabbergasted that it's been challenged in different places. I was intrigued by the sexual bullying premise and I love how Asher captured what rumors can actually do to someone's reputation. And, the character of Clay Jensen was very real, right down to his ability to cry. Does Asher know females love that character in a male? At NCTE I heard Asher speak on a panel about censorship. He talked about how he wrote two different scenes for his editor for the "hot tub" part, and the editor chose to go with the more graphic version. However, that is usually the reason, says Asher, that his book is banned.


Since I have a little time tonight, I will post some of my book talks from our session at NCTE.