This course is designed to familiarize you with the ...



Reading Log

Aimee Maranto

December 2013

LS 583

Books:

Title: A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return

Author: Zeina Abirached

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Graphic Novel

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Set during the time of the civil war in Beirut, Lebanon, Zeina waits with her brother and neighbors for her parents to come home. They must travel through an unsafe neighborhood.

Appeal Characteristics: civilian survival in war, history, serious, strong sense of place (Beirut), graphic, cartoony, black-and-white illustrations

Potential Audience: Teens who enjoy history and learning about Anne Frank, readers who enjoyed Persepolis

Title: Tiger Lily

Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson

Pub Date: 2012

Format: eBook

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: Set on the fictional island of Neverland, Tiger Lily has a difficult time fitting in with her tribe, even though she is the shaman’s daughter. She befriends and falls in love with Peter Pan, who is seen as an enemy by her tribe. Conflict arises when pirates come to the island and when other “Englanders” arrive.

Appeal Characteristics: fantasy, romantic, friendships, character-driven, bittersweet, moving, strong sense of place (Neverland)

Potential Audience: Teens who enjoyed Peter Pan stories as children, teens who enjoy stories about understanding their identities

Title: Speak

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Pub Date: 1999

Format: Book

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: Melinda has become an outcast at her school because she called the cops at an end of summer party. Even her friends won’t talk to her, and Melinda herself doesn’t talk much anymore. Why did Melinda call the cops and how will she handle her loneliness?

Appeal Characteristics: high school setting, relationships, serious teen issues, character driven

Potential Audience: Older teens and young adults

Title: Weetzie Bat

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Pub Date: 1989

Format: Book

Genre: Magical Realism, Modern Fairy Tale

Synopsis: Weetzie Bat becomes good friends with Dirk, who is gay. She is given a lamp with a genie who will grant her three wishes.

Appeal Characteristics: friendship, elements of magic, LGBT

Potential Audience: Older teens who enjoyed fairy tales as children

Title: Forever

Author: Judy Blume

Pub Date: 1975

Format: Book

Genre: Romance, Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: Katherine and Michael start a new romance. They become intimate and promise that their love will be forever. What will happen when Katherine meets another boy?

Appeal Characteristics: realistic, first love, romance

Potential Audience: high school aged girls

Title: How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

Author: Georgia Bragg

Pub Date: 2011

Format: Nonfiction Audiobook

Subjects: Biography, Death

Synopsis: Details about the lives and deaths of 19 famous people are described in an interesting way. Facts about history and medicine are included in the accounts.

Appeal Characteristics: death, historical figures, amusing, witty

Potential Audience: teen reluctant readers

Title: Flyaway

Author: Lucy Christopher

Pub Date: 2011

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Isla and her father share an interest in watching swans migrate. When her father is taken to the hospital for an extended time, Isla befriends Henry, who is sick with cancer. They enjoy watching a lone swan from the hospital window and want to find a way to reunite the swan with her flock.

Appeal Characteristics: family relationships, England, birds, character-driven

Potential Audience: Young teen girls

Title: Matched

Author: Allyson Condie

Pub Date: 2010

Format: Book

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis: Cassia lives in a society where everything is decided for her. She is “matched”, or arranged to be married, to her best friend. However, there is what appears to be a malfunction in the matching process, and her neighbor appears as her match as well.

Appeal Characteristics: science fiction, strong female character, relationships

Potential Audience: Fans of The Hunger Games and other dystopian fiction

Title: The Chocolate War

Author: Robert Cormier

Pub Date: 1974

Format: Book

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: In a Catholic all-boys’ high school, the students are expected to sell chocolate bars to raise money for the school. One boy refuses and is intimidated by the interim headmaster and the Vitals, a group of boys who bully other students.

Appeal Characteristics: realistic, high-school setting, bullying, fitting in vs being an individual, questionable authority figures

Potential Audience: Older teen boys

Title: I Am the Cheese

Author: Robert Cormier

Pub Date: 1977

Format: Book

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Synopsis: Adam tells the story of a bike ride to deliver a package to his father. Interspersed throughout the story are transcripts of conversations between Adam, and what he thinks is some kind of doctor. Adam learns more about himself, his family, and questions who the “doctor” really is.

Appeal Characteristics: suspense, psychology, variety of narration styles, questionable authority figures

Potential Audience: older teens who like mysteries

Title: Ghoulfriends Forever

Author: Gitty Daneshvari

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Book

Genre: Supernatural, Humor

Synopsis: Monster High now accepts boarding students. Rochelle Goyle, Venus McFlytrap, and Robecca Steam are roommates. Other students and teachers start acting strangely, kind of like robots. The roommates and Cyclops, another student, try to figure out the mystery. See also Lisi Harrison’s Monster High series to high school teens.

Appeal Characteristics: monsters, humorous tone, word play

Potential Audience: young teen girls

Title: The Poisoned House

Author: Michael Ford

Pub Date: 2010

Format: Book

Genre: Scary, Supernatural, Mystery

Synopsis: Abi is a fifteen-year-old maid in an estate in London in the 1850s. Her mother died almost a year ago from cholera. Strange things start happening…handprints in unexpected places, candles lighting themselves, and more. What is this strange presence and why does it want to contact Abi?

Appeal Characteristics: ghosts, spooky, estate setting

Potential Audience: Teen girls of any age who enjoy scary stories and/or stories like Downton Abbey

Title: Annie on my Mind

Author: Nancy Garden

Pub Date: 1982

Format: Book

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance, LGBT

Synopsis: Liza and Annie develop a friendship which blossoms into a romance. They spend time alone together when Liza pet sits for her teachers. They are discovered.

Appeal Characteristics: romance, finding identity

Potential Audience: teens who enjoy romantic stories, older teens

Title: A Tale Dark and Grimm

Author: Adam Gidwitz

Pub Date: 2010 (sound recording 2011)

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: The classic story of Hansel and Gretel is adapted and expanded to include stories about their parents, their adventures, and their battle with a dragon. Other classic Grimm tales are interwoven into the story.

Appeal Characteristics: fairy tale, light-hearted tone, funny, gross

Potential Audience: young teens, boy or girl as long as they are not too squeamish

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Book

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance

Synopsis: Hazel is a terminal cancer patient. She meets Augustus Waters at a Cancer Kid Support Group. Her relationship with Augustus teaches her a lot.

Appeal Characteristics: dying, love, relationships, serious, reflective, character-driven

Potential Audience: Teen girls

Title: Burn for Burn

Authors: Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Magical Realism

Synopsis: On an island community called Jar Island, Lillia, Kat, and Mary secretly meet to plan revenge on classmates who have wronged them. Mary notices that strange things happen when she feels strong emotions. What will happen when their plans for revenge unfold at the homecoming dance?

Appeal Characteristics: island setting, high school drama, revenge

Potential Audience: older teen girls, fans of the Pretty Little Liars series, and fans of Stephen King’s Carrie

Title: Monster High

Author: Lisi Harrison

Pub Date: 2010

Format: Book

Genre: Supernatural, Humor

Synopsis: Melody and her family move from Beverly Hills to a small town in Oregon. She starts attending Merston High. Many of the other students are monsters in disguise. One such monster, Frankie Stein, doesn’t want to cover up her monster beauty. This is the first in a series. See also Gitty Daneshvari’s Monster High series for middle school aged children.

Appeal Characteristics: monsters, humorous tone, self acceptance, friendship

Potential Audience: older teen girls

Title: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen

Author: Lucy Knisley

Pub Date: 2013

Format: Graphic Nonfiction Book

Subject: Autobiography

Synopsis: Lucy describes her life in terms of food. She remembers events in her life based on what she was eating or cooking at the time. Lucy uses both text and comic-style illustrations to humorously relate her story. Recipes are included at the end of each chapter.

Appeal Characteristics: graphic novel format, food, travel to a different country, cartoony illustrations, witty, funny

Potential Audience: Teens (boys and girls)

Title: A Wrinkle in Time

Author: Madeleine L’Engle

Pub Date: 1962 (sound recording 2005)

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis: Meg meets some unusual neighbors who take her, her brother, and a friend on a quest to find her father, who is on another planet. They see different worlds along the way and observe a black menace threatening Earth.

Appeal Characteristics: world-building, fantasy, family relationships, learning about differences, inspirational

Potential Audience: Young teens, upper elementary children

Title: The Giver

Author: Lois Lowry

Pub Date: 1993

Format: Book

Genre: Science Fiction

Synopsis: Jonas lives in a society where his life is controlled. He is anxious about receiving his life assignment at the Ceremony, where he will turn 12. His assignment will give him a new perspective on the society in which he lives.

Appeal Characteristics: developing self-identity, government controlled-society, simplistic style, character-driven

Title: The Apothecary

Author: Maile Meloy

Pub Date: 2011

Format: Book

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Synopsis: Set in the 1950s, fourteen-year-old Janie and her family move from Los Angeles to London because her parents are suspected of being communists. She befriends the son of an apothecary and becomes involved in saving the world from a nuclear bomb. In the book, characters use recipes to transform into birds and become invisible.

Appeal Characteristics: fantasy, travel to a different country, action-packed, suspenseful

Potential Audience: Teens who enjoyed the Magic Tree House series as children, fans of Harry Potter

Title: Genesis Alpha

Author: Rune Michaels

Pub Date: 2007

Format: Book

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Science Fiction

Synopsis: Josh and his older brother Max get along great and love playing a video game called Genesis Alpha. Josh knows that he was created from Max’s cells to help save Max from dying from cancer. When Max is accused of murder and the victim’s sister shows up in Josh’s garage, Josh questions whether he is just an extension of Max or his own person.

Appeal Characteristics: science fiction, developing self-identity, psychological themes

Potential Audience: Teens of any age, boys or girls.

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Pub Date: 2012

Format: eBook

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Synopsis: Lena has escaped the boundaries of an oppressive society. The society “cures” people with the delirium disease (love). She joins a group of other “invalids” and struggles to survive.

Appeal Characteristics: future setting, survival, resistance to government, serious, romantic

Potential Audience: Teens who enjoyed Uglies and The Hunger Games

Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Pub Date: 2010

Format: Book

Genre: Romance

Synopsis: Anna is sent to an American boarding school in Paris, against her will. She knows nothing about French culture and the language, but learns with the help of her new friends. She falls in love with one of her new friends, but he already has a girlfriend.

Appeal Characteristics: love story, travel to a different country, French culture, relationships, strong sense of place (Paris), character-driven, amusing, moving

Potential Audience: Teen girls

Title: Between the Lines

Authors: Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Book

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Delilah enjoys reading the same fairy tale book over and over again. One day, she notices something different in the book. She becomes friends with one of the characters, Prince Oliver. They attempt to bring Prince Oliver out of the book.

Appeal Characteristics: fantasy, romantic, travel to a different place, character-driven, thoughtful, inventive illustrations

Potential Audience: Older teen girls who enjoyed fairy tales as children

Title: My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

Author: Annabel Pitcher

Pub Date: 2011

Format: Book

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Jamie and his family move from London to the suburbs as a reaction to the bombing death of his sister. He must deal with his mother’s abandonment, his father’s drinking, and his father’s hatred of Muslims.

Appeal Characteristics: friendships, family relationships, character-driven, moving, serious, thought-provoking, candid

Potential Audience: Young teens

Title: The Body of Christopher Creed

Author: Carol Plum-Ucci

Pub Date: 2000

Format: Book

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis: High-school senior Torey reflects on the events of the previous year. One of the unpopular boys, Christopher Creed, went missing and people in the community wondered if he was murdered, ran away, or committed suicide. The disappearance of Chris created waves in the clicks at Torey’s school and in Torey’s relationship with his girlfriend.

Appeal Characteristics: mystery, high school setting, clicks, friendship, introspective

Potential Audience: high school teens, some scenes may be too intense for middle school teens

Title: Persepolis

Author: Marjane Satrapi

Pub Date: 2003

Format: Graphic Novel

Genre: Autobiography

Synopsis: The author recounts her life in Iran during the turbulent 1970s-1980s through the use of drawings and text. Her coming of age story occurred during a time of great political unrest.

Appeal Characteristics: Iranian history, black and white illustrations, cartoony, some humor

Potential Audience: high school teens due to mature themes, adults, readers who enjoyed Barefoot Gen and A Game for Swallows

Title: Misfit

Author: Jon Skovron

Pub Date: 2011

Format: Book

Genre: Supernatural

Synopsis: Jael discovers the reason why she and her father have had to move around so much. She is half-demon. Her mother was a demon, and Belial, a Grand Duke of Hell who ate her mother, wants to consume Jael. Jael can use elements such as air and fire to her advantage if she can convince them to do what she wants.

Appeal Characteristics: supernatural characters, developing self-identity, family relationships

Potential Audience: older teens

Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow

Author: Robin Wasserman

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Book

Genre: Thriller, Suspense

Synopsis: Nora, a high school student, works with two other students on a project translating letters from 16th century Prague. Her friend is murdered. What she discovers in the letters leads her on the trail to find an ancient device believed to be used to communicate directly with God.

Appeal Characteristics: intrigue, travel to a different country, secret societies, relationships, strong sense of place (Prague), intricately plotted, suspenseful

Potential Audience: Teens interested in secret societies, mysteries, conspiracies

Title: Code Name Verity

Author: Elizabeth Wein

Pub Date: 2012

Format: Book

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Synopsis: In the first half of the book, “Verity” is being interrogated by the Nazis. She is gaining time by writing her confession, complete with codes. Her confession describes her work for the British and her friendship with Maddie, the pilot who was flying the plane “Verity” was on when it crashed in Nazi-occupied France. The second half of the book is told by the viewpoint of Maddie.

Appeal Characteristics: historical, friendship, World War II, Nazi fiction, intricately plotted, bleak

Potential Audience: Older teens, adults

Title: Red Moon at Sharpsburg

Author: Rosemary Wells

Pub Date: 2007 (sound recording 2008)

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: India, a young girl who lives in Virginia, witnesses the effects of the U.S. Civil War on her home and family. She learns about the attitudes and beliefs of Southerners and Quakers, and experiences the limitations women encountered in the 1860s.

Appeal Characteristics: Civil War history, history of medicine, 19th century gender roles, character-driven, atmospheric, and reflective

Potential Audience: Young teen girls

Title: Absent

Author: Katie Williams

Pub Date: 2013

Format: Book

Genre: Supernatural

Synopsis: Paige discovers that she is a ghost in her high school after she dies from falling of the school roof. A rumor that Paige jumped on purpose is started by Kelsey, the most popular girl in the school. Paige discovers the ability to inhabit the bodies of her classmates when they think of her. She uses this ability to attempt to prove the rumor is false.

Appeal Characteristics: ghosts, high school setting, character-driven, atmospheric, high-drama

Potential Audience: Teens in early high school

Title: Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains

Authors: Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple

Pub Date: 2013

Format: Nonfiction Book

Subject: Female Offenders

Synopsis: The biographies of 26 notorious women from history are presented. The biographies are written in a light-hearted tone. At the end of each biography is a graphic-novel style discussion between the two authors.

Appeal Characteristics: murderers, villains, history, amusing, witty, thought-provoking, browsable, cartoony illustrations

Potential Audience: Teen girls, teen boys, reluctant readers

Magazines:

Title: Game Informer #246 Call of Duty:  Ghosts

Pub Date: October 2013

Format: Magazine

Content: Articles about games, game characters, gaming hardware (ex. laptops), calendar of game releases, game reviews

Potential Audience:  teens interested in video games, more geared toward males (ex. call of duty, assasin's creed, sports games)

Appeal Characteristics:  Screenshots from games, reviews, games index for easy searching

Title: Cicada Vol 16 No. 1

Pub Date: Sept/Oct 2013

Format: Magazine

Content: A Week in the Life (of an artist), poetry, short stories, comics, personal narrative, art, photographs submitted by readers (if included, receive two free copies of magazine), digital edition links to Cicada's online writing community, each edition has a theme

Potential Audience:  Teens interested in creative writing, photography, art; Magazine includes recommended age of 14+

Appeal Characteristics:  Color cover, black and white illustrations and photos, ability to submit own work

Title: Teen Vogue

Pub Date: September 2013

Format: Magazine

Content: Fashion, make up, beauty, health and living articles, celebrity articles (this issue featured One Direction)

Potential Audience:  Teen girls who are interested in fashion and beauty

Appeal Characteristics:  High interest articles, photographs, ads

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download