An Abundance of Katherines

Bibliographic Information: Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. Dutton Books 2006. ISBN 9780525476887
Genre: Teen Romance, Coming of age, Humor
Reading Level: Grades 7-12
Curriculum ties: Teenage boy prodigies, High school graduates, Mathematics, Self-perception, Historical trivia.
Awards: Booklist Editors’ Choice – Books for Youth – Older Readers Category: 2006, Texas Tayshas Reading Lists: 2007, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2007, Michael L. Printz Honor Book, 2007.
Notes: Author of Printz-winning Looking for Alaska (2005)

Reader’s Annotation: Dumped by Katherine #19, Colin Singleton takes a road trip to contemplate his affinity to date girls named Katherine.

Plot Summary: Hassan, Colin’s best friend, hauls him out of his funk and out of the house with the promise of a road trip to cure all of Colin’s girl troubles after a recent break up with his girlfriend (Katherine #19). The boys leave Chicago and take to the road, entertaining themselves by playing anagrams, trivia, and foreign-language bons mots, and recounting historical facts (all their idea of fun). Eventually, they find themselves in Gunshot, Tennessee, where they see the grave of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, meet a girl who isn’t called Katherine, and end up working on a local oral history project. Lindsey (the not-Katherine) introduces the boys to Gunshot and agrees to help Colin with his “Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability,” which, when completed, will not only calculate the path of all romantic relationships, but also allow Colin to mature from failed child prodigy to successful mathematical genius.

Critical Evaluation:  This intelligent story, the inclusion of mathematical problems, word puzzles and historical references makes this story appeal to older teen readers, especially boys but may discourage non scholarly readers. The narrative is nerdy but this should not discourage those who decide to pick up this book because there are footnotes at the bottom of each page to translate, explain the formula or give background history of what they are talking about. It encourages teens to expand their knowledge base without losing the element of story. I do like the nods given to obscure historical figure such as the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Most teens do not know this story but after this book they will have a better understanding or look into this further on their own. Teens would benefit from more fiction books written in this manner to include some factual base.

Booktalking Ideas:
Discuss your feelings towards Colin’s theories on love. Do you think love can be interpreted mathematically?
2) Talk about the incorporation of math, puzzles and footnotes in the story. Do they add or detract from the plot?
3) What characteristics does Colin show that he is a prodigy? Would you consider him to be a prodigy? What constitutes a prodigy? 
4) In your opinion, why or why not does the formula (represented in the book) work?
Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Use of racist words such as: jewfro, fug, fugger, fugging, kafir

Challenge defense ideas:
• The words listed above were all part of a game that deals with wordplay. In the extensive combinations of letters, these words happened to come up as possible answers to their game.
Why was this book included?: A romantic book told from a male point view is hard to find.
Author Information: John Green is the New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns. He is also the coauthor, with David Levithan, of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He was 2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award, a 2009 Edgar Award winner, and has twice been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Green’s books have been published in more than a dozen languages.
In 2007, Green and his brother Hank ceased textual communication and began to talk primarily through videoblogs posted to youtube. The videos spawned a community of people called nerdfighters who fight for intellectualism and to decrease the overall worldwide level of suck. (Decreasing suck takes many forms: Nerdfighters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poverty in the developing world; they also planted thousands of trees around the world in May of 2010 to celebrate Hank’s 30th birthday.) Although they have long since resumed textual communication, John and Hank continue to upload three videos a week to their youtube channel, vlogbrothers. Their videos have been viewed more than 75 million times, and their channel is one of the most popular in the history of online video. He is also an active (if reluctant) Twitter user with more than 1.1 million followers.
(Author biography obtained from author website. Retrieved from: http://johngreenbooks.com/bio-contact/)

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Bibliographic Information: Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Houghton Mifflin 1993. ISBN 9780395645666
Genre: Fantasy fiction, Metaphorical tales, Coming of age stories, Classroom literature.
Reading Level: Grades 6-12
Curriculum ties: History, Language arts, Science, Sociology.
Awards:1994 Newbery Medal, An ALA Notable Children’s Book, An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
Note: First book in a Trilogy. Gathering Blue (2000), Messenger (2004).

Reader’s Annotation: When twelve year old Jonas receives his life assignment at the annual Ceremony, he begins to better understand the world in which he lives.

Plot Summary: I Plot summary: The community strives towards fostering utopia society.  Citizens adhere to the strict rules.  Physical imperfections are not tolerated, including babies weighing under six pounds and the elderly.  Citizens who fail to contribute are tried, granted a maximum of three opportunities of improvement.  If they fail to improve or comply, they are punished by being released from the community. Upon the arrival of December, Jonas receives his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve.  Children receive a Ceremony corresponding with their age, such as Ceremony of Ten.  The most significant year is the Ceremony of Twelve because this is when they receive their lifetime assignment by the committee of Elders. The Assignment defines their role in society. Members undergo training for their assignment, in which they assume their role when they become adults. The Assignments serve as functional role to maintain the perfect society, including the Giver, the Instructor, and the Nurturer.  During the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas receives the most honorable Assignment. The Giver provides the training for Jonas to endure the responsibility of holding all the memories, encompassing happiness and pain. During the training, Jonas discovers the true methods to maintaining their ideal community.

Critical evaluation: The Giver is rich in symbolism and metaphors. The primary goal of the community to attain the perfect society parallels the goals of Hitler and other political leaders.  The irrational methods of maintaining the perfection by eliminating those who are less than perfect is similar to the genocide of Jews by Hitler. This notion leads this author to question the true value of living in a perfect society. Important figures in the community are named by their role, for example, “the Giver, “the Nurturer,” and “the Instructor”. The capitalization of the first letter signifies the importance of title and role in the community and the person assuming this large feat.  The substitution of the title demonstrates that each citizen loses his or her own identity and becomes only the function. The initial identity of children as numbers is similar to the prisoner barcodes, a mere number with no personality or individuality. Sameness is regarded as a high value.  The maintenance of sameness and perfection requires extreme control. The theme is control-controlling emotions, behaviors, thoughts, decisions, and roles.  Citizens lose their ability to be creative and to be themselves. This concept is similar to the Amish way of life, sheltering people for technology and leading an austere life. Instead, they abide by the given Assignments, which are decided by the committee of Elders.  The citizens are prisoners to their ideal of utopia. Lowry examines the value of choice when Jonas chooses to make his own decision of saving Gabriel from being released.

Booktalking Ideas:
How would you describe your perfect world? Who make the rules?
2) What elements of the story, plot, characterization, etc. did you find to be the most controversial?
3) How important was the setting to this story? Could it have taken place anywhere?
4)Discuss the definition of family. Families are described as a unit.
5)Explore the benefits and hindrances of sheltering from negative emotions and events.
6)Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of euthanasia.
Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Euthanasia —
Challenge defense ideas:
• Exposure to competing ideas provides us with variety, enriching our society.
In the book, the community accepts the challenges of this form of euthanasia:  Underneath the placid calm of Jonas’ society lies a very orderly and inexorable system of euthanasia, practiced on the very young who do not conform, the elderly, and those whose errors threaten the stability of the community.
The Giver was included to inform the youth about the value of freedom of choice.  In addition, The Giver allows youths to take an introspective look at their own values, prejudices and consider how they discriminate in their daily life.  The goal is to raise self-awareness.

Why was this book included?: A classic Fantasy novel for younger readers.
Author Information: I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer – an Army dentist – I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.

I married young. I had just turned nineteen – just finished my sophomore year in college – when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine – by now with four children under the age of five in tow.
(Author biography obtained from author website. Retrieved from: http://www.loislowry.com/bio.html)

The Firefly Letters: a suffragette’s letter to Cuba by Margarita Engle

Bibliographic Information: Engle, Margarita. The Firefly Letters: a suffragette’s letter to Cuba.Henry Holt and Co. 2010. ISBN 9780805090826
Genre: Poetry, Historical fiction
Reading Level: Grades 5-12
Curriculum ties: History, Literature, Social Studies
Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Books – Older Readers Category: 2011, A Pura Belpre Award for Narrative Honor Book, 2011.
Note: Author of the award winning The Surrender Tree (2008).

Reader’s Annotation: Three young girls challenge society norms to explore what Cuba has to offer.

Plot Summary: Set in Mantanzas, Cuba in the 1851,  three young girl’s lives become intertwined by fate. Elena is a twelve year old living in Cuba with her parents who are traditional and very protective of Elena, (they think she should be married by now) as most Cubans are of their daughters. The freedom to step foot outside is not something that women in Mantanzas have so when Fredrika Bremer, a Swedish Consulate comes to visit in Cuba, she decides to empower the women and show them that there is more to life outside the luxurious silk, lace and marble compound. Fredrika is given a translator, Cecilia, to navigate the countryside. Cecilia, fluent in both English and Spanish, is a slave brought from Africa by Elena’s parents. She is suffering from a lung disease. and dearly misses her homeland. Although from different walks of life, the three young women have a common goal of freedom and equality for everyone.

Critical Evaluation: The entire story is told with each girl taking turns telling their story in a poetic form. Through the language used, you could easily identify who was the narrator but the level of imagination and thought of each different girl was equally deep. All girls speak of love in association with the the value of their freedom. Fredrika was once asked for her hand by a country preacher that she was in love with but she denied him in worry that being a wife, she would lose her freedom to roam. Celia talks about how Elena’s father chose her husband Beni. She recounts that maybe if she was free to chose Beni on her own, she might know how to love him. Beni says that if he was free, he would have married a girl that he loved in his homeland before he was brought by slavery. Elena, who’s father will also pick her suitor, is arranging a hope chest in the hopes that she can run away and elope.

Booktalking Ideas:
Discuss: what is oppression. Can you think of any examples in today’s world?
What is he symbolism of the fireflies? Interpret the title.
Discuss the relationship between Fredrika and Cecilia. Do you think Cecilia influences her in any way? Explain.

Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Slavery
Challenge defense ideas:
• This book was based on true accounts from the letters of Fredrika Bremer.
In the book, Cecilia, as a slave, had more freedoms than Elena, the privileged daughter.

Why was this book included?: For it’s imagination, poetry and Latin American influences.

Author Information: Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American author of young adult novels in verse. “The Surrender Tree” received a Newbery Medal, Pura Belpré Medal, Jane Addams Award, Américas Award, Claudia Lewis Award and Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor. Her first picture book was “Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian.” Her most recent work is “The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba” (Henry Holt). Based on the diaries and letters of Swedish suffragist Fredrika Bremer, who spent three months in Cuba in 1851, this book focuses on oppressed women, the privileged as well as the enslaved, in three alternating free-verse narratives. Engle lives in California.
(Author information obtained from the Library of Congress. Retrieved from: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/kids-teachers/authors/margarita_engle.html)

Margarita Engle is a botanist and the Cuban-American author of several books about the island, most recently The Poet Slave of Cuba, a Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano (Henry Holt & Co., April, 2006).  Short works appear in a wide variety of anthologies and journals, including Atlanta Review, Bilingual Review, California Quarterly, Caribbean Writer, Hawai’i Pacific Review, and Nimrod.  Awards include a Cintas Fellowship, a San Diego Book Award, and a 2005 Willow Review Poetry Award.  Margarita lives in California, where she enjoys hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and helping her husband with his volunteer work for a wilderness search-and-rescue dog training program.

(Author information obtained by Poet Seers. Retrieved from: http://www.poetseers.org/submissions/2006/margarita_engle/)

The Dark Game: true Spy Stories by Paul B. Janeczko

Bibliographic Information: Janeczko, Paul B. The Dark Game: True Spy Stories. Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN 9780763629151
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Non- fiction
Reading Level: Grades 6-10
Curriculum ties: History
Awards: None
Note: Award Winning Poet

Reader’s Annotation: A collection of real United States spy stories revealing top secret accounts from the last two centuries.

Plot Summary: The author takes us back in time to reveal the true stories about famous American spies and spies who changed important American historical events in both positive and negative ways. In six chapters with accompanying photos that add to the account, the author begins with “How George Washington Outspied the Brittish.” He then goes on to clear up misconceptions such as Benedict Arnold being a spy and not a traitor. Other chapters include the mysterious woman who was identified only by a coded number and never a name during the Revolutionary War; Mata Hari, who faced the firing squad charged with being a double agent and Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, the two American double agents who were caught red handed in the last two decades. My favorite story was that of the Ch

Critical Evaluation:What I thought was great about this book was how the author included a well rounded view of those who have helped shape America to be what it is today. For instance, the story he included about the Choctaw code talkers. A group of about ten soldiers who in 1917 used their native Choctaw language to help relay messages to and from headquarters to the fields. Their language was so rare that the Germans, who had been tapping American lines, were not able to decipher anything allowing the Americans to be successful in the war. A second story highlighted was about how African Americans were delivering intelligence to federal troops during the Civil War. General Lee believed that they were the army’s primary source of information because they knew about the terrain as well as where extra ammunition, guns and other supplies could be found. The author also gave a nod to Harriet Tubman, a spy who’s intelligence about waterways was invaluable in 1862.

Booktalking Ideas:
What other secretes do you think the government could be hiding?
Discuss qualities of a good spy, do you have what it takes?
What, if any, lifestyle changes would you have to make being a spy?

Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Representing the U.S. in a negative light.
Challenge defense ideas:
• Citizens’ ability to criticize the government helps prevent the government from misusing its power.
This book is a non-fiction account of events

Why was this book included?: A non-fiction offering with historical value to which teen boys would gravitate.

Author Information: Paul B. Janeczko aspired to be the teacher he never had, when he decided to pursue a career as a high school language arts teacher. From his own days as a student, Paul was obsessed with poetry of all kinds, and as a teacher he wanted to spread his own love of poetry to young people. Today, Paul Janeczko is better known as a writer, poet and anthologist.
Born in New Jersey in 1945, he was educated at St. Francis College, Maine and John Carroll University, Ohio, after which he became a teacher, and began publishing his works and collections in the mid-1970s. After twenty-one years as a teacher, he retired to focus on writing.
Some of Paul’s award winning teen books include “A Poke in the I, A Kick in the Head, A Foot in the Mouth” (2005), “Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets” (2006), “Worlds Afire” (2007) and “Top Secret: A Handbook of Codes, Ciphers, and Secret Writing (2004).”Paul Janezcko lives in Maine with his wife and daughter.

(Author information obtained from Scholastic website. Retrieved from: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=1640)

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve

Bibliographic Information: Reeve, Philip. Here Lies Arthur. Scholastic Books, 2007. ISBN 9780439955331
Genre: Historical Fiction, Medieval, Folk Tales
Reading Level: Grades 9-12
Curriculum ties: History
Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Books – Older Readers Category: 2009, Booklist Editors’ Choice – Books for Youth – Older Readers Category: 2008 Carnegie Medal, School Library Journal Best Books: 2008, USBBY Outstanding International Books – Grades 9-12: 2009, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2009
Note: Author notes that this book is not based on fact but gives a great deal of information on the roots of many of the characters.

Reader’s Annotation: A fresh take on how King Arthur retrieved his trusty sword, Excalibur told from Gwyna’s point of view.

Plot Summary: After fleeing to safety after a her home was burned down in a raid, young Gwyn is discovered cowering in the forrest by Myddrin the bard. Myddrin takes the young girl under his wing but hides the fact that she is a girl. Myddrin reveals to her that there is nothing a man can’t do that can be turned into a tale and that it was his job to keep King Arthur’s a. Therefore setting the tone that everything proceeding is elevated by his storytelling abilities. As the narrator on this journey, we get the first hand account from Gwyn about what really happened in that time from inside King Arthur’s camp. As Gwyn gets older, Myddrin tells everyone that she is actually Gwyna, the half-sister of Gwyn and becomes the lady in waiting for King Arthur’s wife Gwenhwyfar. Still inside Camelot, Gwyna observes and recounts what truly happened during that “magical” era.

Critical Evaluation: What is interesting about the character portrayal in this book is that it is pretty much the opposite of what we learned when we were younger. The traditionally noble characters have been revealed as manipulative and conniving such as Myddrin (we know him as Merlin the magician), the storyteller and expert trickster who merely masqueraded as a great  sorcerer who recruited Gwyna to swim into the lake and hand King Arthur a sword Myddrin had traded for. By doing so, we find out that Gwyna, transfomed by Myddrin’s tall tales, is actually the “Lady of the Lake” character that we associate the retrieval of Excalibur. The power of his storytelling turned King Arthur into the legend we all know and study. Another interesting theme is the switching of gender. Gwyna (girl) is first seen as Gwyn (boy) then back to Gwyna and ends up as Gwyn. This is also seen with Peredur, (we know him as Percival). He is a boy that dresses as a girl, then a boy again when he joins King Arthur’s army, then ends the story as a girl.I am not sure of the relevance of the change in gender identity but it was curious.

Booktalking Ideas:
Discuss the differences between the story of King Arthur you learned in school and the one told in this book.
At times, Gwyena almost believed Myddrins story. Why was Gwyna not persuaded by King Arthur’s court and Myddrin to tell a more flattering story of King Arthur?
Describe the differences in portrayal of good and evil characters and. Which are more believable?

Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Magicians, Violence
Challenge defense ideas:
• Exposure to competing ideas provides us with variety, enriching our society.
• This book is based on the well respected Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable and other historical events.

Why was this book included?: To have a medieval tale represented in a fun way teens would enjoy.

Author Information: Philip Reeve was born in Brighton in 1966.  He has one younger sister.  He wrote his first story at the tender age of five; it was about a spaceman called Spike and his dog Spook.  He went to St Luke’s School in Queens Park, Brighton where he enjoyed writing, drawing, history and acting, and didn’t enjoy maths, P.E. or getting duffed up.  His early influences included Oliver Postgate, Jackanory, Blue Peter, Asterix, Look and Learn, Swallows and Amazons, Airfix models, Whizzer and Chips, Rosemary Sutcliff, Action Man, JRR Tolkein, Star Wars, biscuits, bikes and boats.
Later he went to Stanley Deason Secondary School in Whitehawk, next door to, and largely indistinguishable from, Brighton’s municipal tip.  There he continued to enjoy writing, drawing, history and acting and quite liked science but still wasn’t keen on maths, P.E. or getting duffed up.  During his stay he became interested in illustration, Arthurian legend and making ultra-low-budget films on Super 8mm cine film.  As a teenager he went on to study for A Levels at Varndean Sixth Form College where he persisted in his enjoyment of writing, drawing, history and acting, but still didn’t like maths.  No P.E. or getting duffed up was involved.
Then it was Ho! for art college; a Foundation Course at Brighton followed by a two year diploma at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology which has since changed its name to something else, possibly in an effort to shake off the shame of ever having sheltered him.  Three years as an art student having rendered him basically unemployable, he returned to Brighton, there to work in a small independent bookshop while pursuing various non-paying sidelines as writer/producer/director of low budget film and comedy projects in his spare time.  Towards the end of this time he co-wrote a musical, The Ministry of Biscuits, with writer and composer Brian Mitchell, but was eventually forced by lack of funds to track down some cartooning work and finally entered the wonderful world of the freelance illustrator in the early 1990s.  There he was to remain for several years, providing the pictures for several Horrible Histories, lots of Murderous Maths and sundry other hilarious and improving books.
Since his spare time was no longer big enough to accommodate film and comedy projects he turned to writing novels, the first of which, Mortal Engines, was published in 2001.  It won the Smarties Gold Award, the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award and the Blue Peter ‘Book I Couldn’t Put Down’ Award, a surprise which prompted him to say ‘Bl**dy H*ll!” to Jaqueline Wilson in front of millions of viewers, offending any among them who could lip-read; small wonder that he never got a Blue Peter Badge.  Four sequels to Mortal Engines followed, the last of which, A Darkling Plain, won both the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award.  There has also been a trilogy of steam-powered Victorian space adventures, Larklight, Starcross and Mothstorm, and a novel set in Dark Age Britain called Here Lies Arthur which won the Carnegie Medal 2008.  His latest novel, Fever Crumb, returns to the world of Mortal Engines; the next, No Such Thing As Dragons, will be an every day story of fake mediaeval dragon hunters. Philip and his wife Sarah moved from Brighton to Devon in 1998, and now live on Dartmoor, where their son Sam was born in 2002.
(Author biography obtained from author’s website. Retrieved from: http://www.philip-reeve.com/biography.html).

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Bibliographic Information: Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan. Simon Pulse, 2009. ISBN 9781416971733
Genre: Historical fiction, Science fiction, Steampunk, Genetic engineering
Reading Level: Grades 7-12
Curriculum ties: History, Britain
Awards: Amazon Editors’ Picks: Top 10 Books, 2009, Best Children’s Books of the Year-Bank Street College of Education, 2010, Choices, 2010 ; Cooperative Children’s Book Center,Notable Children’s Books, 2010 ; ALSC, Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, August 24, 2009, School Library Journal Best Books, 2009, School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 2009, YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2010
Note: First book in the Leviathan series.

Reader’s Annotation: Can natural enemies overcome their differences and join forces to fight against a common enemy in this alternative, steampunk, historical fiction adventure?

Plot Summary: In reinvented historical look at 1914 Europe during World War 1, the battle between the Darwinists and Clankers begins. Sixteen year old prince Alek is forced to flee his native Austria after the assassination of his parents, Archduke Franz Ferdinan and his wife. Using the latest Clanker technology the Stormwalker (a kerosene driven land walking machines), Alek is able to escape to safety in Switzerland. Meanwhile, in the memory of the teachings of flight imparted on her by her late father, Deryn Sharp disgises herself as a boy (named Dylan) and enlists in the British Air Service. Miraculously, she is assigned to the airship Leviathan, a state-of-the-art Darwinian vessel that is based bio engineered animals and hydrogen power. Alek and Deryn’s path cross when the Leviathan is shot down over the Swiss Alps near the location whee Alek was hiding out. The two natural enemies join forces against the Germans in an attempt to stop the war.

Critical Evaluation: In this book Leviathan introduces readers to a genre that is not well known…steampunk. He uses the Clankers and Darwinists to highlight two possible interpretations of the steampunk lifestyle. The British Darwinists, based on the fact that Darwin discovered “life threads” or DNA, they could now harness these animals and genetically engineer these strange beasts to use as their tools and weaponry for war. The Leviathan, the largest and most complex, is a large whale that was made into an airship, the Huxley, a giant squid that functioned much like a hot-air balloon. By using hydrogen produced by the beast itself, their war machines are living, breathing organisms. The Germans and Austrians rely on mechanical technology with its engines, gears, oil and pneumatics. They were opposed to and disgusted with the Darwinist technology. They prefer on using massive land walking machines that need oil and kerosene to survive.

Booktalking Ideas:
Would you adopt the Darwinist or Clanker way of warfare? Why?
Describe the similarities between the Alek and Deryn. Are they more similar or different?
Discuss what you have learned about WWI and Franz Ferdinand in school. How is that different than what is portrayed in the book?
Describe what characteristics make up the steampunk genre.

Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Genetic engineering
Challenge defense ideas:
Since this book was written for a YA audience, I also appreciated that the battle scenes weren’t gory at all, just action-packed and thrilling. Also, I had to smile at the language used. Just like the invented creatures, expressions such as “Barking spiders!” or “Blisters!” and “Don’t be daft, you bum-rag!” were considered swearing. Kudos to the author for keeping it clean throughout. Review posted by Laura Fabiani on Libraryofcleanreads. Retrieved from: http://libraryofcleanreads.blogspot.com/2011/04/leviathan-by-scott-westerfeld.html.

Why was this book included?: I had not read or heard of any steampunk books until this one.

Author Information: Scott Westerfeld is me. I’m the author of five science fiction novels for adults. I’ve also been an occasional ghost writer, which is like driving someone else’s car really, really fast for lots of money. (I could tell you what famous authors I ghost-wrote for, but then I’d have to kill you.) In my artsy days, I wrote music for artsy downtown New York dancers, some of which sounds like this.
I have written three sets of books for young adults. The first is called Midnighters, a tale of five teenagers born on the stroke of midnight, for whom time freezes every night, revealing a dark and terrible hidden world. All three books are out now.
My other trilogy is Uglies, set in a future where cosmetic surgery is compulsory when you turn 16, making everyone beautiful. Of course, there are some people who want to keep their own faces . . . but they’re not allowed. All three books—Uglies, Pretties and Specials—are out now. A companion novel to the trilogy, Extras, will be out in October 2007.
My third set of books is three stand-alone novels from Razorbill, all set in contemporary New York. The first is So Yesterday, about a cool hunter who runs afoul of a plot to end consumerism. The second is called Peeps, a “vampire” novel. The third is The Last Days, set in the same world as Peeps, which is also out now. I’ve also written a few short stories that you can find online for free, but be warned that all of them contain dirty words.
I was born in Texas, and split my time between New York City and Sydney, Australia. (I have more frequent flyer miles than you do.) You can read many personal details of my life on my blog. And consult the Scott fact sheet here.
(Author biography obtained from author’s website. Retrieved from: http://scottwesterfeld.com/about-the-author/).

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Bibliographic Information: Cabot, Meg. The Princess Diaries. Harper Collins Publishers, 2000. ISBN 9780380978489.
Genre: Chick lit, Diary novels, Humorous stories, Love stories (Comedy), Made into a movie.
Reading Level: Grades 7-12
Curriculum ties: History, Writing, Princesses, Identity (Psychology), Diaries, Father and daughter, New York City, Grandmother and granddaughter.
Awards: YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2001, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2001, Volunteer State Book Award, 2003 Winner Grades 7-12 Vermont, Young Adults’ Choices, 2002 ; International Reading Association.
Note: Volume 1 of 13 in the “Princess” series. Made into a movie: Princess Diaries (2001), Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).

Reader’s Annotation: Socially awkward fourteen year old Mia Thermopolis discovers that her father is the Prince of Genovia, and by association, giving her rights to the throne.

Plot Summary: A typical young fourteen year old, Mia Thermopolis faces all of the social awkwardness of being a teenager while living with her artist mom in New York city. Spending much of her time chronicling her life in her diary, nothing is off limits, She wants to pass algebra, she wants to grow breasts, and she wants Josh Richter, the most popular boy in school. All is normal until one day her father drops two bombshells on her simple life: he has Cancer and she is the heir to the throne of Genovia, a small European country. With this news, Mia is thrust into a royal bootcamp of sorts to teach her how a proper princess should look, act and speak taught by her powerful and intimidating grandmother Clarisse. Her once quiet life is now filled with limos, body guards, evening gowns and the paparazzi and she is finding it difficult to find a compromise between both lifestyles.

Critical Evaluation: What was interesting to me about the characters of this book was how they were so accepting of their unusual situations. First, Mia’s best friend friend Lily was really not bothered when it was revealed to her that her brother Michael and Lilly had romantic feelings for Mia. I think best friend’s brothers are off limits, it is a little strange. Next is the very amicable relationship Mia’s parents have. They each live their lives and come together as needed without any conflict or resentment. Grandma Clarisse accepts Mia for who she is and even though her outside appearances changed to fit the situation, Mia never really lost sight of who she was. Lastly, is how quickly Mia accepts her new role as Princess of Genovia. The decision process was fairly short and even though she was not sure at the beginning, clarity came to her rather quickly. The events, as they are described seem too good to be true.

Booktalking Ideas:
What would you do if you were in Mia’s shoes? Would you accept the throne? Why?
2) Discuss Mia’s relationship with her grandmother. Are there any similarities in the two personalities? 
3) Talk about the relationship Mia had with her mom, Lilly, and Michael. What roles did they play in Mia’s decision?
4) Lana was only pretending to be Mia’s friend to be in the spotlight. Have you had any similar experiences?
Challenge Issues/ Defense

Challenge Issues: none

Challenge Defense Ideas: There are no apparent challenge issues associated with this book. In the case that a challenge comes up, there are some things that you can do to start. You could read the book and become familiar with the content. Refer to the library collection development policy, and get reviews from reputable sources and teens that have read the book.

Why was this book included?: Every girl (even those young at heart) will enjoy living vicariously through Mia in this urban fairy tale.

Author Information: Author Meg Cabot is a one-woman marketing sensation. She is a publisher’s dream because she is able to produce novels with amazing frequency. At one point, Cabot, who began publishing in 1998, was pumping out a novel almost every month; by early 2006 she had published forty-four works of fiction. She is also a diverse writer who has found equal success in a multitude of genres, including historical romance, young adult fiction, and contemporary adult fiction. In 2000, however, Cabot hit the jackpot when she penned The Princess Diaries, a young adult novel that quickly caught on with readers primarily because the wryly humorous author was able to accurately capture “teen-speak.” In 2001, The Princess Diaries was adapted for the big screen by Disney and its popularity catapulted Cabot from writer to celebrity. In 2004, the movie The Princess Diaries 2 was released, which further followed the escapades of Mia, the Princess of Genovia. A few months prior, Cabot signed a seven-figure deal with her publisher, HarperCollins, to continue writing the Princess series and to build on her other young adult series. As Cabot told Teenreads.com, “I hope to write about [Mia] as long as people want to keep reading about her.”
(Author biography obtained from Encyclopedia of Notable Biogophies. Retrieved from: http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/A-Ca/Cabot-Meg.html)