Middle Grades Pick: My Top Secret Dares and Don'ts

My Top Secret Dares & Don'ts
by Trudi Tureit
Aladdin Mix
2017
261 pages
ISBN: 9781481469043

Guest Reviewer: Shanon Ortega, Library Media Specialist, Horizon Heights Elementary School, El Paso, Texas.

Follow Shannon on Twitter @SOrtega_HHES

Twelve year old Kestrel "Little Bird" Adams is looking forward to spending the summer before middle school with her best friends. That is until she learns her family has to travel to Vancouver, British Columbia, to bail out her Grandmother Lark's ski lodge.

The Blackcomb Creek Lodge was built from the ground up by Kestrel's grandfather and is her grandparents' dream. It is in danger of going bankrupt due to numerous online negative reviews. Kestrel can't believe someone would try and sabotage her grandmother's dream. Enter Breck, a cute boy who works at the lodge, a famous rock star, evil twins who try to thwart Kestrel at every turn and millions of tiny, endangered toads.

A fan of list making, Kestrel invites readers into her mindset throughout the investigations. Kestrel learns and grows in her appreciation of nature and family. This enjoyable read is full of heart and humor. This entertaining read will appeal to middle grade readers who love a spunky heroine.

Highly recommended grade 4 and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review nor did reviewer Shannon Ortega.

YA Pick: NEED

NEED
by Joelle Charbonneau
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2015
335 pages
ISBN: 9780544416697


From the author of the Testing trilogy comes this fast paced and freaky novel. NEED will fulfill teen appetites for solid YA thrills. The town of Nottawa, Wisconsin, has been infiltrated by a new website which promises teen followers to fulfill their needs. The only catch: if you post a need, you then must invite friends to join. As needs are met, more and more teens post on the site. Then the rules change.

Kaylee doesn't see the harm in asking for a favor. She wouldn't ask for something for herself, of course. She asks for a kidney for her younger brother who will die unless he gets a transplant. When she hears that other needs are being fulfilled, she's hopeful. Soon, new members are being asked to do easy tasks: dig a hole, take a photo, deliver a box, take a photo. What is the harm in that? When one teen dies and others are threatened, NEED turns into the enemy. And no one can "unfriend" NEED.

Who or what is pulling the strings at NEED? Can Kaylee and  Nate solve the mystery before it kills them? Whoever is behind NEED knows all the teens and all their families. What does NEED want?

As the duo close in on answers, more violence is unleashed. Readers will race through pages at a breakneck speed. This is one quick, unputdownable read!

Cover art and quotes of the needs will draw readers in. The quote, "No one gets something for nothing. We should all know better..."  promises twists and turns. A second book is possible since one character leaves town at the ending.

Highly recommended. Violence. No profanity. No sex. Grade 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Teen Pick: Backlash

Backlash
by Sarah Darer Littman
Scholastic Press
2014
336 pages
ISBN: 9780545651264

Available March 31, 2015



The trouble with the Internet is that in the click of a mouse, you can ruin lives. One click, and someone can die. One click, and someone is destroyed. One click, and someone can crack. On some sites, you can disguise who you are. You can pretend to be someone that you're not. With no repercussions unless...someone is hurt or someone dies. Then there's an investigation. As in police investigation.

Teen  neighbors Lara and Bree were BFFs in middle school, but Bree joins the ranks of the popular kids in high school and all but ignores old friend Lara completely. Bree becomes a cheerleader and Lara gets lost in the shuffle. At the next year's tryouts both girls try out. Lara is picked for the squad and she's over the moon with happiness. Bree is not picked for the squad and she drips jealousy and is out for revenge. Who knows Lara better than anyone else? Her old BFF, and she's up to no good. She begins her revenge using the Internet and it becomes bigger than her. Now she can't stop the repercussions of things she's posted, and the saddest thing is--she's not all that sorry for the fallout she's caused.

It's neighbor against neighbor and the press and police are now involved.

A cautionary tale that is all too true in today's society of "post everything" and try to get more hits than anyone else. Popularity is defined by how many followers you have. Teens are thrilled when their tweets are re-tweeted and to be "trending" is their ultimate obsession.

Recommended grade 9-up. Really, really bad behavior and bullying.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

High School Pick: Going Underground

Going Underground
by Susan Vaught
Bloomsbury
2011
324 pages

Available September 13, 2011

Compelling, edgy, and wrought with emotion, Going Underground will force readers to think about their actions on the Internet and using technology to send and receive pictures and media on their cell phones.

Del is an ordinary seventeen year old. He looks forward to college, he can't wait to find the right girl, he hangs out with his best friend Marvin, he escapes into music, and raises an African gray parrot named Fred. When he's not in school, Del works at his job--digging graves at the cemetary. It's not a job he would have normally dreamed of, but it's the only place he could get hired. You see, Del is a convicted felon. With a sex crime in his past, it's hard to convince anyone to hire him. Colleges won't even read his applications. Del has no future simply because of a mistake he made when he was just fourteen.

An overzealous district attorney pushed Del's conviction through the courts and the judge threw the toughest sentence at Del. He is on probation until eighteen, he is not to have access to the Internet or cell phones, he cannot get into trouble at school or anywhere else. Del has to "toe the line." When another student punches him, Del can't even fight back. He gets beaten up simply because he can't get any more charges against him.

One day, Del notices a "fairy" looking girl visiting the cemetary. He's interested but knows better than to approach a stranger. Del can't even date. He is unable to have a normal teen-age romance because of his past.

When judicial hearings are set up to review the Romeo and Juliet legislation, Del and his parents decide to testify. Because of his testimony, the laws are changed. No longer will a fourteen year old be considered a "sex offender" or rapist if both parties are the same age and willing participants.

Highly recommended grades 9-up. Mature situations.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this novel from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.