March 2, 2010

Florida Teen Reads Books -- Read 3 books -- Vote for Your Favorite in April

The 15 books for Florida Teen Reads are in the media center. Students are encouraged to read at least 3 of the books. Students can vote for their favorite book on the FAME website from April 1-30. The winning book will be posted on the FAME website in May. Titles and summaries of the books are listed below. Start Reading!  Summaries are from the Florida Media in Education website.

Voting for the 2009 Florida Teens Read titles starts April 1, 2010 and runs until April 30, 2010. Read at least 3 books and vote for your favorite online. No registration is required. Here's the link to the FAME website:
http://www.floridamedia.org/

Write a comment about books you have read.

You can post your comments to this blog about the nominated books that you have read. You can also read what others have said about these books. Here are some general questions to think about and write about in your comments:



Did any of the characters change or resolve a problem in the story?

Which character did you like best and why?

Was there a moral or lesson that any of the characters learned in the story?

What does the book title have to do with the book?

Was there a character that you did not like and why?

Where or when does the story take place? How is this important to the story?

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, humorously looks back on his freshman year when he transferred from the reservation school to a nearby all-white school and dealt with racism, was viewed as a traitor to his community, lost his best friend, and coped with family deaths

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks: a novel by E. Lockhart

Former ugly duckling Frankie Landau-Banks returns to her elite boarding school tired of being underestimated. She infiltrates her boyfriend?s all-male secret society and begins to orchestrate their elaborate pranks. The unexpected consequences could change her life forever.

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Goth-girl Phoebe, her best friend Margi, childhood buddy Adam, and few others face opposition when they join an Undead Study to understand the zombies or “differently biotic” students who have begun attending their school; but when Phoebe begins to date one of the living impaired, the real trouble begins.

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

Mick Johnson lives and breathes football. But when lifting weights and taking vitamin supplements do not give him the edge he wants, he turns to steroids. Along with becoming bigger, faster and stronger, Mick must also deal with „roid rage, acne, and depression. When he realizes he's cheated his way to stardom, he tries to quit but with dangerous results.

Homeboyz by Alan Sitomer

Instead of prison, Teddy Anderson, who was arrested while trying to avenge his sister?s accidental death from a gangrelated drive-by shooting, is sentenced to community service where he must mentor Micah, a 12-year-old gangsta wannabe

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In a futuristic America, a boy and a girl from each of twelve provinces are chosen lottery style each year to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised reality show where only one will emerge alive to earn wealth and extra food for their province. When 17-year-old Katniss Everdeen?s little sister is selected, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. Will she survive?

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon

Since his father came out and his mother left, spiky-haired skateboarder Ben Campbell has gotten into trouble. In order to put him on the right path, his two dads move the family to rural Montana where city-born Ben finds animal carcasses, trucks, a tough country grandma, a cute farm girl, a town villain, and a troubled kid.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

While skipping school, Markus is caught near the site of a vterrorist attack on San Francisco and is intensely interrogated for six days. After his release and the disappearance of his best friend, Markus vows to use his formidable technical skills to network teenagers and fight back against the government's increasingly frightening surveillance system.

The Market by J.M. Steele

Kate Winthop has always accepted her role as a smart but geeky girl with a good heart, but when she finds out she was ranked 71 out of 140 girls in the Millbank Social Stockmarket game, she enlists the help of her two best friends to transform her from “junk bond” to “blue chip” and win some money in the process.

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

After a shark attack, promising artist 15-year-old Jane Arrowood has her arm amputated. In this free verse novel, she struggles to cope with her loss and the changes it makes on her everyday life and future.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

When buddies Chris and Win go on a cross-country bike trip after graduation and only Chris returns, pressure from Win's powerful father separately fuels the FBI's and Chris's private investigation into Win's disappearance.

Suck It Up by Brian Meehl

When skinny, geeky, 16-year-old Morning McCobb graduates from the International Vampire League, he reluctantly becomes the spokesvamp for vampires, telling the world they really exist. But, he discovers that coming out isn't easy as he tries to convince humans that bloodsubstitute- drinking vampires can peacefully co-exist with humans.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

When Scarlett Martin turns 15, she becomes responsible for a room in her family's run-down hotel and its flamboyant occupant, Mrs. Ambrose, who hatches wacky schemes to save the family business, help Scarlett?s love life, and jumpstart Scarlett's brother's acting career.

Three Little Words: a memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Taken from her irresponsible mother when she is 4 years old, Ashley spends the next nine years in Florida?s foster care system where she is shuffled between 13 state facilities and foster homes, some of which are horrifyingly abusive, before being adopted by a loving family.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In the future, parents have the option of having their teenagers “unwound” or “retroactively aborted” where all their body parts and organs are transplanted into needy recipients. Connor, Risa, and Lev narrowly escape being unwound and search for a safe haven amid betrayal, political intrigue, and harrowing, non-stop flights and fights.