Peanut

by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe

Genre: Graphic novel/Realistic fiction
Age group: 10-11+

Sadie Wildhack is moving to Plainfield. She's going to be starting at Plainfield Community High School as a sophomore. Nobody in Plainfield knows her yet, though. And Sadie thinks this is the perfect opportunity to start over.
She decides to rework herself and invents a severe peanut allergy - she tells everyone that if she ate just a little bit of peanut, or breathed it in, she would die. And the thing is - everyone believes her! Then the nurse finds out, and Sadie is overloaded with an all-new complication - an Epipen.
Soon what started out as a ploy to attract attention becomes a full-scale fabrication. Sadie is living a lie, and it's no small task. Just one little slip-up could destroy her carefully constructed new life... and such a slip-up is dangerously easy to happen.

I think this book as a graphic novel is especially appealing. The pictures are really great. The whole thing is done in gray-and-white, but Sadie is always wearing a bright red shirt so she stands out.
Why did I like this book? Well, I thought the story idea was really... fresh and new. There are plenty of reworking-yourself books out there, but the idea of creating a fake allergy was so different. The way the plot works in this book is also really good - it's sort of like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Not that the book is bad! I don't mean it that way! But you sort of know in the back of your mind that something is going to go wrong, somewhere, and you can't do anything to stop it from happening. I just really liked this book because it builds up so well and the suspense going up to the climax is really good. Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

Genre: Realistic fiction/Mystery
Age group: 11-12+

Christopher John Francis Boone has autism. His mother died a short while ago, and now it's just his father and himself. He is incredibly smart and knows every prime number up to 7,057. He observes things other people don't. He understands animals. But he isn't always the best at understanding people.
One night, Christopher notices that his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, has been stabbed with a garden fork. When the police accuse him of murdering the dog, he decides to be like Sherlock Holmes and find the real killer. 
But his dad disapproves. He thinks it's dangerous for Christopher to be walking around and questioning people about the crime. He wants Christopher to leave the matter alone. Christopher doesn't want to, and when his dad eventually takes his notebook with his account of the mystery away, he goes looking for it. And when he finally finds it, he also discovers some things about his parents' marriage that open up a whole new mystery. 

This book was very realistic. Christopher narrates the story, and Mark Haddon captures his voice perfectly. At times the book was actually a little bit sad.
This book is also very thoughtful. Christopher thinks about things other than the mystery at times, like math or the way humans evolved. Also, the plot is just thoughtful in general. It is an interesting situation with great characters, and it's a really well-told story. The inside flap of the book says "And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon's choice of narrator: The most wrenching of the emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion." I agree with the inside flap. Having the narrator as an autistic child has so much more depth than if it were someone without autism. That's probably why I liked the book so much - it was poignant and real.

Shiver

by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Fantasy
Age group: 12+

Grace has been captivated by wolves for years. In the forest behind her house, there's a pack of them. She watches them. Especially the one with the yellow eyes - that one is her wolf.
As a child, Sam was bitten by a wolf. Now his life is drastically different. In heat, he's a boy. But in the cold, he's a wolf. He lives behind Grace's house, and he watches her. He is the one with the yellow eyes.
One day, a kid in Grace's town was killed by the wolves. His name was Jack. Jack's parents and a few others hate them. So one day, they take a hunting party out into the forest, and start shooting at the wolves. The yellow-eyed wolf - Sam - was shot in the neck. He shows up on Grace's porch, and Grace helps him. They begin a relationship together. But Sam knows the day is coming when he's going to become a wolf and stay a wolf. And Jack wasn't really killed by the wolves... he's now a werewolf too, and an unstable one. He has discovered a mystery in Grace's past... one that could keep him permanently human. And he's determined to get it.

This book was very well-written. It is another story of the difficulties of love, but it isn't written like a sappy poem. It has plenty of action and excitement as well, plus a little bit of mystery at the end. I have heard that this is like Twilight, only better (I haven't actually read Twilight myself). The viewpoint switches between Sam and Grace, and both characters have lots of depth. I especially like the author's take on werewolves - the ways I've seen them interpreted are usually as horrible beasts. But here, they have a lot of emotion and are conscious of themselves as both humans and wolves. The descriptions in this book are lovely. Very good read overall.

Belly Up

by Stuart Gibbs
Genre: realistic fiction
Age group: 10+

It started as a normal day for Teddy Fitzroy. He was at FunJungle, America's hottest amusement park-zoo, sneaking the monkeys water balloons to throw back at visitors. But when the news came, the day was anything but normal. Henry Hippo, FunJungle's official mascot, was dead.
And it was worse than that: After the autopsy, it was uncovered as murder!! Teddy needs to get to the bottom of this. But the police don't take him seriously. So, with his new-found friend, Summer McCracken, daughter of the park's owner, he sets out to uncover the culprit.
But it's not going to be easy. Not only are there too many suspects to count, dangerous wild animals keep getting released whenever Teddy's around. Somebody knows Teddy is hunting for the killer - and they want him dead.

This book has the perfect mix between funny and suspenseful. The characters are interesting, the plot is interesting... The author keeps you guessing at who the real murderer is. Stuart Gibbs is, based on his writing in this book, good at mystery. He deftly weaves in clues that lead to one thing... but no, that person couldn't possibly be the killer. The final answer is not especially unexpected, but it isn't predictable either. Overall, Gibbs has created a thoroughly enjoyable novel that definitely keeps you on your toes.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

by Mary E. Pearson
Genre: Science fiction - futuristic but not totally dystopian
Age group: 11+

Jenna Fox is 17 years old, and she has just woken up from a year-long coma caused by a terrible accident. She has also lost her memory, and at the moment she is trying to relearn everything she used to know. The funny thing is, she can recite history facts galore, but she can't even remember if she had a friend.
Her family has just moved to her grandmother's house. But Jenna's parents are acting strange. They're being overprotective and secretive. What really happens during her mother's trips to see her dad? Plus, all her neighbors think she's only been at the house for two and a half weeks - not even close to a year.
Then Jenna discovers a deep, dark secret, and she needs to find out what really happened in her past.

I especially liked this book because it wasn't like a normal science fiction book. Most of the science fiction books I've read are about cloning, or aliens, or something else. But instead of going along predictably like an average book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox has a very unique plot twist that was never expected. It also raises interesting questions. It asks you, "What does it mean to be human?" This book is great for many types of people: If you like science fiction, here is a book that has a new twist on the genre. If you don't like to read, it's organized in shorter 1-3 page sections rather than 20-page chapters. If you like to think, this book makes you think. If you just like to read, period, this book offers a thoughtful and well-written story.

The Gospel According to Larry

by Janet Tashjian
Genre: Nonfiction...
Age group: 12+
Rating: *****(5 stars)

There's this website. It's called The Gospel According to Larry. It's run by a person, Larry, who is, at least for the moment, hiding his identity. He writes "sermons" about anti-consumerism, and the site is growing more and more popular by the day.
Josh Swenson is 17 years old. His mom is dead, and the girl he's in love with is dating a jerk. And, he just so happens to be Larry.
He is the one behind the "sermons." He's the person who's been writing the blog. But nobody knows except for him. People have tried and are trying to figure out Larry's identity, but none of them have succeeded yet.
Until one day, someone starts posting comments on The Gospel According to Larry. This person is determined to weasel out the true identity of Larry, and expose him for all the world to see. And the problem is, whoever it is is coming pretty close.
Josh still has to protect Larry's identity, and in the end he has to make a choice. But it isn't easy.

Based on what I read, this book is a true story. That is probably one of the main reasons I love it so much. It's mind-blowing to see how the story unfolds, and even more mind-blowing to know that it really happened. Suddenly, all of these crazy things are happening, just because of one website.
Larry's philosophies are also very interesting. They are very thoughtful and really give you a lot to think about. It's also interesting the way he writes them--rather than super-formal and stuffy, he puts real voice into them.
Overall, this story was very real and honest, and that is the other main reason why it was really great. Even though the content is amazing and sometimes sounds crazy, the way it is told makes it sound very real, like it could happen to you. Of course, it did actually happen, so maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, this was a great read. I recommend it to everybody.