The Barrio Kings, by William Kowalski (2011)

My name is Rosario Gomez.  I'm twenty-three years old. 

Rosario used to be in a gang called the Barrio Kings.  He dropped out of high school and he was the best street fighter around. 

I came up rough.  My neighborhood was on the news almost every night, and the news was never good.  It was the kind of barrio nice people don't visit.  There was nothing there for them.  There was nothing there for me either.  There was only survival, and I had to fight for that.

For three years Rosario has kept a job and stayed out of trouble.  He has a girlfriend and a baby on the way and he has set some goals for himself, starting with finishing high school.

Rosario's friend Juan is released from prison.  Juan doesn't have anywhere to go, so he asks Rosario if he can stay with him for one night.  Juan gives Rosario a hard time for leaving the Barrio Kings gang.

"Look at you," he says.  "You look like Mr. Clean.  What happened to you?  Where your colors at?"

Can Rosario escape the gangs?  Is he going to get revenge for his brother's murder?  Will the Vandals leave Rosario and his family alone?  The Barrio Kings is a great read for those who are interested in learning about gangs.  It's a great read for kids who struggle to find a high-interest book for a non-reader.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

*A clean read for teens!

Not available at NOLS, yet!

The Magnolia League, by Katie Crouch (2011)

You know what I hate?  Sweet tea.  Actually, I wouldn't call it tea; I'd say it's more of a syrup.  Ninety-eight percent sugar with a little water thrown in so you don't totally shrivel up and die in this torturous heat.

Shortly after her mom's sudden death, sixteen year-old Alex was forced to move from the only home she's known into her grandmother's mansion in Savannah, Georgia. 

The most terrible thing about her death was the weeks after. The mornings when, instead of waking up to my mom's horrendous, out-of-tune singing and the smell of cinnamon-spiced coffee, all I heard and felt was silence.

Alex grieves the loss of her mom and she hates the fact that she had to leave her home on a communal organic farm in California. 

Life in Savannah is completely different from life on Rain Catcher Farms.  She meets her Magnolia Sisters, Hayes and Madison.  Alex struggles to make sense of her new life. 

Alex's grandmother is the head of the Magnolia League, Savannah's long-standing debutante society.  Grandmother wants Alex to be presented at the Christmas Ball. 

Alex wonders how her mother, born in Savannah and raised in society that celebrates debutantes, ever made her way to California.  Her mom always wore a necklace with a stone, but she wasn't wearing it on the day she was killed.  Some of Savannah's important people have noticed Alex's necklace; some were upset that her mother wasn't wearing it the day she died. 

Alex meets Sam and Sina Buzzard and learns more about her mother, the Magnolia League, and hoodoo. 

"Have you heard of a Blue Root?"

I shake my head.

"It's a hex on someone to bring that person harm.  If a Blue root is on you, then you will die; the only question is how.  There's a Blue Root on the entire League.  That's the bargain they made:  They can be queens of Savannah, but only Savannah.  Your friends...If they leave Savannah, they die."

The Magnolia League is an exciting read!  I enjoyed learning about the history Savannah and hoodoo.  I look forward to the next book!

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

* Language, sex, alcohol, marijuana, black magic

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Fracture, by Megan Miranda (2011)

The first time I died, I didn't see God.

Seventeen-year old Delaney Maxwell suffered a traumatic brain injury.  She lies in a hospital bed non responsive.  Delaney fell through the ice on Falcon Lake and her best friend, Decker Phillips, saved her.  Even so, Decker feels responsible.

Delaney wakes in the hospital, wondering what happened.

"You were dead."  Dr. Klein smiled when he said it.  "I was here when they brought you in.  You were dead."

Even though there was significant damage to her brain, Delaney suffers no symptoms of brain damage.  Delaney learns what happened out at the lake on that fateful day.

Time between calls, time underwater, time without air:  eleven minutes.

Delaney experiences several weird events, an itch deep insider her head and a persistent pull.  Then she meets Troy Varga, and he knows all about her accident.

Fracture is one of the best books I've read in a long, long time.  Learn how Delaney handles surviving when she should have died, how she handles her complicated relationship with Decker, and how she figures out what her new role must be.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

*mild language

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The List, Siobhan Vivian (April 2012)

For as long as anyone can remember, the students of Mount Washington High have arrived at school on the last Monday in September to find a list naming the pretties and the ugliest girls in each grade.

This year will be no different.

There is a tradition at Mount Washington High.  On the Monday of Homecoming Week, 400 copies of a list, all embossed with the school's official stamp.  No one knows who the authors are or how the responsibilities are passed down.  There are three clear groups:  prettiest girls, ugliest girls, and everyone else.

The eight girls included in this year's list narrarate the novel.  The List is a powerful novel as you see the lives of 8 girls either implode or explode because of the list.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
* language, sexual situations, sexual references, bullying

This book is not at NOLS...yet!

Wrapped, Jennifer Bradbury (2011)

"Put the book down, darling," my mother said from her chair beside the mirror.

London, 1815
Agnes Wilkins is 17 years old.  Her debut has come and she's about to formally step into society.  Lord Thomas Showalter, the most sought-after man in all of Hyde Park and London, has invited Agnes to a gathering at his house.  Agnes' mother is sure Lord Showalter seeks a wife.

Lord Showalter has a mummy to unwrap to entertain his guests at the party.  He chooses people to snip at the wrapping to unveil the charms.

"Who will be the first to dare upset our Egyptian guest on his journey through the underworld?"

"Agnes Wilkins!  You must take the first pass," Showalter boomed, beckoning me forward.

Agnes is uncomfortable with the task ahead of her.  She doesn't feel it's appropriate to unwrap mummies for the sake of entertainment, but Showalter wants her to find a special trinket.

"...but it is my greatest wish that you'll return home tonight with a lovely memento of this auspicious evening."

She finds a small iron object with a dog's head and she secretly hides it in the bodice of her dress.

Suddenly the party is interrupted and Lord Showalter sends everyone home.  There has been a mistake and then a murder.  Everyone that found a trinket on the mummy is asked to return it, but Agnes decides to keep her trinket hidden.

"Well," he said, sighing, "you've found yourself in the middle of more trouble than you could ever hope to imagine."

Wrapped is an exciting read about Agnes' investigation of the mummy's object.  As she learns more about it, she finds herself in great danger and she must do something to save her country.  It's a great introduction to classic English literature, especially Pride and Prejudice.

Rating:  8 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Shift, Jennifer Bradbury (2008)

The nose of the seat bit into my shoulder as the toe clip scraped the back of my thigh.

Three months before high school graduation Christopher Collins and his best friend Winston Coggans decided to bike across the country, from their home in West Virginia to Seattle, Washington.  Friends since the third grade, best friends since the 6th grade, Chris and started their trek the day after graduation.

Chris and Win have some great adventures as they travel across the country, but Win was always playing games.  Chris would often get sick of him.  It wasn't a surprise that Win decided to ride on his own as they crossed the Cascade Mountains. 

They never saw each other after that fateful moment, when Chris had to stop to fix his flat.  Chris never called Win to see if he made it.  The first week of college Chris learns that he was the last person to see Win.  FBI Agent, Abe Ward shows up at Chris's dorm.

"This," Ward said, "is an investigation."

"Of what?"  I asked.  "Me?"

Chris finds himself as a suspect in the disappearance of his friend.  Shift is a captivating mystery of what happened to Win, and what could happen to Chris if he can't find the truth.

*minor language

9 out of 10 stars

Other cover:

The Future of Us, Jay Ashner & Carolyn Mackler (2011)

In 1996 less than half of all American high school students had ever used the Internet.

Facebook would not be invented until several years in the future.

Emma & Josh are about to log on to their futures.

Emma Nelson is a junior in high school.  Her dad recently gave her his computer.  As she was setting up her new computer, Josh Templeton, her next door neighbor, comes over.  Ever since November, things have been tense between Emma and Josh.  They used to spend lots of time together, but not in the last six months. 

"My mom wanted me to bring this over," he says, holding up a CD-ROM.  "American Online gives you a hundred free hours if you sign up.  It came in the mail last week."

It takes 97 minutes to download, so Emma goes for a run.  Afterwards she restarts her computer and dials into AOL.  Her modem crackles and beeps.  She re-enters her email and password. 

For about twenty seconds, my monitor freezes.  The then white box snaps into a tiny blue dot and a new webpage fades in.  It has a blue banner running across the top that says "Facebook."  A column down the center of the screen is labeled "News Feed" and under that are tiny photos of people I don't recognize.

Emma finds a small picture of a woman with the name Emma Nelson Jones.

At first she thinks Josh has tried to pull a fast one, but she soon learns the truth.  She and Josh make a pact.

"Let's make a deal to only look at it together," he says.

Emma learns that in the future she is not happy, and Josh's future is happy and successful.  But each time they look at Facebook, the future has changed.  They soon realize that what they do now affects their ever-changing future.

"Before you look," I say, holding tight to the chair, "you have to promise not to tweak the future unless it's absolutely terrible.  Even then, we need to discuss it first."

As Emma and Josh learn about their future, they are forced to confront other issues that lead to what happened six months ago. 

Rating:  8 out of 10 stars

* mild language, sexual situations

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!