Aimee Freidman's book South Beach is a story of two high school girls partying in South Beach, Florida for spring break. Friedman capture's the two girl's lives beautifully, bringing spring break in South Beach, Florida to life.
A blend of mystery, ghost story and pirate tale, Dietlof Reiche's Ghost Ship is a brilliant novel that will keep readers intrigued until the end. Set in a small New England community in present day, Reiche supplements his story with flashbacks to the 18th century that add to the ghostliness of the tale.
What is normal, anyway? Kate Klise's book Deliver Us from Normal is an intriguing, adolescent view on what normal is and why it is so important to children and teenagers. Klise uses the perspective of a twelve year old boy who lives with his four other siblings and his parents in Normal, Illinois. The author provides readers with a glimpse into the life of a lower middle class family who, when it's all said and done, realize that not being "normal" really isn't that bad.
Michelle Taylor's What's Happily Ever After, Anyway? focuses on answering the title question in terms young adults can relate to. The characters she created are typical teenagers that readers can easily imagine having as friends, or perhaps representing someone the already know. She addresses important issues such as pre- marital sex, rape, abortion, dating, being a teenage Mom and even dealing with harassment in school. Taylor not only brings these topics to light but she does it in such a way that readers will be entertained, touched and informed all at the same time.
In "Maia of Thebes," Ann Turner tells the engaging story of an orphaned young girl and her brother who live with their cruel aunt and uncle and are treated more as servants than as family.The boy is studying at The House of Life to be a scribe, for a scribes life is an easy one, filled with clean clothes and plenty of food.Though girls are not allowed to learn to write he secretly teaches his sister the art of writing hieroglyphics, a skill which will eventually save her life.
