Suggested Summer Fiction - June

The final four / Paul Volponi

As Michigan State Spartans and Troy University Trojans meet in the semi-finals of the NCAA championship, four players tell their personal stories --  the excitement, stress, and physical toll of the game; personal relationships; the harsh realities of life in a housing project (drive-by shooting); the rules of eligibility and the question of paying college players.  (from the book)

Paralyzed / Jeff Rud

“Nate Brown was still lying out in the middle of the field. Dr. Stevens was kneeling beside him now, watching him intently and checking his pulse. My chest began to tighten, and I started to sweat. Why wasn't Nate getting up?”

When  angry fans dub Reggie Scott a “dirty” player, he is forced to confront his own guilt and decide whether he can continue to play his senior season and beyond. (Amazon.com ; 5/4/2012)

Mexican Whiteboy / Matt de la Peña

No matter where he lives, 16-year-old Danny Lopez is an outsider -- at his private high school because he was Mexican and with his father’s family because he is white.  He decides to spend the summer with his dad’s family, hoping to learn to be "real" and to stop feeling numb.  By the end of the summer, he has filled the void through unexpected friendship . . . and baseball. (from Amazon.com ; 5/7/2012)

 

Shelter / Harlan Coben

Mickey Bolitar witnessed his father's death, sent his mom to rehab, moved in with his estranged uncle Myron, and enrolled in a new high school. Then his new girlfriend, Ashley, disappears.  And the crazy Bat Lady tells him that his father is alive. The trail leads Mickey into a seedy underworld revealing that neither Ashley nor his father were who he thought they were. (from Amazon.com; 5/8/2012)  [Suspenseful with plenty of twists and turns. Terrific! – the Librarian]

 

Artemis Fowl / Eoin Colfer

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit.  These fairies are not the bedtime –story variety; they are armed and dangerous.   Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them…but then they stop playing by the rules.  (Amazon.com ; 5/4/2012)  [There are 8 books in the Artemis series; go crazy!]

Star Crossed; Liar’s Moon / Elizabeth Bunce

Digger is a forger, pick-pocket, and thief with a heart of gold. She is also an orphan trying to survive while avoiding the clutches of her brother, the ruthless Inquisitor.  Set in a vaguely-medieval fantasy world, the stories include intrigue and adventure; clashes with the law and her brother; a dash of romance; and magic.

“As I crossed back through the empty court, something that wasn't moonlight flashed in the corner of my vision. Swearing silently, I spun slowly back around, my eyes pressed closed until the last moment. But I hadn't imagined it. There by an arched doorway, in a streak like the mark left on the floor from heavy furniture, was the faintest glitter of something that should not have been there. I knelt beside it and gingerly dipped my fingers toward the flagstones, tapping just lightly enough that a stream of silvery mist spread out from my touch like the radiating arms of a star, flashing the floor in sparkling light. There was magic at Bal Marse. Of course there was.”  (excerpt from Liar’s moon)
[Action; plot twists; believable characters. Great reads – the Librarian]

 

The lost songs / Caroline B. Cooney

Lutie Painter had never skipped school before. . . On the phone, Saravette's voice had been thready and weak, as if she were ill. But one sentence had been strong and sharp. "You have to know," said Saravette suddenly. . .

[From the bus], she saw Saravette leaning against a telephone pole. . . . Thirty years old, looked eighty. Sunken cheeks from lost teeth. Tattoos and piercings no longer brave and sassy, but pitiful. Wearing two sweaters on an already hot morning. Both dirty. . . .

“Miss Veola's still preaching at me. There's a lot to preach about too. By now," said Saravette, laughing, "I've broken all the commandments." . . . Saravette put out her cigarette and immediately lit it again. For the first time, her eyes met Lutie's and stayed focused. "You have to know something," she said quietly. It was not the voice of a crazy person to a stranger. It was the voice of a mother to her daughter. . . .

Panic filled Lutie Painter. . . .

[Saravette] signaled one of the scary guys at the counter. She's going to buy drugs, thought Lutie. Right now. With me sitting here. . . .She's already forgotten what she said, thought Lutie. What's murder, after all? Just one in a list of ten. Whatever. . . .

The [cashier] marched Lutie out of the coffee shop. The bus appeared almost immediately, which was a good thing. Lutie's knees were shaking and her heart was falling out. Her mother might be a murderer.

"Don't cry, honey," said the woman. "And don't come back."  (excerpt from the book; ch. 1)

Lutie’s grandmother told her , “Some people inherit land or silver spoons. . . . We inherited songs. They’re my grandmother’s shouts to God. . . . her prayers were answered for you, Lutie. You’ll have the world she wanted.” (from the book jacket)

 

The rose that grew from concrete / Tupak Shakur

Poetry written by Tupac from ages 14 to 19.  The poems reflect the harsh realities of life but also the power of dreams and hope.