Book Talk #6 - Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

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“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973 … It was still back when people believed things like that didn’t happen…My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father once talked to him about fertilizer.”
Susie’s opening words in the book Lovely Bones will instantly grab you, pulling you into the life of usie Salmon beyond the grave as she watches her family struggle with her disappearance; as her life leaves her body in the cornfield, brushing past her friend Ruth; as she sits with her father each evening, alone in his study; as she watches her friends grow and continue their lives over the next seven years; and as she tries to communicate the events of her tragic abduction and death to those trying to piece together the evidence that will allow vengeance on her slayer. Even though you know the circumstances of Susie’s death from the first chapter, you will not quit turning pages until clues unravel the mystery of her murder, revealing the identity of the killer to her friends, family and community. Lovely Bones will make you aware that things like Susie’s murder do happen ­ and that today one must always be cautious, not of just strangers, but of people we know."
Lovely Bones is a South Carolina Young Adult Nominee for 2004-2005. (Rebecca Elswick, Rebelswick@Yahoo.com, English I teacher -- Mid-Carolina High School, Prosperity, SC)
SUBJECTS:

Family life -- Fiction.

Homicide -- Fiction.

Girls -- Fiction.

Teenagers -- Fiction.

Psychological fiction.

Domestic fiction.
Source: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/sebold_lovely.htm

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UPCOMING MOVIE 2009 !!!

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Book Talk #5 - Invisible by Pete Hautman

Invisible by Pete Hautman

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“ Andy Morrow and I are best friends. Best friends share everything, especially secrets.
I am Douglas MacArthur Hanson, but Andy calls me Dougie. I am 17 and go to Fairview Central High. I am kind of shy, a lot different then Andy.
It doesn’t matter that we live in completely different realities—that Andy is the quarterback of the football team and stars in school plays while I spend most of my time working on an HO train set I have in our basement. If you asked Andy to name his best friend, he would say, “Dougie Hanson.” I am pretty much invisible except when I am with Andy.
Do I strike you as a little obsessive? My parents and counselor think so. But the truth is I am just very focused. So focused I built a whole town around my train set. Right now I am building a suspension bridge out of matchsticks.
Like I said, Andy and I share a secret. We had some bad luck with fires when we were kids. There was the tree house and the then the Tuttle Place. But everything turned out all right. I don’t see why everybody thinks my friendship with Andy is such a problem. Dr. Ahlstrom says I need to forget Andy. But I can't. You see we both made it out of that fire alive. That’s our secret. Andy is alive and he is my best friend. No matter what, he will never leave me."
(Booktalk by Tom Reynolds, Sno-Isle Regional Library System for the Evergreen Young Adult Book award, 2007-2008)
SUBJECTS:

Best friends -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Railroads -- Models -- Fiction.

Models and modelmaking -- Fiction.

Schools -- Fiction.

Mental illness -- Fiction.
Source: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/hautman_invisible.htm

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Book Talk #4 - A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

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“ Ninth grade. A new start. Josie was pretty popular in middle school but all bets are off now. But then the unthinkable happens. A senior asks her out!! What a great life she has now. She gets to go to the senior parties and sit with him at lunch. Sure she is ignoring her own friends, but he is a senior and likes her. Or is he just after another piece of freshmeat? That can't be true, can it? When Josie says no to his advances, he dumps her and finds Nicolette. Heartbroken and angry, Josie feels the need to warn other girls about this boy. Remembering Judy Blume's Forever, Josie heads to the library and writes her story in the back of the book. Will other girls find the warnings and take heed? Or will others fall for the false lines and the smooth smile?"
SUBJECTS:

Girls -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

High school students -- Fiction.
Source: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/stone_bad.htm

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Book Talk #3 - As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway

As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway

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"“Anna Cayne had moved here in August, just before our sophomore year in high school, but by February she had, one by one, killed everyone in town.” So begins Gregory Galloway’s novel As Simple as Snow.
“GG” describes himself as dull, uninteresting…as plain as milk…plainer, even, since milk at least has color. He is water, both dull and invisible. That is, until he meets Anna. With her Goth clothes, eccentric tastes, and mysterious persona, Anna gives GG’s life more color and flavor than he could have imagined. She is adventurous and creative, loves games and puzzles, and delights in creating mysteries.
But the greatest mystery of all is Anna herself. She has friends, but enemies lurk in the shadows. She seems forthright and honest, but clearly has some secrets. Her favorite pastime is writing imaginary obituaries for everyone in town. But some of them expose haunting secrets about their subjects, things that only someone close to the deceased could know…things that the subject would probably rather keep secret.
Then, just when Anna has “killed” the last person in town, she disappears, gone from the pages of the book and from GG’s life. The only apparent clue is her dress, found carefully arranged next to a hole in an ice-covered river. But other clues abound, in the labyrinth of games and puzzles she devised for GG, in her cryptic comments, in her frequent references to obscure literary and historic events. Readers who can’t figure out what happened to Anna can visit the book’s website and sign up to receive further clues by email.
There’s nothing simple about snow, and there’s nothing simple about this mystery. What happened to Anna? Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Or did she just run away? join GG’s search for the truth." (Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers, 2007-2008)
SUBJECTS:
High school students -- Fiction.
Missing persons -- Fiction.
Teenagers -- Fiction.
Boys -- Fiction.
Psychological fiction.
Source: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/galloway_simple.htm

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Book Talk #2 - Acceleration by Graham McNamee

Acceleration by Graham McNamee

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"Duncan is obsessed with a girl he doesn't even know. Maya. He only saw her for a minute. He's never even talked to her. But he hears her screaming in his dreams all the time. Last summer, he was swimming in the lake when Maya got pulled under and drowned. He couldn't get to her on time. Even though swimming was the only thing he was really good at, he couldn't save her. Duncan was always taught that guys should be heroes, but he failed to save her. So he feels like he fits in at his new summer job at the dungeon, also known as the lost and found for the Toronto subway. Looking through the lost items, Duncan finds a diary. It has the strangest leather cover that feels almost like skin. Someone left it on the train, and it is filled with the most twisted and disgusting stories. Animal mutilations, torture, abuse...and plans to capture and kill three women. Duncan has found the diary of a serial killer. What should he do with it? Duncan knows that he found this diary for a reason. He won't go to the police. If he can save these women from this killer himself, he can finally make up for not saving that girl in the lake. But is it safe for a high school student to be stalking a sadistic serial killer? How far will he go to make up for the past? And will he survive to find out?" (Jessica Ewing, Queens Library, Queens, New York)

SUBJECTS:

Serial murderers -- Fiction.

Diaries -- Fiction.

Summer employment -- Fiction.

Toronto (Ont.) -- Fiction.

Canada -- Fiction.

Mystery and detective stories.
•Source: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/mcnamee_acceleration.htm

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Book Talk #1 - Street Pharm by Alison Van Diepen

Street Pharm by Alison Van Diepen

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"Ty Johnson has it all. He's King of the Streets. He's a 17 year old African American drug dealer. He's taken over his father's territory and he's learned all he needs to know from his dad. Sure he's only a kid but he knows what it's all about. But his mother insists that he stay in high school. Enrolled in an alternative school, Ty couldn't care less about the school. It's just a place to find more buyers and sellers. One thing he didn't count on finding is Alyse. She doesn't know about Ty and he wants to keep it that way. But then trouble starts. A rival dealer is trying to take over Ty's territory. Will he take his father's advice to eliminate the threat, or will he find another way to deal with it?"
SUBJECTS:

Drug dealers -- Fiction.

African Americans -- Fiction.
Source: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/vandiepen_street.htm

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