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This story takes place in Israel over the course of one week and is told from multiple perspectives. A 16-year-old German boy, Thomas, is coming to live on a Kibbutz to work in the gardens. The garden is run by Baruch Ben Tov, a Holocaust survivor. Vera is a 19-year-old girl also working in the garden who comes from Odessa. Sameh is a 16-year-old Palestinian boy who works illegally in Jerusalem and also agrees to become a suicide bomber. Following the terrorist act in which a bus is blown up, the reader can see the impact this has on each character and those around him. No answers are given. It simply shows what it is like to live in contemporary Israel. The cycle begins again at the end when another terrorist act occurs and Israel again retaliates. This book is easy to read. It would be of interest to teens in grades 8 and up, and to those who are interested in world events and understanding world religions. 
Armegeddon will occur on 14-year-old Marina's birthday in July 2000, according to The Believers, a religious group in Massachussetts. The group of 144 assemble on a mountaintop to await the end, including 16-year-old Jed and his father, and Marina along with her mother and three brothers. The story is told alternately between Jed and Marina who chronicle the events leading up to that day, and who also explore their beliefs about God and about this experience. Written jointly by two well-known authors, Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville, this book will grab your attention as the activities on the mountain become more ominous. Recommended for teens in grades 6 and up who are interested in religious stories or intrigued with Armageddon. 
This is a 2006 Newbery Honor Book. I loved this book! The girls from the mountain community of Mount Eskel are sent to the Princess Academy a year prior to the time when the Prince of Danland must choose a bride. It has been determined by the priests, much to the disdain of the nobles, that the next princess will come from that area. Mount Eskel is a mining town that quarries linden, a beautiful stone used in palaces and cathedrals, and although the people are strong and hardworking, they are considered ignorant. But the girls work hard at their studies which include Commerce, Geography, Danlander History, Mathematics, Poise, Kings and Queens, and Diplomacy, and are presented to the prince one year later. Not to say that it was an easy year, because it was not. They experienced cruelty and humiliation from their teacher, as well as an attack from bandits with a plot to hold the girls for ransom following the prince’s departure when he left without making a decision. This book is full of twists and turns, and comes to a satisfying conclusion. Girls in grades 6 and up will especially like this story full of strong and brave girls who fight for their rights and for the betterment of their community. 
This book is set on the island of Guam and is centered around Isabel, a 13-year old girl, whose mother has committed suicide. It is a rather quiet book in that there is not a lot of action. Instead, we follow Isabel and her family through their daily routine and discover that each member of the family is dealing with the suicide in his or her own way. Isabel’s younger sister is a bed-wetter and has nightly nightmares. Her father sleeps on the floor on the spot where her mother died and has made his bedroom a shrine to his dead wife. Her brother draws away from his friends and eventually attempts suicide himself. The book is filled with the atmosphere, tradition and activities of Guam as the family struggles to deal with their pain. This would be a good story for girls grades 6 and up, and for those interested in the effects of suicide on a family. 
I need more opinions for this book! One teen has already said that they did not care for it. Do you? This story is about 15-year old Luther who runs the Happy Neighbor Group Home for Men for his mother, whom he refers to as "the Sarge." She’s a tough cookie and always seems to be involved in some just barely legal scheme. Luther works very hard at the group home and the Sarge is holding his earnings for college. He spends a lot of time thinking about his science fair project that will be his 3rd 1st place prize in as many years. And since he wants to be a philosopher when he grows up, Luther is always quoting some famous philosopher whose name seems to always escape him at the moment. It is set in a contemporary urban Flint, Michigan. I thought it was quite funny and would appeal to boys in grades 6-10. I should also mention that I listened to it on tape which might have made it easier to follow than the teen reader was able to. It was read by Michael Boatman who used to appear on "Spin City". I thought his voice was perfect for the part of Luther. 
This book was originally printed in Spain before being translated into English. Set in the deserts of Arabia, before Islam, this wonderful, fantastical fairy tale is at once fresh and familiar. The story begins when Prince Walid ibn Hujr desires to be a famous poet. For three years in a row, however, the same humble carpet weaver, Hammad ibn al-Haddad, wins the palace-sponsored contest, a humiliation that transforms the well-liked, once-noble prince into an embittered, jealous-hearted shadow of his former self. In retaliation, the prince burdens the weaver with an impossible task: to weave a carpet that contains all of human history, past, present and future. To his astonishment, the weaver does so, but the arduous work blinds and ultimately kills the man. When the miraculous carpet is stolen, the prince, now the king, takes to the desert to find it, and spends the rest of his life trying to make amends for his loathsome actions. This beautifully symmetrical tale of the possibility of redemption, of fate vs. free will, of the necessity of heart in art, will enthrall readers young and old. Older readers in grades 10 and up would enjoy this. 
This is a mystery based on true events that occured in the Adirondack Mountains in 1906. In it’s day, this was the big news story that everyone talked about. The story is centered around 16-year old Mattie who is struggling with issues that many girls in her age struggled with. She wanted very much to attend college and become a writer, but her father wanted her to remain home on the farm and get married. She ends up taking a summer job at a hotel near her home and finds herself in the middle of what appears to be an accidental drowning incident. The drowned woman had handed a stack of letters to Mattie just prior to the event, and after Mattie reads them she knows that it was no accident. The incident helps her to realize that she needs to follow her own dreams. The events helped inspire "An American Tragedy" to be written. This one would appeal to girls in grades 9 and up. 
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