Index

1. A Walk to remember by Nicholas sparks

2. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

3. Bleach by Tite Kubo

4. Cracking the SAT, 2011 Edition (College Test Preparation) by Princeton Review

5. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

7. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

8. Easy A (movie)

9. Elevate- Big Time Rush

10. Forever by Judy Blume

11. Game Informer (magazine)

12. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

13. Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

14. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

15. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

16. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

17. Mass Effect 3

18. Mean Girls

19. Minecraft(videogame)

20. Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

21. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist(movie)

22. PC GAMER(magazine)

23. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

24. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

25. Push by Sapphire

26. Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley

27. Seventeen(magazine)

28. Sims3 (Video game)

29. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

30. Speak Now-Taylor Swift

31. Teen Ink (Magazine)

32. Teen Vogue (Magazine)

33. Teenage Dream- Katie Perry

34. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

35. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney

36. The Giver by Lois Lowry

37. The Host by Stephanie Meyer

38. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

39. The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College by Harlan Cohen

40. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

41. The Pigman by Paul Zindel

42. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

43. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

44. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

45. TTYL by Lauren Myracle

46. Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix

47. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

48. Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

49. Whatever Happened to Good Bye? By Sarah Dessen

50. Wintergirls by Laurie Halso Anderson

Teen Vogue

Title: Teen Vogue

Published: Monthly

Cost: $10/ 2 years


Format: Print

Recommended Age: 13+


Content: This magazine is primarily focused at teenage girls. It focuses on fashion, and celebrity interviews. 


Challenge issues: Some parents may not like the risque clothing that may be featured within this magazine. However, it is a magazine about fashion, and does show diverse fashion. 


Why I chose this: This magazine is full of fun fashion advice that teenagers will love.


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Seventeen

Title: Seventeen


Published: Monthly


Cost:$10/ 1 yr


Recommended Age: 13+

Content: This magazine is geared primarily towards teenage girl. They do interviews with stars, fashion, make up tips, exercise tips and so much more.


Challenge: This magazine sometimes talks about things like kissing or making out which some parents may not find appropriate for their teenage daughter. Normally it's a pretty mild magazine.


Why I chose it: I read this magazine as a teen and thought it was useful. 

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The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College

Title:The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College
 
Author:Harlan Cohen


ISBN: 978-1402253461

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Copyright: 2009
 Plot Summary: This is essentially a nonfiction book that deals with all sorts of different issues that going to college may carry with it. For example, living on campus, having gross roommates, joining the Greek life, dealing with depression, taking good notes and so much more. There is an index in the book to navigate to any problems and I would recommend reading this starting in high school.


Critical Evaluation: This is a very well written book that covers a variety of issues that students may face while away in college. It is an essential book because Cohen deals not only deals with the academic issues, but also social issues that people might face as they venture off on their own.

Reader's Annotation: What do you do if you walk into your dorm room to find your roommate strutting around naked?

Genre: Nonfiction

Author Information: Harlan Cohen is an advice columnist for teenagers and young adults. This is a link to his website http://www.helpmeharlan.com/.

Book talks: College, academia, drugs, alcohol, greek, depression

Reading Level/Interest Age:High School/ College. 14-23.
Challenge: This book addresses a multitude of issues that would be challenged like sex, drugs, alcohol, but the key is Harlan Cohen is helping them figure out how to navigate a life where all of these things are happening in most places they go.

Why was this book chosen?: This is a fantastic help guide to college life.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Title: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti


ISBN: 978-0439353793

Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction

Copyright: 2005
 Plot Summary: This book contains first hand accounts of World War II survivors, concentration camps survivors, and former members of Hitler's Youth to place in context the events that took place in Germany. The images coupled with the text is very powerful. This text tells how the children were drawn into Hitler's Youth and what they were taught. They were allowed to do fun kid things like play together, but also taught to hate Jewish people. The only requirement to join Hitler's Youth was to be able bodied and able to prove there were no Jewish people in your lineage. The book tells of a man who, as a member of Hitler's Youth destroyed houses and property of Jewish families, but thought at the time they deserved it do to the training he was put through.

Critical Evaluation: This book is extremely powerful. The images and the first hand accounts coupled together form a powerful nonfiction book.

Reader's Annotation:  How Germany's Youth became Hitler's Youth in the 1930s.

Genre: Nonfiction

Author Information: Susan Campbell Bartoletti authors other nonfiction picture books including Dear America: A Coal Miner's Bride and historical fiction novels such as The Boy Who Dared. To learn more about this author and her work visit: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/susan-campbell-bartoletti

 Book talks: Hitler, Nazis, WWII, youth, Jewish people, destruction, racism

Reading Level/Interest Age: Middle School/High School. 12-18.


Challenge: Violence. There are some parents, or other people who would rather not expose their children to the violence of war, however, it is necessary to learn from the past, no matter how painful it may be to revisit. 
Why was this book chosen?: The textual content and images are very powerful.

Push

Title: Push

Author: Sapphire

ISBN: 0679446265

Publisher: Knopf

Copyright: 1996

 Plot Summary:  This heart-wrenching story follows Precious, a teenage, illiterate, pregnant girl who has suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother and her father. Her mother seems to only care about her welfare benefits. Precious is sent to a school for teenage mothers where she is taught to read and write by an influential teacher, Ms. Rain. Precious gives birth to her second child, whose father is her dad, and begins to work through her issues when she is dealt another crippling blow

Critical Evaluation:  Sapphire writes this book very well. The plot line is difficult to read, but the reader feels a need to try and save precious even though that is not possible. The reader feels rage towards her family, and love towards her and especially Ms. Rain. Sapphire wrote this incredibly tough topic wonderfully.

 Reader's Annotation: Pushed down by life, Precious tries to escape the shackles abuse has put on her.

Genre: Crossover, Realistic Fiction

 Author Information: Sapphire has written one other novel called The Kid. This novel is also directed at an adult audience.

Book talks: Abuse, Rape, Incest, Education, Literacy, HIV, AIDS

Reading Level/Interest Age: Older High School/ Adult. 17-100+

Challenge: This book is full of challenge issues,however, this book was written for adults thus their presence. There is incest, rape, abuse, hiv, aids, teenage pregnancy, homelessness, these are all building blocks that create the torment that Precious experiences. However horrifying it is to read, it is part of the plot, the sexual abuse is described relatively explicitly in the story so it is only appropriate for older teenagers and adults.

Why was this book chosen?: This book is emotionally poignant and well written. 

Th1rteen R3asons Why

Title: Th1rteen R3easons Why

Author: Jay Asher

ISBN: 978-1595141880

Publisher: Penguin Books

Copyright: 2007

 Plot Summary:  Clay Jensen, a high school student, comes home from school one day to find a mysterious package full of cassette tapes. Once he begins to listen to them he hears Hannah Baker's voice, a classmate who had just committed suicide. The tapes list the thirteen reasons why she committed suicide and Clay is one of them. Clay follows Hannah's voice around town all night and in the process discovers some things about himself and Hannah. 

Critical Evaluation:  This book is very well written. There are large passages of Hannah's voice speaking sometimes and other times when Hannah is speaking about something more difficult it cuts back and forth between Hannah's voice and Clay's reaction. Clay's reactions to Hannah's words are heart wrenching at some points. Jay Asher writes the anxiety Clay feels leading up to the tape about him very well, it makes the reader feel the anxiety as well. 

 Reader's Annotation: Clay Jensen finds a mysterious package on his doorstep, full of cassettes that lead him on a journey through the eyes of another. 

Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Young Adult

 Author Information: Jay Asher has written one other young adult book called The Future of Us. To find out more about Jay Asher visit his blog at http://www.jayasher.blogspot.com/.

Book talks: Suicide, Treating others well, Rumors, Not letting rumors affect what you think about someone, how rumors affect someone

Reading Level/Interest Age: Middle School/ High School. 13-18.

Challenge: Suicide, sex, underage drinking, theft. Hannah Baker commits suicide and this book details all the reasons why. It is important to this story that Hannah is gone. It does not detail her death but it is necessary to see what the pain in Hannah's life lead her to. There is some sex is this book at two different party locations, it does not get that graphic and it is a necessary point on the downward spiral. There is underage drinking at a party, it describes what many teenagers do, but it is not written in a glorified way. Finally, Clay steals his friend's old Walkman to play the tapes. Clay did not steal it with malicious intent and it is a necessary part of the story that Clay has a mobile way to listen to Hannah.

Why was this book chosen?: I read this book for a book club recently and could not put it down. It is a compelling work.