Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

A Monster Calls

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls: Inspired by an Idea from Siobhan Dowd. 1st ed. Candlewick, 2011.
Awards
The American Library Association Booklist magazine named A Monster Calls the "Top of the List" for 2011 youth fiction and it won the 2011 Kitschies Red Tentacle award for speculative fiction, best novel published in the UK.  Ness and Kay won the 2012 Carnegie and Greenaway Medals for writing and illustration, year's best work published in the UK.A Monster Calls appeared on many "Best" lists by the Independent, the Chicago Sun Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and was short-listed for the Red House Children's Book Award and the Galaxy National Book Award.
Annotation: The monster that appeared at thirteen year old Conor's window, but it's not the creature that inhabits his dreams.  It wants something from Conor, and he's not sure if the reward outweighs the risks.

Thirteen old Conor’s mother has cancer.  To make matters worse, he has a persistent nightmare every night.  At seven minutes after midnight a voice calls to him from the graveyard.  The monster must tell him three stories.  In exchange Conor must tell the monster his nightmare.  At first the monsters stories seem innocent.  But as events progress the stories begin to affect his waking life.  Conor must confront the monster of cancer and death and the monster of the night. This is a highly original story that appeals to both teens and adults.  

Girl of Nightmares

Blake, Kendare. Girl of Nightmares. First ed. Tor Teen, 2012.

This novel currently has no awards

Anna has disappeared but Cas, the ghost hunter still sees her in nightmares.  He becomes convinced that she needs help, and he needs to return the favor.

The second book in the Anna, dressed in blood series starts immediately after Anna goes into the portal to hell.  Cas, Carmel and Thomas reunite in order to find Anna.  This dark, gothic novel pulls no punches.  One of the unique characteristics of this book is the use of humor, sometimes in the most unexpected circumstances. The book is a great read for thirteen to fifteen y/o who love the horror genre.

Marc B. age 13 highly recommends this book, "the nightmares will give you nightmares."

City of Lost Souls

Clare, Cassandra. City of Lost Souls. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2012.

City of Lost Souls "is a sprawling urban fantasy packed with just about every type of creature known to the genre". -Publishers Weekly

YALSA's top Teen Books of 2009

The City of Lost Souls is the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series.  This book contains the first part of the dramatic conclusion, which is finished in the next (final) book of the series.

Sebastian is missing and Clary needs to find him before it is too late.  She asks the Fair Folk Queen for her assistance in finding him.  The Queen reluctantly agrees to help, but the assistance comes at a steep price.  Clary must find and return the two Faerie rings.  They were stolen years ago and hidden deep within the institute library.  When she is deep within the library walls she discovers that Sebastian and Jace are bound by magic.  Can Clary free Sebastian from the enchantment?  Will the dark alliance with the Queen be revealed?  Readers need to prepare themselves for a suspenseful cliffhanger.

Anna C. age 14 recommends "Start this series at the beginning of Summer so you can read all of them without school interrupting."

A Wrinkle in Time

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Square Fish, 2007. Print. 9780312367541; Paperback; $7.00; 245 pages

Awards

1963 Newbery Medal

1965 Sequoyah Book Award

1965 Lewis Caroll Shelf Award

Meg Murry’s father has mysteriously disappeared.  In her attempts to unravel the mystery she meets Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which, who show her and her siblings how to travel through time and space.  Together the group attempts to free her captured father from the Black Thing.

Index Card Trick:

Dark and Stormy night

Tesseract

Calvin

Uriel

The black thing

Camazotz

IT

Unwind

Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. Reprint. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009.

Awards and Honors

2008 ALA Top Ten Picks for Reluctant Readers
2008 ALA Best Young Adult Book list
2010 Japanese Sakura Medal
2008 Bank Street Best Books of the Year
2010 Washington Evergreen YA Book award List
2010 Oklahoma High School Sequoyah Award List and
2010 Oklahoma Intermediate Sequoyah Award List
2009/2010 Texas Lonestar Award List and
2009 Texas Tayshas Award List
2009/2010 Virginia Readers Choice Award List
2009/2010 Indiana Rosewater High School Book Award nominee
2010 Utah Beehive Award Nominee
2009/2010 Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee
2010 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award List
2009/2010 Vermont Green Mountain Book Award
2010 Rhode Island Teen Book Award List
2010 Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award List
2009/2010 Georgia Peach Award List
2009/2010 Florida Teens Read Award List
2009/2010 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award List
2010-2011 One Book for Nebraska Teens
2010-2011 California Young Reader Medal Nomination
The United Kingdom Coventry Inspiration "Simply the Book" Award
2009/2010 Kentucky Bluegrass Award List
2010 South Dakota YARP Award List
2011 Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award

Set in future America, after the second civil war.  Children are now allowed to be "retroactively aborted" by sending them off to be 'unwound.

America is rocked by a second civil war, fought over abortion.  Unwanted children may be discarded on the doorstep or "unwound" by donating the body parts.  Three children: Lev, Connor and Risa have learned that they are to be "unwound" and decide to flee.  They are hoping to buy enough time until they reach eighteen and are exempt from unwinding.  They follow a future underground tunnel of supporters until they are discovered.  Can they escape their fate? Or will they be another victim of the unwind?  

Ember T. age 14 recommends this book because "the characters are very believable; you find yourself cheering them and crying when things go bad."

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