The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz

Title: The Vinyl Princess 

Author: Yvonne Prinz           

Publish Date: December 2009 

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers 

Pages: 313pp 

ISBN: 0061715832 

Classification: Fiction 

Genre: Realistic Fiction 

Annotation: Allie is a teen music junkie.  On her summer break from school she get’s a job at Bob & Bob Records (the coolest record store in town).  Here Allie begins to piece together her secret identity as the Vinyl Princess.

Plot Summary: Sixteen-year-old self-proclaimed music geek, Allie, spends every free moment practically running Bob & Bob's Records.  She knows everything there is to know about vinyl's and composes articles for a blog and a zine.  Her best friend and vintage fashion maven Kit, hang out at bohemian eateries and coffeehouses in downtown San Francisco.  Her home life is complicated yet oddly normal.  Her mom is in the dating pool and her father’s twenty-something wife is pregnant, making Allie a new older sister.  Like most teenage girls, Allie struggles with boys, never seems to get it quite right. While working in the record store, a boy starts to notice Allie, and Allie starts to notice him.  She secretly fantasizes about him liking her.  Soon enough, Allie realizes what his intentions are. She has several interesting encounters with music customers and has an eye-opening summer. 

Personal Response: LOVED this book! Any teen who has a passion for music will relate to this story.  Allie is definitely a likable character.  Her trials and tribulations are relatable even if you aren’t a music geek—it’s the young emotions and teenage angst that ring true. Although taking place in Berkley, California, the author is from Edmonton, Alberta.  It’s interesting to think about this being classified as Canadian being that the backdrop of the story is California. With that said, Allie is the nickname of the main character, who’s name is Alberta.  I thought it was kind of cool how the author weaved in her home state as the main character’s name.

The Vinyl Princess blog: http://www.thevinylprincess.com/

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Staying honest with who you are and not letting anything or anyone pull you down.  Coming-of-age.

Age Range: 12 and up

Subjects: Music, Records, Zines, LPs, Hipsters, Friendship, Blogging, Internet, High School, Teen Angst, Relationships, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction.

Similar Titles:

The Hipster Handbook by Robert Lanham

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Rage by Julie Peters

The Mud Girl by Alison Acheson

Title: The Mud Girl

Author: Alison Acheson

Publish Date: October 2006

Publisher: Coteau Books

Pages: 328pp

IBSN: 1550503545

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: Aba Zytka Jones—Abi—doesn’t expect anything from anyone.  Her mother has abandoned her and her father, whom remains in his chair. She doesn’t have much, but she wants to figure out her life on her own. 

Plot Summary: Aba Zytka Jones (Abi), sixteen, has a long summer ahead of her.  Her mother has left and her father remains sitting in his chair, leaving her with several responsibilities to shoulder.  With a burning need to figure out her life, Abi has numerous questions.  A woman from the Big Sister organization, Ernestine, attempts to befriend her.  The cute guy from the paint shop, Jude, becomes her boyfriend. And a girl named Amanda offers offers her a summer job cleaning houses.  When Abi discovers that Jude has a son, Dyl, who’s mother has taken off (mirroring her own sistuation), she has is faced with her past pain and forced to deal with her issues by taking care of Dyl. 

Personal Response: A poignant story about a girl who was abandoned by her mother and whose father is somewhat useless.  The novel is slow-moving with beautiful descriptions of the land, in which play a potent counterpart to the symbolism of Abi’s, the protagonist, pain.

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Identity, finding out who you are and what you want in life.  Uncovering the past pains of your life by helping another in need.

Age Range: 12 and up

Subjects: Identity, Abandonment, Adult Responsibilities, Relationships, Love, Dysfunctional Family, Outreach, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction

Similar Titles:

Rockbound by Frank Parker Day

No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLead

The Birth House by Ami McKay

My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath

Title: My One Hundred Adventures

Author:Polly Horvath

Publish Date: September 2008

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Pages: 272pp

ISBN: 0375845828

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: Twelve-year-old Jane is ready for adventures and she finds plenty of it, thanks to the inhabitants of the Massachusetts beach town where she lives.

Plot Summary: Jane Fielding is twelve-years-old and lives an idyllic life on the Massachusetts shore. Her home is a permanent beach house that has doors that are always wide open, no matter the time of day or night, and is always delightful and homey. Jane adores her home and her family--her hopeless romantic mother who writes poetry and her three brothers and sisters. As much as she loves her home life, her day to day routine is almost monotonous and she longs for some excitement and adventure. When a disheveled man shows up for dinner, Jane’s prayers for adventure are answered as she learns from her poet mother that this man is her father.

Personal Response: I enjoyed this book. I liked how the protagonist, Jane, takes charge of her own self-discovery and becomes the storyteller instead of being the audience.

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Self-discovery, along with self-discovery of the world.  

Age Range: 8-12

Subjects: Self Discovery, Adventure, Family, Family Relationships, Babysitting, Beach, Coming of Age, Friendship, Brothers and Sisters,

Similar Titles:

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen

Title: Little Black Lies

Author: Tish Cohen

Publish Date: October 2009

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Pages: 320pp

IBSN: 1606840339

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: Sara Black, the new kid in town, fell into her first lie of being from London, England, when really she is from Lunden, Massachusetts.  From then on, the lies escalated, turning from little white lies into big black lies, all in the name of fitting in. 

Plot Summary: As the new eleventh grader at Anton High School, Sara Black just wants to fit in, especially because Anton High School is perhaps the most elite public school in the country. She figures by being the new student, she has the ability to fudge her previous life and dually hide her tarnished family past by telling a few white lies.  Though, she runs the risk of breaking her fathers heart in doing so as her father is the janitor of the school and suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).  When another social climber gets jealous of Sara, she decides to take on Sara’s stories, putting Sara’s reputation on the line. 

Personal Response: I think this is a good read as it goes into detail about the pressures of fitting in, and the length teens go to make sure they are part of the in crowd.  An interesting aspect of this novel was the description of the “in-crowd” in which were based on intellect, rather then the usual sports, good looking, cheerleader types. The students actions are formatted based on the pressures they face in order to succeed in life.  The author keeps the readers engaged with all the predicaments Sara enters and provides meaningful lessons threaded throughout the story. 

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Awkward new student wants to fit in. 

Age Range: 12 and up

Subjects: High School, Dysfunctional Family, Obsessive Compulsion Disorder, Friendship, Lying, Moving, Popularity, Outcast, Privilege, Mean Girls, Cliques, Love, Social Life

Similar Titles:

Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell

Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser

Addiction by Toni Jordon

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Title: Some Girls Are

Author: Courtney Summers

Publish Date: January 2010

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 256pp

IBSN: 0312573804

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: Regina Afton is part of the mean girls clique but not for long as she becomes ostracized by her clique after her best friend, Anna’s boyfriend attacks her and Anna chooses to believe Regina led him on.

Plot Summary: Regina Afton was a member of the mean girls, the Fearsome Fivesome, until Anna the groups leader, finds out that Regina and her boyfriend slept together.  But Regina didn’t willingly hook up with up Anna’s boyfriend, rather she was forced.  Anna does not want to hear this so she shuns Regina, all the while Kara, another member of the mean girls clique, is enjoying Ragina’s ban.  Together, Kara and Anna set out to destroy Regina with cruel attacks that escalate while Regina chooses to fight back with physical violence.  As this is all happening, Regina self-reflects about her former life and behaviors, she realizes that she didn’t always treat people well.  Her one source of support is one of her former targets, Michael, whom Regina took part in making his life miserable.  Michael see’s the connection they have and although his feelings towards her are full of disdain, he reaches out to help Regina. 

Personal Response: A very compelling read about the lengths a person will go to fit in and additionally the lengths a person will go to seek revenge.  In fact, this story was pretty gritty, I found myself cringing as I read about all the blackmail and fighting. This is a very emotional read and definitely packed with page-turning action.  

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Fitting in.

Age Range: 12 and up

Subjects: Bullying, Cliques, Revenge, High School, Sexual Assault, Popularity, Friendship, Social Life, Suicide, Mean Girls,

Similar Titles:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

The Everafter by Amy Huntley

The Republic of Nothing by Lesley Choyce

Title: The Republic of Nothing

Author: Lesley Choyce

Publish Date: February 2007

Publisher: Goose Lane Editions

Pages: 382pp

IBSN: 0864924933

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: On the birth of his son, Ian, Everett McQuade, an Anarchist, proclaims Whalebone Island in Nova Scotia an independent republic.

Plot Summary: It’s the early 1950s on Whalebone Island in Nova Scotia and Everett MacQuade has marked the birth of his son, Ian, by declaring the island's independence. Whalebone is place of independent fishers, children whom have never had a formal education, pioneers of equal rights, and refugees from the city.  Ian is at a point in his life where he is questioning his parents—his mother Dorothy, whom had suffered some sort of amnesia from her early life and has an uncanny sense of perception and his father Everett, whom is politically inclined.  This leaves Ian wondering if anarchy is good for Whalebone.

Personal Response: What a ride this story was. From circus elephants and exotic furniture washing up on shore to refugees from the outside world settling in to live in a place of peace during time when peace was somewhat scarce (1960s, Vietnam war, atom bomb, etc.), The Republic of Nothing offers readers an in-depth look into the political rights and wrongs as well as the internal rights and wrongs. 

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Political and philosophical. Coming of Age.

Age Range: 12 and up

Subjects: Family, Friendship, Love, Relationships, Politics, Anarchy, Resilience, Independence

Similar Titles:

Rockbound by Frank Parker Day

No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod

Island: The Complete Stories by Alistair MacLeod

Different Dragons by Jean Little

Title: Different Dragons

Author: Jean Little

Publish Date: May 2007

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Pages: 112pp

IBSN: 0143312308

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: Timid Ben faces many challenges on his first stay away from home without his family.  He confronts his fears and becomes friends with a Labrador Retriever named Gully.

Plot Summary: Ben is not looking forward to his stay with his Aunt Rose while his family goes away.  During this stay, Ben will have to sleep alone, deal with the bossy girl next door, live through a thunderstorm, and deal with his fear of big dogs, all by himself. Aunt Rose had meant the big dog, Gully a Labrador Retriever, as a gift but Ben doesn’t like this gift, he is scared of the big dog.  Then, a thunderstorm hits and Ben and Gully survive together underneath the bed. This begins a beautiful bond. 

Personal Response: A simplistic plot with a sweet message about overcoming your fears and finding the courage that lays within. I especially liked the bond Ben makes with Gully, very sincere and touching.  I think this is a good story for younger children who are experiencing fears.  As adults we so easily forget what it is like to be little with fears—the world can be scary place. 

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Overcoming fears.

Age Range: 8 to 12

Subjects: Dogs, Fear, Thunderstorms, Family, Family Relationships, Friendship, Courage, Realistic Fiction

Similar Titles:

Stand in the Wind by Jean Little

Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang by Mordecai Richler

Whaleshinger by Welwyn Wilton Katz

Title: Whaleshinger

Author: Welwyn Wilton Katz

Publish Date: October 2002

Publisher: Groundwood Books

Pages: 212pp

ISBN: 0888991916

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: Seventeen year old Nick is not yet over the death of his older brother and sixteen year old Marty has learning difficulties.  On a scientific field trip on the California coast, these two teenagers come together and share an empathic bond with two grey whales.

Plot Summary: Seventeen-year-old Nick is feeling hurt and angry about his brothers death.  To get away from everyone at home in Vancouver, he accepts a research job for a conservation group on Point Reyes and Drake's Bay.  He meets Marty, an intensely shy sixteen-year old who seems to have her own set of disabilities.  It is these qualities that help Marty communicate with a whale mother and her baby. Together, Nick and Marty discover that the conservation project is a front for a plan to rob the treasure of Sir Francis Drake’s sunken frigate.  Nick and Marty make an uncomfortable conformation and experience an earthquake.

Personal Response: A deeply felt novel with a multi-layered storyline of science, love, loss, treasure, and a whale mother with an ailing baby.  Katz writes beautifully and depicts deeply touching relationships—the love between Marty and Nick and the love they share with the mother whale and her baby.  

~Reader’s Advisory~

Themes: Teen angst.

Age Range: 12 and up

Subjects: Death, Depression, Teen Angst, Anger, Relationships, Family Relationships, Love, Whales, Ecology, Environment, Ocean, Sex, Thievery, Confrontation, Empathy, Earthquake,

Similar Titles:  

The Sky Is Falling by Kit Pearson

The Third Magic by Welwyn Wilton Katz

The Hidden World by Alison Baird