Teaching youth girls in Sunday School has piqued my interest in available fiction for teens. I like to know what they're into and how I can relate better to them. Also, since I have a tween, I like to see what's on the reading horizon for her. I haven't been impressed with the current popular fare. That's why I was ecstatic to find author Sarah Anne Sumpolec's series Becoming Beka. The 5-book series follows Beka Madison through her Junior and Senior years of high school. The first book, The Masquerade, begins a few months after Beka's mom dies in a car accident. Harboring a secret she can't bear to share, Beka has completely isolated herself from her family and classmates. Lori, a new girl at school with a secret of her own, crosses Beka's path. The two become friends just ...
Category Archives: High School
Karma for Beginners
When I think back to my own life at fourteen, I remember what I consider to be a fairly average time- going to school, hanging out with friends, wearing 'big' hair (it was the late 80's after all)- no significant enough worries to have negatively impacted my life 20-some odd years later. The protagonist in Jessica Blank's new young adult novel, Karma for Beginners, sadly cannot make those claims. At fourteen, Tessa has more to worry about than most, from her self-absorbed mother to the constant moving around she has become accustomed to. Unfortunately, at the onset of the book, she's on the precipice of an even darker time in her life than she can anticipate. The character of Tessa's mother is depicted only from Tessa's perspective, so it's difficult to fully assess her depth. From Tessa's experiences, ...
Children’s Classics: Re-reading a Childhood Favorite
We're sort of doubling up here. Yes, in this post I'm going to invite you to link up your own reviews of a childhood favorite that you've recently re-read, but I'm also going to post a review of a delightful book that you might want to check out for yourself after cruising down memory lane in the pages of a book from your youth or childhood. Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading was such a perfect tie-in that I just had to feature it here today. This delightful collection of essays by Lizzie Skurnick takes a look at the impact that all the old favorites had on her. There are also guest essays by Meg Cabot, Laura Lippman and Jennifer Weiner. The delightful books that are featured within this volume ...
Touched by a Vampire
Last year when my daughter Amanda was in fifth grade --fifth grade-- she insisted that all of her friends were reading the Twilight novels, and she wanted to read them. When I'm in doubt about whether or not a certain book's content is appropriate for her, I often just read it myself so that I can decide. I have not read the Twilight Series, but I have talked to people who have. I have just discovered a fantastic new resource dealing specifically with this hugely popular series for both teens and adults (and apparently every tween at my daughter's school, except her). Whether or not you've read the book, if you have a teen daughter, the topic has likely come up. Please visit my column at 5 ...
The Lost Books: Lunatic and Elyon
My oldest son, 15 years old, is an avid reader. He and I both read (and devoured) Ted Dekker’s Circle series (Black, Red, and White) and he and I would both eagerly and enthusiastically recommend it. My son, however, has taken his fascination with the Circle even further by reading (and devouring) Dekker’s Lost Books series, a companion to our beloved Circle. Imagine his excitement in being offered the two most recent books in exchange for a guest post here at 5 Minutes for Books! Let’s put it this way: I didn’t have to talk him into it. Our thanks to Thomas Nelson for graciously providing him the opportunity! Here’s his review of Lunatic and Elyon, books 5 and 6 in the Lost Books series: In the last two books in The Lost Books Series, Ted Dekker takes the intensity ...
Feeling for Bones
As I recall, I discovered Feeling For Bones through Amazon's "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" feature. The title intrigued me. I read the summary and was interested enough to request my library to purchase the book. It's a compelling yet alarming read from the opening paragraph: at the age of sixteen, I suffered recurring nightmares. I was running as hard as I could while my destination on the horizon receded to a pinpoint and vanished like the white pop of an old television winking out. Awake, I lay in a trance at the bottom of a pool, suffocating beneath an invisible, silent weight: people's voices reached my ears across a great distance, and the reflection of my body was always before me, wavering in myriad and grotesque distortions. Olivia's dad has been forced from his pastorate and the family must leave their ...
Catching Fire Giveaway
Yes, this is what you've been waiting for. Today marks the release of Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire, the latest installment in The Hunger Games series. If you find yourself filled with anxiety about when you can finally get your hands on a copy of this book, let me reassure you that you are in the right place. I'd like to encourage you to take a few minutes to read my review, and when you return, may I suggest you sit down before continuing to read on. We LOVE to offer you, our dear readers, fantastic giveaways as often as we can, and let us just say that the one we're about to offer is gold standard. Three of you incredibly lucky commenters will receive: 1 limited edition promotional T-shirt (View here) 1 collectible mocking jay ...
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Jennifer Donovan
Managing Editor -
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