Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society where everyone is born Ugly and is made Pretty at 16 years old.  She meets a friend, Shay, who wants to escape to another area, called The Smoke, where people are free and remain ugly forever.  Tally doesn't go with her friend, but when Special Circumstances capture her, she is forced to go to The Smoke to find her friend.  Once she gets there, she wants to stay, but when she destroys her necklace, it notifies Special Circumstances and they attack the camp.  Tally and her friend David escape and rescue Shay and David's mother, but Tally decides to become pretty in order to try out the brain medicine that David's mother has created to change the lesions that are made in the Pretties brains when they are changed.  This is part of a trilogy and Westerfield definitely leaves you wanting more.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Hattie, an orphan, is left a claim by her Uncle Chester. Only 17, she moves on her own to Montana, to prove up the claim left by her uncle. Although she fails to prove the claim, she learns much about herself and makes friends with her neighbors.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare

When her grandfather dies, Kit Tyler leaves the prosperous life she has known in Barbados to live with her aunt in Connecticut in 1687. Kit has been raised to be a free spirit and has a hard time understanding the closed minds and strict regulations of the Puritans. When Kit meets the Widow Tupper, a Quaker who is believed to be a witch, they become close friends and Kit visits her often. Kit is accused of also being a witch after helping the Widow Tupper escape from the angry townspeople. She is accused of works of the devil which have caused illness and death to fall on many children in the town. Banishment, hanging or branding is the usual punishment for one accused of witchcraft. Will anyone step forward to help her?

Witch Child by Celia Rees

"I am Mary. I am a witch." So begins the diary of Mary Newbury. After watching her grandmother being tortured and hung as a witch, Mary is determined to escape the same fate. With the aid of others, she sets off for America along with others who are leaving England in search of a new home. The year is 1659 and Mary knows she must keep her secret to herself. But she is not alone. There are others like her in the new world. But she must be very careful not to be found out. Even her journal must be hidden so others won't know her secret. but as the witchcraft trials begin, the village turns on her, and Mary must escape.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Aislinn can see fairies. They touch her and follow her. When she is approached by a handsome faery, Keenan, who wants to date her, she finds out that he is the Summer King and she is to be the next Summer Queen, but she is not willing to give up her mortal life to become a faery. The wicked Winter Queen is determined to stop her. 

Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson

Arriman the Awful, Dark Wizard of the north, has a big problem. He knows he can't be a wizard forever. That's fine with him, actually. Truth of the matter is, he hates being a wizard. He needs to get married in order to have a wizard baby that will be able to take over his job. But who will Arriman marry? He decides to have a spell casting competition. Will he marry Mabel Wrack, half mermaid, who specializes in fishy magic; old Mother Bloodword who knows every spell in the book except the one to turn young again, the Shouter twins who could kill each other to win, poor Belladonna, the smallest witch who can't do anything right, or Madame Olympia, who wears human teeth jewelry?

Wing Nut by M.J. Auch

When twelve-year-old Grady and his mother relocate yet again, they find work taking care of an elderly man, who teaches Grady about cars, birds, and what it means to have a home.

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

Harvey Swick is bored with life when a monster named Rictus presents him with the possibility of a visit to Holiday House, where your every wish comes true. It's spring in the morning, summer in the afternoon, Halloween at dusk, Thanksgiving at dinner time and Christmas at bedtime, every day. Your favorite foods are always ready, there's no school, and presents every night. Whatever you wish for is available for you. Harvey finds out however, that everything is not perfect at Holiday House and when he tries to leave, there's no way out. Finding his way out and then back in to destroy Holiday House and rescue his friends becomes his goal. Using his wits and the magic of hope, happiness, magic, and love, he succeeds.

The Spiderwick Chronicles - The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace move with their mother into an old Victorian house. As soon as they move in, they begin to hear strange sounds in the walls. Mallory knocks a hole in the wall and discovers a strange nest. Jared gets into the dumbwaiter and finds a secret room. He also finds a poem with clues to the cause of the sound in the walls. Mallory's hair is tied to the bed during the night. Jared finds a field guide to fairies left by their great grandfather. Their kitchen is discovered in a huge mess. They find out their problems are being caused by a fairy known as a boggart that is angry because they destroyed his house. Simon creates another house for him and he becomes their friend. But, this is only the beginning. Three more books follow.

Safe by Susan Shaw

On the last day of seventh grade, Tracy is raped on her way home from school. From that day on, she never feels safe. Her mother died when she was three, but she has always felt that her mother was watching over her. She no longer feels like her mother is with her. She is afraid to leave the house. She feels like everyone pities her. She is afraid to go to school. She ends all contacts with her friends and won't talk to anyone. The counselor is goes to is unable to help her. She finds comfort in her piano and plays for hours. Finally it gets to be too much for her to handle and she goes to Monkey Mountain in search of her mother. Her Pa and friends find her there. She admits that she needs help and finds a new counselor. She finally makes up with her friend Caroline and is able to feel safe again. She finds her mother's presence in a poem she finds at the counselor's office.

The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble

In the year 1692, ten-year-old Abigail Faulkner and her family, living in Salem, Massachusetts, witches have been found, and widespread fear and panic reigns just a few miles from Abigail's home in Andover. When two girls are brought from Salem to identify witches in Andover, suspicion sweeps the town as well-respected members of the community are accused of witchcraft. Chaos consumes Andover, and the Faulkners find themselves in the center of it all when friend turns against friend, neighbor against neighbor, in a desperate fight for the truth. Abigail and her sister, Dorothy, must find a way to survive during a period of history marked by terror, adversity, and ignorance. Told from Abigail's point of view and based on actual events in the author's own family history.

On Etruscan Time by Tracy Barrett

While spending the summer on an archaeological dig near Florence, Italy, with his mother, eleven-year-old Hector meets an Etruscan boy who needs help to foil his treacherous uncle's plan to make him a human sacrifice - 1,000 years in the past.

Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato

When her father begins a long-distance romance with a Washington, D.C. zookeeper, twelve-year-old Frankie sends fabricated email letters to the zookeeer in an attempt to end the relationship.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Four English school children discover an entrance into the magical land of Narnia in the back of their uncle's wardrobe closet. They assist Aslan, the great golden lion, to triumph over the evil White Witch who has cursed the mystical land of Narnia into a never-ending winter without Christmas. They must get to the stone table to get control over Narnia and banish the white witch and end the never-ending winter, bringing peace to Narnia once again. You may also want to read the other titles in this series The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.
Lewis.

Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb

Jess, 15 years old, is living with her mother in England. Her mother and father are divorced. She thinks she is in love with Ben, but he doesn't pay any attention to her. Her best friend is Flora. Flora is blond, beautiful, and everyone loves her. Another good friend is Fred, who she has been friends with forever. She doesn't think her breasts are big enough, so she decides to create her own inserts using plastic bags and minestone soup. Of course the bags leak and she is left with a mess at the party she is attending. To make things worse, she hears that one of the boys had a video camera in the bathroom and caught everything on tape. Flora, Ben, and Mackenzie form a band for the talent show, but they are awful. Jess gets an idea that saves the day. She and Fred have a falling out and she realizes how much she cares about him. When he starts a school newspaper and doesn't invite her to join the staff, she is really hurt. To add to her misery, Flora admits that she likes Fred and wants Jess to talk to him about it. She finally realizes that Fred is the one she really cares about. One of the interesting additions to this book is that each chapter begins with a humorous horoscope creating by Jess' father.

Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Lucky's mother died and her father couldn't take care of her so he called his ex-wife, Brigitte, in Paris and asked her to come and take care of Lucky. They live in the desert in a little town called Hard Pan. California. (Pop. 43) Lucky is afraid Brigitte is going back to France and leaving her. She finally decides to run away to find out if Brigitte really cares about her. Brigitte and the whole town come after her and give her enough courage to scatter her mother's ashes. She knows now that Brigitte really loves her.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

Janie Johnson is eating lunch one day when she notices the picture on the milk carton of a missing child. The missing child is a picture of her when she was little. She remembers the dress and gradually remembers other things about her past. She loves her parents, but are they really her parents? Where is her birth certificate? Why aren't their any pictures of her when she was little? Should she try to contact her real parents, who she doesn't even remember or stay with the parents she knows and loves?

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I'm reading Eragon right now. It is really going fast. I thought it would take me forever to read, but the story is so interesting that I'm already 1/3 of the way through the book. I'm half way through now and it just keeps getting better.

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger

Marcy Lewis is bored by school, she knows she's never going to be thin, and her family life's a nightmare. Then Marcy meets Ms. Finney, an English teacher who will try anything in the classroom. Finally, Marcy's life in and out of school begins to have a purpose. But when Ms. Finney is suspended, Marcy knows she's got to take a stand, no matter the price she must pay.

The Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky

Another book about the Salem Witchcraft trials. All of the things that happen in this novel about the witch trials actually happened. It has trial testimonies from court documents. 24 people were executed for being witches.

A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi

a group of girls meet at the parsonage with Tituba, the minister's Caribbean maid. The girls begin to accuse people in the community of being witches. Susanna, the main character, knows the girls are lying, but is afraid to tell anyone for fear her family will be accused of being witches. It is also based on historical accounts of the Salem witch trials and the idea that the accusations were made because people were mad at their neighbors or wanted attention.

Beauty

Beauty by Robin McKinley is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast in a novel format.  I thought the first part of the book was kind of slow, but after Beauty got to the castle, the book was great!  I really liked it.  If you like fantasy and fairy tales, you'll like this book.

I picked this beautiful orange color because it matches the lovely carpet in our library (from the 70s).  I will be using this to post reviews and summaries of books I have read for booktalking.  I hope eventually, this will be used by students as well.