My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr

Posted by Gwen Bartlett

This is a story of three teenagers who are struggling with their sexual identity: Link, Ellen's older brother; James, his friend; Ellen, who loves them both. Link doesn't want to be gay, but may be. James thinks he is gay, but may not be. Ellen thinks Link and James are gay, but doesn't want them to be. She is in love with James and wants him to love her in return. Ellen and James end up as lovers, and Link ends up with a girl-friend, but none of them are sure how they really feel. This would be a good story for teenagers struggling with their own sexual identity or facing a similar problem with a friend or relative.

Double-click for Trouble by Chris Woodworth

Eddie McCall and his mom live in Chicago. His best friend Jared (Whip - he puts Miracle Whip on everything) lives in the same building. One day Jared finds a picture of a naked girl on the computer and talks Eddie into signing up for an online dating service. Eddie's mom, Linda, finds out and ships him off for vacation to Uncle Peaveys. Uncle Peavey is an old bachelor with some very strange habits. He eats standing up, out of the pan, puts newspapers on the floor so he doesn't have to sweep, and fixes lawn mowers and tractors for a living. He has no computer and lives in the little town of Sheldon, Indiana, which has a Corn Festival. Ronnie (Veronica) helps Uncle Peavey fix things and is a real tomboy. Her sister Erin works at the convenience store and is beautiful. Eddie falls for Erin, but is embarrassed around her. He finds out that the library has internet access and goes there to check out his online dating service. When he prints a picture of a topless girl, he gets into trouble and Uncle Peavey finds out. Ordella Mae (Della), Peavey's friend, brings food over for them and becomes Eddie friend. When Old Mrs. Daly dies, her family comes back to town. Erin falls for Isaac, the oldest son, and Eddie finds out who his father is - not someone he is proud of. Eddie learns that although Uncle Peavey is strange, he is a very special person and cares more for his mother and him than he realized. He and Ronnie become better friends and decide to get Uncle Peavey together with his old girlfriend - who is not who they think she is.

This is a light hearted romance that deals with first love, teen curiosity, internet safety; told from a boys point of view.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In Panem, North America, on Reaping Day, one boy and one girl are chosen from each of the 12 districts to participate in the Hunger Games. The games are televised and everyone must watch the competition to the death. Only one person can win and they must kill all of the others. Katniss's younger sister Primrose is chosen from their district. She is young and inexperienced, so Katniss volunteers to go in her place. Katniss is a hunter, a survivor. She thinks she can survive and perhaps win. The boy who is chosen is Peeta Mellark, the bakers son who has always loved Katniss. Haymitch, the only previous winner from Seam, their home district, is their mentor. He is always drunk, and Katniss and Peeta don't feel like he will be any help to them. As the games develop, Katniss befriends Rue, a 12 year old girl from District 11. Eventually she realizes that Peetah has been helping her and they form an alliance. In the end, they are both chosen as winners, although the Capitol is very angry and tries to kill them. They have fallen in love, but is Katniss really in love or just doing it for the audience? A sequel to follow.

Partly cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing by Gary Soto

"It's February, and love is in the air. Gary Soto has written a new book called Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing. The first half is titled Girls' Tears, Her Songs and the 2nd half is A Boy's Body, His Words. Let's hear one from the the girls'.

ROUGH HANDS

Lotion is a slippery, perfumed concoction,
Applied on a winter day

When an icy wind sings through the bare trees
But I prefer my hands rough

This way, when I hold yours,
You won't slip away.

From the Boy's:

RATIONALE

Already tall at thirteen, she walks
In platform shoes. I can't help

But think like a guy. We could use a center--

We're 0-3 at the start of the season,
And so ugly on the court

We could use a beauty.

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My follow-up questions will probably be rhetorical since I suspect most will not willingly discuss such matters. Does Soto ring true to you? Have you ever known anyone who was lovestruck? Soto also has poems describing love for pets, which is a love most of have experienced. If you haven't read much poetry, give this a chance. I think you'll be delightfully surprised."
(Happy Valentine's day and pass out candy if permitted.)
by Barbara Thach
(from Nancy Keane's booktalking course)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie (Frances Rose Landau-Banks) attends exclusive Alabaster Preparatory Academy, where she is a sophomore. During the summer she meets a young man named Alpha at the beach. When she arrives at school, she receiving attention from Matthew Livingston, one of the most popular guys on campus. She also finds out Alpha is attending school there, too, and is a good friend of Matthew's. Matthew keeps disappearing at weird times, so one night she follows him. She finds out that Alpha and Matthew are the leaders of a secret society called The Loyal Order of the Bassett Hounds. She wants to be included, but the society is only for boys. When they are planning their Halloween pranks, Frankie sees an opportunity to show them what she can do. She creates a fake email address in Alpha's name and plans and executes a great Halloween prank. Instead of figuring out that Frankie thought up the prank, Alpha takes the credit for it. Frankie decides she is going to really show them her stuff and pulls off one prank after another, getting the boys to do all of the work. Little does she realize that her actions may lead to Alpha getting expelled.