A Time for Dancing, by Davida Wills Hurwin, is the story of best friends Jules and Sam, who are dealing with Jules’ diagnosis of cancer. This book alternates chapters in each girl’s voice to look at how Jules’ cancer affects everyone around her.

This book has a five-star average rating on Amazon, with 168 reviews. I would have loved this book when I was about 15. I loved it now, but we all know how sometimes adults pick books teenagers would find extremely boring. This one is especially good if you like to read about best friends, death, or cancer.

This book wasn’t nearly as wonderful and hilarious as I was led to believe. Since I’m probably the last person to read this book, I won’t spend a lot of time talking about the plot. It was an interesting look at four girls’ friendships and what they go through during their first summer apart.

Carmen was my favorite character. I thought what her dad did to her was inexcusable and she had the right to be furious. He totally betrayed her. I can’t even remember the other characters’ names.

Nancy Farmer’s The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is a thriller set in Zimbabwe in 2194. A high-powered government official’s over-protected children go on an adventure and end up deeper than they thought. When they disappear, their parents hire a misfit detective agency that always seems to be about half a step behind the kids. This is an interesting look at a potential future where plastic is a highly-prized commodity, but old spirits still do battle. It’s a very exciting book, but at some points, I started to get tired of all the scrapes the kids got into. However, the end was worth every minute.

The readers of this book might skew a bit young, but this book definitely tackles issues that are interesting to older readers. I especially love the juxtaposition of futuristic worries with spirit myths of the past.

A review by a New York 6th Grader
A review by another novelist
A review by a Washington girl
St. Charles (IL) public library says if you like this book, you’ll love the books on their list.

kfl book covers is the Kennebunk Free Library’s site for readers in grades nine through 12. The blog covers topics similar to this one, but for a geographically specific audience.

Fabulous Fiction is a site by two 13-year-old boys, one of whom hates to read. They include bios of various authors and information about their books. The boys won an award from a British television station for their work on the site. Here’s a list of some of the other winners of the competition.

Via Kennebunk Free Library Book Covers (Teen site)

After three people receive mysterious letters and a famous painting is stolen, sixth-graders Calder and Petra work together to solve the crime and save the painting.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet is aimed to younger readers, but don’t let the young characters and big print fool you. It’s a fun puzzle to solve, especially if you’re interested in mysteries, codes, and art. If your younger brother or sister leaves it lying around, sneak it away for a few hours.

The illustrations were done by Brett Helquist, who also does the illustrations for the Lemony Snicket books.

Scholastic page about Chasing Vermeer
A review from Kidsreads.com
Chasing Vermeer to become a movie (warning, if you’re on a slow connection or not using Firefox, it’s an about.com page= lots of popups!)
A gifted education teacher’s page of games based on Chasing Vermeer. (This one’s targeted more to teachers.)
See who else is reading this on All Consuming

I am immersed in finals right now, but I have quite a reading list for my three-week break. I will be reading and reviewing a few books:

Brashares, Ann– Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Crutcher, Chris– Athletic Shorts
Curtis, Christopher– Bud Not Buddy
Johnson, Angela– The First Part Last
Strasser, Todd– Give a Boy a Gun

I will also read something by Sarah Dessen.

I will also reread Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and post a review of that.

There are a few other books I want to read, but these are the priorities. If you have any suggestions, add a comment! Reviews will begin after May 12!

Teen Reads is a group site with reviews, news about books for teens, interviews, author bios, and other fun stuff. Check it out!

What happens when the bad kid from the city moves in with a homeschooling North Carolina family of artists? Jake starts to find out he’s not who he thought he was, and non-artistic E.D. finds out her talents are just as valuable as those of her family. A cute, funny novel that kids under the age of about 13 will love.

Robert Cormier’s masterpiece about a boy on a desperate journey to find his father and unlock his past. Things are not what they seem in this novel.