msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

Fans of Craig Thompson will enjoy this short book by Max Estes . Willy lives with guilt: he blames himself for his fathers' affair with the babysitter and is having his own dalliance with his best friend's fiancee. Along comes a ghost from the past, who packs his own punch - he's the guy in the boat that disappeared when Willy and his friends set him off to sea as part of a childhood prank. When the man pops out of a hole in the ground to say hello Max is forced to deal with what happened during his youth. Este's drawings are simple yet convey plenty of emotion. A quick sweet read about letting go and forgiving yourself.

Scottish writer Julie Bertagna has written what can only be described as an epic-dystopian-sci-fi-fantasy-LOTR alike! It is 2099 and most of the world as we know it is underwater. Mara lives on what remains of a small island she calls Wing. After yet another epic storm, the people of Wing decide to abandon their island in hopes of finding one of the mythic Sky Cities that Mara has heard about on her Cyberwizz (sort of like an ipad). CAUTION SPOILERS AHEAD! When the survivors of the journey arrive at New Mungo, they realize the Sky City dwellers see them as disposable. Mara manages to break into New Mungo and craft a plan to save the slaves and refugees. She also meets the Treenesters, who believe she is destined to save them all. This book feels like LOTR! Can't wait to read the sequel. Grade 7+

Harper's father and beloved stepmother, Jane, are getting divorced. Her longtime friend Gabriel has betrayed her in a way she can't put words to. She no longer speaks to Tess, her stepsister and former best friend. She decides to get away from it all and spend a summer building a house for tornado victims in Bailey, Tennessee. With the help of a wonderful bunch of volunteers who become friends, a sweet guy named Teddy, and the process of building a home, she manages to move past what has happened back in Los Angeles. One of those sweet, sad, and sometimes funny books - a cross between Sara Zarr and Sarah Dessen! Grade 8+

An interesting look at looking at art. Berger's examination of oil painting as a proprietary catalog is especially intriguing.

This is the perfect book for a snowy winter evening! Fraught with suspense, this story tells the tale of Sig and his sister Anna, held hostage by Gunther Wolff, who has shown up at their cabin in the woods the day after their father dies, seeking revenge. A book to read in one sitting that will appeal to fans of fast paced survival stories. Click here for the Guardian review , and here for the book trailer .

A gorgeous depiction of loss that somehow ties together modern day Brooklyn and revolutionary Paris. 17 year old Andi Alpers is in the kind of space one can only inhabit after a sudden traumatic loss: she finds herself teetering on the edge of rooftops, pausing on the curb considering moving traffic, and unable to connect with anyone. When her Nobel prize winning DNA scientist of a father swoops in to Brooklyn, checks her artist mother into a mental institution (she hasn't stopped painting Truman, Andi's dead brother since he died), and insists that Andi accompany him to Paris over the winter holidays so she can complete the thesis she needs to write in order to graduate from her private academy, she finds herself forced to deal. In Paris, she finds the diary of Alexandre Paradis, an actress who also served as nanny to Louis-Charles, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The plot twists and turns but never loses sight of its goal. A beautiful, lyrical commentary on how little ...

Craig Gilner thinks he should be happy: he has been accepted to Executive Pre-Professional High School after endless draconian preparation. Instead he finds himself mired in a relentless cycle of vomiting, sleepless nights, and massive anxiety over his academic performance. Overwhelmed by depression after a bad night, he decides to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. Vizzini has written a sad and funny story about teen depression that will appeal to fans of Tales of the Madman Underground . Click here for the movie trailer.

They thought they were saved. They weren't. WICKED throws the surviving Gladers into the Scorch; the only chance for survival is to make it to the 'safe haven' on the other side. A bloody, fast-paced sequel that is even more thrilling than the first book in this planned trilogy. Grade 7+

It’s freshman year for Kris Xu. But those annual fantasies of remaking himself from the quiet Chinese kid with the voice that is “Jackie Chan cumbersome” are dashed when the usual indignities resume: bullying, racism, and underestimation. Even his best friend and secret crush, Naomi—the only other Chinese student—seems to be pulling away. Then two things happen: he stumbles into an audition for the school musical and finds the glorious voice he thought he left in China, and other students start showing up dead. Although it has the plot outline of a thriller, this semifinalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Contest has the careful language and fine observations of a book with much more on its mind. Wrapped up ever more tightly in the plot is Kris’ sense of racial and emotional identity, and his battle with self-loathing begins to test his reliability as a narrator. Even his name is a feint; those who know him call him Xing—but who really knows him? There are a handful of suspects to the...

Don't be fooled by the corny 80's style video game book trailer - The Roar is a fast-paced dystopian fantasy that you won't be able to put down. Twelve-year old Mika's twin Ellie has been missing for over a year; everyone, including her parents, thinks she is dead. Mika believes otherwise, and he's right. Turns out Ellie has been kidnapped by evil scientist Mal Gorman, who has plans to turn mutant children into five-star podfighter killing machines. In order to recruit mutants, Gorman runs a gaming competition at the local arcade, and Mika enters to win fame, fortune, a better life for his parents, and the key to his sister's disappearance. Clayton deftly weaves the themes of opression, poverty, and the class system into the story - and somehow manages to make 481 pages feel abridged. Click here for an interview with Emma Clayton . Grade 6+

Can't wait for the next one. Click here for the Guardian review.

Beautiful Darkness picks up where Beautiful Creatures left off: Macon is dead and Lena, as usual, is a mess. Ethan doesn't know what has happened to the girl he fell in love with but is somewhat distracted by the appearance of Liv, a cute apprentice keeper working with Caster librarian Marion Ashcroft. Look for the third book in the series next Fall.