msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

A gorgeous book in verse with lovely woodcut illustrations that describes the rippling effects of teen suicide on a small group of girls in Manhattan. After Ruth, the female target of Kana Goldberg's clique, commits suicide, the girls are split up for the summer and sent to various locations. Kana ends up on in a small village in Japan, working on her family's farm, where she tries to cope with her confusion and guilt. Orchards would be an apt choice for a One Book One School program, especially in an international school setting. Click her for the book trailer (which has an incredibly bizarre soundtrack). Grade 7+

What would you do if you knew you only had one day to live? High school senior Sam gets seven tries at the last day of her life, and slowly untangles the events leading up to her death and discovers what she'll miss the most. Ms. Oliver has a gift for writing believable teens and placing them in realistic situations. Give BIF to fans of Sara Zarr and Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why. Grade 8+

This addictive lexicon adeptly and poetically defines love through a series of small moments. Each entry details another realization, from the couple's beginnings (autonomy, n. "I want my books to have their own shelves," you said, and that's how I knew it would be okay to live together), to their romantic decline (dispel, v. It was the way you said," I have something to tell you." I could feel the magic drain from the room.) Levithan illustrates the unease of giving up too much (reservation, n. There are times when I worry that I've already lost myself... that my self is so inseparable from being with you that if we were to separate, I would no longer be) and the inevitable giving in (balk, v. I was the one who said we should live together. And even as I was doing it, I knew this would mean that I would be the one to blame if it all went wrong...) A gorgeous book, not to be missed. Click here for a full review and dont' miss Mr. Levithan's twi

The Gladers are back in this action-packed conclusion to The Maze Runner trilogy. TDC picks up where The Scorch Trials left off: Thomas and the gang once again find themselves in the manipulative hands of those evil shanks WICKED. When Ratman informs The Gladers that a tiny piece of machinery in their heads needs to be removed, Thomas, Teresa, and (surprisingly) Brenda make a break. The rest is exactly what you expect from this action-packed series, including plot twists, fighting, escape, capture, and tough decisions. Blood is spilled. Frequently. Give this series to fans of Robert Muchamore's Cherub and Darren Shan. Don't miss the trailer or the series' packed with extras website . Grade 6+

Eugenides' follow up to Middlesex focuses on three Brown undergraduates coming of age in the early 80s. Pretty, tall, waspy, and somewhat vacant Madeleine Hanna; brilliant, handsome, and manic-depressive Leonard; and solid, clear-eyed, religious studies student Mitchell who virtuously hopes that Maddy will one day be his wife. As the trio moves through the year after graduation (Maddy and Leonard on the Cape after a disastrous honeymoon in France and Mitchell on a gap year ending in India), they find themselves confronted by the anticlimactic nature of life, and their youthful expectations are met with semi-dull reality. What struck me about this book, and about many other novels I have been reading lately, is that the story, or 'marriage plot,' couldn't have been set in modern times. Technology has rendered the social exchanges present in TMP obsolete: Mitchell pens a letter advising Maddy not to marry Leonard, but it arrives too late and Leonard disappears on several