msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

Need a little something-something to melt away the madness? If you unwittingly made it through the 90s without reading Griffin & Sabine, as I did, you'll find it's just the thing: a delightful anachronistic correspondence via painted carte-postale tucked into actual envelopes, a slow getting-to-know-you, a return to the possibility and pleasure of mystery between two near-strangers. It's a puzzle, it's a love story, it's an artful multi-media mezcla. Griffin, a painter living in London, receives a postcard from Sabine, an artist who designs stamps for a living on a small island in the South Pacific. They have never met, but Sabine can see Griffin's brushstrokes in her mind as he works. Unable to resist the allure of the unknown, Griffin replies with a postcard of his own, and the two of them embark upon their nonnormative relationship with intrigue and aplomb. My only frustration is not having access to the rest of the collection until June! Merci, magnifi...

Spark picks up right where Glow left off: a diminished Waverly has returned to the Empyrean, after escaping Anne Mather's clutches on enemy spaceship the New Horizon, to nurse her wounds and assess conditions. Wracked with guilt over the acts she was forced to commit on the New Horizon, she is surprised to find her boyfriend, Kieran, in self-imposed charge of the ship, acting as a semi-evangelical spiritual leader with an authoritarian approach. When Waverly discovers that Kieran has incarcerated hunky Seth Ardvale in the brig for treason, she decides he's taken his power too far. After an unxplained and frightening explosion rocks the Empyrean, Kieran points his paranoid finger at Waverly and Seth, who set out to discover the truth behind the terrorist act. Plenty of action will keep readers turning the pages, even though the plot gets a bit convoluted towards the end, and Waverly's new alliance with Seth turns up the heat on the romance angle. A solid follow-up that wil...

17-year-old Jamie is madly in love with gorgeous hunk Josh. Unfortunately, Josh and his family are members of The Right and The Real, a religious cult, and Jamie's Dad has fallen victim to their trap. He ends up marrying another cult member, and at the creepy mass ceremony, Jamie is required to pledge herself as a member of The Right and The Real, and devote herself to their leader, the self-named Teacher, who, according to the cult, is Jesus Christ himself. When Jamie refuses to take the pledge, her brainwashed father uncharacteristically rejects her, and, taking the side of The Right and The Real and his new wife, Mira, kicks her out of the only home she knows, leaving her essentially homeless with the majority of her senior year ahead of her. Jamie is a survivor, and in spite of her grim situation (she ends up living in a cheap motel full of people on the edge), manages to survive, keep her dreams of attending art school in NYU alive, and save her father in the process. Anothe...

Another excellent entry into the burgeoning dystopian young adult genre, Divergent is set in a futuristic Chicago that is divided into five factions, each representing a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Amity, Erudite, and Dauntless. When Beatrice Prior turns sixteen, she has to choose a faction for life. Torn between staying loyal to her family's faction, which feels oppressive in its austerity, or being true to her own desire for excitement, she decides to leave the only life she has known behind and join the Dauntless. What ensues is a suspenseful, thoughtful, and entertaining ride to a cliffhanger ending. Beatrice's (who renames herself Tris) intimate voice will endear her to readers , and the slow burn of a romance between her and hunky Tobias will hook them on the trilogy completely. Not to be missed. Click here for a full review and here for Ms. Roth's website . Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. Grade 7+

Reading HBB restored a bit of the faith I had recently lost in the Man Booker prize (it was shortlisted for the prize in 2011). A sweeping historical account of one man's journey from Baltimore to the wannabe jazz bars of 1930 Berlin to the streets of Nazi-occupied Paris and back again, fifty years later. This is the perfect read for anyone obsessed with Paris, jazz, or WWII. Give it to someone who enjoys all three and they will remember you for life. Click here for a full review . Grade 11+

Another sublime entry in the young adult coming-of-age-during-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it genre, TAOM stands out in part due to its original disaster scenario: the earth's rotation is slowing, resulting in erratic days and nights, changes in gravity, and a host of other unexpected changes. The Slowing is dramatic but not necessarily catastrophic. Julia and her parents learn to deal with two o'clock in the morning sunsets and fewer supplies, but the emotional strain takes its toll on their interpersonal relationships as their traditional family life breaks down. Julia is a likable heroine and teens will relate to both her romance with a neighborhood boy and the loss of her best childhood friend. Give this one to fans of Susan Beth Pfeffer's Last Survivor's series and Joelle Anthony's Restoring Harmony , and don't miss the extras (including a reading guide)Ms. Thompson Walker's website . Grade 8+

At last! A superbly written, craftily woven, incredibly wonderful fantasy-adventure-techno tale that I can recommend to fans of Ready Player One (which sadly left me in the lurch back around December: I had no hope of finding anything quite like it and begrudgingly moved on to other genres), brought to you by award-winning graphic novelist G. Willow Wilson . Alif (his handle - the first letter in the Arabic alphabet) is a young hacker living in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. He spends most of his time providing his clients with secure connections and invisible digital footprints with enviable skill, diligently protecting them from state surveillance, run by the terrifying head of state, or, The Hand of God, as Alif and his gweek friends have nicknamed him. Alif is also in love with Intisar, a high-born girl who is out of his reach in the real world due to his mixed Indian-Arab background. The two sign a "stock marriage contract," but when Intisar becomes engaged to som...

Fifteen year-olds June and Day are from different worlds. Day, the country's most wanted and elusive criminal, lives in the slums under the radar, fighting for justice against the Republic, the elite government who periodically poisons its own people in the name of science. June, born into a high-ranking military family, lives in an exclusive neighborhood and is training to be the next big thing in the Republic's ongoing fight against the Colonies (North America is divided in half). Day becomes the prime suspect when June's beloved older brother Matias is killed, and their paths intertwine in a confusing mix of suspicion, lies, friendship, and illicit feelings. The action-packed story is told in alternating chapters in the completely credible voices of June and Day. The incredible Ms. Lu has an undeniable talent for writing prose that is easy to understand yet complex and poetic enough to entice even the most reluctant reader. Legend is a fantastic, fast-paced, fun, and...

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone is following in her mother's footsteps: training as a midwife and providing the Enclave (a walled community unlike her own, with running water, electricity, and resources) with three infants each month, when her parents are kidnapped for harboring secrets and her world is turned upside down. Gaia decides to smuggle herself into the Enclave to save her family and finds out the ugly truth swimming just underneath the Enclave's pristine surface. An action-packed adventure with a strong, impulsive, and spirited heroine that fans of fantasy will fall in love with. Don't miss the sequel, Prized , and look for the final installment, Promised , in October. Check out Ms. O'Brien's wonderful wiki for teachers, , full of ancillary materials, here . Give it to fans of The Giver and Graceling. Grade 7+

You. Are. Indestructible. Don't miss this entertaining, action-packed, adventure-fantasy-superhero-romance set in a private high school in the Pacific Northwest. Perfect for fans of Cherub, Blood Ties, and Darren Shan, who are looking for something a bit deeper. Check out the extras-packed website. Grade 7+

From the Publisher: Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart. I enjoyed AMS just as much as Across the Universe and for all the same reasons. The slow build-up romance between Amy and Elder, the Godspeed , and the fast-paced action. Give this series to fans of Glow . Grade 8+

Le Cirque des Rêves only comes out at night, is in black and white, and has a loyal group of patrons devoted to following it around the globe. Celia and Marco, two young magicians raised and trained to compete against each other in the ultimate magic-off, fall in love, not realizing that only one of them can survive the dangerous game concocted by their scheming masters. A lyrical, gorgeous romance encased in velvet and set in the late 19th century. Not to be missed. Click here for a full review and don't miss Ms. Morgenstern's website for extras including a playlist.

A Scarlet Letter reimagined in the not-so-distant future, WSW takes on separation of church and state, women's reproductive rights, and criminal justice without ever feeling preachy or forced. After Hannah Payne is convicted of murder for terminating an unwanted pregnancy, she literally wakes up red. Her jail time is televised; watching incarcerated 'chromes,' or convicted criminals (colored according to the nature of their crime), is a popular national entertainment. When Hannah is released, her nightmare begins as she struggles to balance her need for justice with her love for her family and her faith. An excellent choice for units discussing the individual versus society and social injustice, WSW will have special appeal for older teens. A remarkably different story than Mudbound, Jordan's equally successful debut novel. Grade 9+

A complex and moving story told by two survivors: Jill, who is stunned by her father's recent sudden death, and Mandy, who has left behind her abusive family in the hopes of making a new life for her unexpected and unborn child. Jill's mother, Robin, agrees to an open adoption with Mandy, who wants a better life for her baby. Jill believes her mother is making a life-altering mistake and simply trying to replace her beloved father. Slowly both girls move towards love and trust while redefining their respective futures. As usual, Ms. Zarr's strength lies in her believable, sympathetic, and honest depictions of troubled yet strong young women. Mandy's sweet naivete pairs perfectly with Jill's tough facade, and a robust cast of supporting characters round out the charming ensemble. Click here for Ms. Zarr's interview at ALA 2011 . Grade 8+

Mix High School Musical with Sweet Valley High then add a dash of Strawberry Shortcake and you'll have something that approximates this little graphic novel full of masochistic mean girl friendships and stereotypical characters. That isn't to say that plenty of young ladies won't thoroughly enjoy watching popular-girl-with-an-arty-side Zoe mourn her love hate relationship with bitchy-glam-boyfriend-stealing Mackenzie. They will. But they should read Paige by Paige instead. Grade 6+

Set in 1996, TFOU tells the story of Emma and Josh, next-door neighbors trying to redefine their feelings for each other after a 'we're just friends but we almost kissed' incident. When Emma and Josh discover a link on her family's new computer called the facebook, they find they can look into their respective futures, and start making adjustments with unexpected repercussions. A fun nostalgic look at life in the 90s and friendship from the authors of 13 Reasons Why and The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Grade 7+

Ludovic Debeurme's deceptively simple art will draw you in (no pun intended). Click here for a full review of this first installment of a multipart ongoing graphic novel about two misfits who find each other. Grade 9+

GIT is full of unforgettable scenery: a tiny Chinese girl and her mother in a NYC apartment in winter without central heating, huddled in front of the oven as cockroaches and mice scurry around the subzero room; a pack of underage sweatshop workers slammed into a squat toilet, sweating all over each other while they hide in the small space as inspectors tour the factory; a girl in a locker room ensconced in a stall to prevent her fellow students from seeing her humiliatingly homemade underwear. When Kimberly Chang arrives in NYC at the age of 12 with her mother, they are taken advantage of by mom's sister Paula, who sets them up in illegal housing and forces them to work at her factory in order to pay back their immigration expenses. Kim quickly realizes the only way out is through education and slowly proves herself to be academically gifted. Although there are many other immigrant stories out there, Kim's authentic and strong voice makes GIT a standout choice. Perfect for boo...

The year? 2083. The illegal substance? Chocolate. Yes, chocolate. Anya Balanchine is the sixteen-year-old daughter of a dead Russian mafia crime boss slash chocolate overlord. She's running the show at home, taking care of her slow older brother Leo, her super genius younger sister Natty, and her slowly dying elderly grandmother Nana, and in general trying to create a sense of normalcy and control in the aftermath of her parents' double murder at the hands of rival gangs. When Anya meets Win, son of an up-and-coming wealthy politician, the plot thickens. ATTID will appeal to fans of Kathy Reich's Virals and readers who like a bit of romance in their fast-paced-adventure-romance-futuristic fiction. Check out the extras on Ms. Zevin's fanpage. Grade 8+