Mrs. Cherry Recommends.....

MRS. CHERRY RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING LINKS AND SELECTIONS FOR GREAT ADVENTURES IN READING!

November Book of the Month Selections

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

By middle school, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know who to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner. But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:

"I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own.

I ask 2 favors. First, you must write me a letter."

The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bodeen, acclaimed as the writer of such picture books as Elizabeti's Doll, turns out a high-wire act of a first novel, a thriller that exerts an ever-tighter grip on readers. Eli, the 15-year-old son of a billionaire techno-preneur, has spent the last six years with his family in the massive underground shelter his father has built, knowing that nuclear war has destroyed the world he knows—and killed his grandmother and his twin brother, who couldn't reach the compound in time. With nine years to go before the air outside will be safe to breathe again, the food supply shows signs of running out, but Eli's father has a solution—provided they jettison all morals and ethics. Repulsed and already suspicious, Eli begins investigating his father's claims, and sets up a family death match against a man who grows increasingly irrational and sinister but no less powerful. As far-fetched as the premise may be, Bodeen keeps Eli's actions true to life and uses clues planted fairly and in plain sight. The audience will feel the pressure closing in on them as they, like the characters, race through hairpin turns in the plot toward a breathless climax. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Need some ideas?

Check out these links:

http://teenreads.com

http://teenlink.nypl.org/index.html

http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm

www.readkiddoread.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/subjects/teens/index.asp