True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet by Lola Douglas

Recently release from rehab after overdosing on drugs, 16 year old movie star Morgan Carter has been sent to live in Fort Worth Indiana.  Staying with an old high school friend of her mother, Morgan will be attending the local high school for the next year long with attending Narcotic Anonymous meetings.  As Claudia, Morgan is expected to live as a normal teenager, something Morgan has never done.  Morgan has a hard time fitting in, the teachers give her a hard time, and her only friends are twins, Emily and Eli.  During her year in Fort Worth, Morgan is keeping a journal of her experience, which her agent and her mother hope will be published and be Morgan’s way to return to Hollywood. 

This book was recommended to by a student who told me it was the best book she read this summer.  The book is written is a diary format, which made it a quick and enjoyable read.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Finn is a prisoner of Incarceron, a prison that only one man, Sapphique, has escaped.  Even though other people in Incarceron don't believe there is anywhere else to go, Finn plans to escape.  With no memory of his life, Finn believes that he was born outside of the prison. The outside world becomes more real when he discovers a crystal that leads him to Claudia.  Claudia claims to live on the outside and is the daughter of the warden of Incarceron.  Their story is told by the characters in alternating chapters with an introduction from Sapphique's Journal.  The book is full of surprises and twists.

I found this book a little confusing in the beginning, but couldn't put it down once the story became clearer. It is truly fascinating.
Readers who would like this are those who have read the Maze Runner, Uglies series and Hunger Games.  The second book called Sapphique is due out Dec 28, 2010.

Jump by Elisa Carbone

P.K.'s  parents are just not listening to her. Before they can send her to a boarding school, she is leaving, heading west to climb. After trying to commit suicide, Critter's parent have him committed to a psych ward. Critter escapes from the hospital. They meet behind the climbing gym,Critter and P.K and they have decided to escape.  Hopping the first bus out of town, the two set off on an adventure climbing in Yosemite National Park, with the cops following close behind them.

A realistic fiction that appeals to readers who like adventure and are interested in rock climbing.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in a elevator, his only memory is his name.  When the door is opened, Thomas is greeted by a group of kids who live in the Glade.  The Glade is a large area of land that is surrounded by high walls where everyone has a job to do.  The doors close every night to protect the group from the Grievers, monsters that kill those found in the maze after dark.  The group has been trying to figure out a way to escape through the maze, which changes every night.  Eight runners go into the maze every day to map it and try to solve the maze.  A new resident is add to the group every 30 days.  The group is totally surprised when the day after Thomas arrives, a second person arrives this time a girl bringing an important message to the group.

For those who enjoyed the Hunger Games, this would be a good series to try next.  The second book is due out in October 12, 2010.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

The story takes place on the Gulf coast where ground oil tankers are stripped for their valuable materials.  Nailer is a teenage who works on the light crew taking copper from the grounded ships.  Nailer's mom is dead and his dad is an addict, so Nailer is basically on his own and just barely surviving.  When Nailer discovers a beautiful grounded clipper ship and he must decide whether to help the girl he discovers on it or savage the ship and the valuable materials it contains.

This story hits close to home with the oil spill in the Gulf and the description of New Orleans, where Nailer and "Lucky Girl" travel in search of her father and his allies.

By the time you read this I'll be dead by Julie Anne Peters

Since kindergarten, Daelyn Rice has been bullied. Having attempted suicide many times and failed, she turns to a website www.through-the-light.com.  The website offers support to those who want to end their lives. While waiting for her mom to pick her up after school,  Daelyn meets Santana and his pet rat, Herve. Daelyn fights hard against Santana's attempts to engage her.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet can find the dead. Usually it has been dead animals, but this time it was the body of a dead girl. The killer carries an imprint that Violet can see. After more girls go missing, Violet decides to find the killer.

After by Amy Efaw

The headlines read, Newborn found in a trash can, 15 year old arrested. Can that really be me? I'm the star goalie on the varsity team, even though I'm only a sophomore. I am an honor student and I babysit an adorable set of twins. My mom was sixteen when she had me and I refuse to be like my mom. I will never be like my mom or am I?