Thin Space by Jody Cassella

Cassella, Jody.  Thin Space.  Simon Pulse/Beyond Words. 978-1582703923. Marshall Windsor is devastated over the loss of his twin brother in a car accident where Marsh was the driver.  Marsh has been trapped in a foggy haze of grief and remorse since that fateful night. The tension builds as Marsh frantically searches for that sliver of space between the living and the dead to meet up with Austin once again and make things right.  Identical twins often switch places so all Marsh has to do is convince Austin to switch places with him one more time.  Buy multiple copies of this supernatural thriller!

OELMA PRESENTATION:  YA TITLES FOR 2013 by Krista Taracuk & Ann Pechacek  PRINTOUT FOR ATTENDEES:

1.                  Binns, Barbara A.  Being God.  AllTheColorsofLove Press.  9780988182110.  Seventeen year old Malik is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, uncle, and older brother as the biggest and baddest bully in the local high school. Booze is his escape until he is faced with court-ordered community service for someone else’s crime and meets Barney who wants nothing to do with him.  Forced to work together in mentoring a 10 year old whose older brother Lamont is a gang leader, Malik and Barney foster an uneasy truce in an attempt to save T’Shawn from Lamont’s gang life.  Malik finally realizes that he can’t save the world, but he can make it a better place one day at a time. Reluctant readers.

2.                  Miranda, Megan.  Hysteria. Walker & Company. 978-0-8027-2310-9. Mallory “knows” that she killed her boyfriend Brian, but cannot seem to get away from Brian’s presence at every turn. Readers will be drawn in by the spooky and mysterious events as Mallory tries to come to terms with a night that she cannot remember. Thriller.

3.                  Yancey, Rick.  The 5th Wave.  Putnam.  978-0-399-16241-1. The first wave is a massive electromagnetic pulse that wipes out all power, followed by three more waves of terror from the aliens.  Then it gets really bad and Cassie is on her own.  As Stephen Hawking said, “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”  The book has been optioned by Sony Pictures so expect a sequel. Language.  Science Fiction.

4.                  Yovanoff, Brenna.  Paper Valentine.  Razorbill. 978-1-59514-599-4.  Hannah has been struggling with trying to keep her head above water ever since her best friend Lillian died from anorexia—and is haunting her bedroom.  With a serial killer on the loose in her small town, Hannah can’t seem to gain any balance in her life. To top it off, bad boy Finny Boone enters the picture.  When the dead girls begin to appear to Hannah, she searches for their murderer. Paranormal/romance/thriller.

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5.                  Levithan, David. Two Boys Kissing. Alfred A. Knopf. 978-0-307-93190-0. A chorus of men who died of AIDS observes and yearns to help a cross-section of today's gay teens who navigate new love, long-term relationships, coming out, self-acceptance, and more in a society that has changed in many ways. Beautifully written and so many thought provoking passages. GLTBQ.

6.                  Quick, Matthew. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. Little Brown and Company. 978-0-316-22133-7.  It’s Leonard’s birthday today and he is ready to make a change. He has his grandfather’s gun from WWII and has decided to shot a former friend and himself. Told in short quick chapters with footnotes, Leonard says goodbye to his friends and contemplates on how he got to this point. Matthew Quick is the author of Silver Linings Playbook. Language throughout the book. Realistic Fiction. 

7.                  Sepetys, Ruta. Out of the Easy. Philomel. 978-0-399-25692-9.  From the author of Between Shades of Grey comes a historical novel set in the 1950s New Orleans. Josie, daughter of a woman of ill repute, works for the madam cleaning rooms and lives on the second floor of a bookshop. Great look into the underbelly of New Orleans with a mystery tossed in to keep you guessing. Though it deals with prostitutes it is done tastefully and the reader roots for Josie to come out on top. Historical fiction.

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8.                  Blagden, Scott. Dear Life, You Suck.  978-0-547-90431-3. As the oldest kid stuck in a group home in the middle of nowhere, Cricket Cherpin has an ugly past and no future with limited prospects ranging from fighting to drug dealing. Cricket is complex and funny and tough and in love with Wynona Bidaban who is dating the school bully. This is a heartbreaking story of a young man with no future—but with a much better life than he thought. Language.

9.                  Brian, Kate.  Shadowlands.  Hyperion.  978-1-4231-6483-8. Because she has been targeted by a serial killer, the FBI has relocated Rory Miller and her family.  The vacation getaway of Juniper Landing seems like the perfect spot--until Rory realizes that the serial killer has followed her and is now targeting both her sister Darcy and her. Teens will love the twists, the turns, and the shocking ending. First book in a thrilling trilogy. Paranormal thriller.

10.              Brown, Jennifer.  Thousand Words.  Little, Brown and Company. 978-0-316-20972-4.  A picture is worth a 1000 words and a picture of a naked Ashleigh is worth her life’s reputation. After their breakup, college freshman Kaleb forwards a photo of a naked Ashleigh to his friends. The photo goes viral and Ashleigh’s life begins to circle the drain. The scandal involves the media, students, parents, the school board, the local police, and everyone in the community—but Mack.

11.              Byrne, Eugene & Simon Gurr. Darwin: A Graphic Biography.  Smithsonian Books.  978-1-58834-352-9.  What do you get when you combine a history buff and a cartoonist?  A humorous historical fiction/graphic novel.  This is an excellent portrayal of a man and his struggles in a time period filled with questions.  It’s a very readable book but should not be considered for factual research. Graphic novel.

12.               Barson, K.A. 45 Pounds (More or Less). Viking. 978-0-670-78482-0.  “16 year old Ann has battled with her weight for as long as she can remember.  Diets? You name it, she’s tried it.  Her mother, on the other hand, is picture perfect: thin, beautiful, and athletic.  When Ann’s Aunt Jackie gets engaged, Ann is determined to lose 45 pounds in two months before the wedding and prove to her mom (and herself) that she can lose the extra weight once and for all.  Light language; teenage drinking; adultery; anorexia. Realistic Fiction.

13.              Black, Holly. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 978-0-316-21310-3. After a vampire outbreak, the infected, possibly infected and those already cold are quarantined into walled towns, or Coldtowns. After a night of partying Tana wakes up to find her friends are dead and her ex-boyfriend infected only thing to do is take him to Coldtown. A new vampire story in the vein of Anne Rice and not Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. Horror/Paranormal Fiction.

14.              Castor, H.M. VIII. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 978-1-442-47418-5. The life of King Henry VIII starts when “Hal” is a youngster and gets it into his head that he is ordained to become the next great King of England, problem is he is second in line. Events happen, brother dies, father dies, and he is made King. Henry wants to be righteous but he is spoiled and he makes excuses. Teens will like the short chapters and action scenes. VIII is a great way to introduce teens to the Tudor dynasty. Historical Fiction.

15.              Chiaverini, Jennifer. Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker. Dutton.  978-0-525-95361-6. Elizabeth Keckley became the dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln during Lincoln’s first term in office, but became a friend and confidant of the First Lady over the years. Elizabeth had purchased freedom for herself and her beloved son who eventually enlists as a white man in the Union Army. This is a well-researched book that covers the behind-the-scenes world of a freed slave as well as the family dynamics in the Lincoln household.  This book is not for the casual student reader, but is definitely a welcome addition to any historical fiction list as it’s told from the perspective of a strong woman who moved from slavery in the Deep South to the political backstabbing in Washington politics. Excellent companion to the movie Lincoln. Historical fiction.

16.              Ellison, Kate.  Notes From Ghost Town. Egmont. 978-1-60684-264-5.  Sixteen year old art student Olivia Tithe’s life turns upside down with her parents’ divorce and her mother’s arrest for the murder of Olivia’s best friend. Olivia has gone colorblind just like her schizophrenic mother and fears that she too will become schizophrenic. At the risk of her own life, Olivia tries to find the real killer. Language. Paranormal thriller.

17.              Elston, Ashely. Rules for Disappearing. Hyperion. 978-1-4231-6897-3.  Madeline, Isabelle, Avery, Olivia, Gabrielle.  Meg no longer knows who she is. After multiple relocations in the witness protection program, her family is falling apart. Her father is growing more distant while her mother is slipping deeper and deeper into alcoholism. Meg is falling in love with a classmate named Ethan whose observations are getting too close to the truth. What could her father have done that was so horrible that her entire family had to be relocated?  Meg’s nightmares suddenly reveal there is more to the entire story than she formerly believes.  In fact, she realizes that SHE, Anna Boyd, is the reason for her family’s relocation.  Sequel?

18.              Fichera, Liz. Hooked.  Harlequin Teen. 9780-373-21072-5.  Fred Oday’s problems are just beginning when another player is kicked off the golf team to make room for Fred. Fred is a poor Native American girl who has multiple obstacles to overcome, including jealousy and prejudice from classmates, life on the reservation, and romance with a rich white boy who clearly doesn’t understand her world. Readers will become “hooked” by Fred’s struggles in a very realistic situation. Multicultural literature.

19.              Finneyfrock, Karen.  The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door.  Viking. 978-0-670-01275-6. Freshman Celia Door is determined to leave everything from middle school behind but to get revenge on her former friend/now enemy Sandy Firestone. Through her poetry, Celia debates the good and the bad of her plan but when she meets new kid Drake who shares his deepest secret with her, Celia must find a way to change. LGBT.

20.              Estep, Jennifer. Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy Bk. 1) 978-0-758-26692-7.  After Gwen’s mother dies in a car accident, her grandmother sends her to Mythos Academy a school for daughters and sons of Vikings, Spartans, Amazons, and more. Gwen is a gypsy and hasn’t been trained for anything. When the mean girl on campus is murdered Gwen tries to use what power she has to solve the mystery. Percy Jackson for girls. Fantasy/Paranormal fiction.

21.              Konigsburg, Bill. Openly Straight. Arthur A. Levine Books. 978-0-545-50989-3.  As an openly gay teen living in the liberal town of Boulder, Colorado, Rafe is living a pretty great life.  He plays soccer, has supportive parents, and is accepted for who he is by his peers.  But after years of being out and speaking to other high schools about tolerance, Rafe is tired of being known as “that GAY guy. He decides to move to an all-boys’ boarding school in New England and keep his sexuality a secret in the hopes of having a clean slate – no labels.  Language; teenage drinking; sexuality; drug references (marijuana). Realistic fiction. GLTBQ.

22.              Lange, Erin Jade. Dead Ends. Bloomsbury. 978-1-619-63080-2.  When Dane, a bully, refuses to hit Billy D because he has Down Syndrome, Billy takes that as a sign of friendship and enlists Dane's help in solving riddles left in an atlas by his missing father, sending the pair on a risky adventure. Realistic Fiction.

23.              LeBan, Elizabeth. The Tragedy Paper. Alfred A. Knopf. 978-0-375-87040-8.  Tim, a senior transfer, just wants to get through the year without any issues but it is hard when you are new and the only albino in the school. Tim ends up falling for the most popular girl in school but his fellow classmates don’t like the romance. The story is told via CDs Tim has left Duncan, an entering senior who has been assigned Tim’s old dorm room. Duncan doesn’t want to remember what happened the last month of school year when tragedy struck the boarding school and changed both his life and Tim’s life. Realistic Fiction.

24.              Morgan, Kass. The 100. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 978-0-316-23447-4. Humanity has lived on spaceships for hundreds of years following a nuclear war on Earth but the resources are dwindling. In an effort to create a better future for humanity, 100 convicted teens are sent back to Earth to be the first humans to populate the planet since the nuclear devastation. The story is told from the perspective of four teens and has romance and action. The 100 is being made into a TV series on the CW Network. The first book in the dystopian series.

25.              Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park. St. Martin’s Griffin. 978-1-250-01257-9. Eleanor boards the school bus for the first time and ends up finding a seat next to a boy who doesn’t want to talk to her. Eleanor dresses all wrong, is harassed daily and has a horrible family life but she and Park bond over graphic novels and music become friends and then find love. This is a wonderful first love romance between two high school students set in 1986. Historical Fiction.

26.              Gratz, Alan.  Prisoner N-3087. Scholastic Press. 978090545-45901-3. Based on the true story of Jack Gruener, a young Jewish boy who survived years of hell in ten different concentration camps across Europe. Yanek (who later becomes Jack Gruener) must find ways to survive both physically and emotionally the loss of his entire family, the brutality of the camps, and find little joys in everyday life. Historical Fiction. Reluctant readers.

27.              Hathaway, Jill.  Impostor. Balzar + Bray. 978-0-06-207798-1. Sylvia, known as Vee, has the ability to slide into other people’s bodies. Unfortunately, she soon finds herself in unknown situations and realizes that someone is sliding into HER body and is trying to exact revenge. This is a sequel to Slide. Readers will want to read Slide first. Paranormal/Fantasy/Thriller.

28.              Leavitt, Lindsey. Going Vintage. 978-1-59990-787-1.  Mallory decides to go retro and swears off boys and modern technology when she finds her boyfriend cheating on her with an online girlfriend. She decides to revert back to the simplicity of the 1960s and follow a list of goals her grandmother had made in 1962. As Mallory fights both the pros and cons of the past and her present, she realizes that every family has depth that no one can see and that love and heartache are present for every generation.

29.              Joseph, Lynn. Flowers in the Sky.  HarperTeen. 978-0-06-029794-7. Shipped off from the only home that she has ever known in the Dominican Republic to the “perfect” world of New York City, Nina Perez must overcome the emotional and physical obstacles set up by her family and her surroundings.  Nina is trying to find her way in this foreign environment as well as navigate her family’s high expectations. Multicultural literature.

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30.              Shan, Darren. Zom-B. (Zom-B Series Bk.1 ) Little Brown & Company. 978-0-316-21440-7. B doesn’t believe in the rumors that something strange has taken over neighboring towns. B is just trying to survive her own life let along the horror show that is being reported on the news. When the zombie attack happens at her own school B has to make some tough choices. Horror fiction.

31.              Skovron, Jon. Man Made Boy. Viking Penguin.  978-0-670-78620-6. Tired of being sheltered from humans, seventeen-year-old Boy, son of Frankenstein's monster and the Bride of Frankenstein, runs away from home and embarks on a wild road trip that takes him across the country and deep into the heart of America. 

32.              Smith, Andrew. Winger. Simon & Schuster BFYR. 978-1-442-44492-8.  Ryan Dean is a 14 year old who's a junior at a private boarding school. While this makes him an excellent winger for his school's rugby team (hence his nickname and the title of the book) it does not make him popular with the ladies, especially his BFF and super crush, Annie. When Ryan Dean's antics land him in O-Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, he decides to toughen up and take some risks, ensuing in a hilarious, coming-of-age story. Realistic Fiction

33.              Wendig, Chuck. Under the Empyrean Sky. Skyscape. 978-1-477-81720-9.  Angry with the oppressive dictates of the Empyrean government, Heartlander and Captain of the Big Sky Scavengers Cael McAvoy discovers a secret, illegal garden and Cael, together with his crew, decides to make his own luck ... a choice that will bring down the wrath of the Empyrean elite and change life in the Heartland forever. First book in The Heartland Trilogy. Science Fiction

34.              Zadoff, Allen. Boy Nobody. Little, Brown and Company. 978-0-316-19968-1.  Sixteen-year-old Boy Nobody, an assassin controlled by a shadowy government organization, The Program, considers sabotaging his latest mission because his target reminds him of the normal life he craves. Suspense Fiction.

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35.              Kade, Stacey. Project Paper Doll: The Rules. Hyperion. 978-142315328-3. Technically, Ariane is a dead girl.  She escaped from the GTX Labs where she was a ground-breaking science experiment. Ariane has a dead girl’s identity and a dead girl’s family but the only way to really survive is to remain anonymous, which works reasonably well until she makes the mistake of crossing paths with Mean Girl Rachel. Science fiction/romance.  Fans will demand the sequel.

36.              Kline, Christina Baker. Orphan Train. William Morrow.  0-978-06-195072-8. An orphaned Irish girl is sent on an orphan train from New York to Minnesota where she will hopefully be found a home.  Hunger, cold, lies, disease, the Depression, human predators, and worst of all, loneliness, all take their toll on Vivian’s soul, but somehow the brave and resilient Vivian learns to survive.  She is able to share her story with a modern day orphan, Penobscot Indian Molly, meets the 91 year old Vivian through a court-ordered community service project. Told in alternating chapters, this is a powerful story of the thousands of orphan children who were sent West for over 75 years. Historical fiction.

37.              Lawson, Shandy.  The Loop.  Hyperion. 978-142316089-2.  Sixteen year old Ben and Maggie are not aging because they are trapped inside the loop and continue to live the same two days over and over---only to be gunned down over and over. Each time they circle through the loop, they learn something new and try to break free. Science Fiction.

38.              Murdoch, Emily. If You Find Me. St. Martin’s Griffin.  978-1-250-0215206.  Carey Blackburn has spent the last six years of her life taking care of her younger sister, Jennessa, because their mother is a meth addict hiding them in a national forest. When a social worker and her biological father find them, Carey realizes that everything she believed is wrong but worst of all, she must hide a catastrophic secret.  Readers who liked The Glass Castle will be fascinatingly horrified at the physical, emotional and sexual abuse suffered by the children but will be mesmerized by the strength and resilience shown by the children.

39.              Schroeder, Lisa.  Falling For You. Simon Pulse. 978-1-4424-6121-5. Rae writes poetry to escape her home life and carefully guards her heart with friends and colleagues but she quickly falls for new student Nathan who is handsome, charming, and nothing like her abusive stepfather.  He may seem different, but he’s not good for Rae. She soon finds that nowhere is safe; home, school, work, or even time with friends isn’t safe as Nathan’s love turns into obsession. Rae starts an anonymous poetry revolution through the school newspaper in an attempt to fight her way through the darkness.

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40.              BOOKS TO WATCH:  Elkeles, Simone. Wild Cards. Bloomsbury. 978-0-802-73437-2. Brand new title from the always popular author Elkeles, author of Perfect Chemistry series. Romance, football, betrayal what more can a teen reader want?

41.              King, A.S. Reality Boy. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 978-0-316-22270-9. In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child "star" struggling to break free of his anger. Publication date October 22, 2013.

42.              Lyons, C.J. Broken. Sourcebooks Fire.  978-1-402-28545-5. The only thing fifteen-year-old Scarlet Killian has ever wanted is a chance at a normal life. Diagnosed with a rare and untreatable heart condition, she has never taken the school bus. Or giggled with friends during lunch. Or spied on a crush out of the corner of her eye. So when her parents offer her three days to prove she can survive high school, Scarlet knows her time is now... or never. Scarlet can feel her heart beating out of control with every slammed locker and every sideways glance in the hallway. But this high school is far from normal. And finding out the truth might just kill Scarlet before her heart does. Publication date November 5, 2013.

43.              Ness, Patrick. More Than This. Candlewick. 978-0-763-66258-5.  Seth dies and then wakes up in what he believes to be hell, but it is more, so much more. Patrick Ness is the author of Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls.

44.              Rowell, Rainbow. Fangirl. St. Martin's Griffin. 978-1-250-03095-5. Online, Cath is famous.  In real life, at her first year in college she is a nobody.  Can she navigate being just Cath without her fan fiction to hide behind?

45.              Wein, Elizabeth. Rose Under Fire. Disney-Hyperion. 978-1-423-18309-9. Companion novel to the award winning Code Name Verity (2013 Printz Honor).

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46.              Skilton, Sarah. Bruised. Amulet Books. 978-1-4197-0387-4.  Sixteen-year-old Imogen witnesses a robbery gone wrong.  Because she’s a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, she feels guilty that she should have done something—anything----to have stopped the robbery because she thought that her black belt meant that she was stronger and more courageous than anyone around.  Unfortunately, her entire world is shattered by what she learns about herself and she must rebuild her life. Language.

47.              Strohm, Stephanie Kate.  Confederates Don’t Wear Couture.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  978-0-547-97258-9.  Libby Kelting’s plans for the summer are turned upside down when her best friend, Dev, decides that they should leave their home in Minnesota and model period costumes at Civil War reenactments in Alabama.  Libby, who loves history, finds romance, ghosts, and lots of history in this light-hearted romp.  LGBT. Reluctant readers.

48.              Walls, Jeannette. The Silver Star.  Scribner.  978-1-4516-6150-7. Fifteen year old Liz and her twelve year old sister Bean have moved around the country whenever their mother needed a fresh start.  In 1970 when their dreamer mother takes off for the big stage and leaves them alone for two months, they end up with living with their Uncle Tinsley.  In the small town of Byler, Virginia, Liz and Bean learn about integration, adversity, adult bullies, and family.  Another psychological adventure from Jeannette Walls.

49.              Winters, Cat.  In the Shadow of Blackbirds.  Amulet Books.  978-1-4197-0530-4.  It’s 1918 with the Spanish Flu is raging across America and panic running rampant. With her mother dead and her father imprisoned, sixteen year old Mary Shelley Black goes to live with her Aunt Eva. She is missing her childhood friend and unrequited love Stephen Embers who is fighting the Germans somewhere in Europe. Mary has never believed in ghosts until Stephen begins showing up in her nightmares. Historical fiction/romance.

50.              West, Kasie.  Pivot Point.  HarperTeen. 978-0-06-211737-3. Addison Coleman has the paranormal ability to see potential futures so when her parents decide to divorce, she must choose between her alternate futures of living with one parent or the other.  Chapters alternate between her choices. As a Searcher living in a compound with other gifted individuals, Addison is not sure that she can live outside in the normal world. Paranormal/science fiction.