Reviews (262)

The 10 star book "Tears ofa Tiger"
This book is amazing. It really gets you to think about a lot of things. You always say well that will never happen to me, but niether did Andy. It is a story that so many kids can relate to . Sharon Draper really out did herself in this book. This is the kind of book i could read over and over and over and never get tired of reading it. It really touched me in a special place and thought me that tomorrow is not promised and never take what you have or the people in your life for granted. I give this book 10 stars.

beyond amazing.
words cant explain how good this book was. i had to read it for a school thing and i read it in an hour it was so good. and so meaningful. its one of the reasons i will never drink. im fourteen and all my friends do but i dont plan on drinking ever, and defiantly not getting drunk. i was balling my eyes out. crying SO hard over this book.
Great Read for Middle School children
This book deals very well with controversial topics such as drunk driving and suicide. Draper tells the story in a matter of fact manner that students will read and learn from. As a teacher of middle school children, I found this book very helpful and moving and well researched. Though somewhat predictable and heavyhanded, the story achieves it purpose and would be welcome in any classroom library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Death    4. Fiction    5. High schools    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Schools    8. Social Issues - Death & Dying    9. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Editorial Review

Cameron, Carla, and Len were fascinated (for different reasons) with guns and target shooting at the Patriots' club range until the day Len brought his Kalashnikov rifle, his AR-18, and his Ruger pistol to school, and shot and killed football jock Brad Williams, and then himself. Here is yet another school shooting story that begins with bullying and ends with disaster--a type that is becoming almost a sub-genre of YA fiction. Yet Walter Dean Myers, winner of many awards for his young adult novels, brings freshness and new anguish to this familiar tale (and growing social problem) of unstable victim tormented by bullies to homicidal rage. Following the example of his own masterwork Read more

Reviews (44)

Shooter
It's a great book with suspense in every page! However it is not for kids.

Great demonstration of Mr. Myers's craft
I am waiting for Walter Dean Myers to wring a play or screenplay. I am an actor and a playwright and when I read "Shooter" just like "Monster" he crafts dialogue so effectively that it carries the story even without the narrative. Each character has a specific and active voice. Even the psychologists and reporters who merely record or probe information. But it's the diary of the Shooter at the end where you will be blown away by how Myers is able to get inside the mind of a disturbed, misunderstood and lonely teenager. This book is so incredible that whenever I lend it to one of my students, I don't get it back.

Gun
This book Shooter is about Carmeron Porter. Carmeron is a seventeen year old African American. He goes to school at Madison High School in Harrison County. In the book Carmeron is being interviewed. He gets interviewed five times with five different people. The reason he is being interviewed is because his friend Len killed himself in school. The statement fact is: a seventeen-year-old White male found dead in the aftermath of a shooting incident at Madison High School in Harrison County. The conclusion: Death by self- inflicted wound.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/All Ages    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Emotional problems    4. Family problems    5. Fiction    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. School violence    8. Social Issues - Adolescence    9. Social Issues - Suicide    10. Social Issues - Violence    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Violence   

Subjects:  1. Children: Grades 3-4    2. Juvenile Nonfiction    3. School & Education    4. Social Issues - Suicide    5. Emet Gabar    6. Juvenile Nonfiction / General   

Reviews (22)

It's Kind ofa Good Story
Take a good helping of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," add a heaping spoonful of "Girl, Interrupted," and stir in a dollop or two of "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," and you'll have a good idea what you're going to get with "Funny Story."
kind of a funny story?
it's different. and if you don't think that everything can be looked at with humor in life, you're wrong. This is def. reccomended for Ned's old fans and new fans.

Incredible!
It's not often you come across an adult author who can accurately portray teen angst and depression. However, Ned Vizzini does an excellent job with this insightful and somewhat darkly humorous novel.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Depression, Mental    4. Fiction    5. General    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Mental illness    8. Psychiatric hospitals    9. Social Issues - Adolescence    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Juvenile Fiction / Humorous Stories   

Reviews (33)

Book Review
This book details the real life story of a boy at fourteen that decided he wnated to kill himself. After he tries he decides he does not want to go through with it and he gets himself all wet to put the fire out. After this he goes through great detail of the year after the sucide attmept and his inner thoughts about the whole suicide. I really enjoyed reading this book and I believe that this book is good for many people to read to truly understand all of the pain that can come from commiting suicide.

Good description of teen depression
As someone who has lived with depression for many years and who as a teenager has also tried to hurt myself, I felt that Runyon did a good job of describing the elusive and often non-descript feelings of teen depression--including his inability (post-suicide attempt) to talk with his parents and psychiatric professionals about why he set himself on fire.While some might want this book to be the rememdy for depressed teens everywhere, it is not a self-help book for teens disguised as memoir.There are no answers for troubled teens.Rather, it is a memoir.Even without providing any answers, it is still a good way to open the topic of teen suicide and depression. I loaned the book to my mother who said it did help her understand a little more what I was feeling when I was a teen.

Teaching and learning tool...
I recommend it as a good read for adolescents and adults and as a great teaching tool for middle school and older students. I plan to read excerpts to my students this year.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography & Autobiography - General    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Case studies    7. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Social Issues - Suicide    10. Suicidal behavior    11. Suicide    12. Teenage boys    13. Virginia    14. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (1)

Don't look away from this one -- unforgettable and unflinching
Jersey Hatch has forgotten most of the last year and a half of his life before he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, leaving his brain damaged, his body broken.
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Subjects:  1. Brain damage    2. Brains    3. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    5. Fiction    6. General    7. Gunshot wounds    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Patients    10. Rehabilitation    11. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    12. Social Issues - General    13. Social Issues - Suicide    14. Wounds and injuries    15. Fiction / Psychological   

Reviews (70)

Dated, but one could abstract the plot lessons to modern times
This novella is told from the point of view of teenaged Lisa's quiet, unassuming friend Betsy.Lisa believes she is going crazy with visions, nightmares, and wild mood swings.Her parents diagnose their daughter as a drama queen and no teachers want to get involved, so a trio of Lisa's friends set out to provide talk therapy and ensure that she is never alone.
Dated, but still wonderful...
I read this book several times as a teenager, and recently acquired a new copy at a yard sale. Thought I'd give it another go.
a realistic look into mental illness
I read this book as a pre-teen, as I was beginning to deal with severe juvenile depression. The dark feelings and fear described in the book are real and impossibly unbearable, especially for a child. Some may believe that the material is dated (the terminology is less than PC), however, adults are still reluctant to acknowledge that children/teens experience mental illness. The book helped me to realize that I was neither "crazy" nor alone at a time when my teachers and parents labeled me as shy and typically moody. This book has stayed with me all these years, and I would recommend it to anyone who is dealing with childhood emotional issues or a child with emotional issues. As a current mental health professional, I keep several copies on hand for at-risk children and families. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Fiction    4. Friendship    5. Girls & Women    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Mental illness    8. Mentally ill    9. Social Issues - Special Needs    10. Social Issues - Suicide    11. Juvenile Fiction / Girls & Women   

Reviews (12)

High Heat - Great Baseball Book
Shane Hunter, a sophomore at Shorelake High School had it all; money, great friends and baseball.One day, his perfect world changes when Shane's father is arrested for money laundering and commits suicide.Shane's family must move to the "other" side of town that Shane despises.Shane has a difficult time adjusting to his new life and gets arrested for stealing and his punishment is repairing a local baseball diamond.This brings back memories of his old life, and Shane is faced with the decision of whether or not he should join the team and continue playing the game his father taught him.Will fear of failure overpower him or will he step up to the plate?Read this book and find out!
DO YOU LIKE SUSPENCE?BETTER YET DO YOU LIKE BASEBALL?
If you like either of thse two things High Heat by Carl Deuker is the perfect book for you!High heat is about a kid that is a closer for his school team.He was really good, until all these tragedys happened to this pour kid.It is really suspenceful.It is just about the best book ever made.The story in this book is so fantastic.Once you read the first 3 pages you wont stop and befor you know it you will be half way through the book.Believe me and please read this book i know you will like it if you like baseball or even suspence.

Brandon's review
I liked this book because it was a great book. I play baseball so I thought it would be a good book to read.
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Subjects:  1. Baseball    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family - Parents    5. Family problems    6. Fathers    7. Fiction    8. High schools    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Social Issues - General    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Sports & Recreation - Baseball    13. Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / Baseball   

Reviews (1)

Short summry of Cass McBride
Cass McBride is the girl who knows how to get what she wants.Her father, a salesman, has taught her the rules of the "Sale."She manipulates.And she rules the school.Kyle Kirby has a mother that taught him some rules too, rules of anger and hate.When these two collide, Cass McBride ends up buried alive.But that's not enough for Kyle.He gives her a source of air and a walkie talkie so he can torture her with words.But words are what Cass wants.They are her currency to get out of this box.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Mystery    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. Crime    5. Family - General    6. Fiction    7. Horror & Ghost Stories    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories    10. Revenge    11. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    12. Social Issues - Suicide    13. Suicide    14. Juvenile Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories   

Reviews (8)

That's All There Is To It
Ignore the fact that others have already mentioned this, and let me be the first to compare Adam Rapp's novel UNDER THE WOLF, UNDER THE DOG to J.D. Salinger's CATCHER IN THE RYE. Of course, their characters Steve Nugent and Holden Caulfield are different, but they're alike in the way HoHo's know they're related to Ding Dongs.
Under The Wolf
This book is just amazing and beautiful. There's really nothing else more to say. Reading it is the equivalant of an out of body experience. It leaves you thinking.

Terrible
One of the worst books I've ever read. There was really no plot, just some really messed up and retarded kid writing in a journal, rambling about his horrible life. He does alot of dumb things but never learns from his mistakes. It then ends suddenly, before we learn whether he ever gets out of rehab or makes up with his father. It's a terrible book with no depth or focus to it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Depression, Mental    4. Drug abuse    5. Family - General    6. Family problems    7. Fiction    8. Grief    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Social Issues - Death & Dying    11. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    12. Social Issues - Suicide    13. Juvenile Fiction / Readers / Intermediate   

Reviews (4)

No Right Turn
It isn't that our children can not read, but that until an author writes a book that CAN'T BE PUT DOWN, they don't know that they love to read. Terry Trueman is one of the best authors I have to offer these students.Mr.Trueman gives us an opportunity to know what it might be like to have or to love someone who has a disability.His book, Inside Out is incredable.No Right Turn is just another outstanding example.THANK YOU TERRY TRUEMAN.

Why does he write these books?
Terry Trueman is a friend of mine. I read No Right Turn in its infancy.Jordan and his angst are real and right on.The twists and turns are all authentic. This book is Terry Trueman.Look at his penchant for fast automobiles and anyone could picture his own '76 Corvette roaring around Spokane, his home town.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Terry Trueman's books, so I won't waste time praising his virtues.Although come to think of it, he might appreciate that.Still, the story of sixteen-year old Jordan, the main character of NO RIGHT TURN,
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Subjects:  1. Automobiles    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. Corvette automobile    5. Family - Parents    6. Fiction    7. Grief    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Social Issues - Adolescence    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Social Situations - Emotions & Feelings    13. Social Situations - Suicide    14. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Suicide   

Reviews (4)

What do you do when your friend is thinking about suicide?
I often talk to teens who carry the burden of their friends' depression. They perceive parents and teachers as out of touch, so they try to handle each other's depression themselves. This can be stressful and even dangerous. If a friend confides suicidal thoughts and then actually commits suicide, the adolescent may have to deal with severe guilt and remorse.
A little pointless
Being a teen who has been close to suicide many a time, I know from experience that reasons for suicide are plentiful, but finance is a main problem. Why sell a book on how to prevent suicide? To me thats a little bit of a tease. Also... I don't think parents would buy this book, as the symptoms of a suicidal teen are not in great supply. We hide our feelings. Well, thats just my opinion.... An online 'How to prevent suicide' would be much more effective

Proactive and Informative
Unlike many other books on adolescent psychology, this book takes more initiative in teaching teenagers to help each other during tough times. The tips included can be used immediately after reading them, and the authorsstress certain important points repeatedly so that, although they may seemredundant to those who already know them by heart, no one can finish thebook without having them permanently inscribed in their minds. The firstperson point-of-view style taken by the authors when explaining suicidehelps, but not completes, a teenager's understanding of why his or herpeers may consider suicide. There were a few detractions though. Morefundamental information on depression as well as the increasing necessityto consider sexuality and ethnicity as aggravating factors in suicidalteens may have helped. A few sections were over-generalized, but the mostimportant info (such as the "fact or fiction" of suicidalbehavior) were well-covered. Combined with a book on teenage affected (i.e.emotional) disorders, alcohol/narcotics addiction, and/or riskyenvironments (e.g. abusive families, violent neighborhoods, homogenouscommunities), whichever is helpful to the reader, this book can go a longway in reducing the heart-breaking statistics on suicide among youngpeople. A newly revised edition with updated information is eagerlyawaited. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Young Adult Social Situations    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Health & Daily Living - General    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Juvenile literature    6. Prevention    7. School & Education    8. Social Issues - Adolescence    9. Social Issues - Friendship    10. Social Issues - Suicide    11. Social Problems (General) (Young Adult)    12. Suicidal behavior    13. Suicide    14. Teenagers    15. United States    16. Suicide, death & bereavement   

Reviews (4)

A little too self aware
About two thirds of the way through this novel it began to be a bit tiresome.I felt the presence of the author looming over the story and I began to dislike the characters--the female ones particularly.Maybe my own background is too working class for the dialogue and the structure of the interpersonal relationships to come off as real or convincing to me, I don't know.The various men in the lives of the three sisters moon over these young women, put the lovely Abranels up on pedestals, and seem to have little to no lives of their own outside their worship of them.Hmmm, it just didn't ring true with me.Leila seemed far more sophisticated and fey than a dyslexic 16 year old would be--even one from such a remarkable family.I thought the writing was lovely, but the characters were somewhat distasteful.Ultimately they weren't people I could care about.

A recommended pick for mature teens who will find plenty of interest in a story of love which keeps on changing
A girl's dyslexia, relationships with a father and stepmother, and determination to investigate romance, cheating and death makes for a vivid multi-faceted story in Stay With Me, which follows her evolving sense of self in the face of disability and changes. Stay With Me is a recommended pick for mature teens who will find plenty of interest in a story of love which keeps on changing.
A Remarkable Achievement
Stay With Me is a highly complex and rewarding young adult novel. It tells of a year in the life of sixteen-year-old Leila Abranel, a New York City high school student with a rather unconventional family. Leila begins her story indirectly, recounting her occasional meetings with her sisters' mother. Leila has two much older half-sisters, from her father's doomed first marriage. Leila admires her vibrant and quirky sister Rebecca, and turns to her for advice, while respecting her more formal sister Clare's preference to remain distant. The family has a balance, if an unusual one, right up until Rebecca commits suicide.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books - Young Adult    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. FIction    5. Family - Siblings    6. General    7. Interpersonal relations    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Sisters    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Suicide    13. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Reviews (36)

Chinese Handcuffs
The purpose of the author was to show the consequences of communicating and not communicating in life and death situation.For example, Dillon had a secret with his frind Jen, who was the girlfriend of his death brother and he wanted to be more than friends with her but he couldn't tell her because he knew that it was hard because she had been his brother girlfriend.I rate this book with a letter A because it is interresting how a young boy has kept the secret of his death brother by himself.
Chinese Handcuffs
Looking at the title Chinese Handcuffs, I never would have expected such an ongoing book of every day, life-threatening events.I would have to say that the main idea I got from this book was communication.Communication is a key to life and in this book you find out the consequences of communicating and not communicating in life and death situations.
Magnificent Must Read
Chinese Handcuffs consists of content that is meant for ages 14 and up. Dillon and Jen are juniors in high school and only friends. Jen is not only a basketball star and does excellent in school but she is beautiful. Dillon wants to be more than just friends but he can tell Jen is hiding something about her personal life at home. With Dillon's brother dead and his mother gone with his sister, he can understand why she wouldn't want to talk. When Jen reveals her horrifying home life, Can Dillon get involved without making things worse?
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Subjects:  1. Child abuse    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Grades 2-3    4. Fiction    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Social Issues - Friendship    7. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    8. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    9. Social Issues - Suicide    10. Suicide    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Adolescence   

Reviews (47)

deep and moving book
Everyone believes that Zoe helped her best friend, Aimee, commit suicide - even though she was acquitted.Her parents moved to the next town to escape the social stigma, and Zoe is completely cut off from her friends and forced to go to therapy. Through painful journal entries, Zoe conveys lonliness, hurt, and anger.She starts paralyzed with fear, and gradually lets out more as she recovers, and she changes from "Aimee's alleged murderer" to herself.This book is very moving and very well-written.

Aimee
The book Aimee written by Mary Beth Miller in my opinion was a great book. It showed a lot of conflict due to that almost all of the characters thought that Zoe had help kill her best friend. It was mysterious because you won't find out how her best friend died until later in the book. This is one of the books that keeps you hanging on and you want to keep reading it. Zoe is cut off from all of her old friends since it was court ordered until she gets in contact with one of them. The book was very descriptive, the kind where you can paint a picture inside your mind of what is going on. I think this novel would appeal to anyone who likes supsense because that's what the book is, suspenseful. You'll just want to know what happens next.

I loved it.
Well, I was reading through all of the other reviews and I noticed one that said that Mary Beth Miller automatically assumed that every teen has sex, gets drunk, and contemplates suicide. Well, not every teen does. But what about the ones that do? Is it not fair that there should be a book that they can relate to also? You can't hide whats out there, so why try? I do not think that Mary Beth Miller has stereotyped rebellion into teenagers at all. I think she's just showing you a genuine glimpse of real life. She's just being real. By the way, I loved the book. And I even loved how you didn't find out the main characters name until the end. It was just simply intriguing and kept a strong hold on my attention. Overall, 5 stars :) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Grades 2-3    3. Emotional problems    4. Family problems    5. Fiction    6. Social Issues - Suicide    7. Suicide    8. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Suicide   

Reviews (6)

I'm not so sure
I have to read this book for A.T. at our school, and I personally think it is boring. I'm more for the real-life books, like Alice, and The Clique.
One of the year's best novels...
Nathan Landry is shocked to find the police at his home on his return from school.The shock heightens as his fathers appears, bloody, from the side of the house.The story unfolds as Nate experiences the many ramifications of his father's attempted suicide.He is ostricized from his small ranching community and doesn't even know what really happened to his father, as he was carted away in an ambulancewith no explanation given.It is when Nate realizes the next level of his local science fair will be held in Butte, a neighboring town to where is his father is hospitilized, that Nate realize his hope in finding the truth lies in his science fair project.
Extraordinary!
Nate Chance's life was fine. He has a best friend that did almost everything with him. His father taught him everything he knows (which was quite a lot), but after a freak hailstorm killed off the hay crop that would take the family out of debt, everything changed. Nate's mother became a walking vegetable and Nate's best friend doesn't even act like Nate ever existed. Only sister Junie believes that everything will be better. Nate somehow sees a ray of light in his klutzy science partner, Naomi. If they could win 1st Place, they could see their father in a mental hospital on the way to the state finals. Of course, this would never have happened if his father wouldn't have shot himself. But what if this family falls apart before then? Only time will tell.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Depression, Mental    6. Family - General    7. Family problems    8. Fathers    9. Fiction    10. General    11. Historical - United States - 20th Century    12. Juvenile Fiction    13. Social Issues - General    14. Social Issues - Suicide    15. Suicide    16. Juvenile Fiction / Family / General   

Reviews (21)

Inside Out
My son thought this book was great.He especially enjoyed all the swearing.

Attempts to have young people understand schizophrenia
It's a quick read, only about a hour. It's fast paced so reluctant teen readers will probably finish it. I think the author did a good job making Zach likable and someone to have sympathy for having this horrible mental illness. I found myself just as interested or more so in Alan, the kindly older thief. I didn't want him tried as an adult since what he really wanted to do is help his mother buy medicine she needed. I wonder if Alan taken away the attention from the main character since Alan in some ways more interesting than Zach.

Sensational, really...
I read the first three pages of "Inside Out" and knew I had to read the whole thing. The characterization is flawless, and the book gives an impeccable depiction of schizophrenia, and what's even more amazing is that the book is written in first person, giving you a more personal feel for what it might be like to not know what's real from what's fake. You finish this book with a new found empathy for people with schizophrenia, and what they have to endure. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Fiction    4. Juvenile Fiction    5. Juvenile delinquency    6. Mental illness    7. Schizophrenia    8. Social Issues - Adolescence    9. Social Issues - Special Needs    10. Social Issues - Suicide    11. Suicide    12. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Special Needs   

Editorial Review

In a fascinating departure from her usual folksy Southern fiction, award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt transports her readers to the island of present-day Guam, where thirteen-year-old Isabel’s family is broken by her mother’s suicide. Numbed by her mother‘s death, Isabel grimly plods through each day, while scribbling in her ever-present notebook. But existence on the colorful, richly cultured island hasn’t ended, and life keeps interrupting Isabel’s sorrow. Her best friend Terecita needs help in becoming the best female cock-fighter on Guam, her father’s fishing assistant, Roman, appears to be flirting with her, and Auntie Bernadette, the local healer, keeps trying to school her in the art of herbs. Meanwhile, Isabel is disturbed by the fact that her father has practically stopped speaking, and her brother Frank is beginning to cut himself when he thinks no one is looking. But Isabel sees, and her heart is hardened: "I may look like my mother, but I’m not like her...I’m not like my mother at all. I am here." Isabel’s challenge will be to learn how to heal, and with the help of her vibrant community, she will.Holt is a masterful plotter--each strand of Isabel’s story comes together beautifully. But that doesn’t mean Holt sacrifices description or character for storyline. Every nuance of the Guam landscape and culture is seen and heard, from the quirky native "eyebrow language," to the illegal thrill of cock fighting. An original and intriguing novel that will send students searching for Guam in the nearest atlas. (Ages 12 to 18) Read more

Reviews (11)

Do you want to be entertained for days?
Do you want to be entertained? Well read "Keeper of the night" Keeper of the night is about a girl named Isabel, who lives on the island of Guam. Her mother dies and everything changes in her life. She has a little sister named Olivia and a younger brother named frank. She lives with tata (her father), Olivia and frank, but for six weeks she and her family live with her auntie Minerva. Also her and her friends: Roman, Delia, Teresita and Mary Kelly go to catholic school. Her father never hangs around any of the kids, except roman. He and roman go fishing. Isabel can't remember her mother at all. But by the end of the story everything changes. Her father, friends, family and Isabel. They all finally get along. So if you want to be entertained for days even weeks or months you should read keeper of the night!

Not authentic to Guam
Thirteen-year-old Isabel discovers her mother's lifeless body one morning before going to school.Trying to cope with the suicide, her father takes Isabel and her siblings to live with Aunt Minerva after claiming to see her mother's ghost.Six months later, they return to their home in Malesso while Isabel continues her struggle to find her sense of place.Meanwhile, Auntie Bernadette attempts to remind Isabel of her mother when everyone else is too afraid to mention her name.As Auntie Bernadette tries to convince Isabel to run for Fiesta Queen, a title her mother held twice, Isabel finds herself assuming the role of her mother.Eventually, her brother Frank attempts suicide and the family finds themselves speaking to a therapist.This enables them to face their troubles and get the help they need.In the end, the family triumphs and finds a way to keep on living.
Moving and Beautiful
I was prepared for another depressing teen angst tale, but instead found myself deeply touched by this book. It is both a wonderful coming of age tale and the story of a family overcoming tragedy and learning to face grief. It is also a fascinating window into the culture of Guam.Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Death    4. Family - Parents    5. Family problems    6. Fiction    7. Grief    8. Guam    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Social Issues - Death & Dying    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Suicide   

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Psychology    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Juvenile literature    6. Prevention    7. Psychological aspects    8. Social Issues - Suicide    9. Suicidal behavior    10. Suicide    11. Teenagers   

Reviews (5)

The LAST DOMINO - Straight Shooting from the Highschool Front.
A spectacular debut novel! Adam Meyer writes with all the precision and intensity of a seasoned veteran twice his age! If one were to take the characters of FIGHT CLUB, toss in the sentiment of AMERICAN BEAUTY, and heat until it boiled over, you'd get THE LAST DOMINO.Adam Meyer is one writer to keep an eye on!

The Last Domino - Searing and Powerful...
Travis Ellroy hasn't had it easy, especially after his seemingly-perfect brother, Richie, committed suicide. One day, after an argument with his father, he fills his pockets with rocks and starts throwing them. One of them inadvertently hits the windshield of a black Taurus - the car of one of the most popular guys in school, P.J. After this incident, P.J. is furious with Travis, hassling and threatening him at school, and it doesn't help that Travis can't get enough money ($300) to pay P.J. back for the broken windshield, no thanks to his lousy, low-paying job at Coffee Time.