Maybe for your summer?

EPIC READS

Vandal

by Michael Simmons

What do you do when you are bullied in your own home? What do you do when your brother is the bully?
Will is a regular kid - he's average height and weight, average looks, plays in a KISS cover band, and gets average grades. His parents are well off - not super rich, but not worried about money. They spend a lot of time with their kids and try to create a loving environment. Jason, Will's older and much bigger brother, has always had "a hard time behaving". He destroys things for no reason. He is violent. He is destructive. Will's parents have tried grounding, and therapy and medication. Jason went to juvie, but when he came back, he was the same.
Will is trying to live a regular life, but Jason's presence, and sometimes Jason's torture, really messes it up. He doesn't know what to do.
This is a very short book, told from Will's perspective.

What I Saw and How I Lied

by Judy Blundell

 

Evie's stepfather, Joe, has just returned from World War II. She is fifteen, and in a rush to grow up - she wants to wear lipstick and smoke cigarettes like her mother. The three take a trip from New York to Florida, where they meet a wealthy couple who takes the family under their wing. Evie meets a mysterious stranger, Peter, in secret, and feels very grown up. But is Peter who he says he is? Is he really interested in Evie? What is his connection to her stepfather, Joe?

This is a noir-type mystery, with a lot of twists and turns. Evie is a little naive, but she makes a believable narrator. If you like mysteries, historical fiction or unexpected endings, you'll like this book.

After the Train

by Gloria Whelan

Peter sits in class in Western Germany, ten years after World War II, and wonders why they have to keep talking about the Nazis. The war is OVER! What good does it do to keep talking about it? One day, Peter is snooping through his parent's papers and discovers and life-changing secret. It changes everything he ever thought he knew about himself, his family and his little town.

This is historical fiction, and it addresses parts of the Holocaust. Peter is a teenager who is going through a lot, and you can definitely identify with him, even though this takes place a long time ago.

Things I Can't Forget

by Miranda Kenneally

***Guest post by Amanda B.***

During her summer as a counselor at a religious camp, Kate finds herself dealing with her job, what happened with her friend Emily, her relationship with a blast from the past, and fellow counselor Matt, and the question of whether to break some of the rules she has been taught to follow. Kate thought it was going to be a simple camp summer, but it turns out that she was wrong...

If you like Sarah Dessen, you may really like this book. Dessen often references characters from her previous books, and Miranda Kenneally references characters from her books Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker. The main character takes a stab at figuring out her ideals on a lot of controversial social issues, trying to reckon with what she's been taught versus what she can see in front of her.
The book switches between the past and present, but chapter headings make it easy to follow with dates and times. While the majority of the story takes place at a Christian camp, one doesn't have to be Christian to enjoy it.

Teens Cook

How to Cook What You Want to Eat
by Megan and Jill Carle with Judi Carle


This book is full of recipes for how to make snacks, soups, dinners for one, dinners for the whole family, cookies and desserts. The instructions are easy to follow, and there are a lot of ideas on how to adjust the recipe according to the things you particularly like. Instructions include:
Creme Brulee
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Pot Pie
Sausage and Egg Bake
Crepes
Breakfast Burritos
Meatloaf
Tuna Melts
and about 50 more things. The pictures and the instructions are clear. There are a lot of tips about baking and cooking, and this book will appeal to anyone interested in being independent in the kitchen. It's written by teen sisters, so if they can do it, you can do it!

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman. But in this dystopian future, firemen SET fires, they don't put them out. These firemen set fire to books, because television and a totalitarian government rules the world. Guy Montag goes to work and sets his fires, and never thinks beyond what he is ordered to do...until he meets a young woman who tells him of a past where people weren't afraid to read and think. Then he meets a professor who tells him how the future could be saved - by the very books he is destroying. Guy starts to save books in his house - and discovers a trail of murder, deception and censorship...and must run for his life.

If you liked The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner or Among the Hidden, you should try the dystopian novel that gave rise to the genre! Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper begins to burn.