RAINFIELD, Cheryl. Stained. Houghton Harcourt. Oct. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN  9780547942087.

Gr 9 Up—Sarah is a pretty teenage girl who hides behind her birthmark, which covers half of her face. She tries to stay strong when facing bullies, but sometimes she just feels like curling up into a ball. She thinks that bullies are her worst fear, but she soon learns what true fear is. As she walks home from school one day, she is kidnapped by a deranged killer. Most girls would cry themselves to sleep, but not Sarah. She becomes determined to escape from her prison. However, as minutes blend into days, and days blend into months, she begins to lose hope. Will she ever see her parents, best friend, or school yard sweetheart ever again? And worse, could the killer’s words become reality? Will he kill her or her family if she does anything against his will?

Stained was an exciting, action-packed story that kept my heart racing the entire time. Every chance I had, I was reading this book. I felt drawn into the book, like I was actually in it. I felt like it was me clawing at the boards on the windows until my fingers bled. I became extremely close to all of the characters in this book. I was sad when they failed and happy when they succeeded. The author did an excellent job in creating this closeness. She made me long to know what happened next. This is a wonderful book that all teens will enjoy.—Michaela B., age 14

NESS, Patrick. More Than This. Candlewick. Sept. 2013.Tr $19.99. ISBN  9780763662585.

Gr 9 Up–Seth Wearing has woken up in what he assumes is his own personal hell. After his death, he did not expect to wake up in his childhood home in London—it brings back too many bad memories. This seemingly real world is abandoned and dust-covered. How did he get here? He clearly remembered the waves thrashing him beneath the surface, breaking his bones. So how is it that he is alive? And why does every moment of rest bring back vivid, agonizing memories from the past? Seth doesn’t know what’s going on but he hopes that the rest of his afterlife will be more than just this…

More Than This was a breathtaking read. I enjoyed the unknown setting and all there was for Seth to discover about his life. But behind the mystery, the book has a good moral message. I would recommend this book to any teen but especially a teen that feels like there isn’t anything more to life than what they’re currently experiencing.—Paris E., age 17

POLAK, Monique. So Much It Hurts. Orca. Sept. 2013. pap. $12.95. ISBN 9781459801363.

Gr 9 Up—Iris has caught the eye of acclaimed movie producer, Mick. As an aspiring actress, this is an amazing thing. So what if Mick is fourteen years older than her? He’s sophisticated and she’s happy to call him her boyfriend. Except she can’t quite call him that—Mick wants their relationship to be a secret. After lying about her affiliations with Mick, Iris doesn’t find it hard to keep quiet about Mick’s temper; she even lies about how she got a black eye. Mick loves her, it’s evident—Iris just causes him to get so angry sometimes. Relationships are all about getting used to each other, she just has to get used to Mick’s fits. Right?

So Much It Hurts is a realistic tale about the psyche of teenage girls in abusive relationships. Iris blames herself for Mick’s behavior and only hides the truth, from her best friend, from her mother, and from herself. This short novel can aid in bringing awareness to domestic violence in young adults and just how badly it can end.—Paris E. age 17

PFEFFER, Susan Beth. The Shade of the Moon. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780547813370.

Gr 7 Up—Jon Evans is a slip—simple as that. He can never claim the privileges of the elite enclave dwellers, those that are needed and deserve the best food and the best houses, but he also avoids the dirt-poor life of a grub, outsiders who work as servants or farmers and can be easily replaced. Instead, he can enjoy the benefits of living within the enclave but can never escape the fact that his family are still grubs. And in a postapocalyptic America, being of these two worlds will soon test Jon’s ability to choose between right and wrong.

The fourth in “The Life As We Knew It” series, The Shade of the Moon picks up the story of a family struggling to survive after the moon was knocked out of orbit, causing major changes to the Earth’s environment. Amid the chaos, a new kind of society formed, one where the spoiled kids of doctors and lawyers forget that those with lower paychecks are still human and deserve happiness as much as they do. Susan Beth Pfeffer does an excellent job of showing this moral struggle within Jon, although she falters in writing a more realistic display of Jon’s emotions. Overall, a good read.—Abrania M., age 16

The International Board on Books for Young People

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children’s books. The Awards, given every other year by IBBY, recognizes “lifelong achievement and are given to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children’s literature.”

The 2014 jury, led by María Jesús Gil (Madrid, Spain), is composed of 11 writers, editors, publishers, and educators from around the world. The United States is represented on the jury by Susan M. Stan, Professor of Children’s Literature at the Central Michigan University. Winners will be made known to the public at the IBBY Press Conference at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on March 24, 2014.

Christopher Awards

The winners of the 2013 Christopher Awards have been chosen. Eleven books for adults and young people have garnered the award. The six winners in the Books for Young People category are: Forever You: A Book About Your Soul and Body (Pauline Books and Media), written by Nicole Lataif and illustrated by Mary Rojas; The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (S & S) by author/illustrator William Joyce and illustrator Joe Bluhm; The House on Dirty-Third Street (Peachtree) by Jo S. Kittinger, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez; the Newbery Medalist The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins) by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by Patricia Castelao; R. J. Palacio’s Wonder (Knopf); and Warren St. John’s Outcasts United (Delacorte).

Created in 1949, “these awards are presented to writers, producers, directors and illustrators whose work affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” The Christophers, a nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, “is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity.” “The creative forces behind the projects we’re honoring are improving our culture by telling stories that awaken hope instead of despair, acknowledge the necessity of sacrifice in the service of a greater good, and light a candle rather than curse the darkness,” noted Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications.

Math SAT Prep

Do your students want to improve their SAT math scores? That’s no-brainer! Well, Shmoop, a publisher of digital curriculum and test prep, is offering a new SAT math practice tool—Math Shack. It offers more than 200 types of math problems in all the categories that appear on the SAT: Numbers and Operations, Algebra and Functions, Geometry and Measurement, and Statistics and Probability. Users get a lot more than just practice. For every problem, there are hints and detailed explanations of the answer. Student progress can also be tracked. Math Shack is instantly available to subscribers of Shmoop’s SAT test prep.

Industry News

Carnegie Medal-winning author Patrick Ness’s new book, More Than This, will be published in September 2013 by Candlewick. Ness’s previous novels, “Chaos Walking” trilogy and A Monster Calls (all Candlewick) garnered numerous awards. His new book chronicles “the life–or perhaps afterlife–of a teenager trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world. The book will be published simultaneously in the US, the UK, and Australia.

“I’ve wanted to write a book about waking up alone on the planet since from about the day I knew I wanted to be a writer,” said Ness. “And the ambiguity and mystery that Seth faces when he wakes [after drowning]—what is this place? Is it a memory? Is it real? Is it somehow both?—felt so much like the yearning and questioning I had growing up, it just all came together at the right time. Though there’s despair here, and pain, in one way it might be the most hopeful thing I’ve ever written.”