Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Nineteen minutes was all it took to change the lives of hundreds of students, teachers, families and friends -- forever.
In nineteen minutes you can cook a frozen pizza. In nineteen minutes you can watch an entire half-hour show on TiVo. In nineteen minutes you can run two miles.
In nineteen minutes your child can take a gun to school and kill all of the classmates who had ever bullied him.
Nineteen minutes can change the world.

The idea that in such a short period of time, one person can seemingly find revenge for all the wrong’s ever done to him is the driving force behind Jodi Picoult’s latest release. This story shares the agony of what it’s like to live in the shoes of small town boy, Peter Granford. Since kindergarten Peter has been bullied, teased, and told that he was different, weird, and just not good enough. On the other side of the story is the beautiful Josie Cormier. Josie hangs in the popular crowd at school. But it wasn’t always this way. Josie and Peter used to be friends. Best friends. But popularity got in the way of Peter’s only friendship and now Josie’s friends are the people responsible for making Peter’s life miserable. No one seems to notice that Peter has finally been pushed too far. He quietly and carefully devises a plan to end the lives of everyone who ever made it their personal mission to make Peter’s life a living hell.

This story is, sadly, a very realistic account of what it could be like should you find yourself walking the halls of your high school only to be confronted by a fellow student gun in hand, and a trail of blood and destruction left in his wake. Nineteen Minutes is so disturbing, at times you feel you have been reading a true account of one of the many school shootings our Country has seen in the last ten years. The tale is spun with truth and feeling so the reader cannot determine just where, exactly, her heart lies in the end. With Josie? The dead student’s families? With Peter’s parents? This is Picoult’s finest work. Read it and you will be hooked.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
by Gregory Maguire

I realize this book was originally published thirteen years ago (1995), but I couldn’t resist writing a review on one of the most brilliant books of recent times. If you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up on your next visit to Barnes and Noble.

Wicked is the untold tale of Elphaba, best known to us as the Wicked Witch of the West. Had you ever even wondered what her story was? How did she end up being so mean? Why did she really want those ruby slippers anyway? Well, Gregory Maguire has unfolded the sordid details of the green witch, who we all grew up watching on television as she tried desperately to destroy sweet Dorothy and her friends. Little did we know that underneath that lizard-like skin lived an intelligent, unique, and loving woman who was always misunderstood.

Wicked shares with us the story of Elphaba’s birth, her years as a college student at Shiz where she is roommates and friends with Glinda (yes, that Glinda!), how she ends up in the Emerald City working against the great Oz, and finally falls in love only to lose him in her fight against evil. You will meet her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, and finally understand the meaning and importance of those slippers (which, by the way, aren’t really ruby at all!) Remember those creepy flying monkeys? You’ll meet Elphaba’s favorite monkey and the reason why she decided to give them wings.

Wicked is a winding tale that weaves the threads of Munchkinland, the Yellow Brick Road, our childhood memories and the magic of friendship, family, and forgiveness together, to enhance the story we grew up loving as kids. Trust me; you will NEVER look at The Wizard of Oz in the same way again.

How to Hook a Hottie by Tina Ferraro

How to Hook a Hottie a novel by Tina Ferraro

Kate DelVecchio is known as the smart girl in her school. She is neither popular nor especially pretty, but somehow she manages to hook the most popular guy in her school. Other girls in school decide that since she’s so smart, Kate must have had some plan, some cosmic design, on how to win over the heart of super hottie, Brandon. Next thing she knows Kate is selling her “skills” as a matchmaker, using her 6-Point Plan, otherwise known as the “Hottie-Hooking Hexagon”. Kate manages to get her best friend, and secret crush, Dal, to help her out and they start raking in the dough. That is, until even their best laid plans start to crumble around them. Kate has to decide how to save her reputation, her new found popularity, and all the hard earned cashed she has made. Most importantly, Kate has to figure out how to win the heart of the one guy she really wants most.

This is a fun, quick read for girls from seventh grade on up. You will love Kate and her relationship with Dal. There is a surprising twist involving the money Kate earns with her match making, her part-time job carting the local “brat” to and from skating practice, and even with her own mother. Kate is a typical high school girl trying to find her way with the popular crowd, and yet remain true to herself. I think that is something nearly every girl can relate to at sometime or another, don’t you? Read How to Hook a Hottie, you won’t be disappointed.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer


Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you can probably ask any teen reader if she’s read any of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books and she’ll squeal in delight. These books have been on top of the New York Times Bestseller’s List and on the must-read lists of nearly every teen in America. Welcome to the world of Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen.

Bella moves from Phoenix to Forks, Washington where she is going to live with her dad for the first time. Little does she know that Forks is the home to a family of vampires. Gorgeous, intelligent, and powerful vampires. Enter Edward, Bella’s lab partner and the most incredibly handsome human being she has ever seen. Bella is instantly drawn to Edward but she can’t figure out why he seems so distant and almost rude. When Bella’s life is in danger and Edward miraculously manages to save her, he is forced to share his
secret. They slowly fall in crazy, mad teenage love, which brings them both a great sense of belonging as well as a whole lot of trouble. Bella and Edward have to work very hard at being together when the scent of her blood alone is enough to make him want to bite her. In the end, Bella can’t bear the thought of living without her vampire, even at the cost of her own possible death.

Readers of Twilight will join Bella, Edward, and the entire Cullen family on a twisted tale of fate, terror, and timeless love. Meyer’s characters are as alive and as much a part of today’s teens lives as energy drinks and horror films. Parents and teachers, if you are looking for a book to get your teen hooked on reading, I would highly recommend Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight.

*This series continues with New Moon and Eclipse.
*Interested teens and their parents can find more information on Stephanie Meyer’s books on myspace.com and stephaniemeyer.com.
*Twilight is currently being cast as a movie!